VIETNAM TODAY

Bad debt in the banking system has been estimated to be at VND120 trillion as of Dec. 31, 2012, and continues to rise.

The Ministry of Health held an urgent meeting in Hanoi on April 8 to discuss preventive measures against A/H7N9 bird flu with Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien in the chair.

Vietnamese people from home and abroad have contributed their opinions on the draft amendments to the 1992 constitution, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung has said.

The Asian Development Bank said the region's emerging economies would pick up this year but warned that the recovery remained fragile because of the eurozone crisis and tensions in Asia.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has agreed with the Construction Ministry’s proposals to expand the flood shelter pilot model across the northern central and central coastal regions.

HCM City is losing its chance to attract foreign tourists due to new direct flights in surrounding area as well as a lack of standard facilities.

Residents in the northern Ha Nam Province's Kim Bang District have just returned the endangered primate back to the Hoa Lu- Van Long special-use forest in the neighbouring Ninh Binh Province, local authorities announced.

People live in old houses in the capital city are facing troubles and threatened by times.

Prominent UK musician, Leafcutter John, will entertain audiences in a variety of activities in Hanoi this month.

French automaker Peugeot has announced that it was returning to Vietnam with the creation of a distribution network and local production of its 408 model.

Margaret Thatcher, the "Iron Lady" who transformed Britain by radically rolling back the state during her 11 years in power, died on Monday following a stroke.

The Hai Phong City People’s Court on April 8 commenced the trial of those involved in coercive land reclamation in Vinh Quang commune, Tien Lang district in 2012.

Tourism companies along the Serepok River have complained about the lack of co-operation from local hydropower plants.

The 2013 Sapa in the Cloud Festival will take place from April 26 to May 5, said the district People’s Committee.

Hanoi traffic police have started fining motorbikes drivers who are transporting children without wearing helmets.

Canada’s Asian Coast Development Ltd, owner of the Ho Tram Strip, a group of integrated resorts in the southern province of Vung Tau, has received approval to operate casinos in the resort.

Vietnam plans to cease broadcasting analogue TV in the five biggest cities by 2015 as digital TV takes over.

There is no proof that the H7N9 bird flu virus is being transmitted between people in China, the World Health Organization said.

A delegation of medial workers from the Governmental Office, the Ministry of Health and the National Committee for AIDS Prevention and Control has been on a working visit to Thailand within the framework of cooperation between Vietnam and the UNAIDS.