VIETNAM TODAY

Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on July 31 paid a courtesy visit to Philippine President Benigno Aquino III on the occasion of his visit to the Philippines to co-chair the 7th session of the Vietnam-Philippines Bilateral Cooperation Committee.

Along with the increasing number of smartphone users, several banks have developed services to support financial transactions via mobile phones.

The deadline to remove deformed and super-slim houses in Hanoi by September is unlikely to be met due to inadequate compensation.

Several young people in Vietnam are willing to create scandals in order to draw public attention to themselves even though they don't have any outstanding talents.

A group of independent experts announced their research project on raising the age of majority to 18 at a seminar in Hanoi on July 31.

Unemployment continued at record highs in the 17-nation eurozone in June but there was some hope of an improvement as the numbers of those out of work fell slightly, official data showed on Wednesday.

A tropical depression on July 31 strengthened into a storm named Jebi, becoming the fifth storm of its kind to be formed in the East Sea.

The Ministry of Health has announced new regulations to avoid risks of complications following the death of four babies.

Vietnam and Japan are working closely together to develop detailed action plans to carry out Vietnam’s industrialization strategy, as part of their co-operation agreement towards 2020 with a vision to 2030.

Residents of the capital will have a chance to experience distinctive art works by acclaimed Vietnamese artists including leading lacquer painter Nguyen Gia Tri at an exhibition held at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum.

A labor rights group Monday accused a Chinese company that makes iPhones for Apple Inc. of abuses including withholding employees’ pay and excessive working hours.

A recently-built luxury cemetery in Hau Giang Province caters to those willing and able to spend sums as large as VND500 million for a luxurious final resting place.

Police in Hoi An City arrested a four-member gang on July 30 for several robberies targeting foreign travellers.

The Appeal Court upheld the sentences of four out of six defendants convicted in the land reclamation case in Haiphong.

The popular website TripAdvisor.com tourism has ranked Vietnam’s War Remnants Museum the fifth best Asian tourism attraction in 2013.

Javad Mottaghi, the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union’s Secretary-General, warns radio risks losing younger listeners if it fails to modernise its programming.

A Forest Police Force will be in charge of patrolling and managing forests, under new plans proposed to the Government by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Leaders of state-owned enterprises which are slow in withdrawing their investments from non-core business activities might easily be dismissed.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked ministries, sectors and localities to stick to the set targets of stabilising the macro economy and keeping the inflation rate equal to that of last year at about 6.8 percent.