VIETNAM TODAY

Hanoi will continue inspecting the recruitment of civil servants at all districts and communes as part of measures to prevent corruption, declared the municipal Department of Home Affairs.

All ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have ratified the ASEAN Convention on Counter-Terrorism, the ASEAN Secretariat said in a statement released on January 22.

Vietnam and the UK have agreed to increase all-round cooperation, especially in trade, maritime navigation, finance-banking, and education, aiming to raise bilateral trade to US$4 billion this year.

EU finance ministers have approved a move by Germany, France and nine other EU nations to introduce a tax on financial transactions to help pay for a bailout of European banks and discourage risky trades.

Many people are doubtful over the feasibility of a government project to upgrade 49 state-owned cinemas to attract local audiences.

Many literary works about the American War focus on combat and violence. But a memoir by an American peace activist, released in Vietnamese yesterday, approaches the topic from a different perspective.

Three local largest telecom groups have been fined VND100 million after violating regulations on prepaid subscribers.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to be on Capitol Hill Wednesday, to give long-awaited testimony about State Department security and the attack that left four Americans dead in Benghazi, Libya.

Some 3,700 workers of Sanyo OPT Ltd. Company have been put out of work due to losses caused by the firm's bad operations.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has decided to offer disadvantaged people relief aid during the coming lunar New Year (Tet) holiday and lean months.

A new circular on street food safety regulations which took effect on January 20 has been widely ignored by vendors.

Severe cold weather sweeping through camps for people displaced by the Afghan war has killed 17 people, mostly children, Amnesty International said Tuesday.

Hanoi will open 65 flower markets during the Tet (Lunar New Year) festival, the municipal People's Committee has announced.

A mobile explosive ordnance disposal team in Quang Tri Province has cleared two arsenals storing hundreds of unexploded arms left from the war in Huong Hoa District.

Five years after the global financial crisis hit, unemployment numbers continue to soar, with a record 202 million people worldwide expected to be officially jobless this year, the ILO said.

Two writers have refused awards from the Vietnam Writers' Association, saying that the jury had not done their work properly.

Vietnam should only approve foreign direct investment projects that are environmentally friendly, one economist said.

Vietnam is at risk of becoming one of the most adversely affected countries by climate change, which could seriously affect the country’s booming economic growth.

Czech Republic Minister of Industry and Trade Martin Kuba has affirmed that his country prioritises its trade and investment cooperation with Vietnam.