VIETNAM TODAY

A deadly cold snap has claimed 88 lives across Russia, officials said Sunday, as Moscow authorities told schoolchildren they could stay home to avoid the frigid temperatures.

The World Vovinam Federation has announced the third World Vovinam Championships will be held in Paris, France from July 3–7, 2013.

More than 200 members of a laughter yoga club, most of them women, attended a Hanoi Christmas festival wearing Santa Claus costumes on December 23.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on December 23 cut the ribbon to officially inaugurate Son La Hydropower Plant, the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia.

The long-stay schemes that aim to lure foreigners have helped boost the economy of some Southeast Asian countries.

Sweden and Denmark have recognised Vietnamese tra fish as being raised in accordance with international sustainable development standards.

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines is building an air route network connecting almost all of UNESCO recognized heritages sites in Southeast Asia.

Egypt's ruling Islamists claimed that preliminary referendum results showed strong backing for a divisive constitution rejected by the secular opposition, hours after polls closed.

The Ministry of Public Security has hosted in Hanoi an international conference to share information on human trafficking prevention.

The State Bank of Vietnam has decided to lower interest rates in the banking system by 1%, effective from December 24.

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano has dissolved parliament following PM Mario Monti’s resignation from office.

Smart phone shipments to Vietnam reached an all-time high in third quarter of this year, with local vendors grabbing a significant amount of market share.

Hanoi ranks 21 st among the 100 best cities for software outsourcing, according to a report from outsourcing advisory firm Tholons.

A ceremony took place in the Lao province of Luang Prabang on December 22 to hand over Poongkham secondary school, a gift from former Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh.

The US's largest gun-rights lobby called for the placement of an armed police officer in every school, but parents and educators questioned how safe such a move would keep kids.

It is a bit like selling ice to Eskimos, but that is exactly what flower farmers in the Mekong Delta are managing to do – selling flowers to Da Lat, the country's most important flower-growing place.

Thousands of poor people have risen above the poverty line in the last seven years thanks to sustainable fisheries, deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam said yesterday.

A Christian community in Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation, is preparing to spend Christmas mass on the street as sectarian attacks keep them locked out of their church.

Kazakhstan’s national airline Air Astana has officially announced it will open a direct air route to Ho Chi Minh City on January 2, 2013.