VIETNAM TODAY

Dense smog shrouded Beijing on Saturday, with pollution at hazardous levels for a second day and residents advised to stay indoors, state media said.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has asked the Vietnam National Coal - Mining Industries Group to settle inventories at the beginning of the year.

Prenatal diagnosis measures for Agent Orange should receive more investment to minimise the number of babies born with deformities, experts said at a conference to tackle the issue in dioxin-contaminated hotspots.

Shiite families refusing to bury their dead after bombings in Quetta city vowed to continue their protest until the army takes over security.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs has discussed improving Vietnam’s social support system at a consultative conference in Quang Nam province on January 11.

The two Vietnamese robots mRobo and DiscoRobo have captured visitors’ attention at the world’s largest consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, US.

US President Barack Obama said that NATO will speed up the transfer of responsibility for security to Afghan forces this spring.

People living in the Red River Delta are preparing to celebrate the Huong Pagoda festival 2013, which a local official has promised will be the biggest ever.

Many students, especially those from big cities, are taking advantage of modern gadgets to cheat in exams.

Vietnam should capitalise on the signing of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to promote exports, says Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

Yahoo! News reporters have selected some of the most popular items being on show at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show.

Thousands of rare animals have been discovered being illegally kept captive in more than 300 households in southern Ca Mau Province.

Hundreds of patients and their relatives at major hospitals in Hanoi have had to sleep on the floor despite the bitterly cold weather.

Individuals, organisations and enterprises contributed over VND700 billion to encourage increased studying in 2012.

How to deal with congenital defects in dioxin-contaminated areas was proposed at a workshop in Hanoi on January 11.

Austerity-weary Czechs vote in the country's first-ever direct presidential election, with numerous woes bedevilling the nation as it turns the page on a decade under staunch eurosceptic Vaclav Klaus.

The State Bank of Vietnam said that strong measures will be continued to tackle bad debts in 2013 while deposit rate cap may be removed given the improved liquidity in banks.

Climate change is estimated to have already cost Vietnam 5% of its GDP, and the impacts could be more serious in the coming years, a new report claims.

World powers will meet Iranian top representatives to discuss the Islamic state's disputed nuclear programme in Istanbul at the end of January, a Russian official said.