VIETNAM TODAY

Europe will have to work "very hard" to maintain its generous welfare system and remain competitive, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

Coffee exports in the past 11 months reached 1.56 million tonnnes and fetched around USD3.34 billion, according to the Vietnam Customs.

Environmental conservation towards sustainable tourism in Halong Bay and its vicinity is being improved thanks to a project funded by JICA.

The last 10 years witnessed big upheavals in the pre-school education. The policy on pre-school education socialisation has kept a lot of children away from kindergartens.

A car bomb attack killed 16 people and wounded around 70 on Monday in a Pakistan market in the northwestern town of Jamrud, close to the Afghan border, officials said.

Notions of masculinity associated with toughness and dominance over women were risk factors for violence against women in Vietnam, a workshop heard yesterday.

Vietnam has entered its ‘wedding season’ and some people have chosen more eccentric ways of celebrating the big day.

Up to 20% of doctors in Vietnam prescribe medicine without any medical check-up.

The MoIT has proposed to cancel 377 hydropower projects due to environmental concerns and investment obstacles.

Contributions by foreign nongovernmental organisations to Vietnam's development was praised at a ceremony last night in Hanoi.

A number of computer companies in Hanoi and HCM City have been fined for software copyright violation.

The number of young people diagnosed with mental health problems is on the rise in Vietnam.

An international workshop took place in Phu Quoc island district in Kien Giang province to seek measures to conserve and promote the values of Kien Giang Biosphere Reserve.

Libya has ordered the closure of its borders with four of its neighbours, as it declared the desert south of its territory a closed military zone in the face of mounting unrest, state media reported.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has exhorted the HCM City government to crack down on street crime, especially during the Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays.

Six provinces in the north central region (spanning from Thanh Hoa to Thua Thien-Hue) have so far recorded 10.3 million tourist arrivals in 2012, up 12% against last year.

US school administrators have pledged to add police patrols, review security plans in their districts as students return to classes.

Construction of the Cancer Centre at Cho Ray Hospital began in Ho Chi Minh City on December 16.

Amid economic difficulties, many banks have proposed lowering their profit targets for this year.