VIETNAM TODAY

NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung has said the Vietnamese NA, Government and people highly value the friendship and cooperation with Japan.

Over half of Vietnam’s leading companies believe that the economy will not improve considerably in 2013, a report said.

Greece has scored the worst ranking of all 27 EU nations in a global league table of perceived official corruption, according to anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International's report.

The number of new phone subscribers reached over 11.2 million, bringing the total figure to 135.9 million by November 2012, including 120.9 million mobile subscribers.

An international gastronomy festival featuring the cuisine of 25 countries and territories will take place next week in HCM City, said one official.

The Hanoi education department initiated programme on teaching English to first graders started in 2008. To date, 400 schools have joined the programme.

The country's prime interest rate should be cut from 9% to 8% to help enterprises gain access to loans more easily, one agency has said.

Bodies covered with banana leaves were laid out in a row a day after a typhoon killed more than 270 people in the Philippines.

The United Nations has had to cut food rations for hundreds of thousands of people in conflict-stricken Syria because of cash shortages, officials said.

A gas explosion in Khai Son Industrial Park in Bac Ninh Province Wednesday morning severely injured 32 workers.

The international conference on drug prevention in the Far East Regional Working Group opened in Da Nang city on December 5.

Prices in the Hanoi real estate market, especially the high rise sector, are dropping, but have yet to attract customers.

Many modern parents coddle their children, creating disruption in the classroom and problems for other children.

Vietnam is at the 11th position among countries facing high risks of cyber attacks in the world, according to a report of Symantec, a California-headquartered global computer security software corporation.

Hanoi government has requested that all local authorities and officials strictly declare their assets and incomes for 2012.

A survey by Cimigo NetCitizens indicated that up to 70% of Vietnamese people interviewed said that they use internet for chatting.

The death toll from the typhoon in Philippines has risen to 82, as rescuers battled to reach areas cut off in flash floods.

Vietnamese automobile companies are racing to launch promotional programmes to attract customers to stave off sluggish sales.

The Tu Tam club, a group of young people in Hanoi, are raising funds for their Christmas charity programme in Ba Vi District.