VIETNAM TODAY

Japan on Monday marks the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed nearly 19,000 lives and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation.

A lot of little toddlers and young children are being rushed to hospitals recently in Ho Chi Minh City due to extreme fluctuation in weather, with temperatures dropping at night and early mornings to scorching at noontime.

While many have complained about the brutal treatment of animals at some traditional festivals, others have claimed the acts maintain spiritual value.

The hospitals in Can Tho City are in urgent need of doctors despite efforts to attract new recruits.

The 3rd ASEAN-EU Business Summit kicked off in Hanoi on March 9 with the participation of 700 businesses from the two regions.

The U.S. economy is creating jobs faster than expected, a sign that the recovery is taking flight.

A rare case of denouncement was brought up by a group of veterans who accused a former party leader of lying about his wartime record.

Egyptian protesters torched buildings in Cairo and tried unsuccessfully to disrupt international shipping on the Suez Canal, as a court ruling on a deadly soccer riot stoked rage in a country beset by worsening security.

National Assembly chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung and his entourage leave for Europe today on a tour that will include official visits to Russia, Germany and Poland.

Greece has finally begun to crack down on corrupt politicians but anti-graft experts say much remains to be done to end decades of impunity.

Minister of Transport, Dinh La Thang, has appointed Mr. Vu Anh Tuan as the new General Director of the Vinashin Group.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has delivered an important speech to the third ASEAN-EU Business Summit, opened in Hanoi on March 9.

Local areas have been asked to create more channels to connect job-seekers and enterprises as the country aims to reach its target of creating 1.6 million jobs this year.

Producers have showed their strong support for the newly- issued circular imposing fines on wearers of substandard helmets.

The UN hopes to retrieve 21 peacekeepers from Syrian rebels on Saturday during a two-hour truce agreed to by Syrian troops and opposition groups after a release bid was abandoned on Friday, the UN and an opposition group said.

While Akamai reported that the average Internet speed in Vietnam last year decreased by 21 per cent, experts believe that Internet firms - which have been trying to optimise the use of broadband - exerted unduly influence on the

ASEAN economic ministers signed two amended protocols and adopted a number of important initiatives at their 19 th annual retreat in Hanoi on March 8, towards the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.

Salaries for female workers at companies account for only between 70-80% of those made by male workers in Vietnam, said the ILO.

The withdrawal of children books that contained the image of a Chinese flag is not the best and the most effective solution, an official said.