VIETNAM TODAY

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.

Vietnam has raised its voice against China’s recent violations of its sovereignty and asked the neighbour to respect its sovereignty.

Vietnam Air Petrol Company has been prosecuted for smuggling and tax evasion worth billions of dong.

Protesters demonstrating against Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi clashed with riot police as they surrounded Cairo's presidential palace.

EU finance ministers engaged in arduous talks aimed at setting up a new system for cross-border supervision of thousands of banks.

Nguyen Ngoc Truc, a student at the TAFE MSW Sydney Institute, has won third prize in a Flower Arrangement Competition in Australia.

The Korean Film Festival 2012 will take place in Da Nang and Hanoi to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-the Republic of Korea diplomatic relations.