VIETNAM TODAY

Minister of Justice Ha Hung Cuong cleared up some questions about the application process for Vietnamese citizenship.

The members of the Vietnamese team secured five medals, including two golds, at the 43rd International Physics Olympiad held by Estonia, the Ministry of Education and Training said.

An Australian funded eye care project plays an important role in developing and introducing new models for eye care at the grass-roots level in Vietnam.

The national trade deficit reached $58 million in the first seven months of this year, representing only 0.09 percent of total export value, the General Statistics Office (GSO) has reported.

Top Vietnamese badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh has been seeded No.10 at the London 2012 Olympics.

Bad nutrition has led to a sharp increase in childhood obesity among students of urban schools.

Most sex shops in Ho Chi Minh City are only allowed to sell condoms, but many have crossed the limit to provide illegal sex toys and fake or unregistered aphrodisiacs.

Fifty people were injured and trees were ripped from the ground as a typhoon lashed Hong Kong, according to officials.

Vietnam is among the countries that do the least to crack down on an illegal trade in animal parts, the WWF group said.

Twelve Vietnamese crew who had been held by Somali pirates for more than 18 months are expected to return home on the afternoon of July 24.

Syria warned of using chemical weapons if attacked, as regime troops reclaimed most of Damascus after a week of clashes.

The number of businesses applying online tax registration has surged sharply by geometric progression, according to the General Department of Taxation under the Ministry of Finance.

Vietnam has been ranked as 7th top emerging market for the 2012 – 2017 period, according to a report released last week by Finnish advisory group Global Intelligence Alliance.

A robotics professor in Singapore has invented a gadget equipped with motion-sensitive electronic "lips" that allow amorous but absent couples to exchange long-distance smooches via the Internet.

A former official of the SBV shares his views about the effect of lower interest rates on local banks and enterprises.

The European Union on Monday agreed to lift most sanctions against Zimbabwe firms and individuals once the country has held "a peaceful and credible" vote on a new constitution.

An increasingly skewed sex ratio, a decline in the use of contraceptives, and a sudden baby loom in the first five months all add up to a gloomy picture for family planning authorities.

Spanish long-term borrowing costs jumped to record highs as investors turned increasingly sceptical about government efforts to stabilise a stricken banking system and the public finances.

Hanoians are choosing to escape the sweltering temperatures and choosing to go fishing in the evening instead.