VIETNAM TODAY

PM Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a new urban development plan for Hanoi, which includes upgrades to parks and green spaces.

The Prime Minister has approved a campaign for hosting the 18th Asian Games (ASIAD) in Vietnam in 2019.

French leader Francois Hollande flies to Spain, brandishing his support for the crisis-torn nation as it seeks a saviour from potentially crippling market interest rates.

Authorities in Lao Cai Province fined a Chinese construction company for illegally planting two types of exotic plants along a local expressway span it has been contracted to build.

ASEAN nations can help avoid volatility in world rice prices, according to the Asian Development Bank.

The fourth Vietnamese concert run by the Hennessy liquor company will be held in Hanoi's National Convention Centre on September 7.

The Hanoi People’s Committee suspended construction work at Chuong My’sTram Gian Pagoda, which has recently been illegally repaired through incorrect methods.

German leader Angela Merkel was due to hold talks on her visit to China, with Europe's debt crisis taking centre stage.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung received Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith in Hanoi.

Six people were plucked alive from the water by a cargo ship after an asylum-seeker boat went missing off the Indonesian coast, but there was no sign of up to 144 others on board.

Hanoi’s metro route No. 2 will have a total length of 11.5km, of which, 8.5km will run underground along the Old Quarter.

A proposed dam that would flood part of a national park in western Thailand represents a "significant new threat" to the kingdom's tigers, wildlife group WWF warned.

The Venice film festival kicks off on Wednesday with the arrival of stars on water taxis for an art-house dominated line-up dealing with issues from religious extremism to economic crisis.

The Cook Islands has announced the creation of the world's largest marine park, as the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) opened with a spectacular Polynesian welcoming ceremony.

Land owned by agencies and former ministry headquarters must not be used for housing projects, an expert said.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health has denied rumors of a disease with AIDS-like symptoms appearing in Vietnam.

Retail petrol prices yesterday increased by VND650 (US$0.033) per litre to VND23,650 while diesel rose by VND300 per litter to VND21,850.

To celebrate the Vu Lan and the Amnesty of Unquiet Spirits, Hanoians flock to buy all kinds of votive offerings from paper villas to Ipads to burn for the dead.

The Vietnam football team has employed a physical strength coach in their preparation for the Southeast Asian Football Federation Cup later this year.