VIETNAM TODAY

From June, tourists will receive VAT refunds for the goods they have purchased in Vietnam when leaving the country via Hanoi's Noi Bai or Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat airports.

Four Vietnamese tennis players flew to Iran on April 20 to take part in the Davis Cup 2012 tournament.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon made a call to double global consumption of renewable energy over the next two decades in order to ensure sustainable economic development.

HCM City authorities proposed that the PM introduce a three month extension to corporate income tax deadlines for SMEs.

The retail price of petrol hiked up again in Vietnam when A92 fuel is sold at VND23,800 a liter, up 900 dong a liter, according to a decision approved by the Ministry of Finance.

Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan received visiting Secretary General of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Taleb Rifai in Hanoi.

A passenger airliner crashed near Islamabad, officials said, with all 127 people on board believed dead.

PM Nguyen Tan Dung has requested the cancellation or relocating of golf course projects that still remain on paper.

Over 40 kilometres of separation lanes are being installed on key roads, where traffic accidents usually occur, in HCM City, at the cost of over $2.2 million.

The deportation of Osama bin Laden's family from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia will take at least a few more days and is being discussed between the two countries, their lawyer said.

It could take authorities 18 months to complete a national study into the spate of unexplained vehicle fires, an official said.

The economic restructuring plan was put forward for discussion at the National Assembly Standing Committee’s session for the first time on April 19.

Disabled Chinese ballet dancers Ma Li and Zhai Xiaowei will perform in Hanoi in a charity show this weekend.

The Hanoi Department of Planning and Architecture proposed a check of existing projects and 167 hectares in resettlement areas.

Young female gymnast Do Thi Ngan Thuong has taken a berth to the coming 2012 Olympics in London.

Polar bears diverged from their closest relatives 600,000 years ago, far earlier than previously thought, suggesting more challenges in the face of climate change, scientists said.

VNPT proposed that Government not privatise MobiFone, but merge it with VinaPhone to set up a new firm called VNPT-Mobile.

The prediction was confirmed by Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh at a working session of the National Assembly Standing Committee on April 20.

The Vietnam High Equality Education for All report was aimed at analysing the performance of domestic primary and secondary schooling during 1992-2008.