VIETNAM TODAY

David Nguyen, a Vietnamese student in the US has been granted a scholarship from Gates Millennium Scholars Programme founded by billionaire Bill Gates.

The “Samsung Hope Relay” to promote the 2012 London Summer Olympics and raise funds for charity was held in HCM City on June 17, attracting 7,400 people.

Writing compositions proves to be a very easy work for Vietnamese students, because they just need learn the sample essays by heart and then write down.

People at Suoi Giang Commune in the mountainous province of Yen Bai have rushed to look for ornamental stones for sale.

The Ministry of Education and Training issued a circular giving incentives to private kindergartens.

There are 12 public companies holding over VND1 trillion (USD47.6 million) in cash, but most of them are also big debtors.

Hanoi has been rated as the cheapest destination for travelers in summer 2012, according to the US website TripAdvisor.

Nearly 57 percent of the sea area around Kien Giang Province's Phu Quoc Island is affected by coral bleaching.

World powers and Iran resume nuclear crisis talks amid fears that failure on this occasion may lead to a permanent breakdown and push the sides ever closer to the use of force.

Many young Vietnamese people are choosing to work freelance and are finding it a way of earning more than salary jobs.

Many bookstores in HCM City have become ideal places for students to read books without having to pay for books.

Tourists to the ancient capital of Hue will have the chance to enjoy the real life of the old city rather than just viewing relics or landscape as they usually do.

A meeting was held in Quang Binh province to mark the 35th anniversary of the signing of Vietnam-Lao Friendship and Cooperation Treaty and the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties.

Vietnam has been rated as the second happiest nation in the world thanks to its citizens’ high level of life satisfaction, high life expectancy, and environmental sustainability.

The euro soared in early Asian trade after Greece's two pro-bailout parties clinched enough votes to form a government.

Multiple suicide attacks on churches in Nigeria and subsequent rioting by Christian youths killed at least 36 people, officials said.

China's latest space mission is its most ambitious yet and shows Beijing's resolve to increase its technological capabilities and bridge the gap with the United States and Russia, experts say.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Japan held a meeting with Vietnamese intellectuals in Japan on June 16 to seek their cooperation in boosting scientific and technological ties between the two countries.

Vietnam will strive to achieve an urbanisation rate of 38 percent with 870 urban areas by 2015, if the Government approves a draft national urban development programme from now until 2020 suggested by the Ministry of Construction.