VIETNAM TODAY

Insufficient human resources was a major challenge for Vietnam in responding to climate change, said an official from the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.

Vietnam's trade deficit this year was the lowest in the past 10 years, reaching just over $9.5 billion, the General Statistics Office reported.

Bollywood struck gold in 2011, revving up lacklustre box offices in India with help from its leading men who wooed audiences back to cinemas after a dismal 2010.

A wind power plant is expected to be built in the central province of Binh Dinh in the first quarter of 2012.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder of the social network Facebook has been in Vietnam since December 22 for his holiday.

The Da Nang International Airport in the central coastal city of Da Nang put a new terminal into service on Dec. 25, after four years of construction.

A series of Christmas Day bomb attacks targeting churches and a suicide blast in Nigeria killed at least 40 people.

The Ministry of Transport will set up a task force to inspect the quality of a WB-funded road project because of its quick deterioration.

Five are feared dead or missing after a boat carrying 34 people, mostly soldiers, capsized and sank in heavy seas off Cua Dai beach in the central province of Quang Nam on December 25.

The Long Bien Vincom Centre, a commercial complex developed by Vingroup, officially opened to the public on December 24.

A massive fire broke out at the Phuong Dong night club in Da Nang City on December 23, spreading panic amongst local residents who rushed out of their homes.

The Ministry of Education and Training plans to mobilise 237.5 billion VND (11.4 million USD) to combat HIV/AIDS during the 2011-20 period, the ministry announced.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his girlfriend Priscilla Chan have surprisingly chosen Vietnam as a destination for their Christmas holiday this year.

Christians flocked to Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas, with both the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the pope at the Vatican calling for peace and reconciliation.

A total of 16,238 investors have registered to buy shares in the BIDV, the country’s second-largest lender by assets.

Japan's cabinet approved a $1.16 trillion budget for the 2012 fiscal year, with a record 49 percent financed by bonds even as the country struggles to rein in its massive public debt.

Nguyen Sieu Hanh, in his final year as a student of the Business Administration Department at the Belgian United Business Institute, has received the World Summit Youth Award.

The Vietnam Football Federation signed a$1.65 million contract with Japan’s Dentsu Company to sponsor Vietnam’s national football teams for one year from 2012-2013.

North Korea changed its secret communication frequencies or encryption system to prevent spying by South Korea following the death of its leader Kim Jong-Il, a report said.