VIETNAM TODAY

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung received Lao Minister of Public Security Thongbanh Sengaphone in Hanoi.

Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan yesterday visited the Thai Binh Bishop, dignitaries and followers to give her greetings for another prosperous and peaceful Christmas season.

Christchurch City in New Zealand was rocked by a 5.8 magnitude tremor forcing evacuations from buildings, residents said.

Hanoi will carry out regular inspections over real estate brokerage houses with the aim of heightening their efficiency.

An inspection team is looking into salary issues at the Electricity of Vietnam Group.

Vietnam Airlines will continue to sell 112,000 more tickets on the Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City routes for the coming Tet holiday season before January 1, 2012.

Lively images of the historic Long Bien Bridge, dating from past to present, have been put on display at an on-going exhibition near Hoan Kiem Lake.

The number of low-skilled foreign labourers continues to rise in Vietnam.

A new policy on attracting foreign direct investment will be set up based on high quality and efficiency, sustainable development, commitments on technology transfer and worker training.

A wave of attacks in Baghdad killed 57 people as Iraq faced a political crisis, with its vice president accused of running death squads and the premier warning he could break off power-sharing.

A new rehabilitation centre was inaugurated on Monday and put into operation to provide shelter, healthcare, and treatment for victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin.

Pham Van Quan is one of the 20 outstanding young scientists from around the world to win the Green Talents competition in Germany, said the German embassy in Hanoi.

The debt of the Electricity of Vietnam Group has exceeded VND240 trillion (USD11.4 billion) as of 2010, according to a recent report from the State Audit of Vietnam.

Hanoi are tightening control over new cases of influenza in order to prevent the spread of a newly identified swine flu variant.

Mountain tortoises are being hunted to be sold to restaurants in an number of areas in the Mekong Delta.

Closing arguments are to be heard to decide whether a US soldier accused of a colossal intelligence breach should face a court-martial that could send him to prison for life.

Yahoo! is considering trimming its stake in Chinese e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba and letting go of its share of Yahoo! Japan, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported.

Vietnam and Myanmar have agreed to boost cooperation in trade and investment, with two-way trade expected to reach 500 million USD in 2015.

66 journalists were killed and more than 1,000 arrested this year, Reporters Without Borders said.