VIETNAM TODAY

The demand for temporary workers for the coming Tet holiday in HCM City has picked up over the last fortnight.

Kim Tae Hee and Song Seung Hun will be in Vietnam next month when their TV series entitled “My Princess” is to be aired on a local channel.

The authorities of the central province of Quang Ngai has uncovered a local resident who keeps a rare white-chested bear at home.

Inspector of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Welfare inspected the Suoi Sap 1 power plant construction site after an accident that claimed eight lives on Saturday.

Clashes between Egyptian security forces and protesters demanding an end to military rule entered a fifth day on Tuesday.

The Asian Development Bank will provide Vietnam a non-refundable loan of USD1.5 million to help improve traffic safety in the southern central region.

Naval officers and soldiers should make greater efforts to increase their combat capacity, says National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung.

The Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affair admitted that the current minimum wage is still far from meeting rising costs.

North Korean television showed the body of late leader Kim Jong-Il lying in state in a glass coffin as his son and other senior officials paid their respects.

The National Trade Promotion Programme 2012 will continue focusing on export to eight key markets, an official from Ministry of Industry and Trade said.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has ratified two international protocols as measures to prevent and fight organised crime across national borders more effectively.

The 5% power price hike will add burdens to people’s lives and drive up the national inflation.

Century-old technology colossus IBM depicted a near future in which machines read minds and recognize who they are dealing with.

Ho Chi Minh City authorities are deploying measures to protect tourists in response to the increasing number of robberies aimed at foreigners in the city.

A small bus caught fire while driving along a road in Dai Nghia Town, My Duc District, Hanoi, on December 18.

Three crew members died while six others remained missing after their coal ship sank off Co To Island, the local Steering Board for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control reported.

North Korea hailed Kim Jong-Il's son as a "great successor" at the helm of the isolated country after the death of the leader.

Vietnam will prioritise economic restructuring and macroeconomic stability in 2012.

Ho Chi Minh City is currently bustling with activities for Christmas and New Year and for the coming Tet holiday season.