VIETNAM TODAY

A number of wealthy Vietnamese have began to imitate the Chinese billionaire who bought a Tibetan mastiff for USD1.5 million.

Australian scientists who modelled conditions on Mars said that "large regions" on this planet could sustain life.

A court has ordered musician Ha Dung not to leave the country, due to his role in the bankrupted Indochina Airlines.

Seamer Doug Bracewell bowled New Zealand to a sensational seven-run victory over Australia in the second Test.

Six Vietnamese high school pupils have won medals at the eighth International Junior Science Olympiad.

A survey by Yahoo showed that Vietnam tops Southeast Asian countries in spending on mobile Internet services.

The book entitled ‘Vietnam and the East Sea’ helps the public better understand the real situation in the East Sea, as well as Vietnam’s views on solving related disputes.

Syrian troops and army defectors have fought one of the biggest battles while a protest strike shut businesses in a new gesture of civil disobedience, residents and activists said.

A 3D-graphic shooting game set in the times of the Dien Bien Phu battle against the French army will be released next February in North America, the game’s developer announced.

PM Nguyen Tan Dung has decided to allocate 55 billion VND and 3,100 tonnes of rice free-of-charge to help four central provinces overcome the aftermaths of recent floods.

Experts from the eurozone, the ECB and the IMF resume talks with Greece on a second lifeline accorded to debt-ravaged Athens.

President Medvedev ordered an investigation into allegations of fraud in Russia's parliamentary election, one day after tens of thousands of protesters demanded it be annulled and rerun.

Seven people were rescued when three boats overturned in the central province of Phu Yen, where continual heavy rainfall flooded many low-lying areas.

A strong cold spell caused the temperature to drop to a record low of 1oC in the northern city of Sapa on December 11, according to local meteorological stations.

The first phase of the Ho Tram Strip project, to build a top-notch beach resort in Vung Tau, has been completed and is expected to open in February 2013.

A marathon UN climate conference approved a roadmap towards an accord that for the first time will bring all major greenhouse-gas emitters under a single legal roof.

A major 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck Mexico with officials reporting two deaths, as the quake was strongly felt in the capital Mexico City and southern Guerrero state.

The first two biding packages of a World Bank-funded project to develop transport in the northern delta started in the northern province of Bac Ninh on December 10.

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung and a high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese NA left London for Hanoi on Dec. 10, concluding a three-day official visit to the UK.