VIETNAM TODAY

Strikes cost Qantas US$70 million: airline

Months of rolling strikes have cost Australian flag carrier Qantas Aus$68 million ($70 million), far more than the damage wrought by the grounding of flights by recent volcanic ash clouds.

5.1 billion people lack social security: UN

Two thirds of the world's population live without social security protection, according to a UN report.

RoK television supports Vietnamese AO victims

The Republic of Korea’s MBC Television wants to support Agent Orange victims in Vietnam, MBC General Director Kim Jae Cheul said.

82% of new businesses fall by wayside

Over 82% of the 57,000 businesses established this year had stopped operations or dissolved as of September, an official has said.

USD62 million to preserve Hue royal citadel

The government of Thua Thien-Hue Province approved a project worth VND1.3 trillion to preserve the Hue royal citadel, a world cultural heritage.

Ministry reduces working hours of preschool teachers

The Ministry of Education and Training rescheduled the working curriculum of preschool teachers, reducing their working hours to 42 weeks per year.

Vietnamese brides learn RoK language, culture

The Association of Overseas Vietnamese in the Republic of Korea opened the first course on the RoK language and culture to Vietnamese brides.

Hand, foot and mouth not a pandemic: ministry

The number of hand, foot and mouth patients has risen to nearly 78,000, but the Ministry of Health has yet to designate it as a national pandemic.

Deputy Health Minister revealed as fake doctor

The Ministry of Education and Training has concluded that Deputy Health Minister Cao Minh Quang has used a fake doctoral degree.

Europe seals deal to contain debt crisis

Europe sealed a last-ditch deal to fix its festering debt crisis, pledging new funds for Greece and pushing banks to share the pain.

Singer Amy Winehouse poisoned by alcohol: inquest

Singer Amy Winehouse was more than five times over the British drink-drive limit when she died, an inquest heard.

Residents decry feud with local officials

Officials in a Hanoi's commune took measures to remove local house numbers, compounding an already in force electricity supply ban.

Vietnam Airlines may buy majority stake in Jetstar Pacific

Vietnam Airlines and Qantas’s low-cost carrier Jetstar are negotiating to elevate Vietnam Airlines to majority shareholder in Jetstar Pacific.

Danang win environmentally sustainable city award

Danang City has won the “ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City” Award, a municiapl official said on October 25.

Dine like a Vietnamese emperor

The intricate cuisine of central Vietnam, linked to emperors demanding 50-course meals, is whetting appetites in California.

Vietnam, Cambodia continue search for soldiers’ remains

Vietnam and Cambodia plan to search for and repatriate about 1,350 sets of remains of Vietnamese voluntary soldiers and experts in the dry season of 2011-2012.

Eurozone to boost bailout fund to 1 trillion euros: Sarkozy

Eurozone leaders have agreed to leverage the firepower of their bailout fund to one trillion euros ($1.39 trillion), French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Thursday.

Vietnam helps pioneer use of stem cells for skin disease

Vietnam's National Hospital of Pediatrics in Hanoi announced the initial success of its first stem cell therapy treatment of pidermolysis bullosa (EB)