VIETNAM TODAY

Russia braced for the first nationwide protest against Vladimir Putin's 12-year rule amid signs of swelling anger over a poll won by his party.

The Tay Ho Weekend Market has been a popular place for locals to hang around, meeting friends and, especially, shopping for good, safe food for their family every Saturday morning.

Deputy PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc has announced 2012 as ‘National Traffic Safety Year’, focused on raising traffic awareness in people and reducing traffic congestion.

The press on Saturday hailed David Cameron's decision to veto a new EU treaty to tackle the eurozone debt crisis.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged Somalia's Al Qaeda-linked insurgents to end violence during a surprise visit to war-torn Mogadishu, the first in 18 years by a leader of the world body.

Vietnam welcomes investors in the mining industry and is completing legislation on minerals that is in line with other countries in the world, says Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai.

The US-based SilverSea Cruises Ltd has decided to cancel cruises to Haiphong due to port’s congested waterways.

A growing coalition of countries demanding a new pact on greenhouse gases heaped pressure on China, the US and India.

Training courses offered by pedagogy universities to existing primary-school teachers have shown good results, said an official.

State-owned corporations and groups in Vietnam continue paying high salaries, despite incurring losses.

Several projects to build new theatres and art performance venues in HCM City remain on paper due to a lack of funds.

Water is being wasted and needs to be conserved was the message from a scientific workshop on the usage of the precious resource in HCM City.

Students at vocational schools will be taught communication skills as an optional subject, said the Ministry of Education and Training.

Vietnam aims to restructure and renew more than 1,300 state-owned enterprises in the next five years, of which 573 will be equitised.

At least 30 people were killed when a fire engulfed a hospital Friday in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, officials said.

Vietnam’s top badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh has held on to his 7th position in the Badminton World Federation’s rankings.

Individuals and organisations who wish to buy airplanes, using public or private funds, must get approval from the PM.

A bid to change the EU treaty to resolve the eurozone debt crisis foundered at a crunch summit on a British refusal to sign up.

The annual Young Artists’ Fine Arts Festival in Hanoi has been rocked by scandal.