VIETNAM TODAY

The inefficient use of capital is to blame for the recent spate of business bankruptcies, said Minister Vu Duc Dam.

Inflation dominated the discussion at the Government meeting in Hanoi, but at the press conference immediately following, the hottest topic was extra fees for vehicles in congested cities.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked the State Bank of Vietnam to press ahead with drastic action to keep inflation at a single digit figure and maintain an appropriate economic growth of 6 percent.

Thirty-one people were killed Monday when a passenger plane crashed moments after takeoff in an oil-rich Siberian region in the latest accident to hit Russia's crisis-prone aviation industry.

After blowing through Binh Thuan and Ba Ria-Vung Tau Provinces, tropical storm Pakhar hit HCM City, and did not cause serious damage or human loss.

The operator of Keangnam Landmark Tower in Hanoi has announced the application of new monthly service fees.

Vietnamese hopeful Nguyen Thi Lua has taken a berth to the world’s largest sporting event after wining a silver medal at the 2012 Olympic-Asian Wrestling Qualifiers in Kazakhstan.

The General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong, will pay an official visit to Cuba and a State-level visit to Brazil in the near future.

Top Japanese electronics producers are exposed to great tectonic changes, an economist said.

Western and Arab nations called for Syria's Bashar al-Assad to be given a deadline to meet the terms of a peace plan.

The 16th ASEAN finance ministers' meeting closed in Phnom Penh on March 30, with an agreement to boost regional financial integration, to make the ASEAN Economic Community a reality by 2015.

Domestic coffee businesses continue hit snags as farmers still speculate products and sell them based on rumours.

Vietnam saved 546,000 kWh of electricity, equivalent to 712 million VND by switching off lights during Earth Hour on March 31, according to the Electricity of Vietnam.

Pham Thanh Binh, former chairman of Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on March 30, for intentionally violating state regulations that resulted in serious consequences.

The Government requested the restructuring of Vietnam Development Bank to heighten efficiency.

China attaches great importance to developing the friendly and neighbourly relations and mutually beneficial cooperation with Vietnam in all areas, says Vice Premier Li Keqiang.

New York's Empire State Building and the Sydney Opera House were plunged into darkness for the annual Earth Hour campaign, leading a global effort to raise awareness about climate change.

The High Command of Royal Cambodian Armed Forces held an inauguration ceremony for the Cambodia-Vietnam Army Friendship House in Phnom Penh on March 30.

High-ranking officials offered incense to the Hung Kings, the nation's legendary founders, at the Hung Kings Temple complex in the northern province of Phu Tho.