VIETNAM TODAY

World powers are demanding journalists in Syria be protected following the death of a French reporter in a rocket attack hours after Syrian president vowed to defeat a "conspiracy" against his regime.

Saigon Children’s Charity is planning to organise special events in 2012 to raise funds for helping underprivileged children in Vietnam.

Vietnam has urged Turkish contractors to pay outstanding salaries to Vietnamese guest workers who previously worked in Libya.

In 2012, Hanoi plans to win more than 1,840 medals, including 776 golds in domestic and foreign tournaments, according to its Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will keep a check on public order, tidiness, hygiene and overcharging at 21 festival venues during the Tet festival, starting on January 22.

The SBV is aware of rising flout of the capped deposit interest rate and more measures will be applied in 2012, said its Governor.

President Truong Tan Sang has urged the Vietnam Fatherland Front to further its involvement in Party-building work.

The European auto industry needs to cut its capacity by 10 to 20% in response to slack demand, Fiat chief Marchionne said.

Three Vietnamese sailors were reported missing from a ship of the Republic of Korea that suffered a fire in waters southeast of New Zealand on the night of January 10.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung yesterday chaired the first working session of the National Committee on Climate Change, two days after its official establishment.

Railway authorities have alerted the public about the risks of buying fake railway tickets after dozens of counterfeits have been found.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung received visiting member of US House of Representatives Robert Filner in Hanoi on January 11.

An Iranian nuclear scientist was killed in a bomb attack, weaving through Tehran traffic after what Iran calls the latest strike in an escalating covert war.

Le Van Luyen, who killed 3 people at a gold shop, has received an 18-year prison sentence, the maximum for his age range.

A five-kilometre long illegal road has been constructed in order to facilitate the destruction of a protected forest in Quang Ngai.

China released six young captive pandas into semi-wild enclosures as part of a project aimed at helping the endangered bears adapt to the wild.

Five to eight more banks will be involved in merger in 2012, said Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Van Binh.

The NA Law Committee recommended the highest fine for administrative violations by individuals at VND1 billion.

Martial arts, promoted by 51-year-old instructor Dang Van Sung, have gained ground in France where a lot of people like to get fit.