VIETNAM TODAY

A small bus caught fire while driving along a road in Dai Nghia Town, My Duc District, Hanoi, on December 18.

Three crew members died while six others remained missing after their coal ship sank off Co To Island, the local Steering Board for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control reported.

North Korea hailed Kim Jong-Il's son as a "great successor" at the helm of the isolated country after the death of the leader.

Vietnam will prioritise economic restructuring and macroeconomic stability in 2012.

Ho Chi Minh City is currently bustling with activities for Christmas and New Year and for the coming Tet holiday season.

Vietnam may not achieve its goal of churning out one million IT workers by 2020, experts said.

The Asian Development Bank has provided a USD7.96 million loan to help the central province of Thua Thien-Hue conserve its biodiversity.

Mister Vietnam 2010 Le Khoi Nguyen beat out several contestants to finish fourth at Mister International 2011 pageant in Thailand.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung left Hanoi on December 19 for a three-day visit to Myanmar where he will attend the 4th Greater Mekong Sub-region Summit.

The Electricity Group of Vietnam has announced that it will raise power prices by 5% from December 20.

While carbon capture and storage is a new concept in Vietnam, the country offers good opportunities for the technology, especially in the energy sector.

News of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il hit South Koreans like a bolt from the blue with fears of conflict.

Managers of companies stated that it will be difficult for them to maintain employee Tet bonuses at the same level as last year.

Gardeners in Hanoi’s famous flower and apricot village of Nhat Tan are in a hurry to cultivate trees to prepare for the lunar New Year.

The Vietnamese team bagged 31 gold medals on the fourth day of the 6th ASEAN Para Games in Indonesia on December 18.

Beginning Feb. 1, 2012, the minimum assets required to form a new bank will jump to VND100 trillion.

The Philippines prepared for mass burials of flash-flood victims after a disaster that has left many hundreds dead or missing.

Police in Bien Hoa City proposed the prosecution of nine people involved in a traffic accident on Ghenh Bridge that left two dead and 26 injured.

The National Assembly Standing Committee called for a freeze on the building of new economic zones at a meeting on their operations.