VIETNAM TODAY

The recent increase in hand, foot and mouth disease is a growing cause for concern among health officials.

Air Mekong will run a direct air route between Vinh, Buon Me Thuot and HCM City three times a week beginning October 1, the airline announced.

The Meo Vac cattle market, held every Sunday in Ha Giang Province, is unique in the northern mountainous region of Vietnam.

Torrential rain caused landslides along several sections of road in Thua Thien-Hue Province.

Vietnam's investment to savings ratio is among the main causes for the country's inflation, said a Government official.

Auditions for Vietnam's Got Talent will be held from October to June 2012 nationwide, according to a press conference in Ho Chi Minh City on September 26.

US divers are working to recover what may be the biggest shipwreck haul ever from the SS Gairsoppa which was torpedoed by a German U-boat 70 years ago.

PM Nguyen Tan Dung and his spouse on September 27 began official visits to the Netherlands, Uzbekistan and Ukraine from September 27 to October 6.

One hundred countries have now signed up to an international accord vowing to stop children from being forced to fight in armies, according to officials.

Vietnam Airlines is considering entering Asia's booming low-cost aviation sector with a new offshoot, its chief says.

Salt farmers in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu are in a quandary over continually decreasing price of salt.

Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh held a bilateral minister-level dialogue with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the sideline of the UN General Assembly session.

Members of the Laughter Yoga club practise laughing to see whether it really is the best medicine at a public park in Hanoi.

Plastic bags will be taxed next year to reduce its use and raise environmental awareness but experts are afraid this target cannot be achieved.

The Ministry of Home Affairs will propose increasing the minimum wage for public servants and members of the armed forces.

The Swallow Awards 2011, sponsored by FPT Corporation, for charity was presented to ten individuals and organisations on September 24.

American computer giant Apple claimed that Samsung Electronics' latest tablet computer infringes on patents relating to touch screen technology.

Central provinces and the Central Highlands of Vietnam are gearing up to face Haitang, the fourth tropical storm to hit the country this year.

Stork hunting has become a commercial industry in some coastal districts in the central province of Ha Tinh in recent years.