VIETNAM TODAY

The Government has approved a project on carrying out measures to ensure security in the atomic energy area.

Vietnamese farmers are facing a lot of difficulties in meeting the Aquaculture Stewardship Council's standards, said an official.

Vietnam Red Cross will set up an electronic blood bank by late 2011 to help deal with the national blood shortage.

Vietnam received more than 1.15 million foreign visitors in the first quarter of the year, representing a year-on-year increase of 12%.

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi suffered a major blow with the defection of his foreign minister.

Vietnam has been called on to map out a national strategy on talent to optimise the utility of this valuable resource for national development.

Ethnic minority people in the Central Highlands possess a unique culture, which is highlighted by their springtime festivals and cuisine.

The euro struck a ten-month high point against the yen, as traders expected hikes to eurozone and US interest rates in the near future.

Loyalist forces overran the Libyan town of Ras Lanuf, scattering outgunned rebels as world powers debated arming the rag-tag band of fighters.

Vietnam’s crude oil exports have gone up by 15.7%, while petrol imports have risen by more than 50% in the first quarter.

Only 70 percent of Vietnamese urban population can have access to clean water at 100 litre/person/day, an official has warned.

The online Vietnamese young people’s magazine www.thanhnienviet.vn was launched in Hanoi on March 30.

The World Bank on March 30 approved a total loan of USD570 million to support Vietnam’s development efforts.

The global cost of natural and man-made disasters more than tripled in 2010 to $218 billion, reinsurer Swiss Re said.

The discovery of over 100 dead dolphins on Gulf of Mexico shores likely reflects only a small fraction of the total killed by the BP oil spill, a study suggested.

Educators have warned that Vietnam may not have enough preschool teachers in the near future.

Disbursement of foreign direct investment in March reached USD1.39 billion, the highest level since the beginning of the year.

Flooding across southern Thailand has killed 11 people and stranded thousands on storm-swept holiday islands.

International powers meeting in London edged closer to an exile plan for embattled Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi.