VIETNAM TODAY

A ceremony was held in Phu Yen province on March 10 to launch the 2011 National Tourism Year programme in south-central eight cities and provinces. 

FPT Telecom said the Asia America Gateway submarine communication cable link connecting South-East Asia with the US was broken in the Vung Tau area. 

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nguyen Phuong Nga opposed Taiwan’s training on artillery shelling around Ba Binh island of the Truong Sa archipelago. 

An earthquake toppled houses in China's extreme southwest near the border with Myanmar, killing at least 22 people and injuring more than 200.

Vietnam should improve people's awareness about forest fire risks in order to prevent possible incidents, said an official.

Pham Nhat Vuong remains the richest investor on the Vietnamese stock market, having increased his asset value to over 1 billion US dollars.

The Khang Thong Group is offering to recruit all 10,000 Vietnamese workers returning from Libya.

Swimmer Nguyen Huu Viet is preparing to qualify for the World Swimming Championship in Shanghai in July.

Indonesia's self-proclaimed "King of Luwak" is having a hard time keeping up with demand for the beans excreted by his stable of pampered civet "cats".

A terrible explosion broke out from an artillery shell in southern An Giang province yesterday, killing two people and seriously injuring one other.

Vietnam’s current regulations on student enrolment have driven foreign students away from Vietnamese universities, an official said.

Vietnam and the UN have pledged to join hands in executing the national strategy on gender equality for 2011-2020 successfully.

Women in developing countries such as Vietnam seem to be more financially savvy than those in developed countries.

The Ministry of Education and Training announced a decision to set up Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics.

Minister and Director of the Government Office Nguyen Xuan Phuc on March 9 wrapped up his visit to Japan at the invitation of the Japanese government.

A US film company is to make a movie about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, based on an article about events leading up to the explosion.

Moamer Kadhafi accused the West of wanting to seize Libya's oil and warned that a no-fly zone would backfire as his forces pounded rebel lines.

The Ministry of Transport held a ceremony on March 9 to open a new road, costing VND3.3 trillion, to traffic in the Mekong Delta. 

The organising board of the national Buddhism propagation seminar 2011 has handed over 1,000 bikes to poor students in Binh Duong Province.