VIETNAM TODAY

The Asian Development Bank's Board of Directors has approved a USD293 million loan to support a USD1 billion metro rail project in Hanoi.

Japan said the government is on "maximum alert" over a crippled nuclear plant.

Roger Federer fought through a tough first set and turned it on in the second to beat Juan Monaco.

The State Bank of Vietnam must find a way to meet legitimate demand for foreign currencies, says its former governor.

Three students at HCMC University of Technology have won the second prize in an energy efficiency contest organised in Singapore.

Vietnam’s businesses environment has been remarkably improved, according to a report by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Vietnam is ready to cooperate with Dutch businesses, especially in the fields of oil and gas, banking, seaports, and climate change response, affirmed PM Nguyen Tan Dung.

If the trade gap is cut to less than 16% of export revenue, Vietnam’s balance of payments will have a surplus of up to $2 billion, the central bank governor said.

A brand new Bentley Mulsanne has been imported to Hanoi with a hefty price tag of USD1 million.

Gas traders in Vietnam have raised prices by VND14,000 per 12-kg tank because of a lack of domestic supply.

President Barack Obama told Americans he had stopped a "massacre" in Libya, but bluntly warned that trying to oust Moamer Kadhafi by force could repeat the carnage of Iraq.

Even though the radiation cloud from Japan has reached other countries, Vietnam has escaped the danger so far.

A project to turn Vietnam into an information and communication technology powerhouse means the nation will need at least one million skilled IT workers by 2020.

India, home to most of the world's wild tigers, reported a rise in the animal's numbers for the first time in years.

A massive blast Monday at an ammunition plant in southern Yemen looted by Al-Qaeda killed at least 70 people.

Electronic payments have improved the Government's ability to collect taxes and other duties, said a customs official.

Loyalist troops halted a rebel advance on Moamer Kadhafi's home town Sirte after NATO took command of military operations in Libya.

The Government wants to pilot an agricultural insurance scheme in some localities from July, but insurers are reluctant to get involved.

US President Barack Obama prepared to give a prime-time address to the nation aimed at winning the support of the American public for the military intervention in Libya.