VIETNAM TODAY

The second World Vovinam Championships will be held in Ho Chi Minh City late July.

Around 350 delegates will attend the second international conference on geological parks in the Asia-Pacific region to be held in Hanoi in July.

Early one morning, some friends and I went to the hat market in Chuong Village about 30 kilometres from the centre of Hanoi.

Business optimism rose significantly in the first quarter, according to a report by private auditing and consulting firm Grant Thornton.

Japan was considering spraying water and boric acid over a stricken nuclear plant in a desperate measure to contain radiation.

The Ministry of Transport will slash by 50 percent all government bond projects in 2011.

Explosions and a fire at Japan's quake-hit nuclear plant unleashed dangerous levels of radiation on Tuesday, sparking a collapse on the stock market.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade on March 14 held a conference in Ho Chi Minh City to discuss measures to prevent the smuggling of gasoline.

Gong, and drum performances, and traditional dances of the Central Highlands enthralled visitors at the third coffee festival in Buon Ma Thuot.

The Vietnam Food Association has decided to slash the floor price for rice exports by USD10-20 per tonne, starting from March 12.

Vietnam will have to source some of its electricity from China this year, perhaps at unfavourable terms.

Hundreds of objects, photographs and documents relating to the development of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union are being displayed in Hanoi.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport plans to build a traffic control centre at a cost of EUR131 million.

A shortage of kindergartens for the children of migrant workers in HCM City-based industrial zones has put pressure on workers and authorities.

Thanh Son commune in Ha Nam Province is home to hundreds of people with disabilities that have arisen for reasons unknown.

FPT Group and Vietnam National University-Hanoi have signed an agreement to build an online library system with around 200,000 books.

Information about prospective jurors in the upcoming perjury trial of home run king Barry Bonds will be made public, but not the jurors' names, according to a judge.

Morgan Parker is in Hanoi on the eighth day of a 100-day expedition to raise money and awareness for Asian charities.

The Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board will launch Malaysian Culinary Week in Hanoi from March 26 to April 2.