VIETNAM TODAY

Vietnam is mulling over the setup of a national gold exchange in order to put citizens public gold into circulation.

The 15th meeting of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee took place on January 9.

An icy cold snap accompanied with hoar-frost and foggy weather over the past several days has caused the sudden hospitalization of thousands of children suffering cold-related diseases and wreaked havoc on production in the northern region.

Vietnam National Petroleum Corp has been blamed for misusing VND1.2 trillion worth of petroleum stabilisation fund.

A festival for young people to donate their blood, launched by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU), on January 9 received an enthusiastic response from young people from all over the country.

Motorola Mobility's Xoom tablet computer was the star of the Consumer Electronics Show.

“Book Road”, a festival of books to be held in Ho Chi Minh City this Lunar New Year, will be the first of its kind in Vietnam.

The Ministry of Health has started a US$76 million project to improve training facilities at 18 medical universities and colleges in the next five years.

UN relief agencies defended their role in the much criticised aid effort after Haiti's devastating earthquake nearly a year ago, saying they had faced "apocalyptic" scenes.

The Ministry of Transport has supported the national aviation authority’s proposal not to pass a plan to establish an aviation joint-stock company serving businesspeople.

The Hanoi Fund for Agent Orange/Dioxin victims will make its debut on January 14, announced the city Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

The NA has agreed on the issuance of government bonds worth 45 trillion VND in 2011 to mobilise capital for the country’s socio-economic development projects.

Hundreds of journalists and sports aficionados cast their votes for the athletes and coaches of the year in Hanoi, Da Nang and HCM City on Jan. 6.

Hanoi is facing a shortage of parking spaces in the lead up to the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, a problem that traditionally leads to overcharging and traffic chaos.

A groundbreaking exhibition in Berlin tackling the personality cult of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler has been extended because of large numbers of visitors.

Nanny Tran Thi Phung, in the southern province of Binh Duong, was sentenced to two years imprisonment for child abuse.

Pharmacies in Ho Chi Minh City that fail to meet with Good Pharmacy Practices (GPP) standards will no longer be allowed to sell prescription drugs in 2011.

Vietnam will develop at least ten national products by 2015 with advanced technologies, according to a Program on NPs development by 2020.

A passenger train filled with tonnes of smuggled goods was discovered by police yesterday, January 6.