VIETNAM TODAY

Japan today signed a technical cooperation project to transfer its most advanced technology to develop new rice varieties in the midlands and mountainous areas in north Vietnam.

The high-tech nation is pushing the initiative to promote some of its ancient village wisdom as a way to heal battered environments worldwide.

State President Nguyen Minh Triet and his Philippine counterpart, Benigno S. Aquino III, have discussed directions and measures to develop bilateral cooperation more effectively.

A seminar on measures to help small- and medium-sized businesses was held in the central city of Da Nang on October 26.

Twenty-one countries are expected to participate in a charity bazaar organized by diplomats’ wives, next month, in Ho Chi Minh City.

The cooperation between Vietnam and France will be further promoted during French Week in Vietnam, November 23-27 in Hanoi.

The tentative scheme to lower import tariffs on trucks has made a rift between the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance.

At least 137 people were killed after a tsunami smashed into a remote island chain and Mount Merapi erupted on the island of Java.

An average of 21 Vietnamese students shares a seat in libraries. Of the 196 universities and colleges, 24 are without libraries while 119 are without e-libraries.

The net domain reserved for Vietnam has become a haven of cyber crime, suggests research.

The establishment of a sustainable welfare network is the urgent need and important step of ASEAN and East Asia’s development models, said PM Nguyen Tan Dung.

At 11 am on October 26, a search and rescue ship escorted the fishing boat QNg 66478 TS and its nine crew to Dung Quat 1 Port in the central province of Quang Ngai.

At least 108 people were killed and more than 500 missing Tuesday, after a tsunami triggered by a powerful earthquake hit a remote Indonesian island chain.

Vietnam's population is increasingly imbalanced between men and women, threatening to leave young males without female partners, the United Nations said.

Vietnam and China should strive to reach bilateral trade of US$25 billion this year, said Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong.

The tourism industry plans to earn US$8.9 billion in 2015 when the country expects to welcome 12 million foreign visitors and host 28 million domestic travellers.

Dong Tam Long An football club introduced its new coach, Marcelo Javier Zuleta from Argentina.

At least 160 people are missing from an Indonesian village that was pounded by an enormous wave after an earthquake off the coast of Sumatra caused a local tsunami.

More mechanisms should be created to help Vietnam's 5 million disabled people access job training to make sure they fully benefit from the new Law on People with Disabilities.