VIETNAM TODAY

President of Miss Universe Organisation (MUO) Paula Shugart has asked Khanh Hoa province to host the 2011 Miss Universe pageant.

Vietnam and Japan singed exchange notes on a US$22 million programme to enhance Vietnam’s counter measures for natural disasters.

Anna Chapman has been called the femme fatale of a spy case with Cold War-style intrigue — a striking redhead and self-styled entrepreneur.

Vietnam has, "Equally and effectively," cooperated with the U.S., said U.S. Ambassador Michael Michalak.

Deteriorating suspension bridges are putting locals living in a mountainous district of Quang Nam Province at risk.

Five tiger conservation areas will be established in Central Highland provinces under a new national programme.

Vietinbank is the first bank to cut the ceiling lending interest rates in Vietnamese dong in accordance with the new policy.

The Props, a band making a name for itself in Vietnam, are releasing their demo album this coming Saturday.

Hydro-power projects on the Mekong river were of major concerns at a two-day workshop in Ho Chi Minh City.

Couple Giang and Thom, perpetrators of the vicious torture of a young boy, have both been sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Chinese mainland and Taiwan signed the long-awaited Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) in Chongqing on June 29.

Wartime artifacts have been discovered in the remote area of Son Dao Mountain, Thua Thien - Hue Province.

An eight-year campaign to promote child safety had not reduced the number who died or were crippled through injury, said an official.

The V-League will resume on June 30 after a one-month break for the World Cup.

Stock markets in Europe and the US fell hard following earlier losses in Asia, on news of an erosion in US consumer confidence.

Cambodia held a repatriation ceremony for 83 sets of remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers who died on battlefields in Cambodia during the wartime.

U.S. seafood suppliers are turning to Vietnam and other countries in Asia to ensure Americans have enough shrimp.

A dearth of rainfall in Vietnam may provide an extra prop to the recent jump in robusta coffee prices, which hit a fresh 16-month high on Monday.

The June 2010 issue of Russia’s Tassovets ran an article applauding Vietnam’s reform achievements by well-known Vietnam researcher Sergei Afonin.