The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on Sunday described south Sudan referendum process as free, fair and credible and regarded it as a milestone in promoting peace and democratic transformation of south Sudan.

Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara on Saturday met with his South Korean counterpart Kim Sung- hwan here, to exchange views on bilateral relations and issues related to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The death toll in the storms which devastated part of Brazil' s Rio de Janeiro state this week reached 600, authorities informed on Saturday.

Tickets for the London 2012 Olympic Games will go on sale on March 15, 2011 and Paralympic Games tickets will go on sale on September 9, 2011, confirmed The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games on Saturday.

VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City authorities have decided to set up high-quality schools, considering this a necessary step in building up a modern education in a period of global integration.

VietNamNet Bridge - The Mekong Delta region has seen a bumper winter-spring harvest with high prices, while farms in Northern Central provinces have been waterlogged due to the bad weather.

VietNamNet Bridge - Continued power cuts are expected to hit enterprises in southern Binh Duong province’s industrial parks more severely this year.

Some smaller commercial banks in the past week have raised the interest rates they offer on US dollar deposits by 0.9 to 1.3 percentage points to as high as 6.1 per cent per year.

VietNamNet Bridge – Leading sport dance duos performed in the first-ever “Vietnam SportDance  Stars Festival” at the Trinh Hoai Duc Gymnasium in Hanoi on January 14.

Vietnam is world’s 14th biggest economy in 2050; Thais tie down giant refinery plans; Mekong Delta to export 5.5 mln tonnes of rice in 2011; Ha Noi banks target 27% rise in capital; Many VN firms fail to meet consumer tastes

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam posted notable attainments in outbound investment in 2010 with around $3 billion in total registered capital and around $1 billion in disbursed capital.

VietNamNet Bridge – On January 16, the 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam fixed the list of candidates for the election of the Central Party Committee.

VietNamNet Bridge – A woman on January 16 delivered a 2.5kg boy in an aircraft of Jetstar Pacific Airlines (JPA) when the aircraft was running on the runway of the HCM City’s Tan Son Nhat Airport.

Tea-coffee cultural week opens in Can Tho City; HCM City to host youth Tet Festival 2011; Vietnamese Entrepreneur Festival to welcome 11th National Party Congress; Art performances welcome 11th National Party Congress    

A café in Tokyo, Japan, is selling a kind of coffee called “miraculin” which does not use sugar or any kind of genetic sweeteners. Miraculin is the main element of a tree called “miracle tree” which has been growing in Vietnam for the last 10 years.

VietNamNet Bridge – By the end of November 2010, the subprime loans of the whole banking system had reached 51.085 billion dong, accounting for 2.42 percent of the total outstanding loans.

By 2014, Viet Nam will become the world's third fastest-growing market for international passengers and freight, and the second-fastest in the number of domestic passengers.

VietNamNet Bridge – Old peach trees with trunks eaten by worms have become special products for the upcoming lunar New Year. Gardeners call these peach trees as trees that are turned into dragons.

The majority of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) should be transformed into joint stock companies in order to reduce state subsidies while sharpening their competitiveness, the Vietnam Association of Financial Investors (VAFI) has suggested.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam will focus on developing hi-tech industries such as information and communication technology (ICT), biotechnology, automatic technology and new material technology.