Ben Tre Coconut Festival – bigger than ever this year; Da Nang night market to showcase local culture; Dance performance, exhibition to promote Korea tourism; The Godfather to be screened in Ha Noi; K+ announces new content strategy

British intelligence agencies spoke to US counterparts about a report into CIA interrogation before it was published, Downing Street has said.

The Director of the Laboratory Program at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Vietnam received an honorary commemorative award from the Ministry of Health for his dedication “for the health of the people.” 

Townships along the Mekong River should suspend the construction of dams, which negatively impacts both the environment and residents near the river's lower basin, said experts at yesterday's seminar.

A plan by the HCM City University of Technology to export cashew processing technology to Africa has faced strong opposition from Vietnamese officials, who believe the move will kill one of Vietnam’s important industries.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Buckwheat, a plant with clusters of small pinkish white flowers and small edible triangular seeds, which are used as a kind of food, creates striking sights when it is in blossom,

Six hundred students in Huong Binh Commune of Huong Khe district in the central province of Ha Tinh have stayed at home for several months, as their parents and local authorities still cannot agree about school restructuring.

VietNamNet Bridge – Journalist Truong Uyen Ly said at a ceremony on Wednesday that the creative scene is developing far beyond her expectations.

 Vietnamese forward Nguyen Van Quyet has been selected as the Southeast Asia Player of the Week by the Malaysian edition of goal.com.

 Moody's Investors Service raised the outlook on Vietnam's banking system to stable from a negative assessment, noting a stable business climate, improved macro-economic situation and easing liquidity stress.

 Le Tri Tinh, who was in charge of a working shift during which a first-ever power outage occurred at Tan Son Nhat airport, was arrested on December 11 for further investigations on violation of traffic safety regulations.

 The Central and Central Highlands Flood and Storm Prevention Centre had warned over 35,000 fishing vessels of the impending Storm Hagupit in the coastal provinces of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa and Ninh Thuan as of yesterday.

 Passengers are finding it difficult to buy train tickets for the upcoming Tet holidays despite improvements in online booking services.

 Twenty-five Vietnamese workers are currently stuck in Saudi Arabia because they lack work permits or the financial means to leave the country, according to Ly Thai Hai, chairman of the Bac Kan People's Committee.

 Foreigners with working permits or professional licenses granted by Vietnamese authorised agencies will be required to join Vietnam’s social insurance, according to the new Law on Social Insurance announced by the Presidential Office on December 11.

Vietnam, Laos supreme courts talk to foster ties; Vietnam wants to further friendship with India: President; RoK President vows ODA priority to projects in Vietnam; Vietnam expects huge investment inflows from RoK

 VietNamNet Bridge – Some low-cost smartphone and tablet models sold in Vietnam and several Asian and African countries are believed to contain a Trojan sourced from China which operates under certain conditions.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam suffered a nightmare yesterday (Dec 11) at My Dinh Stadium in Ha Noi as they were knocked out of the ASEAN Football Federation-Suzuki Cup.

 Vietnam will become an important link of a vast economic connectivity network with 55 partners, including 15 members of the G-20, bringing a wealth of cooperation and investment opportunities to foreign investors, said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

 German scholars strongly criticised China’s recent moves in the East Sea (Bien Dong Sea) at a scientific conference held at the headquarters of Die Tageszeitung (TAZ) newspaper in Berlin on December 9.