A Russian charter plane carrying 224 people crashed in a mountainous part of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on October 31, killing all on board, Egyptian officials said.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam (CAAV) has asked that Tan Son Nhat International Airport widely publicise airport hotlines to better serve travelers at the country's largest airport, recently rated among the world's worst by a travel website.

The nationwide Vietnam Energy Efficiency Programme has achieved satisfactory results in the last five years, according to officials attending a seminar organised on October 30 in HCM City.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai witnessed the first flow of oil and gas coming from the H5 rig at the Te Giac Trang oil field, at a ceremony held in HCM City on October 30.

The capital city of Hanoi officially inaugurated a centre on researching, transferring and assessing technology at Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park on October 29.

Chile is a big timber producer and wants to boost exports to Vietnam, which has increasing demand for wood to make products for export, a seminar heard on October 29 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnamese enterprises have a big opportunity to enter the global value chain with several investors entering the country, Nguyen Mai, chairman of Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises said.

Singapore's Raffles Country Club in co-operation with Montgomerie Links Vietnam will host the 2015 Friendship Golf Tournament on October 31 and November 1.

Vietnam's trade deficit through the end of October this year, increased to US$4.1 billion from US$3.9 billion in the first nine months, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contribute 40% of national GDP but the proportion is expected to fall as competition will increase under new international free trade agreements.