Vietnam will once again honour the French language through a film festival and concerts to celebrate International Francophone Day, which falls on March 20.

Winning all three tickets in Zone 3.3 on March 15, Vietnam will now compete in the upcoming FIDE World Chess Championships.

Vietnamese and Chinese experts reached some agreements on co-operation for co-development at sea during their fourth round of negotiations which ended on March 15 in the central city of Danang.

Property companies nationwide geared up their operations right after the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, accompanied by high expectations of market recovery this year.

Oil slicks have appeared again along the coast of Vung Tau city in southern Vietnam in what has become an unexplained annual phenomenon.

Huong Ga (Rise), a movie based on the life of a female gang leader, won the three top prizes at the annual 2014 Golden Kite awards on March 12.

Villages in farmland surrounding Hoi An are highly popular with environment-loving tourists. Visitors are greeted with a smile and offered an inside look at rural Vietnam among the green paddy fields and vast forests of nipa palms.

Vietnam will witness an increase in the number of urban areas from the current 774 to 850 by the end of the year, and forecasts reaching 1,000 by 2020. These figures were released at a workshop on eco-urban development and carbon reduction in Hanoi on March 11.

The Prime Minister will focus on improving the business environment and strengthening the economy's ability to compete in 2015 and 2016.

As I traveled by bicycle, by train, by bus and by motor-bike from Paris to Hanoi, I kept my eyes focused on the people and on life.