A series of activities will be held in response to the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3), the Vietnam Federation on Disability (VFOD) said on November 25.

As many as 7,790 Lao students have enrolled in 150 universities and educational institutions across Vietnam, according to the Lao Embassy in Vietnam.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) under the UN will provide Vietnam an aid package of US$22 million to relieve poverty, according to an agreement signed in Rome, Italy, on November 25. 

The Spanish government has pledged to provide EUR3.4 million for Ho Chi Minh City to carry out a pre-feasibility study for Metro line No.5 which will link Saigon bridge to new Can Giuoc coach station.

The Japanese fully-invested Daiyu Steel Limited Co. opened a new steel factory in Di An town, the southern province of Binh Duong, on November 25.

Vietnam made a 3-0 victory over Laos at Hanoi’s My Dinh stadium on November 25, moving on track for a semi-final berth in the 2014 Southeast Asian Football Championship - AFF Suzuki Cup.

The upcoming official visit to Vietnam by Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is expected to bolster the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Italy will provide Vietnam with EUR15 million in soft loans to help increase the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SOEs) in southern localities, an official from the Italian Embassy in Vietnam said on November 25.

The eighth Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam (CLV) Development Triangle Summit in the Lao capital city Vientiane issued a joint statement on November 25, reiterating their commitment to further deepening the comprehensive cooperation among the three countries on the basis of their traditional friendship, solidarity, cooperation and good neighbourliness.

Vietnam has realised that the use or reference of names or marks of product origin (Geographical Indication, GI) is vital to increasing economic value and competitiveness of products, said the Communist Party of Vietnam Online Newspaper.