Politics

-- Vietnam closely follows the current unrest in Ukraine and hopes stability will resume in this European country, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said Wednesday in response to questions about the Southeast Asian nation’s stance on the developments in Ukraine.

Binh added that all issues should be resolved by law and “in the Ukrainian people’s interests, and for peace and development in the region and the world,” according to the official Vietnam News Agency.

-- Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung welcomed new Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Hiroshi Fukada during a meeting in Hanoi on Wednesday.

Society

-- A father, his son, and their relative died Wednesday in an accident in the central province of Nghe An, in which the father crashed his crane truck carrying the other two into the concrete gate of a culture center, local authorities said the same day.

-- A Vietnamese model has sued a Hanoi newspaper for writing an article which she complained contained inaccurate information that badly affected her prestige and dignity.

-- Ho Chi Minh City police said Wednesday that they have stopped assigning duties to four traffic police officers after a video surfaced online of them reportedly receiving bribes from traffic violators in Thu Duc District one day earlier. The police are verifying the footage and an article about the four’s purported misconduct published Tuesday by a local newspaper.

Business

-- National flagship carrier Vietnam Airlines has announced it will increase the number of flights between Hanoi and Hue City, and between Ho Chi Minh City and that central city during the 2014 Hue Festival, which begins on April 12 and ends on April 20. The festival is a biennial event to honor Hue's cultural heritages.

-- Doubts are surrounding a company and its subsidiaries whose registered capital totals VND45 trillion (US$2.1 billion) and that have reportedly set up dubious projects to sell shares and collect fees from many people.

Lifestyle

-- A Vietnamese franchisee of the U.S.-based training school Dale Carnegie & Associates announced Wednesday at a press conference that it had initiated legal proceedings against a person who purportedly infringed its intellectual property rights by using its copyrighted documents, products, and training programs without prior permission.   

Sports

-- Vietnam beat Hong Kong 3-1 at home on Wednesday in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification.

-- Arsenal U-19s surprisingly lost 0-3 to Vietnam U-19s in a friendly match in London on Wednesday.