Politics

-- Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh began Thursday an official visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK). He will attend the “Vietnam Week in RoK” during this four-day visit.

-- National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung had meetings Thursday with former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and representatives from the Communist Party of Japan (CPJ) and the Japan Federation of Economic Organisations (Keidanren) during his official visit to Japan.

Lifestyle -- Yahoo! Vietnam announced Thursday that it will close down the Vietnamese blogging service on January 17. Come back for a full report on Tuoitrenews later today.

-- UNESCO recognized Thursday Vietnam’s Hung King Veneration Ritual as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity at the 7th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Paris.

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