(VOVworld) – The 28-member European Union on July 25 reached a preliminary agreement to expand economic sanctions on Russia. The final document is set to be adopted this week. The west said enhancing sanctions is an effective instrument to ensure the so-called regional stability and peace and punish Russia for alleged intervention in the Ukraine crisis. But the price the EU is paying for this is high.

(VOVworld)- Vietnam joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN on July 28, 1995. This was Vietnam’s significant and historic decision.

(VOVworld) – Reviewing preferential policies for those who rendered great services to the nation is one of major tasks of the movement to pay gratitude from now until next year. The comprehensive assessment of the implementation of these policies will further improve them.

(VOVworld) – Iran and the P5+1 have agreed to continue talks for another 4 months toward achieving a final agreement on Iran’s nuclear program. Analysts said the deadline extension is a gesture of goodwill to reach a long-term, sustainable and trustworthy deal.

(VOVworld) – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has issued a Government action program to boost Vietnam’s rapid and sustainable economic development. The program has specified tasks for ministries and sectors to accompany enterprises to improve national economic competitiveness and create a foundation for higher growth in the future.

(VOVworld) – The crash of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 has made the Ukrainian crisis more critical. A missile shooting down the passenger plane, killing 298 people of many nationalities has changed the situation in Ukraine and made the crisis a global issue.

(VOVworld) – More than 140 maps published by western geographers, navigators and cartographers between the 16th and 19th century marked the Hoang Sa/Paracel islands on the world map. This is evidence of Vietnam’s sovereignty over this archipelago. VOV introduces a research by Doctor Tran Duc Anh Son, Deputy Director of the Da Nang Institute for Socio-Economic Development.

(VOVworld) - One day after the Dien Bien Phu Victory, the Geneva Conference on ending wars and restoring peace in Indochina opened in Geneva, Switzerland on May 8, 1954. After 75 days of official negotiations and a range of informal diplomatic activities, on July 20, 1954, the Geneva Agreement on a ceasefire in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, was signed.

(VOVworld)- The Gaza Strip in the Middle East has over the past few days been continuously hit by Israeli’s air strikes which killed hundreds of civilians and brought both Israel and Palestine to the verge of war. Recent developments in the Gaza Strip show that it’s hard to create peace in the Middle East despite international efforts.

(VOVworld) – The government has issued a decree to boost fishing development. The government will support fishermen in investment, credit, and insurance. The decree is considered an important premise to develop the marine economy while protecting national sea and islands.