Vietnam has become a member of UNESCO for 2021-25, with 163 votes out of the 178 members, or 92 percent, during the 41st session of the General Conference of UNESCO held on November 17 in Paris, France.

Vietnam has been elected to the United Nations (UN) Security Council as a non-permanent member with a near unanimous vote in a General Assembly meeting last Friday. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh speaks to local media on what Vietnam expects to contribute to the UN agenda during its 2020-21 term.

With near unanimous approval, Vietnam has secured a seat on the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member for the 2020-2021 tenure.

There is a lawyer who has debunked tricks employed by Vedan Vietnam, a foreign-owned monosodium glutamate producer blamed for polluting the Thi Vai River, to shirk legal responsibility for its discharge of untreated wastewater into the river and avoid as long as possible payment of damages claimed by affected farmers in Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces.