Hanoi - The Vietnamese government Tuesday reported a record trade surplus, but local economists said they were more worried than pleased.

The state-run newspaper Vietnam News on Tuesday quoted Vietnam's General Statistics Office (GSO) as saying the country spent just 11.8 billion dollars on imports, down 45 per cent from the same period last year, while earning
13.5 billion dollars from exports, a slight increase of 2.4 per cent year-on-year.

Hanoi - A sightseeing boat carrying 11 tourists was hit by a cargo freighter while on its way to visit a floating market in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, killing two people, a police official said Monday.

Luong Thanh Hoa, head of the Traffic Police Unit in the district of Can Tho Province where the accident took place, said the sightseeing boat sank after it was hit by a 625-ton freighter at Saturday morning, but reports of the accident were only released on Monday.

Hanoi - A mother narrowly rescued her 1-year-old son from an attack by a crocodile that had escaped from a nearby farm, a police officer in Vietnam's Mekong delta confirmed Monday.

The woman was holding her son over a canal to relieve himself on Sunday when the 100-kilogram crocodile leapt out of the water and snapped at the child's foot.

The mother managed to pull her son back and outrun the crocodile that pursued her onto land, said Nguyen Minh Quang, police chief of An Binh Ward in the province of Can Tho. Four local men subdued the crocodile with ropes and sticks.

Hanoi - Vietnamese authorities believe a woman who died last week may have been infected with avian influenza, state media said Monday.

The state-run newspaper Vietnam News reported the 26-year-old woman was admitted to a hospital in Soc Trang Province, in the country's Mekong Delta, on March 16 with symptoms of headache, high fever and respiratory difficulties.

Her condition worsened and she died on Friday.

The head of the community health centre where the patient was initially treated reportedly said she had eaten a sick duck about a month ago.

Hanoi - A 3-year-old Vietnamese boy has died of avian influenza after four days in hospital, a health official said Friday, bringing Vietnam's bird-flu death toll to three this year.

Nguyen Van Chau, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Health Department, said the boy from the south-western province of Dong Thap died Thursday. He had been admitted Monday at the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases with high fever and respiratory difficulties.

Hanoi  - Vietnam and China have signed an agreement to establish a hotline between the countries' leaders for discussions of urgent disagreements, Vietnamese state media said Friday.

The state-run newspaper Vietnam News reported the agreement was signed in Hanoi Thursday as part of a visit by Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo.

The hotline has been under discussion since a June meeting between Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh and Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing.