Polls open in Vietnam legislative election: AFP

The National Assembly is the country's top legislative body, but serves mainly to ratify decisions by the ruling Communist Party. The Southeast Asian nation of 100 million is both an economic success story, boasting eight percent growth last year, and a repressive one-party state that often jails its critics. Out of 864 candidates for the 500-seat legislature, which serves mainly to ratify decisions by the ruling Communist Party, only 65 are not party members. In the capital Hanoi, patriotic red-and-yellow...