Vietnam names new party chief

Vietnamese state radio has officially confirmed that the army's chief political commissar, General Le Kha Phieu, has been appointed as the new head of the Communist Party.

General Phieu replaces Do Muoi who is retiring as general secretary at the age of eighty.

The new leader is widely regarded as a conservative and has warned that economic and political liberalisation in Vietnam might be used to undermine communism.

Correspondents say his most difficult task will be to maintain a balance between party reformers and conservatives, as Vietnam faces its most serious economic difficulties since reforms were introduced in the late 1980s.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service