Vietnamese police have arrested one of the country's best known bloggers for posting criticism of the communist government, intensifying a crackdown against Internet-fuelled dissent in the one-party, authoritarian state.

Vietnamese lawmakers handed the prime minister a grudging mandate in the country's first ever confidence vote, a ballot seen as a small step toward a more pluralistic style of governance in the one-party, Communist nation.

Police detained about 15 anti-China protesters Sunday during a march in the Vietnamese capital that showed the domestic pressure the government faces when dealing with Beijing's muscular approach to territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Not content with a 30-minute delay on broadcasts of foreign television channels, communist Vietnam has introduced a brazen new law which observers say could force media outlets such as the BBC and CNN to pay for their own censorship.

One mistake by a clumsy crane operator caused a 10-hour blackout over about a third of Vietnam, exposing the fragility of the nation's power grid.

More than 7 kilos of rhino horn have been seized by customs officials in Vietnam, state-run media said Monday, amid pressure on the communist country to stem demand stoking a poaching boom.

Vietnam has accused China of opening fire on a fishing boat in the disputed South China Sea and burning down its cabin, charges denied by Beijing on Tuesday as tensions resurface over sovereignty in the energy-rich waters.

Police say two buses have collided in central Vietnam, killing 11 people and leaving nine others seriously injured.

When Vietnam's communist leaders asked for public comment on their plan to amend the country's constitution they did not anticipate unleashing an unprecedented debate on the party's monopoly on power.

Short, pot-bellied policemen will be banned from traffic duty in Vietnam's capital Hanoi and given office jobs in a bid to improve the force's public image, police said Wednesday.