Trump says Brexit to be 'a great thing', wants quick trade deal with UK

 U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said that Brexit would turn out to be a great thing and other countries would follow Britain out of the European Union but promised to strike a swift bilateral trade deal with the United Kingdom.

Binh An drum-making village enters high season

 VietNamNet Bridge – Binh An Village in Binh Lang Commune in Tan Tru District in the Mekong Delta province of Long An has been known for its tradition of making drums for over 100 years.

Social News 16/1

 HCMC authority tightens control on environmental pollution, Vietnam Airlines carries apricot, peach blossoms for Tet holidays, HCM City ready to combat Lunar New Year congestion

Flappy Bird, Politaire show Vietnam doesn’t lack talent

VietNamNet Bridge - After Nguyen Ha Dong’s Flappy Bird emerged in early 2014, marking Vietnam’s position in the world market, Vietnam’s game industry developed rapidly with numerous game studios, big and small.

Mekong Delta 2016: historic drought, saline intrusion destroys crops

Dried fields, cattle dying of thirst, expensive drinking water, sea water overflowing houses. In 2016, the lives of millions of people in Mekong Delta, Central Highlands and central region were upset because of drought and salinity intrusion.

What are the stock assets of the 10 richest Vietnamese women?

VietNamNet Bridge - The 10 richest women on the stock market have total assets worth VND19.301 trillion, accounting for 11.5 percent of total assets of the 500 richest Vietnamese billionaires.

VN traffic won’t improve without sacrifice: economist

 VietNamNet Bridge – Economist Luong Hoai Nam tells the Tuoi tre (Youth) newspaper about the urgent trade-offs between private transport and public transport and offers the way forward to curbing traffic congestion in major cities.

84 percent of VN students say they feel unsafe at school

VietNamNet Bridge - Eighty percent of students say they have suffered from gender-based violence at least once, while 71 percent of students have been affected by school violence in the last six months. 

Job snobs

 Many university graduates seem to feel that a high paying executive job upon graduation is an entitlement and not something to be earned.

Don’t kill the goose that lays the golden eggs

As Vietnam’s tourism is strongly developing, with a rise in tax revenue. However, are foreign online hotel booking services subject to tax in Vietnam? Fred Burke and Nguyen Thanh Vinh from law firm Baker & McKenzie delves into this issue.

Social News 14/1

Nearly 2 million people join in environmental protection activities, Culture’s crucial position in national development recognised, Hanoi gets creative with solutions for traffic congestion woes

Social News 15/1

 Tet tickets & gifts given disadvantaged workers, Photo exhibition on VNese intangible cultural heritages opens in HCMC, Phu My Hung Spring Flower Fair to open in town, Students spring-clean houses for charity

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 15/1

 Spring fair to offer goods for Tet, CMC Group targets $222 million turnover in 2018, AIIB eyes infrastructure development in Vietnam, MoMo app wins Asian Banker best mobile payment solution       

Creative methods bring history to life

 VietNamNet Bridge – “What would you do if you were a high court mandarin during the Nguyen Dynasty?”

Ministry wants to resume mining, but local authorities demur

While the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) wants to resume exploitation of Thach Khe, the largest iron mine in South East Asia, after eight years of interruption, Ha Tinh provincial authorities are reluctant to do so.

What does the $2.7 billion trade surplus mean?

VietNamNet Bridge - Analysts were cautious about the trade surplus of VND2.7 billion in 2016, saying that the figure did not show the entire picture of the national economy. 

A government of the people and for the people

 VietNamNet Bridge – To mark the onset of the New Year, Minister and Government Office Chief Mai Tien Dung speaks to the media about the government’s resolve to work by the principles of "integrity, actions and development".

Planting forests under the ocean

 VietNamNet Bridge – Under the influence of climate change and overexploitation, the amount of coral reefs worldwide, including in Phu Quoc District in the southern province of Kien Giang, have reduced significantly.

Inequality on the rise in Vietnam: survey

 VietNamNet Bridge – According to new data, Viet Nam’s richest citizens can earn roughly 5,000 times more money in an hour than the poorest Vietnamese spend in a day.

Tan Son Nhat Airport under strain as Tet nears

 Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport has become increasingly crowded as people worsen overcrowding by coming to meet their relatives returning home for the lunar New Year (Tet).

Standard Chartered projects Vietnam’s economy to grow 6.6% in 2017

 International bank Standard Chartered has forecast that Vietnam’s economy will expand by 6.6% in 2017, buoyed by strong growth in the manufacturing and construction sectors.

Longan cake

 'Longan cake' is a special cake made by local residents of Hai Hau borough. People call it “longan cake” not because it is made from longan, but because the shape and skin looks like one.

A peaceful alley café

 Saigon has hundreds of large and small alleys. There are crisscrossing and zigzagging alleys that can reveal lots of interesting stories and surprises if you have the opportunity to explore.

Top regional hip-hop dancers gather at Break The Floor finals

 The final round of Break the Floor, a contest to search for the best hip-hop dancers in Asia, will take place at Lan Anh Music Center in HCMC’s District 10 on February 25.

Don’t reverse humane policy

 ocal mediahas voiced strong objections to a provision in the draft amendments to the Labor Code, which seeks to abolish the prevailing regulation that female workers taking care of babies aged less than 12 months are given 60 minutes off a day.