Mekong Delta tourism plan by 2020 approved

 The Prime Minister has approved the master plan for developing tourism in the Mekong Delta by 2020 and vision to 2030.

Vietnamese 9x students accepted at Harvard choose other schools

VietNamNet Bridge - Hoang Quyen, 23, Tuong An, 18, and Thanh Tung, 24, have registered to study at other schools instead of Harvard, which accepted their applications.

Social News 30/11

Government gives rice aid to flood-hit central provinces, PM gives nod to sustainable green growth project, Fine on smoking in public places not easy, Japanese director’s action-comedy to screen during Christmas season

Vietnam strives to have more green building projects

VietNamNet Bridge - Forty-two construction works have been recognized as ‘green’ in Vietnam and the number is expected to increase, especially as metro areas look to build smart cities.

Industry & Trade Ministry joins club of billion-dollar investors in stock market

VietNamNet Bridge - The nine biggest investors in the Vietnamese stock market hold shares worth more than US$1 billion, according to CafeF.

Facebook eliminates virtual subscribers, number of followers falls

VietNamNet Bridge - The numbers of followers of many Facebookers in Vietnam dropped unexpectedly without any explanation from the social network giant.

MLTR to take Saigon stage in late December

 Popular Danish band Michael Learns To Rock will join Korean band Wonder Girls at a concert called "Sky Connection 2016" on December 21 in HCMC.

HCM City invests $119m to build road section

The HCM City Department of Transport last Friday signed a contract with a consortium of investors to build the Ring Road No.2 section stretching from Pham Van Dong Street to Go Dua intersection on National Highway 1A

How can Vietnam develop a marine economy with coracles?

 VietNamNet would like to introduce the last part of the talks with well-known experts about measures to develop Vietnam’s marine economy.

VN faces big deficit in HIV/AIDS funding

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam will face a huge budget deficit in health services for people with HIV/AIDS in the next five years,

Notable singer returns for first live show in HCM City

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese-American singer Khanh Ly will stage her first live show in HCM City this Friday, after leaving Viet Nam 41 years ago to settle in the US. 

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 29/11

 Trade exceeds $316 billion in eleven months, Competitive power market key to promoting renewables, Central Highlands: high coffee prices offset declining output, Nearly 10,000 new firms established in November

Development that relies on natural resources is unsustainable

VietNamNet introduces the second period of the roundtable talks "What is the price of swapping the environment for growth?" with the attendance of Dr. Le Dang Doanh and expert Le Quang Binh.

Bartering the environment for growth: the worst policy

Regarding environmental protection, Vietnam ranked 98th out of 137 economies and 123rd for air quality. Vietnam is not an industrialized country yet but its pollution is already serious, senior economist, Dr. Le Dang Doanh, has said.

Metallica rocks to top of Billboard album chart

Heavy metal rockers Metallica soared to the top of the weekly U.S. Billboard 200 album chart on Monday, edging out new records from R&B singer Bruno Mars and country singer Miranda Lambert. 

Vietnam Airlines to issue 191.1mn shares

 Vietnam Airlines plans to issue 191.1 million shares to shareholders at a price of VND10,000 ($0.45) in the first quarter of 2017.

Heneiken Vietnam may be greenlighted its 12-fold expansion plan

 This month, Heneiken Vietnam Brewery may be given the go-ahead to increase the capacity of its beer production factory in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau to 610 million litres per year from the existing 50 million litres.


Vinamilk auction pushed back to December 12

 State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) will auction 130.6 million Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) shares, equalling a 9 per cent stake, on December 12, instead of the previously announced December 2.


Vietnam bags 5 medals at Wecode 2016

 Vietnamese students won 5 medals in the Apprentice (7-9 age group) category at Wecode 2016, which was held in Jakarta, Indonesia on November 27.

Vietnam sees 20,000 domestic violence cases annually

 As many as 20,000 domestic violence cases have been reported each year in the last five years with increasingly serious violence, according to Ministry of Health statistics.

Vietnam’s rice exports see record low in 2016

VietNamNet Bridge - Contrary to optimistic forecasts given earlier this year, rice exports have plunged recently. The total export volume would be less than 5 million tons in 2016, a record low since 2009.

Scientists record biggest ever coral die-off on Australia's Great Barrier Reef

 Warm seas around Australia's Great Barrier Reef have killed two-thirds of a 700-km (435 miles) stretch of coral in the past nine months, the worst die-off ever recorded on the World Heritage site,

AT&T unveils DirecTV Now streaming service ahead of November 30 launch

AT&T Inc, the largest U.S. TV provider, unveiled on Monday the pricing and launch date for DirecTV Now, which will stream television programming through the internet to win customers who shun traditional cable and satellite TV subscriptions.

Vietnamese karakas win medals at Asian youth championships

VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam returned home with two gold medals from the 15th Asian Karate Federation Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships 2016, which closed in Indonesia on November 27. 

20 golds for math students

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnamese student team has won 32 medals - 20 gold medals, 11 silver ones and one bronze - in the seventh World Mathematics Team Championship (WMTC) held in Seoul, South Korea.