Vietnam’s ‘rice bowl’ is sinking

 VietNamNet Bridge - Part of the Mekong Delta – home to 20% of Vietnam’s population and 50% of its rice production - is at risk of disappearing as sea levels rise.

Developmentalizm and the breakthrough for Vietnam

 VietNamNet Bridge - South Korea was an underdeveloped country in the early 1960s but it passed the initial stage of development and succeeded to become a developed country in a very short time.

Vietnam sees record number of HIV patients receiving ARV treatment

VietNamNet Bridge – Up to 100,000 people living with HIV nationwide are currently being treated with antiretroviral (ARV) drug as a result of the on-going effective HIV/AIDS prevention and control programme in Vietnam.

Report: Vietnam economy has weak fundamentals

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam’s economy will continue growing in the short term but in the medium term, its growth path will be bumpy,

First Vietnamese MC works at Star Movie Channel

VietNamNet Bridge – Hoang Tran Kim Thao, more commonly known as Kim MC, has become the first Vietnamese master of ceremonies (MC) to work for the Star Movie Channel in Vietnam. 

Electricity theft persistent in Vietnam

 VietNamNet Bridge – More than 14,000 cases of electricity theft were reported during the first nine months of the year, resulting in the loss of at least 11 million kWh from the country's electricity network.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 13/11

Vietnam - US trade office established in Binh Duong, Fierce competition forecast for domestic industrial production, PMI up but manufacturing still sluggish, VN consumers remain optimistic, Rice exports for year remain lacklustre

Vietnam wins seat in UNESCO Executive Board for fourth time

 Vietnam was elected as member of the UNESCO Executive Board for the 2015-2019 tenure on November 12, marking the fourth time the country has won a seat at one of UNESCO’s two most powerful bodies. 

Czech Senate President to visit Vietnam

 President of the Senate of the Czech Republic Milan Stech will pay an official visit to Vietnam from November 15-20. 

UN grants $12.5m to bolster biodiversity in Vietnam

 Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has passed a project that ensures equitable sharing of benefits from genetic resources and targets conservation work and sustainable use of biodiversity in Viet Nam. 

Vietnam shooters win three bronze medals at Asian champs

 Viet Nam won three bronze medals at the Asian Shooting Championships, ranking 17th.

Ukrainian man sentenced to three years in prison

 The People's Court in Ha Noi yesterday opened the trial and sentenced a Ukrainian person accused of illegally appropriating money to three years in prison.

Commercial banks take an interest in seaports

VietNamNet Bridge - Why do many banks hold membership on seaport management boards? 

Saigon’s Tet Flower Street to be moved back to Nguyen Hue Road

 VietNamNet Bridge – The flower street of New Year 2016 will be moved from Ham Nghi Street to Nguyen Hue Road and square in downtown HCM City. The flower street will be held on a larger scale and for a longer time.

Vietnamese parents take babies abroad for vaccinations

VietNamNet Bridge – Because of a shortage of vaccine Pentaxim and Infanrix hexa in Vietnam until the end of 2016 as reported by the health sector, many parents have taken their babies to neighboring countries for vaccinations.

Traditional groceries still financially powerful retail channel

VietNamNet Bridge - Groceries still comprise 80 percent of Vietnam’s fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sales, which shows they remain the most popular and powerful retail channel in Vietnam.

Italy: Company trials email-free working to cut stress

 An Italian company has told staff to refrain from sending any internal emails for a week in an effort to reduce stress levels.

VN, Japan produce carbon-free rubber

Vietnamese and Japanese researchers have developed technologies to reduce proteins in natural rubber, thereby permitting the production of high-performance rubber materials and alleviate the environmental burden caused by natural rubber processing.

Beauty of Ha Giang Plateau in pictures

Visiting Ha Giang this time, visitors will be overwhelmed by the imposing and picturesque scenery with the fields full of beautiful buckwheat flowers and the unique daily life and traditional culture of the ethnic minority people of this land.

France supports Vietnam in building geographical indication system

 VietNamNet Bridge – The France Development Agency (AFD) will provide 1.09 million USD for a 1.3-million-USD geographical indication (GI) development project that was launched during a conference in Hanoi on November 11.

Myanmar election: President congratulates Suu Kyi

 Myanmar President Thein Sein has congratulated Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party on its success in polls, his spokesman told the BBC.

British tourists may boycott Vietnam for eating dogmeat

 VietNamNet Bridge – British MP Steve McCabe said that British tourists may not travel to countries like China or Vietnam to protest the sale and consumption of dog meat.

Vietnam may fail to realize its goal for Olympics 2016

 VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam aims to get 18 official tickets to the 2016 Olympics but so far Vietnamese top athletes have just got three cards. The target seems to be too far to reach as the number of qualifying tournaments declines.

Vietnam considers $2.5 billion Vientiane – Hanoi expressway

 VietNamNet Bridge - The Ministry of Transport is considering two plans to build the road connecting Hanoi and Vientiane (Laos) via the border gate of Thanh Thuy in Nghe An Province or the Cau Treo border gate in Ha Tinh province.

National Assembly ratifies bond issuance of $3 billion for debt swap

 VietNamNet Bridge – The National Assembly on Wednesday passed a plan on a pay rise of 5% from the middle of next year and the use of part of revenue from the sale of State-owned enterprises to compensate for a budget deficit in 2015.