HCM City, South Africa’s Johannesburg city seek to beef up ties

 Ho Chi Minh City and South Africa’s Johannesburg city should coordinate closer to realise signed agreements and make their affiliation deeper and more effective, proposed Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam, Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council.

Vietnam, Pakistan hold first political consultation

 Vietnam and Pakistan held the first political consultation in Hanoi on August 19, during which they affirmed their special attention to the traditional friendship and multi-faceted cooperation.

Belarus eyes wider affiliations with Vietnam

 Belarus looks to expand comprehensive cooperation with Vietnam, underscored Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko while receiving the outgoing Vietnamese Ambassador in the capital city of Minsk on August 17.

Luxury and high-end projects are rebounding in VN

 After a period of inactivity the high end apartment market is showing rapid signs of recovery with the rebound of many projects.

Poor planning hurts Hanoi development

 VietNamNet Bridge – Ha Noi's sustainable development is facing challenges resulting from urbanisation, population growth, poor planning and ineffective use of resources,

Sweet-smelling secrets of mosquito-repellent grass

 US scientists have identified the chemicals responsible for the mosquito-repelling activity of sweetgrass, a plant traditionally used by some Native Americans to fend off the bugs.

Is Vietnam’s ineffective tourism promotion due to funding shortage?

VietNamNet Bridge - International visitors to Vietnam in January-July 2015 reached 4,398,202 people, down 9.4% from the same period of 2014, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

Skill training for youth critical: ILO expert

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam has made important achievements in the labor and employment area but many issues remain to be solved. Gyorgy Sziraczki, country director of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Vietnam,

HCM City plans to exclude A92 petrol from market

The HCM City Industry and Trade Department has decided that from early December, A92 non-lead petrol will no longer be available at all 514 filling stations in the city, while only E5 biofuel will be sold.

Hard sell

 Vietnam's growing retail sector has resulted in a boom in personnel demand, with competition heating up to attract and retain qualified staff.

Hanoi: Music festival at ten public locations

VietNamNet Bridge – The “Ngay Hoi Am Nhac Mua Thu 2015” will shake up Hanoi’s streets at ten different public locations in the city simultaneously on August 23, featuring many local famous artists.

Pictoral book a journey through VN history

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam News Agency Publishing House has issued a bilingual pictorial book recording historical events in the country over the past 70 years since its independence.

Vietnam to tackle growing antibiotic overuse

 VietNamNet Bridge – The growing abuse of antibiotics is causing a resistance to the drug, the Ministry of Health has warned.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 20/8

 Japanese ODA loans sought for transport projects, Trade deficit with China widening, SCB keen on branch in Vietnam, Vietnam Rubber Group to finalise equitisation this year, Kinh Do exports 20 tonnes of moon cakes to US

Lam to exhibit new paintings in Hanoi

 VietNamNet Bridge – Established painter Doan Hoang Lam is going to display his new and never-before-seen works at a solo exhibition in Ha Noi.

Transgender rights to remain in limbo

VietNamNet Bridge – Transgender people are not likely to be legally recognised in the upcoming amended Civil Code, said the National Assembly Law Committee at its regular meeting with the National Assembly Standing Committee yesterday

Farmer catches crocodile in Ca Mau

 VietNamNet Bridge – Local residents in the province are not allowing their children to approach ponds or the edges of canals, worried that there might be crocodiles in the shrimp ponds.

Relics discovered at Ho Dynasty Citadel

 VietNamNet Bridge – Several relics and artifacts have been excavated from the Ho Dynasty Citadel's southern area in the central province of Thanh Hoa,

Another Vietnam-Laos auxiliary border gate to be opened

VietNamNet Bridge – The People’s Committee of the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien met with authorities from Laos’ Phongsaly province on August 18 to discuss the opening of the Na Bung – Lao Phu Chai auxiliary border gate

Image: Hundreds of tons of toxic trash in Dung Quat

Concerned that the Binh Nguyen waste treatment factory will affect human health, local people have blocked trucks carrying waste to its factory, with hundreds of tons of garbage now stuck in residential areas and the Dung Quat Economic Zone.

SBV widens forex trading band. What’s next?

VietNamNet Bridge - Economists have repeatedly urged the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to devalue the dong in response to the Chinese yuan devaluation. SBV, in its latest move, shows signs that it will continue stabilizing the dong.

How hackers hijack the net's phone books

 Online services that charge to kick people out of games or bombard websites with data have been put out of action by PayPal and security researchers.

The unique alleys of Hanoi

 VietNamNet Bridge – The shortest street or the street with only one house number are attractive places for tourists as well as Hanoians.

Vietnam spends over $4 billion to import animal feed

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam General Administration of Customs has said that in the January-July period, Vietnam imported animal feed and raw materials to produce animal feed worth more than $4 billion.

Ganh Da Dia - Giant “beehive” in Phu Yen sea

Ganh Da Dia, which means Sea Cliff of Stone Plates, is a seashore area of uniformly interlocking basalt rock columns located along the coast in An Ninh Dong Commune, Tuy An District, Phu Yen Province in central Vietnam.