The first Vietnam Belly Dance Festival Competition is to take place at the SC VivoCity Shopping Mall in Ho Chi Minh City on July 11-12.

 Former US President Bill Clinton attended a ceremony celebrating 20 years of normalized Vietnam - US diplomatic ties in Hanoi on July 2nd. This is the fifth time he has visited Vietnam.

VietNamNet Bridge - The State Bank of Vietnam reports that loans disbursed to the real estate sector have soared recently. 

The Prime Minister has approved an increase in State funding for a space science complex in the central coastal province of Binh Dinh, which is expected to cost a total of over 171.1 billion VND ($8.1 million).

 Vietnam’s U-15 football team defeated Japan’s U-15 Vissel Kobe FC 3-0 on the first day of the Japan-Mekong U-15 Football Exchange 2015 on July 1, which is currently taking place at the J Green Sakai Centre in Japan.

 More than 4,500 items, including ceramics, stone axes, coins, mollusc shells dating back to the 3,000-year-old Sa Huynh Culture, were found during a two-month excavation in the garden of the Khue Bac Communal House in Da Nang.

 The central province of Thua Thien – Hue will set aside at least 5 billion VND (over 230,000 USD) to restore 3-5 typical garden houses between 2015 and 2020.

 Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia have launched a three-month crackdown on human trafficking along Vietnam’s borders through September, given the recent complications with the issue.

 The number of traffic accidents in the first half of 2015 fell 12.85 percent year on year to roughly 11,180 cases, killing almost 4,480 people and injuring nearly 10,150 others, down 4.5 percent and 17.24 percent, respectively.

 The Prime Minister has agreed to allocate $7.2 million to eight localities and three irrigation companies in order to tackle the consequences of the drought and saltwater intrusion that occurred during the 2014-2015 spring-winter crop.

Director-General of the World Trade Organisation Roberto Azevedo has taken Vietnam as an example of poverty alleviation at the launch ceremony of the book “The Role of Trade in Ending Poverty” jointly compiled by WTO and the World Bank Group.

 Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong met with newly accredited Vietnamese ambassadors and chiefs of the country’s overseas representative offices in Hanoi on July 2, pinning high hopes on their performance in the 2015-2018 term.

 Chairman of the People’s Committee of Long An province Do Huu Lam sent a diplomatic note on July 2 concerning recent violent actions by Cambodian extremists in the Vietnamese locality to Governor of Svay Rieng province of Cambodia Chieng Om.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong hosted a reception in Hanoi for former US President Bill Clinton yesterday.

  The court sectors of Vietnam and Cuba shared their experience in judicial reform, law making and training during talks between Chief Judge of the Vietnam Supreme People’s Court Truong Hoa Binh and his Cuban counterpart Ruben Remigio Ferro.

 As a large agricultural producer, Viet Nam has much demand for fertilisers and plant protection chemicals, offering much opportunity for companies in the field.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Tra Que Village, 2km from Hoi An Town, was a wonderful stopover for Bill Zou and Alexandra Pabon from New York.

VietNamNet Bridge - Industrial solid waste has been threatening the living environment in key industrial production regions of the north and south.

VietNamNet Bridge – On July 7-13, the Philippines will argue its case against China’s claim over most of the disputed East Sea, internationally known as South China Sea, at the UN court in Hague, the Netherlands.

 Nine State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in HCMC will launch their initial public offerings (IPO) between now and the end of September, according to equitization plans approved by the city government.

VietNamNet Bridge - Studying abroad is the choice of many well-off families as employers often prefer graduates of foreign schools. However, many foreign school graduates are finding it tough to get a job.

VietNamNet Bridge – Well-known pop musicians Phuong Thao and Ngoc Le have returned to Viet Nam after 10 years living overseas to perform their hits in the monthly TV show Dau An (Hallmark).

VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has announced the creation of a national action month on gender violence prevention and control, which will last from November 15 to December 16 each year.

 Plan revised for hospital equitisation, Fake Chinese dietary supplements, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics smuggled into Vietnam in bulk, Farm exports drop on sagging prices, Jan-Jun FDI approvals plunge

VietNamNet Bridge - Scientists are optimistic about Vietnam’s capability of exporting vaccines directly to other countries or through United Nations’ organisations following official international recognition of Vietnam-made vaccines.