Japanese photojournalist Murayama Yasufumi, who has visited Viet Nam 36 times to take photos of the country and its people since 1998, is determined to get official approval to take photos of Viet Nam's Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelago.

 GDP per capita to reach 5,500 USD in northern key economic area; Japanese food producers eye Vietnamese market; Microchip Technology to build HCM City factory; Rubber, rice exports drop in six months; Business optimism on the rise this year

 VietNamNet Bridge – All illogical road signs will be replaced to enable better compliance with the laws, Nguyen Van Huyen, director general of the Directorate of the Viet Nam Road tells Thoi bao Kinh te Viet Nam (Viet Nam Economic Times)

 VietNamNet Bridge – Who will be strategic shareholders of Vietnam Airlines Corporation (VNA) remains a secret though an initial public offering (IPO) of the biggest State-owned enterprise in the civil aviation sector has a few months to go.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Korea Fantasy “Sound – Dance & Performance,” a traditional music concert by Gukak Chungnam Orchestra from Cheonan City, will take place at 7:30 p.m. on July 3 at Ben Thanh Theater in HCMC’s District 1.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Many people once expected that China’s development would bring back positive effects on the region but disappointment, doubt, and worry have gradually emerged.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Tour operator Oxalis on June 25 launched trekking tours of Tu Lan cave system in the central province of Quang Binh, with offers of up to four days for adventure lovers.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Many Vietnamese parents are willing to shell out tens of millions of dong for their children’s summer holidays, seeing it as the opportune time for children to advance their English and life skills.

 A growing number of economists have expressed serious concerns about the state of Vietnam’s public debt. Their biggest worry: the rapid growth of government-guaranteed debt, now increasing at a 50 percent annual rate.

 A special Senior Officials Meeting of ASEAN (ASEAN SOM) yesterday discussed ways to maintain the bloc's central role in protecting the region's strategic interests.

 China continued to maintain its illegal presence and aggression in Vietnamese waters on June 27 as more condemnation of its actions came from US and Philippine officials.

 VietNamNet Bridge - Old apartments in HCM City have become impressivel locations for many coffee shops in HCM City.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Along the bank of Hanoi’s Nhue River are many villages that still preserve the typical architecture of the countryside of many years ago, particularly old gates.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Authorities in Quang Ninh Province have issued an edict forbidding the practices of collecting, trading and conveying plant varieties listed as rare and precious.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Nguyen Doan Khanh, deputy head of the Party Central Committee's Commission for Internal Affairs, spoke with Vietnam Economics Times about anti-corruption measures.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam's Japanese coach Toshiya Miura said that he felt completely comfortable and no different when he walked out on the pitch to give instructions to players on Viet Nam's national team on Thursday.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Post-tax profits of the top 50 effective businesses in Vietnam increased sharply by 16 percent, while the turnover increased by 5 percent.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Viet Nam Centre for the Protection of Music Copyright (VCPMC) has been struggling hard to ensure due royalty payments for Vietnamese songwriters.

The Trang An Tourism Complex in northern Ninh Binh Province has been declared a World Culture and Nature Heritage site by the UNESCO. It is the first world site in the country combining both natural and cultural aspects.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The chairman of Basico Law Firm recently stated that authorities should prosecute a case in which a local company sold a spyware app to thousands of customers.

 Oscar organisers have put new rules in place to ensure fair campaigning in its music categories.

On March 3, 1925, the Governor General of Indochina issued a statement confirming that Hoang Sa and Truong Sa belong to Vietnam. Thus, even in the French-ruled period, Vietnam’s sovereignty over the two archipelagos continued.

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) is faced with the task of repaying VND11 trillion, or US$523.8 million, to 24 credit institutions, nearly half of whom are foreign agencies. 

 VietNamNet Bridge – Chair of the Canadian Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade Raynell Andreychuk has said she will arrange for a meeting with the Vietnamese ambassador to discuss regional situation at the Canadian Senate.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Thomas Gordon Plate is an American journalist, university professor and internationally syndicated columnist. Over the last 18 years his column on Asia has regularly appeared in leading newspapers across the globe.