Japan volcano: Mt Ontake rescue teams find 31 bodies

 The bodies of 31 hikers have been found near the top of Japan's Mount Ontake a day after a sudden volcanic eruption.

Co Island – a great painting of nature

 VietNamNet Bridge – Co Island (Stork Island) in Hai Duong Province’s Thanh Mien District is renowned as a beautiful and stunning natural destination that rises like a jewel blessed by nature.

“Shrimp rush” damages protective forests in central coastal provinces

 VietNamNet Bridge – The rush to breed shrimp has damaged the environment in nearly all of Vietnam’s central coastal provinces, environmentalists have warned.

VN farmers face more fruitful future in US

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam will be exporting litchi and longan to the United States and is preparing to export more fruit when it joins the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) next year.

Cafe owner unknowingly collects million-year-old fossils

 VietNamNet Bridge – A man in the Central Highlands opened a cafe and restaurant as a way of presenting the highland's stone artistry and his rare fossil collection.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 29/9

Vietnam bond market fastest growing in East Asia; Vietnam aims for rice production restructuring; Work starts on 9.4 mln USD habour in Dong Nai; Action plans for prioritised industries announced

Hydropower plant erodes nearby land

 VietNamNet Bridge – Hundreds of families living near Dong Nai 2 Hydro-power Plant in the Central Highlands town of Lam Dong are living in fear as hundreds of hectares of land erode around them.

EVN promises to stop buying power from China

 VietNamNet Bridge – Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), the only electricity wholesale buyer in the country, has promised to buy electricity from domestic sources and gradually reduce the power volume it imports from China.

The wild beauty of the Mui Dinh lighthouse

 VietNamNet Bridge - Located in a remote location unknown to most people, the Mui Dinh lighthouse adds to the pristine beauty of the area.

Special dishes make big profits for small Hanoi food stalls

 VietNamNet Bridge – Many small food stalls scattered around Hanoi's streets and alleys are making large profits thanks to their special dishes.

F&B chains prosper in HCM City, struggle in Hanoi

VietNamNet Bridge – Most of the world’s food & beverage chains prefer HCM City over Hanoi and the north when they head for the Vietnamese market.

Maternal health handbook saves lives

 VietNamNet Bridge – Nguyen Thi Minh will be always grateful for a little pink handbook she was given by her commune health station when she became pregnant again.

Vietnam and India agree to boost a strategic partnership

President Truong Tan Sang and his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee agreed to intensify the Vietnamese-Indian strategic partnership with a focus on politics, defence, security, economics, science-technology, oil and gas, and culture.

Reality TV host choices stir up debate

VietNamNet Bridge – Lately, there has been much talk about the quality of several television reality shows, from the top-notch to the small-scale kind. The issue revolves around the question of what the producers really care about

Vietnam dairy brands becoming global household names

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam has made great inroads into the global dairy industry and currently exports dairy products to over 29 foreign markets, one of the few nations in Asia exporting dairy products.

Turning reef into island: China is violating international law

VietNamNet Bridge – The world media and scholars have repeatedly mentioned China’s ambition to occupy the East Sea with its plan to turn the Johnson South Reef (Gac Ma in Vietnamese) into an island

Red tape prevents take-off of Vietnamese-made helicopters

 VietNamNet Bridge – Watchdog agencies are taking a conservative approach toward the development of the Vietnam’s aviation industry, scientists say.

Legal Advice: Five things to know when doing business via websites

Organizations and individuals when creating an electronic commerce website should give heed to its forms, the responsibility to register/notify competent state agencies, as well as the obligation to protect personal information of customers, etc.  

Weather forecasting faces limitations

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam lacks qualified weather forecasting experts, Phan Van Tan, a lecturer at the Ha Noi University of Natural Science's Faculty of Hydrology and Meteorology, told Hai Quan newspaper.

Vietnam optimistic about TPP progress

 VietNamNet Bridge – Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh recently returned from a visit to the US, where he headed up a Vietnamese delegation lobbying for an early signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.

Songwriter brings African rhythms to Viet Nam with Djembe collection

 VietNamNet Bridge – After completing a five-year course at Nha Trang Aquatic Product College, Diep Chi Huy struggled to succeed at various businesses in HCM City.

Don't believe the statistics

 VietNamNet Bridge – "Made up" statistics are having a serious impact on Viet Nam's social security system, Dr. Trinh Hoa Binh from the Academy of Social Sciences told Lao dong Newspaper.

Ninh Thuan vineyard offers rustic summertime escape for travellers

 VietNamNet Bridge – It felt like the burning sun in the central province of Ninh Thuan had been turned off as I walked under the green leaves in Nguyen Van Moi's vineyard in Ninh Phuoc District, 7km from Phan Rang City.

Photo feature: Saigon’s female porters

 VietNamNet Bridge – Porterage is hard work for men but many women are earning their living from this job. Each day they carry several tons of goods to earn a meager salary.

Agriculture industry plants seeds of change

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam aims to improve agricultural products by implementing technology, but capital, land and infrastructure are major obstacles.