Viet Nam and Cuba should focus on raising co-operation on economic, trade, scientific, cultural and education matters to a new level, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said yesterday.

Vietnam treasured its traditional friendship with China and was willing to increase comprehensive bilateral relations in a substantive manner, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh said.

 President Truong Tan Sang and his Indian counterpart, Pranab Mukherjee, yesterday agreed to intensify the Vietnamese-Indian strategic partnership.

Vietnamese technology groups have not given up on a plan to make Vietnamese-brand smartphones, and have announced plans to make phones not only for the low-end market segment.

The unemployment rate in Vietnam in the second quarter of 2014 was 1.84 percent, one of the lowest in the world. The Ministry of Labor said that the calculation method used to determine the jobless rate accords with international practice.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Taku Haruyoshi is the office manager for the Viet Nam Liaison Office of Tierra International Affairs, a multi-faceted company based in Kobe, Japan, whose core business is education.

 VietNamNet Bridge – College and university students are concerned about rising tuition costs and numerous fees charged by their schools.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Experience a boat trip in Ha Long Bay - the World Natural Heritage site - where there are hundreds of limestone islands of strange shapes.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Two films will serve as the official entries of Viet Nam at the Luang Prabang Film Festival in Laos.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Experts are seeking a much larger increase in the special consumption tax on tobacco products than that proposed by the Ministry of Finance.

Cash flow from the Philippines is gradually encroaching on the Vietnamese market, but its presence is not well known.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Citadel of Ho Dynasty has been attracting more and more tourists since it was recognized as World Cultural Heritage site in 2011.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) is giving top priority to afforestation and reforestation projects in line with Viet Nam's Support Programme to Respond to Climate Change (SP-RCC).

VietNamNet Bridge – The Southern Seed Corporation has put into operation a Vegetable and Flower Seeds Centre in HCM City's Cu Chi District with a total investment cost of VND30 billion (US$1.4 million).

 VietNamNet Bridge – A film that warns about the impact of climate change on humans will be screened at the Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF) in the US.

 VietNamNet Bridge – This central city's Culture, Sport and Tourism Department has launched its latest online tourism information portal following an eight-month trial period to further boost its tourism industry.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Coach Toshiya Miura of Viet Nam yesterday (Sept 14) said his players were ready for their first match against Iran at the Asian Games at Ansan Wa Stadium today.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Indian President Shri Pranab Mukherjee spoke to Vietnam News Agency before visiting the country

 Giving young people Botox treatment may restrict their emotional growth, experts warn.

Hundreds of Vietnamese enterprises are anxious to organize production and make parts and accessories to provide to Samsung, now that the South Korean giant has stepped up its business in the country.

VietNamNet Bridge – Engineer Nguyen Quoc Hoa, who invented the Truong Sa mini submarine, has applied for the necessary procedures to obtain a license to test the sub at sea.

New policies and reform programs developed by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) have caused controversy, including a recent decision to combine the annual national high school exam and university entrance exam.

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese-owned street food shops are losing ground to big foreign chains that have stronger financial capability.

VietNamNet Bridge – There are 10,226 sites in 10 northern mountainous provinces at in risk of landslides. The risk is especially high at 2,110 of those sites.

 VN, Australia vow more co-operation; PM praises former Japanese leader; S Korean air chief visits; NA chairman off to Laos