VietNamNet Bridge – The race for “star” primary schools has kicked off, even though the 2013-2014 academic year is not yet over.

 Vietnam will slash the number of conditional business sectors and professions in order to open up more investment opportunities for foreign companies.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra will hold a concert at Hanoi Opera House at 8 p.m. on May 7 and 8 under the baton of Japanese conductor Honna Tetsuji to mark the 60th anniversary of Vietnam’s victory

VietNamNet Bridge – The transport ministry will deal firmly with overloaded trucks despite objections, Nguyen Xuan Cuong, Deputy Director General of the Directorate for Roads, tells the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper

 VietNamNet Bridge – A series of Vietnamese-invested projects in Laos and Cambodia are stalling because of the government mandate that state-owned corporations withdraw from non-core business fields.

 Top Vietnamese chess player, Le Quang Liem will take part in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships 2014 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from June 15-21, with a solid target of defending his world blitz title won at last year’s competition.

 VietNamNet Bridge – French artist Lolo Zazar has worked in various genres for 30 years, from fine arts and photography to animated film. His new exhibition Metal Dream, inspired by Viet Nam, is displayed at L'Espace in downtown Ha Noi.

 VietNamNet Bridge – “You will see Chinese brand smartphones flood the Vietnamese market in just a few more years,” a Vietnam branch director of a Chinese phone manufacturing company said.

 VietNamNet Bridge – A series of global fast food restaurants recently made their foray across the main roads of large cities, such as Ha Noi and HCM City.

 VietNamNet Bridge – How much do private, foreign-invested, and state-owned businesses and credit institutions owe to foreign lenders?

The U.S. Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it will continue to reduce the amount of money it is pumping into the recovery since May, as it sees consistent improvement in the world's largest economy.

Hazardous medical waste, much of it contaminated with infectious agents, is often sold to scrap dealers . They in turn bring the waste to recycling workshops, where workers create consumer goods for daily use.

The ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) selected three Vietnamese players to be part of a team to compete in a charity match against the Indonesian national team next month in Jakarta.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Salt making is a very hard job, which is suitable to men but at Hon Khoi salt fields in the central province of Khanh Hoa, women are the main workers.

 VietNamNet Bridge - 40 individual reptiles including pythons, snakes, lizards, porcupines, squirrels ... are displayed at a coffee shop for people who love animals. Customers can drink coffee and play with them.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Adopting international standards and limiting cross-ownership are among key measures that will ensure Vietnam's banking sector reforms are effective.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Author Nguyen Van Hoc has suggested that Trang Tien Street in the heart of the capital be developed into a permanent street for book lovers, with areas for discussion, perusing publications and presentations by authors.

 Experts concerned about fragile economic recovery; JETRO: Japan food favored by locals; HCMC economy shows signs of recovery; Texhong licensed to develop IP infrastructure; Fresh FDI approvals fall, disbursements inch up

VietNamNet Bridge – Testing of the Truong Sa mini-submarine has been suspended for an indefinite period, as Thai Binh provincial authorities have rejected the inventor’s request to conduct his experiments in the local waters.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The 2013 Land Law seeks to redress unequal land distribution for development projects, Nguyen Manh Hien, Vice Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, tells the Hai Quan (Customs) newspaper.

The central city had 210,000 tourists on two days – the country's reunification day on April 30 and May Day, the Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said.

 VietNamNet Bridge – During his trip across the country, American photographer Chris Goldberg missed no opportunity to consume Vietnam’s great dishes – through not just his palate, but also his lens.

Japanese businesses are planning to import shrimp from India and Indonesia instead of Viet Nam, due to the excessively high levels of oxytetracycline (OTC) in Vietnamese shrimp.

 VietNamNet Bridge - BBC News recently introduced photos on Vietnam’s changes by Justin Mott, an American photographer working in Southeast Asia.

 VietNamNet Bridge - Isolated from the outside world, this burial ground for elephant hunters in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak is wild and mysterious.