Party leader launches New Year with symbolic tree planting; Viet Nam's foreign affair achievements help creating peace and stability; PM tours Vietnam waste solution company

Customs have always been named as the agency with the highest corruption level in the government inspectors’, the World Bank’s and Vietnam Business Forum’s reports.

VietNamNet Bridge – The national women's tennis team will play their first match of the Fed Cup's Group II Asia/Oceania zone qualification on February 4 in Astana City, Kazakhstan.

Treating e-waste remains a difficult question to solve for environmental scientists. The volume of e-waste has been increasing year after year, while the treatment solutions still cannot bring good effects.

 Music therapy can help teenagers and young people cope better when faced with treatment for cancer, a study in Cancer journal suggests.

Vietnam has seen many positive results as well as challenges in various fields of development and the path to future growth looks bright, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong tells VNA in the following interview on the occasion of Tet.

VietNamNet Bridge – Travel firms tend to make heavier investment in necessary facilities to step up the tour sale via Internet.

The water filtration method with biotechnology found by the Vietnamese scientists has demonstrated the high ability of filtering organic matters and capable of cleansing nitrogen, a pollutant existing in water wells.

 More than 100 war keepsakes are displayed in a museum owned by war veteran Nguyen Manh Hiep who spent 20 years travelling to every corner of the country to look for and collect these objects.

 Bringing Xoan singing into schools has been recognised as an effective way of keeping the traditional art form in the hearts and minds of local people in the northern province of Phu Tho, its cradle.

 VietNamNet Bridge - A little romance and elegance of France, a little nostalgia of Italy or the ebullient style of cowboys ... are what you can experience when you visit these coffee shops.

 Among the many delicious Vietnamese foods that have caught the attention of people worldwide, Cuon banh trang (food wrapped in griddle cakes) is becoming a favourite.

 VietNamNet Bridge – While businesses have to brace themselves up to overcome difficulties in the prolonged economic crisis, they are “harassed” by inspectors coming from various state agencies.

Located at a favourable position on the Trans-Asia Road, Moc Bai Border Gate Economic Zone is expected to become an international trade centre, promoting cooperation and development between Vietnam and Cambodia and Vietnam and other ASEAN countries.

Dang Le Nguyen Vu, called the “Coffee King,” who stated that he will begin conquering the US market in 2013 but still has not done anything to implement the plan so far, has been described by local newspapers as a “braggart.”

To preserve and promote the art of Chau van singing, the French Cultural Centre in Hanoi and Vietnam’s Chau van Singing Preservation Club recently organized a two-night Chau van singing performance, drawing much attention from the public.

 VietNamNet Bridge - Close your eyes and listen to the breath of Hanoi night, you will hear the whisper of streets.

 A veteran embroidery artisan from Hue, Le Van Kinh, has completed 25 embroidery works that depict a poem renowned for its philosophical message by zen master Man Giac (1052-1096).

 Treat animals the way you would wish to be treated. That's the message that young members of a dog and cat rescue group are trying to convey to people in the capital.

We want to call her “a folk culinary artisan” because she has made great contributions to glorifying Vietnamese culinary culture. Her name has become familiar to most people who love the traditional culinary culture of Vietnam.

In the run-up to the lunar new year, Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh spoke with VIR’s Ngoc Linh about Vietnam’s economic development.

Just one year after the British ED&F stopped collecting cocoa in Vietnam and Japanese Mitsubishi “disappeared,” Puratos Grand-place has penetrated the Vietnamese market to become a big rival for Cargill.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Every day, barefoot divers in HCM City, nicknamed ‘'otters'', dive to the bottom of the Sai Gon River flowing through the city in search of scrap metal.

The number of environment criminals is on the rise, while criminal prosecution cannot help deter them, according to Major General Nguyen Xuan Ly, Head of the Environment Crime Prevention Police Department.