New albums mark start of festive season

 VietNamNet Bridge – Music industry stakeholders are engaged in a race to release new albums for the upcoming holiday season, but those with more experience are likely to do better in the market.

Local authorities, government in heated dispute over thermal power project

VietNamNet Bridge – The Kien Giang Provincial People’s Committee is at odds with the central government over its desire to revoke the investment license granted to Tan Tao Group to build a giant thermal power plant and a deep water seaport complex.

Foreign NGOs to meet in Hanoi

 Hanoi will host the third international meeting on cooperation between Vietnam and Foreign Non-Governmental Organisations (FNGO) on November 28-29.

Bright spark inspires Mekong bio-tech rice boom

 VietNamNet Bridge – A young entrepreneur from the Mekong Delta is helping local rice farmers save money and save the environment with the use of his bio-technology innovations and a sustainable approach to mushroom production.

Crowd favorite Nutcracker returns to HCM City opera house

 VietNamNet Bridge – HCMC Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) brings ‘Nutcracker’ back to the HCMC Opera House at 8 p.m. on November 29 and 30 for city ballet fans to lap up.

Schools combat cough medicine craze

 VietNamNet Bridge – Bui Thi Thuoc in HCM City is worried that her eighth-grade daughter will become a drug addict.

Privileges proposed for domestic ships to regain market

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Transport has proposed to apply a series of measures to help shipping firms ease their difficulties and regain the maritime transport market from foreign agents.

"Divo of Vietnam" talks about his stellar career

 VietNamNet Bridge – Dubbed as "divo of Vietnam", Tung Duong has just released his latest album Doc Dao (Only Path), his biggest music project with Vietnamese-French musician/producer Nguyen Le.

Sport offers new hope to disabled

 VietNamNet Bridge – Central Quang Tri is home to about 80 per cent of the country's physically disabled people, but its sports programme has been a "magical wand" changing the lives of those with disabilities for the better

In photos: “Spiritual landmark” in the sea

Like other pagodas in Truong Sa Archipelago, the pagoda on Truong Sa Lon Island is not only a place for the islanders to practice their religion but also a unique architectural work that confirms the sovereignty over the sea and islands of Vietnam.

Technologies transferred in Vietnam remain less modern

Almost all technologies being transferred in Vietnam are of the same advanced level or better than existing ones in the country, but they do not compare well with those in other regional nations, according to a survey.

Foreign investors cash in on shares

 VietNamNet Bridge – Foreign investors turned to sell off shares after a period of being net buyers, although a draft decision has opened opportunities for them to increase ownership in Vietnamese companies.

Paralysed hip-hop dancer defies physical limits

 VietNamNet Bridge – Audiences at last month's 2013 Got To Dance competition witnessed 31-year-old Nguyen Thanh Trung do a handstand dance move on stage, turning his body many times in a kind of reverse pirouette.

High-rise buildings illuminate Vietnam’s dynamic growth

 VietNamNet Bridge – The JW Marriott Hanoi Hotel, with its lotus sculpture-bearing Dragon and Bitexco Financial Towers, is a major project in the capital city of showing the country’s dynamic growth to its international friends.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 24/11

 Sumitomo Corporation wants to invest in HCM City;  Marketing tool attracts shoppers;  FPT announces 10-month revenue increase; Domestic retail market full of potential

20 banks sell debts to VAMC

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) has cut deals to buy debts from 20 credit institutions, a source from the enterprise said.

Domestic jewelry market catches foreign investors’ eyes

Foreign jewelry firms are believed to lie in wait at the border gate, getting ready to enter the Vietnamese market once the country opens the gold market by 2018, when the import tariff would be cut to zero percent.

In pictures: Buses in Hanoi

 VietNamNet Bridge - For years, the image of Hanoi buses with the two colours of red and yellow has become familiar to both city residents and tourists.

Athletics – the "gold mine" of Vietnam at 27th SEA Games

 VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam will send up to 43 track-and-field athletes to the upcoming SEA Games in Myanmar, aiming to obtain 10 to 12 gold medals from these sports.

Singer brings Vietnamese values to US

VietNamNet Bridge – Hong Ngoc has just embarked on a four-city tour across America. The renowned singer talks to Khac Thi about her tour and her life in the US as well as her experience juggling the responsibilities of being a businesswoman

Hospitals invest in IT services

 VietNamNet Bridge – Many hospitals in Viet Nam are transforming their IT services by upgrading to more expensive, smarter systems to improve their services and quality.

Vietnam to open many tourist support centers

 VietNamNet Bridge – Many tourists support centers will be set up nationwide, especially in localities welcoming one million tourists or more each year, to assist tourists in case of need.

PhD suspected of plagiary sues MOET minister

 VietNamNet Bridge – Hoang Xuan Que, the economics PhD of the Hanoi Economics University, has taken legal proceedings against the Ministry of Education and Training’s Minister Pham Vu Luan for the ministry’s decision on revoking his doctorate.

Hue teacher wins Vietnam Heritage Photo Awards

VietNamNet Bridge – Hue-based teacher Nguyen Xuan Huu Tam pocketed the special prize for the single shot called Bien va con nguoi at the award ceremony for the second Vietnam Heritage Photo Awards 2013

With limited budget, computerization program goes at a snail’s pace

 VietNamNet Bridge – The State plans to budget VND200 billion for the national program on the information technology application at state agencies (program 1605) for 2014-2015, which is not worth-while.