HCM City’s 2011-2013 remittance nears US$14 billion; Lazada announces strong investment in e-commerce; Fuel imports keep falling on lower demand, Seasonal labor demand for Tet drops sharply

Updated information about cultural events in big cities of Vietnam.

The National Assembly on November 26, 2013 adopted the Law on Tendering, which is expected to encourage a more competitive environment for government bid packages. Le Net and Thai Huynh Ngoc Kim Ngan at LNT & Partners take some highlights.

 A student at a Colorado school shot and wounded two students, one seriously, before dying of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police say.

Dozens of police officers of Son Tay district in the central province of Quang Ngai were mobilized to escort people home after they received cash compensation from the Dakdrinh hydropower project, to protect from being mobbed by merchants.

 Japanese PM Shinzo Abe has offered SE Asian countries almost $20bn in aid and loans, in what is being seen as an effort to combat Chinese expansion.

 The White House on Tuesdaypromised to publicize every detail of the investigation of thealleged killing of two dozens of Iraqi civilians by U.S. Marineslast November.

 About 75 detainees have been staging a new wave of hunger strike since last weekend in the prison of the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, U.S. media reported Tuesday.

 Da Nang Guitar Concert to celebrate New Year; Students publish calendar of endangered primates; Viet Nam to observe Argentina Culture Week; Japanese Cultural Festival to welcome New Year 2014

 VietNamNet Bridge – The maximum fines for food safety and hygiene violations of individuals is up to VND100 million ($5,000) and VND200 million ($10,000) for institutions instead of VND15 million ($750) as previously.

 Vietnamese sculpture is joining the flow of regional and international fine art. The trend has been reflected at the on-going fifth National Sculpture Exhibition in Hanoi.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Japan and South Korea are the two biggest foreign direct investors in Vietnam. However, they have been following the different ways to develop investment projects and do business in Vietnam.

2013 marked an important milestone in Vietnam-US relations with the establishment of the comprehensive partnership that reflected accurately the healthy, wide-ranging growth of the ties, from politics to economics, trade and science-technology.

 The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) will seek the Government’s approval for a scheme to create funds for tourism promotion by charging hotels US$1 for one-night stay of each international visitor.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has urged the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) to forge closer links between the business communities of both countries, saying it would further strengthen bilateral relations.

 Vietnamese wrestlers have earned a total of 9 gold medals from competitions in Myanmar over the past few days, one more gold medal than the set target.

 The Hanoi People’s Procuracy has demanded death penalty for two former executives of the Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) who went on trial on December 12.

VietNamNet Bridge – Chiem Hoa District of northern Tuyen Quang Province is home to 18 ethnic groups, each with their own special cultures. Among these, arguably the most memorable is Hat then singing – a traditional oratorio of the Tay people.  

VietNamNet Bridge – “Site clearance is a continuing problem which discourages foreign investors in Vietnam,” said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

 VietNamNet Bridge – ADSL has become too old after 10 years of existing. Experts believe that it would be replaced by the latest technologies such as cable-TV Internet, 3G mobile broadband of FTTH (fiber to the home).

VietNamNet Bridge – A vast complex of houses and spiritual structures from the 54 ethnic groups from all over Viet Nam is still a work-in-progress by the State. The tribal Disneyland, known as the Viet Nam National Village

 VietNamNet Bridge – The first time I rode a bus in Ha Noi was one afternoon in early March this year, two weeks after I arrived in the country.

Robert Legage, a theatre artist from Canada recently introduced in Hanoi a video of the opera The Nightingale and Other Short Fables, which was inspired from Vietnamese water puppetry.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Local authorities all reportedly have big public debts due to the overly high spending. However, the figures about the debts are not counted on when calculating the national public debt.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Breathing the absolute purity of fresh air beneath thick canopies of flora, along paths winding through hills and mountains sounds nice. Those interested in romantic adventure should read on.