Peace-time heroes given no protection

 VietNamNet Bridge – Dr Hoang Thi Nguyet, pharmacist Tran Kieu Oanh, former teacher Do Viet Khoa and student Do Ngoc Son have been praised as heroes by the media for their courage in exposing illegal activities among their leaders, colleagues

Inbound remittances to hit new record

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam is forecast to receive between US$4.5-4.8 billion worth of overseas remittances this year - the figure that will remarkably surpass the US$4.1 billion level of 2012.

Province promotes precious bai choi singing

VietNamNet Bridge – Researchers and artists of traditional folk music presented suggestions to preserve and promote bai choi singing at a workshop held yesterday in the central province of Binh Dinh, the cradle of the singing.

Xuan Son National Park becoming tourist hotspot

VietNamNet Bridge – Xuan Son National Park in Tan Son District of the northern midland province of Phu Tho is receiving investment to make it a tourist hotspot and help drive the locality’s socio-economic growth.

Vietnam’s telcos ramp up for battle of the handsets

 VietNamNet Bridge – Local telco giants are making great strides in roll-outs of made-in-Vietnam smartphones.

Major cities curb traffic congestion with new roads

 VietNamNet Bridge – Ha Noi and HCM have made progress in curbing traffic congestion in the last five years with a number of drastic measures,

Foreigners hesitant to buy property

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Construction's proposal to further loosen regulations on foreigners' rights to buy houses in Viet Nam was expected to heat up the prolonged frozen property market.

Sunrise over Long Bien Market

 VietNamNet Bridge – An early morning peek inside the bustling heart of the Long Bien night market.

German conductor Bernhard Epstein to visit Hanoi

VietNamNet Bridge – Bernhard Epstein from the Music Academy of Stuttgart will conduct a concert at Hanoi Opera House at 8 p.m. on September 24. The event is in response to an invitation of the DAAD and the Goethe Institute

Ministry pursues aggressive higher education reform

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Education and Training has pledged to reform higher education management in the lead up to 2015, said a ministry official on Wednesday.

Crocodile meat floods Saigon sidewalks

 VietNamNet Bridge – On many roads in Ho Chi Minh City, crocodile meat is sold rampantly on the sidewalk, for only VND50,000 ($2.5) per kilo.

Pay-TV giants sometimes unfair

 VietNamNet Bridge – Unfair competition will give more influence to enterprises in the pay TV market and harm the rights of consumers, said Deputy Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Competition Management Department, Nguyen Phuong Nam.

A day in the border city of Mong Cai

Shopping and swimming are the two main activities of the border tourist town of Mong Cai in Quang Ninh province. If tourists do not pass the Bac Luan border gate to China, a full day in this town is hard enough for travelers to explore.

The Vietnamese most famous “men of pleasure”

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese businessmen not only have big money and power, but they also know well how to use the money to entertain themselves and show up their upper class.

Trek to Heaven’s Gate to admire Double Mountain

VietNamNet Bridge – Tam Son Commune in Quan Ba District in the northwest province of Ha Giang is endowed with wild scenery and an endless range of stunning limestone mountains.

My Khe - one of the six most attractive beaches on the planet

 VietNamNet Bridge – The "mother nature" has granted Da Nang with pristine picturesque beaches. The Forbes voted My Khe beach in Da Nang as one of the six most attractive beaches on the planet.

Son Dong Village: Home of artisans

VietNamNet Bridge – Son Dong fine arts village in Hanoi’s outlying Hoai Duc District is known as a dynamic craft village with enduring vitality, where talented artisans breathe fresh air into their products and enthusiastically promote their brand

Vietnam’s mobile phone sales put at 5.8 million units in Q2

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam consumed 5.8 million cellphones in the second quarter, most of them smartphones, according to market research firm IDC.

Monks light up lives of nation's needy

 VietNamNet Bridge – Two inspirational Buddhists monks are travelling through central Viet Nam helping the region's poor and forgotten in a bid to share their burden.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 15/9

 BIDV to fund three power projects in Vietnam; Two firms licensed to import gold; Automobile industry facing challenges ahead; VNA check-in upgrade affects airports

FDI sector now the main engine as other pillars crumple

VietNamNet Bridge – The foreign direct investment sector is now the key driver in the local economy while other pillars, notably the local private sector, the State-owned sector and agriculture are all crumpling, said a Fulbright economist.

Enchanting Sapa through the lens of Thai photographer

 VietNamNet Bridge - During his recent visit to Vietnam, Thai photographer Anan Charoenkal had a chance to visit Sapa and shot stunning photos of this land in the ripe rice season.

HCM City restricts groundwater exploitation

 VietNamNet Bridge – Groundwater is receding by 0.5-1 metre a year in HCM City, Nguyen Van Nga, head of the city's Natural Resources and Water Division, has warned.

No ordinary journey

 VietNamNet Bridge – For the Bissky-Dziadkyk family, the four-month trip to Southeast Asia in 2008 was the beginning of a lifetime journey that so far has taken them to 16 countries,

Vietnam suffers the dull “inflation ache”

 VietNamNet Bridge – Though the consumer price index (CPI) decreased in some of the last months, Vietnam has never escaped from the inflation ache.