Power plant pollution engulfs residents

 VietNamNet Bridge – The four-month-old Mao Khe Thermal Power Plant in northern Quang Ninh Province's Dong Trieu District is said to be polluting the environment.

Yu Lan Festival at biggest temples in Saigon, Hanoi

 VietNamNet Bridge – On the morning of August 21, about 6,000 people flocked to Hoang Phap Pagoda in Tan Hiep Commune, Hoc Mon District, HCM City, to participate in the Yu Lan festival to pay grateful to their parents.

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum to close in two months

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the Monument of Heroic Martyrs will be closed from September 6 through November 5 for periodic renovation.

Fallen Chinese political star Bo Xilai goes on trial

 Disgraced Chinese political star Bo Xilai went on trial Thursday for bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power, the court said in the country's highest-profile prosecution for decades.

Rolls-Royce Phantom Dragon clashes with motorbike, two dead

 VietNamNet Bridge – The serious accident occurred on Highway QL46, in Nam Dan district, Nghe An province at about 3.30pm on August 20. The car is owned by a “tycoon” in Huong Khe district, Ha Tinh province.

Unlikely model stars in photo show

 VietNamNet Bridge – A chubby Japanese toddler is the unlikely star of a new photo exhibition on display at the Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange in downtown Ha Noi, which aims to give locals a unique insight into Japanese culture.

Hanoi: Five school headmasters resign

 VietNamNet Bridge – The news that five school headmasters in Ha Dong district decided to resign from their posts for the acknowledged shortcomings in the management capability has stirred up the public.

Authorities fail to collect tax from online shops

 VietNamNet Bridge – The online trade now in Vietnam has special characteristics, beginning with “no”: no tax, no clear origin of products and no certificate on product quality.

Shoppers support illegal abattoirs

 VietNamNet Bridge – Despite having invested tens of billions of dong, many modern slaughterhouses in the southern province of Dong Nai are still struggling to compete with illegal abattoirs.

Stunt show to open VN ‘drifting' workshop

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Viet Nam Drift 1 Workshop will start its programme of activities with a stunt show at the opening ceremony of the at the Crescent Residence, in Phu My Hung, HCM City on Sunday.

Rubbish feared to spoil Da Lat

The famous tourist sites in Da Lat City of Lam Dong province have got more seriously polluted. Local residents fear that rubbish would “spoil Da Lat,” and the city would no longer be a romantic city in the eyes of travelers.

Quang Binh - a rendezvous in central Vietnam

 VietNamNet Bridge – With a complex of over 300 caves and a 116km-long coastline with white sand, the central province of Quang Binh is becoming a popular destination in the so-called “Central Region Heritage Road”.

Tourists feel at home in Ninh Binh

 VietNamNet Bridge – Ninh Binh Province is promoting tourism homestays and improving co-operation with other provinces to enhance the tourism experience,

MIC believes IT service market worth billions of dollars

A survey of the Ministry of Information and Communication has found out that the world IT service market is a real potential for Vietnamese firms to exploit. Meanwhile, the domestic IT service market is worth billions of dollars.

VN museum trials 3D programme

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Viet Nam National Museum of History has launched a trial version of a 3D museum on its website.

Sweden eyes mining deals in Viet Nam

 VietNamNet Bridge – Sweden's top mining companies are keen to develop long-term partnerships in Viet Nam, according to a seminar hosted by the mining industry last Friday.

Downgraded buses continue to ply in city streets

VietNamNet Bridge – Ho Chi Minh City is developing future public transport, such as metros, tramcars, and overpass trams, which will come about only in the next five or six years, but currently the buses still plying the City streets

Enterprises slammed for destroying forests

 VietNamNet Bridge – Thousands of hectares of forest in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong have been devastated due to the irresponsibility of local officials working on agriculture and forestry projects.

Blood test may predict suicide risk some day: study

 U.S. researchers said Tuesday they have found a series of biomarkers in blood that may be used to identify who is at risk of suicide in the future.

Stories at Saigon’s Pho Tay

 VietNamNet Bridge - Over a year holding the position of the chief police officer of Pham Ngu Lao Ward,  which is called the Street of Foreigners, Lieutenant Colonel Nghia has witnessed many funny and annoying stories related to foreign visitors.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 22/8

 C. bank drafts rule on gold custody service; HAGL restructures portfolios to cut debts; HCM City’s CPI increases 0.31% in August; Samsung factory to take shape in Thai Nguyen

Home loan package barely deployed

VietNamNet Bridge – After two months of deploying the VND30 trillion housing credit package initiated by the Government, local banks have disbursed and committed to lend a total of nearly VND800 billion only, the State Bank of Vietnam reports.

Decree regulates foreigners' video game trading rights

According to Government Decree 86/2013/ND-CP issued on July 29, trade in prize-winning video games for foreigners is a conditional business activity and subject to strict control of competent state agencies.

22 Mekong city property officials on trial

 VietNamNet Bridge – Twenty-three people, almost all of them officials, are on trial for wrongdoing related to land management in Long Xuyen City in the Mekong Delta.

Malaysian charged for human trafficking

VietNamNet Bridge – The People’s Court of the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong on August 20 sentenced Farid Bin Abdullah, a Malaysian, to 16 years in prison for his involvement in a cross-border human trafficking case.