Start-up's quest to localise Vietnamese travel

 VietNamNet Bridge – Hai Ho, co-founder of triip.me, is the brain behind the Vietnamese start-up that allows anybody with a tour idea to create their own package and sell it to interested tourists.

Pollution blamed on seafood processing

 VietNamNet Bridge – Nearly 400 households with 1,900 people in Dien Ngoc Commune in Dien Chau District, Nghe An Province, have lived for five years surrounded by pollution from seafood processing enterprises.

Experts sought to aid nuclear power plant

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam is recruiting skilled professionals in the nuclear power sector as it prepares to start construction of the country's first nuclear power plant in central Ninh Thuan Province at the beginning of next year.

Singaporean researcher talks about Vietnamese photography

 VietNamNet Bridge – Singaporean researcher Zhuang Wubin is a well-known critic on photography in Southeast Asia who has curated various photography exhibitions in the region.

Foreign investors snub power generation sector

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam’s policy to purchase power at low prices and hold a controlling stake in state-owned power projects has discouraged many foreign investors in the power sector.

“Our House” festival for foreign expatriates in HCM City

 VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City will host a festival at Van Thanh tourist resort on September 10-12, targeted at the city’s foreign communities, diplomatic corps, and expatriate students.

VN pearls have the world as their oyster

VietNamNet Bridge – The entire audience at the fashion show, Silk Heritage, on August 2 at the Grand-Ho Tram Strip, were deeply impressed by the unique combination of pearls and traditional materials used in the collection "Hue khoi xu Nam Ky"

Leaders pay tribute on National Day

 VietNamNet Bridge – A delegation of Party, State, Government, National Assembly and Viet Nam Fatherland Front leaders on Saturday paid floral tributes to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum to mark Viet Nam's National Day,

Turtles near extinction return home to new conservation area

 VietNamNet Bridge – Sarah Wahl meticulously counts the red spots and jots down the exact size of each of the 71 Annam leaf turtles.

Over 70 percent fresh IT graduates need re-training

 VietNamNet Bridge – A survey by the National Institute of Information and Communications shows that 70 percent of graduates in Information Technology (IT) need to be re-trained to meet requirements of firms.

Banh Xeo Pagoda lures visitors

 VietNamNet Bridge – Banh Xeo (Pancake) Pagoda is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Tinh Bien, a border area in the Mekong province of An Giang.

Freedom of speech and legal framework

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnamese Government’s recently issued decree on the management, supply and use of Internet services and online information reflects its unceasing efforts to better its legal system,

Guitar workshop hits all the right notes

 VietNamNet Bridge – The arrival of a late afternoon is accompanied by the gentle strumming of a guitar, emanating softly from a family workshop in Ho Chi Minh City.

Illegal advertising threatens traffic safety

 VietNamNet Bridge – A little boy suddenly points up to a colourful advertising banner hanging across Thai Ha Street. The image of a famous comedian being tied to a tree has caught his attention.

Vietnam’s public debt on the rise, says official

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam’s public debt has increased steadily over the past three years while the public debt supervision process still has shortcomings,

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 2/9

 Binh Duong approves US$200 million investments; Gmobile still fraught with difficulties; Farm produce exports slightly decline; HCM City’s sales promotion month attracts 900 firms

Thousands of Ha Noi firms forced to close their doors

 VietNamNet Bridge – About 6,700 enterprises in Ha Noi went bankrupt or ceased operations in the first eight months of this year, according to the municipal taxation department.

BBC launches programme on dynamic Viet Nam

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam has hit the airwaves in a new season of BBC programmes called Vietnam Direct, which is showcasing the country's transition into a dynamic dragon economy within Asia.

Hanoian architects create virtual capital

 VietNamNet Bridge – A new project run by a group of young architects and graphics experts will use 6-dimensional (6D) technology to recreate a virtual capital by restoring ancient sites.

FDI bottlenecks in Mekong Delta

 VietNamNet Bridge – Although the Mekong Delta was “a bright spot” in the initial stage of FDI attraction, it has now been in low profile with Can Tho City lagging behind Long An and Tien Giang provinces.

Travel firms decry undercutting

VietNamNet Bridge – Many travel firms are discontented with the unhealthy competition in the tourism industry as multiple firms are racing to lure customers by offering low-priced tours but failing to ensure the service quality accordingly.

Lack of inspection blamed for deaths

 VietNamNet Bridge – The shortage of labour inspectors is to blame for the failure to prevent workplace accidents and occupational diseases, the Department of Labour Safety has said in a report.

Vietnamese heritage ‘up for grabs' by private collectors

 VietNamNet Bridge – At the risk of offending many people who consider themselves protectors of ancient culture, this writer would like to focus on the many collectors, domestic and foreign,

The tour to the ancient Hanoi

 VietNamNet Bridge - More than 100 years have passed, Ha Noi today has changed a lot but remains somewhere the image of the old Hanoi with the The Huc Bridge, the Hoan Kiem Lake, the Temple of Literature and many others.

Vietnam fights to stop medical rhino horn myth

VietNamNet Bridge – A long-term public awareness campaign aimed at reducing demand for rhinocerous horn among the community was launched this week.