10,000 tickets for VN-Arsenal match sold out in one day

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam Football Federation announced to complete the sale of 10,000 tickets directly to fans at 4pm on July 7. At present, fans of the London club have only one chance to buy tickets through number 1080.

Ha Noi's bikers to pay for potholes

 VietNamNet Bridge – The capital will collect between VND50,000 (US$2,4) and VND100,000 ($4,8) as annual road maintenance fee from each motorbike user from early next month.

”Chase” 2013 - the pursuit of dreams

 VietNamNet Bridge - The exhibition titled "The Dreams I Chase" will open on July 19. This is an important part of the “Chase Hanoi” project, implemented by a group of Hanoi students.

Italian plants seed for change

 VietNamNet Bridge – Alongside a Vietnamese farmer, Lisa Huber bends her back to plant rice seedlings in the field. The Italian national is not on a tour designed for foreign tourists to discover the wet rice culture.

Ten months, three hydropower dams broke

The first “hydropower bomb" that denounced the irresponsibility of investors who were reckless for seeking profit is Dakrong III, located in Dakrong commune, Quang Tri province.

A mask maker in modern Saigon

VietNamNet Bridge – Saigonese riding on the city streets may see a gaunt figure with shoulder-length shiny black hair, a prickly mustache, dirty glasses and shaggy, paint-splattered clothes who is always striking amidst the crowd

New water hyacinth cutting machine to clear canals in HCMC

VietNamNet Bridge – A group of scientists from Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City have manufactured an automatic water hyacinth cutting machine that they hope will help in clearing 700 kilometers of canals in HCMCity

Police warn Hanoians of fake kidnappings

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Ha Noi Police have alerted citizens to fake kidnappings being used to extort money from family members.

Dong Tam FC fires second foreign coach

 VietNamNet Bridge – Failing to improve the poor performance of the team, Argentinian coach Marcelo Zuleta has been dismissed.

Irrefutable evidence for VN’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa

Published by the Chinese states in 1908, 1919 and 1933, the three atlases that are displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi do not mention Hoang Sa and Truong Sa though China still claims "historic sovereignty" with the two islands.

Vietnamese artists to compete for 2013 MTV EMA Awards

 VietNamNet Bridge – For the first time Vietnamese singers can participate in a major music awards in the world – the MTV European Music Awards (MTV EMA).

Number of listed companies falls in H1

VietNamNet Bridge – Twenty-one companies and one fund delisted shares in the first half of this year, the State Securities Commission revealed on July 4, reducing the total number of listed companies in the country.

Demand for marketing, sales skills to increase

 VietNamNet Bridge – The third quarter of this year will likely see an increase in recruitment demand among enterprises in the country, especially for sales and marketing positions, a survey has found.

Hiroshi Koike brings Mahabharata to Vietnamese audiences

 VietNamNet Bridge – Physical theater production Mahabharata from director Hiroshi Koike comes to Hanoi on July 16, giving audiences a glimpse of Indian culture.

Young people fail to budget money wisely

VietNamNet Bridge – Pham Chi Mai, 26, has been struggling to pay off her credit cards after an impromptu spending spree three years ago. The money she has borrowed has now reached nearly VND100mil - rather a lot of credit for someone her age

Perfect break from rain to Mui Ne

VietNamNet Bridge – Now the summer season is here (ironically during the middle of the rainy season) the weekend breaks of Saigonese are the norm and the hordes are heading off to Mui Ne and we thought we would join them.

Anti-corruption in Singapore: The whistleblower and the follower

 As described in Part 1, one of the key elements to keep Singapore clean is the public intolerance towards corruption.

Another wind power project for Ninh Thuan

VietNamNet Bridge – The south-central coastal province of Ninh Thuan has given approval in principle for Vietnam Electricity Investment and Construction Joint Stock Company to deploy a wind power project using Russian technology

Scientist chooses hometown over high pay

VietNamNet Bridge – Nguyen Huynh Dong, PhD, turned down a high salary in France to return to his hometown and work as a lecturer at the Viet Nam Petroleum Corporation. He talks about the rationale behind his decision.

“Chinese streets” near Hanoi

 VietNamNet Bridge - About 20km from Hanoi’s center, Dong Ky and Phu Khe carpentry villages in Tu Son commune, Bac Ninh province look like Chinese streets because most signboards are in Chinese.

Dying craft villages

 VietNamNet Bridge – Craft villages – the door out of poverty for rural workers - are dying or their names are only in the memory.

Former ‘gangster' fights to save wildlife

 VietNamNet Bridge – People call Phan Trong Luong, 40, a "Big Brother" and it's true: he does rule the roost over his 100ha of chestnut forests and 800ha reservoir, and he has been in jail for beating up poachers and gambling.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 7/7

 State budget collection increases; VEPR says 7-10 years needed to tackle bad debts; VNCB to raise capital to VND7.5 trillion; G-bonds forecast to sell well in H2; Mid-end condos still sell well

Ha Long City to host 18th Vietnamese Film Fest

 VietNamNet Bridge – The 18th Vietnamese Film Festival will take place in Ha Long City in the northern province of Quang Ninh from October 11 to 15.

Antiquities discovered around the 700-year-old wreck

 VietNamNet Bridge - After salvaging 4,000 artifacts from the ancient wreck in Binh Chau, Quang Ngai province, experts and archaeologists have discovered many precious artifacts around the ship.