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.

Thai drug trafficker gets death penalty

 VietNamNet Bridge – The HCM City People's Court yesterday (August 20) sentenced 31-year-old Thai woman Chaimongkol Suracha to death for drug trafficking.

Vien claims silver at Asian Youth Games

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese swimming star Nguyen Thi Anh Vien has won a silver medal at the Asian Youth Games in Nanjing, China, after finishing second in the girl's 100m backstroke event.

Firefighters tackle textile factory blaze

 VietNamNet Bridge – A large fire at a factory in HCM City's Tan Tao Industrial Park has been successfully stamped out after firefighters spent five hours tackling the blaze.

Football club boycotts V-League to oppose deduction

 VietNamNet Bridge – The V-League football club Xuan Thanh Sai Gon has shocked Vietnamese football by refusing to play the two remaining games in the V-League 2013 season, insisting that it has been treated unfairly by the sport's governing body.

Two ministers queried over land management, law implementation

 VietNamNet Bridge – Deputies of Viet Nam's National Assembly (NA) yesterday (Aug 20) grilled several government ministers during an online Question and Answer session as part of the Standing Committee's 20th session.

Human activity driving climate change: leaked report

 Human activity is almost certainly the cause of climate change and global sea levels could rise by several feet by the end of the century, according to an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report leaked to media.

Endemic Vietnamese turtles back home from Europe

 VietNamNet Bridge – 71 endemic Vietnamese pond turtles bred in Europe were brought home to the Turtle Conservation Centre (TCC) in Cuc Phuong National Park on August 19.

Let’s hang with the locals! Unique kind of tourism hits Vietnam

 VietNamNet Bridge - Each day thousands of visitors are visiting Vietnam. However, they all seem to flock together, walking exactly the same streets and visiting similar restaurants. How come?

GM Liem draws with Chess World Cup defending champion

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese player Le Quang Liem’s excellent performance held the Chess World Cup defending champion, Peter Svidler from Russia, to a draw in the first leg match of the tournament’s fourth round on August 20.

New sea observation stations to be built

 VietNamNet Bridge – Fourteen sea-environment observing stations are expected to be built and 13 existing oceanographic-meteorological stations improved during 2013-50 under a project

Vietnam's Next Top Model has to explain about transgender contestants

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Performing Arts Agency has asked the organizers of the Vietnam's Next Top Model 2013 to explain about the participation of transgender contestants, which is a violation to the contest’s rules.

28 branches named for high competitive advantages

Twenty eight of industries/branches have entered the draft list of the industries which have high competitive edges and need preferential policies to develop. A lot of professional associations have responded that the listing is unreasonable.

“Too handsome” man to come to Vietnam

 VietNamNet Bridge - The man who was reportedly told to leave Saudi Arabia for being ‘too handsome’ and made countless Vietnamese girls sobbing will be in Ho Chi Minh City in mid-September.

“Mysterious” billionaire wants to invest in $27 billion oil refinery

 VietNamNet Bridge – Mr. Thureign Augn was introduced by PTT Thailand as a Saudi prince, billionaire, and also a potential investor in the super-petrochemical project which was just kicked off in Nhon Hoi, Binh Dinh province.

Another ancient shipwreck discovered in Quang Ngai

In early August 19, hundreds of fishermen rushed to the waters of Binh Chau Commune, Binh Son District, Quang Ngai Province to illegally salvage artifacts from a fourth ancient ship which was just discovered on the evening of August 18.