Hai Phong damaged by Bebinca storm

VietNamNet Bridge – Causing no harm to people, storm Bebinca damaged Hai Phong’s two famous tourist sites of Do Son and Cat Ba, the city dike system and caused serious flooding in the city center.

Hotels furbish green credentials

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam's hotel sector is showing encouraging signs of progress in awareness and management of the environment as well as quality standards, according to an annual report released by Grant Thornton Vietnam.

Japanese football expert not yet returned to Vietnam

VietNamNet Bridge - After returning to his home to mourn for his father, Japanese football expert Kazuyoshi Tanabe has asked the Vietnam Professional Football JSC’s permission (VPF) to stay in Japan for medical treatment.

Professional firms groom pop stars of tomorrow

VietNamNet Bridge – Once ardent fans who collected decals of their favourite pop stars, members of the 365 band have stormed the nation's music scene over the last year and built a devoted following for themselves.

U14 Vietnam wins Asian Football Champs for SEA region

VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnamese U14 female squad has been crowned the 2013 Asian Football Championship for Southeast Asian region after thrashing Cambodia 7-0 in its last match in Ho Chi Minh City on June 23.

Weightlifter Thach Kim Tuan bags three Asian silvers

VietNamNet Bridge – 2010 world youth champion Thach Kim Tuan has bagged three silver medals in the men's 56kg weight category at the ongoing 2013 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Vietnam off to good start at Asian youth chess championships

Vietnam got off to a flying start at the ongoing 2013 Asian Youth Chess Championships in Sari, Mazandaran, Iran, with Le Tuan Minh and Tran Tuan Minh each winning a gold medal in the boys’ U-18 and U-16 rapid categories, respectively.

Dong Nai climb table as storm stalls V-League

 VietNamNet Bridge – Dong Nai drew 1-1 against hosts Ninh Binh to move to seventh place in the V-League's 13th round.

Nearly 49,000 infected with dengue, 59 dead in Thailand

 Nearly 49,000 people in Thailand have been infected with dengue virus, 59 of whom died, Thai National News Bureau reported Friday.

Cell Alive System makes VN’s farm produce fresher

VietNamNet Bridge – The Japanese technology – Cell Alive System is expected to be used massively in Vietnam in preserving the country’s tropical fresh farm produce and seafood in an environmental-friendly

Forex fluctuations forecast to be temporary

 VietNamNet Bridge – Since the start of June, the Vietnamese dong has been falling against the US dollar after a long time of stability.

Bourse hit by exchange-traded funds

VietNamNet Bridge – Portfolio restructuring of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continued to have negative impacts on the Vietnamese stock market last week, as shares plunged steeply on both national stock exchanges.

Gold retains shine despite price gap

 VietNamNet Bridge – Though the gap between domestic and global gold prices continues to widen, there is no letup in the demand for bullion.

President Sang’s visit to China reaffirms foreign policy

VietNamNet Bridge – resident Truong Tan Sang’s newly-concluded visit to China is of crucial importance in reaffirming the Vietnamese Party and State’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralism and diversification of relations,

VN has abundant small seaports, empties pocket to build big ports

The State would gather the strength on key maritime projects to serve the sea-borne economy development strategy, according to Nguyen Nhat, Head of the Vietnam Maritime Bureau.

At least 5,000 killed in flood in N. India: official

 At least 5,000 people have been killed by flash flood in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand last week, said a government official on Sunday.

Higher education 2.0 proposed

 VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam has had universities 1.0 and it needs to build universities 2.0 with digitalized systems of documentation, students, teachers and the classrooms becoming cinemas.

TRAVEL IN BRIEF 24/6

 Additional flights will increase tourism in Mekong Delta; My Son Sanctuary to display G tower; Spiritual park inaugurated in HCM City; South Korea targets Vietnam as potential tourism customer

HPV vaccine significantly lowers infection rates in girls: CDC

 The introduction of a vaccine against the human papillomavirus (HPV) in 2006 has reduced the prevalence of the cancer-causing virus among U.S. teenage girls by 56 percent,

GOVERNMENT IN BRIEF 24/6

 President to visit Indonesia; Party chief’s visit to lift Vietnam-Thailand ties; Co-operative ties with Cuba cemented; Vietnam, China conduct joint naval patrol

Vietnam and China issue joint statement

VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam and China on Friday, June 21, issued a joint statement on the occasion of President Truong Tan Sang's State-level visit to China from June 19-21 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

SOCIETY IN BRIEF 24/6

 Highway 1 expansion projects begin; Project helps 1,400 people living with AIDS gain employment; Workshop debates health law changes; Vietnam attends ASEAN Family Day in New York

Drug makers accused of collusion

 VietNamNet Bridge – Experts have called for more inspections to prevent collusion between drug producers and distributors in Viet Nam that is allegedly pushing up retail prices for medicines.

Law amended, FIEs escape suspended sentence

VietNamNet Bridge - Thousands of foreign invested enterprises have escaped from their suspended sentence because they did not make the re-registration as required by the Enterprise Law.

Bebinca storm hits mainland nine hours early

At 7pm last night, June 23, the second storm in the East Sea made landfall in the northern port city of Hai Phong and Thai Binh province, nine hours earlier than previously forecast.