NASA Curiosity rover back online after memory glitch

 NASA's Curiosity rover, which has been exploring Mars since it landed to much fanfare last August, is back on active status Tuesday, after a memory glitch set the robot back.

Public debt under control, finance ministry says

The Ministry of Finance said in a report released on Thursday that Vietnam’s public debt, which stood at 56.3% and 54.9% of the nation’s gross domestic product in 2010 and 2011 respectively, is under control,

Thanh Hoa: A district with 1,000 people illegally working in China

VietNamNet Bridge - According to Quang Xuong district’s police in the central province of Thanh Hoa, up to 945 people in the district have gone to China as hired workers through illegal brokers.

Music awards to celebrate nation's best

 VietNamNet Bridge – Best New Artist and Song of the Year are two new categories at this year's Dedication Music Awards.

Gold bar auction expected to narrow price gap

 VietNamNet Bridge – The State Bank Governor issued a decision regulating gold bar trading procedures on Monday to prepare for the commodity's first official auction.

The open door for Vietnamese architects

VietNamNet Bridge - Why does Vietnam not take advantage of the brain and talent of local architects, but has to hire foreign architects with expensive price?

Two overseas Vietnamese undetermined to play in V-League

VietNamNet Bridge – Many football clubs are willing to recruit two overseas Vietnamese players -- Mac Hong Quan and Michal Nguyen, but they have not made any decisions.

SBV trades non-SJC gold, commercial banks make fat profit

The fact that the State Bank trades non-SJC bullion gold as per the newly issued Circular No. 06 has helped commercial banks make fat profits.

“Idol culture” in Vietnam

VietNamNet Bridge - The story between Vietnamese fans and Vietnamese stars also brings many unexpected and interesting things that are not different to the K-Pop.

GM Liem’s good start at HD Bank Int’l Chess Champs

Top seed player Le Quang Liem easily defeated Villanueva Nelson in his first match of the HD Bank International Chess Championships, which started in Ho Chi Minh City on March 19.

Phuoc powers to golden hattrick

VietNamNet Bridge – Hoang Quy Phuoc set a new national record in the men's 100m backstroke at the National Short-Course Swimming and Finswimming Championships at the Thua Thien-Hue Aquatic Sports Centre yesterday

GOVERNMENT IN BRIEF 20/3

 Australia appreciates Vietnamese defence minister’s visit; Vietnam welcomes Swiss insurer; VN eager to tighten links with Brunei; Vietnam-France Year to start in April

Software city chain In the pipeline

After years of focusing on the quantity of growth, the Quang Trung Software City has begun shifting its attention to the quality of growth and planning a Quang Trung Software City chain model.

Vietnamese officials keep arguing about key industries

No industry has developed into the key industry of the nation which can enjoy the preferences from the State.

Vietnam demands China to end sovereignty violation

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam once again rejects the so-called Sansha City and requests China to end violations of its sovereignty, and take no action to impede the legal fishing activities of Vietnamese fishing boats and fishermen,

Rhino horn trade: Vietnam threatened with trade sanctions

Some international experts have proposed to impose trade sanctions on Vietnam which they believe a “hot spot” in rhino horn trade.

Obama heads to Israel at start of Middle East tour

 US President Barack Obama left Andrews Air Force base en route to Israel at the start of a four-day trip to the Middle East.

Cross-country motorbike odyssey aims to help poor

VietNamNet Bridge – David Seton, a New Zealander now living in Viet Nam, will lead a team of 15 on a 2,000km motorcycle journey across the country to raise money for healthcare.

Cyprus bailout 'no' sparks joy

 Thousands of demonstrators burst into cheers and applause as their MPs on Tuesday flatly voted down a painful EU bailout plan aimed at rescuing Cyprus from bankruptcy.

While being uncooperative, Vietnamese travel firms lose travelers

Vietnam has been slashing tour fees in an effort to attract more tourists in the context of the global economic crisis.

Young intellectuals don’t want to return to Vietnam

Thousands of Vietnamese young intellectuals leave Vietnam every year to attend training courses overseas. Very few of them return to Vietnam after finishing the training courses.

DOC raises import tariff on Vietnam’s catfish, but exports won’t decrease

VASEP has affirmed that Vietnam’s catfish exports would keep going to the US as normal, denying the rumor that the catfish export has got stuck because of the high anti-dumping duties.

The secrets of ATMs

Commercial banks all complain that they have been incurring with ATM services, but they still keep developing ATM services.

New factories must meet environmental standards

 VietNamNet Bridge – Only production plants which have environmental impact assessments should be allowed to be located in HCMC industrial parks,

Fatal SKIN disease caused by Aflatoxin

The Ministry of Health has concluded that the mysterious disease which has affected 215 people in central Quang Ngai Province's Ba To District was caused by Aflatoxin, a toxin produced by fungus in mouldy rice.