Limited mineral exports may be allowed to cut inventories

VietNamNet Bridge – Enterprises in several localities will be allowed to continue exporting unprocessed minerals under a decision issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT). 

Roses bring better life for Sa Pa farmers

 VietNamNet Bridge – For nearly a decade, hundreds of farmers in Lao Cai Province’s Sa Pa District have been earning a high income after deciding to shift from growing rice to growing roses.

Scientists sense breakthroughs in dark-matter mystery

 For decades, the strange substance called dark matter has teased physicists, challenging conventional notions of the cosmos.

One-way propaganda makes Chinese more ugly

VietNamNet Bridge - For Vietnam, the counterproductive lesson of China's one-way communication policy should be seriously considered.

Forging ahead

 VietNamNet Bridge – Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong reflects on the past year and shares his expectations for the next in an exclusive interview with the Vietnam News Agency.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 20/2

Ba Ria-Vung Tau attracts big investors; Local exports gain easier access to Argentinean market; HDBank receives Euromoney honour; HCM City needs 53,000 workers after Tet

Circus celebrates life in bamboo

A new circus act entitled A O (Ah Oh) reflecting on the daily lives of Vietnamese southern villages has hit stages in HCM City, bringing an exciting new cultural product for locals and tourists alike.

Bank data released for turbulent 2012

Figures released by the State Bank have shown that at the end of 2012, the total assets of the entire domestic banking system recorded a growth of 2.54 per cent compared with 2011,

Nation’s FTA negotiating process in spotlight

 VietNamNet Bridge – The signed free-trade agreements (FTAs) would enable Viet Nam to reel in commercial and investment flows in serving its growth model restructuring.

Excessive TV in childhood linked to long-term antisocial behavior: study

Children and adolescents who watch a lot of television are more likely to manifest antisocial and criminal behavior when they become adults,

Architect draws attention for award-winning design

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vo Trong Nghia's Stacking Green House has been awarded Building of the Year 2012 by the American magazine Archdaily.

Snakes in Vietnamese culture

VietNamNet Bridge – In Vietnamese culture, snakes compose a popular icon having a strong obsessiveness. For centuries, the worship of snakes became one of most ancient belief practices of the Vietnamese people

Australia assists in climate projections

The Commonweath Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia’s natural science agency, is working to improve Viet Nam’s capacity to develop regional-scale climate projections.

Inside the first Starbucks coffee shop in Vietnam

VietNamNet Bridge - The world's largest coffee brand has entered the Vietnamese market with the opening of its first coffee shop in Ho Chi Minh City on February 1.

Festival: old diseases recur

Pilgrims are pickpocketed at Ba Chua Kho temple in Bac Ninh province. At the Perfume Pagoda in Hanoi, pilgrims are extremely crowded and they have to pay highly for services.

Tran Tho temporarily replaces Ba Thanh as Da Nang’s Party Chief

The Politburo has assigned Tran Tho, Deputy Party Secretary of Da Nang City, to be temporarily replace Nguyen Ba Thanh as the city’s Party Secretary.

Experts contribute opinions to draft law on State capital management

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Finance’s draft law guiding the use of State capital in enterprises will be opened to public opinion before it is submitted to the Government in July.

Vietnam on alert as bird flu claims lives in neighbor countries

As bird flu claims lives in China, Cambodia, Vietnamese health authorities asked its sub-divisions to urgently implement counter-measures against transmission of the virus to human.

$30 million for sports this year

"2013 is the break-through year of Vietnam’s sports and the sport sector must have a drastic change to have the long-term preparation for the future," said Lam Quang Thanh, Deputy chief of the General Department of Physical Training and Sports.

‘Then' singing named national heritage

 VietNamNet Bridge – Traditional ethnic Tay singing known as then was officially recognised on Sunday as an example of the nation’s intangible cultural heritage by representatives from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Foreign visitors flock to local attractions during Tet

 VietNamNet Bridge – Some of the nation’s most popular places of interest reported a marked rise in the number of foreign visitors over the Tet holidays.

Folk games attract tourists at Hanoi’s museum

On February 16, it was raining but many people took their children to the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology to play folk games. Many foreign tourists also came to learn Vietnamese culture.

Luxury car makers foresee good signs in 2013

Luxury car brand owners have been trying to expand their distribution networks in Vietnam, which means that they believe in the prosperity of the market in 2013.

Dak Lak Province faces acute water shortage

 VietNamNet Bridge – This last one month, residents of Buon Ma Thuot City, Buon Ho Town and Krong Pak District in Dak Lak Province have been facing an acute shortage of water

Economic crisis, crime dominate CARICOM meeting

 The global economic crisis and high crime rates afflicting most member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) dominated the group's meeting Monday in Port-au-Prince, Haiti,