Amateurs impress judges at Viet Nam Idol auditions

VietNamNet Bridge – Amateurs throwing heart and soul into their performances impressed judges more than trained counterparts from art and music schools at the Viet Nam Idol reality show auditions for the northern region.

Work by late Vietnamese painter to be auctioned in Singapore

VietNamNet Bridge – An artwork by the late Vietnamese painter Bui Xuan Phai is to go up for auction in Singapore on July 28.

Vietnam establishes East Sea Institute

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has signed a decision to set up the East Sea Institute, a new affiliate of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, on July 12 that will effectuate on September 1, 2012.

U.S. FDA OKs first drug to prevent HIV infection

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Truvada, the first drug approved to reduce the risk of HIV infection in uninfected individuals who are at high risk of infection and who may engage in sexual activity with HIV-infected partners.

Police check on 5m mobiles

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has asked police to check on the accuracy of the data on five million prepaid mobile-phone subscribers in HCM City.

Pay-TV industry urged to lower fees, raise content

More original content and reduced subscription fees – these are two immediate tasks for Viet Nam's pay-TV industry if it is to build on its success over the last decade, experts say.

Gov't officials get total of 11 years' jail for gambling

VietNamNet Bridge – Two senior officials and four accomplices in southern Soc Trang Province would be imprisoned for gambling, the board of the province's court said yesterday, July 16.

Tam cycles to second stage win

VietNamNet Bridge – Trinh Duc Tam of ADC-Vinh Long Television 1 won the second stage of the Return to Truong Son cycling tour yesterday, July 16.

Minh in good form for London

VietNamNet Bridge – As the world No 11, Vietnamese athlete Nguyen Tien Minh will be seeded in the badminton event at the upcoming London Olympics.

U.S. stocks drop amid disappointing data despite positive bank earnings

U.S. stocks closed lower on Monday on slightly negative retail sales despite better-than-expected Citigroup earning report.

Work on HCM City metro starts soon

Construction of the city's Metro Line 1, the first in the country, will begin on August 28, according to the HCM City Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR).

NA Standing Committee convenes ninth session

VietNamNet Bridge – The ninth session of the National Assembly Standing Committee opened in Hanoi on July 16, reviewing the outcomes of the third sitting of the 13th NA and discussing preparations for the next meeting scheduled for late this year.

Vietnam introduces Maritime Law

VietNamNet Bridge – The Presidential Office on July 16 made public the laws that were approved at the 13th National Assembly session in May and June 2012.

North, centre can expect heat wave

VietNamNet Bridge – Temperatures up to 38 Celsius degree have been predicted for the north and centre of Viet Nam today. The hot spell would last two days across wide areas of the north and the centre before rain took over the two regions,

IMF lowers global economic outlook

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday cut the projected world economic growth rates of this year and the next, as downside risks to the global growth loomed large, and it urged global policymakers to take bold action to boost growth.

Chinese products dominating Vietnamese traditional craft villages

Bat Trang pottery, Ha Dong silk craft villages have been flooded with Chinese goods. Meanwhile, the Dong Ho painting village not only has lost its traditional career, but lost its name as well.

GOVERNMENT IN BRIEF 17/7

Top Cambodian legislator to visit Viet Nam; Vietnam, Laos strengthen trade union cooperation; PM asks legal people to aid diplomacy; Vietnam, Cambodia NA boost ties

Saboteurs get total of 13 years in jail

VietNamNet Bridge – Three people were sentenced to a total of 13 years and six months' imprisonment by the Peoples' Court in the northern province of Bac Giang yesterday for conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.

Young overseas Vietnamese show gratitude to war martyrs

Nearly 200 young overseas Vietnamese on July 15 attended a requiem in Thai Binh province to commemorate war martyrs and those who died in the historic 1945 famine.

President attends APEC council’s session

Vietnam, as a developing economy, is actively integrating into the world economy, fully implementing multilateral and bilateral international commitments as well as creating a favourable business environment for domestic and foreign businesses

Clinton meets Israeli PM on peace process, Iran, Egypt

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjiamin Netanyahu here Monday evening to discuss the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Iran's controversial nuclear program, changes in Egypt's politics

Digital apps on mobile devices booming

Big Internet firms in Vietnam have all forecast that the market of digital apps on mobile phones would witness a boom in the time to come.

Setting up sea economic zones now fashionable in coastal provinces

VietNamNet Bridge – The plan on sea economic zones has been made public by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) which needed two years and much heart calculation to draw up the plan.

The teachers who are afraid of summer holiday

While state employees are jealous of teachers’ long holiday in summer, a lot of teachers are afraid of the holiday because they cannot earn money in summer.

Ice Age beats Spider-Man to top North America box office

"Ice Age: Continental Drift," the fourth of the successful "Ice Age" franchise, beat "The Amazing Spider-Man" to top the North America box office with better-than-expected 46 million U.S. dollars at the weekend,