Young badminton players set for battle

Eight Vietnamese shuttlers will be taking part in the Asian Youth Under-19 Badminton Championships in Gimcheon City, South Korea from tomorrow, June 30.

Foreign visitors to get VAT refunds

Foreign visitors and overseas Vietnamese will get VAT refunds on purchases made in Viet Nam from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2014, when exiting the country through Noi Bai or Tan Son Nhat international airports, the Ministry of Finance said.

Disaster management gets the nod

VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has approved a US$180 million disaster management project.

Vietnam Summer Camp to open for young overseas Vietnamese

Around 160 young Overseas Vietnamese will attend the opening of Vietnam Summer Camp 2012 at the Culture-Tourism Village of Vietnamese Ethnic Minorities in Hanoi on July 12.

HCM City hosts Asian Muay Championships

The 2012 Asian Muay Thai Championships will take place in Ho Chi Minh City from July 7-14, gathering fighters from nearly 20 countries and territories around the region.

Vietnam reboots SOE equitization, taking cautious steps

The government of Vietnam has decided to restart the state owned enterprise (SOE) process, even though it has anticipated big difficulties.

Chessmaster Hung leads U18 group

VietNamNet Bridge – Nguyen Thi Mai Hung temporarily tops the girls' U18 group with four points after the fifth round of the Asian Youth Chess Championships in Sri Lanka.

Asian futsal champs enter final round

VietNamNet Bridge –Vietnamese futsal (indoor football) club Thai Son Nam left for Kuwait yesterday, June 28, to take part in the final round of the Asian Futsal Club Championships from July 1-6.

Cuisine festival honours central specialties

A cuisine festival opened in the central city of Hue on June 28, featuring specialties of the central region.

Most Chinese fruit safe to eat

VietNamNet Bridge – About 60 per cent of inspected Chinese apples and pears have been found to contain pesticides. However, the amounts are within legal limits,

VN urges ASEAN nations to save forests

VietNamNet Bridge – The ASEAN community must co-operate more profoundly at all levels to promote sustainable forest management and development, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat said.

TRAVEL IN BRIEF 29/6

Da Nang to offer free wi-fi services; New flights launched to Chengdu; Night markets a hit in HCM City; Tourists set for cultural activities

IMF welcomes bolstered resources, vows to meet reform timeline

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday that the resources member countries committed are welcomed and would be safeguarded, and the IMF would strive to meet the timeline of the 2010 quota and governance reform.

Foreign Minister visits Belgium

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh has paid a two-day official visit to Belgium on June 27-28 at the invitation of - Belgium ’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Didier Reynders.

HCM City in search of skilled work force

VietNamNet Bridge – The city's labour market will need about 135,000 new and replacement positions to be filled in the second half of the year, according to the Centre for Human Resources Forecasting and Labour Market Information.

Bailout package out of reach of many businesses

VietNamNet Bridge – After the government declared the 29 trillion dong bailout package, HCM City authorities have announced it would reserve 30 trillion dong to rescue local businesses. However, it is not easy to access the support.

"Super Mario" inspires Italy to stun Germany at Euro semifinal

Mario Balotelli on Thursday proved his value with two goals as Italy stunned Germany 2-1 to reach the Euro 2012 final.

National Assembly Chairman to visit Laos

VietNamNet Bridge – National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung will lead a NA high-ranking delegation to Laos for an official visit from July 3-5, announced the NA External Relations Committee on June 28.

Two Chinese clinics fined for environmental irregularities

Two Chinese traditional medical clinics in Ho Chi Minh City were fined VND270 million for violating environmental regulations on June 27.

China’s sovereign claims in East Sea groundless: int’l scholars

 International scholars have affirmed that there is no legal foundation for China’s declaration of sovereignty over almost all of the East Sea area and that its U-shaped line is unreasonable.

How to deal with state owned banks’ bad debts?

Banks themselves would meet big difficulties in dealing with their bad debts if there is no reasonable mechanism for the process.

Serious principle violations found in joint training programs

Government inspectors have discovered that 46.5 percent of the programs under the mode of in-service training were run without the permission of the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET).

High income earners also have to live in pollution

Spending billions of dong to buy villas at high grade residential quarters, but thousands of households at five residential quarters in districts 8 and Binh Chanh in HCM City still have to live in serious pollution.

U.S. FDA approves new obesity drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday approved Belviq to treat obesity, making it the first new weight-loss drug in 13 years.

Love stories between mountain girls and western men

After tours to Kon Tum province, in central Vietnam, western men experienced the real life of ethnic minority people here. Some of them fell in love with mountain girls who are honest and plain and became ‘foreign sons-in-law.’