HCM City hotels, restaurants adopt ambitious anti-smoking campaign

   Around 400 hotels and restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City will join an ambitious campaign to adopt smoking-free areas.

MB24 online trading investigated

 VietNamNet Bridge – Ha Noi Police have raided the headquarters of MB24, an online trading company based in Tu Liem District, following allegations the company had appropriated a large amount of money from customers.

Weekend offers rock, skateboarding and more

 VietNamNet Bridge – Local female bands will gather for an all-female performance at Ha Noi Rock City (HRC), 27/52, To Ngoc Van Street, Tay Ho District, on Friday night, from 8-12pm.

Black Infinity to rock Hanoi

 Black Infinity will bring a frenzied rock performance for their fans at Hanoi Rock City at 8 p.m. on Saturday.

Hanoi's bus drivers told to ease up

 VietNamNet Bridge – Bus drivers in the capital city have been urged to ensure they obey all traffic regulations, after statistics showed that drivers of public buses were getting an increasing number of traffic fines.

U.S. Fed unveils no new monetary moves to bolster anemic recovery

 The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday said the nation's economic activity slowed pace in the first half of this year, but it did not announce new monetary moves to bolster the weak economic recovery.

Chasing the Dragon – a day trip to Ha Long Bay

 “Could you do this trip twenty times a month?”

Spirit of sport infringed but not the law

 Eight women badminton players disqualified from the London Olympics on Wednesday for deliberately trying to lose their doubles matches have been punished for infringing the spirit of their sport but not the rules.

Photo exhibition on AO victims in HCMC

 An exhibition of photographs depicting Agent Orange victims opened on August 1 at the War Remants Museum, supported by the Ho Chi Minh City Association for Agent Orange/dioxin victims.

Expats put effort into English theaters

 With a passion for theater and the wish to create an art space for the foreign community in Ho Chi Minh City, some expats have paid from their own pocket to make their own shows.

SPORTS IN BRIEF 2/8

 Wrestling draw ceremony to be held on Saturday; VN football team gathers to prepare for AFF Cup; U15 football tournament kicks off in August

Unlucky businessmen mortgage luxury cars, take taxi to work

Misfortune never comes alone. A lot of businessmen had to sell their immovable properties to get money to pay workers. And now they have to sell the last valuable asset – cars – to get by.  

Nhat knocked out of Olympic fencing event

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese fencer Nguyen Tien Nhat failed to progress to the next round of his event at the London Olympics yesterday.

Prime Minister asks for tighter quarantine procedures

 VietNamNet Bridge – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung yesterday, Aug 1, asked authorities, especially those in border provinces, to tighten inspections and control of poultry imports in an attempt to stem a bird flu epidemic.

More whirlwind raids three southern provinces

 VietNamNet Bridge – At noon of August 1, the second whirlwind swept over the three southern provinces of Soc Trang, Bac Lieu and Ben Tre, damaging nearly 350 houses.

Chinese fishing vessels violate Vietnam sovereignty

 VietNamNet Bridge – As many as 8,994 trawlers were said to set sail at 12pm on August 1 and fish in the East Sea areas which in fact belong to Vietnam’s territorial waters.

Smart phone will be the main propulsive force of the market

Smart phones would be the fulcrum of the mobile phone retail market, with 42 percent of Vietnamese users saying they would use smart phones instead of normal phones in the near future.

Soldier who posts langur-killing pictures on Facebook punished

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Military Corp 3 on July 31 announced to revoke the soldier’s title of private first class Nguyen Van Quang, who was involved in the torture and killing of two rare langur and posting pictures on Facebook.

Bomb threat causes airport evacuation in Texas

 A bomb threat at San Antonio International Airport in the U.S state of Texas caused the evacuation of both terminals there on Wednesday afternoon, said local media.

Whirlwinds kill 2, damage 450 houses in the south

 VietNamNet Bridge – Two people were killed and dozens of others were injured after whirlwinds battered Bac Lieu and Soc Trang provinces in the Mekong Delta on August 1.

GOVERNMENT IN BRIEF 2/8

 Top DPRK legislator to visit Vietnam; VFF-UN joint projects advance; Phu Tho boosts ties with Lao localities; Leader of Labour Confederation visits Australia

Billboards introduced into schools, commercializing schooling environment

Advertisement leaflets, brochures have been delivered at schools, banderoles have been hung at the school entrance, in front of classes.  

New Zealand offers working holidays

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam and New Zealand have agreed on a working holiday scheme which would allow people from each country to spend working holidays in the other country for up to 12 months, under an agreement that took effect yesterday

Suspect bomber arrested

 Police officers in the central province of Khanh Hoa have arrested a man who allegedly placed a bomb at the provincial police chief’s house on July 30.

Rare animals kept at private houses… for fun

While a lot of animals living in the wild have been hunted by people, many others have been put on cages at private houses just to entertain people.