Many travel agencies in Ho Chi Minh City are offering various promotional schemes on domestic and international tours to lure customers, whose numbers have dropped sharply after a substantial  increase in airfares and other service charges.

There was a great potential for Viet Nam to develop its digital content industry and generate a large revenue in the field of information and communications technology, said Le Doan Hop, president of the Digital Communications Society.

Real estate sales by banks in a bid to recover bad debts were flooding property brokerage centres, with prices much lower than general price levels on the market, online newspaper vnexpress.net reported.

VietNamNet Bridge – Collector Nguyen Huu Hoang has opened an exhibition to present 12 out of 30 rare royal costumes of the Nguyen Dynasty in his collection, at the Ta Vu house in the Hue royal citadel.

VietNamNet Bridge – Mr. Nguyen Mau Oai, 85, in Tho Xuan district, Thanh Hoa province, has illegally raised a dozen of tigers since 2006 but the local authorities have not taken any action.

A lot of high schools in Vinh Phuc province have refused to receive the applications for attending university entrance exams from the student with weak learning ability. However, the schools’ move has been criticized as violating the laws.

VietNamNet Bridge – Low cost tablet products, valued at less than 2 million dong, have created a “market fever” after they massively hit the market. However, the quality of the cheap products remains an unknown.

VietNamNet Bridge – Some roads around the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the road in front of the Ba Dinh Square will become streets for pedestrians before late President Ho Chi Minh’s birthday this year (May 19).

VietNamNet Bridge – Beatboxer Nguyen Cuong did not participate in the sixth semi-final show of the Vietnam’s Got Talent 2012 on April 8, because he did not accept some clauses in the contract with the show producer.

Top lawmakers have agreed to issue a resolution on the implementation of policies on people who have contributed to the revolution.

VietNamNet Bridge – Two elephants have been used to serve visitors to the Hue royal citadel at Hue Festival 2012, besides tramcars.

Russia will give priority to modernizing its space industry to protect its independence in space exploration, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.

VietNamNet Bridge – A set of musical instruments made from coconut shell by two artisans was recognized as a national record at the Coconut Festival, which closed on April 11 in Ben Tre province.

The decision to lower the interest rate to 12 percent in early April still surprised observers.

The Nigerian government on Thursday said about 70,000 newly born babies in the West African country are HIV positive.

The State Securities Commission (SSC) has kicked off a campaign of “health general examination and inspection” over securities companies. The companies to be dislodged from the market would show their faces in some more days.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will consider promoting the Trang An eco-tourism complex in the northern province of Ninh Binh on the well-known global TV network CNN in the coming time.

Raymond Aubrac, one of the leading figures of the French resistance during the Second World War and a long-time friend of Vietnam, passed away in Paris on April 10 aged 97.

Vietnam and Cuba issued a joint statement at the end of Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s official visit to Cuba from April 8-12.

Vietinbank sells off loads of shares; Tourism revenue hit nearly US$2 billion in Q1; Firm announces plans to delist in capital; Bank offers free services to help firms; Vietnam Airlines aims to expand fleet; Vietnam Airlines aims to expand fleet

VietNamNet Bridge – To escape Ha Noi's summer heat, I imagine that many people are like me and think about the thick green forest and high mountains of Cao Bang Province, 300km north of the capital.

China's economy expanded 8.1 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2012, slowing from 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Friday.

The failed satellite launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea early Friday has prompted international concerns, with Washington and Seoul condemning the act as a violation of UN resolutions and a threat to regional stability.

Switzerland casts plaques of Ha Long Bay in bronze; Applicants invited to take part in Miss Sport Viet Nam; By smoking on catwalk, model raises debate; France remains important partner of Hue Festival; The Cold Room at  Zero Station

VietNamNet Bridge – The Government has issued a decree to raise the common minimum wage rate from the current VND830,000 to VND1.05 million (US$50.45) per month, an increase of 25 percent, from May 1, 2012.