Legal aid to assist social integration

VietNamNet Bridge – A centre to help ex-prisoners reintegrate into society was officially opened last week.

Age-gap lovers commit suicide in motel

VietNamNet Bridge – A married woman of 27 years old and a high-school boy were detected to have committed suicide in the room of a motel in the southern province of Bac Lieu on April 30.

GOVERNMENT IN BRIEF 3/5

NA Chairman visits Vung Ang economic zone; President meets voters in HCM City; Vietnam, Laos’ women unions boost ties

New Internet policy aimed at socio-economic growth

Le Nam Thang, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, said Vietnam is developing a new Internet policy to replace the old one.

Inter-regional talks discuss democracy

The Second Meeting of the Inter-Regional Dialogue on Democracy (IRDD) took place in Jakarta on April 30 and May 1, to discuss how democracy is developing in various regions of the world.

ISP complain Internet charges too low

The Internet charges have been on the decrease, while the input costs have been increasing, thus requiring high investment capital, which both have put big difficulties for Internet service providers (ISP).

Giving private tutoring – the main bread earner for poor teachers

VietNamNet Bridge – In big cities, private tutoring can help teachers become millionaires. Meanwhile, in rural and remote areas, private tutoring is the main source of income for many teachers.

PM chairs online conference on complaints and denunciations

VietNamNet Bridge – On May 2, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung presided over a national online conference on receiving citizens and dealing with complaints and denunciations.

S. Korean inspectors leave for U.S. following outbreak of mad cow disease

A group of South Korean officials, scholars and civic activists left for the United States Monday to look into the latest outbreak of mad cow disease amid growing food safety concerns at home.

Vietnam wants to raise image for foreign travellers

A senior official believes in raising Vietnam’s image by offering refund on VAT on commodities purchased in Vietnam by foreign travellers at point of departure at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat International Airports from July 2012 till June 2013.

Four miners die of suffocation

VietNamNet Bridge – An industrial accident happened at a coal mine in the northern province of Ninh Binh on April 29, killing four workers.

15 movies for May showing at local cinemas

VietNamNet Bridge – May will make a record for the highest number of new movies that will come to Vietnamese cinemas, including blockbusters like “Titanic 3D”, “The Artist”, “Midnight in Paris”, etc.

Raising the fish of gold

Giant barbs or Siamese giant carps, a freshwater fish in the Mekong River, are found in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. In Vietnam, they live mostly in Vam Nao, an area linking the Tien and Hau rivers in An Giang Province.

Fuel price increase forces fishing boas stay ashore

VietNamNet Bridge – The fuel price increase is always a big worry for fishermen. The aquatic resources are getting scarcer, while the fuel price has been escalating, because of which fishermen have to leave fishing boats ashore.

Microsoft, Barnes & Noble join e-book venture

Microsoft and U.S. book retailer Barnes & Noble on Monday announced an e-book venture to challenge Amazon and Apple in the market.

Over 23.4 pct Japanese adults have thought of committing suicide

Japanese Cabinet Office released the result of a survey on Wednesday, saying that about 23.4 percent Japanese adults have thought of committing suicide, 4.3 percent higher than last time in 2008.

The second show of Vietnam's Got Talent finale (video)

VietNamNet Bridge – The second show of the final round of the Vietnam’s Got Talent competition took place in HCM City on April 29, with seven performances.

Travel agencies cancel tours due to high costs

While the long holiday was expected to be a bonanza for local tour organizers, many of them in fact had to cancel their offered tours at the last minute due to the exorbitant accommodation and service costs in tourism spots around the country.

Spring-Summer fashion show in HCM City

Latest collections for spring and summer were introduced by leading models in HCM City on April 28. VietNamNet Bridge introduces some designs.

Aussie banks rolling in cash, silent on rates

The Australia New Zealand Bank (ANZ) has reported first-half underlying profit of over 3 billion U.S. dollars, a result that stands in stark contrast to its refusal to keep in step with the central bank's official rate movements this year.

Auto sales down, auto production suspended

VietNamNet Bridge – Consumers have never before witnessed so many automobile sales promotion campaigns like these days. Sharp price reductions of 30-100 million dong have been offered to car buyers.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 2/5

New corrections weaken market uptrend; Promoting tourism in Russia, Japan and RoK; Province urged to boost cross-border trade; Electronics firms battle downturn; Supply woes tie up garment sector; Cash to flow back into real estate

U.S. stocks rise on bullish manufacturing data

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, with the blue-chip Dow rallying to a fresh four-year high, as market sentiment was boosted by upbeat manufacturing data.

Australia's Optus to slash 750 jobs

Australia's second largest telecommunications company Optus on Wednesday announced a major operational restructuring plan that will see 750 job cuts from the company.

Quang Liem regains international super GM title

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam’s top chess player Le Quang Liem has regained his International Super Grandmaster (GM) title, the World Chess Federation (FIDE) announced on May 1.