Goods sales drop dramatically, from autos to fish sauce

VietNamNet Bridge – High inventory volume remains the biggest threat to enterprises. Not only expensive products such as cars, motorbikes, but essential goods such as fish sauce have also been selling slowly.

The wrongdoing fighter at Doi Ngo School criticized by students

While old people, the students of the previous generations, have expressed their anger about the exam cheating activities, young students believe that the boy who filmed the violations at the Doi Ngo High School, made a “foolish thing.”

Mobile HIV test van proves efficient in Singapore

A mobile white van offering anonymous testing for HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus) and syphilis in Singapore has drawn more to take the test since December last year, local daily Straits Times reported on Wednesday.

How to re-arrange the chessmen on the coffee chessboard?

While the local authorities and farmers have to spend hundreds of trillions of dong to develop the material growing areas and improve old and stunted coffee trees, foreign enterprises just have to wait and get the upper hand of the material sources.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 21/6

PM requires careful monetary policies; Bad debts hamper bank restructuring; AirAsia expands operations in Vietnam; Rice exports surge in five months; PM approves US$147 mln urban development project; State construction firms to be equitised 

Bus crash kills 17, injures 28 in east China

A long-distance bus plunged into a ravine in east China's Fujian Province early Wednesday, killing 17 people and injuring 28 others, local authorities said.

International models take shots in Vietnam

Two emerging models--Martha Hunt and Michele Ouellet came to Vietnam to take pictures in Hoi An, Hanoi, Ha Long and Hue. In the lens of photographers Joshua Allen and Thomas Northcut, Vietnam appears peacefully and beautifully.

ART & ENTERTAINMENT IN BRIEF 20/6

Book celebrates late war photographer; Vietnamese movie nominated at Shanghai film fest; Goethe Institute offers free movie screening; Books on discount this summer

SOCIETY IN BRIEF 20/6

Illegal Chinese fisheries workers deported; Pituitary tumor linked to Vietnam’s tallest man; Smuggling of animal organs difficult to stop

Ha Noi tightens rules on driver licences

VietNamNet Bridge – The Ha Noi Department of Transport will tighten rules on providing replacement driving licences in an effort to prevent people from having more than one driving licence, said the department's deputy director Nguyen Xuan Tan.

Wall Street rises on monetary easing hopes

U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday as investors' expectations of further monetary easing policy by the Federal Reserve boosted the market, while positive news from Europe also provided support.

Belly dancing to be performed on big stage

VietNamNet Bridge – A romantic story from “One Thousand and One Nights” will be told by the body language of belly dancing at the Au Co Theatre, Hanoi.

Can Tho: Mother and daughter fined $4 for being naked

VietNamNet Bridge – A woman and her daughter in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, who were naked to hinder guards of a construction company from revoking her land, will have to pay aVND80,000 ($4) fine for breaking habits and customs.

Vietnamese coffee brands trembling amid the foreign storm

Hundreds of Vietnamese coffee companies have been perishing in the home market, since foreign invested enterprises now corner the coffee material sources which have been developed by the State and farmers for years.

Businesses at the point of death, banks make fat profits

VietNamNet Bridge – The finance report about the business performance in the first four months of 2012 showed that enterprises incurred heavy losses, while the 71 commercial banks made fat profit.

Vietnam considers drastic measures to encourage open source software use

Unsatisfied about the slow application of open source software, management agencies are considering applying more drastic measures to speed up the process.

Low cost tours turn out to be expensive tours

A lot of domestic tours under the tourism promotion program have been described as the “trap” for travelers. Clients think they can save money with the low cost tours, but in fact, they are overcharged.

Nation's gays back same-sex marriage

VietNamNet Bridge – Every single respondent in an online survey of homosexual people hopes that the law in Viet Nam will be amended to allow same-sex marriage.

Nearly 60 flights canceled because of storms

VietNamNet Bridge – Nearly 60 domestic and international flights of Vietnam Airlines has been canceled or delayed, owing to storms Guchol and Talim offshore the Philippines.

Majority of investors expect at least one country to quit euro: survey

More than half of investors believe that it is highly possible at least one country will leave the eurozone next year, according to a latest Barclays survey.

Vietnam bans under-18s from smoking

The law against harmful effects of tobacco passed by the National Assembly (NA) yesterday prohibits people under the age of 18 from smoking and trading in cigarettes.

Stubble burning lowers visibility

VietNamNet Bridge – The burning of stubble has left a pall of black smoke over western parts of Ha Noi, particularly in the districts of Quoc Oai and Thach That, raising health concerns and disrupting visibility on roads.

Blind cook wows ‘Master Chef'

VietNamNet Bridge – A visually impaired Vietnamese-American woman has conquered the tough judges of a US Master Chef cooking contest to receive a white apron and advance to the next round of competition.

Tien Minh seeded No. 6 at Singapore Open

Vietnam’s top badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh will attend the Singapore Open Super Series from June 19-24.

Inspection reveals misconduct at large universities

A recent inspection revealed a number of misconduct in joint programs between the Hanoi National University and its foreign counterparts between 2006 and 2010.