Vinmec injects in public health care; Tet promotion flights with VietJetAir; Carmakers fume over fees; Vinatex to stitch up equitisation move; Baskin-Robbins opens 3 ice-cream stores in HCMC; Poor land management wastes public funds

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung received the President of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Tanigaki Sadakazu in Hanoi on January 9.

Audit reports showed that petrol distributors had suffered a huge loss worth US$476.2 million in the past four years, though they received compensation for such losses from the State, Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang said.

HCM City has reported to the Ministry of Planning and Investment that it has withdrawn the licence it issued to a company for developing the US$1.2 billion Thu Thiem Software Park in District 2.

The Quy Hoa National Leprosy Dermatology Hospital in Binh Dinh has cured 12 patients  suffering from an undiagnosed skin disease that causes ulcers on hands, feet, mouth, back and abdomen, said Dr. Nguyen Thanh Tan, director of the hospital.

Military-run Telecommunications Group Viettel ended last year as one of the country's few companies to enjoy a pre-tax profit of nearly US$1 billion.

Painting, sculpture exhibition in HCMC Museum of Fine Arts; Quan Ho’ singing to be promoted in France; Musical performance raises nearly VND12 billion for the poor; Vietnamese movie to be shown at Berlin int’l film festival   

Vietnam will launch its second satellite, Vinasat-2, in the third week of April 2012 as scheduled, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications.

VietNamNet Bridge – Nguyen Hue Flower Street is decorated by hundreds of flowerpots and the animal designation of 2012. This year the street’s highlight will be a 26m long, 5.5m tall dragon.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Sunday he would block an EU-wide financial transactions tax proposed by France unless the tax was put in place globally.

U.S. President Barack Obama vowed on Saturday to continue his efforts to create more jobs amid heartening news that the unemployment rate has declined to its lowest level in nearly three years,

The Vietnam Maritime Search & Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) has asked the US Coast Guard to keep it updated on continuing efforts to search for the 22 missing sailors of Vinalines Queen, said MRCC Director General Nguyen Anh Vu.

VietNamNet Bridge – Gardeners in Hanoi’s famous flower village of Nhat Tan are trying everyway to encourage peach trees to bloom in time for the lunar New Year holiday, which will come in nearly two weeks.

The subsidization in the input material prices for fertilizer production has only benefited producers, while it has caused bad consequences to the agricultural production because it has created a market with unhealthy competition.

VietNamNet Bridge – Scientists from the Institute of Tropical Biology have found around 20 Irrawaddy dolphins in the sea around Ba Lua Island in the Kien Giang Biosphere Reserve.

The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) on Jan. 7 held a meeting to mark the 33 rd anniversary of the victory over the Khmer Rouge Genocidal Regime (Jan. 7, 1979).

VietNamNet Bridge - Song Seung Hun and Kim Tae Hee arrived in Hanoi on January 6, to promote their latest drama “My Princess” and join a charity event.

VietNamNet Bridge - Italian football international star Fabio Cannavaro, who played for world famous FCs as Inter Milan, Juventus, Real Madrid, had two busy days in HCM City, January 6-8.

Hi-tech hotel-hospital opens in capital; Dr. McKinnon performed 3rd surgery in Vietnam; Poor children to be given heart surgery; Woman arrested for abusing home help

The anticipated macroeconomic difficulties have made listed companies unassertive when discussing business plans for 2012.

VietNamNet Bridge – The contestant from Thanh Hoa province defeated Le Thi Thuy and Tra My in the final night in HCM City on the evening of January 8 to be the winner of the Vietnam’s Next Top Model 2011.

Frenchman Gael Monfil supset top seeded Rafael Nadal, while defending champion Roger Federer pulled out of the Qatar Open for back injury on Friday.

VietNamNet Bridge – The authorities of Quang Ninh province have decided to paint all tourist boats in Ha Long Bay in white, despite boat owners’ disagreement.

Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber will promote Vietnamese toys at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 10, said CES’s official website.

Despite achievements in curbing inflation and macro-economic stabilization, the Vietnamese monetary market last year still remained unstable.