Deputy Minister explains about salaries

If the state has to pay salaries to many people, including those who work ineffectively, it will be difficult to raise salaries for civil servants, said Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Tran Anh Tuan, in an interview with VietNamNet.

Two Vietnamese rowers not return home after Australian training course

VietNamNet Bridge - Two members of the Vietnamese national rowing squad did not return home with their team after finishing a training course in Australia last week.

Hanoi to host int’l renewable energy exhibition

VietNamNet Bridge – The second international exhibition for renewable and decentralized energy solutions (Enerexpo Vietnam 2012) will take place in Hanoi on March 21-23.

Inner wishes of Buddhist monks on Truong Sa Islands

“We pledge to be the next who defend the country and pay gratefulness to the people who have sacrificed for the country’s sovereignty in the sea,” said Venerable Thich Giac Nghia, who will go to the Truong Sa Archipelago to manage a temple.

New decree regulates operations of NGOs

VietNamNet Bridge – A newly issued decree approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will afford international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating in Viet Nam more benefits.

The "casino wave" in Vietnam

Vietnam, which once had to think to choose the growth model for itself, now once again has to rack its brain to think about whether to license two resort complexes in Vietnam which have the total investment capital of up to six billion dollars.

Four dead in shooting outside French Jewish school

Three children and an adult were killed in a shooting outside a Jewish school in the southwestern French city of Toulouse on Monday morning, local media reported, raising the toll up from three.

Pay-TV service providers march towards rural areas

Having realized that the increase of the number of subscribers in big cities has been slowing down; pay-TV service providers are considering approaching the rural market.

"Terrorists" kill 14 people in Syria's Homs on Sunday: media

Armed "terrorist" groups committed a massacre in the central province of Homs, leaving 14 people killed, the pro-government al-Watan daily reported Monday.

When students are tired of getting good grades from teachers

Ten is the highest level in the Vietnamese grade scale, which is given to excellent pieces of school works. However, students now have become tired of receiving 10 grades from teachers.

Interest-rate cut too low for many businesses

Early last week, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung ordered an interest rate cut of one percentage point following reports about a drop in the inflation rate and improved liquidity in the last few months of 2011.

Fishing together with Can Gio fishermen

“Being a fisherman at Vam Sat for one day” is the name of an eco-tour that gives travelers interesting experiences on their visit to Can Gio District, HCMC. The tour is served by Vam Sat Ecological Resort.

Canadian province targets 50% increase in international students

The Canadian province of British Columbia plans to increase its international student population by 50 percent over the next four years through closer educational cooperation with China.

Home prices fall in a third of key cities

More than a third of major cities saw property prices fall in February, on a yearly basis, and analysts said the trend will continue amid government curbs.

Road maintenance fee makes the burden on enterprises heavier

Transport companies have complained that they have been dragging out their existence because of too many kinds of fees, and that the road maintenance fee would kill them outright.

Passion for elephants

Dang Nang Long is now director of the Lak Lake Travel Co., an affiliate of the Tourism Company of the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak. He owns eight elephants, the largest number of tamed elephants throughout the country.

491 mln yuan embezzled from Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway project

China's auditing authorities said on Monday that 491 million yuan (77.84 million U.S. dollars) had been embezzled from the Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Railway project.

Transfer pricing burns in Vietnam

VietNamNet Bridge – “Transfer pricing” - a technique to optimize profit has been popularly used for a long time worldwide, has not got special attention in Vietnam until recently.

"21 Jump Street" vaults to top of North America box office

"21 Jump Street" opened in the first place this weekend, garnering 35 million U.S. dollars in ticket receipts as was widely expected. Holdover "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" continued to cast a spell on moviegoers, as it finished in the second place

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 20/3

SHB awarded bank of excellent payment; International agencies rate Vietinbank; New chance from agriculture; Bank card payments gain popularity; Agarwood industry seeks gov't assistance; Big data, cloud computing drive IT

No cause for worry on pork quality in market: Ministry

There is no need to worry about pork quality, as pigs raised with chemical steroids comprise only 1 per cent of the pork in the market, said a senior official.

The wildlife conservation in Vietnam

VietNamNet Bridge – The purpose of the wildlife rescue is to give treatment, then restore their wild instincts and rehabilitate them. However, it is now difficult to find safe places for them.

Vietnamese books seek way to go overseas

VietNamNet Bridge – The copyright of over 40 literary works by 11 Vietnamese writers will be offered for sale abroad from March 2012. It is a piece of good news for Vietnamese writers, though the result is unclear yet.

Vietnam’s salary reform in the eye of UNDP expert

VietNamNet would like to introduce an analysis about Incentives and salaries in Vietnam’s public sector by Jairo Acuna Alfaro, UNDP's policy advisor on public administration reform.

FDI decentralization mechanism shows big problems

The decentralization mechanism in foreign direct investment (FDI) management, which was hoped to ease the complicated procedures and created most favorable conditions to foreign investors, has turned out to be a burden on agencies.