Films boost regional good will

VietNamNet Bridge – Movie makers attended a seminar in Ha Noi on Monday to discuss the strengthening of co-operation between ASEAN and South Korea through film exchange.

German expert gives lessons in biodiversity

VietNamNet Bridge – Central Da Nang City's Sciences and Technology Department, in collaboration with German naturalist Ulrike Streicher, organised a photo exhibition on Monday featuring the biodiversity of Son Tra Natural Reserve.

Businesses complain they cannot collect debts

Businessmen have been moving heaven and earth to collect debts. They themselves do not have money to make payment with partners.

Strong quake strikes off Sumatra, Indonesia, no casualty

An undersea earthquake with magnitude of 7.1 rocked northern tip of Sumatra island earlier Wednesday, it was potential for tsunami that the people flee from coastal areas, but no damages or casualty was reported, officials said.

Vietnamese rich men choose hi-tech products in accordance with geomancy

Nowadays, rich men not simply choose the products with the best quality, but they choose the products which most fit them in accordance with the science of winds and waters.

Regional lawmakers discuss budgets

Lawmakers from Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam discussed measures to improve the efficiency of legislative budget oversight at a workshop in Ha Noi yesterday, including increasing the co-operation between auditing agencies.

MONRE bottoms MEI ranking, why?

MONRE’s Minister Nguyen Minh Quang has affirmed that his ministry is not as weak and problematic as people think.

Universities gearing up to obtain 29,000 PhDs

In June 2010, the government approved a plan to train 20,000 PhDs in the next 10 years. In December 2011, MOET submitted the plan on human resource development, which says by 2020, Vietnamese universities would have 29,000 PhDs.

Book documents island sovereignty

VietNamNet Bridge – Historical sources document Viet Nam's Paracel Archipelago, offering proof of the country's sovereignty over the islands. Such evidence is presented in the newly published Ky Yeu Hoang Sa

What expectation for the economy in 2012?

VietNamNet Bridge – The economic panorama of Vietnam in 2011 was not very bright, but it is acknowledged that the Government exerted its effort to overcome difficulties when the global economy did not surpass the crisis yet.

Iran confirms uranium enrichment at new site

Iran confirmed that it has begun uranium enrichment at an underground bunker of the Fordo nuclear facility, Iranian diplomats on Monday said at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s headquarters.

Vietnam’s sustainable forest target deemed unattainable

A forest development program of the agriculture ministry has a target of making around one-third of the nation’s forests meet sustainable development standards by 2020 but this goal is considered too ambitious.

EU launches 30-year long-term bonds

The European Commission issued three billion euros (3.8 billion U.S. dollars) of 30-year maturity bonds Monday on the back of strong and wide demand from investors.

Group wedding heats up freezing Harbin

Eighteen grooms managed to stave off cold feet in this city even though the temperature dropped to minus 20 C on the day they were to get married.

Fraud in petrol quality brings super-profits to distributors

The “technology of making up low quality petrol” has been applied in Vietnam for a long time, while low quality products still have been available on the market. However, state management agencies still have “ignored” the problem.

Ministry of Transport to continue tightening control over taxis

VietNamNet Bridge – After suspending eight taxi firms in Hanoi and HCM City in late 2011, the Ministry of Transport will continue inspecting the remaining taxi firms in both cities in 2012.

PM asks sci-tech sector to focus on key projects

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked the science-technology sector to speed up key national projects to support socio-economic development.

Healthy diet may help children with ADHD: study

Keeping a healthy diet may help children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in their treatment, a new study revealed.

"The Devil Inside" opened as No. 1 in N. America box office

"The Devil Inside" overperformed this weekend as the top movie of the North America which finished ahead of a pack of Christmas holdovers including " Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol."

U.S. strongly condemns Iran's death verdict to alleged "CIA spy" amid rising tensions

Amid rising tensions between the two arch-foes, White House on Monday strongly condemned Iran for giving a death sentence to alleged "CIA spy" Amir Hekmati, criticizing the Islamic republic

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 11/1

Vietnam to host 28th Asian Advertising Congress; Banks to be allocated credit growth quotas; Corporate income tax rules set to change; New cities fail to lure investors; Business experts discuss opportunities

Strikes double in 2011

VietNamNet Bridge – Up to 857 strikes were recorded in Vietnam in 11 months of 2011, doubling that of 2010, reported the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA).

Wall Street edges higher ahead of new earnings season

U.S. stocks edged moderately higher on Monday as investors awaited the beginning of a new earnings season.

Foot-and-mouth disease found in hogs in central China

Live pigs in central China's Hubei Province have been found to be infected with foot-and-mouth disease, the Ministry of Agriculture announced Monday.

Local teachers of English not up to standard

VietNamNet Bridge – Vu Minh Quang, father of a seventh grader at Trung Nhi Junior Secondary School, noticed a contradiction in his son's English.