UK, Vietnam sign aviation cooperation agreement

Vietnam’s Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang and the UK’s Vice Secretary of Transport Mike Penning signed an aviation cooperation agreement on December 8 within the framework of the National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung’s visit to the UK.

NBA labor agreement reached

National Basketball Association (NBA) owners and players ratified a new collective bargaining agreement on Thursday.

Karate set to hit school curriculum

VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam planned to include karate in the nationwide school curriculum from next year following a co-operation project with the Ministry of Education and Training,

Twitter introduces major redesign, brand pages

Twitter on Thursday started to roll out a major redesign of its interface in hopes of simplifying users' experience, as well as new brand pages to strengthen its relationship with advertisers.

“The industrial zone illusion”

Industrial zones have helped develop local economies, brought money and jobs to local residents, but they have been devastating the living environment.

Aviation market: not easy for those, who come later

The fact that the private airline Vietjet Air will provide the first commercial flights in late December cannot change the current situation in the aviation market, that the domestic aviation market is still being controlled by Vietnam Airlines .

Foreign manufacturers try to localize their apps to approach to local users

Information technology experts say that they are witnessing a wave of localizing apps for mobile phones which aim to reach to more Vietnamese clients.

Career guidance deviation leads to demand-supply distortion

Educators and employers have been urged to join forces to build a career guidance program, or the deviation in the supply and demand in the labor market will never be settled.

Illegal titanium mines damage Quang Nam

VietNamNet Bridge – Illegal titanium mining has resurfaced in Duy Hai Commune, in Duy Xuyen District of the central province of Quang Nam, resulting in coastal landslides and deforestation of protected forestland.

1,300 State-owned enterprises to be restructured in five years

Vietnam aims to restructure and renew more than 1,300 State-owned enterprises (SoEs) in the next five years, of which 573 will be equitized.

Police identify 700 illegal street-racers in HCM City

VietNamNet Bridge – Traffic police in HCM City have recorded a total of 776 motorists involved in illegal street-racing and gathering, according to the HCM City Police Department’s Traffic Police Office (PC67).

Trade agreement enhances Viet Nam-US relations: PM

VietNamNet Bridge – The Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) between Viet Nam and the US has significantly boosted relations between the two sides, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said yesterday, Dec 8, upon receiving a US business delegation.

Communication skills to be taught at vocational schools

VietNamNet Bridge – Students at vocational schools will be taught communication skills as an optional subject from the next academic year, according to the Ministry of Education and Training.

Drug reverses aging-associated changes in brain cells: study

Drugs that affect the levels of an important brain protein involved in learning and memory reverse cellular changes in the brain seen during aging, according to an animal study published Wednesday in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Party leader Trong ends Cambodia visit

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong returned to Hanoi on December 8, concluding the State-level visit to Cambodia at the invitation of King Norodom Sihamoni.

App downloads top 10 billion in Android Market

Google on Tuesday announced that more than 10 billion applications had been downloaded worldwide in its software store Android Market.

Vietnam, Cambodia issue joint statement

Vietnam and Cambodia have reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining and developing the valuable traditional friendship between the two countries.

Manchester "big two" crash out of champions league

Two football giants Manchester United and its city rival both failed to qualify for the last-16 berths here on Wednesday as the group stage of UEFA Champions League concluded.

MoIT still cold to VBF proposal

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is still indifferent to Vietnam Business Forum’s Manufacturing and Distribution Working Group’s proposal for the easing import tariff barriers on mobile phones, alcohol and cosmetics.

Super-fast medical examination: patients suffer the consequences

VietNamNet Bridge – One-minute medical examinations and dependence on machinery has caused errors in diagnosis, and patients are the “victims”.

China to have best view of total lunar eclipse in 10 years

Chinese stargazers will have their best view of a total lunar eclipse in 10 years on Saturday if weather permits, the Zijinshan Astronomical Observatory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) said Thursday.

Vietnam’s economy in 2012: “I’m not too pessimistic,” says economist

VietNamNet Bridge – The national economy in 2012 will have to deal with three challenges “carried forward” from 2011, according to Dr Tran Hoang Ngan, Member of the National Assembly’s Economics Committee.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 9/12

Vietnam-world’s most dynamic bank card market; Stiff competition to hit rice exports next year; Mexico, Viet Nam examine free-trade agreement; Ministry vows to tackle petrol fraud; Banks compete for year-end deposits

Artists share life stories in exhibit

VietNamNet Bridge – Installation works by twin artists Le Ngoc Thanh and Le Duc Hai will be on display in Hue City on Sunday.

S&P places EU, big European banks on negative watch

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Wednesday put its ratings on the European Union (EU) and some big banks on negative credit watch, warning possible downgrades within next 90 days if European leaders failed to find a radical solution