China nixes Philippines bid for UN court

VietNamNet Bridge - China on July 12 rejected calls by the Philippines for the two nations to bring their conflicting claims in the South China Sea (East Sea) before a United Nations-backed tribunal.

Google+ may top 10 million users: report

Google+, the social networking service Google unveiled only two weeks ago, is estimated to surpass 10 million users on Tuesday, possibly becoming the fastest growing product in the history of the Internet.

Tablet PC market: too many options make it difficult to choose

Nearly 30 models of tablets are being sold in the market with the prices ranging from 2.7 million dong to 22.9 million dong. Consumers don’t know what products they should select because all the products seem to be the same to them.

Vietnamese contestant shows off in swimwear at Miss Asia USA

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese representative at the Miss Asia USA 2011 pageant, Phan Thi Mo, took the first photos in a bikini beside Asian contestants in the US.

Man drinks gasoline for 42 years

Gasoline powers vehicles all around the world, but a sick Chinese man has been drinking the sticky liquid for 42 years under the illusion that it can relieve his physical pain.

Stamp issue supports wildlife preservation

VietNamNet Bridge – A new set of four stamps depicting dragonflies was recently issued by the Viet Nam Post Corporation.

Foreign laborers flood Vietnam

Vietnamese law doesn’t allow enterprises to use untrained foreign workers. But in the northern province of Ninh Binh, there is a construction site where unskilled Chinese workers number nearly 1,500 people.

Obama says U.S. ready to support negotiations for transition in Libya

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday that his country is prepared to support negotiations that lead to a democratic transition in Libya as long as its leader Muammar Gaddafi steps down.

SOCIETY IN BRIEF 13/7

Vietnam, RoK exchange education experience; Hanoi’s “golden” site cleared for construction; Wounded turtle sent back to Sword Lake; Vietnam Rubber Group helps Cambodian workers

ART & ENTERTAINMENT IN BRIEF 13/7

Hanoi, HCMC among top ten Asian cities; Vietnam’s first BeyBlade contest underway; Hoi An starts construction of terra-cotta park; Young people offer incense to commemorate Hung Kings   

Are there too many oil refineries in Vietnam?

Vietnam has been warned that if it cannot well calculate pluses and minuses, it may face risk when developing oil refineries, especially when the crude oil price is on the rise, while the investment rates on oil refineries become big.

Diva My Linh expresses feelings in lyrics

VietNamNet Bridge –Vietnamese diva My Linh sings out her emotions on her newest album Toc Ngan Acoustic – Mot Ngay (Short Hair Acoustic – One Day) released on Monday.

Ministry sets up national labour market database

VietNamNet Bridge – The Department of Employment under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs is setting up a national database on the labour market to help employees have greater access to recruitment information.

Korean group to buy Megastar cinemas

VietNamNet Bridge - The Seoul-based CJ CGV Ltd is planning to buy a controlling share of Megastar Media Company (Megastar), Viet Nam's leading cinema owner and film distributor, according to Film Business Asia.

Trailing Binh Duong likely title spoilers in V-League

VietNamNet Bridge – Binh Duong have little chance of winning the V-League title this season, but they are potentially a title spoiler as all three leading candidates will end up facing the former two-time champion in their bid to win.

Ha Noi to face big swingers in Seoul

VietNamNet Bridge – Ha Noi baseball junior team will meet tough rivals from South Korea in their first match at the Asian Pacific Junior Baseball League in Seoul on Sunday.

Shark caught in Quy Nhon

VietNamNet Bridge – A group of researchers from the Nha Trang Oceanography Institute and four fishermen on July 11, caught a shark in the waters between Hon Ngang and Hon Kho islands in Quy Nhon city, Binh Dinh province.

Sao Mai singing contest kicks off

VietNamNet Bridge – Performances of the Sao Mai singing contest will be broadcast live on channel VTV3 from this Sunday.

Coffee exporters buy high, sell cheap

A lot of Vietnamese coffee exporters have to purchase coffee from foreign businessmen to fulfill export contracts. The purchase prices are even higher than the export prices.

Egypt's ex-premier, two ministers sentenced over corruption

The Cairo Criminal Court on Tuesday handed down sentences to former Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, former Interior Minister Habib El-Adli and former Minister of Finance Yousuf Botrus Ghali over car number plate case.

IAEA chief's visit to Iran "should be unconditional": FM

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi said Tuesday that the visit of the IAEA chief to Iran should be unconditional, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Leaders salute Philippine ties

President Nguyen Minh Triet and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on July 12, sent congratulatory messages to Philippine President Benigno Aquino on the 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Viet Nam and the Philippines.

No proper solution to rescue Saigon River found

The Saigon River has become more and more seriously polluted due to the increasingly high volume of untreated water discharged to the river every day.

GOVERNMENT IN BRIEF 13/7

 President extends sympathies to Russia; France, Vietnam boost cooperation in various fields; Friendship with Laos celebrated; Deputy PM receives Chinese Ambassador

Disabled demand better sex life

VietNamNet Bridge – Discrimination hinders millions of disabled people in Viet Nam from exercising their basic right for a healthy sex life.