U.S. federal government officially announced that it denied the medical use of marijuana.

Up to 700 books, documents and pictures of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the East Sea, particularly the Hoang Sa (Paracels) and Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands are showcased at an exhibition which opened on July 8, in the central province of Quang Ngai.

VietNamNet Bridge – A meeting was held in Hanoi on July 11 to mark the 35th anniversary of the founding of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and the Philippines (July 12).

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam wants to develop defence cooperative ties with Japan in an increasing practical manner, bringing benefits for the two countries.

Eurozone finance ministers met on Monday to thrash out a second bailout package to Greece amid concerns of spill-over of the debt crisis to Itlay, a much bigger economy in the single currency bloc.

VietNamNet Bridge - The Philippines has put the idea to China of trying to resolve disputes over the East Sea territory through United Nations arbitration, the foreign secretary said Monday.

VietNamNet Bridge - The highest water levels of the year in northern rivers were forecast to appear in late July and August, reported the National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Centre.

According to Professor Dr Bui Chi Buu, Director of the Southern Institute for Agricultural Science and Technique, the fact that Chinese businessmen have been scrambling for farm produce in Vietnam should not be seen as good news.

VietNamNet Bridge – A rich man offered $350,000 for five ancient fig trees in the central province of Nghe An; but the tree master did not sell.

VietNamNet Bridge – Learning to talk is now in fashion among teenagers in big cities and university students, who believe that they need to be “equipped with soft skills” to prepare for their future.

Sacombank allocates $1.45 mln subsidized loans wrongly; Petrovietnam units sign $1.2 bln coal-power plant deals; Experts skeptical about fuel wholesalers’ loss; Companies told: Invest in technology; EVN unit speeds up work on Lao, Cambodian dams

Top seed Roberta Vinci survived a second set scare to beat Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 in the final of the 200,000 U.S. dollars Poli-Farbe Budapest Grand Prix women's tennis tournament on Sunday.

VietNamNet Bridge – Five musicians and two scriptwriters have petitioned the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for reconsidering the list of nominees for the Ho Chi Minh Awards and the State Awards on music and movies.

New chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde said Sunday that there would be "real nasty consequences" for global economy if the United States defaulted on its financial obligations.

A massive explosion early wrecked a naval base on the south coast of Cyprus Monday morning, with unconfirmed reports that said at least 40 people are dead.

The shorthanded United States stunned Brazil on Sunday with Abby Wambach's late 2-2 equalizer in the last seconds of extra time and advanced to semifinals of FIFA Women's World Cup with 5-3 on penalties.

Russian Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday that 55 bodies have been salvaged from the wreck of a cruise ship that sank in Volga river Sunday.

Given the nationalist sentiment underlying all parties’ claims in the East Sea, future incidents would be extraordinarily difficult to de-escalate.

VietNamNet Bridge - On the HCM City Stock Exchange last week, the VN-Index concluded the week at 430.32 points, a net gain of 1.2 per cent over the previous week, after reaching a low point during the week of 424.72.

VietNamNet Bridge – While the Ministries of Finance, and Industry and Trade are still discussing about how to deal with imported cars, no consignment of imports has got customs clearance.

About 110 bodies, including those of 30 children, were found inside the wreck of a Russian cruise ship that sank in the Volga river on Sunday, rescuers said Monday.

At least 100 people were injured, 20 of them critically, when a powerful bomb reportedly ripped apart a passenger train late Sunday in the northeast Indian state of Assam, reported local media on Monday.

VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City is developing tourism activities related to the Sai Gon River and Can Gio mangrove forest, said a city official.

VietNamNet Bridge – Stepping out of the Tuan drugstore in District 5, Pham Thi Kham from southern Binh Duong Province lamented that she had paid VND15,000 more for her medicine than only a few weeks ago.

While “setting aside dispute and pursuing joint development” is acceptable as a general principle, China’s view regarding it makes it unfair to Vietnam in the short term, and threatens Vietnam’s territorial integrity in the long term.