Petraeus confirmed as new CIA chief

The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed General David Petraeus as the new director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Vietnam’s engineer invents cheap wind-powered generator

VietNamNet Bridge - Mini wind-powered generators made in Vietnam are expected to hit market at cheap prices in the middle of 2012. 

Trans-Pacific partnership yields good results - and more on way

VietNamNet Bridge - The seventh round of negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement has achieved important results and is expected to attain several goals in key areas by year-end, according to trade officials.

UN officials inspect human rights situation in Yemen

Investigators of the UN commission on human rights met on Wednesday with Yemeni government officials and opposition leaders as well as protesters in Yemen's capital in order to inspect human rights situation.

Philippine-US joint naval drill amid tension with China

VietNamNet Bridge - The Philippines and the US have begun 11 days of joint naval exercises amid growing tensions with Beijing over disputed waters in the East Sea.

Dong Nai River cleanup forecast to cost $34m

VietNamNet Bridge – More than VND700 billion (US$34 million) would be needed to protect the Dong Nai River that is suffering extreme levels of pollution, officials estimated at a meeting held in HCM City last Saturday.

Viet Nam, Cambodia vow to foster relations

VietNamNet Bridge – Party General Secretary and National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong has affirmed Viet Nam's consistent policy of attaching importance and giving priority to developing neighbourliness, traditional friendship,

Poland exhibits porcelain art

VietNamNet Bridge – A collection of more than 70 Polish porcelain artworks will be on display in an exhibition open to public next Monday in Ha Noi.

GOVERNMENT IN BRIEF 1/7

Vietnam, Denmark boost education cooperation; National Assembly's Standing Committee approves weapon use ordinance; HCM City marks US Independence Day

VN horror, comedy flixs on their way

VietNamNet Bridge – Horror and comedy films produced by Vietnamese film studios will be screened at local cinemas next month.

China creates waves in naval show of force

On any given day, up to a thousand ships sail into Singapore’s harbor, arguably the busiest in Southeast Asia.

Overloaded trucks destroying VN roads

VietNamNet Bridge – A system of modern weighing stations has been proposed to be set up throughout the country to help deter truck drivers from dangerously overloading vehicles,

VN congratulates Chinese Party on 90th anniversary

VietNamNet Bridge – The Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV) Central Committee has sent a congratulatory message to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the CPC

Microsoft office goes cloud to join cloud war with Google Docs

The war on cloud intensified as Microsoft Office announced its decision on Tuesday to go cloud in an attempt to compete with its immediate but not last competitor, Google Docs.

EVENTS ON JULY 1-7

Lacquer painting exhibition by Luong Quoc Thang; Live Punk Rock Band from Thailand; Rock Night Fundraising; Screening of “Tanguy” at IDECAF; Sculpture Show by Nam Le; Exhibition “Faces of Asian Ethnic Groups”

Foreigner sentenced to life for heroin trafficking

VietNamNet Bridge – Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court Wednesday sentenced Nigerian Ben Blessed to life imprisonment for smuggling over 1 kilogram of heroin from Vietnam to China.

Environmentalists release hawksbills sea turtles to sea

VietNamNet Bridge - Twelve hawksbill sea turtles (scientifically known as Ertmochelys Imbricata), stranded at the Nui Chua National Park in the central coastal province of Ninh Thuan , were released to sea on June 30.

New music spaces intrigue youth imagination

VietNamNet Bridge –While many pop and dance tunes appear and vanish from the music industry every few months, romantic songs that have lasted through different Vietnamese generations will linger on for more in Ha Noi

World's longest cross-sea bridge opens in east China

The world's longest cross-sea bridge, spanning 36.48 kilometers across the mouth of the Jiaozhou Bay in eastern Shandong Province, opened to traffic on Thursday, four years after construction started.

Too many required standards make Vietnam’s tra fish “caught in a net”

Every import market sets up its required standards on the tra fish imports from Vietnam. The existence of too many standards has made Vietnamese enterprises confused.

PM asks inspectors to speed up on corruption cases

VietNamNet Bridge - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on June 28 asked state inspectors to finish their jobs on severe corruption cases. 

Binh Thuan keen on tidal energy development

The government of Binh Thuan Province is keen on developing tidal energy after some foreign investors asked to carry out tidal power projects along the coastline of the province, said an official of the province’s Department of Industry and Trade.

Libraries in Vietnam realize the dream of digitalization

Gone are the days of traditional libraries which specialize in storing and managing information in papers. In Vietnam, a lot of libraries have been going digitalized.

Japanese gov't, DPJ agrees on doubling consumption tax by mid-2010s

The Japanese government and the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) agreed Thursday on social security and tax reform plans that would lead to consumption tax hikes in mid-2010s, local media reported.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 1/7

High volumes of iron ore being shipped to China; TPP with U.S. should boost apparel trade: experts; PMC may return Phu My Bridge to city gov’t; Vietnam Air ticks launch date for direct service to UK