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.

VietNamNet Bridge - Licensed to build seaside resorts to attract tourists to the south-central province of Binh Thuan, some investors have been mining for titanium right at their project sites instead.

VietNamNet Bridge - People have always identified Quang Ngai Province with the infamous ‘My Lai Massacre’ at the Son My site and unfortunately to date Quang Ngai Province does not exist on any tourist route or itinerary.   

U.S. space shuttle Atlantis docked with the International Space Station on Sunday morning after nearly two days of flight.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved an investment of US$190 billion for a socio-eco master plan for Hanoi aimed at sustainable economic and social development of the city for the period 2011-2020 and its orientation till 2030.

VietNamNet Bridge - The Mekong Delta provinces are in the midst of their peak harvest season with a bumper summer-autumn rice crop this year.

VietNamNet Bridge - Apart from foreign owned Vietnamobile, the domestic telecom market is dominated by Vietnamese network providers.

VietNamNet Bridge - Ever since the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Circular No.20 regulating new procedures for passenger cars of less than 10 seats, many car importers have shut shop while consumers are paying sky high prices for cars.

VietNamNet Bridge - Tensions in the disputed waters of the East Sea threaten to distract Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during a visit to China intended to build on a recent thaw in bilateral military ties.

VietNamNet Bridge - A club comprising 30 companies allowed to serve Thai and Lao visitors to central Vietnam will organize a trip to Chiang Mai of Thailand in September to promote road tours for Thais, the club chairman said.

Hanoi heavy rains uproot tree; cars damaged; HCM City fines market violators; Techcombank official surrenders over $680k debt; Power cuts, inflation worry investors

VietNamNet Bridge – The number of local shamans, who play important roles in the life of various ethnic groups, is slowly reducing, putting traditional local customs at risk,