American Ballroom Dance impresses Vietnamese audiences

The Ballroom Dance Company from the Brigham Young University, a leading art troupe from the US, made a strong impression on Hanoian audiences through its performance on May 14, at the Bao Son Paradise Park

Swimmer takes first ticket to Olympic 2012

Swimmer Hoang Quy Phuoc finished the men’s 100m butterfly with a time of 53.65 seconds at the Malaysia Open Swimming Tournament, exceeding the criterion to participate in the 2012 Olympics in London.

British queen begins historic visit to Ireland

British Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday began a four-day state visit to Ireland, becoming the first British monarch to set foot in the republic.

Sapa love market

VietNamNet Bridge – Through flute sounds, young girls coming to the love market can realize boy’s love for them. However, the Sapa love market is losing its identity because many people come here not to seek love but money.

With management tightened, ship owners facing big difficulties

The decision to keep stricter control over the ships serving travelers at Ha Long Bay has made ships’ owners suffer: they have been prohibited to leave stations.  

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 18/5

Farmers profit from agro exports; Coffee exporters must unite; Dragon fruit co-op on the verge of disintegration; Over-production drives down steel prices; New law on deposit insurance possible  

Google to sell its first corporate bond

Google plans to sell its first bond offering on Monday, a planned 3-billion-U.S.-dollar sale to pay back short-term borrowings, U.S. media reported.

Wife of Egypt's ex-president released

Egypt's Assistant Justice Minister for Illicit Gains Authority (IGA) Assem el-Gohari on Tuesday ordered the release of Suzanne Thabet, wife of former president Hosni Mubarak, official MENA news agency said.

Most PCs in Vietnam use pirated software

VietNamNet Bridge - Software piracy in Vietnam remains prevalent, and is specially high among individuals’ computers although the rate looks a bit lower among corporate users, speakers said at a press briefing in HCM City yesterday. 

Forced to tighten credit, banks still can obtain satisfactory profits

Contrary to all predictions, banks’ finance reports still show satisfactory business results for the first quarter of 2011.

FPT still cherishing the plan to jump into telecom sector

Though FPT, the Corporation for Financing and Promoting Technology, has decided to give up the deal of purchasing EVN Telecom’s stakes, it still cherishes the hope of jumping into the telecom sector.

Colorful Saigon in “Saigon is Beautiful”

VietNamNet Bridge – Members of VNPhoto have introduced a photo book entitled “Saigon is Beautiful”, with selected pictures of Saigon.

ART & ENTERTAINMENT IN BRIEF 17/5

Lior Shambadal to wield baton in Hanoi; ASEAN traditional music festival promotes understanding; Vietnam to host Int’l Documentary Film Festival 2011; Family movie days at BHD     

Ancient turtle wants to return to Hoan Kiem Lake

VietNamNet Bridge – The legendary turtle has shown signs of unsuitability to the life in the artificial tank. The Hanoi Department of Science and Technology is seeking way to put her back into the lake as soon as possible.  

Young female boxing champion

VietNamNet Bridge – Vuong Thi Vy, 16, has won the first world young boxing championship for Vietnam. This result proves that considering boxing among ten key sports for investment is a sound policy of Vietnam.

Tons of unsafe meat sold in HCM City

VietNamNet Bridge – Around 40 tons of meat which is not quarantined is consumed in HCM City a day, said the HCM City Veterinary Bureau.  

Vietnamese parents try to develop their kids into prodigies

Stuffing as much knowledge as possible in children’s heads, hoping the children will become prodigies is the thing that many Vietnamese parents are trying to do.

Telecom companies “forget” about 4G licenses

VietNamNet Bridge – More than a half of the seven telecom companies which asked for the permission to try LTE (4G) technology have not “thrown their troops into battle”.

Resort villas booming

Resort villas have been mushrooming everywhere, from the north to the south with a lot of projects being under construction. This proves to be the new profitable market segment of Vietnam’s real estate market.

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie dazzle at Cannes "Life" premiere

Angelina Jolie arrives for the premiere of the film "The Tree of Life" in competition at the 64th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 16, 2011.

Taxi crimes against foreigners on the rise in HCMC

A  Malaysian tourist last Friday reported to a popular taxi company in Ho Chi Minh City she was overcharged for a short ride by a company taxi driver, but later it turned out she had took the unlicensed taxi that imitated that company’s brand.

Seaports to apply e-customs procedures

VietNamNet Bridge – Seven seaports will experimentally apply electronic customs declarations effective June 9 under a new decision by the Prime Minister.

Thousand-year-old pagoda in northern village

VietNamNet Bridge - Hai Phong Province is home to a historic thousand-year-old pagoda in the village of Tra Phuong of the Thuy Huong Commune in Kien Thuy District, built during the Ly Dynasty in the beginning of the 11th century.  

Technology shares drag Wall Street lower

U.S. stocks fell on Monday, dragged by technology shares, as weaker-than-expected economic data made investors worry about the strength of the U.S. economy.

Contest launched to recognise science and technology talent

VietNamNet Bridge - The Viet Nam Talent Contest in Information Technology, Natural Science, and Medicine and Pharmacy was launched this week in Ha Noi.