TRAVEL IN BRIEF 18/2

US television news broadcast promotes travel to Viet Nam; Residents compete in legendery Ha Noi rice cooking festival; Air Mekong to begin direct Ha Noi-Phu Quoc service; More flights to be offered between VN, Australia

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 18/2

Sacombank signs strategic investment agreement; Dollar price up following interbank rate rise; Vung Tau grants $290 mln projects, billions to come; Prices stable in supermarkets, still soar in traditional markets 

Saigontourist receives over 1,300 tourists on cruise ships

VietNamNet Bridge – Saigontourist, the leading tour operator in Vietnam, welcomed more than 1,000 travelers on the Costa Classica cruise ship that docked in Ho Chi Minh City on February 16.

T&T set for Da Nang showdown

VietNamNet Bridge – The national football league resumes play today after a three-week Tet holiday break with a match between defending champions Ha Noi T&T and SHB Da Nang in the capital city.

Thanh Hoa coach receives V-League touchline ban

VietNamNet Bridge – Coach Le Thuy Hai of Thanh Hoa will be banned for two matches after his reaction to a referee decision.

Central students forced to travel to school by boat

VietNamNet Bridge – More than 200 students in central Nghe An Province have had to commute to school by boat for years due to a shortage of funds for a bridge.

HCM City suffers from post-Tet labour shortage

VietNamNet Bridge – On the first day returning to work after Tet, the seventh day of the Lunar New Year this year, each worker at the Onamba electronic harness manufacturer in Binh Duong Province received VND300,000 as "lucky money"

HCM City proposes roads committee

VietNamNet Bridge – The city's Department of Transport has proposed setting up an agency that would manage all the city's road excavation projects, which is currently done by several agencies individually responsible for environment, water supply

Shipwreck on Ha Long Bay

VietNamNet Bridge – Twelve bodies have been found and all the passengers, including both the saved and the dead (except for one) have been identified.

Singapore, French scientists discover antibodies to chikungunya virus

A team of scientists from Singapore and France have discovered two antibodies that could neutralize several chikungunya strains, a breakthrough that may have brought scientists one step closer to developing a treatment for the disease.

Earth's permafrost likely to disappear by 2200 due to global warming: study

About 30 to 60 percent of Earth's permafrost will disappear by 2200 as a result of warming temperatures, a new study warns.

Feel-good "Idol" right for the times, producer says

Is "American Idol" and its new judging panel going soft this year? Yes, says executive producer Nigel Lythgoe. Brutal honesty was the right tone when the TV talent show and Britain's Simon "Mr. Nasty" Cowell brought a breath of fresh air

Argentine passenger train collision kills 4

Two passenger trains collided near Buenos Aires on Wednesday, killing at least 4 people and injuring 70 others, local media reported.

One protester killed, 50 injured in clashes in Yemen

One protester was killed and about 50 were injured Thursday in clashes between police and anti-regime protesters in Yemen's capital of Sanaa and southern port city of Aden, local sources told Xinhua.

GOVERNMENT IN BRIEF 18/2

State creates favourable conditions for internet; Vietnam opposes China’s military exercise in Hoang Sa area; Vietnam follows developments in Sudan and Egypt; Ethnic minority people return from Cambodia

A revolution in Vietnam’s education?

The Ministry of Education and Training looks for candidates for the key posts in the ministry. Vietnamese universities look for rectors by advertising their vacancies in foreign newspapers. This has never happened before in Vietnam.

Bills on independent auditing, human trafficking on agenda

VietNamNet Bridge – The draft laws on human trafficking and independent auditing were discussed by members of the National Assembly Standing Committee yesterday, Feb 17, in Ha Noi.

A new twist on an old art

VietNamNet Bridge – Tran Huu Trang Theatre's cai luong (reformed theatre) shows offered old stories in a modern style for HCM City theatre fans during Tet (Lunar New Year).

VN celebrates poetry

VietNamNet Bridge – The annual Viet Nam's Poetry Day took place yesterday on the full-moon day of the first lunar month across the country.

Bronze drums to be displayed overseas

 VietNamNet Bridge – Eighteen bronze drums will be brought to Vietnamese embassies for display this year.

Hoang Thien may join three Junior Grand Slam

 VietNamNet Bridge – Nguyen Hoang Thien, the 16-year-old tennis talent of Vietnam, returned home on February 15 from his first overseas competition in 2011 with satisfactory results.

Higher dollar will have positive impacts on stock market?

Experts believe that the move by the State Bank of Vietnam to raise the interbank exchange rate by 9.3 percent will reassure people about the efficiency of the State Bank’s market management, thus creating a positive impact on the stock market.

SOCIETY IN BRIEF 18/2

Firms guilty of social insurance avoidance; Vendor dies as car hits preschool; Coal gas puts elderly couple in hospital; Crackdown on mobile advertising; Woman with rare blood clot condition survives operation

Foreign retailers slow to enter market

Despite dire predictions, few major retailers have entered the domestic market in the two years since the country opened its retail market to foreign competition under the terms of its commitments to the World Trade Organisation.

High inflation the dark part of 2010 socio-economic picture

VietNamNet Bridge – The high economic growth in 2010 has been overcast by the high inflation rate.