Vietnam's failure at AFF Cup 2010 analyzed

The coach of Vietnam’s national football squads, Henrique Calisto,must bring the U23 team at least to the finals of the 26th Southeast Asian Games in 2011.

Businesses asked to complete ICT strategy

The Ministry of Information and Communications has asked businesses to give priority to Vietnam's ICT development plan to 2010 with a vision to 2020, called "Planning on Development of Information and Communication Technology".

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 28/1

Firms urged to boost presence in French market; Dragon fruits fly record high in Binh Thuan: 1,000 tons a day; Interest rates on dollar deposits hit record highs; Vietnam to export 1.5 million tons of cement in 2011; Ukraine halts tra imports

Mixed messages leave market uneasy

VietNamNet Bridge - The State Bank of Vietnam has yet to give the market a clear view of its policy direction, leaving market players unsure whether the authority wants to further growth or lower inflation.

Vietnam Idol 2010 burns Hanoi’s stage

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam Idol 2010 Tran Nguyen Uyen Linh and the show's top ten finalists met their adoring Hanoian fans during a show at Hoang Mai Gymnasium on the night of January.

HCM City to hold Lunar New Year festival

VietNamNet Bridge – The HCM City People's Committee has assigned local tour company Saigontourist Holding Company and other administrative agencies to organise the Tet Tan Mao Festival in the city's downtown.

Hot Vteen shows talents

VietNamNet Bridge – Contestants of the Hot Vteen 2010 performed their talents at the award ceremony in HCM City on January 22.

War declared on tax evasion by foreign firms

VietNamNet Bridge - The Ministry of Finance has once again urged the Taxation Bureau to regulate the transfer pricing mechanism used by foreign invested enterprises (FIEs) to declare losses to evade taxes in Viet Nam.

UK, Vietnam agree to strategic partnership

VietNamNet Bridge - UK and Vietnam signed a strategic partnership in September 2010 showing their strong commitment to a wide range of new initiatives.

Admiring fossil wood artworks in VietNamNet’s photos

VietNamNet Bridge – Go lua (fossil wood) that is thousands of years old have become unique artworks, which are owned by super wealthy men in Vietnam.

SOCIETY IN BRIEF 28/1

Vietnam moves up 16 places in quality of life rankings; HCM City to face labour shortage after Tet holiday; Poor children receive Tet gifts; More rice delivered to needy people

Earth Hour 2011, more than lights out for one hour

VietNamNet Bridge – The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has announced that the Earth Hour 2011 will take place at 8.30 pm of Saturday, March 26. The major difference is that more thanlights will be turned off for one hour.

Why is it unusually cold in the north?

VietNamNet Bridge – La Nina cooling pattern has been cited as the main reason behind the unusual climate in many places in the world, including the north of Vietnam which is facing a very cold winter.

Gardeners don’t sleep to warm flowers

VietNamNet Bridge – In interminable cold, gardeners have to warm imported flowers to stimulate them to blossom for the lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.

Adjusting exchange rate: the opportunity, the strand and the dog

VietNamNet Bridge – “Vietnam will not adjust the dong/dollar exchange rate before Tet” was the message released by the Chair of the National Financial Supervision Council three months ago, in October 2010.

Electricity, coal production: one beats the bush and another catches the bird

Steel and cement producers are happy with billions of dollars worth of turnover from exports in 2010. Meanwhile, electricity and coal producers, who provided energy to serve the steel and cement production, are forced to suck up their losses.

Pre-Tet childcare in demand

Nursery schools begin their Tet holiday on January 28, 2011. Meanwhile, state employees still have to work until the end of January 30. Therefore, there is a high demand for childcare services.

More than 100 still in hospital after Moscow airport blast

About 123 people injured in Monday's explosion at Moscow's Domodedovo airport are still hospitalized, the Russian Emergencies Ministry said Thursday.

Palace Museum puts its house in order

After seven years of surveying, members of staff at the Palace Museum in Beijing have finally completed an inventory of the many treasures housed at the former Qing Dynasty (1644 -1911) palace.

Hong Kong confirms first A/H1N1 flu-related death in 2011

Hong Kong's Hospital Authority ( HA) announced on Wednesday that a 27-year-old female patient infected with the A/H1N1 flu virus was certified dead at Tuesday night.

Google to hire more than 6,000 in 2011

Internet giant Google Inc. said it plans to hire at least 6,200 people this year in the company’s biggest expansion yet, according to media reports Wednesday.

Nearly 3 million people visit Hanoi’s relics

VietNamNet Bridge – About 3 million domestic and foreign visitors flocked to Hanoi in 2010, according to the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Vietnam’s Tourism has a new logo

VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam Administration of Tourism (VNAT) on January 26 held an awards ceremony for winners a contest to design a new logo-symbol for the National Tourism Promotion Programme over the 2011-2015 period.

Athlete gets cash-prize boost

VietNamNet Bridge – Karate star Le Bich Phuong has received a cash prize of VND100 million ($5,000) from Viet Nam Football Media JSC for her gold medal at the Asian Games last month.

HCMC sports official spells out tasks

VietNamNet Bridge – Mai Ba Hung, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, told Viet Nam News about his agency's main tasks this year.