Real estate players explore new strategies; Coffee export value declines 4% in 2010; State Bank denies increased capital reserve ratio rumours after shares slide; Interest rates expected to drop in 2011; Banks plug cards, but consumers prefer cash 

200 escape death as floating restaurant sinks; Two fires cause loss of US$512,000; Nghe An fisherman catches endangered green turtle; Police cracked major drug rings; Hanoi police seize dried monkeys from bus

VietNamNet Bridge - Many motorbike stores have raised their prices to squeeze more money out of customers, as the demand for motorbikes has increased sharply as the year ends.

VietNamNet Bridge - Smugglers have been capitalising on the duty-free store at Moc Bai border gate with Cambodia to traffic a variety of products to nearby HCM City while officials struggle to check the situation.

Watercolor painting exhibition to be held to support poor people; International seminar on “The art of Đờn ca tài tử”; Vietnam’s Symphony Orchestra to perform in New York; Book exhibition in celebration of National Party Congress    

VietNamNet Bridge – Rushing to the border province of Lang Son to buy cheap Chinese goods is a popular activity, just three weeks before Tet.

In many cases, using Chinese contractors is the only choice for Vietnam, because it uses Chinese loans for the projects. And if problems are found where Chinese enterprises are EPC contractors.

VietNamNet Bridge – Gardeners in Hanoi’s Nhat Tan village are sitting on fire because the cold spell is forecast to prolong,  which would mean a poor harvest of flowers.

Automobile manufacturers are happy because they can sell many cars as people’s income has been increasing. However, local authorities are not because arranging enough parking space for cars has become a headache for them.

VietNamNet Bridge - With foreign postal service providers having undertaken their business expansion, many domestic portal companies have been rushing to apply for service licenses to grasp the domestic market shares.

Rich people and “big guys” in Hanoi are rushing to purchase large plots of land in suburban areas to develop farmsteads. It is so cramped and congested in the inner city that rich people are searching for places in suburban areas for them to relax.

Chinese firm rents debt-laden Vinashin cruise ship; Vietnam to continue importing essential goods this year; VN stock markets continue slide; Vietnam Airlines expands horizons; Alcohol imports rise in lead-up to Tet

VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam has begun a trial project to automatically monitor the movement of fishing boats using satellite technology to improve any rescue efforts.

VietNamNet Bridge – Around 35 per cent of the country's nearly 400,000 drug users have kicked the habit thanks to the family and community-based detoxification model used nationwide over the past 10 years.

If Vietnam considers the rise of China a challenge, then it would be the challenge, but if it considers the rise of China as an opportunity, then it could be the opportunity, said Professor Regina Abrami at the roundtable talk with VietNamNet.

Buddhist Sangha to mark 30th birthday in November; Ben Tre province delivers 333 houses to the poor; Poor Vietnamese in Cambodia get free check-ups; Long spells of biting cold trouble flower growers

VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City would shut down pharmacies that fail Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP) standards by the end of this year, Cao Minh Quang, Deputy Minister of Health said last Thursday.

Dell Inc. on Tuesday announced that it has agreed to buy SecureWorks, a provider of information security services.

The U.S. economic recovery that started 18 months ago was still underway, but not strongly enough to significantly cut unemployment, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in Senate testimony Friday.

Since the middle of last October, at least 43 people have been hospitalized due to A/H1N1 flu in the Netherlands, local media reported on Friday.

The U.S. federal prosecutors have filed five charges against the suspect in the multiple shootings in a grocery store in Tucson, Arizona, in one of the most deadliest shooting spree in the U.S. history, the authorities said Sunday.

Roger Federer from Switzerland warmed up for the Australian Open in impressive fashion on Saturday as he took his third Qatar Open title with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over defending champion Nikolay Davydenko of Russia.

Fifteen beheaded bodies were found Saturday morning in the Mexican beach resort of Acapulco, the public security office of Guerrero state reported.

U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona is undergoing a surgery for gunshot wounds after being shot on Saturday morning, Arizona State Senator Linda Lopez said.

VietNamNet Bridge – Over 1,400 blood units were collected yesterday, Jan 9, on Red Sunday, a blood donation day in Ha Noi.