Esquire dubs singer-actress Viet Nam's sexiest woman

VietNamNet Bridge – Esquire magazine has chosen singer and actress Ngo Thanh Van as the sexiest woman alive in Viet Nam, the first time a Vietnamese woman was selected for the magazine's Sexiest Woman Alive Atlas, . . .

ART & ENTERTAINMENT IN BRIEF 10/1

Dong Thap Province to welcome in Tet with art shows, festivals; Hundreds join Ha Noi High School English Festival; Choir festival welcomes opening of 11th Party Congress

72 killed in Iran air crash

Seventy-two people, including 12 crew members, were killed when a passenger plane with 105 people on board crashed Sunday evening in northwest Iran, the semi-official Fars news agency reported early Monday morning.

WTO rules to heat up banking sector

Leading financial experts have warned domestic banks that they could suffer market losses this year as Viet Nam's commitments with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on the operation of foreign banks comes into effect.

Made-in-Vietnam robots dream of going further into the world

VietNamNet Bridge – The year 2010 witnessed an important milestone in Vietnam’s robot industry, when a made-in-Vietnam robot was warmly welcomed in the world market.

Car importers switch to ASEAN for imports

VietNamNet Bridge - Automakers in Vietnam are now rushing to import cars from ASEAN member countries as import tariffs on automobiles have just been slashed to 70 percent from the previous 82 percent rate.

Frost on Mau Son peak

VietNamNet Bridge – Thanks to the current cold spell in northern Vietnam, Mau Son mounts in the northern border province of Lang Son have become a favorite destination for photographers and tourists.

Educators say grammar school students nowadays are too lazy

VietNamNet Bridge – Educators are complaining about the virtues of school students nowadays, saying that they are not only lazy in expressing their opinions during lessons, but they also lazy when doing house work.

Telecom giants put the squeeze on smaller players

VietNamNet Bridge - Although Viet Nam's mobile telecom costs are already low compared to many Asian countries, service providers are looking to cut their charges further in a race to expand their market share.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 10/1

Shaking off economic woes, retail sales hit $80 billion in 2010; Stabilisation efforts trigger more price cuts for staple goods; Top 2010 securities brokerages announced; Nation achieves average five-year growth of 7%

Saigonee rock fans enjoy Tiger Translate

VietNamNet Bridge – Thousands of spectators enjoyed a big feast served by The Lost Souls Club rock band from Great Britain and Vietnamese top rockers in the Tiger Translate rock concert in HCM City on January 7.

Investor doubts send shares down

VietNamNet Bridge - Viet Nam's stock markets performed poorly in the year's first trading week with the benchmark indices retreating on both exchanges because of investor uncertainty over market trends.

Two more cold spells to hit northern region

VietNamNet Bridge - Two consecutive cold spells will hit the northern region this week with the temperatures dropping to between 5-8 degrees Celsius, warned the National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Center.

11th Party Congress to elect 200 members

The 11th Party Central Committee may have around 175 official members and 25 alternate members, said Nguyen The Ky, vice chief of the Party Central Committee’s Information and Education Department.

Experts call on raising the threshold for PIT taxation

 Experts believe that amending the Personal Income Tax (PIT) law is urgent because it has become “out of date”. While consumer goods’ prices have been increasing sharply, the threshold for taxation remains very low at 4 million dong.

HCM City has new football all-star club

Buying the right to attend the First Division Tournament from Hoa Phat V&V and changing the team name into Saigon Xuan Thanh, the new football club is emerging as a new power after purchasing several players of the national squad.

Thu Minh, Kasim win gold and silver prizes at ASEAN Golden Voice Festival

VietNamNet Bridge – Two Vietnamese singers won both the gold prize for folk music and silver prize for pop music at the 2nd ASEAN Television Golden Voice Festival, which closed in HCM City on January 8.

Powering up for 2011

VietNamNet Bridge - The industrial sector welcomed in the New Year by inaugurating a series of big energy projects.

Vietnam set 10 pct rise in 2011 export earnings

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam targets to reach total export turnover of about $78.8 billion in 2011, up over 10 percent from 2010, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Vietnam’s human rights have made progress: US ambassador

VietNamNet Bridge - Outgoing US Ambassador Michael W. Michalak who will end his tenure and leave Vietnam later this month after three years in the Southeast Asian country addressed a farewell press conference on January 6 in Hanoi.

HCM City tests popularity of organic food stores

VietNamNet Bridge - HCM City will set up a chain of shops selling organic food this year under a pilot food management project that is awaiting the Government's approval.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 9/1

Ministry asks steel firms to cut costs; PVN halts $1b in bond sales overseas; PepsiCo launches $250m plant; Joint venture to build herbicide plant; Ministry calls for less public investment; Coffee exports down in 2010

Vietnam Rubber Group vexes local rubber manufacturers

 Despite Vietnam can product raw rubber, local rubber makers still have to import raw rubber from abroad to deal with domestic material shortfalls as the Vietnam Rubber Group’s “unprofessional operation”, the firms blamed. 

Cross-border exports to China – the double-edged sword?

In order to reduce the big trade gap, Vietnam needs to reduce the trade gap with China. But how can Vietnam do that if it still continues relying on cross-border exports?

Isle escape

VietNamNet Bridge - The pristine turquoise waters of Mai Nha Isle are the perfect escape for city dwellers.