SPORTS IN BRIEF 17/11

VTV wins rights to cover AFF Cup; Calisto calls up Olympic players for AFF Cup; Vietnamese referee-of-year to officiate at ASEAN Cup; Athletics federation offers cash award to gold winners

Grandmaster wins silver in Asian Games chess debut

VietNamNet Bridge – International grand master Le Quang Liem won a silver medal of the Asian Games' men's individual yesterday, Nov 16, in Guangzhou.

ENVIRONMENT IN BRIEF 17/11

Tiger trafficker busted by police in Hanoi; Tobacco and ethanol petrol spared from new environment taxes; Delta to face long period of flooding

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 17/11

Stocks sag despite heavier trades; Aquaculture plants struggle with lack of raw material; Latin America trade to total $1.8 billion this year

2-ton fish caught in Kien Giang

VietNamNet Bridge – Fishermen in the southern province of Kien Giang on November 12 caught a big fish in a net.

Cloud computing service providers eyeing Vietnam’s market

It was not by chance that Steve Ballmer, the Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft, when visiting Vietnam last May, decided to cooperate with FPT to develop cloud computing services in Vietnam.

3G in Vietnam: even “the poor” can use high quality services

At first, 3G services in Vietnam were thought to be designed only for those with high income. However, since service providers have been continuously lowering their fee, 3G has become affordable for the majority of people.

Vietnam too concentrated on economic growth

Vietnam has been too concentrated on economic growth rate. It is not because of the pressure put by international organizations, but it is the “tradition” of a centralized economy which focuses on plans, targets and achievements

Vietnamese urban people eat too much meat, few vegetables

VietNamNet Bridge – Half of the fat in urban people’s food rations comes from meat while they eat only 200 gram of vegetable a day averagely, said an expert from the National Institute for Nutrition.

Where will 5 trillion dong from state budget go?

The decision to allocate huge sums of money worth trillions dong to five state owned economic groups and general corporations has surprised the public

Economic recession hampers Vietnamese students to go to the US

The annual report of the Institute of International Education (IIE) shows that the number of Vietnamese students studying at the universities in the US in 2009-2010 increased by 2.3 percent in comparison with the previous academic year

Ministry, department provide contradictory information, real estate buyers suffer

The contradictory information provided by the Ministry of Construction (MOC) and the Hanoi Planning and Architecture Department (HPAD) has made hundreds of buyers of the apartments at Kim Chung-Di Trach project feel anxious.

General warns against turning over forests to foreign investors

In mid-February, retired Lieutenant General Dong Sy Nguyen expressed concern over the long-term leasing of watershed forests to foreigners in certain provinces to a VietNamNet reporter.

Shipping firms make profit from… selling ships

Though shipping fees have increased by 10 percent over the previous year, shipping agents still cannot earn much money from shipping services, while their profit mainly come from ship trading.

Miss Earth contestants in Vietnamese ao dai 2

VietNamNet Bridge – Nearly 90 beauties of the Miss Earth 2010 pageant participated in the rehearsal for the ao dai competition in the morning of November 16 in Diamond Bay resort in Nha Trang city.

Researchers witness apparent birth of black hole

For the first time, scientists believe that they have been able to observe the birth of a black hole.

Miss Earth contestants look charming in Vietnamese ao dai

VietNamNet Bridge – Nearly 90 beauties of the Miss Earth 2010 pageant participated in the rehearsal for the ao dai competition in the morning of November 16 in Diamond Bay resort in Nha Trang city.

Japanese firms to expand local presence

Around 70 per cent of Japanese businesses operating in Viet Nam would continue to expand their operations, according to a survey recently released by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

Vietnamese movie director honored in USA

VietNamNet Bridge – People’s Artist, director Dang Nhat Minh was honored in the US for his great contribution to Vietnam’s film industry.

Actress criticized for wearing imitation dress

A news site recently posted an article citing a Facebook blogger who confirmed that actress Tang Thanh Ha attended the first Vietnam international film festival wearing a long gown that was a copy of an Elie Saab design.

Facebook to launch new message platform

Facebook announced on Monday that it would launch a new messaging platform, providing an email address of "@facebook.com."

National Geographic rates Nha Trang as bad beach destination

Based on six standards, 340 experts have selected the 10 worst cities in the world in 2010 in a selection held by the National Geographic Society's Center for Sustainable Destinations. Vietnam’s Nha Trang is named on the list.

Quang Ngai: More floods, thousands of families evacuated

The water levels in rivers in the central province of Quang Ngai on November 15 exceeded the highest alert. More than 4000 people were evacuated when the consequences left by the last flood were not solved.

Accused Russian arms dealer Bout extradited to U.S.

Thai cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning resolved to extradite an alleged Russian arms trafficker, Victor Bout, to stand trial in the U.S. court.

Pu'er may help diabetics: Research

It’s well known that dark, mellow Pu'er tea reduces blood fat, lowers cholesterol, aids in weight loss and assists digestion.