Despite major efforts, school violence still continues

Who is to blame for the rising school violence? Is the morality of young people degrading? Or do parents and schools neglect their task of teaching morality to students?

Big shareholders turn their backs to bank shares

State shareholders, i.e. the economic institutions, where the state holds controlling stakes, now turn their backs to bank shares, which they had never done before.

Exploding balloons burn kids

VietNamNet Bridge – Colourful balloons floating on long threads are a delight of small children. But smiles can quickly turn to tears if the gas-filled bubbles get too close to a source of heat.

Rivers heavily polluted

VietNamNet Bridge – Wastewater from provincial hospitals in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta has been discharged directly into local rivers for a long time, causing serious pollution, local reports say.

Timeless M'lieng Village

VietNamNet Bridge – M’lieng village beside Lak Lake in Daklak Province is still the same as it was a hundred years. The old houses and paths make it one of the rare villages that preserves the highland’s tangible and intangible cultural values.

4 killed in central region floods

VietNamNet Bridge - Heavy rains in the last three days in the central region have left four people dead, hundreds of houses destroyed, and the region submerged under water, according to local authorities.

New TV show dramatises great escape

VietNamNet Bridge – A television series on the life of Vietnamese revolutionaries in Con Dao Prison will be filmed this month by the Viet Nam Film Studio (VFS) and HCM City Television (HTV).

German cinema on show in Ha Noi

VietNamNet Bridge – A week of international award-winning German films from the 1999-2009 decade will kick off today, Nov 1, at the Ha Noi Goethe Institute.

Miss Earth tickets on sale

VietNamNet Bridge – More than 5,000 tickets are still available for the final round of the Miss Earth contest in Nha Trang coastal resort on December 4.

Viet Nam win two world silvers

VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam walked away with two silver medals from the 20th World Senior Karate Championship which closed in Belgrade , Serbia, yesterday, Oct 31.

U19s win International Cup

VietNamNet Bridge – The Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper's International Football Championship Cup stayed in Viet Nam for the second time after Viet Nam's U19 team defeated the Thai U21 2-1 yesterday in HCM City.

U.S. woman wins Miss World

An eighteen-year-old U.S. woman named Alexandria Mills was crowned Miss World in south China's tropical island province of Hainan on Saturday.

U.S. President Obama making final campaign push in Cleveland

U.S. President Barack Obama has chosen Ohio as the key state for his final rally before the Nov. 2 mid-term election. More than 8,000 Democrats gathered at Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center on Sunday to show support.

Australian, Chinese scientists develop new way to extract clean energy from toxic waste

A team of Australian and Chinese scientists on Friday announced they have pioneered a new method to make clean energy from land contaminated with toxic waste.

Dilma Rousseff elected Brazil's new president

The ruling Workers Party (PT)'s presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff was elected Brazi's 40th president after Sunday's runoff votes.

There are not corrupt SOEs, only corrupt businessmen

The State’s policies do not corrupt SOEs or badly affect private enterprises. But it is the corrupt people who take unfair advantage of the loopholes in the legal framework to commit wrongdoings.

SOCIETY IN BRIEF 31/10

Foreign press hails a hospitable Vietnam; Hanoi Railway Station announces Tet sales; VND70 billion for Ha Tinh flood victims; Vietnam to receive 5 million foreign visitors; ASEAN delegates’ families visit Vietnam Museum of Ethnology

U.S. says mail bombs from al-Qaida, could be more

A senior White House official said Sunday bombs found in parcels in U.S.-bound cargo planes were "an al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula effort," and there could be more out there.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 31/10

Vietnam Airlines signs deal for eight Boeing Dreamliners; Vietnam’s biggest automobile exhibition opens; NZ firm agrees aircraft deal with VN; Hanoi launches promotion month; VN urges ADB President to better infrastructure

GOVERNMENT IN BRIEF 31/10

PM meets Japanese and Australian counterparts; Party General Secretary receives Japanese, Australian, and Filipino leaders; Press conference on Vietnam-US cooperation held in Hanoi; Japan seeks comprehensive cooperation with Vietnam

Death toll of tsunami in Indonesia rises to nearly 450

VietNamNet Bridge - Tsunamin triggered by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake in West Sumatra province of Indonsia has claimed nearly 450 lives, with 96 others still missing, a senior official said here on Sunday.

In the urban jungle

VietNamNet Bridge - For decades, the two iron doors at the front of Hung Ky pagoda on Hanoi’s Minh Khai street have been wrapped in chains.

Petrol stabilisation fund here to stay despite opposition

VietNamNet Bridge - The Ministry of Finance is backing the petroleum price stabilisation fund despite mounting opposite.

Hydroplants face worst water shortages in 50 years

VietNamNet Bridge - Hydropower plants in the south and in the Central Highlands are facing some of the worst water shortages in 50 years - and the rainy season is expected to end this month.

Vietnamese President receives Russian President and Australian PM

VietNamNet Bridge - Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard were warmly received by Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet in Hanoi on October 31.