HCMC youth join campaign to promote green lifestyles

VietNamNet Bridge – More than 300 students in HCM City on Sunday took part in activities for the International 350 Day for Climate Change.

New teaching model to foster creativity, boost community ties

VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam planned to experiment with a new teaching model for primary schools in rural areas that is more flexible, creative and strengthens community links, it was announced at a seminar yesterday.

Bank told to hasten sell off

VietNamNet Bridge – The State Bank of Viet Nam has asked the Prime Minister to expedite Mekong Housing Bank (MHB)’s equitisation, which has been pending for years.

Tax changes to save firms money

VietNamNet Bridge – The General Department of Taxation is mulling a tax reform programme that will help small- and medium-sized enterprises pay dues more easily while saving time and money by reducing the amount of paper work required.

Chaos marks cooking gas market

VietNamNet Bridge – A decree regulating the price of cooking gas, which became effective earlier this month, has failed to contain chaos on the market in HCM City.

State urges petrol dealers: ‘buy local’

VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Industry and Trade has asked PetroVietnam and the Dung Quat Oil Refinery to work directly with domestic petrol dealers, particularly Petrolimex, to reduce reliance on imports.

Rubber exports to hit target

VietNamNet Bridge – The rubber industry is expected to reach this year’s export target of US$1.5 billion thanks to a price hike in the world market, said the Viet Nam Rubber Association.

SPORTS IN BRIEF 12/10

Quoc hopes to recover before Asian; VN official elected to AFC Standing Committee; 16 VN fencers to compete in eight events at Asian Games; Capital’s sharpshooters hit the mark in championships

Exhibition revels in diversity

VietNamNet Bridge – The cultures and diversity of Southeast Asia are on display in a new exhibition of lacquerware and Indonesian glass paintings entitled A Glimpse of Southeast Asia, now open at the Viet Nam Museum of Ethnology in Ha Noi.

VN finish 2nd at world champs

VietNamNet Bridge – Top martial artist Nguyen Dinh Toan and Nguyen Minh Tu pocketed gold medal during the pair event at the World Taekwondo Federation Poomsae Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Sunday night.

SOCIETY IN BRIEF 11/10

Efficient lighting helps high-rises save energy; HCM City to improve drug distribution; Quang Ninh hosts ASEAN Labour Inspection Meeting; HCM City tests quality of groundwater

PM visits flood-struck central region

VietNamNet Bridge – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and a government delegation paid a visit to the flood-hit central province of Quang Binh on Saturday.

POLITICS IN BRIEF 11/10

Party leader welcomes visiting defence ministers; State President receives UK prince; Vietnam wants to boost ties with France; Vietnamese, Chinese defence ministers hold talks

Retreat ADMM held in Hanoi

VietNamNet Bridge – The retreat ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting was held in Hanoi on October 11 to prepare for the first ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting plus (ADMM+) scheduled for October 12.

Mobile payments taking off in Asia Pacific

A study shows that mobile payments (m-payments) in the Asia Pacific region are expected to record transactions worth more than two-fold

Danube river safe from red sludge spill in Hungary: official

No metallic or organic contaminants have entered the Danube from the red sludge spill in western Hungary

Fertiliser prices rise on short supply

The fertilizer price still has been increasing significantly on the domestic market.

ASEAN-ROK FTA helps Vietnam boost exports to ROK

The export revenue of some key export products to the Republic of Korea (ROK) has increased sharply recently thanks to the ASEAN-ROK FTA

Selling rice early, Vietnam lost 420 million dollar

Vietnam sold most of the rice before, when the price was low. Now when the price keeps increasing, it has nothing to sell.

Going to school – the service is much in demand

VietNamNet Bridge – A lot of students have found a new way to earn money.

Teaching swimming – the new task that burdens schools

General schools but complain that they are facing a lot of difficulties in teaching due to the lack of swimming pools and teachers.

Demand for capital rising, banks speeding up disbursement

Commercial banks have well prepared for the business in the last months of the year, when the demand for capital is expected to increase sharply.

Couples join in 10-10 wedding

VietNamNet Bridge – Ten low income couples celebrated a joint wedding ceremony in HCM City yesterday, Oct 10, in the belief that the lucky date would look kindly on their futures.

Film industry seeks funds to distribute in remote regions

VietNamNet Bridge – Experts have decried State-owned film studios and cinemas for paying little attention to remote areas and called on them to screen films for people living there.

Chinese yuan appreciation forces Vietnamese reconsider their business

Vietnamese importers and producers complain that they are facing big difficulties since the Chinese yuan has soared from 2000 dong per yuan to nearly 3000 dong per yuan.