The clock is ticking for the incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy as the campaign is to officially end by midnight Friday and his Socialist challenger Francois Hollande remains on top of all polls for Sunday's runoff.

VietNamNet Bridge – The State Bank of Vietnam, in an effort to disembroil both banks and businesses and to put the capital flow through, is considering issuing new requirements on borrowers.

VietNamNet Bridge – While the bizarre skin disease in Ba To district in the central province of Quang Ngai is still a mystery, a new skin disease has appeared in the province’s Son Ha district, affecting dozens of students.

Seafood companies have complained that they have to pay too many different kinds of unreasonable fees, which cause unnecessary waste and make Vietnamese products less competitive in the world market.

VietNamNet Bridge – A local fishing boat on April 30 rescued 7 foreign sailors offshore Vung Tau city in southern Vietnam, the Marine Searching and Rescue Center III (Vungtau MRCC) reported.

VietNamNet Bridge – As the country's commercial and industrial hub, HCM City has also taken the lead in taking care of its labour force, according priority to improving workers' living standards, a senior official said last week.

VietNamNet Bridge – Hundreds of policemen hunted a young man who involved in a robbery and murder at a gold shop in the northern province of Hung Yen on May 1.

Reading A Perfect Spy, a book on Viet Nam's greatest undercover operative, Pham Xuan An, by American historian Larry Berman, one detail drew my attention: the 1958 imprisonment in Chin Ham (Nine Bunkers) Prison of Tran Quoc Huong

Social networking giant Facebook on Thursday said it plans to price its initial public offering (IPO) at 28 to 35 U.S. dollars a share, putting it on track to become the largest IPO for any Internet company.

 Big summer tour discounts offered; More prefer overseas destinations; Hue Festival attracts 2m visitors; Higher prices don't deter travellers

VietNamNet Bridge – To welcome Buddha’s birthday, a Buddhism art exhibition has opened in Hue city, entitled “Early Summer Lotus.”

VietNamNet Bridge – Mr. Nguyen Van San, a fisherman in Quy Nhon city of the central province of Binh Dinh caught a little shark on May 2.

Breastfeeding rate decline ‘alarming'; Vietnam workers in Russia to receive assistance; Container trucks seized from tree smugglers; Bus firm caught carrying rotten food again

VietNamNet Bridge – The 30th Nhan Dan (People) Newspaper's National Table Tennis Championship, also known as the PetroVietnam Cup, is scheduled to take place in the coastal city of Da Nang from May 7-15.

VietNamNet Bridge – A Filipino man left his hotel in the early morning and did not return. His family has searched for him for over ten days but they have not found out any trace.

VietNamNet Bridge – The volume of water leaked through the dam of Song Tranh 2 hydro-power plant has reduced by 98 percent, to 1.5 liters per second, reported a senior official of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

VietNamNet Bridge – The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee will consider the status of deputy Dang Thi Hoang Yen at its meeting on May 5. Earlier, Ms. Hoang Yen said she accepted dismissal.

Exchange promotes VN culture in Canada; Nguyen A’s lens captures ‘good’ popular faces; ‘Sixth International MANGA Awards’ open; ‘Face to Face’ depicts young artists’ self-portraits; Song composition contest begins in Da Nang

A series of cultural and intellectual events, as part of Europe Days in Vietnam 2012, will take place in localities nationwide this month.

VietNamNet Bridge – While Viet Nam continues to fight corruption and promote access to corruption-free public services, many people still think bribery is necessary in order to receive high-quality treatment.