The Department of Conservation (DOC) issued a statement Thursday saying the whales, which had been refloated on the high tide Wednesday, had come back ashore at Farewell Spit in Golden Bay.

The international media has honoured five young CEOs of Vietnamese origin working in a number of countries around the world.

VietNamNet Bridge – Top Vietnamese chess player Le Quang Liem defeated Karim Ismael from Morocco to win the first game in the 2012 Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival taking place in the UK from January 24-February 2.

Minister of Finance Vuong Dinh Hue has warned that the cost for restructuring state owned enterprises SOEs would be big, which would be a burden to the national economy and lead to higher public debts.

The Hong Kong government said on Thursday a dead goose, found in the northwest part of the city, has been confirmed to be H5N1 positive after laboratory testing.

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese ambassador to Russia Pham Xuan Son on January 24 visited the Moscow World Trade Centre where thousands of Vietnamese people do business.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday called for "even greater changes" to the status quo of the crisis-mired eurozone, while warning that pampering debt-wrecked eurozone member countries would do a "disservice" to the future

The sharp devaluation of the dong, the continued electricity price increases in the context of the fight against inflation, the tightening on car imports have been cited as the most controversial economic policies in 2011.

French police on Thursday morning arrested the owner of Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) Jean-Claude Mas, who has got involved in the scandal of producing breast implants with unauthorized materials,

VietNamNet Bridge – Japan's Shin-Etsu Chemical Co will set up two companies specialising in manufacturing silicone-based materials for high-brightness LED lights, and refining rare earth minerals, with a total investment of 5 billion JPY.

Viet Nam will take part at the Southeast Asian Table Tennis Championship in Thailand without key member Doan Kien Quoc, who has decided to make way for younger talent.

Restructuring State-owned Enterprises (SoEs) is considered the most difficult task for Vietnam in the framework of restructuring the economy.

Foreign invested enterprises (FIEs) are paying more heed to distribution and importing than actually producing anything locally.

Though local fishermen have gained first achievements in retaining Ran Trao coral reefs, they understand that they would continue making every effort to protect the sea from people’s daily activities.

High lending rates have dampened business performances in 2011. National Financial Supervisory Committee chairman Vu Viet Ngoan said lending rates could plunge by four percentage points to 15-16% in 2012 if inflation is at single digit growth.

Among a variety of traditional weapons, the scimitar is considered “the general of all weapons” because its power is stronger than any other.

The enterprises in garment and footwear industries – the two biggest exporters of Vietnam – are expecting the opportunities to penetrate more deeply into the US market, when the Trans-Pacific Partnership TPP is signed.

In Vietnam, crocodiles were once familiar in the watery areas and lagoons in the south. However, in recent years crocodiles have been raised in some localities in the north, particularly in Tho Xuan Commune, Dan Phuong District, Hanoi.

VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam hopes to send 90,000 labourers abroad this year, nearly 2,000 more than last year's figure, according to the Overseas Labour Management Department.

VietNamNet Bridge – A visit to Hue would not be complete without a boat excursion on the gentle Huong (Perfume) River, exploring life beside its banks amidst the romance of the ancient royal capital city.