Barcelona smashed Santos 4-0 in the Club World Cup final on Sunday in Yokohoma, wining the tournament for the second time, first in 2009, with Messi striking twice and winning the Golden Ball Award.

A strange disease has hit inhabitants of the Amansie West District in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, near Kumasi, 270 km north of the capital, claiming two lives, health officials said here on Monday.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has reaffirmed Vietnam’s strong support for cooperation in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) towards integration, prosperity and sustainable development.

Current minimum wage is still far from meeting rising costs and the spiraling inflation rate, admitted, Pham Thi Hai Chuyen, Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affair (Molisa).

Vietnam finished the 6th ASEAN ParaGames whose closing ceremony was held yesterday night in Solo, Indonesia at the fourth place with 44 gold medals, trailing to Thailand, the host Indonesia and Malaysia.

Local authorities have been rushing to attract foreign direct investment FDI by offering high investment incentives to investors. However, experts have pointed out that tax incentives are not the only thing that can be used to attract investors.

VietNamNet Bridge – One week before Christmas, churches, high-rise buildings and shops in Hanoi are striking by colored lights.

Eurozone countries on Monday have agreed to channel 150 billion euros (about 195 billion U.S. dollars) to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to boost a firewall against the debt crisis, with Britain refusing to join hands.

Green development the new future; Crocodile farmers face losses; Poor use of insecticides promotes problems; Envoy advises local exporters to better exploit US market; Remittances from OVs increase; Hanoi machinery expo set for March  

A Vietnamese delegation led by Politburo member Le Hong Anh paid tribute to Kim Jong-il, top leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) at the DPRK Embassy in Hanoi on Dec. 20.

VietNamNet Bridge – The fact that the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam BIDV announced the interest rate reductions for some subjects of lenders, has sparked a hope that the market interest rates begin decreasing.

Aiming to cut down the number of gridlocks of over 30 minutes long by ten percent in 2012, HCM City will experimentally restrict the circulation of personal vehicles and spend over VND450 billion ($25 million) to restore traffic order.

Yamaha Christmas Concert to perform in Hanoi; Vietnamese, Chinese youths join friendship exchanges; Human fate portrayed by Nguyen Lieu’s conical hats; Tet Flower Street features beauty of villages, islands

VinaPhone and Viettel have launched iPhone 4S products into the market which have the prices lower than the current market prices by several million dongs. However, the market is still expensive.

Fuel wholesalers would all be profitable if they had followed regulations and stuck to offering a commission of only VND600 per litre to dealers, said Deputy Minister of Finance (MoF) Vu Thi Mai.

“What Thompson, Andreotta and I did that day is not heroic or brave. It is a normal thing. We only tried to save women, children and innocent villagers,” said Lawrence M. Colburn, the only living member in pilot Hugh Thompson’s team.

The northern mountainous area of Ha Giang has become an attractive tourist destination for its natural beauty and a wide variety of unique foods.

Many students fail to find appropriate jobs after graduating, though they have “red degree”. Some of them decide to take the university entrance exam once again; the others try to learn a trade in order to get temporary jobs.

VietNamNet Bridge – Seafood exporters have been suffering heavily due to the unstable materials supply.

VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City authorities should closely monitor sales of food and food additives and food processing to ensure safety and hygiene during the upcoming festive season, the Minister of Health has said.