VietNamNet Bridge – Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to Hoan Kiem Lake, where hosted the street flower and the Countdown Party to welcome the New Year 2012. In HCM City, locals also enjoyed firework shows and the Countdown Party.

Compact cameras have become less favorable in Vietnam, while they now have big redoubtable rivals – mobile phones and professional photography equipments.

While the seaports in HCM City and Ba Ria-Vung Tau have been always overloaded, the ports in the west of the southern region can only operate at 25-50 percent of the designed capacity.

VietNamNet Bridge – Many kinds of flowers are blossoming at Hanoi’s Nhat Tan village. Young people flock to the village every afternoon to take pictures with flowers.

PhD. Joanna Kitto, a British psychoanalyst, has helped a large number of Vietnamese civil servants eliminate stress caused by the pressure of work with a new, simple and highly applicable psychological therapy.

VietNamNet Bridge - 2011 is the year of great challenges. The government has to apply drastic measures to fight the inflation, while businesses have to struggle to keep normal production and boost sales.

Up to 16,100 workers in Hanoi have registered for unemployment benefits in the first 11 months of the year, up almost 4 fold from last year.   

VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) plans to check on forest rangers throughout the nation, especially in the central and Central Highland areas.

Exports hit record-high $94.8b; Electrical supply to increase by 11%; Credit card payment encouraged; Vinamilk turnover hits US$1 billion; Malaysia’s largest housing group pours investment into Vietnam; Dutch builder plans six shopping malls  

The Ministry of Transport has given the nod to a project by Viet Nam Railways to boost the carrying capacity of freight trains travelling to and from Hai Phong Port.

The Vietnam Food Association VFA has announced the new floor rice export prices, the move which is believed to help stop some rice exporters who break the commitments and export at low prices.

Staff training in the tourism sector is a long-term key task of the Viet Nam Tourism Association, according to this organisation.

The top New Year bonus of $33,000 held by a foreign-invested enterprise (FIE), down 2.08% against last year’s figure. Meanwhile, the average and lowest levels at FIEs were set at $185 and $29, respectively.

VietNamNet Bridge – Traditional festivals will be organised more carefully to improve safety and orderliness, participants at a recent workshop on the management of public celebrations heard.

VietNamNet Bridge – Coming to Vietnam to advertise their TV series entitled “My Princess,” Song Seung Hun and Kim Tae Hee will sell costumes and items that they used in the film to raise fund for needy children.

State management agencies, local authorities and people all have geared up to get adapted to the climate changes. However, they need to take long term strategies instead of following temporary measures.

VietNamNet Bridge – The number of wild tigers in Viet Nam has shrunk from 100 a decade ago to fewer than 50, said Le Xuan Canh, director of the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources.

Educators have expressed their worries about the so called “westernization tendency” of Vietnamese children in urban areas, which may lead them to forget about their original point.

The 1942 Walt Disney's timeless classic "Bambi" and the 1994 hit "Forrest Gump" are among 25 films named to be preserved as cultural, artistic and historical treasures in the U.S. National Film Registry,

The overseas remittance to Vietnam is forecast to hit a record high of US$9 billion, up US$1 billion against last year, according to the World Bank.