General Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde arrived Saturday noon at the Elysee Palace for a talk with French President Nicolas Sarkozy over the European debt issue.

VietNamNet Bridge – Restructuring the Vietnamese economy has been discussed by Vietnamese policy makers and experts for a very long time but the restructuring process, which is scheduled to start in 2012, is not very clear.

Facing a script shortage, domestic film studios are remaking many Korean TV series for television networks.

Rating agency Fitch cut the sovereign credit ratings of Italy and Spain on Friday, with negative outlook.

Vietnamese diplomats have applauded the efforts of Venezuela and Syria in ensuring human rights at a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Oct. 7.

Ministries run trial credit insurance programme; Firms urged to cut back on imported materials; Crackdown targets disclosure violations; VN to modernise livestock industry; US Gap enters VN market; Diesel, kerosene prices cut, petrol unchanged

Consuming habits among Vietnamese urban residents have changed, leading to fairer competition among businesses.

Northern Food Corporation’s Branch for Salt Experiment and Technology Transfer director Bui Son Long tells VIR that raising industrial salt output would address the salt industry’s stinging problem.

The U.S. dollar rose against most major currencies this week as investors' concerns about the European debt crisis continued to weigh on the euro.

Balade en France, the largest French food-related event in Viet Nam, will take place in HCM City on October 21-22.

The hotel management market remains bustling, despite the shadow of the global economic crisis. Hotels’ owners now have many more choices, because there are more service providers who have been lowering fees to become more competitive.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has approved a comprehensive seafood processing plan to be implemented over the next decade.

Environmental protection laws are repeatedly violated. Luong Minh Thao, deputy head of the Environmental Crime Prevention Department, said that the law needed to be beefed up.

More than 140 artists from 23 ca tru (ceremonial singing) clubs nationwide will perform in the National Ca Tru Festival in Ha Noi on October 13-16.

Bird flu prevention activities reviewed; Renewable energy fair bound for Hanoi next March; 20th Informatics Olympics for Vietnamese students opens; Schools found to be overcharging; Nearly 4,000ha of forest land reclaimed  

Vienam hoped to export more than 1.1 million tones of rice in the last quarter of the year, taking full year exports to 7 million tonnes, the Viet Nam Food Association (VFA) said.

VietNamNet Bridge – German Chancellor Angela Merkel will make an official visit to Vietnam on October 11-12, according to Luong Thanh Nghi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Industrial production and new urban area projects have been squeezing into the land areas which were initially reserved for aquatic farming, forcing farmers to leave empty-handed.

VietNamNet Bridge – After Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang spoke about measures to curb personal vehicles and develop public means of transport, many people have proposed that the Minister should try bus service.

Several nursery school teachers have quit their jobs since the beginning of the new academic year, complaining of excessive hard work and very low wages.