Leaders send congratulations to Japan; Vietnam’s Army Day celebrated abroad; Indonesia set to release Vietnamese fishermen; Inter-organisational Party branches meet

VietNamNet Bridge – Veteran author Nguyen Quang Than's historical novel, Hoi The (Revenge Vows), has received the first prize for fiction from the Viet Nam Writers Association in Ha Noi.

VietNamNet Bridge – Christmas Eve music and other performances in HCM City tonight will feature some big names and promise to provide something for everyone.

VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Education and Training has required localities to re-examine the operation of private kindergartens, which have recently been at the centre of several serious cases of child abuse.

Fresh snowfall and frost forecast are likely to hamper air and railway traffic in France, Europe' s main tourists destination, few days before the Christmas holidays.

Russia plans to launch five Glonass communication satellites in 2011 and 48 more later to create a Cosmonaut information highway, local media reported Wednesday.

Top leader Kim Jong Il of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has lately called for a "great offensive" to boost the country's infrastructure construction.

Two bomb explosions respectively hit the Swiss and Chilean embassies in Rome Thursday, each injuring one person in the diplomatic missions, the ANSA news agency reported.

VietNamNet Bridge – International Grandmaster Le Quang Liem will compete with fans in an exhibition event ahead of the HD Bank Chess Cup in HCM City.

VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City football has shown intentions of putting a stop to its shameful results over the last two years at local football competitions as HCM City and Navibank Sai Gon football clubs have revamped their teams . . .

VietNamNet Bridge – The sixth National Sport Games will officially kick off tomorrow, Dec 25, in the central city of Da Nang with a record 3,300 participants.

VietNamNet Bridge – 101 photos featuring the daily life of General Vo Nguyen Giap by journalist-photographer Tran Tuan are now on the first-ever display at an exhibition in Hanoi celebrating the 66th anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army.

VietNamNet Bridge – A schoolgirl from the central city of Da Nang has received the special prize of an international film making competition for Asian children, held in Japan.

By 5 pm of December 23, the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) still had not paid $60 million of debt, the first due installment of the package worth $600 million that Vinashin borrowed in 2008, according to Saigon Tiep Thi newspaper.

HCM City hosts 4th ornamental tree festival 2010; Promoting and preserving Southern amateur music; Vietnam Fashion Fair opens; Artworks on country’s sea and islands go on show; Award given to novel on Lam Son uprising  

VietNamNet Bridge - The local information and communications technology (ICT) hardware industry should invest more in research and development (R&D) to increase competitive capacity and seize more market share, experts have said.

One kilo of gold to make one Sim card; HAGL to sell $200 mln bonds in Singapore; Gold changes little; Oil import taxes cut again as prices rise; Central Highlands gets first bonded warehouse; Ministry hikes rates on State-subsidized loans  

VietNamNet captures the beauty of special pine trees in HCM City one day before the Christmas.

VietNamNet Bridge - The Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) will postpone the official inauguration of its US$3 billion Dung Quat Oil Refinery by two weeks to January 6.

As the doors of commercial banks are shut tight these days and banks have become more selective in providing loans, small businesses have no other choice than borrowing at exorbitant high interest rates on the black market.