A member of the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) hacker network claims to have cloned a thumbprint of a German politician by using commercial software and images taken at a news conference.

VietNamNet Bridge – Fascinated by the cultural uniqueness of the Muong ethnic minority and concerned that their skills could disappear, one teacher has taken upon himself the task of preserving their stilt houses.

 Vietnam wins legal dispute; Vietnam Airlines operates over 118,000 safe flights in 2014; Massive fire in Quang Binh market destroys kiosks; Son La smashes 850 drug trafficking cases; HCM City's outstanding young citizens honoured

Coffee surplus drives record low prices; Business community raises expectations for 2015; Bond sales at record high; Veggie and fruit trade surplus hits US$1 billion; State capital divestments fare well

 The agriculture and rural development sector has obtained impressive results in 2014 with export turnover of nearly US$31 billion, a year-on-year increase of 11.2%.

VietNamNet Bridge – The carbonated beverage market, which is controlled by the two giants Pepsico and Coca-Cola, may be remapped with the appearance of a newcomer.

 Chinese laissez-passer holders will not be permitted to enter Vietnam from Thursday when new immigration regulations take effect.

 Dozens of tourist and restaurant boats at Bach Dang Wharf in the center of HCMC may be forced to suspend operations next year as the city’s relevant authorities have yet to renew the operation license of the wharf.

VietNamNet Bridge – By assigning the government to focus on issuing long-term bonds, the National Assembly has shown that it believes the monetary market will be stable in 2015.

Vietnam Ambassador to the US Pham Quang Vinh has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to make the development of the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership central to its foreign policy strategy for decades to come.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Sung La Village, located on Dong Van plateau in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang, became a popular tourist destination after it was featured in the 2006 film Chuyen Cua Pao.

Bababa Gallery in Bangkok opens every day to public to enjoy Vietnamese contemporary paintings. However, not many people know that the owner of the gallery is a Thai engineer, who has a huge collection of artworks by many famous Vietnamese painters.

  Ha Quang Tuyen, director of the System of National Accounts Department under the General Statistics Office (GSO), talks about how Vietnam could achieve growth of 6.2% as targeted.

 Mars rover Opportunity, which has been exploring the Red Planet for more than 10 years, is suffering from memory problems, Nasa has said.

The uncontrolled development of waste recycling, which has caused pollution, has turned Xa Cau Hamlet in Quang Phu Cau Commune in the suburb district of Ung Hoa into the largest “garbage village” in Hanoi.

 The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has chosen the current national U19 team to compete at the coming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Singapore.

The weak English skills of incoming students, the big difference in students’ abilities and the high number of students in every class will all make it hard to implement the national foreign language teaching program at universities.

 VietNamNet Bridge – For her entire life, Ms. Le Thi Quy, 80, has collected orphaned, abandoned cats from the street to feed. She lives in a small house in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City.

Foreign investors’ indifference to Vietnamese state-owned enterprises’ (SOEs) initial public offerings (IPOs) is feared to hinder the plan to equitize 432 SOEs in 2015.

A collection of traditional Vietnamese ao dai made from traditional materials such as My A silk and highlighted by the image of lotus is featured in a 20-minute program which Japan’s Fuji Television Station made at Vo Viet Chung showroom in HCMC.