The Philippines' National Food Authority (NFA) has awarded the supply contract for 800,000 tonnes of rice this year to two Vietnamese state firms, local media reported.

 Vietnam ranked 81 out of the 219 countries and territories surveyed in a recent global visa restriction index, prepared by the residence and citizenship planning adviser Henley & Partners.

 Original Star Wars actors Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill will feature in Star Wars: Episode VII, the latest film in the franchise.

 South Korean media group CJ E&M has called for Vietnamese authorities to take stronger actions to crack down on widespread movie piracy in the country.

 VietNamNet Bridge - Situated on the mountain ranges and romantic plateaus, these are the ideal places for tourists to enjoy the balmy weather during the hot summer in Vietnam.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Farmers bemoan they have not benefited from the nation’s one-million-ton rice stockpiling scheme for the winter-spring crop in 2013-2014 as prices are still edging down even though the scheme still has more than one week to go.

 After facing pressure from the handling of the measles outbreak, Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, the Minister of Health, said she is now not thinking of resigning, but will focus on getting the disease under control.

BKAV, a “rookie” in the OTT (over-the-top) app market, has made an eloquent statement that Btalk, its newly launched OTT app, will overthrow Viber, a very favorite app for Vietnamese at this moment, to become the most popular OTT app in Vietnam.

 A Russian woman who was left paralysed after being attacked by a needlefish while she was swimming off Nha Trang beach in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa was discharged from hospital on April 29.

 VietNamNet Bridge – While the people of Quang Ngai Province have been struggling to survive the water shortage in the summer heat, the locals in Kon Tum Province have been living in the fear that the water overabundance will immerge them one day.

 Local fashion designer heads for Audi Star Creation final; Global kites to adorn Vietnam’s southern sky; VN Embassy in the UK receives public screening films; Hanoi heritage club honours youth cultural values

 Russia to begin construction on 6th submarine for Vietnam; Hanoi paroles prisoners on National Liberation Day; Vietnam attends Going Global 2014; Japan awards Sunrise Order to VJFA President; Brunei navy patrol ship visits Vietnam

 Vietnam, RoK to boost agricultural cooperation; Economic forum develops practical solutions for 2014; Japan pulls out of Vietnamese shrimp market; Vietnam’s oldest casino in the red

 VietNamNet Bridge - According to the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Nguyen Van Binh, this is the highest level ever. Binh also pledged that interest rates will not exceed 1% from now until year’s end.

 Flooding caused by heavy rains killed at least 102 people in three provinces of northern Afghanistan, disaster officials said Friday.

 A private company declared that it has found what it believes is wreckage of a plane in the ocean, but leaders of the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 are dismissing the claim.

The Integrated Circuits Design Research & Education Center and the Research and Development Center of Saigon Hi-Tech Park have announced their successful design and production of pressure sensor chips.

 VietNamNet Bridge – On Monday, Hanoi police arrested four Chinese to clarify the behavior on charges of using computers and the Internet or digital devices to appropriate assets of others.

Photos of Ha Long Bay from the 19th century are now on display for the first time in Ha Long City in the northern province of Quang Ninh. The exhibition is a key event in the annual Carnival Ha Long, which started on April 25 and lasts until May 1.

 VietNamNet Bridge – On Monday, a baby boy in Ha Long was bitten by a bear and lost an arm.