VietNamNet Bridge – US Secretary of State John Kerry on May 12 expressed the US’s concern about China’s illegal deployment of its drilling rig and escort vessels in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone, describing it an ‘aggressive’ action.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Although package tours to China have risen by 40 per cent this year, travel agencies are now seeing many of those tours cancelled because of the tension in the East Sea between China and Viet Nam.

VietNamNet Bridge – With a population of more than 90 million, Vietnam is a potential market for domestic tours, reported the Vietnam Economic News, adding that the domestic market will be extremely lucrative if businesses know how to connect

 VietNamNet Bridge – Following a two-year delay due to financial difficulties, work to dredge and deepen the Hau River in the Mekong Delta has resumed after the National Assembly approved a VND6 trillion Government bond issue to fund it.

Vietnamese consumers believe that fizzy soft drink manufacturers will raise their selling prices if the government imposes a luxury tax on the products. This means that the taxation would put a heavier burden on their scanty budgets.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Well-known French singer Patricia Kaas will perform in Viet Nam for the second time tomorrow (May 14) at a charity concert in HCM City to raise funds for disadvantaged children in Viet Nam.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese piano student Nguyen Duc Anh, studying in Germany, has taken the silver medal at the Alkan-Zimmerman International Piano Competition in Greece, which took place between May 6-9.

 Indian defence delegation visits Vietnam; Hanoi hopes for multi-sided cooperation with Toro; Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia strengthen friendship; Czech Minister of Industry and Trade welcomed in Hanoi

 VietNamNet Bridge – Waste treatment remains a big headache for local authorities in the Mekong Delta. While open dumping on the ground pollutes the environment, modern waste treatment plants have been left idle.

 VietNamNet Bridge - After being attacked by Chinese marine surveillance ships, Vietnamese ships counterattacked. The confrontation took place over more than an hour, reported Tuoi Tre Daily.

 VietNamNet Bridge - Since the beginning of the rainy season, four people in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum have been killed by lightning. Another 15 have been injured.

Deputy Commander of the Vietnam Marine Police Agency, announced that China has introduced fighter planes in its effort to protect the oil rig that it is illegally building in Vietnam’s waters, violating the sovereignty of Vietnam’s sea and airspace.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam Bar Federation has proposed that the government of Vietnam bring China to the international court.

Repeatedly affirming that its public debt is still within safe bounds, the government has till now never displayed any worries when presenting reports about the matter before the National Assembly. But the latest report is different.

 HCM City’s External Relations Department on May 12 called in a representative of the Chinese Consulate General to protest against China’s unilateral deployment of its drilling rig Ocean-981 and escort vessels in Vietnam’s territorial waters.

VietNamNet Bridge – The State Securities Commission on May 8 affirmed that the trading bands on the two local stocks exchanges remain unchanged, denying rumors that the commission would revise the bands down to arrest further steep declines

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam ranks 12th in the list of countries facing the maximum cyber attacks, according to the Internet Security Threat report (ISTR19) released by the Symantec Corporation last week.

 VietNamNet Bridge – An amended Housing Law draft would restrict foreign ownership to no more than 30 per cent of apartments in a building, or 250 houses in a ward.

 VietNamNet Bridge – A new trend among well-to-do Vietnamese families is to gold plate favourite household items for luck or to show off their wealth.

  VietNamNet Bridge – Even though there have been many warnings about redundancy in the fields of finance and banking, students continue to apply to these departments for the upcoming university entrance exams.