Unemployment in crisis-hit Italy soared to 10.8 percent in September, the highest level since 2004, national statistics institute Istat said on Wednesday.

The Vietnam Association for Conservation or Nature and Environment VACNE has reported that 300 ancient trees have been honored and put under the special protection.

Vietnamese housewives have become highly vigilant over the glossy fruits and farm produce. They would refuse to buy the products if the sellers say the products are from China.

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam and the EU have agreed to speed up negotiations to sign a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and enhance equal partnership and comprehensive cooperation for mutual benefit.

Experts believe that Vietnam should begin applying the MNP (mobile number portability) when the penetration rate of Vietnamese users reaches 70 percent and the service charges can be controlled well.

After calculating the expenses, the Ministry of Finance is expected to arrange about VND20.7 trillion ($1.03 billion) to increase the minimum wage from the current VND1.05 million ($50) to VND1.15 million ($55) from July 2013.

  VietNamNet Bridge – One of the most famous Korean girl bands, SNSD, will return to Vietnam to perform in the K-pop Festival 2012 - Concert in Viet Nam in late November.

The plan by the Hanoi authorities to have 50 percent of nursery and general schools meeting the national standards by 2015 proves to be unfeasible for Hanoi, which seriously lacks the land fund and money.

Tran Anh Tuan, deputy chairman of the People’s Committee in Bac Tra My District in the central province of Quang Nam, has suggested to the investor of Song Tranh 2 Hydropower Plant to provide financial assistance to people

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam will compete at the World Youth Chess Championship which will take place in Maribor, Slovenia from November 7-19.

VietNamNet Bridge - Poor tax administration prevents the expansion of the land tax. Typically, land tax can generate large revenues for local budgets, while in Vietnam, this number is very low.

Analysts believed that with the expected strict control over casino projects, Vietnam would keep casino developers away. However, they are wrong.

 Franchising of Lotteria delayed; Tea export rises in 10 months; Shrimp processors face bankruptcy; Ministries try to minimise the use of fuel price stabilisation funds; Banks finance offshore oil project

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam welcomed around 5.35 million international visitors in the first ten months of this year, up 11.2 percent over the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office.

  Hanoi’s first Classical Guitar Contest was closed with the one first-prize presented, but with many other prize slots unfilled, leaving judges stupefied and the audience stunned.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Duo Amal band of two young artists - Kohlberg (Israel) and Haroni (Palestine) - will come to Vietnam to perform in the Piano Concert Duo Amal show on November 5.

  ASEAN discusses training for gifted students; Hoa Binh starts Methadone treatment; Joining hands to combat child sexual exploitation; Infectious diseases discussed at Hanoi int’l conference

  France, Vietnam cooperate on museum exhibitions; Thirty years of cinema celebrated in HCM City; HCM City to host Vietnam-Japan culture festival 2013; Cambodia Cultural Week in Viet Nam comes to a close

Temporary imports would be able to go through the registered border gates. Meanwhile, if enterprises want to choose other border gates for re-exports, they must get the approval from the customs agencies.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Authorities in Kien Giang province are continuing to seek developers for a planned casino on Phu Quoc Island.