A rapidly worsening water shortage threatens to destabilize the planet and should be a top priority for the UN Security Council and world leaders, a panel of experts said in a report Monday.

Three women sharing a bed; extra beds being arranged along corridors to serve pregnant women; even rich women being unable to rent a service room are what is going on at the Hanoi Obstetrics Hospital in the year of the Dragon.

The abuse of plant protection chemicals in agricultural production has harmed people’s health, while it would cause long term impacts on the living environment.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Government has agreed to earmark an additional VND2.5 trillion (US$119 million) to the Viet Nam Bank for Social Policies to ensure there are enough funds for loans to poor university students in the upcoming academic year.

VietNamNet Bridge – A new wave of selling assets to get money for debt payment has kicked off. This is the last resort for businesses, which cannot think of any other ways to pay debts and maintain production.

 Petroleum prices may see record highs; Bond market develops well in Vietnam; Nestle to purchase more coffee from Vietnam; Tax incentives total VND14 trillion; Local-global gold price gap widens

 VietNamNet Bridge – Faced with the global problem of climate change, HCM City should adopt comprehensive measures to develop its green space to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, an academic has said.

East Meets West Foundation (EMW) this month will join hands with its partners to hold two runs to raise awareness of social integration of the disabled, as well as to raise funds for the integrated sports program

 Laos and Viet Nam welcome National Assembly delegations; Lao NA chairwoman receives Vietnamese guests; Vietnam, Indonesia tighten defense cooperation; Vietnam boosts relations with African parties

 VietNamNet Bridge – Some 19 groups with around 400 people from travel agencies in 18 Russian cities will come to Vietnam from this month until November to study Vietnam’s tourism.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The lotus flower and beauty of Vietnamese women are the main inspirations for ceramic works and paintings by artist Nguyen Nhu Quang now on display at the HCM City Fine Arts Museum.

  VietNamNet Bridge – Miss Sports 2012 Lai Huong Thao’s ao dai entered the top 20 traditional costumes at the Miss Supranational 2012 in Poland.

  VietNamNet Bridge – The Hanoi administration has issued the plan for purchasing public cars in 2013-2015, with the ceiling price of VND720 million (around $36,000).

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Americans not to forget the troops who are fighting and dying in Afghanistan, as he paid tribute to the victims of the 9/11 attacks.

A lot of modern shopping malls located on advantageous positions in the commercial hubs of Hoan Kiem, Dong Da and Cau Giay districts have been deserted for the last two years.

Hanoi authorities have instructed the Department of Transportation to work out a plan to curb personal vehicles through granting “quota” for newly-registered vehicles and banning some kinds of vehicles on the belt road 2 to the city’s center.

  VietNamNet Bridge – Over ten years ago, the first player who was discovered to be on drugs is midfielder Phan Thanh Tuan of Song Lam Nghe An (SLNA) FC.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Nguyen Trung Kien of Ha Noi broke two national records at the National Diving Championships in HCM City on Sunday.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) is to help Vietnam apply a system to manage information concerning football.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The first ever printed book on local food specialties from different parts of Vietnam was released in August by Vietbook, the publisher of many books on Vietnamese topics.