Ratings agency Moody's Investors Service slashed the ratings of 13 Italian banks on Monday, citing the weakened credit profile of the Italian government.

VietNamNet Bridge – Four rather large potholes at the end of a new bridge in Ho Chi Minh City caused cars to shake when Tuoi Tre tested them out July 14, just days after the platform opened.

When the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industries (Vinacomin) spent money to buy stakes of banks and insurance companies, it could not imagine that it would have to sell the stakes at a loss one day.

VietNamNet Bridge - Ly Son island district in Quang Ngai province in central Vietnam, is very famous for its specialty – garlic, which is compared to “natural antibiotic.”

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez enjoys a substantial 15 percent lead over opposition candidate Henrique Capriles in the run-up to the Oct. 7 election, survey results showed Monday.

VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam plan to play up to 10 friendly matches in preparation for the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup later this year.

VietNamNet Bridge – Wafaa Fardani, a young French painter, has opened her exhibition at a small restaurant in Hanoi. Fardani has lived in Vietnam for five years and the exhibition shows her interesting angles about Vietnam.

VietNamNet Bridge – Vovinam, Vietnam’s traditional martial art, will be included in the list of sports for competition at the 27th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) to be held in Myanmar in 2013.

VietNamNet Bridge – Scientists of the Nha Trang Oceanography Institute have confirmed that the fish that attacked swimmers in Quy Nhon were sharks.

VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam Football Federation is considering to hire a foreign technical director for the national football team, said the federation chairman Nguyen Trong Hy.

VietNamNet Bridge – International grandmaster Le Quang Liem clinched the first win on July 16 after suffering two consecutive defeats at the ACP Golden Classic, an international chess tournament in the Netherlands.

A series of cultural activities themed ‘Traditional crafts and contemporary arts’ have kicked off in ancient towns in Hanoi.

Tan Loc, Ngoc Anh and Ngoc Khai join dance troupe Arabesque to present a contemporary dance Suong Som (Early Dew) at 8 p.m. at HCMC Opera House on July 25 and 26.

VietNamNet Bridge – Japanese artists will demonstrate a traditional sword performance at the Japanese Bridge in the annual Hoi An-Japan Cultural Festival next month.

Clashes and skirmishes continued Monday for the second straight day in a number of southern neighborhoods of Syria's capital Damascus, witnesses and media reports say.

VietNamNet Bridge – Amateurs throwing heart and soul into their performances impressed judges more than trained counterparts from art and music schools at the Viet Nam Idol reality show auditions for the northern region.

VietNamNet Bridge – An artwork by the late Vietnamese painter Bui Xuan Phai is to go up for auction in Singapore on July 28.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has signed a decision to set up the East Sea Institute, a new affiliate of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, on July 12 that will effectuate on September 1, 2012.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Truvada, the first drug approved to reduce the risk of HIV infection in uninfected individuals who are at high risk of infection and who may engage in sexual activity with HIV-infected partners.

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has asked police to check on the accuracy of the data on five million prepaid mobile-phone subscribers in HCM City.