Disney show makes historic debut in HCMC As a sign that Vietnam is becoming more appealing for international tours of all kinds, local audiences will be able to enjoy a visit from some of the most famous cartoon characters on the planet next month. Master Magician Mickey Mouse and his ever-present sidekick Minnie Mouse join forces with professional illusionist Michael Barron for a magical production on stage. Disney Live! presents Mickey's Magic Show featuring grand illusions and favorite Disney characters, including Donald Duck and Goofy; Cinderella and her Fairy Godmother; Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter; and beloved Disney princesses Jasmine, Belle and Snow White. This marks the production's first-ever stop in Vietnam. "It took over one year to secure the contract," said Tanya Trang Johnston, co-founder of District Music 360, the event's local promoter. From the breathtaking levitation of Minnie and Jasmine to the transformation of Cinderella's rags into riches in a split … [Read more...] about Art & Entertainment News 27/8
Vietnamnet news
Social News 21/10
Committee urged to stand ready for search, rescue missions Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung made the request while attending a ceremony to mark the 20th founding anniversary of the committee in Hanoi on October 21. He said natural calamities such as floods and landslides as well as climate change and rising sea level have become more complicated and unpredictable, alongside hidden risks of big accidents. Since the beginning of this year, the damaging cold in the north, the prolonged drought in the south-central and Central Highland regions, the saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta, and the maritime environmental incident in the four central provinces have seriously affected the country's socio-economic development as well as local life and production, he added. In that context, there are many shortcomings that need to be fixed in search and rescue work, especially those related to capacity, forecast quality, equipment and the building of prevention measures, he noted. Dung … [Read more...] about Social News 21/10
Social News 19/10
Vung Tau mass fish dead caused by lack of oxygen A lack of oxygen was the main cause to the recent mass death of more than 250 tonnes of farmed fish along the Cha Va River in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau according to local authorities in their report released Monday. In their report announced at a meeting yesterday by director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Tran Van Cuong, investigation results of tested water samples showed that heavy rains had brought a large amount of water into the river and made the saline and oxygen levels decreased. "Fish then stopped eating and died en mass," Cuong said. The report said that some 254 tonnes of farmed fish of 90 households in Long Son District had died en mass since October 10 with an estimated loss of VND 29 billion (USD1.31 million). Farmers had laid out their dead fish on part of Highway 51 in Vung Tau City on October 13 to protest, demanding compensation from local seafood processors for … [Read more...] about Social News 19/10
Social News 2/5
Stone-carrying lorries stir up dust, loud noise Stone exploitation at local mines was to blame according to local residents; some enterprises have been licensed to exploit stone since 2007. Before 2007, the environment of the six villages in Phú Mãn Commune was healthy, local residents said. Things started to get worse when stone mining began. Local people's daily activities were affected as were schools and health centres by the loud lorries. The 2.7 km main road linking the commune centre with the villages was seriously damaged, causing traffic jams. Early last year, Quốc Oai District authorities invested money from the local budget to upgrade the road. Local residents complained to the district People's Committee that owners of stone-trucks didn't traffic laws. A 60-year-old local man, Đinh Công Chìu, said "Every day, hundreds of 40-50 tonne- lorries carrying stone from mines drive at high-speeds on the inter-commune road to the district centre." "When a lorry goes through, the … [Read more...] about Social News 2/5
VietNamNet Concert returns to mark Independence Day
VietNamNet Bridge - "Dieu Con Mai" (Things Everlasting) Concert, held by VietNamNet Newspaper, will come back to the stage to mark the 70th Independence Day on September 2 after a one year hiatus. Related news Things Everlasting 2013: Brilliant peaks of Vietnamese music “Things Everlasting” 2011 concert in photos Things Everlasting 2013 keeps the soul of Vietnamese music Beautiful moments of “Things Everlasting” Concert Conductor Le Phi Phi performed at "Dieu Con Mai" Concert in 2013. The concert will feature the voices of famous Vietnamese singers accompanied by instrumentalists from the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of conductor Le Phi Phi. The artists will bring audiences choruses, arias and ballads on the country’s revolutionary period, and extracts from symphonies of well-known Vietnamese composers including Do Nhuan, Ho Bac and Do Hong Quan. Folk songs adapted to symphony orchestra and newly-released compositions … [Read more...] about VietNamNet Concert returns to mark Independence Day
Government News in Brief
Party founding anniversary celebrated overseas Participants sing Vietnam's national anthem at a ceremony marked the 86th Party founding anniversary in Russia on February 3. (Photo: VNA) The Vietnam Embassy in Algeria organised a meeting to mark the 86th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) on February 3. Opening the ceremony, Ambassador Vu The Hiep said that under more than eight decades of the CPV leadership, Vietnam has gradually overcome poverty and undeveloped conditions to consolidate a more significant position regionally and internationally. The diplomat summarised the 12th National Party Congress, with Nguyen Phu Trong re-elected as General Secretary. The same day, meetings and celebrations also took place in Russia, the Czech Republic and Germany. The birth of the CPV on February 3, 1930, was an important historical event and a significant turning point in the history of the Vietnamese revolution, marking a milestone in the country's development. … [Read more...] about Government News in Brief
Odd news: Burglar got the munchies on the job
VietNamNet Bridge – A unique housebreaking in Viet Nam happened last Wednesday in Tu Son Town in the northern province of Bac Ninh. The burglar was a young man who worked as a building worker. He broke into a house near his workplace and intended to steal something. The owner of the house was out, and the burglar was hungry so he found something to eat before taking property. He fried two eggs and ate them together with rice. While he was having his meal, the owner of the house returned and caught him. He admitted that he intended to take the Air Blade motorbike. The owner of the house also discovered that previously the burglar had entered the house and taken a Wave motorbike. The Tu Son Town Police is investigating the case. It was such good luck for the household but a bad ending for the burglar as he tried to have his cake and eat it too. Famous singer features in exam question Son Tung, a famous young singer who is adored by a number of young Vietnamese, has been … [Read more...] about Odd news: Burglar got the munchies on the job
Odd news: Two farmers charged with taking bribes
VietNamNet Bridge - Two farmers in the central province of Binh Thuan were sentenced to jail for "taking bribes" just because they prepared files for several poor farmers to borrow soft loans and got paid. The sentence was later suspended. The farmers, Nguyen Thanh Nam and Nguyen Thanh Tuan, had been prosecuted and indicted on charges of accepting bribes and sentenced to seven and eight years in prison, respectively. According to the indictment, Nam was the chief of Lo To village in Ham Can commune of Ham Thuan Nam district. In April 2011 Nam was contracted by the Bank for Social Policies of Ham Thuan Nam district as chief and Tuan as vice chief of the capital borrowing team, managed by the Farmer Association of Ham Can commune. The mission of the two men was receiving the written loan request of the poor and organizing meetings to select the appropriate borrowers and then send the list of borrowers to the poverty reduction committee of Ham Can commune. They then had to submit … [Read more...] about Odd news: Two farmers charged with taking bribes
Social News 12/8
Mekong Delta to accelerate transport infrastructure development Under the plan, the region will have 83 new projects with an investment of 125.3 trillion VND (5.6 billion USD); of which, there are 45 road projects with a combined capital of 90.3 billion VND (4 billion USD). The plan also envisions four projects in aviation worth some 5.2 trillion VND (232 million USD), 22 others in maritime transport with an estimated investment of 18 trillion VND (807 million USD) and 14 in inland waterway valued at 11,8 trillion VND (530 million USD). The committee said besides completing projects under implementation, priority will be given to key projects to boost linkage in the region. According to Tran Huu Hiep, a permanent member of the committee, despite having a dense network of rivers and canals, inland waterway transport in the Mekong Delta has not developed as it should have, failing to help enterprises cut costs and boost competitiveness. Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Nhat … [Read more...] about Social News 12/8
Social News 17/3
Nghe An Police arrest marijuana smuggler Police in the central Nghệ An Province said they arrested a suspect for trafficking marijuana in Thái Hoà Town yesterday morning. The police seized 3kg of marijuana and a gun during a search of the suspect's home. Phan Phúc Đạt, 36, was a criminal who had been under investigation for a long time in the area, the police said. At the police station, Đạt initially said he bought the marijuana at Cầu Treo International border gate in the central Hà Tĩnh Province and then transported it to the town to sell it to drug addicts. The gun was bought from an unidentified person for self-defence, he said to the police. The case is being investigated further. Quang Trị Province set to preserve war tunnel Local history: The tunnel being inspected for renovation work. - Photo dantri.com.vn The central province of Quảng Trị will preserve a part of a war tunnel used during the American War for tourism purposes. The Y-shaped tunnel, located in Vĩnh Linh … [Read more...] about Social News 17/3