Pham Sanh Chau, chief of the Foreign Cultural Exchange Department of the Foreign Ministry and the “idea manager” of the Vietnam Fashion Institute Dang Minh Hanh will represent Vietnam in the jury of the Mrs. World 2009 pageant.

VietNamNet Bridge – Pham Sanh Chau, chief of the Foreign Cultural Exchange Department of the Foreign Ministry and the “idea manager” of the Vietnam Fashion Institute Dang Minh Hanh will represent Vietnam in the jury of the Mrs. World 2009 pageant.

VietNamNet Bridge – Time has run out for organizers of Miss World Vietnamese – a beauty pageant for Vietnamese women living, working or studying overseas.

VietNamNet Bridge – Rock and pop music stars Dam Vinh Hung and Kasim Hoang Vu have become Goodwill Ambassadors for the Life Is Beautiful campaign that raises awareness about problems faced by people with disabilities.

VietNamNet Bridge - Photographers in Hue on March 14 commemorated Dang Huy Tru, the founder of photography in Vietnam, at the temple of the Dang family.

Progress resumes on Taiwanese steel plant

VietNamNet Bridge – The 6th HCM City Book Festival opened today, March 15, at Le Van Tam Park with 471 participating bookstores. The opening ceremony will start at 8pm and will be aired live on HTV9 at 8.30pm.

VietNamNet Bridge – After Toyota, Ford Vietnam has also been accused of problems with its accelerator pedals. An enterprise owning five Ford Transits calls them “crazy cars” and has vocalized its complaints after only two years of use.

VietNamNet Bridge – Standard Chartered Bank’s latest report on the economy, maintains that Vietnam may obtain a 6.7 percent GDP growth rate in 2010, but also warns that the country must be wary of high inflation.

VietNamNet Bridge – Since the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) bank loosened the credit valve through its decision to allow negotiated interest rates for medium and long-term loans, the lending interest rate jumped to 18 percent. Economic analysts believe that the rate will decrease and become more affordable for businesses.

VietNamNet Bridge – “We are facing out greatest-ever difficulty in accessing capital,” stated Intimex General Director Do Ha Nam, whose opinion is shared by most export companies at the export forum held on March 11.

VietNamNet Bridge – With plans to go abroad on a business trip and visit relatives, Nhan arrived at Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) to purchase $7000, but was refused.

VietNamNet Bridge – The fall in domestic salt prices that are hurting farmers badly has not been caused by imports that the government has allowed, says Nguyen Thanh Bien, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade.

VietNamNet Bridge – Despite two modest declining sessions at mid-week which were regarded as a necessary correction, the VN-Index managed a gain of 3.53 per cent on the week to close at 531.51 points.

VietNamNet Bridge – Taiwanese-invested Guang Lian Steel Viet Nam Co Ltd will resume construction this month on a multi-billion-dollar steel plant in the central province of Quang Ngai, the company's general director, Hsueh Hung Yi, said in a recent meeting with provincial authorities.

VietNamNet Bridge – Hundreds of stars and fans of national cinema joined the 8th Golden Kite awards at the Friendship Palace in Ha Noi last night, March 14, to celebrate the victory of Dung Dot (Don't Burn); which won six Golden Kite Awards last night.

VietNamNet Bridge - The former Chairman of the British Arts Festivals Association, Nick Dodds, is coming to Hanoi for the first time to hold lectures on hosting art festivals from Mar 17-20.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese fashion houses and their young designers were more professional than ever and scored high points for quality and creativity.

Writer Nguyen Nhat Anh.

VietNamNet Bridge - The third edition of the HCM City-The Hidden Charms photography contest encourages professionals and amateurs to capture beautiful images of daily life in the city.

VietNamNet Bridge - Xam music, usually performed by groups of blind people wandering along the streets of Hanoi, is being revived, performed and introduced to the public by the Vietnam Music Art Development Centre (VMADC).

VietNamNet Bridge - As spring comes to town, many young couples are preparing to make their dream day come true. They are not willing cut corners to get the wedding day exactly the way the pictured it. And they pictured it as a gala event admired and envied by all the guests.

Laos to vote for Ha Long Bay A musical performance programme was held in Vientiane on March 12 to encourage people in Laos to vote for Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay as one of the seven new natural wonders of the world.