Illegal parking spots spring up in HanoiVietNamNet Bridge – With space limited in downtown Hanoi, parking spaces are at a premium. This was one of the reasons for illegal parking spaces. I think in order to wipe out the illegal lots, the city should build more underground and car parking buildings," he said. Besides the tentative parking lot at Quan Ngua Stadium, Hanoi’s authorities are collaborating with investors to study the feasibility of building parking lots at other municipal areas, reported Tuoi tre (Youth) newspaper. Last year, nearly 500 illegal parking lots in the city were discovered by the Ha Noi Police.

Vietnam needs a public transaction floor for bad debtsNguyen Tri Hieu, a banking expert, tells Hai Quan (Customs) newspaper that the Government should appoint an agency to develop an official transaction floor for buying and selling debt. However, over the last five years, just 1.4 per cent of the bad debt ratio was reduced. The issuance of Decree 42 has introduced new measures on how to settle bad debt issues legally. To establish a market for buying and selling bad debt, what do we need to pay attention to? At present, VAMC buys bad debts through the issuance of special bonds.

Remittances to Vietnam expand despite rise in USD priceRemittances to Vietnam have increased despite the rise in USD price against other currencies and the zero interest rate for foreign currency savings, factors experts said would impact remittance flow. In the first seven months of 2018, Ho Chi Minh City received 2.9 billion USD worth of remittances, 20 percent higher than the same period last year. The country’s macro economic and exchange rate stability means remitttances are converted into VND instead of retained in dollars. Banks pay zero interest on the greenback. Meanwhile, a savings interest rate of 7-8 percent in Vietnam means converting remittances into VND and depositing them is still highly profitable, he added.-VNA

Crazy Rich Asians tops US box office in weekend debutCrazy Rich Asians beat expectations to take the top spot at the US box office on its opening weekend. 'Crazy Rich Asians' is seen as a turning point for Asian representation in Hollywood -- Photo: WARNER BROTHERSThe Warner Brothers film starring Constance Wu and Henry Golding is the first romantic comedy in three years to take the top spot. Since it opened five days ago, the film - which cost $30m (£23.5m) - has made an estimated $34m at the box office. Adapted from Kevin Kwan's bestseller, Crazy Rich Asians tells the story of an Asian-American woman who gets a culture shock meeting her boyfriend's ultra-wealthy family in Singapore. Spacey and Elgort's last film together, 2017's Baby Driver, took more than $20m at the box office in its opening weekend as a comparison.

Great British Bake Off contestants revealed for 2018This year's Bake Off Contestants -- Photo: CHANNEL 4A techno DJ, research scientist and banker are just three of the contestants vying for this year's Great British Bake Off crown. He likes to bake after a long day at work and says he will be trying lots of experimental techniques in the Bake Off tent. Banker Antony, 30, also grew up in India and learned to bake there with his father. He says he has baked since he was 10 so will be bringing some experience to the Bake Off tent. The new series of The Great British Bake Off, hosted by Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig, will begin on Channel 4 on August 28 at 8pm.

Hue to upgrade famed Dong Ba MarketVietNamNet Bridge – The central province of Thua Thien-Hue is reviewing the operation of the region’s biggest traditional market, Dong Ba, in a scheme to upgrade the trade centre. View of Dong Ba Market at night. The options will be a wholesale market, tourism market, or a mixture of both styles. It is a wholesale market supplying local food and handmade items to neighbouring localities of Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Da Nang. It is one of three famed markets in the country, along with Dong Xuan Market in Hanoi and Ben Thanh Market in HCM City.

Track and field athletes ready to seek golds at ASIADVietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese track and field athletes will leave for Indonesia tomorrow, aiming for at least one gold medal at the ongoing 18th Asian Games (ASIAD) 2018. Long jumper Bui Thi Thu Thao is ready to take part in the Asian Games in Indonesia. “After the HCM City event, Thao’s form is stable and she is ready to take part in the Asian event,” said Thao’s coach, Nguyen Manh Hieu. After ASIAD, Thao plans to retire from competition to become a mother. Meanwhile, runner Lan will compete in 200m, 400m, 400m hurdles, 4 x 400m relay of the women’s team and 4 x 400m of the mixed team.

New signs from Vietnam’s e-book marketVietNamNet Bridge - With 55 million internet and smartphone users, ebooks are becoming more common in Vietnam’s publishing industry. In Vietnam, where printed books are still dominant, ebooks are getting more popular thanks to new ways of approaching readers. Even independent ebook distributors such as Waka, Alezza and Komo have limited numbers of famous books which can attract special attention from readers. Even independent ebook distributors such as Waka, Alezza and Komo have limited numbers of famous books which can attract special attention from readers. RELATED NEWSEbook and print book to live in harmonyPromoting e-book market in VietnamThanh Lich

A Rem ethnic minority take oath to protect forestsVietNamNet Bridge - The A Rem ethnic minority in Tan Trach commune of Bo Trach district in Quang Binh province swear that as long as they live, the ancient forests will exist. Their hamlet is located in the core area of the Phong Nha-Ke Bang forest heritage, where the biodiversity is exposed most clearly. Their hamlet is located in the core area of the Phong Nha-Ke Bang forest heritage, where the biodiversity is exposed most clearly. In Tan Trach commune, everyone is very aware of the need to protect forests. A taskforce with 12 members has been set up which is in charge of working with forest rangers to protect the forests.

Network operators ready to convert 11-digit simcardsVietNamNet Bridge - Mobile network operators have geared up with their experiments to implement the conversion of 11-digit mobile phone numbers to 10-digit numbers in August instead of September as initially planned. Network operators get ready to convert 11-digit simcardsThe decision on converting 11-digit phone numbers to 10-digit ones was released by the Ministry of Information & Communication (MIC) in May. It is expected that 60 million 11-digit mobile phone subscribers and 700 VSAT (satellite) subscribers will bear the impacts from the conversion. Businesses complain that they will have to re-print leaflets, brochures and re-make billboards because of the changes in phone numbers. RELATED NEWSLucky 11-digit simcards as expensive as goldTen-digit mobile numbers not affected by network code shiftTrong Dat

An experience exchange in smart city building as well as discussions on Japanese culture, education, and literature were also organised. He stressed the importance of exchange and cooperation activities between Quang Nam and its Japanese partners in deepening Vietnam – Japan friendship. The three-day summer camp lured the attendance of 150 Vietnamese students from 19 European countries. First-ever Vnese book stall in Japan opened“Vietnamese book week in Japan” was kicked off at Kinokuniya bookstore in Tokyo, Japan yesterday. It is expected that the second Vietnamese bookstore in Osaka city will also be opened to public soon.

Blockchain may help prevent exam cheating in VN? VietNamNet Bridge - After a series of exam cheating scandals in northern provinces were discovered, some university lecturers suggested using blockchain technology to prevent cheating. After a series of exam cheating scandals in northern provinces were discovered, some university lecturers suggested using blockchain technology to prevent cheating. If using data blockchain of Vietnamese citizens, the data will be compulsory in other countries in the blockchain network. Thanh affirmed that using blockchain to prevent exam cheating is not feasible at this moment.

FDI and a transient economyIn view of the way and motivation for foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction at the start, there is a complete difference between China and Vietnam. However, many experts, after analyses and assessments, have still shown anxieties and concerns, which even seem mounting amidst more incentives offered to continue FDI attraction. In general, what the country has achieved after three 10-year stages of FDI attraction is an extremely open, heavily external reliant economy. In reality, the Chinese economy has grown thanks to successful FDI attraction. Many issues regarding the FDI attraction approach may need discussion or revisit when it comes to building a new FDI attraction strategy.

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) has warned people not to be fooled by fraudsters sending messages via phone or Facebook with content related to money transferred from abroad. VPBank also informed customers of a number of fraudulent transactions in recent weeks. Previously, Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) and Vietnam Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Maritime Bank) also informed customers about the same threats and instructed them on how to conduct safe transactions. It should be noted that banks and credit institutions never require customers to provide their passwords, card information or OTP codes in any case. Customers should not disclose card information or their PINs to others and cover the keyboard when making transactions at ATM/POS and other card payment devices.

Vietnam Int’l Fingerstyle Guitar Festival 2018 to return to HanoiVietnam International Fingerstyle Guitar Festival 2018 will take place at the Youth Theater in Hanoi on August 25. Fingerstyle is a new genre of solo guitar music in Vietnam. Playing fingerstyle guitar has become popular in Vietnam in recent years. The event, part of the International Finger-Style Guitar Festival (IFSGF) comprises a series of international finger style guitar concerts. The annual event has been organized continuously since 2010 in Asia with the participation of famous finger style guitarists from many countries.