HCM City Spiderman finedA popular internet clip has shown a man being detained and later fined for wearing a Spiderman costume on HCM City’s Nguyen Hue pedestrian street. The man detained and later fined for wearing a Spiderman costumeAccording to the clip, the young man in Spiderman costume was detained by security officers on Nguyen Hue Street. "The Spiderman image is quite well known, particularly to children, so, it should be encouraged,” said Vo Kim Hung from HCM City’s District 5. However, according to authorities of Ben Nghe Ward, business activities are banned on Nguyen Hue Street. Earlier this year, a man was also fined because for wearing a Spiderman costume for the same purpose on Nguyen Hue Street.

Installment payment vaccine packages launchedVietNamNet Bridge – High-quality vaccines are available to people on low income with a zero percent interest rate on installment payments. The plan has been launched at all five vaccination centres of the Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company. Ngo Chi Dung, director of the company said patients registering for vaccine packages worth VND3 million (US$129) or more would be eligible to the programme. There were three vaccine packages available for children, adults and pregnant women. The Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company has five vaccination centres, including two in Hanoi, two in HCM City and one in Dong Nai Province.

Fake goods rampant in HCM CityVietNamNet Bridge – Fake and imitation goods are openly sold in many places in HCM City, with their sellers making huge profits. Market management officials in HCM City destroy fake helmets. Better control of fake goodsThe huge profits from fake goods mean smugglers and sellers of fake goods resist market management authorities. A customs officer from the HCM City Market Management Division said fake goods sellers and smugglers watch the division’s office to spot the launch of inspections and warn shopkeepers to hide their smuggled and fake goods. The sea routes to Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Da Nang, and HCM City are also used to bring in a lot of smuggled and fake goods, the division said.

Dozens of houses by Da River evacuated due to erosionDozens of houses by Da River have been evacuated due to erosion after some other fell into the river. At around 4 pm on July 30, some houses at Dong Tien Ward, Hoa Binh City which is located on the Da River began to show cracks. By 8 pm, seven local houses had fallen into the river due to erosion. Earlier on October last year, 23 households at Dong Tien Ward were also relocated following erosion warnings on the Da River. Some houses fell into Da River due to the erosion on July 30Dtinews

More than 400 athletes to compete in Vietnam Open Badminton ChampsMore than 400 professional players from 26 nations and territories will compete in the Yonex – Sunrise Vietnam Open 2018 Badminton Championships in Ho Chi Minh City from August 7-12. Vietnamese top badminton player Nguyen Tien MinhSpeaking at a press conference to introduce the tournament on July 31, deputy head of the Vietnam Badminton Federation Nguyen Phuong Nam said the level of this year’s tournament will be upgraded from Grand Prix to World Tour Super 100, following the standards of the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The players will compete in five categories, namely men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles and mixed doubles, with total prize money of 75,000 USD available. The Yonex – Sunrise Vietnam Open is a prestigious tournament held annually in Vietnam. Its results are included in the BWF ranking system.-VNA

The official report into missing flight MH370 says the plane may have been "manipulated" off course -- Photo: EPAAzharuddin Abdul Rahman said the official report, released on Monday, highlighted lapses by controllers in relation to emergency procedures. The passenger jet had been missing, the report said, for about 20 minutes before authorities sent an alert. An official search ended in May, although Malaysia's new government has said it might resume the search if more credible evidence emerges. The long-awaited official report into the disappearance of flight MH370 offered no new information on why the passenger aircraft vanished four years ago. Flight MH370 disappeared after it stopped sending communications hours into its flight on 8 March 2014.

Aeroplane crashes in Durango after take-off in MexicoA plane has crashed in the capital of Mexico's Durango state, television images show, with the state governor confirming nobody was killed. Aeroméxico flight AM2431 was flying from Guadalupe Victoria International Airport to Mexico City. The plane crashed close to the airport just moments after take-off. One passenger told a local television network it felt like a strong air current hit the aircraft. Guadalupe Victoria airport was closed after the crash.

Vietnam strengthens protection of rare sea turtlesRare Vietnamese marine turtles are critically threatened due to illegal hunting, despite the animals having the highest level of legal protection. Green sea turtle (Photo: ENV)Leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea), green turtles (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricate) and loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) are all in danger, with the hawksbill the most severely depleted species, according to the Education for Nature – Vietnam (ENV). Green sea turtles face a similar situation, with only one out of 1,000 have a chance to survive to adulthood. At the same time, it is essential to raise public awareness of the protection of sea turtles. The case was uncovered in late 2014 with the largest volume of sea turtles seized in the world.-VNA

Foreign investors are from many countries, including Japan, Korea and Singapore, with an increasing number of groups from mainland China. More local investors are also actively seeking real estate deals alongside foreign investors, the JLL report said. “We expect foreign investors to continue showing keen interest and strong commitment in the Vietnamese real estate market. Both incumbent and incoming foreign investors are actively looking for “clean” and “clear” projects that can meet their required returns and conditions. Due to the strong focus on Viet Nam from regional investors, M&A activities are expected to reach new record levels this year.

Dairy producers run race in high-end market segmentVietNamNet Bridge - Domestic dairy producers are developing their A2 milk cow herds to serve their plan to make A2 milk, starting a new race in the high-end market segment. While Vinamilk imported 200 purebred A2 cows, TH True Milk chose to develop 500 A2 cows selected from its herd available in TH's farm in Nghe An province. In Vietnam, A2 cow and A2 milk remain unfamiliar concepts. Thai Huong, founder of TH True Milk, said TH plans to make a series of digestible dairy products, including A2 fresh milk and yogurt. RELATED NEWSDomestically made dairy products have upper hand over importsFresh milk market still attractive despite big rivalsNam Mai

According to this report, Vietnam is among the countries with largest reduction in prevalence of early initation of breastfeeding between 2005 and 2013. The rate of early initiation of breastfeeding in Viet Nam decreased from 44 per cent in 2006 to 27 per cent in 2013. “Yet each year, millions of newborns miss out on the benefits of early breastfeeding and the reasons – all too often – are things we can change. The guidelines emphasize skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth and support for the initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour after birth. The WHO and UNICEF-led Global Breastfeeding Collective also released the 2018 Global Breastfeeding Scorecard, which tracks progress for breastfeeding policies and programmes.

Son La arrests three exam-cheating suspectsPolice in the northern province of Son La on July 31 arrested three people suspected of involvement in the recent high school exam cheating scandal. Son La police also launched criminal proceedings against two other suspects. Earlier, on July 26, the police department began criminal proceedings against the high school exam fraud. In Son La, the average scores for math and physics were 3.43 and 4.03, lower than the national average of 4.88 and 4.96, respectively. The results of the national high school examination have been used for the last four years to determine whether a student graduates from high school and gets into their chosen university or not.

Vietnam records US$3.1 billion trade surplus in seven monthsVietnam gained a trade surplus of 3.1 billion USD in the first seven months of this year, reported the General Statistics Office (GSO). Vietnam recorded a high trade surplus in the first half of this year. (Photo vneconomy.vn)This is because the country’s total export value during the first seven months rose 15.3 percent year-on-year to 133.7 billion USD. The import value rose 12.7 percent to 54.2 billion USD for the domestic economic sector and 8.5 percent to 76.5 billion USD for the foreign-invested enterprises. Dong Nai’s trade surplusThe southern province of Dong Nai’s trade surplus in the first seven months of the year was 1.6 billion USD, which made up half of the country’s total.

Apple boosted by selling more expensive iPhonesApple sold fewer iPhones than expected in its most recent quarter but higher selling prices meant the tech giant still beat Wall Street forecasts. The firm said it sold 41.3 million iPhones in the three months to the end of June, up just 1% from last year. But the average iPhone selling price hit $724, well above the expected $694. Strong revenue growth of 31% from Apple's services business, which includes the App store, Apple Music and Apple Pay, also boosted its performance. The gains brought Apple, already the world's most valuable company, one step closer to a market value of $1 trillion.

Student with highest score at IBO fascinated with nature, biologyVietNamNet Bridge - Gaining the highest score at the 2018 International Biology Olympiad (IBO) where there were 261 participants, Nguyen Phuong Thao has become the first Vietnamese female student to receive the world’s highest score at an Olympiad. Asked when she decided to study biology, Thao said as a ninth grader, she watched the Discovery TV channel and Animal World TV show, and found that “nature is wonderful and mysterious”. Asked when she decided to study biology, Thao said as a ninth grader, she watched the Discovery TV channel and Animal World TV show, and found that “nature is wonderful and mysterious”. However, with the support and encouragement from the teacher and friends, Thao won the silver medal at the 2017 IBO and gold medal at 2018 IBO. RELATED NEWSVietnam for first time wins highest score at Int'l Biology OlympiadBrothers win medals at international OlympiadsNguyen Thao