Central Highlands eyes regional tourism connectivityVietNamNet Bridge – Enhancing regional connectivity is key to fulfilling the tourism potential of the Central Highlands, according to the Government’s master plan on tourism development for the period through 2020. Tourists visit the Tuyen Lam Lake in Da Lat City in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong. PotentialThe Central Highlands has great potential for tourism, with its spectacular waterfalls, forests, mountains, ethnic groups with rich culture, and others. Pham Tam Thanh, deputy director of the Dak Lak Province Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the Central Highlands had not fulfilled its tourism potential. The ministry should create a distinct brand for Central Highlands tourism based on the gong culture, he added.

Janet rails against domestic abuse in awards speechJanet Jackson made her stance on the #MeToo movement clear as she won the Icon prize at the Billboard awards. Janet is the first black woman to win the Billboard Icon Prize -- Photo: REUTERS"I believe that, for all of our challenges, we live at a glorious moment in history," she said. "I stand with those women and with those men equally outraged by discrimination, who support us in heart and mind." The 52-year-old was the first black woman to receive the Icon Prize, as Bruno Mars pointed out while welcoming her to the stage. The singer went on to perform a medley of Nasty, If and Throb - in her first televised performance in the US for nine years.

Billboard Awards 2018: Ed Sheeran wins big and Avicii tributesEd Sheeran was the big winner at this year's Billboard Awards, held in Las Vegas. The singer took home four awards: top artist, top radio songs artist, top song sales artist and top hot 100. The annual awards show, which celebrates artists' achievements on the Billboard charts in the US, had a performance from Ariana Grande. Other winners included Taylor Swift, who won top female artist, and Camila Cabello, who scooped the Billboard chart achievement award. Khalid won top new artist, Taylor Swift won top selling album for reputation and Kendrick Lamar was named top streaming artist.

State-owned companies’ outward investments yield few profitsVietNamNet Bridge - State-owned corporations have spent big money on outward investment projects, but have seen few profits. PetroVietnam topped the list of investors in terms of capital, amounting to 53 percent of outward investment capital. The other big investors include the Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG) with $1.412 billion and Vinacomin which has many mining projects overseas. The profit Vietnam gained was just equal to 2 percent of the investment capital. The profit Vietnam gained was just equal to 2 percent of the investment capital.

Vietnam’s aviation market welcomes new fleetsVietNamNet Bridge - By December 2017, Vietnam’s airlines had been operating over 160 airplanes of different kinds. Vietnam’s air carriers now own 124 A320s and A321s which account for 77 percent of operational aircraft in Vietnam. Experts say A321 Neo is the latest-generation model of the A320 family which can carry up to 240 passengers. Experts say A321 Neo is the latest-generation model of the A320 family which can carry up to 240 passengers. Newcomer Bamboo Airways and other airlines have also rushed to buy new aircraft to restructure their fleets and expand operation.

Hanoi launches interactive tourism websiteHanoi’s downtown district of Hoan Kiem on May 20 launched its tourism website at different addresses of http://hoankiem360.vn , http://hoankiem360.com , http://hoankiem360.com.vn and http://hoankiem.net.vn , aiming to promote its tourism potential and attract more tourists to the locality. Introducing the website to visitorsMajor features of the website include finding tourist destinations, services and trade centres of Hoan Kiem district. Addressing the launching ceremony, Chairman of the Hoan Kiem district People’s Committee Duong Duc Tuan said that the building of the website is hoped to facilitate the district’s tourism with a close connection with Vietnam tourism, aiming to build a smart urban and tourism management model. Hoan Kiem district is home to many tangible and intangible cultural heritage sites with close relations with the history of Thang Long-Hanoi. Major tourism attractions of the district include Hoan Kiem Lake, the Old Quarter, night market, and food and pedestrian streets.-VNA

HCM City reviews ongoing flood-prevention programmeVietNamNet Bridge – Flood prevention works in HCM City between 2016 and 2020 are estimated to cost more than VND96.3 trillion (US$4.2 billion), according to its Steering Centre of the Urban Flood Control Programme. Heavy rains cause flooding on Thanh Loan Road in District 8, HCM City on Sunday. Flood prevention in the city remains a difficult challenge. The flood prevention projects include construction of three irrigation reservoirs, upgrades to the storm drain system and the Xuyen Tam Canal, and construction of seven wastewater treatment plants. Nguyen Thanh Phong, Chairman of the city People’s Committee, called on relevant agencies and districts to co-ordinate with the centre for flood prevention.

HCM City seeks more funds for metroHCM City authorities have asked the National Assembly (NA) to increase investment for the city’s first two metro lines that start near Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and end at Suoi Tien Theme Park in District 9 and Tham Luong depot in District 12. An elevated section of HCM City’s metro line No 1 from Ben Thanh in District 1 with Suoi Tien Theme Park in District 9. The city’s People’s Committee has proposed an adjusted total investment of VND47.3 trillion ($2.076 billion) and nearly VND48 trillion ($2.107 billion) for metro line No. Metro line No 1 (Ben Thanh in District 1 to Suoi Tien in District 9) was approved by the city in April 2007 with an investment of VND17.4 trillion ($766.4 million). Meanwhile, investment capital for the second metro line Ben Thanh-Tham Luong also increased, from VND26 trillion to nearly VND48 trillion, after the completion deadline was extended from 2020 to 2026.

Private drama troupe offers trainingVietNamNet Bridge – The HCM City-based Hong Van Drama Troupe, a leading private theatre, is offering training courses in performance skills as the number of talented actors has declined in recent years. Young actors of Hong Van Drama Troupe, one of HCM City’s leading private theatres, are playing leading roles in dramas and comedies staged this summer. — Photo from Hong Van Drama TroupeBefore joining the courses, candidates aged 18 to 26 will take part in selection rounds hosted by the theatre’s veteran artists. Students will work with professional artists, including veteran actors of the Hong Van Drama Troupe, while attending class, and will have opportunities to perform in the theatre’s dramas and comedies. I believe I will win plaudits from audiences,” said Le Loc, a graduate of Hong Van Drama Troupe.

Temple of Literature plans events for childrenThe Temple of Literature will host a wide range of cultural activities dedicated to children during the summer holiday, according to Le Xuan Kieu, director of the Temple of Literature’s Culture and Science Centre. From now to the end of August, children will gather at the Temple of Literature on weekends to enjoy activities with different themes each week. This is the first time the centre has organised a series of summer events catering to children, Kieu said. Children will have the chance to experience the traditional art and crafts with artisans. Literature Lake (part of the Temple of Literature) will be the venue for displaying colourful kites and calligraphic works on poonah paper.

Households along HCM City canals can’t afford resettlement apartmentsResidents living along canals in HCM City’s District 4 cannot afford to buy “relocation” apartments since their prices exceed the compensation they will receive, according to reports. The issue was raised at a city People’s Committee meeting to assess urban renovation and development plans for 2016-20, Thanh Nien (Young people) newspaper said. The second group includes six public-private-partnership projects and 6,223 households will be relocated and paid VNĐ19 trillion. The city planning and architecture department admitted that the relocation of families living along canals was a difficult task for the city. Nguyen Thành Phong, chairman of the city People’s Committee, said local administrations should find ways to improve people’s living conditions and relocate them.

VN Communist Party announces personnel reforms, aims for capable and virtuous officialsThe Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV) will focus its efforts on reforms, striving towards a “contingency of officials with competence, virtue, and reputation befitting their duties.”The seventh plenary session of the 12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) concludes in Hanoi on May 12. Efforts would also be expended to prevent the ‘self-transformation’ and ‘self-evolution’ phenomena – terms used to refer a member’s corrupt ethics and straying from the Communist Party’s ideology. Specific goalsThe Party aims to have at least 11 scientists cum officials for every 10,000 people, with a contingency of scientists and experts in key sectors comparable to their international and regional colleagues. For local government’s leaders and officials, 15-20 per cent of provincial leaders must be under 40 years old, 25-35 per cent capable of working in international environment. The low ratio of young, female, or ethnic minority officials compared to the Party’s targets was also listed as a serious disappointment.

Students snub Can Tho vocational schoolsVietNamNet Bridge – While many universities in Can Tho City have managed to reach 65-100 per cent of their enrolment quotas this year, many vocational schools and colleges there are struggling to find students since admission to universities is easier than ever before. Many vocational schools are having problems recruiting students this year after the scrapping of entrance exams has made entry into university easier. – Photo giaoduc.edu.vnAccording to the city Department of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, there are 10 vocational colleges and 14 vocational high schools in the locality. This change, however, made it harder for vocational schools to recruit students. Vocational schools say that more students are applying to universities than colleges after the change.

Will Vietnam amend the education laws to attract talented educators? VietNamNet Bridge - Some scholars have suggested amending current laws to ‘lay down the red carpet’ to receive talented educators. “It’s a pity that talented professors don’t stay in Vietnam,” said Pham Tat Dong, secretary general of the Vietnam Society for Study Encouragement. Pham Hiep, a renowned education researcher, said that Vietnam’s 2012 Higher Education Law is out of date and lags behind the times. Nguyen Thi Kim Phung, director of the Ministry of Education and Training’s Higher Education Department, said the laws must be observed.

Exporting products through foreign distribution chainsVietNamNet Bridge - Having products retailed at foreign distribution chains is a good way to bring Vietnamese goods to the world market. The Thai Central Group now holds 49 percent of Nguyen Kim home appliance retail chain’s shares. Vietnamese enterprises want to distribute their goods through these foreign-owned distribution chains. Vietnamese enterprises want to distribute their goods through these foreign-owned distribution chains. While domestic supermarkets require avdiscount rate of 10 percent on average, foreign supermarkets want the sky high discount rate of 25 percent.