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Tuoi Tre News - Red-tailed vipers have appeared in large quantities with unknown causes and bitten over 1,000 people in various localities in Vietnam so far this year, local authorities reported.  There are no immediate reports of mortality by far, as all the victims received treatment timely. These venomous snakes, with scientific name trimeresurus albolabris, have attacked people in many central provinces, including Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Quang Nam, and Quang Ngai, and a number of provinces in the south, including Tien Giang, Vinh Long, Can Tho and Hau Giang.

An Uber taxi was stopped and fined by HCMC inspectors on Le Hong Phong Street in District 5 on Friday.  Thanh Nien News - Shortly after the low-cost taxi app launched in Ho Chi Minh City, five Uber drivers were fined by traffic cops. A team of inspectors from the municipal Transport Department and traffic police officers launched an inspection into Uber on Friday morning,  Tuoi Tre  (Youth) newspaper reported.   The team fined the drivers for operating an unlicensed taxi business.   Uber launched in HCMC, its second Asian city after Hong Kong, last June. The company's arrival in Vietnam pitted it against the Malaysian GrabTaxi app, which entered the country last February.   Ta Long Hy, CEO of Vinasun, a major Vietnamese taxi operator, and chair of the HCMC Taxi Association, told  Tuoi Tre  that Uber’s work in the city has so far been illegal. Hy says the company's private drivers can only afford to offer their unreasonab...

A Vietnamese joint stock commercial bank has finally agreed to repay the deposit and interest for a savings book a Ho Chi Minh City customer made back in the 1980s, nearly a month after the depositor was told her money had  disappeared . But it is unclear whether Le Thi Bich Thuy is happy or upset with what she received, a mere VND4,385 (roughly 20 U.S. cents), for a deposit equivalent to five months' salary for a civil servant in 1983, when she opened the savings at the Socialist Saving Fund under the State Bank of Vietnam then. In 1983, Thuy deposited VND270, the face value at the time, at the Ba Chieu branch of the Socialist Saving Fund, in answer to a saving campaign to support national building. Gold was priced at around VND1,200-1,300 per tael (37.5 grams) at that time, when an extended family could afford life for months with such an amount of money.

A wild elephant spotted wandering on a paddy field in Dong Nai Province. Photo credit: Dong Nai Forest Protection Department  (Thanh Nien News) DONG NAI  - Friday, November 28, 2014 16:35 -  Vietnam's government has approved a US$3.46-million project that will take urgent measures to conserve the wild elephant herd in the southern province of Dong Nai, VnExpress reported.   The project will be implemented next month in the districts of Vinh Cuu, Tan Phu and Dinh Quan, home to vast natural forests where wild elephants were usually spotted.   

(Thanh Nien News) The Malaysia-based company behind taxi-booking app GrabTaxi has launched a new service hosting motorbike drivers that you can call from your smartphone in Ho Chi Minh City.   GrabBike, which is available in the GrabTaxi app, allows users to order a  xe om  (motorbike taxi) via the popular iOS and Android app.   A GrabTaxi representative said Vietnam is the first market to roll out the GrabBike service. It will pilot the service in HCMC before extending it to other cities or countries.   Using GrabBike will be safer than hailing a traditional  xe om , as information about the driver, his photo and the bike’s license plate will be displayed. Users will no longer have to worry about haggling or being ripped off as the estimated fees will be displayed on the app.   Those who sign up to become drivers must provide full personal information such as a state ID, drivers’ license, residency certificate and such.   GrabTa...

After entering the East Sea on Friday morning, the depression that formed south of the Philippines has strengthened into a tropical storm and will likely hit south-central Vietnam late Saturday night, the Vietnamese national weather center has warned.

(TuoiTreNews) - Vietnamese pop singer My Tam received the "Asia's Music Legend" award at an event titled “Top Asia Corporate Ball 2014” held Friday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Vietnam's HPI score reflects a high life expectancy, 'middling' levels of experienced well-being, and a low ecological footprint. HPI score 60.4 Ranked #2 of 151 Click a component Experienced well-being 5.8 Ranked #57 of 151 Life expectancy 75.2 Ranked #49 of 151 Ecological Footprint 1.4 Ranked #37 of 151

VietNamNet Bridge – Thien Ha grotto in Ninh Binh Province was named Galaxy by its first explorers. They found a sea of stalactite needles filling the heart of the underground wonderland. The sight is truly heavenly, like something out of space.  Photo credit: VNS/VNN

(Thanh Nien News) - Two Vietnamese Americans have been elected to mayoral positions in a part of California colloquially referred to as Little Saigon, the Los Angeles Times reported. A screenshot of the Los Angeles Times shows Bao Nguyen, 34, who became the youngest mayor in the history of Garden Grove City. Bao Nguyen, a Garden Grove school trustee, beat veteran politician Bruce Broadwater by just 15 votes to become the mayor of Garden Grove, while in neighboring Westminster, voters re-elected Mayor Tri Ta by a much wider margin, according to the newspaper. At 34, Nguyen is believed to be the youngest mayor in the city's history and the second mayor of Vietnamese descent in American history. "I'm excited to begin the work of instituting common sense reforms and changing the culture at City Hall to be more transparent, efficient and inclusive," the Los Angeles Times quoted Bao as saying. ( http://www.thanhniennews.com/world/vietnamese-american-become...

VietNamNet Bridge - In the flood season, special markets appear in the southwestern region, selling animals that are caught thanks to water rising, such as eels, snakes, turtles, rats, snails, and crabs. When the flood recedes, the markets also close. Snakes are sold in many places in the southwest, from large to small markets, but the largest markets are those in An Giang province. Snakes are available at Khanh An market in An Phu district and An Giang from July through November, said Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan, a snake trader. 

(Thanh Nien News) -  Experts have criticized policymakers for their slow approach to lifting restrictions on foreign home ownership in Vietnam, arguing that an open policy would benefit the country. Foreign investors at the launch of a real estate project in Vietnam. Photo: Diep Duc Minh

Photo credit:  Mr. Hoang (Lỗ Trí Thâm. www.phuot.vn) Full-size image download link : https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7V1bOPdVjkvc01ZdExhMXd0V1E/view Yellow Cities Blue Beaches Green Islands Purple Border gates Ma Pi Leng / Khau Pha… Passes Red Geographical poles Red arrow National highway number 01 (backbone) -------------> Waterways Blue arrow National highway

  A foreigner learns how to drive a motorbike on the sidewalk of Pham Ngu Lao Street in downtown Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Dam Huy (Thanh Nien News)A group of motorbike rental shops appear be advising their foreign customers to practice driving on the sidewalks of Pham Ngu Lao Street, a neighborhood in Ho Chi Minh City known as the "Westerner's zone" or backpacker's area.

VietNamNet Bridge – The unemployment rate in Vietnam in the second quarter of 2014 was 1.84 percent, one of the lowest in the world. The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) said that the calculation method used to determine the jobless rate accords with international practice.

VietNamNet Bridge – The investment rate in highway projects in Vietnam, one of the highest in the world, has resulted in higher road taxes for Vietnamese. 

(Tuoi Tre News) - Nha Trang, in central Vietnam’s Khanh Hoa Province, on Sunday launched a team at several spots to help tourists, mostly foreigners, cross a number of its major streets safely. According to Phung Sam, head of Nha Trang City’s urban security management volunteer team, for now his team has been deployed at six spots on Tran Phu Street, one of the city’s largest streets which leads to the beaches, starting November 16. The team members will help tourists cross the street to reach the beaches, and the other way around. Foreigners, particularly first-time holidaymakers to Vietnam, are generally shocked at and deterred by the country’s chaotic traffic and the recklessness of many local drivers.  The spots have been set up at areas with a high concentration of hotels, which are mostly located in alleys, as several hotels on Tran Phu’s streetfront use their own employees to help their clients cross the street, Sam added...

VietNamNet Bridge – Photographer Paul Levrier recorded impressive moments during his visit to the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang.

  Pan-fried sweet-potato fritters, with dipping sauce, at BackYard Bia Hoi. (NY Times) In Vietnamese, “bia hoi” refers to both fresh-brewed beer and the roadside restaurants where locals, perched on plastic stools, gather to consume it. The light brew is typically enjoyed with snacks like roasted peanuts and fermented sausage and simple stir-fries of whatever ingredients happen to be on hand. BackYard Bia Hoi, which opened in March in Hanoi , offers an elegant spin on the concept. Set in a lush vegetable garden in the increasingly trendy Tay Ho District, the restaurant serves local draft beer alongside Vietnamese-style dishes made with organic produce. While the atmosphere is more countryside than sidewalk, the unpretentious fare echoes the spot’s inspiration. “I wanted to take the core of the bia hoi experience — sitting on stools with your mates drinking beer and eating chicken legs from the barbecue — and reinvent it,” said Pete Wilkes, the Aust...

(Thanh Nien News) - Several taxi companies have announced plans to cut fares starting Friday following the ninth consecutive drop in the price of fuel, this year. Mai Linh, the second biggest taxi company in Ho Chi Minh City after Vinasun, released a statement late Tuesday saying they would reduce their fares by between VND500-2,000 (between 2 and 9 US cents) a kilometer depending on the area and the vehicle used.   Mai Linh fares in HCMC will therefore drop by 2.7 to 3.3 percent to between VND14,500 and VND17,700 (68-83 cents) a kilometer. Customers will continue to pay less for rides in four-seaters than seven-seaters.

Tuoi Tre News (Updated : 11/10/2014 17:30 GMT + 7)    Van Chuong collective house, built in the 1960s, is being seriously dilapidated. Hanoi has the highest number of old apartment buildings in Vietnam with more than 1,100. After dozens of years of survival, these collective houses have become dilapidated, over-crowded and dangerous, undermining the safety of thousands of local residents. Some apartment buildings, namely B1, B2 Nguyen Cong Tru, C5 Quynh Mai, B4 Nam Thanh Cong, C8 Giang Vo, and Van Chuong, are seriously downgraded.

VietNamNet Bridge – Toilet-themed café has been popular in a number of Asian countries, but quite new in Vietnam as a toilet café was inaugurated in Hanoi several months ago and over the weekend, Le Huu Quang and his friend Duong Dang Hong Phuc opened Toilet Kingdom Coffee and Food in HCMC’s Binh Thanh District.  

(TuoiTreNews) A restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 7 purchased a 230kg Mekong giant catfish from a trader in neighboring Cambodia on Monday.  

VietNamNet Bridge – Fresh controversy has broken out after authorities in central Quang Binh Province last week allowed a survey project to set up a cable car system connecting many of the caves – and even enter the world's biggest, Son Doong. Untouched: Son Doong Cave in Quang Binh Province. — Photo courtesy of Ryan Deboodt

(Tuoitrenews) Cold snaps are affecting northern and central Vietnam, while flash floods and landslides may occur in the region from Ha Tinh to Phu Yen provinces, the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting warned on Sunday.   Consecutive cold fronts have hit northern provinces, with temperatures falling to 14 degrees Celsius in mountainous provinces.  In Sa Pa Town, Lao Cai Province, temperatures have dropped as low as 11 degrees. 

VietNamNet Bridge - The emergence and expansion of international technology corporations in Vietnam in the past two years shows an important shift in investment. The Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Foreign Investment Enterprise (VAFIE), Nguyen Van Toan, talks about this trend.   Mr. Nguyen Van Toan

VietNamNet Bridge – The central province of Thanh Hoa is known for three special streams which are home to the “fish gods”. The streams attract thousands of visitors every day. The mysterious stories about the strange fish there have yet to be explained. The first sacred fish stream is located in Luong Ngoc village in Cam Luong commune, Cam Thuy district. The second stream is also in Cam Thuy district, but in Dung village, Cam Lien commune. The third stream is in Chieng Ban village in Van Nho commune, Ba Thuoc district.

  (Thanh Nien News) The five-star Park Hyatt Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City will close down for three months next year for upgrades, Thoi Bao Kinh Te Saigon reported. The hotel will close and work will begin on March 3, 2015.  The upgrades are expected to finish in June, its management board announced on Friday. Work may continue, on certain rooms, through November.

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