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TuoiTreNews.vn - Typhoon Koppu is moving west from east off the Philippines and may enter the East Vietnam Sea on Monday, Vietnam’s National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said on Friday. The powerful tropical storm is expected to rip through the Philippines’ Luzon Island on Monday morning before reaching the East Vietnam Sea, the center said. 

TuoiTreNews.vn - Vietnam will cut visa fees for several types of international passport holders and overseas Vietnamese next month, in the latest effort to boost the country’s foreign arrivals. Starting November 23, the single-entry visa will cost US$25 instead of the current $45, whereas the fee for multiple-entry visas with validity of less than three months will go down from $95 to $50, according to a circular by the Ministry of Finance. Foreigners will still have to pay $95 for the multi-entry visa with validity between three and six months, and $135 for between six months and a year. The fee for a visa valid for between one and two years is $145, and from two to five years, $155.

ThanhNienNews.com - Vietnam has been put on alert for the approaching tropical storm Mujigae, which is expected to strike its northern region next Monday. Mujigae, the 4th storm in Vietnam’s East Sea this year, is causing rough seas and rains and moving toward its northern region at a speed of 20 kph, according to the National Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Center . It was located some 850 km east of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) Island at 8 a.m. on Friday with wind speed of more than 75 kph.

TuoiTreNews.vn - Foreigners married to Vietnamese nationals or to Vietnamese people who reside overseas will be entitled to a visa-free policy when entering Vietnam from mid-November onward. The foreign wives, husbands or children of Vietnamese who reside in other countries, or of Vietnamese nationals who live in Vietnam, will be eligible for the visa waiver, to be in place on November 15, according to a government decree. Overseas Vietnamese will also be freed from visa requirements upon entrance to their home country. Those who want to benefit from such a visa-free policy will need to present documents proving that they are either overseas Vietnamese; foreigners married to overseas Vietnamese; or foreigners married to Vietnamese nationals who reside in Vietnam, according to the decree.

News and photo credit: TuoiTreNews.vn vietnameseconversation.blogspot.com : Learn Vietnamese with Saigonese For Free 01/ Ho Chi Minh City becomes large ‘river’ after heaviest rain this year Thành ph ố  H ồ  Chí Minh tr ở  thành “sông” l ớ n sau c ơ n m ư a l ớ n nh ấ t t ừ  đ ầ u năm t ớ i nay Thành ph ố  = City Sông / con sông = River M ư a / C ơ n m ư a / Tr ậ n m ư a = Rain Note: In Vietnamese, We rarely say “Heavy rain” “Heaviest rain” L ớ n = Big – L ớ n nh ấ t = Biggest (-- Heaviest rain, in Vietnamese is, Tr ậ n m ư a l ớ n nh ấ t / C ơ n m ư a l ớ n nh ấ t) ≠ Nh ỏ  = Small (C ơ n m ư a nh ỏ ) 02/ A torrential rain began late Tuesday afternoon in Ho Chi Minh City and lasted well into the night, submerging many areas beneath up to over one meter of water, blocking traffic and causing numerous vehicles to break down.

TuoiTreNews.vn - A storm packing winds of up to 75km per hour is heading for central Vietnam and may hit the coast between Da Nang City and Quang Ngai Province this evening, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting. At 8:00 am on Monday, the storm was being centered about 140km east of the coast between Da Nang and Quang Ngai, carrying winds of 60-75kph, with gusts of up to 102kph. The storm is moving west at 15kph.

TuoiTreNews.vn - People are highly advised to follow weather reports and keep a high sense of alertness when traveling in localities in northern Vietnam, as lashing rainfalls, and possible floods, are hitting many provinces in the region. Heavy rainfall lashed the Tuan Giao District, Dien Bien Province, at first light on Saturday, causing floods that destroyed houses and swept away around 50 motorcycles of local people, according video aired the same day by national broadcaster VTV. Locals tried to retrieve their assets amid the muddy floodwaters, according to the footage seen by  Tuoi Tre News . The Dien Bien’s steering board for flood and storm prevention have sent forces to help local residents, and asked relevant agencies to strengthen preventive methods to fight the foul weather. Heavy downpours are forecast to continue hitting northern provinces from August 1 to 3, whereas such provinces as Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Cao Bang, Bac Giang, Bac Can, Ha Giang...

TuoiTreNews.vn - Vietnamese people who reside overseas, their foreign spouses and children are likely to enjoy a free-visa policy when entering Vietnam, as quick completion has been urged for a draft decree on the visa waiver. The Ministry of Public Security should speed up the preparation of the draft decree on scrapping visas for Vietnamese people residing overseas, and submit it to the government by August 15, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh requested Wednesday. If the decree is finalized and takes effect, overseas Vietnamese will not have to apply for a visa when returning to their home country.

TuoiTreNews.vn - The Vietnamese military has put 31,000 soldiers on standby for activities to deal with floods that are spreading in northern Vietnam after  killing 17 people  in Quang Ninh Province, a senior official has said. Colonel Vu The Chien, deputy chief of the secretariat of the National Committee for Search and Rescue, made the statement during an online meeting on Thursday related to the floods. Accordingly, the Vietnam People’s Army has set up a plan to deploy about 31,000 soldiers and 860 vehicles to help authorities and residents in northern provinces to deal with the flooding that has been caused by prolonged heavy rain there.

TuoiTreNews.vn - The next time you choose live crabs at eateries in Vietnam and have them prepared by the cooks there, remember to pay close attention to the strings used to tie their claws. A crab with claws tied with giant strings is seen on the scale in this photo taken in Ca Mau Province, located in southern Vietnam. Live crabs are usually on sale with such strings in the country, with traders saying they help prevent attacks by the crustaceans, whereas the twine is in fact meant to increase the weight of the crabs.

TuoiTreNews.vn - After months of speculation and leaks, Vietnamese tech firm Bkav finally unveiled its flagship Bphone on Tuesday, with its CEO proudly telling a 2,000-attendee event in Hanoi they have succeeded in making the world’s best smartphone. Nguyen Tu Quang, who founded Hanoi-based Bkav in 2001, took the stage to deliver a presentation on his brainchild in what obviously reminded viewers of the way late Apple CEO Steve Jobs or his successor Tim Cook told the world about their iPhones.

TuoiTreNews.vn - Many people in Vietnam have come up with inventive ways to help them stay as cool as possible during the persistent hot spell, which is the longest in the past 40 years. Residents in a number of localities in the country, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, have been writhing in the sultry, stifling heat of the past few months, with a peak felt in recent weeks. A farmer in Dien Ban District, located in the central province of Quang Nam, attaches leaves to his ‘non la’ (traditional leaf conical hat) while working in the blazing sun.

Suoi Lon Lake in the central Ninh Thuan Province displays its dry bottom, dead fish (Photo: Tuoi Tre) TuoiTreNews.vn - Temperatures reached a record 41.5 degrees Celsius in the north-central province of Nghe An on Friday as  scorching weather  continued raging central Vietnam. The scorching heat harmed the province’s Tay Hieu Commune and Quy Hop District. Other areas in Vietnam’s central and northern regions have been ‘baked’ under the average temperatures of 39-40 degrees Celsius.

TuoiTreNews.vn - When their rooms have been fully booked during the ongoing days-long holiday, the response of eight hotels in Vietnam’s heavily touristed town of Sa Pa was exceptional. The facilities, all classified as three-star hotels, quoted their room rates on popular online hotel service websites agoda.com and booking.com at dozens of millions of dong per night only to “discourage booking,” they told local authorities after receiving fines for the sky-high price quotes. The highest price to spend a night at one of these hotels is reportedly VND46 million (US$2,144), while the average rate is well above VND10 million ($466).

23USD for a room in a 3-star hotel with buffet breakfast, swimming pool!

TuoiTreNews.vn - If you have experienced slow connectivity while surfing the Internet today, here is the reason: the international Internet cable system linking Vietnam and the U.S. has broken for the second time this year. The rapture is possibly located somewhere on the section between Ho Chi Minh City and Hong Kong in the AAG (Asia America Gateway) submarine system, the center that operates the cable said early Thursday. The incident affects Internet connection to overseas servers of all service providers in Vietnam. The AAG operator said it is working with relevant units to identify the exact position of the break.

ThanhNienNews.vn - The largest lava cave system ever explored in Southeast Asia in Vietnam's Central Highlands province of Dak Nong is now open to tourists, with a Ho Chi Minh-based company organizing tours to the place. Sun shines through a hole into a cave of the Chu Bluk lava cave system in Dak Nong Province. Photo credit: Tuoi Tre He Tre travel company organizes visits to a tube-shaped cave 594.4 meters long and another cave with beautiful old trees and a natural hole that allows the sun to shine through.

ThanhNienNews - Flower farmers in the Mekong Delta are hoping theirs will blossom at the right time for the Lunar New Year festival, which peaks on February 19. Villages like Cai Mon in Ben Tre Province and Sa Dec in Dong Thap Province are the providers of a thousand kinds of flowers to be sold across Vietnam and overseas. Most farmers have harvested their flowers from the gardens and put them in baskets for sale. Usually they sell the flowers to dealers or transport the flowers themselves to major cities like Ho Chi Minh City, where there is a big market for flowers.