Last week newly-appointed Transport Minister Dinh La Thang made the headlines with bold statements about dealing with traffic jams in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi – the country’s largest cities. He promoted public transport, appealing for officials to take the bus at least once a week to set a good example. He also claimed that he himself had traveled by public bus incognito to inspect their services, and concluded that their quality generally met [...]

What’s wrong with Ec 10? The dozens of Harvard University undergrads who walked out of the school’s famous introductory economics course this month think they know.The students’ general criticism is that Ec 10, in which some 700 students are enrolled, “espouses a specific — and limited — view of economics.” Their specific criticisms are that economics as taught in this class, formally called Economics 10, failed to prevent the financial crisis and does nothing to [...]

Silence is golden; it’s also a good way to have fun, approximately 300 attendees at the Silent Party, held on October 22, recently learned.The party, held by the Ho Chi Minh City’s Deaf Culture Club and group of volunteers, allowed attendees aged from 2.5 to 67 years old, to express their ideas without words. The party also featured draught beer, team games, a self-service buffet — all for VND 250,000.

The United States urged Asia to do more to stimulate global growth to offset the eurozone crisis, ahead of a summit in Hawaii where Washington is seeking to shape the rules for the emerging Pacific region.After hosting a meeting of Asia-Pacific finance ministers, US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said talks had been dominated by how to make growth more balanced and sustainable in the future, given the crisis in Europe.

Police in southern Vietnam on Tuesday detained five people involved in two recent chases that killed two people. In one chase that occurred on Monday, Dao Huu Binh had allegedly stabbed Tran Dinh Quoc, 21, who died later at a hospital in Dong Nai Province neighboring Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam on Tuesday granted the license of one of the most sought-after land lots in Ho Chi Minh City’s downtown to the German Embassy to build the base of all German organizations in the city.