The ASEAN Trade in Services Agreement (ATISA) and the fourth protocol amending the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (ACIA) were inked by ASEAN economic ministers in Thailand on April 23.

Vietnam Airlines will have an additional 78,000 seats on international and domestic routes during the Reunification Day and Labour Day holidays.

The HCM City Department of Health has asked hospitals to not charge patients’ families for basic services.

Surgeons at HCM City’s City International Hospital successfully performed a 15-hour cerebrovascular surgery on a 57-year-old woman recently to remove a grade-IV brain tumor.

Vietnamese people consume alcoholic beverages in excess but the country lacks specific regulations for prevention of its harmful effects, Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Truong Son has said.

Some economists warn that the higher investment capital for national important projects may make it more difficult to manage public projects and lend a hand to unnecessary use of state funds.

The Embassy and Consulate General of Australia in Vietnam announced their plans to host the fourth edition of the Taste of Australia programme at a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on April 23.

The habit of consuming much alcohol leaves severe consequences to be fixed, with the treatment of six common types of alcohol-related cancer in Vietnam already costing around US$1.118 billion, or 0.25% of the country’s GDP in 2017.

The Ministry of Finance has proposed increasing fees for wastewater discharged by carwashes, hotels and restaurants.

Enterprises are not interested in collaboration with vocational training facilities to train students or update their internal training programmes because the laws are not clear about their role and responsibilities.

HCM City has great potential for restoring thousands of villas, houses and buildings, many of them over 100 years old, according to the Architectural Research Centre at the city's Department of Planning and Architecture.

After three years of renovations, Vietnamese and Indian experts have completed the upgrade of Towers K and H – rare buildings that have remained as part of the complex of temples at My Son Sanctuary in the central province of Quang Nam.

The central province of Quang Ngai has organised a festival in Mo Duc district to honour the wet rice.

Border guards in Ho Chi Minh City have arrested a man suspected of illegally transporting guns and ammunition from another country to Vietnam through the city port.

The Vietnam Record Association and the Vietnam Records Organisation (VietKings) granted a record certificate to the Advanced International JSC (AIC) in recognition of the company’s Japanese cherry blossom festival in Hanoi on April 23.

As many as 76 Lao citizens have been naturalised in the northern province of Dien Bien under a decision signed by the Vietnamese President, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will attend the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) in Beijing, China, from April 25-27.

The Ministry of Transport has approved a 1.95 trillion VND (83.85 million USD) project on upgrading weak bridges along the railway connecting Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City.

Dozen of houses built illegally on land slated for a development project in the city of Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa Province, are being demolished, according to Vinh Thai Commune People’s Committee.

The poor logistics services in the Mekong Delta have pushed up the costs of export goods, especially farm produce, and caused great losses to export firms, it was reported at a workshop held in Can Tho city on April 23.

Located 490m above sea level, Hai Van Gate sits atop its namesake mountain pass and connects Da Nang’s Lien Chieu district with Thua Thien-Hue’s Lang Co township, Phu Loc district.

A festival honouring the cultural value of Khen (panpipe) of the Mong ethnic minority people will be held in Dong Van town from April 27-28.

Vietnam will work closely with the international community in preventing and stamping out sexual violence in conflicts, said Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of the Vietnamese mission to the United Nations (UN).

Many flights to tourist destinations have been fully booked, and prices for remaining seats have risen during the upcoming national holiday.

A sailing ship of the Vietnam People’s Navy anchored at Changi port on April 23, beginning a four-day visit to Singapore that lasts until April 26.