The number of foreign tourists to Vietnam in the first six months of 2018 surged 27.2 percent year-on-year to 7.89 million, the General Statistics Office announced on June 29.

 The Chairman of the Kyowakai Medical Corporation of Japan, Kiso Kenzo, was bestowed with the honorary citizenship of Hue city, the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, on June 29.

 Nine new laws will become effective on July 1, 2018, including the Law on Public Debt Management; Law on amendments and supplementations to some articles of the Law on Overseas Representative Missions of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Preventing Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) attacks on national critical information infrastructure was the main topic of a seminar and drill on cyber security in Da Nang on June 29.

Cam Ranh International Airport on June 30 officially opened a new terminal for international services (first phase) which has a total investment of $164 million.

 Anti-drug police in Ha Long city of the northern province of Quang Ninh on June 29 discovered an illegal garden of marijuana in the city, seizing 62 marijuana plants.

 The central province of Thua Thien-Hue kicked off the Lotus Festival 2018 themed “Legend of a flower” on June 29, as part of a series of activities to promote Hue, a festival city of Vietnam. 

General Director of the General Statistics Office Nguyen Bich Lam urged sectors and localities not to take it for granted that the yearly goal of 6.7 percent GDP growth is within reach.

A crowd of 3,000 sang the national anthem and stood in line to form a 45m x 25m national flag in Ly Son Island, on June 29. 

  The southernmost province of Ca Mau plans to build 2,100 metres of sea embankments over the next three months to protect dykes at high risk of erosion.

 Air New Zealand has launched its third season of non-stop flights between Ho Chi Minh City and New Zealand between June 23 and October 23 this year.

 The Inspection Commission of the Party Central Committee on June 30 announced the outcomes of its 27th session in Hanoi on June 27 and 28, including conclusions on wrongdoings at a number of Party organisations.    

 Customs officers at Tan Son Nhat airport on June 29 discovered 4kg of marijuana carefully hidden in 20 vacuum-compressed nylon bags in a package of food and personal belongings sent from the US. 

 More than 100 players from eight countries and territories will compete in the 32nd Open Golden Racket International Table Tennis Tournament 2018 in Ho Chi Minh City from July 4-7. 

 The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) will announce a list of prestigious exporters of 2017 on July 3.

VietNamNet Bridge - The delay of the implementation of ATIGA (ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement) for two years will bring more opportunities to Vietnam’s sugar industry, giving Vietnamese enterprises time to improve competitiveness. 

 Acrobatic artists and brothers Giang Quoc Co, 24, and Giang Quoc Nghiep, 29, were placed fifth in Britain’s Got Talent 2018 recently with their death-defying, head-balancing act of walking across tiny platforms suspended high off 

 Private libraries, which have been established by individuals in rural areas over the past few years, are providing free access for local people and encouraging reading among children.

VietNamNet Bridge - The US and China are two important trade partners of Vietnam. Any interruption in exports will have a big impact on the national economy.  

Every Sunday, Dao ethnic children from Vu Linh Commune in the northern province of Yen Bai gather at the La Vie Vu Linh Ecolodge to enjoy performances by French clowns.

 Angel Miguel Bastidas Gonzalez, former second Secretary at the Venezuelan Embassy to Vietnam, has won second prize of the National External Information Service Awards 2017 with his book about Vietnam. 

 Every afternoon from Monday to Friday, little children throng artist Phuc An’s small house in Thanh Duc Commune in the southern province of Long An to learn how to paint. 

Vietcombank to apply Basel II next month, Vietnam, Republic of Korea step up technological application in garment, Cement exports record strong growth in H1, Vietnamese farm produce shines in Paris

VietNamnet Bridge - Weaving is believed to be the weakest link in Vietnam’s textile and garment value chain, but denim fabric is a strong point of local producers.

It would be no surprise if one day Vietnam imports pho, its most well-known food. It is an inevitable result of globalisation and is no different from the way Koreans import kimchi.