More than 60 independent British festivals - including Boardmasters and Bestival - have pledged to rid their sites of single-use plastic by 2021.

 The water of Hoan Kiem Lake has turned a strange colour in recent days due to the impact of a kind of poisonous algae.

Newton Grammar School (NGS) in Hanoi has asked George Washington International School (GWIS) to prove its right to legally operate in Vietnam so that the two sides can continue the training co-operation. 

An American tourist who died in Phu Quoc Island over 20 days ago but his family have been unable to transport his body due to financial difficulties according to local police.

 Hospitals are employing more guards or organising martial arts training for doctors amid rising number of hospital attacks.    

 Even though the city's pumping system has been upgraded, it still can't keep up with rapid urbanisation and water shortages are looming over many districts in Hanoi.  

 VietNamNet Bridge – Some 11 reservoirs and several seasonal dams in the southern central province of Ninh Thuan have dried out, leaving 1,700 households without clean water.

 Military-run telecom provider Viettel on Thursday announced that its 4G subscribers reached 10.6 million by the end of March 2018, one year after its official launch of the service.

 HCM Stock Exchange (HoSE) has received an application from Techcombank to list more than 1.16 billion shares on its bourse.

 Viet Nam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) will continue to downsize its shipping fleet with additional sales of vessels in 2018.

 Ministries have continued accelerating administrative reforms to aid businesses in their operations.

 Nearly 300 golfers will compete in the HCM City Open Golf Tournament, Vietcombank Cup later this month at the Vietnam Golf & Country Club in District 9, HCM City.

 Vietnam’s national U23 team go into the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championships in the top seeded group.

 Seven international teams, including three coming for the first time, and the host will compete in the 2018 Da Nang International Fireworks Festival (DIFF) starting at the end of this month.

 Miguel Díaz-Canel has been sworn in as Cuba's new president, replacing Raúl Castro who took over from his ailing brother Fidel in 2006.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his spouse will pay an official visit to Singapore and attend the 32nd ASEAN Summit from April 25-28 at the invitation of Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong, said the Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang.

 Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh will lead a Vietnamese delegation to the Global Summit of Women and conduct bilateral activities in Australia from April 22-28, said the Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang. 

 Japanese artists will perform Yosakoi - a unique style of dance in Japan - at the walking area around Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi on April 21, as part of activities to mark the 45th anniversary of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic ties.

 The southernmost province of Ca Mau will revoke permanently licences of captains and fishing boats that operate illegally in foreign waters. 

 Minister of Public Security To Lam held talks with Karim Massimov, Chairman of the Kazakhstani National Security Committee (NSC), in the capital city of Astana on April 19, as part of the Minister’s visit to the Central Asian country.

 More than 45 percent of Vietnamese males smoke tobacco, as heard at an anti-smoking conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on April 19.

 The central city of Da Nang and FPT, a Vietnamese software giant, inked on April 19 a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on building Da Nang as a ‘smart city’ for the 2018-20 period.

A festival is taking place in Hanoi where ethnic people from across the country gather together and exchange their cultures as well as introduce them to local people and tourists. 

 US Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Mary Tarnowka has called for actions to improve public awareness of plastic waste as well as measures to reduce and recycle plastic waste. 

Any unilateral actions by any other country in Vietnam’s two archipelagoes in the East Sea – Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) – without the consent of Vietnam are invalid and illegal,