It is a great honour for Vietnam to host an APPF annual meeting for the second time and the country appreciates support from APPF members, said National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

 Mobile karaoke groups are still common in the Hoan Kiem Lake area in Hanoi despite warnings from the authorities.

 Director of Hollywood blockbuster Kong: Skull Island Jordan Vogt-Roberts and his family have visited Ninh Binh Province, one of the film locations.

 Mai Linh Taxi Company has asked for the government's help to pay insurance for employees as they have incurred more than VND180bn (USD7.9m) in losses by the end of October last year.

 Nguyen Chi Thanh Street in Hanoi which has been named as the most beautiful road in Vietnam will be expanded to 10 lanes with the intention of easing traffic congestions.  

 PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the Ministry of Transport to investigate the high transportation fees which are affecting local import-export companies.

 HP Vietnam on Tuesday said that it was focusing on new solutions related to its three main areas: core, growth and future.

 PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power) will offer 20 per cent of its shares in an initial public offering (IPO) on January 31.

 The Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Company (BSR) earned VND5.5 trillion (US$244.5 million) through the sale of nearly 242 million shares during its initial public offering (IPO) held yesterday.

 Viglacera Corporation JSC (Viglacera) plans to reduce its State ownership to 36 per cent this year, said Luyen Cong Minh, executive chairman of the corporation.

 Many business people, who hold leadership positions at both banks and other firms, have decided to give up their positions in enterprises and keep the banking management positions to meet a new Government regulation.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed a decision to form a working group to boost the formation of a special committee responsible for managing State capital at enterprises.

Viet Nam has planned to have 500 hi-tech agricultural cooperatives and to increase the high-tech farming production value by five times by 2020.

 Viet Nam’s Saigon Heat tasted their first loss this year after losing to Westports Malaysia Dragons 87-91 at the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL).

 Viet Nam is optimistic about bilateral relations between Viet Nam and the US in 2018, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc said at a seminar in HCM City on Wednesday. 

 Da Nang’s transport department and the Republic of Korea’s Seoul Metro corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in urban railway development and public traffic research at a ceremony in the central city on January 16.

The UNESCO Office in Hanoi and Vietnam Cultural Heritage Conservation Support Fund held a round-table meeting on Wednesday to discuss a new approach to study Vietnam’s heritage.

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan urged Vietnam and Indonesia to increase the exchange of visits and optimize cooperative mechanisms to raise bilateral trade to $10 billion in 2018 from $5.4-5.6 billion a year during the past three years. 

French Centre to host show of traditional music, Inner Mongolia artists perform in Hanoi and Nam Dinh, Chicago DJ for Lighthouse, RMIT hosts Australia Day, Saigon Outcast to host Tet market

 VietNamNet Bridge – Explosive device specialists on Wednesday successfully exploded 260 wartime bombs taken from a scrap warehouse in central Quang Tri Province.

 A sewer line of an apatite factory in northern Lao Cai Province broke on Wednesday, flooding some local households and their crops.

 Vietnam leaded Southeast Asian countries in the number of tourists visiting Japan over the last decade with a growth rate of 868.1 percent, according to the Nikkei website.

 National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan hosted a reception on January 18 for President of the Senate of Malaysia’s Parliament S. Vigneswaran M. Sanasee, who is in Hanoi to attend APPF-26.

APPF Executive Committee adopts APPF-26 agenda, APPF-26: Vietnam, Russia strengthen law-making experience exchange, APPF women parliamentarians discuss gender equality

Cherry blossoms are in full bloom, painting Da Lat city and nearby areas in cherry colour and attracting thousands of visitors to enjoy.