Viet Nam lost to arch rivals South Korea 1-2 in the first match of Group D at the finals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship held in China yesterday.

 Nguyen Thi Ngoan and Nguyen Thi Phuong will represent Viet Nam in Karate 1-Premier League Paris 2018, to be held in Paris from January 26-28.

 The city’s Department of Information and Communications has completed expanding and upgrading the information system for infrastructure breakdowns, called the 1022 system.

 The Ministry of Health has issued a set of criteria to classify the quality of private hospitals and healthcare clinics across the country.

 VietNamNet Bridge – National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan yesterday said that during the 20th session, the National Assembly Standing Committee (NASC) discussed three draft laws, 

 Ho Chi Minh City has been asked to diversify tourist products and attractions to lure visitors at home and abroad. 

 The Hanoi procuracy on January 11 proposed life imprisonment for Trinh Xuan Thanh, former Chairman of PetroVietnam (PVN) Construction Joint Stock Corporation (PVC) on the charge of “asset embezzlement”.

 The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will take a number of measures to promote culture, sport and tourism activities in 2018.

 Vietnam and France have agreed to step up cooperation in training, military medicine, navy, defence industry and peace-keeping operations.

The book street, next to the city’s landmark Post Office and Notre Dame Cathedral, opened in January 2016 with 20 book stores of 14 publishing houses and 2 café book shops. 

 An exchange programme promoting Vietnamese startups entitled “Runway to the World” was officially launched in Ho Chi Minh City on January 11.

 Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan shakes hands with ​ambassadors and representatives from EU member nations in Vietnam

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received in Hanoi on January 11 for former US Secretary of State John Kerry who is on a working visit to Vietnam. 

 How to develop in a rapid and sustainable way in order to escape the middle-income trap remains a major challenge facing Vietnam’s economy, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

 Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan received Damian Yeo, head of legal and regulatory affairs for Facebook in the Asia Pacific region, in Hanoi on January 11. 

 The Vietnam-Japan festival 2018 will take place in Ho Chi Minh City from January 26-28.

 Diverse cuisines of Vietnam and foreign countries are being introduced at the 12th Taste of the World festival, which opened at Le Van Tam Park, in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City on January 11.

 The VN-Index made gains for the fourth straight day on strong capital inflow, but analysts warn of a possible profit-taking correction on January 12.

The central city of Da nang has fined the owners of an illegally enlarged beach resort in Ngu Hanh Son District 100 million VND (4,400 USD) and will dismantle all buildings involved after January 18. 

 The Vietnam Railways Corporation (VNR) has launched six new high-quality trains on the Thong Nhat (North - South) route at Sai Gon Train Station.

 Grab has explained why the company decided to increase the percentage it took from the fares of GrabBike and GrabExpress services since the beginning of this year.

 State-owned mobile network operator Mobifone will offload its holding of 38.95 million shares in two joint stock commercial banks in February.

The year 2017 continued seeing the strong rise of startups, which have been catching more attention from domestic and foreign investors.

VietNamNet Bridge - Dr Le Viet Phu, a lecturer at Fulbright University, says the damages caused by air pollution to Vietnam in 2013 could be assessed up to $10 billion. 

VietNamNet Bridge - The fourth industrial revolution, which is a hot topic in Vietnam, has brought unprecedented economic benefits to many businesses.