VietNamNet Bridge - The biggest M&A deals in 2016 were the following:

 Facebook Inc chief executive Mark Zuckerberg took the witness stand in Dallas federal court on Tuesday and denied an allegation by a rival company that the virtual-reality technology of Facebook's Oculus unit was stolen.

 Vietnam is participating in the second Raisina Dialogue - a geopolitical conference, in India from January 17-19.

 The traditional art of lacquerware in the southern province of Binh Duong’s Tuong Binh Hiep ward has been accredited as a national intangible heritage.

Vietnam is among countries with an average cancer rate, stated Prof. Dr. Tran Thanh Huong from the National Institute for Cancer Prevention and Control on January 17.

 The Politburo has issued a resolution on developing tourism into a spearhead economic sector by 2020, contributing 10 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), up from the current 6.8 percent.

 Sai Gon Pho (Saigon Streets), a pop-up book on HCM City’s major landmarks, was released on January 15.

 VietNamNet Bridge – A newly-launched artbook entitled 5 Mua (Five Seasons) features more than 100 paintings selected from entries to an online painting contest held recently by the Kim Dong Publishing House.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Marksman Hoang Xuan Vinh won the Cup of Victory as the best male athlete of 2016 in a Gala awarding ceremony held yesterday in Ha Noi.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam’s top tennis player Ly Hoang Nam has risen one step in the latest Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings, announced on Monday.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Viet Nam U23 team will convene on February 3 to prepare for the friendly match with Malaysia on February 7.

 VietNamNet Bridge – A Botanical-Animal Museum has opened at the Sai Gon Zoo and Botanical Gardens (Sai Gon Zoo) in HCM City.

The Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa sea festival 2017, the eighth of its kind, will take place in the south central province of Khanh Hoa on June 10-13, with nearly 50 social, cultural and sport activities.  

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has asked the State Audit to focus more on the management and arrangement of human resources during the restructuring of State-owned enterprises (SOE).

 The domestic economy was stable in 2016, particularly toward the end of the year, after a slump in the first half, said Nguyen Duc Thanh, Director of the Vietnam Centre for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR).

 Tet flower gardens across Ho Chi Minh City blossom when the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival is around the corner.

 The Management Board of the Hoa Lo Prison relic site on January 17 received valuable items from the family of US war veteran Walter Eugene Wilber for the second time.

 Construction started on January 17 on the six-star Four Seasons Hotel downtown Hanoi by investor Intimex Vietnam Joint Stock Corporation of the Bank and Real Estate Group (BRG) Corporation and its strategic partners.

 Air pollution is posing a serious threat to the public’s health, with children, pregnant women, and outdoor workers being the most vulnerable groups, heard a workshop in Hanoi on January 17.

  The National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC) has announced 11 hotlines to receive traffic complaints during the Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays.

 The central province of Phu Yen’s Border Guard Command on January 17 handed over two Filipino fishermen who were rescued in Vietnam’s sea to officials of the Philippines Embassy in Vietnam. 

 Vietnamese and Chinese leaders have exchanged congratulatory messages on the occasion of the 67th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties (January 18, 1950 – January 18, 2017).

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and a high-level Vietnamese delegation arrived in Switzerland late on January 17 to participate in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2017 from January 17-21.

VietNamNet Bridge - E-commerce firms now have more rivals as the most powerful conglomerates in the industry have arrived in the country.

 The unemployment rate in Vietnam reached 2.3% last year, but the number of jobless people still centered on those with bachelor’s or master’s degrees, according to an online conference in Hanoi last Friday.