A master plan to develop the physical strength and height of Vietnamese people in the 2011-30 period is expected to help improve the quality of human resources of Vietnam.

 The newly-appointed Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Kunio Umeda has pledged to spare no effort to contribute to the development of football of the two countries.

 World football governing body FIFA has ranked Vietnam at No 32 in the women’s category.

 The Government has issued a resolution, approving the extension of its rice trade agreement with the Philippine Government. 

 Natural disasters and environmental pollution can reduce GDP by 0.6 percent per year from 2016-2020, according to the National Centre for  Socio-economic information and Forecast (NCIF) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment. 

 Vietnam welcomed the 10 millionth foreign visitor in 2016 at the Phu Quoc airport in the island district of Phu Quoc, the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang on December 25.

 The Prime Minister has approved the recognition of 13 more places as national special relic sites in terms of history, architecture and landscape.

 The Police Department for Investigation of Drug-related Crime under the Ho Chi Minh City Police is detaining a Colombian woman who illegally transported 1.6kg of cocaine to Vietnam.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc pledged to work hard to remove and adjust unsuitable land use policies to accelerate agriculture development during a year-end conference of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

European investors are running 1,809 valid projects worth 23.16 billion USD in Vietnam, accounting for 8.7 percent and 8 percent of total EU projects and investment in the country.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue the close cooperation with its Lao counterpart to keep solidifying the two countries’ special relationship for the sake of their peoples.

 Phnom Penh Governor Pa Socheatvong said on December 26 that he hopes Hanoi – the capital city of Vietnam – and its Cambodian counterpart will push ahead with cooperation in all aspects.

 The Prime Minister has decided a list of the National Steering Committee on International Integration.

 The Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission has looked into violations allegedly committed by some Party officials during the recent ninth session.

 Chief of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) cabinet Mam Sarin has proposed leaders of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the CPP sign a new bilateral cooperation agreement for the 2017-2018 period.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Nguyen Hong Truong, Deputy Minister of Transport, speaks to the newspaper Hai Quan (Customs) about his ministry’s challenges in applying the National Single Window to simplify administrative procedures.

Of the three state-owned banks, the largest in the economy, BIDV has the lowest CAR (capital adequacy ratio). 

In Vietnam, the number of people who want to buy iPhone 7 Plus is nearly twice as many as the number of people who want to buy an iPhone 7. The ratio is 80/20 for the Galaxy S7 Edge and S7.

 Gao Giong eco-tourism area is known as a “green oasis” with marvelous natural scenery.

 Experts debated last week whether the Law on Mineral Resources (LoMR) should be amended, with some arguing that several of its articles are unrealistic.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam now ranks 31st in the world in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Its GHG intensity per capita is lower than the average global level, but the intensity of emissions per one unit of GDP is higher.

VietNamNet Bridge - Some Vietnamese companies have confirmed they are willing to offer monthly pay of $2,000 to new university graduates.

VietNamNet Bridge - Though it is the country’s biggest granary and fishery area, exporting $30 billion worth of products each year, the Mekong Delta still cannot attract major investments.

VietNamNet Bridge – Small paper producers with an annual capacity of 10,000-20,000 tons will face more difficulties in 2018 due to stricter regulations on wastewater treatment and harsher competition from big companies.

It was during a trekking trip to the central Quang Binh Province in 2014 that I first spotted wooden houses with tanks under them. This November I realised that these very houses had saved thousands of lives when the region flooded.