At the end of the 1990s, franchise was still a strange concept to most people in Viet Nam.

 The health insurance medical information system, rolled out last June, is the optimal solution to ensure transparency and prevent insurance fraud. 

 The Hanoi traffic police’s proposal to allow Hanoians to own only one car and one registration plate interferes with the citizens’ right to own property.

Vietnam catfish exports to the US market face being shut down this coming September 2, after efforts to abolish a program shifting regulation of catfish producers to the USDA fails.

 Measures to upgrade Tan Son Nhat International Airport discussed, Textile, garment sector finds way to restore, Two deputy interior ministers disciplined, KPMG: Online shopping seen booming in Vietnam

 3 Vietnamese arrested in India for cocaine smuggling, Fishermen rescued in rough seas, Markings fail to deter BRT trespassing, Drug dealer arrested in Nghe An, Police detain woman for anti-state propaganda

The new year is coming and together with people nationwide, Hanoians are preparing to welcome the arrival of spring. Following are photos about Hanoi people preparing for the upcoming Lunar New Year.

Some photos of Nguyen Hue Flower Street 2017 in Ho Chi Minh City before its opening on January 25.

Ambassador to South Africa Vu Van Dung presented his credentials to the country’s President Jacob Zuma on January 24.

 Vinamilk, Vietnam’s largest milk producer, has been intensifying efforts to expand its market share in Bangladesh.

 Hanoi People’s Committee Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung on January 24 presented the adjusted investment license of 50 years to Coca-Cola Vietnam.

 Vietnamese leaders paid tribute to late President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum in Hanoi on January 25 in celebration of the 87th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (February 3, 1930).

Vu Huy Hoang was stripped of the title as former Minister of Industry and Trade in the 2011-2016 tenure due to his violations in personnel work.

 Mobile phone operators said they are making preparations to avoid network congestion during the Tet (Lunar New Year) festival.

 Cancer death rates are surging in some regions of the U.S. even as fatalities steadily decline nationwide, a new study suggests.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things were high on the agenda as FTP Group Chairman Truong Gia Binh met with business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. 

The three telecommunication groups under direct management of the Information and Communications Ministry (MIC) will have to develop their equitisation plans in 2017. 

People are flocking to streets and shops in HCM City to shop for Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, and sellers say sales are booming. 

 Reuse Everything Institute Inc of Finland has agreed to fund a biodiversity research project in the Sơn Trà Nature Reserve that will contribute to protecting the endangered red-shanked douc langur (Pygathryx nemaeus).

 As a decades-long Vietnamese tradition, the calligraphy markets in HCM City have attracted locals and tourists looking for artworks that will bring them happiness, success, wealth and health.

 More than 370,000 cases of traffic violations have been discovered and fined for one month nationwide, the online newspaper Vietnamplus reported.

 General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong praised the “outstanding performance” of the Party Central Committee’s office while extending Tet greetings to its staff yesterday.

 HCM City has begun operating electric buses on a pilot basis on three short routes, including one targeted at tourists.

 A programme on thrift practice and anti-wastefulness in the 2016-2020 period was issued last week in Hanoi by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in order to free up needed resources for economic growth and social security.