Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh attended a series of events related to the 49 th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the sixth East Asia Summit and the 23 rd ASEAN Regional Forum in Vientiane, Laos on July 26.

 President Tran Dai Quang has proposed candidates for the positions of Vice President, Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court and Prosecutor General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy.

 Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung and Professor John A.Quelch from Harvard Business School discussed the development prospects of Vietnam during their meeting in Hanoi on July 26.

VietNamNet Bridge – Oppo and Samsung are dominating the cheap smartphone segment (priced less than VND4 million or $180), which previously belonged to Nokia and other big names.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese businessmen have lost billions of dong worth of their assets in a number of high-profile divorce cases.

 VietNamNet Bridge - A new investment plan has been ratified by the Hanoi City People's Committee with the aim of promoting the development of the “mountainous region” of the capital city.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry is urging local footwear makers to further invest in support industries instead of depending excessively on imported raw materials and losing out on profits and competitiveness.

Vietnam needs to find solutions to the increasing number of hydropower dams being built in regional countries. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Teachers have suggested removing the essays on English tests for the high-school final exam.

 Top Vietnamese and foreign singers will spark the central city of Da Nang during Cocofest on August 26-27.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Police of District 3 in HCM City has remanded Tran Quoc Quy, 15, in custody for allegedly robbing a smart phone from a Russian tourist early last week.

 A recent report from the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA) reveals that the number of real estate transactions has stagnated and there has been a clear trend towards the high-end segment.

A tropical storm has strengthened slightly throughout the day on July 26 and is expected to extend its fast-moving bands of heavy rains and strong winds as the system moves toward the north-eastern region of the Hoang Sa (Paracel).

 Fencing star Vu Thanh An will carry the Vietnamese flag at the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympic Games on August 5, the Vietnam Olympic Committee has said.

Hagiwara Seiji, Mayor of Mimasaka city of Japan’s Okayama prefecture, on July 26, was awarded with an Honourary Doctorate Degree from Da Nang University, for his contributions to promoting links between the Japanese city and the university.

 Canadian Foreign Minister Stéphane Dion on July 25 announced seven new security and safety initiatives for Southeast Asia, worth more than 17 million CAD, or 13 million USD.

 President Tran Dai Quang has called for united resolve and concerted efforts of the entire Party, army and people in realising six focal tasks set in the 12th Party Congress’s Resolution.

 As many as 485 out of 489 deputies present at the July 26 plenary session of the 14th National Assembly, or 98.18 percent, voted for Nguyen Xuan Phuc as Prime Minister for the 2016-2021 tenure.

 VietNamNet Bridge – A general audit report shows a picture of the State-owned enterprises (SOEs) with many dark pieces, caused by losses worth hundreds of million of USD.

VietNamNet Bridge – The following finalists of the Miss Vietnam 2016 pageant were the winners of local beauty contests. They are considered the most outstanding candidates for Vietnam’s beauty queen crown this year.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Lam Dong province, Vietnam’s major producer of flower, fruit, and vegetables, have decided to stick logos on their agricultural products to avoid being mistaken as Chinese products.

The authorities of Dak Lak have been investigating information that the daughter of the director of Dak Lak police agency owns a café worth thousands of billion VND (millions of USD) in Buon Me Thuot City, as reported by Dan Viet online.

Pacific Partnership 2016 (PP16) personnel, participated in a mock exercise on July 26 in Danang City that simulated a disaster bringing mass casualties, derailments, collapsing buildings and power outages.

 Mckinsey & Company Vietnam, a subsidiary of the US McKinsey group, has agreed to design a plan for tourism development in the Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark in the north western mountainous province of Ha Giang.

 Touropia, which features the most amazing sights around the world divided into “best of” lists, has recently named Ha Long Bay as the third most ideal tourist attraction in Southeast Asia.