VietNamNet Bridge – The Viet Nam Inland Waterway Administration (VIWA) has suspended officials of Hai Phong Maritime Administration for 15 days, following a report about an overloaded vessel in Hai Phong Port.

 SkyScanner, the world’s travel search engine, has cited Vietnam’s central Da Nang city among top 8 most colourful cities in the world.

 An estimated 5,000 athletes, city residents and visitors were bombarded on June 27 with more than one-tonne of different coloured paints during Danang’s first ever happiest five-kilometre run.

 During the first half of this year, the Hanoi People’s Committee approved 64 million USD worth of investment in 85 foreign-invested projects in information technology (IT), a year on year leap of 93 percent.

 The number of foreign visitors to Vietnam in June is estimated at 529,000, down 8.2 percent from May, making it the 13 th consecutive month the country has experienced a decrease in foreign tourist arrivals.

 Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the second quarter of this year reached a five year record, hitting 6.44%, reported Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh at the Government’s monthly meeting on June 29.

 Over the past few years, there has been an ever widening disparity between the import-export statistics released by Vietnamese and Chinese trade officials, specifically as it relates to cross border trade.

 The Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) has launched an portal on foreign investment procedures with the purpose of increasing the attractiveness of the country’s business-investment climate.

 The Vietnamese-Russian oil and gas joint venture Vietsovpetro on June 29 organised a launching ceremony for Platform BK Thien Ung at the company’s port area.

The race for licenses for casino projects, which stopped short because of arguments about whether to allow Vietnamese to enter casinos, has kicked off again .

 TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site, has named the Hanoi Daewoo Hotel as one of the best hotels in Vietnam in 2015 based on positive feedback from users worldwide, the hotel’s room rates and excellent service quality.

 The southern metropolis Ho Chi Minh City has issued a Plan of Action as prep against the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) threat.

 A wide range of ways to preserve Champa architecture were discussed at a conference on the application of advanced technologies in preserving Champa relics in Quang Nam province on June 29.

 The Vietnam International Finger-Style Guitar Festival will take place in the Youth Theatre in Hanoi on July 17, drawing six renowned artists from Belgium, Spain, Malaysia, Japan, China and Taiwan.

 The northernmost province Ha Giang is organising the first buckwheat flower festival in Dong Van’s Ancient Quarter from November 13-15.

 Only 37 percent of Hanoi’s suburban residents have access to clean water in 2015, lagging behind the city’s 60 percent target due to funding shortages and public awareness about safe water use.

 State and Party leaders offered incense to pay tribute to Nguyen Van Linh in his hometown, northern Hung Yen province, on June 29 as part of a ceremony marking the late Party General Secretary’s 100th birthday (July 1).

 Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung chaired the Government’s monthly meeting on June 29, requesting ministries, sectors, and localities employ concrete measures to increase socio-economic performance in the last half of 2015.

President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations Vu Xuan Hong on June 29 granted its noblest insignia “For Peace and Friendship among Nations” to outgoing Ambassador of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to Vietnam Kim Chang In.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung requested out-all efforts to successfully host all-level Party Congresses during the Government’s monthly meeting in Hanoi on June 29.

VietNamNet Bridge - The entrance exam to state-owned schools was so difficult that even excellent secondary school graduates also failed the exam.

BPhone, the first Vietnam-made smartphone, was introduced by BKAV, its manufacturer, as the safest model in the world. However, it has been rooted (meaning hacked or jailbroken) by a group of coders from TekCafe.vn.

 Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang has said negotiations between Vietnam and the European Union (EU) over a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) are on right track.

While heat waves are making life miserable in the country’s south, it is cool in the northwestern upland where temperatures range from 20 to 28 degrees Celsius, so it is a great hideaway for those wanting to escape the hot summer.

 VietNamNet Bridge - The locals in Cu Khe commune of ThanhOai district in Hanoi have been complaining about polluted air for 10 years. However, the local authorities have not taken action to improve the situation.