The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 17 announced plans to relax visa rules for tourists from Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines in a bid to double the number of foreign visitors ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

 Multinationals keep eye on Vetnam potential; FPT strikes first M&A deal in Slovakia; Vietnam firms wary of higher stakes for foreign investors; SBV unveils plan for restructuring ailing finance firms

 The US Federal Reserve has cut its growth forecast for 2014 because of the harsh winter weather.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Malaysian motorcyclist Gabit Saleh will perform his stunt shows on a KTM Duke 125 in Hanoi from June 19-22.

 Two Vietnamese athletes earned gold medals in the Southeast Asian Age Group Swimming Championships which kicked off in Singapore on June 17.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Commercial banks believe that retail banking is a new promising playing field that will produce high profits. But there have been complaints from clients about service quality at local banks.

 Leading Russian energy group Gazprom and leading Vietnamese oil and gas group PetroVietnam have reached an agreement on operating and developing Vietnam’s Dung Quat oil refinery.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The national team will take part in Judo Grand Prix in Budapest, Hungary, on June 21-22, in preparation for the upcoming 17th Asian Games (ASIAD) to be held in the Republic of Korea.

 VN urges joint action on mines; Viet Nam, Laos boost co-operation; India, Vietnam look towards stronger defence ties; Hanoi, French city tighten relations; Netherlands backs Mekong region

 Spain's new king, Felipe VI, will be sworn in as the country's head of state in parliament later.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Swedish Embassy in Hanoi and VFS Global have agreed to jointly improve services available to those applying for a visa to the country, due to an increasing demand from the Vietnamese for traveling to Europe.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Minister of Transport, Dinh La Thang, has set up a team to examine why many sections of new roads and highways have subsided so quickly after being opened.

   Tourism authorities in the country have been told to roll up their sleeves in preparing tourism promotions now to attract tourists, especially those from key visitor-generating markets.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Cardholders have been warned that they will have to pay fees when they deposit or withdraw cash from banks, according to a circular on cash service fees being drafted by the State Bank of Vietnam.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The People's Court in Nhon Trach District in the southern province of Dong Nai yesterday sentenced Ha Van Thanh, a worker at the Formosa Company in Nhon Trach 3 industrial park, to eight months jail for stealing property.

 VietNamNet Bridge - The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has decided to levy a VND8 million ($400) fine on several websites for posting songs with vulgar lyrics which go against the habits, customs and cultural traditions of Vietnam.

 VietNamNet Bridge - On Wednesday morning, Highway 31 in Bac Giang province became seriously congested when thousands of trucks carrying litchi were headed to Luc Ngan Market.

 VietNamNet Bridge - Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Shipping Lines Corporation (Vinalines), Mr. Vu Khac Tu, has been suspended from work for 15 days to to explain his role in the corruption case of three officials of the Quang Ninh Port.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Information & Communications is expected to complete the equitization plan for Mobifone – one of the three largest mobile networks in Vietnam – and submit it to the Government in the fourth quarter.

 VietNamNet Bridge - On Wednesday morning the People’s Council of Ba Ria-Vung Tau held an extraordinary session to elect a new chair to replace chair Tran Minh Sanh who suffered a stroke.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Regional budget airlines are incurring losses in Vietnam, but Vietnamese airlines continue their plans to expand their fleets.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The pipe carrying safe water from Da River to Hanoi’s city center broke again on Tuesday night for the seventh time, affecting hundreds of thousands of Hanoians. However, repair was completed within one day.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Ambassador to Chile Ha Thi Ngoc Ha on June 11 informed Chilean congressmen of the latest developments in the East Sea, several weeks after China illegally towed its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou – 981 to Vietnam’s waters.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Some students go to the countryside. Others attend music and arts classes. Others have a “working holiday” when they spend time attending private tutoring classes to prepare for exams.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Cash deposits and withdrawals at credit institutions will be charged a fee if the central bank's new draft rule on cash transactions gets approved.