Central Da Nang city and Hoi An town (Quang Nam province) have recently been chosen for the 2013 Asian Townscape Award by UN-Habitat Regional Office in Asia.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The National Assembly (NA) passed the draft amendments to the 1992 Constitution with nearly 98 percent of votes on November 28 morning in a session broadcast live on the national TV and radio.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Excessive sand mining, which is illegal, has damaged many rivers in the central region, causing severe erosion and disrupting the daily lives of local residents, local reports say.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Hanoi New Music Festival 2013, the first-ever experimental music festival of its kind, kicks off in the capital on Saturday and finishes up on December 8.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam Professional Football Company (VPF) said that local football clubs will continue to face serious financial difficulties over the next two years.

Chairman of the Algeria-Vietnam Friendship Association (AVFA) Tayeb Cherfaoui and Vietnamese Ambassador to Algeria Vu The Hiep have agreed on measures to further boost friendship between the two countries in the future.

 VietNamNet Bridge – National Assembly deputies have approved resolutions on strengthening the planning, management and exploitation of hydropower works and intensifying the prevention of criminal activity.

 VietNamNet Bridge – While Vietnam has opened its doors widely to welcome foreign investors to the domestic real estate market, it still prohibits Vietnamese investors to mortgage real estate at foreign banks for loans.

VPBank has parted its only foreign strategic shareholder – Singaporean bank Oversea-Chinese (OCBC) after this partner sold all of its shares at VPBank (more than 85.8 million shares), equivalent to nearly 15 percent of the charter capital.

VietNamNet Bridge – Yesterday morning, November 27, the tanker Theresa Bitung of Tuvalu sent a distress signal when its engine room caught on fire and the crew completely lost control over the ship.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The 2013 information security index of Vietnam – VNISA Index 2013 – has been improved significantly, but high risks still exist.

VietNamNet Bridge – I'm not usually one to shy away from shopping. In fact, I'd say I'm very partial to the occasional guerilla style sweep of local shopping haunts.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam’s government is outlining new regulations to manage direct selling as pyramid schemes are on the rise.

VietNamNet Bridge – Up to 42% of people in rural areas say they are unhappy with current living conditions, largely due to low income, according to a survey conducted by the Central Institute for Economic Management.

 VietNamNet Bridge – In Vietnamese parents’ thoughts, “international schools” means international high education quality. However, the truth is quite otherwise.

 Authorities in Zambia have began a process of slaughtering pigs infected with African swine flu in Lusaka, the country's capital, in order to contain the outbreak of the disease,

The ‘Buc Tuong’ (The Wall) rock band, one of the most successful Vietnamese rock bands, will participate in a musical program at the Nguyen Du Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City on December 7.

Customs officers at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City seized 2kg of methamphetamine being smuggled into Viet Nam yesterday.

 2013 export turnover to hit over US$132 billion; HCM City pledges favourable conditions for Japanese investors; Vietnamese cashew nut exports rocket in 2013; HCM City crucial to Mekong growth

VietNamNet Bridge – Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked relevant ministries and authorities to investigate the trafficking of 600 heroin cakes from Vietnam to Taiwan detected and confiscated by Taiwanese authorities.

 Vietnamese players have brought home five bronze medals from the 2013 Southeast Asian Tennis Championships held in the Thai capital Bangkok over November 22–25.

Paul Le Hung, a Vietnamese American, wanted to grant "humanitarian aid" of $10 billion per year for Vietnam. Some businesses and provinces have signed "memorandums of understanding" with him but Tien Giang province refused the offer.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Mekong Delta must invest in transport infrastructure to tap its vast potential, speakers at a conference said on Monday, Nov 25.

 Long-term supplementation with multivitamins plus selenium for HIV-infected patients in the early stages of disease who had not received antiretroviral therapy may safely reduce the risk of immune decline and illness,

 VietNamNet Bridge - Ho Chi Minh City’s War Remnants Museum has launched an exhibition tracing the history of Vietnam’s iconic long dress--Ao Dai, during wartime.