Viet Nam is experiencing a worrying spike in the use of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) and other types of synthetic drugs. Users suffer from a range of mentally destablising conditions - psychoses, hallucinations,

 VietNamNet Bridge – Forty eight out of 108 (44 per cent) cut pork meat samples collected at wet markets in Hung Yen Province were found to contain the disease-causing bacteria Salmonella.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The regulation of adding iodine should not be applied to all food, the Viet Nam Dairy Association suggested in a dialogue with the Ministry of Health earlier this week.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Long An defeated Dong Nai 4-2 in the last match of the National U19 Football Championships’ qualifying round on Tuesday, earning the last ticket to compete in the final round.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Air pollution in the capital city, which has been bad since last Tuesday, is so severe now that health experts have warned people to stay indoors.

A flag hoisting ceremony and exhibition of calligraphy and painting kicked off the annual Quan The Am (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) Festival in Da Nang’s Ngu Hanh Son District on Tuesday.

A 62-year-old woman, who had suffered from allergic rhinitis for 20 years, visited Thu Duc District Hospital’s traditional medicine ward several years ago, seeking relief after undergoing unsuccessful treatments

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Center for Science and Technology Development for Youth in HCM City has launched a VND10 billion (US$440,000) programme to support young researchers.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Health has asked 122 hospitals to interlink their medical exam results with each other in an effort to eliminate redundant examinations.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Together with Ha Noi and HCM City, the northern port city of Hai Phong is implementing a campaign to return pavements to the pedestrians.

 VietNamNet Bridge – A jazz concert by Belgian trio The Poets’ Souls featuring Vietnamese guest Hoa Dang will be held in Ha Noi and HCM City on March 19 and 21.

HCM City-based boy band 365’s first MV (music video) has been nominated for the 2017 Cong Hien (Devotion) Award for Best MV by the Vietnam News Agency’s The Thao & Van Hoa (Sports & Culture) newspaper. 

 VietNamNet Bridge – Authorities in HCM City who wielded a heavy stick against street vendors and pavement encroachments recently are now offering the carrot of empathy.

Coach of Viet Nam’s national female gymnastics team, Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, was born in the northern port city of Hai Phong in 1970. She developed a strong attachment to gymnastics at the age of seven. 

The Ha Noi police on Monday decided to initiate criminal proceedings in the sexual abuse case involving an eight-year-old girl, following intense public pressure over a series of paedophile cases came to light of late.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Ha Noi Traffic Police have launched the inspection of electric cars, cyclos and coaches flouting traffic regulations to reduce accidents.

Last year’s drought devastated crops and caused serious losses for farmers in the Mekong Delta. This year, authorities are restructuring crops, building dykes and erecting sluices in anticipation of continuing weather disasters.  

Vu Thanh Tu Anh, Research Director at the Fulbright Economics Teaching Programme in Viet Nam, tells Thoi bao Kinh te Viet Nam that Viet Nam should no longer give priority to certain industrial products.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Nguyen Ngoc Dong, Vice Minister of Transport, speaks to Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper about his Ministry’s plan to develop a fast, yet safe railway service.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Le Vinh Tan, Minister of Home Affairs, speaks to Thoi bao Kinh te Viet Nam (Viet Nam Economic Times) newspaper about restructuring the country’s civil service.