VietNamNet Bridge – Khuat Thu Hong, director of the Institute for Social Development Studies, tells Hai quan Cuoi tuan (Customs Weekend) about her concerns since surrogacy became legal in Viet Nam.

Hand, foot and mouth disease strikes Hanoi; Construction sector owes USD25m in unpaid wages; Hao Duong delays paying environmental pollution fines; As many as 3,000 part time jobs awaiting students during Tet; Chemical traders ignore dangers: HCMC

Safety checks of hydropower projects urged; Saigon Railway to add trains for New Year holiday; New health insurance not affect life threatened patients; Teachers struggle to find job in HCM City; Women-only bus routes infeasible, experts say

USAID grants US$1.5 mil to HCM City’s metro project; Last 175 Vietnamese workers in Libya evacuated; Agricultural sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; HCM City invests US$23 million to upgrade embankment system

 VietNamNet Bridge – A recent rumour that the rich receive more health insurance benefits than the poor is factually incorrect,

Endangered monkeys rescued in Binh Duong; Rice delivered to overseas Vietnamese in Cambodia; Over 2,000 receive free mouth surgery in HCM City; JICA grants loans to power plant upgrade; Avian flu strikes in 22 provinces

 VietNamNet Bridge – Lawmakers in Viet Nam are considering offering a unilateral visa exemption for foreigners planning to stay in the country for a certain duration of time.

VietNamNet Bridge – Lawmakers yesterday discussed the feasibility of applying compulsory health insurance for all citizens to achieve the target of national insurance coverage at the sixth session of the 13th National Assembly.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese lawmakers yesterday agreed that health insurance should be made compulsory to ensure there was more participation. They were attending the 21st session of the National Assembly Standing Committee.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Ha Noi Social Insurance office has asked insurance agencies to strengthen their management of hospitals and other medical institutes to promptly detect violations related to health insurance.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Government continued with its special meeting on creating legislation yesterday (Aug 13), discussing amendments and supplements to several laws and draft laws.

 An employee who smokes costs his or her employer nearly $6,000 (4,500 euros) more per year than a non-smoker, according to a study of the United States published on Monday in the journal Tobacco Control.

 Doctors from the Ho Chi Minh City - based Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion have successfully conducted the country’s first-ever haploidentical stem cell transplant procedure.

  Respecting people’s right to religious freedom; Students unable to afford subsidised health insurance; Increasing demand for workers in HCM City; Local official calms doomsday fears