The 9th plenary meeting of the 12th Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee wrapped up in Hanoi on December 26 after two days of sitting. 

Head coach Park Hang-seo has announced the names of 24 players of the national men’s football team who will travel to Qatar for the team’s training camp ahead of the AFC Asian Cup 2019.

 The State Bank of Vietnam has drafted a regulation which would create favourable conditions for foreign investors to join in the process of State-owned enterprises’ (SOEs) privatisation and capital divestment. 

The Ministry of Transport has assigned the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to look into the cause of the latest incident at Vietjet Air when Flight VJ513 of the budget carrier from Noi Bai Airport to Da Nang faced a technical error.

VietNamNet Bridge - Reports about the real estate market in the last two years show a sharp increase in the number of Chinese buyers in Vietnam.

Local people in Sa Dec flower village in Dong Thap province are working to prepare flowers and bonsai plants for sale serving Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese students begin to have lessons about sex education and sexual abuse in the fifth grade, but many teachers think this is too late.

VietNamNet Bridge - Unlike most developed markets, Vietnamese mostly buy smartphones from retailers.

VietNamNet Bridge - Reporters posing as customers who want to buy wildlife to keep as pets or to have a party were able to easily access restaurants and refrigerators full of wild animal meat recently. 

 Vietnam’s first domestic chip cards will be launched in the first quarter of 2019 to enhance safety and service quality of the country’s bank card operations.

 The Ministry of Transport has ordered an urgent investigation into the latest incident at Vietjet Air when flight VJ689 of the budget carrier landed in a wrong runway at Cam Ranh International Airport.

 Eleven places of huge cultural and historical value have been recognised as national special relic sites under Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s Decision 1820/QD-TTg 

 The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has warned local people and firms to consider carefully and be cautious before taking part in peer-to-peer (P2P) lending as there are many potential risks related to the service.

 The Law on Cyber Security, the Law on Denunciation, the Law on Planning, and the Law on Defence are among the 10 laws which will take effect since January 1, 2019.

 The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport has set out a series of measures to continue improving the local problem of traffic congestion in 2019.

 The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said on December 26 that it is working to clarify details on the case of 152 missing Vietnamese tourists who were suspected of fleeing in Taiwan.

 Vietnam closes the year 2018 with many political, diplomatic and socio-economic events and hallmarks which have drawn special international attention. The following are 10 prominent external relations events selected by VNA.

 The Vietnam Science and Technology Journalists Club on December 25 announced 10 outstanding science and technology events in 2018, selected by science and technology journalists from 20 central and local media agencies. 

VietNamNet Bridge - The barriers that exist in state management as well as high operation costs have contributed to the high number of dissolved businesses. 

With a determination to maintain heritage, Vietnamese architects have worked hard to preserve the iconic Long Bien Bridge for the next generation.