The tourist town of Sapa’s image has been damaged by the poor quality of its roads.

 The Ministry of Transport estimated that the total capital for developing the transport infrastructure in the country for 2018-2023 is estimated at roughly (US$48 billion).

 The country is currently the 47th-largest economy in the world measured by nominal GDP.

If a third Samsung facility is built, Vietnam will be involved more deeply in Samsung’s huge supply chain, according to Nguyen Van Toan, deputy chair of the Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIEs).

Joining the CPTPP will help create 17,000-27,000 jobs each year for Vietnamese workers from 2020, Director of the Institute of Labour Science and Social Affairs Dao Quang Vinh has said.

 After the welcome ceremony, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc laid a wreath at Monument to Heroic Martyrs in Hanoi, visited the Presidential Palace.

 Forty two percent of surveyed companies reported that they countered difficulties in applying for business licences in Vietnam, said General Secretary of the VCCI Nguyen Quang Vinh.

 Ten Asian small-clawed otters (Aonex cinerea) have been rescued from illegal traders by the Save Vietnam’s Wildlife (SVW) in the northern province of Nam Dinh.

 Defence Minister Ngo Xuan Lich led a delegation of the Vietnam People’s Army on November 19 began activities within the fifth Vietnam-China border defence friendship exchange. 

 As wildlife-related crimes are able to generate profits almost equal to those from the trafficking of drugs, firearms, and human beings, they are quickly becoming increasingly more of a threat to Vietnam.

 The 14th National Assembly adopted five laws on November 19 during its sixth session.

 Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong and his spouse chaired an official welcome ceremony for Indian President Ram Nath Kovind in Hanoi on November 20.

 An exhibition on Vietnam’s cultural heritage will take place at the Vietnam Exhibition Centre for Culture and Arts in Hanoi between November 23 and 25.

 Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev wrapped up his two-day official visit to Vietnam on November 19 at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

From Street to Stage, a special programme of xam (blind buskers singing) performances has recently taken place in Hanoi to celebrate Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day which falls on November 23.

 The 14th National Assembly (NA) entered the last working day of its sixth session on November 20.

 Police have taken former vice chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Huu Tin, born in 1957, into custody over wrongdoings in the management and use of State assets. 

 The retirement age for male and female workers could increase from 60 and 55 at present to 62 and 60 respectively from 2021, according to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA).

VietNamNet Bridge - Decree 107, which replaces another decree on rice export management, is feared to lead to unhealthy competition and lower Vietnam’s export prices.

VietNamNet Bridge - Midnight, when the tide comes, is the time for Le Duc Du, a forest ranger, to get up and prepare tools to patrol the beach and look for turtles who are laying eggs.