The Drug Crime Investigation Police Department (C47) under the Ministry of Public Security has busted a large-scaled drug production ring in Ho Chi Minh City led by Didonna Quoc Anh Phillip, a French citizen.

 National Assembly Vice Chairman Phung Quoc Hien received a delegation of Australian parliamentarians led by Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on the Parliamentary Library Rowan Ramsay in Hanoi on July 16.

 Vietnam spent 790 million USD to import 2.43 million tonnes of fertiliser in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of nearly 22 percent in value and 1.2 percent in volume.

 The Vietnamese cashew sector is calling for an 800 million USD credit package from commercial banks to better serve its exports.

 Vietnam’s leather and footwear sector posted an export value of 9.45 billion USD in the first half of the year, an 8.4 percent increase year-on-year. 

 Early flash floods and heavy rains have caused serious damage in northeast mountainous areas. 

 The Ministry of Public Security on July 16 issued an international arrest warrant for Vu Hoang Oanh, born in 1957 in the northern city of Hai Phong, on the charge of illegal drug trafficking.

VietNamNet Bridge - Scrap piles up right at the entrance gate to the village, and covers all canals, alleys and heaps up at houses. Schools are ‘attacked’ by waste and thick black smoke. 

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education was introduced for the first time in Vietnam six years ago, targeting the high-end markets in large cities and focused on robotics and coding.

VietNamNet Bridge - Nearly VND1 trillion is spent to organize national high-school final exams every year, a relatively high amount of money for Vietnam. 

According to IMS Health, Vietnamese spending on drugs increased rapidly from $27.1 in 2011 to $45.8 now. However, this figure is only about half of other regional countries. It is expected to rise to $85 by 2020.

VietNamNet Bridge - The domestic OTT market is entering a period of stiff competition with copyright posing the biggest pressure. 

 Famous actor Kwon Sang Woo of the Republic of Korea (RoK) will visit Ho Chi Minh City this July.

 Vietnamese piano prodigy Nguyen Viet Trung will perform with the Arod Quartet at the French cultural center L'Espace on August 25 within the framework of the Vietnam Connection Music Festival.

 International physics conferences themed “Views in Topological phase: From solid-state physics to high-energy physics" and “Borders of neutrinos" opened in the central province of Binh Dinh on July 16.

 Vietnamese tea products from Thai Nguyen, Con Linh-Ha Giang, and Moc Chau-Son La have received awards at the first ‘Tea of the World’ AVPA Paris 2018 International contest.

 It seems to be a tough task for Vietnamese sport to achieve the set target of securing three gold medals at the upcoming Asian Games (Asiad) in Indonesia. 

 A solo art exhibition titled ‘Focus’ by the Romanian painter Sergiu Moise is being held at the Vietnam University of Fine Art, 42 Yet Kieu street, Hanoi from July 13-20.    

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed the transfer of the investment rights of some energy projects to Chinese investors. 

 Given recent actions directed at lending, there is virtually no chance of a real estate "bubble" appearing in Vietnam's real estate market this year or next.