Vietnam’s economy could grow by 7.02 percent in 2018 under a high growth rate scenario, according to the National Center for Socio-Economic Information and Forecast (NCIF).

 Shipments of seafood, excluding fish, to many markets, especially the European Union (EU), showed signs of reduction recently, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers.

 Authorities have rejected an investor’s proposal to build a chemical factory near the UNESCO World Heritage Site Ha Long Bay in the northern province of Quang Ninh.

 Vietnam’s foreign reserves has increased by 130 percent to nearly 64 billion USD in the past two-and-a-half years, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has said.

 VietNamNet Bridge – For Thai artist Wattanachot Tungateja, he finds inspiration from something that cannot be seen but is all around us.

President Tran Dai Quang hosted an official welcome ceremony for Governor-General of Australia Peter Cosgrove in Hanoi on May 24.

The supervision group of the Hanoi’s People’s Council has asked the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment to work with the city’s authorities in order to reclaim long-delayed projects which violate the current Land Law.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Two people have died and ten others injured after a passenger train crashed into a truck in the central province of Thanh Hoa early Thursday morning.

In late May and early June, the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau enters the rainy season. When rains cool mountains down, local ethnics begin new crops.

 The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism and Department of Health on May 23 released a bilingual Medical Tourism Guide with basic information about travel and healthcare in the city.

 The State Treasury of Vietnam raised a total of 1.615 trillion VND (71.77 million USD) during an auction of government bonds worth 6 trillion VND at the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) on May 23. 

 The New York-based travel site Thrillist has included Cat Co 2 beach on Cat Ba island, northern Hai Phong city, and Thom beach on Phu Quoc island, southern Kien Giang province, on its list of the best seaside getaways in Vietnam.

 China and other concerned nations should refrain from actions that further militarise the East Sea and parties need to sit down for negotiation via diplomatic channels to resolve the issue, according to an US expert.

 The benchmark VN-Index of the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE) recovered on May 23 with a rise of 3.03 points to close at 988.94 points.

 A bus carrying 41  former overseas Vietnamese (OVs) in Thailand and Laos skidded and overturned in Packsan town, Laos’ central province of Bolykhamsay, on May 23 morning, injuring 14 people. 

 Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on May 21 signed the issuance of a Resolution on the reform of salary policy for civil servants, public employees, the armed forces and workers of enterprises.

 The Governor-General of Australia Peter Cosgrove and his spouse on May 23 started a four-day State visit to Vietnam at the invitation of President Tran Dai Quang.

 Contentious contents in the draft law on the special administrative-economic units of Van Don, Bac Van Phong and Phu Quoc were the centre of discussions among National Assembly deputies on May 23 morning.

 The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has been asked to report the list of approved solar power plants to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc before July 15, 2018.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Dr Bui Trinh, an economic expert, talks to Nong Thon ngay nay (Countryside Today) newspaper about the need to tell taxpayers how their money is used.