VietNamNet Bridge – New rules could push thousands of freelance tourist guides out of work next year, creating a serious shortage in the industry, 

Pha Din Pass in the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien, 100km from Dien Bien Phu city, locates in the Ta Phin plateau and is one of four renowned passes in the northwest region of Vietnam.

 The benchmark VN-Index hit an almost decade-high on November 22 after large cash flows poured into blue-chip stocks on investor optimism over a sustainable uptrend.

 A freight train service between Hanoi and Nanchang city in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangxi was launched on November 22.

 The Gabriel Péri Foundation of France held an international seminar on the East Sea at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, on November 21.

 With 83.1 percent of approval, the National Assembly approved a resolution on investment policy for the construction of some road sections in the eastern route of the North-South Expressway in 2017-2020.

 A tourism portal dedicated to people with disabilities (PWDs) was launched by the Hanoi Disabled People Association on November 22.

Ly Xuong Can, a descendant of King Ly Thai To has been appointed Vietnam’s tourism ambassador to the Republic of Korea (RoK) for 2017-2020 by the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. 

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan will pay official visits to Singapore and Australia from November 26 to December 2, according to a statement of the NA Committee for External Relations released on November 22.

 The Vietnamese Party and State always attach importance to the special friendship and comprehensive cooperation with Laos, affirmed Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Minister of National Defence General Ngo Xuan Lich has highly valued the deputy ministerial-level defence strategic dialogue between Vietnam and Russia.

 Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh had a meeting with the Republic of Korea (RoK) National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun in Seoul on November 22 to seek specific measures to forge the two countries’ future partnership, especially in legislation.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc suggested Vietnam and Sweden expand cooperation in various realms during his reception for Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström in Hanoi on November 22. 

 Vietnam’s Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son held a political consultation with Secretary General of the Federal Public Service (FPS) Foreign Affairs of Belgium Dirk Achten in Hanoi on November 22. 

 Deputies of the 14th National Assembly debated the draft Law on the Protection of State Secrets during their November 22 sitting.

 The Ministry of Public Security is working on a national database that will store and supply “basic” and accurate information about citizens via their personal ID numbers.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Continuous heavy rain since Sunday evening worsened the inundation in lowland areas in the central provinces of Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Tri, with three people reported dead.

Pediatric hospitals in HCM City have received four children diagnosed with malaria, including three patients from the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong and one from the southern province of Binh Phuoc.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Been to a Vietnamese wedding banquet? If so, you must have tried banh giay, a white, flat round cake made of glutinous rice with or without mung beans inside.

Though the peak time of the dry season has yet to arrive, the water level on the Red, Thai Binh and Day Rivers has been decreasing, posing a risk of water shortage for hundreds of thousands of hectares of farmland.