Air New Zealand has launched its third season of non-stop flights between Ho Chi Minh City and New Zealand between June 23 and October 23 this year.

 The Inspection Commission of the Party Central Committee on June 30 announced the outcomes of its 27th session in Hanoi on June 27 and 28, including conclusions on wrongdoings at a number of Party organisations.    

 Customs officers at Tan Son Nhat airport on June 29 discovered 4kg of marijuana carefully hidden in 20 vacuum-compressed nylon bags in a package of food and personal belongings sent from the US. 

 More than 100 players from eight countries and territories will compete in the 32nd Open Golden Racket International Table Tennis Tournament 2018 in Ho Chi Minh City from July 4-7. 

 The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) will announce a list of prestigious exporters of 2017 on July 3.

VietNamNet Bridge - The delay of the implementation of ATIGA (ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement) for two years will bring more opportunities to Vietnam’s sugar industry, giving Vietnamese enterprises time to improve competitiveness. 

 Acrobatic artists and brothers Giang Quoc Co, 24, and Giang Quoc Nghiep, 29, were placed fifth in Britain’s Got Talent 2018 recently with their death-defying, head-balancing act of walking across tiny platforms suspended high off 

 Private libraries, which have been established by individuals in rural areas over the past few years, are providing free access for local people and encouraging reading among children.

VietNamNet Bridge - The US and China are two important trade partners of Vietnam. Any interruption in exports will have a big impact on the national economy.  

Every Sunday, Dao ethnic children from Vu Linh Commune in the northern province of Yen Bai gather at the La Vie Vu Linh Ecolodge to enjoy performances by French clowns.

 Angel Miguel Bastidas Gonzalez, former second Secretary at the Venezuelan Embassy to Vietnam, has won second prize of the National External Information Service Awards 2017 with his book about Vietnam. 

 Every afternoon from Monday to Friday, little children throng artist Phuc An’s small house in Thanh Duc Commune in the southern province of Long An to learn how to paint. 

Vietcombank to apply Basel II next month, Vietnam, Republic of Korea step up technological application in garment, Cement exports record strong growth in H1, Vietnamese farm produce shines in Paris

VietNamnet Bridge - Weaving is believed to be the weakest link in Vietnam’s textile and garment value chain, but denim fabric is a strong point of local producers.

It would be no surprise if one day Vietnam imports pho, its most well-known food. It is an inevitable result of globalisation and is no different from the way Koreans import kimchi.

 VietNamNet Bridge – In big cities like Hanoi and HCM City, it is not unusual to see people taking part in physical activities in parks, lakesides, and gardens early in the morning or late in the afternoon.

Between 2008 and 2011, the central city of Da Nang has cut 12,000 tonnes of carbon emissions after developing environmentally friendly electric cars and household solar powered water heaters. 

 Floating restaurants which have been removed for polluting Hanoi’s West Lake have been left to rust while awaiting a decision on their future by the municipal authorities.

 The Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange in Viet Nam will present a performance of traditional Japanese bunraku puppetry theatre in HCM City in mid-July to mark 45 years of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic ties.

 The Ministry of Transport has asked the Airport Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) to evaluate the feasibility of building a transit station in District 1 to connect to Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City.