Compared to 2016, banks are looking at brighter prospects in 2017 as many indexes look like they are on a trend of improvement.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Every Vietnamese knows the poem ‘Banh troi nuoc’ (the dumpling that drifts in water), written by poetess Ho Xuan Huong in the 18th or 19th century.

Atlanta rapper Future became the first artist to score two consecutive chart-topping albums in as many weeks on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart, as his latest release debuted at No. 1 on Monday, a week after his last chart-topping album.

Vietnamese photographer Binh Duong from Hanoi has been listed among 10 finalists in the travel category at the 14th annual Smithsonian photo contest.The winner of the competition will be announced on March 28.

 The Xuan Pha folk dance in the central province of Thanh Hoa was recognised as a national intangible heritage at a ceremony on March 6.

 Ino Mayu launched the Japanese-funded Seed to Table organisation, which promoted eco-friendly agriculture across Vietnam since 2009.

 The People’s Court of Hanoi on March 6 sentenced two Chinese citizens, Tian Yun Yun and Ke Zheng, to seven years and 30 months in prison, respectively, for using fake ATM cards to steal money from other people’s bank accounts.

Workers at Venezuelan steelmaker Sidor are planting sunflowers and vegetables on company premises to ease a national food deficit as steel output has almost ground to a halt nine years after the company was taken over by the government.

Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, CEO of Vietjet Air, has officially become the richest Vietnamese female, after Vietjet Air put its shares into transactions on the bourse.

 Vietnamese citizens can now apply for passports at the Department of Immigration's website, instead of having to go to the department's offices in person. The new service is available in Hanoi, Danang and HCMC at first.

 A pair of $250,000 autonomous buses began driving around an empty San Francisco Bay Area parking lot on Monday, preparing to move onto a local public road in California's first pilot program for a self-driving vehicle

Dr Le Tuan Anh, deputy director of the Research Institute for Climate Change at Can Tho University, speaks to Sai Gon Giai Phong newspaper about the negative impact of climate change.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Mekong Delta province of Ca Mau is taking plenty of precautions this year after several forest fires broke out last year at the U Minh Ha National Park.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Police in southern Ben Tre Province have arrested two former agricultural officials for allegedly violating forest management regulations.

VietNamNet Bridge – The Bac Lieu Province People’s Committee has officially announced that the erosion of two local sea embankment systems constitutes an emergency.

 VietNamNet Bridge – It is not an ideal place for cultivating the delicate flowers, but a few passionate horticulturists have found ways to make the capital city a rose garden destination worthy of note,

 VietNamNet Bridge – Awareness of gender inequality has been around for some time, but the problem itself has been around for so long that the subtle ways in which it persists is not often recognised.

 Hanoi-based acclaimed artist Pham Luc will hold an exhibition from March 25 to April 30 on board the five-star Emperor Cruises Halong ship.

 Saigon Classical Music Group will organize a “Sense of Love” concert at the Southern Women’s Museum in District 3, HCMC on Saturday from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

 The Government has plans to offer a credit package amounting to VND100 trillion for enterprises committed to hi-tech agriculture projects, heard at a conference on the agricultural sector last week.