NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan urged Vietnam and Indonesia to increase the exchange of visits and optimize cooperative mechanisms to raise bilateral trade to $10 billion in 2018 from $5.4-5.6 billion a year during the past three years. 

French Centre to host show of traditional music, Inner Mongolia artists perform in Hanoi and Nam Dinh, Chicago DJ for Lighthouse, RMIT hosts Australia Day, Saigon Outcast to host Tet market

 VietNamNet Bridge – Explosive device specialists on Wednesday successfully exploded 260 wartime bombs taken from a scrap warehouse in central Quang Tri Province.

 A sewer line of an apatite factory in northern Lao Cai Province broke on Wednesday, flooding some local households and their crops.

 Vietnam leaded Southeast Asian countries in the number of tourists visiting Japan over the last decade with a growth rate of 868.1 percent, according to the Nikkei website.

 National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan hosted a reception on January 18 for President of the Senate of Malaysia’s Parliament S. Vigneswaran M. Sanasee, who is in Hanoi to attend APPF-26.

APPF Executive Committee adopts APPF-26 agenda, APPF-26: Vietnam, Russia strengthen law-making experience exchange, APPF women parliamentarians discuss gender equality

Cherry blossoms are in full bloom, painting Da Lat city and nearby areas in cherry colour and attracting thousands of visitors to enjoy.

GSO (General Statistics Office) has released a report showing that labor productivity is VND93.2 million per worker, or $4,159, in accordance with 2017 prices. 

 Adulterated petrol incident at Quang Tri filling station, Exhibition on cultural heritage of ASEAN Community opens in Kon Tum, Old book fair to open in Hanoi, Tour Guide Association, Hanoi branch launched to promote tourism

 A bus has caught fire in north-western Kazakhstan, killing 52 people, the interior ministry has said.

Pham Cong Danh told the court yesterday that he had transferred VND600 billion to Hua Thi Phan, a former high-level advisor of Trust Bank, and had used VND500 billion to increase registered capital at VNCB.

Many family households in HCM City’s District 1 are storing motorbikes at their homes after the decision by the District 1 People’s Committee last Thursday to suspend operation of 48 parking sites on street pavements.

The Ministry of Construction has again proposed that water and electricity supply be cut off at illegal constructions although this measure was discontinued in 2015 because of its inconsistency with regulations. 

 Plan to implement VN-Italy customs cooperation agreement approved, Vietnam must address three hurdles to economy, GrabBike drivers subject to 4.5% tax, Finance Ministry: SOEs heavily in debt

VietNamNet Bridge - For the 8X, 9X and 10X generations, “Hey, let’s have a milk tea” has replaced the classic invitation for “A cup of coffee?”. 

 GS Retail Co., a major convenience store chain operator in the Republic of Korea (RoK), said on January 17 that it will open its first two foreign branches in Vietnam. 

 Vietnam’s Nguyen Van Phuong secured a place in the third round of the Copa Del Café Junior Tennis Tournament in Costa Rica on January 17.

 An art exhibition titled Colour of the New Year – Year of the Earth Dog, is due to open in the central city’s Fine Arts Museum on January 18. 

 Vietnamese shares plummeted on January 17 as investors realised short-term profits. Worries remained that the adjusted policy on margin lending could take effect early next month.