A number of tourism events were held in Ho Chi Minh City in 2017, drawing crowds of visitors both at home and abroad.

 Drug company Pfizer has announced it is pulling out of research into drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease.

 Two people have died in Japan and several are in a critical condition after choking on traditional rice cakes as part of the new year celebrations.

 Hanoi sets a target of developing additional 11 million sq.m of housing in 2018, including 430,000 sq.m of social housing, nearly 348,000 sq.m of resettlement housing and more than 2.1 million sq.m of commercial housing.

 The volume of fruits and vegetables imported from Thailand is expected to surge this year as import tariffs imposed on these products are reduced to zero percent, heating up pressure on their Vietnamese peers.

 Hundreds of rescuers are combing wreckage in Southern California for those missing after mudslides that have killed 17.

Forecast to be in a finer state than in 2017, the Vietnamese economy in 2018 is expected to provide even more favourable conditions for foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and domestic market are promising to become stronger.

VietNamNet Bridge - Analysts say the golden age of Vietnam’s fashion industry is encountering difficulties amid the arrivals of foreign fashion brands.

The National Assembly’s Standing Committee (NASC) yesterday rejected a draft resolution on administrative penalties for violations in State auditing, saying it lacked jurisdiction over the issue.

Japan’s Yokohama Football Club will play a friendly match against local SHB Da Nang at the city’s Hoa Xuan Stadium on January 20th, a representative of SHB Da Nang said yesterday.

The People’s Committee of HCM City on Tuesday told District 1 authorities to review all parking lots that use parts of street pavements and close nonstandard lots by the end of this quarter.  

 VietNamNet Bridge – Railway authorities said they would need at least VND1.7 trillion (US$75 million) in 2017-2020 to address long-standing rail accident hotspots at illegal level crossings.

 Temperatures have continued falling, freezing several northern mountainous areas, including Phia Oac Mountain in Cao Bang Province.

Pham Cao Cuong of Vietnam made a big impression at the Princess Sirivannavari Thailand Masters badminton tournament, beating No 5 seed Ygor Coelho of Brazil in the men’s singles, first round, 

 Dinh La Thang tells court the pressure for project progress led to him acting unlawfully.

 About two teachers and 21 pupils at Quan Toan Secondary School in Hai Phong City fainted and had to be hospitalised after inhaling toxic gas from the local steel factory on January 8.

 F&N Dairy Investments Pte Ltd, a subsidiary owned by Thai business tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, has spent millions of USD to buy stakes at Vinamilk after another subsidiary bought a USD4.8bn stake in Sabeco last year. 

 The revenue and profit indicators of Vietnam Airlines Corporation showed growth as planned in 2017, the firm reported.

 Viet Nam saw a decline in cash withdrawals for the third consecutive year in 2017, with the rate reducing from 15 per cent in 2016 to 10 per cent in 2017, reports from the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) showed.

 VietNamNet Bridge – People’s Artist and movie star Tra Giang’s impressions of nature will be shown at a solo exhibition to celebrate Lunar New Year at the HCM City Fine Arts Museum next week.