Vietnam’s hosting of the APEC Year 2017 is considered an important milestone for Vietnam. This will be a golden opportunity, a strategic step for the Vietnamese business community.

 The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will seek the government’s approval for the recognition of Tuyen Lam Lake tourist site in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong to become the country’s first nationally-graded tourist site.

 As predicted by experts, the second leg of the final under the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF)’s Suzuki Cup 2016 in Bangkok on December 17 saw the home team make a comeback from the first leg 1-2 defeat to beat Indonesia 2-0 and claim the trophy.

 2016 has been a successful year for Vietnam’s diplomacy, helping to raise Vietnam’s status globally.

 Around 7 trillion VND (311 million USD) has to be mobilised to restart work on the iron ore project in central Ha Tinh province, a Ministry of Industry and Trade official said.

 Police in the north central province of Thanh Hoa have decided to launch criminal proceedings against a blogger for defaming Party and State leaders. 

 The Vietnam Embassy in Russia is working to verify profiles of five people, allegedly Vietnamese, who were killed a recent traffic accident in Pskov region.

 The Interpol General Secretariat has appreciated the cooperation of Vietnam’s Public Security Ministry in information exchange in the fight against trans-border, drug and cyber crimes, said Interpol Secretary General Jurgen Stock.

 Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen will pay the second official visit to Vietnam since he was re-appointed as Prime Minister in 2013.

Court hears appeal on Agribank corruption, PM asked for urgent efforts to overcome flood consequences, Global companies fight climate change, Uni students bring Santa to the poor, Analog switch-off in 8 provinces on Dec. 30  

Google search trends for 2016 in Vietnam reveal that games, sports, entertainment, and lottery results were the most searched topics among Vietnamese internet users.

 The Hanoi People’s Committee has approved the continuation of a pilot project to June 30 creating pedestrian malls around Hoan Kiem Lake from 7pm to midnight on weekends and important national holidays.

 The retirement age of Vietnamese workers is likely to be increased under a proposal from the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) amending certain points of the Labor Code.

 The key point in building smart cities is suitable planning, said Hoang Le Minh, director of the Viet Nam National Institute of Software and Digital Content Industry (NISCI) at the 2016 IT Day held in Ha Noi on Thursday.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is planning to take trade protection measures against cheap and sub-standard steel products imported from abroad, in line with international trade rules.

 Rainfall ranging from 150mm to 400mm over the past two days has flooded communes and villages in the central provinces of Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa.

 Saigon Heat and defending champions Westports Malaysia Dragons are seeking their first win at the ASEAN Basketball League when they face-off today at the HCM City’s Canadian International School’s Arena.

 Nguyen Thuy Linh became the only Vietnamese player still standing at the Nepal International Series badminton tournament yesterday in Kathmandu.

 A celebration of 110th birthday anniversary of To Ngoc Van (1906-1954), one of Viet Nam’s most influential painters in the first half of the 20th century, has just been organised by the Vietnam Fine Arts Association.

VietNamNet Bridge – In the second part of the talks with VietNamNet, Professor Vu Minh Giang said that the ultimate goal of any country is the people's happiness.