Indonesia’s Antara News has recently published an article saying the support and active participation of APEC member economies in the freshly-concluded APEC Summit will be a lever for Vietnam to promote its “soft power.”

 A coffee shop in Ho Chi Minh City’s Tao Dan Park has become a popular place for people who like to listen to and admire beautiful songbirds.

 Deputies raised a number of questions about measures to improve the quality of judicial work and the settlement of economic corruption cases at the Q&A session of the ongoing fourth sitting of the 14th National Assembly in Hanoi on November 18.

 Many foreign press outlets have described APEC 2017, with the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week in Da Nang city from November 6-11 the highlight, as a diplomatic success of Vietnam this year.

 Vietnamese leather and footwear exporters must comply with the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement’s rules of origin and be prepared to deal with EU barriers and anti-dumping measures, speakers said at a seminar held in Ho Chi Minh City on November 17.

 iPhone X – Apple’s latest iPhone product – will officially be sold in Vietnam from December 8.

 VietNamNet Bridge - “Lip xinh” by artist-curator Dinh Thi Nhung will take place at Nha San Collective, 15th floor, Hanoi Creative City Building, 01 Luong Yen, Hanoi from November 19 to 30 (3-7pm).

 An exhibition on mosaic ceramic paintings of leaders attending APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting 2017 opened at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum in Hanoi on November 18.

 The first Italy-ASEAN Week, a programme to popularise culture and enhance friendship between Italy and ASEAN countries, was opened in Hanoi on November 18.

 The Viet Nam Internet Forum 2017 (VIF17) will take place at the Ha Noi Museum on November 27-28.

 Latest Savills report notes ongoing interest in large-scale mixed-use projects with a residential component during third quarter.

 Mai Linh Group has announced that its motorbike taxi service aiming to compete with Grab and Uber, called M.Bike, will launch on November 20.

 Vietnam is considered a tremendously potential market by Korean fintech enterprises, setting off an avalanche of deals looking to expand business operations and find investment and co-operation opportunities.

 HCM City has improved environmental protection by completing a legal framework for the purpose and, in recent times, refusing licences for polluting plants and generally tightening environment management and oversight.

 Shares fell on the HCM Stock Exchange after rallying for 10 days to its 10-year high as the market was hit by strong investor selling.

VietNamNet Bridge - More than half of the purchases of premium smartphones (costing more than VND10 million) are paid by installment plans.  

 Authorities of Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, and Khanh Hoa provinces on November 18 banned fishing vessels from going out to sea as Kirogi is approaching the south central region.

 Weak finance is preventing start-up firms from hiring talented employees, said Nguyen Duc Hai, co-founder and training director of VietFounder.

An ageing population is posing mounting challenges to providing care for elderly people in Vietnam. 

 International Master (IM), Trần Minh Thắng, of Việt Nam won his first match at the World Junior and Girls U20 Chess Championship in Italy on Thursday.