The Ministry of Planning and Investment has suggested the Government move on with a major plan to equitize State-run commercial banks, saying that the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) should go public from now to 2020.

VietNamNet Bridge - Universities have been told to become independent from the state and determine their destinies, but they have not been given the right to make decisions.

 The Prime Minister has approved a comprehensive plan for developing e-commerce in the 2016-2020 period with specific targets set, according to Decision No. 1563.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has approved development of a ‘strategy on tourism products’ project in Vietnam’ by 2025, with orientation towards 2030. 

 VietNamNet Bridge – Lam Dong Province has issued a temporary regulation governing adventure tourism activities,

 One Thai person was killed and 30 wounded when two bombs exploded late on Tuesday near a hotel in the southern Thai coastal town of Pattani, police said, less than two weeks after a series of unexplained blasts hit the south.

 Believe it or not, doctors in India have removed some 40 knives from the stomach of a man who had swallowed them in the past three months.

American pop star Madonna celebrated her 58th birthday Tuesday with a stroll through the streets of Old Havana where she was noticed by the locals.

Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry, a group which favors same-sex marriage in the U.S., on August 22 had a meeting with local students and audiences at the American Center in HCMC’s District 1.

VietNamNet Bridge - Sources say that FPT Shop, which has announced that it is seeking investors, has met foreign partners who are well-known in the business world. 

 The Tran Family Home and Chapel located at 21 Le Loi Street in Hoi An Ancient Town has been a haven for ancestral worshippers for more than two centuries.

 The image of local government workers cycling around Hoan Kiem Lake to collect rubbish has become more familiar to Hanoians.

 The BKAV Technology Group officially launched last week its new anti-virus software BKAV 2016, which is equipped with new technology against information leak.

 Flooding caused by prolonged rains resulted in a landslide which crushed three houses early Tuesday morning in Sa Pa District, Lao Cai northern mountainous province, officials said.

 Vietnam lost 0-3 to host Myanmar in the opening Pool A matchat the 2016 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship that began yesterday in Nay Pyi Taw City.

VietNamNet Bridge - The low fiber-optical cable rates and continued departure of subscribers have contributed to a decline in profits for internet service providers (ISPs). 

 The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) said it wouldabrogate its circular on procedures for importers of passenger cars with nineseats or less, as soon as the Ministry of Transport issues regulations withsimilar effect for road vehicles.

 The Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports has launched an Atlas featuring the city’s 1,793 intangible cultural heritage forms following an intangible heritage inventory and preservation master plan carried out since 2013. 

Head of the Party Central Committee’s Internal Affairs Commission Phan Dinh Trac paid a working visit to the northern province of Bac Ninh on August 23 to inspect anti-corruption work. 

 Leaders of many countries worldwide have confirmed their attendance at the 28 th and 29 th ASEAN Summits and related summits slated for September in Laos.