The General Statistics Office has estimated Vietnam’s 2016 retail revenue at US$118 billion, a 10.2% rise over the previous year.

 Stepping up water resources planning is among the core tasks the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has set for 2017, aiming to complete a national water resources planning by 2020 and others for major river basins.

 Scientific research must follow reality’s demands, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at an online conference on science and technology with provinces and central level cities on January 4.

Midfielder Pham Thanh Luong made national football history on January 4, winning his fourth Golden Ball as the best male player for 2016.

HCM City will apply information technology to reinvigorate its museum tours and bring museums to more viewers.

 Vietnam U20 football squad will attend a training camp in Germany, which is expected to start in March, to prepare for the World Cup Championship in the Republic of Korea (RoK).

The Vietnam Young Leader Awards (VYLA), an annual scholarship co-sponsored by the Ministry of Education and Training and the US-based Indiana University Bloomington, is opening for application until January 10.

 The military high command in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong, on January 4, defused a 226kg bomb unearthed in the local Dak Song district.

VietNamNet Bridge - Agoda.com, Booking.com, Hotels.com, Expedia.com and similar websites are believed to be pocketing trillions of dong from doing business in Vietnam, but they have not paid any dong in tax. 

 Car-related accidents have happened more frequently with about 27 percent of total road accidents caused by cars in 2016 though automobiles make up only 6 percent of total vehicles in Vietnam.

 Heads of ministries, ministry-level agencies, and government agencies, and chairmen of People’s Committees of provinces have been urged to make all-out efforts in performing key tasks set by the 14th National Assembly. 

 Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong asked the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) to encourage the public to get involved in building the Party and strengthening the political system.

President Tran Dai Quang has asked Party cells under the Party Organisation of the Central Business Bloc to work harder to fulfill the task of business restructuring.

VietNamNet Bridge - A group of students from FPT University has defended their graduation thesis with ‘Hummingbird’, an ‘aircraft’ which allows users to take selfies tens of meters above with their smartphones.

 Pac Ngoi Village in Nam Mau Commune, Bac Kan province, is one of just a few places where the traditional customs of the Tay minority ethnic group are still practiced.

 Vietnam has seen annual rises in imported meat, which has posed a challenge for domestic products and businesses.   

VietNamNet Bridge - Unusual climate changes provide favorable conditions for diseases to break out, while some infectious diseases eliminated in the past are likely to return. 

VietNamNet Bridge - School violence has caused problems in the Vietnamese educational sector in recent years. An eighth grader, for example, committed suicide after being beaten and humiliated in front of friends.

VietNamNet Bridge - They were the best known names in 2006, known for having the highest capitalization value. However, big changes occurred in the last 10 years.  

VietNamNet Bridge – A National Assembly (NA) task force will monitor compensation disbursement and implementation of social welfare policies for fishermen and others affected by the mass fish deaths in central Viet Nam last April.