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.

Tran Ngoc Ha from HCM City’s District 3 says she drinks hot tea every day, but still doesn’t know how to make it properly.

 Doan Trung Dung, arrested for the murder of Nguyen Thi Hat, 61, and her three grandchildren in Uong Bi City, was sentenced to death in a speedy trial yesterday.

 The central city’s People’s Committee has asked two joint-stock steel companies – Dana Y and Dana Uc – to stop production of two factories in Lien Chieu and Haa Vang districts, due to the serious pollution they continued to cause.

 Natural disasters have cost the northern province of Ca Mau VNĐ1.427 trillion (US$63 million) this year, according to the provincial People’s Committee.

 Striker Le Cong Vinh and midfielder Luong Xuan Truong have taken a lead for best player of the ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup in polls taken by goal.com.

VietNamNet Bridge - Kamaz has announced it will continue assembling trucks in Vietnam, a move which may help dislodge Chinese trucks from the Vietnamese market.

 A 28-year-old Vietnamese adventure seeker, Hoang Le Giang, has successfully surpassed all other qualified candidates in his quest to win a 300-kilometer sled trip to the North Pole next April.

 Masan Group Corporation (MSN) has received the shareholders’ approval to issue a non-convertible international bond volume worth US$300 million to foreign investors.

 Vietnam’s only private airline Vietjet will list its shares on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) in late February 2017, before moving to list in Hong Kong or Singapore, according to newswire Vietnambiz.

 A bomb weighing about 450kg was removed from a field in Kim Dong district in the northern province of Hung Yen, the provincial Military Command said on December 16. 

 A delegation of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) led by Nguyen Van Binh, Head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, visited Angola from December 16-17.