VietNamNet Bridge - Qatar National Bank recently opened its representative office in Ho Chi Minh City, with the desire to promote development of trade between Qatar and Vietnam.

VietNamNet Bridge - The first direct flights from Hanoi to Kenya will take about nine hours, instead of nearly 14 hours as before.

Vietnamese chess star Le Quang Liem moved up 13 notches to 52nd position in the latest world men’s rankings, a big step towards resuming his super grandmaster title lost a few months ago.

 Leading Korean retailer Emart on March 31 unveiled its plan to open its first Emart hypermarket in Viet Nam in HCM City's Go Vap District, one of the most populous areas in HCM City, with total investment capital of US$60 million.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam's Ly Hoang Nam continued with his winning streak at the Indonesia F1 Futures tennis tournament, easy defeating host player Anthony Susanto 6-3, 6-1 yesterday in Tarakan City.

 Rapper Suboi has been the first Vietnamese artist to appear at the global music festival, South by Southwest (SXSW).

 A beautiful cave system with magnificent stalactites has been discovered on the Dong Van karst plateau near Lung Khuy village commune in the northernmost province of Ha Giang.

 Parents of children who ride electric bikes or ride pillion without wearing a helmet will be fined between VND100,000-200,000 (US$4.60-9.30) from next month, Hanoi Traffic Safety Committee has said.

 A musical show dealing with the fading of tradition as urbanisation approaches will be staged in Hanoi on April 4 and 5.

 The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will maintain close coordination with the Vietnamese Government as the biggest official development assistance (ODA) partner of Japan , according to JICA Representative Chief Mori Mutsuya.

 Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Bac Son has reiterated the State’s stance on non-privatisation of the press and declared the reorganisation of press association activities.

 Ho Chi Minh City will hold firework shows in eight venues on April 30 as part of activities to celebrate National Reunification Day (April 30, 1975-2015).

 Astronomy aficionados in Vietnam will have the chance to enjoy a total lunar eclipse, as visible on the evening of April 4.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong will pay an official visit to China from April 7 to 10, the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations has announced.

Government agencies and economists all agree that the national economy has seen a strong recovery but weaker, ineffective businesses are not enjoying the benefits.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung requested continued efforts to sustain macro-economic stability during the government’s monthly meeting in Hanoi on April 1.

 Vietnamese military personnel has begun undertaking a United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Central Africa Republic.

 Vietnam has put forth a number of ideas and proposals at the 132nd Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly (IPU-132) which have received the high level of consensus from other member countries.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott have agreed to build a joint action plan for realising the declaration on strengthening the Vietnam-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the 2015-17 period.

 The 132nd Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-132) Assembly adopted the Hanoi Declaration at the end of the five-day gathering that wrapped up in the capital on April 1.