The Republic of Korea (RoK) and Japan have been defined as the primary markets of Hanoi’s tourism thanks to their high growth in the number of arrivals to the capital.

The Government of India has allocated 2.5 million USD to assist Vietnam in restoring and preserving the My Son Sanctuary world cultural heritage site in the central province of Quang Nam.

 The Prime Minister has approved the allocation of 3,000 billion VND or 140.6 million USD from the State budget in 2015 for climate change projects.

 The next round of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations will take place in New York in late January, taking up outstanding issues that were not solved at the previous talks in Washington in December 2014.

 The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) is considering cutting oil production this year by around 450,000 tonnes in the context of constantly declining global oil prices.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Local travel agencies have shared a common view that the tours arranged for foreign tourists to explore Vietnam are less competitive in terms of prices and comfort than other regional countries.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Artist Thanh Loc will begin his five-city tour tomorrow (Jan 20) in HCM City to launch his newly published memoirs.

 VietNamNet Bridge - Soldiers on the Song Tu Tay Island, of Truong Sa district in Khanh Hoa province on the evening of January 16 saved six Filipino fishermen on a broken, drifting fishing boat numbered 06-0252.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam’s first private airline plans to choose Hong Kong or Singapore as the city to hold its initial public offering (IPO).

 VietNamNet Bridge – During the process of granting new driving licences, the Road Administration has discovered and seized more than 3,500 counterfeit licenses.

 VietNamNet Bridge - The products of some kilns in the ancient ceramic village of Chu Dau, in the northern province of Hai Duong, were used in the Thang Long Royal Palace in the early period of the late Le Dynasty, a senior researcher has said.

 VietNamNet Bridge - A stationary life-size robot tall as an adult is being used to guide traffic at a construction site on Nguyen Hue Road.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Foreign direct investment has been the catalyst for economic growth in Vietnam over recent years, and capital investment by foreign enterprises continues to set the pace for development of the nation’s support industries.

 As Tet approaches, smugglers are adopting sophisticated tactics to evade authorised agencies.

 Belgium is asking Greece to extradite one of the suspects arrested there over a possible link with the alleged Islamist plot against Belgian police,

 Pope Francis has departed for Rome after drawing huge crowds in the Philippines and spreading a message of alleviating poverty.

 Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong has given contractors a month's trial to prove themselves on the construction of the Cat Linh – Ha Dong Urban Railway Project.

VietNamNet Bridge – Residents in Quang Ninh Province have been living in fear because of an oil spill from the Uong Bi thermopower plant that has yet to be cleaned.

Vietnam has been consistent in strictly punishing drug trafficking and has always co-operated with other countries in preventing and fighting drug-related crimes, Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said yesterday.

 The newly released Circular No 36, which limits commercial banks’ lending to fund securities investments, thereby blocking capital flow into the stock market, could lead to a collapse of the market, some believe.