Seafood exports forecast to top $8b mark in 2015; Stocks rebound as year comes to close; Bonsai economy booms in Mekong Delta; Vietnam sectors upbeat on signing TPP in 2015;

19 localities put on forest-fire alert; 'Money trees' popular for upcoming Tet; 136 Vietnamese women freed from prostitution den in Malaysia; 1,751 organizations, individuals fined for environment pollution

 Readers of Condé Nast Traveler, a renowned luxury and lifestyle travel magazine, voted three beach resorts in Vietnam’s central region among the world’s top 40 in 2014.

 On January 5, the 11th Party Central Committee opened its 10th Plenum in Hanoi that is expected to adopt draft documents and decide many other important issues.

 Vietnam on January 1 slashed tariffs on thousands of items imported from Southeast Asian countries in accordance with commitments to the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) in 2015-2018.

The year 2014 was filled with busy and effective foreign relation activities that contributed to maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for the country’s development, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.

 Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people in Vietnam can marry and co-habitat without being interfered or fined beginning from January 1.

The Asia-American Gateway (AAG) submarine cable was cut at 8:04 am on January 5, according to its management unit. 

Institutional reforms in 2014 have brought about substantial changes to the economy and will effectively improve the business environment, said Mr. Nguyen Dinh Cung, Director of the Central Economic Management Institute.

 For the very first time, Ton Duc Thang University has received a patient granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for its convertible patient bed.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese rescuers on the early morning of January 4 took Edward Cupisz, 63, a Polish sailor on the Atacama cargo ship of Malta, ashore for medical emergency at the General Hospital in Khanh Hoa Province.

VietNamNet Bridge – Foreign investors are only eyeing large important seaports in Vietnam and are staying away from unprofitable seaports.

The logo for the 2015 National Tourism Year is a circle formed by eight traditional conical hats representing Vietnamese natural and cultural heritage recognised by UNESCO with the image of the Ho Dynasty Citadel in Thanh Hoa province at the centre.

A source from the Vietnam Coast Guard has confirmed that China’s HD-981 oil rig is being pulled by transport and escort vessels in the East Sea near the coast of Vietnam, Tuoi Tre Daily has reported.

 Inspectors from the HCM City Department of Transport begin to inspect taxis today, including those operated by Uber, and penalise those being driven illegally.

 The media needs to report on and collect feedback from draft documents being prepared for the upcoming 12th Party Congress, a senior Party functionary has said.

 Although the national women's volleyball team have not played any matches during the last three months, they have risen nine steps to the 35th place in the world rankings.

 As many as 323,200 households in the Mekong Delta got rid of poverty in 2014, exceeding the set target by 3.4 percent, according to the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region (SCSR).

VietNamNet Bridge – Teachers’ harsh language and rude behavior toward students are believed to be the seeds of school violence.

 As many as 209 traffic accidents occurred nationwide during the four-day New Year holiday from January 1 to 4, with none recorded for waterways.