The 8th People’s Council of Ho Chi Minh City concluded its 20th session on December 11 with the adoption of a resolution on the city’s economic-cultural-social targets for 2016.

 Vietnam could face acute freshwater shortages in the future if water resources, including rivers, kept being degraded at the current pace, heard a seminar in Hanoi on December 11.

The National Assembly Standing Committee (NASC) on December 10 approved the government proposal to increase tax rates on a number of different natural resources.

 VietNamNet Bridge - With a total investment of $25 billion, South Korea has surpassed Japan to become the largest investor in Vietnam.

  Tran Thuy Thuy Vi, 37, started her professional life later than others of her age. She suffered physical and spiritual pains after a severe disease disabled one of her legs at the age of three.

 VietNamNet Bridge – While flea markets are relatively new in HCM City, many of them have become busier than ever, offering a wide array of old and vintage items.

Compared with the ranking of 2010, Vietnam’s Internet speed in 2015 has dropped by eight spots, ranking 17th in the Asia - Pacific region and 102nd in the world, according to the latest report of the International Telecommunications Union.

 Automobiles which are priced higher in Viet Nam than in regional countries is the reason for the sluggish development of the automobile industry, experts say.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Water resource organisations work to maintain a stable flow and reduce pollution in the Red-Thai Binh river system as illegal sand miners continue to devastate the riverbed.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The director of a travel firm, Mr. Dang Nang Long, resigned to return to his home village in Dak Lak Province to succeed his father in helping to conserve domestic elephants.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Nguyen Thi Bich Tram, 18, is a young talent of the Viet Nam national shuttlecock team.

  French photographer Rehahn’s second pictorial book “Vietnam, Mosaic of Contrasts Volume II” will be exhibited in major cities in the country, including Hanoi, HCMC, Nha Trang, Hue and Hoi An. 

 The Vietnamese authorities are struggling to deal with hundreds of out-dated cars and trucks that are still running on the streets.

Vietnam will transport between 500 million and 600 million tonnes of goods this year by sea, the Vietnam Maritime Administration (Vinamarine) has said.

  The PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation (PVEP) welcomed the first flow of commercial oil from Bir Seba oil field, lot 433A and 416B during a ceremony in Algeria on December 11.

 The Joint Coordination Committee on Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam (CLV) Development Triangle Area held its 10th Meeting in the Lao province of Champasak on December 11.

 Former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke will make a second visit to Viet Nam on December 15.

 The Athena Company in HCM City was yesterday discovered to be seriously violating environment protection regulations.

VietNamNet Bridge - The heavy reliance on China as an input material and finished product supplier is seen as a big problem for Vietnam. 

 Fourteen tourists were left abandoned on the sidelines of a dispute between tour operator of Le Mitchell Company and forest rangers in Quang Binh Province after a decision to fine them for parking in the wrong place.