The Ministry of Industry and Trade on Thursday officially issued a decision approving a detailed design for the competitive electricity wholesale market, removing the Electricity of Viet Nam's (EVN's) monopoly.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The rate of illegal deforestation in the central highlands province of Gia Lai has become alarming.

 The central bank announced yesterday that it had put DongA Bank under special supervision as alleged illegal activities there that could cause serious financial damage for the State and citizens.

 Vice-Chairwoman of HCM City People's Committee Nguyen Thi Hong has asked state administrative agencies to discontinue the collection of parking fees from people coming to these offices.

 Serious landslides are occurring in the dyke system along the rivers in the capital of Ha Noi, posing a threat to lives and farm production.

 Viet Nam's gender imbalance ratio is expected to continue increasing rapidly, especially in the Hong (Red) River Delta region, according to the General Department of Population and Family Planning (GDPFP).

Heavy financial losses from crocodile breeding in two provinces of Bac Lieu and Ca Mau in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region last year have forced local farmers to get cautious before deciding to invest in crocodile farms this year.

 VietNamNet Bridge – As the capital city faces a new heat wave, Duong Ngoc My is seeing another flood of people order his creation - a miniature, ice-run air conditioner.

 In Viet Nam, the first ."vn" domain name was registered in 1997 and the quantity of ."vn" domain names has rapidly increased. There were 286,561 registered items by September, 2014

 Ly Son Island is quite simply like heaven on a blue ocean for backpackers with its crystal clear waters full of reef wildlife, white sandy beaches, plush green garlic fields and spectacular volcano scenery.

 Sixteen teams are competing at the Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship, August 13-21 in Taipei, vying for victory and a berth at the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship later this year in Brazil.

 Japanese singer Yuji Mori, the all-girl Japanese rock band, Prizmm, drum group from Otawara, calligraphy artist Sakamoto Koichi, art troupes and performers from Mitsuke, Nagasaki, Sakai will all take part in the annual Vietnam-Japan Culture Exchange.

 A Vietnamese contingent led by Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh recently returned from a three-day working visit to Mexico where they sought to foster cooperation on a number of fronts.

VietNamNet Bridge - Foreign investors now stand a chance of becoming Vinamilk’s shareholders as the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has confirmed the State will disinvest from the dairy producer. 

 A rare giant ocean sunfish got snared in the net of Vietnamese fishermen off the coast of central Thanh Hoa province.

Cheap imported US chickens have created drastic losses for poultry farmers in the southern province of Dong Nai, as heard at a meeting of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Vietnam Competition Authority.

 A workshop on building a start-up atmosphere in Vietnam was held in Hanoi on August 13 by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) to share experience and measures to develop an entrepreneurial environment in Vietnam.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung chaired a meeting with relevant ministries, sectors and agencies to look at the possible impacts of the Chinese yuan’s devaluation on Vietnam’s economy.

 The Health Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) under the Ministry of Health (MoH) ran a community-based health emergency response drill on August 14 in Hanoi to enhance its performance.

 Ho Chi Minh City police announced on August 14 that they had broken up a six-member drug trafficking ring, seizing 1,103 ecstasy pills, 499 grams of synthetic drugs, and nearly 10 kilograms of methamphetamine.