Vietnam always attaches much importance to developing comprehensive friendship and cooperative relations with Japan and considers it one of top priorities in its foreign policies.

 The first group of students being sponsored by the Australian Government's New Colombo Plan to undertake short-term study in Viet Nam this year has arrived in Ha Noi.

 Vietnamese futsal (indoor football) teams will take part in an international tournament organised by the Football Association of Indonesia, starting today in Jakarta.

 The Thanh Hoa team has signed a contract with Patrick Roberto Daniel Da Silva to strengthen its chances of winning ahead of the Toyota V.League 1's third round.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The water pipeline bringing water from the Da River to Ha Noi broke again yesterday, the tenth time in the past four years.

 The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has allowed the Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) to incorporate a subsidiary in Laos with total chartered capital of US$50 million.

 Crucial issues related to Vietnam Construction Bank (VNCB) will be decided at a general meeting slated for this weekend, including the central bank’s plan to convert VNCB into a wholly State-owned bank.

VietNamNet Bridge – Importers complain that they now have to pay a higher storage fee because it takes agencies more time than before to have specialized examination.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Top Vietnamese swimmer Hoang Quy Phuoc will fly to Japan for a long-term training course to sharpen his skills.

 Four of the world's biggest tech giants - Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe - have agreed to a new settlement of $415m (£273.5m) in an attempt to resolve a lawsuit.

 Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam provinces and Da Nang city recently unveiled a joint campaign to promote tourism in the central region, home to a slew of famous beaches and world heritage sites.

Nguyen Thị An, diagnosed with breast cancer, was released from the hospital in stable condition on January 15. She is the second patient to be successfully treated using stem cell therapy at central Nghe An province’s Oncology Hospital.

 The Electricity of Vietnam National Power Transmission Corporation (EVNNPT) plans to spend a record 19.51 trillion VND (929 million USD) on transmission projects in 2015 so as to ensure power supply for the south.

 VietNamNet Bridge – A review of new hydropower plant projects along the Mekong River, especially the Don Sahong Hydropower Plant, was on the agenda at the first meeting of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Council this year.

VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (Vinatom) and the United States (US) Westinghouse Electric Company have inked an agreement on human resource training cooperation for Vietnam’s nuclear power plant projects.

 VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam's Next Top Model 2014 has published the first pictures of the Top 16 finalists preparing for the finale, which is scheduled for 9pm on January 17 and will be broadcast live on Vietnam Television’s channel VTV3.

 VietNamNet Bridge introduces the best 11 photos of the photo contest "Da Nang’s panorama". These photos were selected from 2,272 entries by 276 authors at home and abroad.

 By Friday morning, rescuers have rescued three passengers on board a tug boat that sank on the Yangtze River in east China's Jiangsu Province on Thursday, and are still searching for more than 20 missing.

More than 100 timber trucks carrying timber imported from Laos have been waiting for six to 10 days at the Lao Bao international border gate, due to new regulations of the Ministry of Finance on timber inspection.

 Pollution has soared to hazardous levels in Beijing, reaching 20 times the limit recommended by the World Health Organisation.