VietNamNet Bridge - Due to the influence of cold air from the north, the temperature in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday morning fell to 18 degrees Celsius.

 The Vietnam Shipping Lines Corporation (Vinalines) set to launch initial public offerings in the first quarter of 2015, General Director Le Anh Son announced.

 Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel lead the race for this year's Oscars with nine nominations each.

A delegation from the Chamber of Representatives of Uruguay led by its Speaker Anibal Pereyra will pay an official visit to Vietnam from January 18-22.

 Two suspected jihadists have been killed in an anti-terror operation in eastern Belgium, officials say.

 The 21 st meeting of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Council focusing on action orientations for 2015 commenced in Hanoi on January 15.

 The Ministries of Public Security of Vietnam and Laos have agreed to intensify cooperation in the fight against organised, trans-national and hi-tech crimes as well as human trafficking and drug smuggling.

 Promoting solidarity, friendship, mutual understanding, and interpersonal exchange between Vietnam and China is crucial to developing the bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in a stable and healthy fashion.

Vietnam will continue to deepen its involvement in the 2015 United Nations agenda for global peace, sustainable development, and dealing with world challenges, Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga told Vietnam News Agency in New York on January 14.

The Vinh Son – Song Hinh Hydropower JSC, the investor of the Thuong Kon Tum hydropower project, plans to bring the Chinese contractor, which stopped the implementation of the project, to the Vietnam International Arbitration Center (VIAC).

VietNamNet Bridge – Most research institutes and agronomists have unwillingly become “marketing experts” or “seed sellers” to earn money to live and conduct scientific research.

VietNamNet Bridge – Due to regulations on hiring civil service personnel, many general schools in Vietnam cannot recruit teachers despite high demand.

VietNamNet Bridge – Hao Duong, a leather firm hit with record fines for polluting the environment, has been trying to delay payments of fines, saying it has financial difficulties.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Since CBRE was established in Vietnam 12 years ago, managing director Marc Townsend has witnessed many changes in Vietnam’s real estate market. He recaps on his decade in the country.

VietNamNet Bridge – In front of the vast sea and behind the primitive forest is Ca Na beach in Ninh Thuan Province.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Ha Noi's People's Committee has rejected the Ha Noi War Invalids Joint Stock Company's proposal to set up parking lots under bridges and overpasses in the city.

 The key to learning and memory in early life is a lengthy nap, say scientists.

Answering questions entirely in Vietnamese, Mr. Ted Osius shared special memories of his three trans-Vietnam tours nearly two decades ago when he was one of the first American diplomats working in Hanoi.

In a report aired in early January, the US television channel CNN praised Vietnamese architect Vo Trong Nghia’s house for the poor, house made from bamboo and house with a green roof. The designs were created by Nghia and his colleagues in Vietnam.

Separate jails proposed for transgender, gay prisoners; Container of smuggled goods found at Saigon Port; Experts combine traditional and modern medicines to treat Nguyen Ba Thanh; Two die in air tank accident