The start of an inquest into the Sydney cafe siege has heard that hostage Katrina Dawson was killed by fragments from a police bullet or bullets.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a special mechanism for Quang Ninh Province and its Van Don Economic Zone, with official development assistance (ODA) loans prioritized for some infrastructure projects there.

 Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) is seeking to offload all State shares at Quang Ninh Port, which is valued at VND622 billion with State capital making up VND500 billion.

 The Ministry of Finance has established three inspectorates to inspect freight rates and fares in five provinces and cities including Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai from today January 28.

Seven foreign pharmaceutical firms’ business registrations and drug importing licenses were suspended for 12 months starting January 2015 due  to violations in their drug registration dossiers.

 The Viettel Sports Centre is in the process of setting up a football academy in collaboration with European giant Borussia Dortmund.

 A four-member Vietnamese team will take part in the international baking competition for the Louis Lesaffre Cup to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia, in November.

 Vietnamese-Thai actor and director Troy Le plays a leading role in new horror film Oan Hon, a joint Vietnamese-Thai production.

 While there is increasing acceptance of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community following many campaigns demanding equal rights, only half of LGBT people in the country come out to their families, a new survey has found.

The electricity price in the country is scheduled to increase by 9.5 percent after Tet (February 2015) to VND1,652.19 per kwh, leaving questions about whether the price is appropriate.  

VietNamNet Bridge – The low-cost airline Vietjet on January 26 began selling tickets for the newly launched Hanoi-Quy Nhon route, starting from VND660,000 ($30).

 The first flight of China’s regional Sichuan Airlines from Chengdu landed in the Cam Ranh International Airport in central Khanh Hoa province at 1:25 pm on January 27.

The Celebrity Century ship of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. with thousands of passengers on board docked at the Tan Cang-Cai Mep Port in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province on January 27.

Vietnam attended the 6 th Asian nuclear power conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on January 27 and 28.

 Fireworks will light up the sky over the Red River in Hanoi on the Lunar New Year’s Eve (February 18) as local authorities recently approved the display from the river’s alluvial ground under the Long Bien Bridge.

VietNamNet Bridge – Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh has said tumbling global oil prices will leave no serious impact on Vietnam’s economic growth and State budget collections this year.

DPM Minh to visit Philippines; No Vietnamese casualties in eastern Ukraine; Deputy Prime Minister welcomes Lao Justice Minister; People’s diplomacy to be emphasised in 2015; Defence ministry pledges active external work in 2015

 Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh offered Vietnam’s opinions on directions and measures to achieve the formation of the ASEAN Community and the bloc’s post-2015 vision at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat.

 Vietnamese Defence Minister Phung Quang Thanh received Japanese Vice Defence Minister Tokuchi Hideshi during the latter’s working visit in Hanoi on January 28.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Recently, I took a field trip to Hanoi where I had an opportunity to explore many interesting things. In my experience, the most amazing way to discover Hanoi’s unique culture is not to visit its museums