VietNamNet Bridge - After the long rains, residents in the provinces of Bac Lieu, Soc Trang and Kien Giang were surprised to see unusually large butterflies in their gardens. 

VietNamNet Bridge - The low-cost real estate market has become more competitive with big property companies that usually specialize in developing high-end products.

Vietnam’s economy in 2016 slowed to an estimated 6.3% from 6.7% last year due to a contraction in mining and largely flat agricultural growth, the National Financial Supervisory Commission (NFSC) has projected.

 Vo Kim Cuong, former deputy head of the HCM City Chief Architect's Office, blamed urban planning for severe congestion in the city.

 Farmers in the Central Highland province of Gia Lai are destroying their coffee plantations to grow sacha inchi plants believing they will gain better returns.

 The Science and Technology Journalists' Club in Hanoi yesterday announced Vietnam's top 10 science and technology events in 2016.

 The irresponsibility of Chinese contractors caused the long delay in the construction of the multimillion-dollar Thuong Kon Tum Hydropower Plant, located in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum.

 The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has ceased issuing treasury bills and begun pumping capital totaling VND22 trillion ($966.46 million) into the market via open market operations (OMO) in the last three weeks.

Quang Nam will host the 2017 RS: One World Championships, the sixth of its kind and Vietnam Open Windsurfing Race during Quang Nam Heritage Festival next year, according to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

 Viettel Global Investment JSC (Viettel Global) successfully issued 800 million shares in the form of private placement, mobilising VND8 trillion (US$360.4 million) to become the company mobilising the largest amount of money this year.

 Total capital for the economy in 2016 was some VND1.23 quadrillion, almost meeting the capital demands of the economy, the National Financial Supervisory Committee estimated.

 Defence Minister General Ngo Xuan Lich received on December 28 Vice Defence Minister of the Republic of Korea Hwang In-moo, who is in Hanoi to attend the countries’ fifth defence policy dialogue.

 Vietnamese living in the Republic of Korea numbered 147,295 by the end of November, accounting for about 7.4 percent of the total expatriates in the country.

 A conference was organised in Ban Lung city, the Cambodian province of Ratanakiri on December 26 to review security and social order in shared border areas of six provinces of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

VietNamNet Bridge - A number of shopping malls have shut down though it is now the peak sales season. 

 Tropical storm Nock-ten has weakened into a tropical low-pressure system this morning when it passed through the northern part of the Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelago.

 An 87th minute header by Keitaishii gave Yokohama the goal it needed to beat Thailand and win the Thanh Nien U21 Cup in HCM City yesterday.

 A 21-year-old Colombian woman was caught at HCM City’s Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport with 1.6 kilogrammes of cocaine last Sunday night.

 Ly Hoang Nam and teammate Kittiphong of Thailand have defeated the Russian duo of Aleksandr - Maksim in the first round of the men’s doubles at the Thailand F6 Futures tournament.

The lack of soft skills is making Vietnamese workers less competitive in the international integration process, heard a recent conference on the impact of the ASEAN Economic Community on local students and young laborers.