The Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) on July 5 organised a regular press conference in Hanoi to clarify major issues in the first six months and highlight important events in the second half of this year.

 Phu Quoc Island of the Mekong Deta province of Kien Giang is hosting a map and document exhibition, giving locals an insight into Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes.

 Vietnam - US relations' development to comprehensive partnership

MobiFone has begun a pilot project to provide a new 4G service in certain parts of Hanoi, HCMC and Danang.

Vietnam Food Administration has granted permission to the company to resume sales of 13 kinds of drinks after it received legal certification, said Nguyen Khoa My, Public Affairs and Communications Manager at Coca-Cola Vietnam.

Nam Dinh Textile and Garment Corporation, which was ever known as Nam Dinh Textile Plant, the biggest of its kind in the Indochinese area during the French colony will be soon relocated to another place, giving the way for a urban area.

The initial damage Quang Binh Province suffered from mass fish deaths is estimated at $120 million as of June and could mount to $178 million by the end of this year, the provincial People’s Committee said yesterday.

 Torrential rainfall of up to 250mm has blanketed the northern region since last night, putting localities on high alert for landslides and flash floods.

 The Ministry of Health’s Preventive Medicine Department has warned pink- eye (conjunctivitis) could break out in July, with the change from prolonged hot weather to rainy days.

  Government debt reached more than VND1.5 quadrillion (US$66.7 billion) last year, expanding nearly 70 per cent during the 2010-15 period, the Vietnam News Agency reported yesterday.

 The 2016 national high school examination concluded on July 4.

 Ogilvy & Mather Vietnam has won a Bronze Lion for its ad campaign “Devalue Rhino Horn” in the PR Lions category at the 2016 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

HCM City wants to build a monorail line running from the Phan Van Tri -Nguyen Oanh crossroad (Go Vap district) through Quang Trung Software Park to Tan Chanh Hiep station (District 12) which will cost an estimated $376.6 million.

 The National Assembly (NA) may ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement by the end of this year, Vice Chairman of the parliament’s Committee for External Relations Ngo Duc Manh said.

 The German Vovinam Federation won nine gold medals and the first place at the fourth European Vovinam (Vietnamese Martial Art) Championship which took place in Geneva, Switzerland from July 1- 3.

VietNamNet Bridge - Experts have urged the State to sell 20 of its businesses, saying that the State budget would have $10 billion from the sale.

VietNamNet Bridge - Will China still try to exploit the methane hydrate in the East Sea or spend money to buy oil and gas?

VietNamNet Bridge - While government officials and experts believe that the protocol on phytosanitary requirements on Vietnamese rice exports to China is beneficial, rice exporters say the requirements are too strict. 

Scientists say 80% of the phenol and cyanide in the sea water will decompose in three months, but it will take at least 50 years for the marine ecosystem in the four provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue.

 Vietnam will take part in the Finswimming World Junior Championship in France from July 4 to July 11 in Annemasse City.