Several foreign newspapers have carried news stories highlighting the ongoing visit to Vietnam by US President Barack Obama, during which he announced to fully lift the arms embargo on Vietnam.

After failing to meet the shopping habits of Vietnamese consumers, Malaysian retailing group Parkson has seen its malls turn into ghost towns before finally shutting down.

 The Sky News recently ran an article by Tom Rayner about the need to address the ongoing health impacts caused by Agent Orange when President Obama visits Vietnam on May 23.

 The Animals Asia Foundation (AAF) has pledged 50,000 USD of aid to save elephants in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak between 2016 and 2017.

 The Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) has proposed the government support up to 100 percent of funding for scientific and technological research activities.

 Lao Party General Secretary and President Bounnhang Vorachith lauded the cooperation between the Lao and Vietnamese defence ministries and wants this relationship to be enhanced.

 Vietnam and the United States issued a joint announcement on climate change partnership on May 23 (Vietnam time), emphasising the need to combat global climate change.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has just returned from a five-day trip to Russia— his first visit to any foreign nation since assuming his new post.

 GE, a US based global corporation on May 23 announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Industry and Trade on developing 1,000MW of Wind energy in Vietnam.

 Small-scale businesses are taking the lead in the over-the-top content (OTT) service, Nguyen Viet Dung, general director of Viettel Telecom, said.

 Vietnam’s Nguyen Quoc Nguyen finished third at the World Cup 3-Cushion Carom Billiards, which closed in HCM City on May 22.

 Ly Hoang Nam rose to No 886 in the ATP’s latest world rankings, released on May 23.

US President Barack Obama last night spent one hour having dinner at Bun Cha Huong Lien - a local restaurant serving the famous Vietnamese roasted pork with vermicelli in Le Van Huu Street, Hanoi.

VietNamNet Bridge - The effects of Circular 30 have caused primary school teachers to feel busier because they now have to spend time writing comments on students’ work, while students tend to be lazier.

Experts from the Bach Khoa Anti-virus Center (BKAV), the leading network security firm in Vietnam, have found signs showing that the tool used to jailbreak iPhone is capable of collecting information from iCloud accounts. 

VietNamNet Bridge - The trade surplus in the first quarter of 2016 alone was five times higher than that of the entire year of 2012. But this could be bad news.

VietNamNet Bridge - Though saline intrusion in Mekong River Delta has eased, helping farmers cultivate the summer-autumn crop, 1 million people still lack clean water for daily life.

 Vietnam and Mozambique can cooperate in several transportation areas as the two countries share similarities in geography and own a four-decade traditional solidarity and friendship, said Transport Minister Truong Quang Nghia.

 Major press agencies around the world on May 23 carried stories about US President Barack Obama’s announcement of fully lifting the embargo on the sale of lethal weapons to Vietnam on the occasion of his ongoing visit to the Southeast Asian country.

VietNamNet Bridge - One of the issues to be discussed during US President Obama’s visit to Vietnam on May 23-25 is the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP).