Thailand’s Central Group and its local partner Nguyen Kim Trading Company have finally won the fierce battle for ownership of Big C Vietnam after offering 920 million euros (US$1.05 billion) to France’s Casino Group.

 A delegation of the National Assembly’s Law Committee led by its Chairman Phan Trung Ly paid a working visit to Wellington, New Zealand, from May 5-7.

 A cleaning lady has been fined US$336 (VND7.5 million) for picking up a wallet of a British tourist at the Noi Bai International Airport and failing to return it to the rightful owner.

 Preparations for the upcoming general elections have gone according to plan and on schedule at all central agencies, provinces and cities, the Ministry of Home Affairs reported at a meeting in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong on May 9. 

 VietNamNet Bridge – While pollution along the central coast has not been solved, several similar cases of mass fish death have occurred in the central and southern region.

VietNamNet Bridge - Lai Chau, a poor province with more than a half of the residents listed as poor, plans to build an airport with total investment capital of VND8 trillion.

 VietNamNet Bridge - Many US investors are looking to pour huge capital into the new urban area of Thu Thiem, in District 2, Ho Chi Minh City to turn this area into a new financial center of Southeast Asia.

According to Bloomberg, the amount of capital out of China in 2015 was about $1,000 billion, compared to only $134.3 billion in 2014. However, there is no sign that Vietnam has attracted some of that capital.

 VietNamNet Bridge - Two Da Nang citizens who assisted foreign travelers in distress have received thank-you letters from the city Vice Chair Dang Viet Dung.

 The Ministry of Health has introduced several new vaccines in the National Expanded Programme on Immunisation in an effort to improve the efficiency of disease prevention.

 The Republic of Korea (RoK) on May 7 confirmed that its fourth national to contract the Zika virus had recently returned from a trip to Vietnam.

 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, the world’s top smartphone maker from the Republic of Korea, is planning a production run of 200 million smartphones in Vietnam this year.

 The Japanese International School was inaugurated in Hanoi on May 7.

 Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and Vietnamese Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha yesterday signed an diploma note over scholarship project for personnel development.

Vietnam National Petroleum Group has yet to make any progress on its South Van Phong oil refinery project eight years after receiving the investment certificate, because the company is still asking the government for incentives.

 Vietnam reiterates the common responsibility and benefits of countries and the international community towards maintaining regional peace and stability, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung, said.

 Scientists from the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting have estimated that the 2014-2016 El Nino is expected to be as serious as the 1997-1998, and it could become one of the longest warming events ever (up to 20 months).

The number of cervical cancer cases in Vietnam has fallen by half in the last 30 years thanks to a nationwide network of health facilities providing gynaecology screening, according to Chairman of the Vietnam Cancer Association. 

 Vietnamese disabled swimmer Vo Thanh Tung brought home a gold medal at the 2016 IPC Swimming European Open Championships which wrapped up in Funchal, on the island of Madeira, Portugal on May 7.

 Sanna Khanh Hoa are in Group D of the Asian Football Confederation Futsal Club Championship in Thailand after an official draw for the continental gathering in Bangkok on May 6.