A Vietnamese delegation led by Major General Vu TienTrong, Director of the Defence Ministry's Institute for International Relations, attended the ASEAN Defence Senior Officials Meeting Plus in Vientiane, Laos on April 24.

 The 11th fishery patrol between the coast guards of Vietnam and China in shared fishing grounds in the Gulf of Tokin ended successfully on April 23 after nearly a week, according to the Vietnam Maritime Police High Command.

Vietnam and China have agreed to step up their cooperation in less sensitive maritime issues during the eighth round of talks between working groups from the two countries, which was held in Qingdao from April 19-22.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam, an agricultural country which has great advantages to produce natural foods, still has to import products of this kind for domestic consumption.

VietNamNet Bridge - Wildlife conservation organizations have voiced their concern about the increasingly high number of wild animal farms in Vietnam, saying that the existence of the farms make it difficult to control wildlife trafficking.

VietNamNet Bridge - Aircraft tubeless tire is one of six works awarded with first prize at the 13th National Technical Innovation Competition. 

The Ministry of Education and Training has released legal documents to control the universities’ training scale and quality, but  schools still can escape through legal loopholes and enroll more and more students.

VietNamNet Bridge - More than 20,000 businesses were dissolved or stopped operation within one quarter. 

Vietnam could only escape the middle-income trap by developing the manufacturing and industry sector to create new products, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) heard yesterday.

VietNamNet Bridge - Financial problems have forced Doan Nguyen Duc, president of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group, known as one of the most influential businessmen, to mortgage his shares, cows and football academy to get loans.

For too many students their university years end with them becoming disillusioned about their future job prospects.

 VietNamNet Bridge - More than 60 percent startups have been using information technology (IT) in their business. Small and medium enterprises now tend to use IT to create their competitiveness, but the IT application index still remains modest.

 Despite weak demand in some major markets, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers expects that Vietnam will be able to export more than US$7 billion worth of seafood this year, up 6.3% versus 2015.

 This central city is seeking a US$51.74 million loan to fund the Traffic Infrastructure Improvement Project for 2016-19.

 Hanoi’s sewers and drains are still unable to cope with the heavy flooding caused by rains exceeding 100mm per two hours, officials said.

A range of locally listed firms with real estate interests have both lifted their foreign ownership limit to 60 per cent and purchase shares in order to access foreign funding for the development of their various projects.

 Teachers in the mountainous province of Lai Chau’s Ta Mit Commune experience harsh conditions, including having to ford rivers or climb up narrow mountain paths to get food for their schools.

 Barbers from Kim Lien Ward in Dong Da District, Hanoi and many neighbouring areas are offering free haircuts for visitors at a two-day festival to honour the ancestors of barbers on April 21 and 22.

VietNamNet Bridge - Some Vietnamese brands have left large cities for rural areas, while others are under pressure from foreign competitors as the country integrates more deeply with the world economy. 

 VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese e-commerce firms are excited rather than worried about the news that Alibaba has taken over Lazada.