Vietnam is speeding up reform, improving national governance capabilities and upholding democracy, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung assured Managing Director of IMF Christine Lagarde during a reception in Hanoi on March 16.

 The Nature Conservation Zone in the southern province of Dong Nai confirmed the death of another bull yesterday.

  Keneko Hiromi of Japan won the Binh Duong International Women’s Cycling Tournament, Biwase Cup 2016 yesterday.

 Only two Vietnamese players won at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Asia 14 and Under Championships Division 1’s first matches at Lan Anh tennis club in HCM City on March 15.

 Beverage companies seek to delay until the beginning of 2017 the application of amended regulations on calculating their special consumption tax, claiming they need more time to adjust their production plans.

  Nearly 11,000 ha of natural forest which was allocated to local people in the Central Highlands Province of Dak Lak has suffered serious deforestation, said the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

 The Project Management Unit of Railway of the Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway project admitted that it violated regulations pertaining to labour and occupational safety standards during construction.

 Hundreds of containers have been stuck at the Thanh Thuy International Border Gate during the past week due to China’s slow customs work.

This year’s historic drought and saltwater intrusion have been mostly caused by the extreme El Nino weather phenomenon. If the 11 hydropower dams in Mekong upriver become operational, Vietnam’s Mekong Delta will bear a ‘double disaster’.

  Two-way trade between Vietnam and China is expected to amount to US$100 billion this year, one year earlier than planned, according to economic and commercial counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam Hu Suo Jin.

Thai businesses have been focusing on investment in processing and manufacturing industries in Vietnam, data issued by the planning and investment ministry's Foreign Investment Agency showed.

VietNamNet Bridge - Thai businessmen have been pouring money into profitable Vietnamese businesses and strong brands, not just to seek short-term profits.

 VietNamNet Bridge – In the first two months of 2016, Vietnam obtained trade surplus of $680 million and had five export products with turnover exceeding one billion US dollars.

VietNamNet Bridge – Most Vietnamese people between the age of 18 and 35 use smartphones and their time for surfing internet is three times more than that of the people in other Southeast Asian countries.

 VietNamNet Bridge - Nearly 100 km away from estuary, Can Tho – the largest city in the Mekong Delta – is still affected by salty water as saline intrusion is the worst in decades in Vietnam’s southwestern region.

 VietNamNet Bridge - Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group has announced the net loss of more than VND566 billion ($24 million) in the fourth quarter of 2015, the first loss of this firm since 2008.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Two Vietnamese and one Swedish tourist drowned while swimming at  Bai Sau Beach, Vung Tau City

  Color Me Run, a running competition combined with music performances, will come back for the third edition in HCMC on April 16, Hanoi on May 28 and Danang on June 26.

 The Saigon Tech Startup Fest 2016 - the first large-scale tech startup festival in Vietnam, opened in Ho Chi Minh City on March 12, attracting thousands of people, particularly students in the field of information technology. 

 Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) President Nguyen Thien Nhan on March 7 hosted a reception in Hanoi for visiting Tsutomu Takebe, special advisor to the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Alliance.