Grab's high discounts, difficulties in managing drivers, and limited services are creating opportunities for competitors, including Mai Linh, ABER, FastGo, and lately Go-Jek, which has just confirmed officially entering Vietnam in July.

 Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue on June 30 visited Omni Parker House where late President Ho Chi Minh worked from 1911-1913 during his journey to seek a way for national liberation as part of his working visit to the US.

 A Vietnamese delegation led by Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh attended the fifth Inter-sessional Ministerial Meeting of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) which opened in Tokyo on July 1.

VietNamNet Bridge - Hanoi has announced it will begin implementing a double-qualification training program for high school in the 2018-2019 academic year. However, many problems still exist.

 Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh has proposed building a cooperation programme between the Vietnamese and Japanese Governments to effectively enforce the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

 Nine localities recorded over 10 percent growth in gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in the first sixth month of this year, reported the General Statistics Office (GSO).

 Vietnamese kids on June 30 joined other children from around the world in a special three-half football tournament – the main activities of the “Football for Hope” festival  which is an official event of the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia.

 U19 Vietnamese footballers are in Indonesia for the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) U19 Youth Championship which is scheduled to take place in Indonesia from July 1-14.

VietNamNet Bridge - Always polite, typing correctly and never losing their temper, ‘virtual officers’ or chatbots, a product of artificial intelligence, have become more common on online sale chains in Vietnam.

The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has been criticized for including difficult questions on this year’s high school final exams, in contrast to last year when it faced criticism for easy questions. 

The ill effects of light pollution on human’s health and the environment has been acknowledged in many other countries, but the topic is rarely mentioned in Vietnam. 

 Despite difficulties in living conditions, children in mountainous provinces are bright with innocent smiles.

 Support from foreign investors is expected to help domestic e-payment firms create new things and make a difference in the competition with foreign players in the domestic e-payments market.

 Thanh Hoa’s provincial authorities have been criticised over proposals to spend $4.58 million on cultural activities to celebrate the province's 990th anniversary next year given the poverty of the province. 

 Dozens of people in Nghe An Province have fallen sick and need medical treatment because of smoke and fumes from a local landfill fire.

 The real estate market, particularly in central Da Nang City and the central region, has seen a slowdown after a “bubble” period.

 Visa waivers for property developers investing in HCM City have been recommended by the HCM City Real Estate Association to the Government to develop the city’s property market.

 For farmers in the Central Highlands, growing macadamia nuts has not turned out to be the money-spinner they had expected.

 Viet Nam has attracted companies renting industrial property due to low cost as well as strategic location, strong economic growth and development of the middle-class, according to JLL Viet Nam.

VietNamNet Bridge - The stock market is still seeing foreign investors pour money into bank shares, analysts say.