The government will continue paying close attention to agriculture and rural areas and create the best environment for their development, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said.

 The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) rose 4.37 points to close April 9 at 1,024.33 points.

 The National Assembly Standing Committee is scheduled to sit for the 23rd session in Hanoi on April 10. 

 As many as 14,079 dengue fever cases with three deaths have been reported so far this year across the country, a drop of 37.2 percent compared to the same period last year.

VietNamNet Bridge - Twenty years ago, Vietnam succeeded in having shark catfish (including tra – or Pangasius hypophthalmus and basa, or Pangasius bocourti) reproduced artificially. 

VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City authorities once vowed to make the semiconductor industry a key part of the economy, but no significant action has been taken recently.

VietNamNet Bridge - Modern plastination technology is helping the Vietnam National Museum of Nature to preserve the Hoan Kiem turtle.

VietNamNet Bridge - The reading glasses invented by HCM City's students Nguyen Hoang Minh Khoi and Vu Phuong Thao can recognize characters and emit sounds with a high accuracy rate of 89 percent.

 More than two years ago, Dang Thanh Tan, a farmer in Binh Minh town, northern Ninh Binh province, decided to switch from breeding shrimp in traditional ponds to high-tech farming.

VietNamNet Bridge - The stock market has shown positive reactions to the disclosure of the government’s intention to slash the corporate income tax (CIT) from 20-22 percent to 15-17 percent.

 Minister Dinh Tien Dung has proposed abolishing and simplifying more than half of the 370 business requirements under his Ministry of Finance (MOF) as part of a government-wide effort to improve the business climate in Vietnam.  

South Korea’s largest convenient store chain, GS Retail, opened its first store, GS25 Vietnam, in HCMC in January this year, after shaking hands with SonKim to launch a joint venture franchise in the country. 

 Hanoi’s Hang Day Stadium in Hanoi will undergo a EUR250 million (USD310 million) upgrade this autumn.

 Marine rescue forces in HCM City successfully rescued a sinking boat late on Sunday after it was stranded in the waters of Can Gio Beach for 12 hours.

 Localities nationwide have been urged by the Vietnam Administration of Forestry to prepare measures to prevent forest fires and mitigate damage caused by fires.

 Japanese doctor Nagato Natsume has been appointed Honorary Consul of Vietnam in Aichi prefecture of the Northeast Asian nation.

 The Viet Nam Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) and the Petrolimex Group Commercial Joint Stock Bank (PG Bank) have called off a potential merger after nearly two years of negotiations.

 Credit institutions and foreign banks will be allowed to grant loans to some prioritised borrowers in excess of lending limits regulated by law beginning next month.

 The HCM City office market is rife with opportunities for property developers, especially the grade A and B segments which have been labouring under a shortage for the last couple of months, experts said.

 Strategic investors in tourism-casino complex will have to commit an investment of some US$1 billion for a casino project.