Viet Nam is optimistic about bilateral relations between Viet Nam and the US in 2018, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc said at a seminar in HCM City on Wednesday. 

 Da Nang’s transport department and the Republic of Korea’s Seoul Metro corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in urban railway development and public traffic research at a ceremony in the central city on January 16.

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan urged Vietnam and Indonesia to increase the exchange of visits and optimize cooperative mechanisms to raise bilateral trade to $10 billion in 2018 from $5.4-5.6 billion a year during the past three years. 

 A sewer line of an apatite factory in northern Lao Cai Province broke on Wednesday, flooding some local households and their crops.

 National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan hosted a reception on January 18 for President of the Senate of Malaysia’s Parliament S. Vigneswaran M. Sanasee, who is in Hanoi to attend APPF-26.

GSO (General Statistics Office) has released a report showing that labor productivity is VND93.2 million per worker, or $4,159, in accordance with 2017 prices. 

VietNamNet Bridge - For the 8X, 9X and 10X generations, “Hey, let’s have a milk tea” has replaced the classic invitation for “A cup of coffee?”. 

 GS Retail Co., a major convenience store chain operator in the Republic of Korea (RoK), said on January 17 that it will open its first two foreign branches in Vietnam. 

 Vietnam’s Nguyen Van Phuong secured a place in the third round of the Copa Del Café Junior Tennis Tournament in Costa Rica on January 17.

 Vietnamese shares plummeted on January 17 as investors realised short-term profits. Worries remained that the adjusted policy on margin lending could take effect early next month.

 Nguyen Trung Nam of Vietnam won a brace of titles at the 2018 Melbourne Open Championships on January 16 in Australia.

The public investment restructuring scheme in 2017-20 will focus on core sectors of the economy and major projects that give impetus to socio-economic development and promote public and foreign investments under PPP practice.

 Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has approved adjustments to the development master plan for the Mekong Delta region until 2020, with a vision to 2050. 

 The U23 team have written a new page in the history of Vietnamese football after winning a ticket to the quarterfinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship in China on January 17.

The 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum is to open in Hanoi on January 18 with three key meetings scheduled for the day.

Vietnam and US multinational technology company - Google LLC want to boost cooperation across the fields of IT and communication as well as share information on the basis of respect for international practices and Vietnamese law.

 A conference themed “Cybersecurity 4.0: Facts and Incentives” is going to take place in Hanoi on January 18 to provide the latest facts about information safety in the world and Vietnam.

 Standard Chartered Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City on January 17 issued a global economic report, forecasting that Vietnam’s GDP will expand 6.8 percent in 2018. 

 More than 350 delegates from member nations have registered to attend the 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-26), heard a press conference in Hanoi on January 17.

 U23 Vietnam tied goalless with U23 Syria in the last qualifying round match at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship in China on January 17, wining  a ticket to the quarterfinals.