VietNamNet Bridge - To curb the public debt, Vietnam needs to cut public spending, including the downsizing of civil servant staff.

After five years of working at a German research center, Nguyen Thi Minh Hoa who has a PhD has returned to Vietnam to work for the Advanced Institute for Science & Technology, an arm of the prestigious Hanoi University of Science & Technology.

Binh Thuan provincial authorities have been wavering between choosing titanium mining, which brings high profits but seriously damages the environment, and ecotourism projects, which ensure sustainable growth but need a green environment.

 Extreme weather, especially abnormally heavy rain, has been increasingly frequent in HCMC this year as a result of climate change, according to the HCMC Steering Center of the Urban Flood Control Program (SCFC).

The development of condotels around Vietnam has occurred absent a dedicated legal framework.

 FPT University has hinted at a plan to allow students to pay tuition fees by bitcoin although this virtual currency has not been recognized as legal in Vietnam.

 Enterprises providing telecommunications services and network infrastructure have complained about unreasonable financial obligations.

 Premier Vietnamese silk brand Khaisilk had closed all of its outlets as of October 27 after it was found selling Chinese-made products labeled “Made in Vietnam,” local media reports.

 Coc Coc, or “Knock Knock” in English – a Vietnam-based search engine – has become one of the most popular browsers in Vietnam, with around 23 million users as of August.

 The HCMC Government has proposed the Ministry of Construction increase the property tax on owners of the second home and land lot that change hands within a year, an apparent move which is aimed at warding off real estate speculation.

 Many health experts have expressed the concern that eating too much pork may be unhealthy. They also expressed doubts about the quality of pork in Vietnam.

 Private equity firm Masan Group Corporation (MSN) has announced it will postpone the issue of VND3 trillion (US$132.2 million) nonconvertible bonds, which was initially scheduled for this quarter.

 The General Department of Taxation (GDT) is considering asking the Ministry of Finance to postpone the compulsory application of e-invoices until July 2019, instead of early next year.

 An areca nut processing plant in Nam Dong District’s Huong Hoa Commnue has been causing pollution for months but the local authority has not imposed any effective sanctions.

 Russian, Mikhail Youzhny, grabbed the men’s singles title at the Hung Thinh Challenger Vietnam Open tennis tournament on Sunday in HCM City.

 The Judicial Council of HCM City’s high-level People’s Court on Monday morning annulled jail sentences for former leaders of Viet Nam Pharma Company, to serve reinvestigation of the case.

 The Government has lost its battle to reduce the number of public servants, with the administrative system bloating year by year.

 StreamNet, a joint venture between VNPT and Myanmar’s Elite Telecom Public Co., Ltd., was launched in Yangon on October 27 in the presence of Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan.

 Major Do Thi Hang Nga of the Vietnam Peacekeeping Centre under the Ministry of National Defence has become the country’s first female officer to join the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.

 President Tran Dai Quang received US Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius in Hanoi on October 30, appreciating the outgoing diplomat’s active contributions to Vietnam-US relations.