The Hanoi Department of Transport will provide a level-four online service for issuing international driving licences from the first quarter of 2018 as part of the city’s administrative reforms to save time and money for citizens.

 The basic salary for civil servants and public employees will increase to 1.39 million VND (about 61 USD) from the current 1.3 million VND as from July 1, 2018.

 The US Department of Commerce (DOC) on December 5 announced its preliminary affirmative ruling on corrosion-resistant steel (CORE) and certain cold-rolled steel flat products imported from Vietnam and produced from substrate originating in China.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese swimmer Vo Thanh Tung won another silver medal, raising his total medal tally to three at the ongoing World Para Swimming Championships Mexico City 2017.

 A concert featuring ethnic minority music will be held to introduce Seaphony Orchestra - the first Vietnamese ethnic minority orchestra at Hanoi Opera House on December 12.

 The Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB) has become the first Vietnamese bank to complete the implementation of a Basel II project.

 The joint coordination committee of the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam (CLV) Development Triangle Area will hold its 11th meeting in Vietnam’s southern province of Binh Phuoc from December 14-20.

The Government Inspectorate of Vietnam (GIV) will begin inspection on the controversial Da Phuoc International Urban project, along with all investment and construction projects on the protected Son Tra Peninsula.

 Manzi Art Space, in collaboration with Art Vietnam Gallery will present No & Meaning, a solo exhibition by visual artist Nguyen Minh Thanh, one of the most important artists of contemporary art in Viet Nam today.

VN National Cup champion Song Lam Nghe An (SLNA) are in Group H at the 2018 Asian Football Confederation Champions League, according to the draw at the headquarters of AFC at Kuala Lumpur held yesterday.

 Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Lao Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith co-chaired the fourth Vietnam-Laos ministerial-level consultation in Hanoi on December 6. 

Vietnam always welcomes and creates favourable conditions for foreign investors, including those from the Republic of Korea, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc assured Chairman of the RoK-based CJ Corporation Sohn Kyung-shik.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The 26th Vietnamese Information Technology (IT) Olympiad and the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) for the Asian region opened in HCM City yesterday.

 VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City People’s Council held the last working day of its sixth session yesterday, with measures to curb child abuse at child care facilities among the top issues under discussion.

 The Party, Government and people of Vietnam always give the top priority to the special solidarity with Laos, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has said.

 The Prime Minister has issued Directive 44/CT-TTg on the organisation of the fifth national population and housing census in April, 2019. 

 The benchmark VN-Index declined for a second day on December 6, dropping 0.59 percent to close trade at 947.64 points.

VietNamNet Bridge - The Hoi An Town authorities’ decision that only local people can provide homestay services has stirred controversy.

VietNamNet Bridge - HCMC is calling for investments in projects on burning waste to generate electricity, but has warned that the equipment must be environmentally friendly. 

The public says the plan on 9,000 PhDs with a budget of VND12 trillion is unnecessary and costly, while experts say the VND12 trillion is so low that it cannot ensure the success of the program.