The best dance performances by Vietnamese and international artists won gold medals at the closing ceremony of the International Dance Festival in the northern province of Ninh Binh last Friday. 

 VietNamNet Bridge – Thu Vong Nguyet, the biggest cultural event celebrating the Mid Autumn Festival, will be held at Ha Noi’s Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature) from September 29 to October 1. 

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Trade and Industry has confirmed mistakes and wrongdoings were found in personnel appointments at the Viet Nam National Chemical Group (Vinachem).

The Ha Noi People’s Committee has approved a project to upgrade the capital’s old railway station and surrounding areas into a Japanese-style modern urban depot surrounded by buildings of up to 70 stories. 

 The seventh Khmer Culture, Sports and Tourism Festival will be held in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu from November 11-19, according to the organising board.

VASEP Marine Product Committee and Vietnamese seafood processors and exporters on September 25 promised to implement the EU’s demands on fighting IUU fishing and the national action plan to combat IUU fishing.

Vietnam’s trade deficit in the year to mid-September had substantially narrowed down to a mere US$701 million, equivalent to 0.5% of export revenue, owing to better export performance in recent months.

 Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon chaired a meeting in New York on September 22, where they discussed the upcoming Vietnam visit by U.S. President Donald Trump.

 The HCMC People’s Committee has proposed the Ministry of Transport to manage ride sharing services Grab, Uber and Facecar as a new type of taxi, which must meet transport business regulations like traditional cabs.

 Starting on September 28, the Medicine University Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City's District 5 will open examination rooms to exclusively serve foreign patients to meet the rising demand.

 The project on building Ho Chi Minh City into a smart city will be piloted in several of the city's districts beginning in October this year, according to Vice Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Tran Vinh Tuyen.

Vingroup has announced plans to produce its first cars in the next two years, rekindling the long-cherished dream of a local car industry which has failed to come true following numerous attempts over the past two decades.

Uber will have to pay nearly VND67 billion ($2.94 million) in tax arrears, including personal and corporate income tax, withholding tax and value-added tax, as well as late payment fine, according to newswire Vnexpress.

 The villagers in Yen Bai Province are risking their lives to cross the stream every day as the local bridges have been abandoned unfinished for years.

Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Hoang Trung Hai on September 24 asked local authorities to quickly deal with the rubbish-filled streets in Son Tay Town after local people blocked the dumping site over a compensation dispute. 

Nearly 100,000 of Asian openbill storks, which are listed as an especially rare species in Vietnam’s Red Book, have been nesting at the Gao Giong Ecotourism Site in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap.

 The iPhone 8 is failing to attract customers in Vietnam, with most interest being shown in the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X.

With attractive incentives from the Government, the opportunity for foreign investors to own 100 percent of a Vietnamese bank has never been better. 

 The number of new dengue fever cases in Hanoi has dropped in the last few weeks, according to the city’s Department of Health on September 25.

 More and more bubble tea brands are now trying to establish by investing in outlets with attractive designs in big cities, particularly Hanoi.