Innovation has been seen as a tool to boost socio-economic development in Vietnam, said Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh at a conference on innovation in Hanoi.

 Da Nang city continues to top the Vietnam ICT Index 2016, the rankings on the readiness for information and communications technology development and application, which was revealed on March 22.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has told the Ministry of Transport (MoT) to suspend the licensing for river dredging projects which has stoked great public concern.

 The Hanoi March Connecting, the second of its kind, is being organised by the Vietnam University of Fine Arts.

 The Ciputra Hanoi – Yonex Sunrise Vietnam International Challenge 2017 opened on March 22 at the Cau Giay Gymnasium in Hanoi.

 Ly Hoang Nam of Vietnam won two matches on March 22 to book a slot in the quarter-finals at the Japan F3 Men’s Futures tennis tournament’s singles event in Japan’s Kofu city.

 The 2017 Can Tho Book Fair will take place at the city’s Luu Huu Phuoc Park from March 25 to 31.

 Charming “Then” singing, a traditional kind of performing art of several ethnic minority groups in Vietnam, has regained its spotlight, thanks to the effort by local artists in the northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang.

 Vietnam wasted many chances and ended with a 1-1 draw in a friendly march against Chinese Taipei on March 22 in Hanoi.

 Chefs from many countries have attended the second Hoi An International Food Festival, which opened at the An Hoi Sculpture Park on March 22.

 Japanese investors have shifted their focus from manufacturing industry to service as the growing domestic market in Vietnam offers a very promising prospect for the sector.

Vietnam is willing to host foreign film productions after the fresh success of “Kong: Skull Island” shot in northern Ninh Binh, Quang Ninh and central Quang Binh provinces.

The People’s Court of northern mountainous Hoa Binh province has sentenced nine out of 23 drug smugglers to death on charges of “illegally trafficking drugs, illegally possessing military weapons and not denouncing crimes”.

 HCM City’s police have busted a weapon trading ring in the city.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training of Cambodia signed a memorandum of understanding on labour cooperation in Hanoi on March 22.

Dien Bien has arrested 56 suspects since early March and commenced criminal proceedings against 15 cases of destroying 18.6 hectares of forest in Muong Nhe district, a hotspot of illegal deforestation and migration.

The Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported on March 22 that a new outbreak of A/H5N1 virus has been discovered in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho.

  The Philippines plans to make a strong protest against China’s preparatory work for an environment monitoring station on the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the East Sea, Justice Minister Vitaliano Aguirre said on March 21.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Ba Hung on March 22 sent greeting flowers from Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and the Vietnamese Embassy to the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party.

 Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army Pham Ngoc Minh received Nuchit Sribunsong, head of the Office of Policy and Plans under the Royal Thai Army’s Directorate of Joint Operations, in Hanoi on March 22.