The mosquito-borne Zika disease has become endemic in Vietnam after nine victims tested positive in five of the country’s provinces and cities, according to one health official.

 The Vietnam Steel Association will protect the interests of local firms after Vietnamese steel exporters were accused of tax evasion in the US, said the association’s vice chairman, Nguyen Van Sua.

 Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan has granted three giant mobile network suppliers licences to set up public telecommunication and provide 4G service on broadband 1,800 MHz.

 Tran Tuan An, a 24-year-old Vietnamese guitarist, won second prize at the International Guitar Competition & Festival Berlin, held in the German capital on October 15-16. 

 Vietnamese tennis player Ly Hoang Nam jumped up 49 places in the latest Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) men’s singles rankings announced on October 17. 

 The Toyota Classics 2016 concert will be held at the Municipal Theatre of HCM City on November 11, announced the organising board at a press conference on October 17. 

 Vietnam Airlines has banned transporting Samsung Galaxy Note7 phones on its flights, including carry-on luggage and shipments, the airline announced on October 17. 

 Storm Sarika is expected to enter the Tonkin Gulf and head toward Vietnam’s coastal provinces from Quang Ninh to Nam Dinh on October 19 with winds up to 165km per hour, according to the National Forecast Hydrometeorological Forecast Centre. 

 A chopper of the Vietnam Helicopter Corporation lost contact on October 18 morning during a flight training session in the northwest of Dinh Mountain in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. 

 The New Zealand government said on October 17 that it is to review its free trade agreement (FTA) with ASEAN, citing a rising number of non-tariff barriers that hinder bilateral trade. 

Twelve Vietnamese and Indonesian artists are displaying their artworks at an international exhibition on contemporary dialogue at the Crowne Plaza West Hanoi until late this month.

“Ballet with Tchaikovsky and Ravel” featuring two world-renowned pieces, “Bolero” choreographed by Maurice Béjart and music by Maurice Ravel and “Serenade” choreographed by George Balanchine and music by Piotr Tchaikovsky will come back to HCMC.

The tourism sector in the four central provinces suffering from the seawater pollution caused in April by Taiwanese steel maker Formosa Ha Tinh has reported thousands of billions of dong in lost revenues.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Dao Thinh bronze jar is one of 104 natural treasures of Vietnam. It is now preserved at the National History Museum in Hanoi.

 VND851.38 trillion (US$39 billion) was raised for the national target program on rural development in 2010-2015, says a government report just sent to National Assembly (NA) deputies.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has requested an investigation into the discharge of water from the Ho Ho Hydropower Plant dam to define which organisations and individuals were responsible in order to compensate affected people.

About VND53.50 billion ($2.4m) from the state budget has been used to compensate for people who were given wrong sentences within the past 12 months.

VietNamNet Bridge - National Assembly’s deputies think that it is necessary to set up public debt clocks in the central areas of large cities.

VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City Wings defeated Danang Dragons and set a record at the Viet Nam Basketball League on October 16 in HCM City. 

 Viet Nam’s top player Ly Hoang Nam pocketed a first round win at the Viet Nam Men’s Futures F7 tennis tournament yesterday (Oct 17) in Binh Duong Province.