Vietnamese athletics officially wrapped up its Rio Olympic campaign on the morning of August 16 as sprinter Nguyen Thi Huyen failed to break through the preliminary round of the women’s 400m hurdles event. 

 A total of 64 international and domestic players will compete at the fifth BTV-Becamex IJD International Three-cushion Billiards Carom Tournament, scheduled in Binh Duong province on August 19-21.

 On August 16, State President Tran Dai Quang and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc extended congratulatory messages to Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo on his country’s 71st Independence Day (August 17).

VietNamNet Bridge - In the past two weeks, at least three seals were seen in the waters of Tuy Phong district in the central province of Binh Thuan, surprising both local people and tourists.

VietNamNet Bridge – A woman named Huong in Hanoi has discovered that VND500 million ($23,000) in her account at the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) was transferred somewhere over night.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology will create the best possible mechanisms and policies for high-tech parks as well as businesses of the Asian Science Parks Association to expand cooperation in Vietnam. 

 Nguyen Thi Huyen did not succeed in entering the next round of the women’s 400m hurdles at the Rio Olympics after losing in her qualifying heat on August 15 (local time). 

 HCM City treasures the relationship it has with Hong Kong and is willing to further cooperation with the territory, said a municipal leader. 

 VietNamNet Bridge - Statistics from the Organization of International Automobile Manufacturers (OICA)in 2015 show that Vietnam manufactured only 50,000 cars, or 0.055% of total worldwide car production. 

The Traffic Police Department of the Ministry of Public Security has advised Vietnamese people to not play Pokemon Go while driving because the behavior is illegal and dangerous to drivers and others.

 VietNamNet Bridge - Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust of billionaire Bill Gates and his wife recently completed a deal that turns it into a major shareholder of VEIL – the largest investment fund in Vietnam.

 VietNamNet Bridge - A survey by UNDP, released in a meeting between HCM City authorities on August 8, revealed that Saigon residents have to offer bribes for land ownership certificates. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Following are the most outstanding contestants of the Miss Vietnam 2016 pageant. 

A typhoon is forecast to form with strong winds in the northern area of the East Sea due to the circulation around a low-pressure center, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

 VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City is cracking down on pollution, with the People’s Committee spelling out measures for waste control, after voters expressed anguish about the defiling of the Sai Gon River

 The Government has approved an e-commerce development plan for 2016-20 that targets 50 per cent of consumers switching from cash to other forms of payment.

 Rock band Scorpions will entertain fans in Hanoi during the annual Monsoon Music Festival 2016 which is scheduled for October 21-23.

 The European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) has pledged to support Ho Chi Minh City to become one of the leading Southeast Asian cities.

An online e-book trading platform is to be launched in Vietnam, the first of its kind in the country, with a view to boosting the local e-book market, according to the Sai Gon Giai phong (Liberated Saigon) daily. 

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines plans to open a direct flight route to the US in 2018, said its General Director Duong Tri Thanh.