VietNamNet Bridge - Fine dust, called the ‘quiet human killer’, can spread thousands of kilometers and cause environmental harm. 

The 49th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) will kick off in Vientiane, Laos, on July 24 with the attendance of Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith.

 Victor Oh, a Canadian senator, encouraged all parties to come together to find a diplomatic solution to the overlapping claims in the East Sea in a statement from Ottawa on July 14.

VietNamNet Bridge - State-owned preschools in Hanoi and HCMC are expected to be overloaded this year because of the high number of children born in 2012, the year of the ‘golden dragon’ and 2013, the year of the ‘diamond snake’.

 A roundtable talk on the East Sea issue took place in New Delhi, India on July 15, drawing scholars, experts and representatives of diplomatic corps.

 Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Pham Quang Vinh has had a meeting with Iowa State’s Governor Terry Branstad, during which the latter expressed his hope to further bolster all-round cooperation with Vietnam, especially in trade.

 The PMs of Vietnam and Slovenia have affirmed that they attached much importance to developing the bilateral friendship and cooperation, which have seen positive growth in recent years.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc left Ulan Bator for Hanoi to wrap up his official visit to Mongolia from July 13-14 and participation in the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit from July 15-16.

Laos has been following the East Sea situation closely given the sea area is important and sensitive and called on parties involved to continue exercising restraint and holding talks to settle their disputes peacefully.

 Vietnam’s telecom sector generated revenue of VND93.5 trillion (US$4.2 billion) in the first six months of the year, excluding military group Viettel’s earnings from foreign markets.

 VietNamNet Bridge – This year the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has launched a program promoting Vietnam as a paradise of sea and island for tourists.

VietNamNet Bridge - For the last ten years, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has said it would restructure its operations.

Vietnam’s GDP in 2016 will not reach the targeted 6.7 per cent unless breakthrough measures are introduced, according to analysis from the Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR).

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam has replaced China as the second largest partner in Japan’s software outsourcing market.

 Commuters who crossed HCM City’s Saigon Bridge last Thursday afternoon panicked when they saw a young boy jump into the river. People found his backpack and sandals placed neatly on the bridge.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment has proposed the prime minister to approve the investment plan of $311.9 million seaport and industrial park complex invested by a consortium of three foreign investors in Quang Yen town, Quang Ninh.

Foreign insurers operating in Vietnam are no longer allowed to transfer their entire premium collected in the country to their mother companies through overseas reinsurance contracts.

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico began his official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on July 17.

Vietnam has 2.3 million poor households, accounting for 9.79 per cent of all households in the country, according to a report from the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Nearly a half of the Mekong Delta region would be badly hit by saltwater intrusion within the next 14 years.