VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam's U23 tied 2-2 with Japanese Cerezo Osaka FC in a friendly match yesterday (Dec 17) in Ha Noi.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam's top tennis player, Ly Hoang Nam, is hoping to make it into to the world's top 500 ranked players next year.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Top Vietnamese badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh entered the third round of the men's singles event at the US$50,000 Mexico Grand Prix yesterday morning (December 17).

VietNamNet Bridge – The People's Court of the southern province of Binh Phuoc yesterday (Dec 17) sentenced Nguyen Hai Duong and Vu Van Tien, both 24, to death on charges of murdering six family members in their home and robbing VND50 million

Nao pe chau, a festival of the Mong ethnic group in the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien, was recognised as part of the national intangible cultural heritage at a ceremony in Nam Pong Village, Muong Dang Commune, Muong Ang District,

 Vietnamese doctors have successfully performed 1,500 kidney transplants, 50 liver transplants and 13 heart cases to date.

  The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee on December 17 chose Trungnam Group to implement the phase 1 of a project to control flooding caused by tides in the City.

 More than 60 art troupes from 47 countries worldwide will join 53 local ones in the 2016 Hue Festival, which will take place in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue from April 29 to May 4, 2016.

VietNamNet Bridge - The business fields that Thais have poured money to in Vietnam – infrastructure, building materials, retail, consumer goods, food and automobiles – are all fields with great potential.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Terraced fields are recognised by the State as national scenic places and appreciated by international mass media as the peak of beauty crystallised by Vietnamese culture and labour.

 All six Vietnamese students attending the 12th International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO) held in the Republic of Korea brought home medals, according to the Hanoi municipal Department of Education and Training.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines conducted 365 flights between Vietnam and Indonesia in 2015, carrying more than 100,000 passengers and over 1,000 tonnes of cargos.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam has successfully produced a vaccine to combat the Porcilis Porcine Reproductive Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), which is also known as “Blue Ear Pig Disease”, according to the Vietnam Veterinary Association (VVA).

 VietNamNet Bridge – Up to 20,000 electric cars made by Renault will be shipped to Vietnam within the next five years by the Mai Linh Group.

VietNamNet Bridge - Some foreign investors have warned that they may leave Vietnam because of unfavorable conditions to do business. However, Vietnamese businesses and analysts believe they will stay in the country.

VietNamNet Bridge - Nearly all high school students who won top prizes at competitions for excellent students, when asked about their future plans, said they want to study abroad.

VietNamNet Bridge - Domestic banks are struggling to compete with foreign banks, which are powerful in online payment technology, and with businesses applying online payment methods.

VietNamNet Bridge - Thousands of hectares of forests have been cleared to make room for industrial crops, but many project investors have ‘forgotten’ to plant new forests to compensate for land that was cleared.

On December 18, the temperatures continue to fall in the North of Vietnam. Many locations, including Sapa, one of the most famous destinations in Vietnam, were covered with frost.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Sizzling hot weather in Saigon led me to make a trip up to the nation’s north. Mai Chau, an upland district in Hoa Binh Province, was my destination.