The Vietnam Software and IT Services Association (VINASA) presented the Sao Khue Awards to 73 information and technology (IT) solutions and services, and software products in a ceremony in Hanoi on April 21.

 Doctors in Ho Chi Minh City’s Cho Ray Hospital successfully performed organ transplants for five persons using organs from a brain-dead donor on April 20.

 Experts and scientists have discussed how to promote the application of technological solutions to produce clean energy, and form communities using smart energy, towards making over Ho Chi Minh City as a smart city in a seminar on April 20. 

 Vietnam is reviewing and updating the country’s carbon emission target to better comply with the Paris agreement on climate change and prepare for the global assessment later this year.

 The Ministry of Health (MoH) has proposed to raise the tax imposed on a pack of cigarettes to 2,000 VND (0.088 USD).

 The real estate market continues to be attractive to investors, but the level of competition would be much higher this year and the following years.

 A free music gala will be held on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in downtown Ho Chi Minh City on April 28 night to celebrate the South’s Liberation and National Reunification Day (April 30, 1975)

 Many people organise buffalo fighting festivals to gamble illegally, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Trinh Thi Thuy said at a conference held in Hanoi this week.

VietNamNet Bridge - Investing in many business fields and expanding too rapidly, some large corporations have lost prestige and fallen into debt. 

 Nguyen Thi Kim Ngoc, a 19 year-old girl from the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang, was crowned Miss Sea Vietnam Global 2018 at the final round on Phu Quoc island, Kien Giang province, on April 21.

Ma Chau silk craft, mulberry farming and silkworm breeding have roots some five centuries ago in Duy Xuyen District in the central province of Quang Nam. The silk trade was among central Vietnam’s most prosperous industries in the 15th century,

VietNamNet Bridge - Wooden furniture manufacturers have been warned that they will face more trade barriers as export markets have applied new policies to restrict imports.

 Robam dance, a traditional art form of the Khmer ethnic community in Tra Vinh province has been recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage, according to a recent decision issued by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

 Producers of safe fruit and vegetables are still up against it in trying to eke out a respectable market share.

 Danang City’s government has urged Cam Le District to carefully consider pros and cons when seeking to develop horse and dog racecourses, said Huynh Van Hung, director of the Culture and Sports Department of Danang.

When he was 11 years old, Nguyen Van Huynh left his home to go fishing—a routine task made dangerous by the raging resistance war. He had been going out to see with his father since he was 10 years old. 

 The number of motorcycles sold in the first quarter of this year reached some 803,000 units, increasing a mere 1.9% against last year, which indicates the domestic market is reaching its saturation point.

 The Ministry of Finance has proposed imposing a new tax on people who own property worth VNĐ700 million ($31,000) or more.

Myanmar's State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi paid an official visit to Vietnam from April 19-20 at the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. On this occasion, the two nations issued a joint statement.

After spending two hours on a flight from HCMC, plus 30 minutes on entry procedures, a group of Vietnamese, including two business owners and investors, landed in Singapore recently to complete business registration procedures.