VietNamNet Bridge – Noted water puppeteer Phan Thanh Liem has just opened his second miniature theatre for water puppetry at his private home in Hanoi’s Long Bien District.

 Using iodine in salt, a health step long enforced in Western countries, cannot by itself improve iodine shortages in Vietnamese people, experts agreed at a conference held last week in Hanoi.

 A huge potential exists in the country for start-ups that find innovative solutions for existing problems, and young people must be the game changers for this to happen.

 A pedagogy university in Ho Chi Minh City is struggling financially after implementing a tuition-free policy issued twenty years ago.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The HCM City Department of Transport has proposed the city People’s Committee allow a pilot electric motorbike rental programme in District 1.

 The Vietnamese team has won the first prize of the WhiteHat Grand Prix 2017 international Cybersecurity contest.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Two companies involved in an illegal case of hazardous waste landfill in central Ha Tinh Province have been fined a total VND1 billion or US $45,000.

People are rushing to buy bitcoin mining machines. Bitcoin ATMs can be found at some cafes in HCMC. Numerous calls for investments in bitcoin have appeared on the internet. And some travel firms accept payments in bitcoin.

Experts say ransomware continues attacking businesses, and that cryptocurrency mining malware has appeared on websites in Vietnam, while spyware is attacking Android smartphones.

VietNamNet Bridge - Residents are complaining about columns of smoke from burning stacks of straw in the Hanoi suburbs. 

VietNamNet Bridge - HCMC has received approval from the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) for its plan to compile textbooks for use at general schools in the city. 

The People’s Court in Mekong Delta’s Can Tho City sentenced one foreigner and three Vietnamese to prison for cheating 37 people of some VND5.3 billion (US$235,500) via social network Facebook.

 The WhiteHat Grand Prix 2017 under theme of "Vietnam Heritages" was officially opened in Hanoi capital yesterday with the participation of 277 leading network security and software teams from more than 50 countries in the world. 

 Pedagogy schools are facing financial difficulties as they have to subsidize for training expenses when the government’s subsidization is not enough.

 Government officers and workers will enjoy a 7-day holiday for the 2018 Tet (Lunar New Year), from February 14 - 20, 2018 (on December 29- January 5 of the lunar calendar).

 The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has proposed a project on expansion of Noi Bai Airport at the cost of VND620 billion ($27,292,623).

 Despite facing difficulties, the garment and textile sector is expected to export products worth US$31 billion this year, a year-on-year increase of 10.2%, and the outlook is bright for next year too.

 The Central Inspection Commission (CIC) has found multiple violations committed by Party committees in Thanh Hoa, Quang Nam, Vinh Phuc and Dak Nong provinces.

 Viet Nam is one of the world’s fastest growing e-commerce countries, Lai Viet Anh, deputy director of Viet Nam E-commerce and Information Technology Agency (Vecita) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said.

 Vietnam has lost thousands of billions of dong in taxes as foreign enterprises, especially large-scale ones, refuse to pay based on the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement.