A delegation from the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) held a working session in the northern province of Yen Bai’s Tram Tau district on January 9 to discuss a house building programme for local residents affected by natural disasters.

The drugs squad of the northern province of Dien Bien on January 9 reported that they brought to light a large drug trafficking ring involving a Lao national and 21 cakes of heroin (about 7.5kg).

The Union of Friendship Organisations and the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association of Ho Chi Minh City co-hosted a get-together on January 9 to mark the 59th anniversary of Cuba’s Revolution Day (January 1).

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam spoke highly of cooperation and assistance of the SOS Children's Villages International for Vietnam in raising, caring for, and educating children with underprivileged backgrounds while receiving its President Siddhartha Kaul in Hanoi on January 9.

The Procuracy of Ho Chi Minh City on January 9 announced an indictment against Pham Cong Danh, ex-Chairman of the Vietnam Construction Bank Board of Directors, and his accomplices who were charged with “deliberately violating State regulations on economic management causing severe consequences” at VNCB.

Trinh Xuan Thanh, former Chairman and General Director of PetroVietnam Construction JSC (PVC), was questioned at court on January 9, the second day of the trial on the case of “deliberately violating State regulations on economic management, causing severe consequences” at the Thai Binh thermal power project.

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang is working on measures to cope with saltwater intrusion, according to the provincial Irrigation Sub-Department.

VOV.VN - Hanoians are bracing for the coldest spell so far this winter as the temperature drops down to below 10 degrees Celsius.

VOV.VN -The Saigon - My Xuan Paper Co., Ltd located in My Xuan A industrial park, Tan Thanh district, Ba Ria-Vung Tau province was seriously damaged by a huge fire that started at around 3 pm on January 8. Luckily, no casualties have been reported.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said on January 8 that incidents such as the mass poisoning of fish off the coast of Vietnam in 2016 should never happen again. “It was a painful lesson,” he said.

About VND31.4 trillion (US$1.38 billion) was used in building new-style rural areas in 2017, heard a conference held by the Central Coordination Office on New Rural Development on January 8. 

Many motorbike owners are still unsure if the new E5 fuel being sold nationwide suits their vehicles, and authorities need to improve public awareness accordingly, officials admit.

The court began to question defendants about their specific roles in wrongdoings accused of “deliberately violating State regulations on economic management, causing severe consequences” at the Thai Binh 2 thermal power project, at the trial that opened on January 8. 

Vietnam’s water resource security is facing challenges at a time of climate change.

VOV.VN - Four shoemakers were injured in a work accident which occurred at a factory of the Golden Star Co.,Ltd. in Uong Bi City, Quang Ninh province at 2pm on January 8.

The National Assembly (NA)’s Committee for Culture, Education, Youth, Adolescents and Children held a conference in Hanoi on January 8 on the building and implementation of policies on youth development.

Vietnam took second spot out of nine Asian countries and territories surveyed for the 2017 Prudential Relationship Index, which was released in HCM City last weekend.

A 4.3-magnitude earthquake hit the northwestern province of Dien Bien at 6:21am on January 9, the second one recorded this year and also the second within just two days.

VOV.VN - The government has issued a decree on Voice of Vietnam’s functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure.

The Prime Minister has approved investment policies for a project to enhance participation of social and community organisations in preventing and controlling HIV/AIDS.

The Ministry of Information and Communication has issued a set of stamps themed on the Lunar New Year – Year of the Dog.

The Hanoi Department of Transport began to launch a level-four online public service for issuing international driving licences for Vietnamese citizens and foreigners who are permanently residing in Vietnam from January 2, 2018.

Leaders of southern An Giang province on January 8 visited and congratulated the Central Executive Committee of Hoa Hao Buddhism on the occasion of the 98th birth anniversary of the sect’s founder, Prophet Huynh Phu So (the 25th day of the 11th lunar month).

The southern province of Dong Nai strives to have additional nine communes and three district levels recognised as new-style rural areas in 2018.

The Zhi Shan Foundation of Taiwan (China) has pledged an aid package worth over VND16.4 billion (US$721,600) to support poor and disadvantaged children in the central region in 2018.

Upgrades will be made to all key roads in the Central Highlands region from now to 2020 with a view to boosting local socio-economic development, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung asked the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to make breakthrough in management and use of land resources in 2018 at the ministry’s conference in Hanoi on January 8. 

VOV.VN - Legendary cyber security expert Mikko Hypponen will visit Vietnam for a discussion on information security at a seminar scheduled for November 18 in Hanoi, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications. 

HCM City targets a serious reduction in the number of AIDS cases by 2030, according to the city’s Health Department.

VOV.VN - A fire broke out in a footwear workshop before spreading to a kindergarten and a foreign language centre in the southern province of Binh Duong on January 8.