A new national flag tower was inaugurated in A Mu Sung commune, Bat Xat district in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai on December 16.

Belarus considers cooperation with Vietnam as one of its foreign policy’s leading priorities in Asia Pacific, affirmed Charge d’affaires ad interim of Belarus in Vietnam Dmitry Gil at a friendship get-together in Hanoi on December 16. 

The latest broadcasting equipment and technology will be presented at the Vietnam International Broadcast & AV (VIBA) Show in Hanoi next year.

Delegates from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam (CLV) have come together at the 7th CLV youth forum, which opened in the southern province of Binh Phuoc on December 17. 

Ly Son Island, 30km off the coast of central Quang Ngai Province, has had a face-lift since connecting to the national power grid in 2014. But while islanders have benefited from the rapid changes, serious environmental challenges are also arising.

Anyone who meets Pham Thi Huong Giang, initiator and key operator of the "Nha Chong Lu" (Flood Resistant Houses) – a social project which supports residents living in areas affected by natural disasters, always wonders how this woman has so much energy to handle her heavy workload.

VOV.VN - Vietnam is facing numerous challenges caused by rapid urbanization, leaving burdens on its technical and social infrastructure and leading to many severe consequences. In this context, finding solutions for sustainable urban development is one of Vietnam’s current top priorities.

VOV.VN - In 1998 Ireland’s Doctor Colman Patrick Ross came to Vietnam to work, he never thought he would stay for 20 years. During this period he has lived and worked with ethnic minority people in 12 provinces across Vietnam.

VietChallenge 2018, a world-scale startup competition for Vietnamese entrepreneurs, announced the date of the regional rounds. Accordingly, the Hanoi round will be on December 19 and the Ho Chi Minh City round on December 22.

VOV.VN - Young volunteers’ campaigns have inspired young people’s dynamism and responsibility. The campaigns will continue to be one of the Youth Union’s main activities in the future. 

German journalist Hellmut Kapfenberger has been presented with the Friendship Order from the President of Vietnam in recognition of his contributions to the two countries’ friendship and multifaceted cooperation.

VOV.VN - All six Vietnamese students competing at the 14th International Science Olympiads in the Netherlands won medals, three silvers and three bronzes, according to the Hanoi Department of Education and Training.

VOV.VN - VOV President Nguyen The Ky received French Ambassador to Vietnam Bertrand Lortholary at VOV headquarters in Hanoi on December 13.

 The sixth National Congress of the Vietnam War Veterans’ Association (VWVA) wrapped up on December 15 with the introduction of a 98-member Central Committee for the 2017-2022 period led by Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Van Duoc.

A meeting was held in Thua Thien-Hue Province on December 15 to review the dissemination of information about sea and islands for 2013-2017 and the organisation of exhibitions of maps and documents affirming Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes.

Ten years after it came into effect, Vietnam’s mandatory helmet law still struggles to address quality issues and raise motorbike riders’ awareness of the need for safe helmets.

A project to support the development and implementation of evidence and human rights-based policies and programmes on prevention and response to gender violence, domestic violence and on addressing sex work-related issues was launched in Hanoi on December 15.

Friendship associations and people-to-people diplomacy have contributed significantly to the productive ties between Vietnam and Japan, said President of the International Friendship Exchange Council (FEC) Ken Matsuzawa.

About 35,000 children aged 0-8 and 25,000 parents and caregivers will benefit from a UNICEF-funded project “Mobile integrated early childhood development (MIECD)”, heard a workshop in Hanoi on December 14.

VOV.VN - A 3-day German style Christmas Market is being held at Cua Bac Church in Hanoi from December 14-16, offering a variety of festive activities and attracting lots of visitors.

VOV.VN - A massive fire broke out in the early morning of December 15 at a plywood production factory in Tan Phuoc Khanh ward, Tan Uyen commune, southern Binh Duong province, leaving two workers dead. 

VOV.VN - Sixteen students from Hung Loc Primary School in Thong Nhat district in the southern province of Dong Nai were rushed to hospital on December 15 after having adverse reactions to their breakfast at the school. 

The special partnership between patriot Phan Boi Chau of Vietnam and doctor Asaba Sakitaro from Japan is a vivid manifestation of the friendship and cooperative ties between the two countries, heard an international seminar held in the central province of Nghe An on December 15

The southern region is leading the country in promulgating action plans to promote green growth, an expert said at a review conference on the implementation of the Vietnam Green Growth Strategy held in Ho Chi Minh City on December 14.

Experts gathered at a workshop in Hanoi on December 14 to seek measures to enhance water resources security amid climate change and energy development in the Mekong Delta region.

Acting Director of the Department of Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Ngoc Oai has asked the central province of Quang Ngai to apply strong measures to end local fishermen’s violations in foreign waters.

The Australian Government, through Aus4Skills programme, one of its Aus4Vietnam investment, on December 14 launched the pilot Logistics Industry Reference Council to promote industry linkages with vocational education and training (VET) in partnership with the Government of Vietnam.

A project to create a brighter future for disadvantaged children and youths in central Thua Thien-Hue province was launched during a workshop in Hue City on December 14.

A businessman from Taiwan is facing life imprisonment for conning hundreds of people out of almost US$12 million through an illegal gold trading floor he ran in Vietnam.

A Peruvian man and his five accomplices have been prosecuted for “stealing assets,” Ho Chi Minh City People's Procuracy, the city’s prosecution agency, announced on December 13.