A workshop was held in Da Nang on January 16 to discuss the roadmap for building the central locality of Vietnam into a child-friendly city in the future.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) launched the local tourism application Vietnamgo in the northern province of Quang Ninh on January 16.

The Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) has submitted proposals to the Prime Minister on the interest rates for preferential loans to rent and buy social housing or build, upgrade, and repair houses in 2019, with the suggested annual rate of 4.8 percent.

The Delegate of German Industry and Commerce in Vietnam held a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on January 15 to share Germany’s experience in using energy effectively and managing energy in industries.

To date, Vietnam has nearly 1,900 establishments getting Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP) certificates with a total area of 81,500 hectares.

The Vietnam Register (VR) has asked its branches nationwide to increase technical safety examinations of vehicles, particularly container trucks, coaches and tractor trailers, as part of measures to improve traffic safety.

Bonuses for the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) at most companies nationwide are worth one month’s salary on average, which is around 6.3 million VND (271.68 USD), or 11.4 percent higher than 2018.

Vietnam has called for help from Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia to search for 10 fishermen who have been missing since December 2018.

A walk along Huong river was inaugurated and put into use in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on January 15.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on January 15 sent a letter to encourage the national men’s football team before their participation in the last match of the Group D round with Yemen at the Asian Cup 2019.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh had a meeting with press agencies of Vietnam in Hanoi on January 15, expressing appreciation for their contributions to the success of the external work last year.

The central province of Thua Thien-Hue aims to attract about 4.7 million visitors in 2019 with 45 percent being foreigners, a rise of about 7 percent year on year.

The People’s Court of Hanoi has decided to open the first-instance trial on January 28 for two former Deputy Ministers of Public Security who were prosecuted with the charge of “showing irresponsibility, causing serious consequences” in line with Article 285 of the 1999 Criminal Code.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc presented 100 Tet gifts to policy beneficiaries and disadvantaged ethnic minority people in Nui village, Tam Thang commune, Cu Jut district during his working visit to the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong on January 15.

The People’s Court of Hoa Binh province on January 14 opened a trial for seven people implicated in a serious medical incident that killed eight patients at the provincial General Hospital on May 29, 2017.

An Thanh Tay island commune in Cu Lao Dung district of the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang has been recognized as a new-style rural area, becoming the third commune of the district receiving the title.

The Central Steering Committee for the implementation of grassroots democracy regulations held a conference in Hanoi on January 14 to review the work last year and set out new tasks for 2019.

Several universities have included English as one of the criteria in their enrolment plans for the 2019-2020 academic year.

This year’s ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) will take place in the northeastern coastal province of Quang Ninh from January 14-18, with the participation of about 2,000 delegates, according to organisers.

The Vietnamese nationals in Cambodia and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have embraced the spirit of Tet as the Lunar New Year draws near with various activities.