Online services for exchanging old notes for new ones mushroom in the days prior to the Tết (Lunar New Year) holidays, although the activity is illegal and charges fees ranging from eight to 120 per cent in some cases.

Following the rapid development of information technology and the proliferation of various news sources, demand for updated information is rising, provoking fierce competition among media agencies, Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam said at a national conference in Hà Nội on Wednesday to review media performance in 2016 and set tasks for 2017.

Trần Đức Anh Sơn, deputy director of the Institute for Socio-Economic Development (ISED) in Đà Nẵng, yesterday donated to Hoàng Sa District several documents and old maps that clearly establish Việt Nam’s sovereignty over the Hoàng Sa (Paracels) and Trường Sa (Spratly) archipelagos.

HCM City has agreed to the Transport Department’s proposal to open temporary smart parking lots in downtown areas to meet demand.

The HCM City People’s Committee plans to build two more water plants in an aim to improve water supply by 2019.

Hà Nội authorities have asked three construction giants to devise planning schemes to develop the areas along the iconic Hồng (Red) River that flows past the capital city.

Officials from the Việt Nam General Labor Confederation have voiced concern over a recent proposal revoking the maternity benefits to which female workers are entitled.

Solutions to ease traffic congestion on the Pháp Vân intersection of Hà Nội have been proposed by the Directorate for Roads of Việt Nam.

More than 280 blood-pressure screening spots have been set up in HCM City under the Communities for Healthy Hearts programme.