VIETNAM TODAY

The new national high school examination this year was a failure, forcing students to gamble on their futures, a veteran educator said.

Vietnamese shares tumbled for the second day on August 12, following the information that China had devalued its currency twice in two days, forcing the State Bank of Vietnam to revise the exchange rate band.

Myanmar and Thailand are exempting visa requirements for each other’s citizens travelling by plane as of August 11 to foster their respective tourism sectors, said the Thai Embassy in Myanmar.

Ho Chi Minh City has put into use 44 new schools at all levels for the 2015-2016 academic year, including 36 pre-schools and kindergartens, according to the municipal Department of Education and Training.

Ho Chi Minh City’s Urban Civil Works Construction Investment Management Authority (UCCI) officially released information pertaining to the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) No 1 project on August 12.

Hanoi’s Department of Public Security began bike patrol in urban districts in the city on a trial basis since August 12.

Huge explosions in a warehouse district sent up massive fireballs, killing at least 44 people in the Chinese port city of Tianjin, officials said.

Vietnamese star swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien won a silver medal at the International Swimming Federation (FINA) World Cup 2015 in Moscow, Russia, in the women’s 400m medley individual event on August 12.

A new bridge for a rural area in Ha Tinh Province is being branded a waste of money, built in a secluded location, which already has another bridge nearby.

Passengers from the Republic of Korea (RoK) entering Vietnam after August 15, 2015 will be exempted from MERS-CoV health declarations, said the Ministry of Health on August 12.

Encroachment by the sea has caused soil erosion, threatening residential areas and crops in the coastal Go Cong area in the southern Tien Giang Province.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has widened the trading band of Vietnamese dong/US dollar (VND/USD) from +/- 1 percent to +/-2 percent, applicable from August 12 onwards.

Thailand's junta leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha has said he may appoint his brother as the country's next army chief, one of the most powerful jobs in the coup-prone kingdom.

As many as 30,000 people will join a massive parade in Hanoi’s Ba Dinh Square on September 2 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the August Revolution (August 19) and National Day (September 2).

A 1.5-2 hectare Hoang Sa monument site will be built on Ly Son island in the central province of Quang Ngai, reported the Nhan dan (People) daily.

Severe flooding in northern Quang Ninh Province was a result of years of substandard coal mining in the area, experts said.

Residents on the outskirts of Hanoi, including Ba Vi and adjacent localities, will receive free consultations and tests for HIV/AIDS through an intervention model launched in the locality on August 11.

Vietnam’s top female swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien on August 11 clinched a bronze medal in the final of the women’s 200m individual medley at the FINA Swimming World Cup 2015 which is taking place in Moscow, Russia.

Experts yesterday expressed doubts about Vietnam's ability to ease its business environment to the average level of doing business in ASEAN-6 by the end of the year.