Man fined for buying tree without legal documentsThe buyer of the three giant trees taken from the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak has been fined VND750 million (USD33,055) for violating regulations on forest protection. It was taken from farmland of a family in Ea Dah Commune, Krong Nang District, Dak Lak Province. "However, Chuong failed to show proper legal documents relating to the tree," Tuan said. Earlier, the department had returned two other trees to Chuong after he was able to show enough legal documents. The two trees were also bought from agricultural lands in Dak Lak Province, Tuan added.

Stolen Marc Chagall painting to be returned after 30 yearsA Marc Chagall painting stolen from a New York couple's home in 1988 will be returned to the family's estate after nearly 30 years, the FBI says. The Chagall was recovered last year after a Washington, DC gallery owner twice refused to purchase the painting. "We took the case from there," said Special Agent Marc Hess, a member of the FBI Art Crime Team. "Well-documented and known art is very hard to move once it has been stolen," said FBI Supervisory Special Agent Tim Carpenter. Statute of limitations laws on the robbery have expired, which means the suspected thief and the Maryland man will not face charges.

Celebrations for Vietnam Book DayVietNamNet Bridge – Book lovers of all ages will flock to Thong Nhat Park, Hanoi, to celebrate Viet Nam Book Day 2018 on April 21. This year’s theme for Viet Nam Book Day is ’books and family’. It will honour reading culture, and also the people who are involved in book publishing and distribution, such as authors, editors, publishers, retailers and librarians. The annual Viet Nam Book Day has become a much loved festival of the community and an important cultural event in its own right. At the event, the national book award organised by the Viet Nam Publishing Association will be given.

Chinese-only shops in Nha Trang flourish despite numerous violationsVietNamNet Bridge - The number of shops that only serve Chinese travelers and refuse Vietnamese customers have been increasing in Nha Trang, to the embarrassment of state and local officials. Travelers make payment for goodsThe number of Chinese travelers flocking to the sea city has soared in the last two years. Domestic travel firms complain that they cannot book hotel rooms in Nha Trang because the hotels have been fully occupied by Chinese travelers. According to the Khanh Hoa provincial Market Management Sub-department, there are 46 trade establishments in Nha Trang City serving mostly Chinese travellers. RELATED NEWSMore Chinese travelers visiting Vietnam via chartered flightsChinese tourists led to shops using only Chinese workersKim Chi

Just one alcoholic drink a day could shorten your life, study saysHaving as little as one alcoholic drink a day could shorten your life, according to a major new study. An analysis of 600,000 drinkers found that drinking five to 10 alcoholic drinks a week was likely to shorten a person's life by up to six months. This increases with higher alcohol consumption, with those who have 18 drinks or more losing up to five years of life. Another Danish study found drinking three to four times a week was linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. "Although non-fatal heart attacks are less likely in people who drink, this benefit is swamped by the increased risk of other forms of heart disease including fatal heart attacks and stroke."

An MOET (Ministry of Education & Training) report shows that by the end of 2016, Vietnam had over 11,000 professors and associate professors. However, only one-third of professors and associate professors now work for universities, which means that each university has only 20 professors or associate professors. Le Viet Khuyen, former director of the MOET Higher Education Department, said Vietnam has numerous professors and associate professors, but has few “knowledge transmitters”. The State Professorship Council denied that Vietnam has too many professors, saying that the ratio of professors remains modest. This means that each professor and associate professor had 1.3 scientific research works published, lower than the expected four to six articles for professors and three for associate professors.

Ho Chi Minh City announces eight buildings violating fire codeHo Chi Minh City announced a list of eight buildings that had been put into use without receiving a fire code certification. In addition, during the investigation, the city’s authorities also detected many buildings where the fire prevention system was different from the approved design. The building’s fire prevention system has not been checked before the building was launched because the building’s construction unit cancelled the constructed contract. No.8 Investment and Construction JSC (CIC8)’s Green Building (District 9)The investor sold 132 apartments of the total 156 since 2016. District 5 People Committee’s Block G apartment building (District 5)The fire prevention system of the 12-floor building has not been constructed.

VN Index bounces back after nosedive in previous trading sessionVN Index recovered and exceeded 1,170 points on April 12 after a nosedive of over 31 points on the previous day. Nearly 180 million units approximating 5.96 trillion VND (261.34 million USD) were traded on HOSE during the trading session. VN30 Index increased by 6.3 points to end at 1,143.5 points with almost 64 million units worth about 3.33 trillion VND (146 million USD) traded. Some 38 million units were traded at nearly 773 billion VND (33.89 million USD). Over 24 million units worth around 464 billion VND (20.34 million USD) were traded.-VNA

Vietnam Airlines adjusts flying routes to avoid Black SeaNational flag carrier Vietnam Airlines said since April 11, it has diverted its flights from/to Europe away from the Black Sea area, which could be under influence of the rising tension in Syria. National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines said since April 11, it has diverted its flights from/to Europe away from the Black Sea areaThe diverted flights include those from Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City to Paris/Frankfurt/London and vice versa. A representative of the airline said although the current air routes are far away from the fighting region, Vietnam Airlines decided to adjust the flying routes to ensure safety for passengers. The carrier will closely monitor the situation and devise suitable flying routes in the coming time. Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam announced that it has also made adjustments to avoid the area, which have been carried out since early this week.-VNA

New fund to boost tourism promotionVietNamNet Bridge – Tourism promotional campaigns in Vietnam will be boosted with the establishment of Viet Nam Tourism Development Fund (VTDF), an official said. Tourism promotional campaigns in Vietnam will be boosted with the establishment of Viet Nam Tourism Development Fund (VTDF). The objective of the fund is to boost investment in promotion, product development, training of human resources, and improvement of institutional capacity in the tourism sector, he said. The tourism industry is implementing many solutions, including the formation of the VTDF to increase financial resources for tourism development activities. At the same time, tourism promotion agencies should be set up abroad, especially at key markets to effectively carry out programmes on promotion Vietnam’s images.

NA talks undeclared incomeVietNamNet Bridge – Lawmakers yesterday weighed in on the draft amendment to the corruption law, debating whether to apply a 45 per cent tax on extra personal income that public servants fail to declare. One solution was to view unreported income as untaxed income and to start collecting tax from it, with a proposed rate was 45 per cent. The NA Ombudsman Committee chairwoman Nguyen Thanh Hai questioned the basis to set such a rate, saying that the tax rate applied should follow the Law on Personal Income Tax. “It is a common principle to tax all extra personal income. Public servants who failed to fully declare their incomes also ignored their responsibility to be transparent about their money, he added, and an administrative penalty was therefore a must.

HCM City increases patrols after forest fire threatVietNamNet Bridge – Authorities, including local ones, need to increase patrolling and promote fire safety to ensure there are no major forest fires during the ongoing dry season, a meeting held to review forest protection and fire prevention heard in HCM City yesterday. “The city Forest Rangers Sub-department should step up patrolling.”The city has 35,600 hectares of forests, in districts 9, Can Gio, Binh Chanh, and Cu Chi. Quy said many activities like poaching and illegal logging could potentially spark off forest fires. Low awareness of forest fires is another threat.”Last year HCM City suffered two forest fires on an area of 1.8 hectares, but thanks to their immediate discovery they were controlled before they could cause major damage. Districts 9, Binh Chanh, Cu Chi, and Hoc Mon should educate local communities about forest fire safety, he said.

Goalkeeper Kieu Trinh honoured with Labour Order, third classFemale goalkeeper Dang Thi Kieu Trinh has been honoured with the Labour Order, third class, from the State for her significant contributions to Vietnam’s women’s football as a whole, and to the women’s national team in particular, over the past few years. Kieu Trinh is the reigning winner of the Vietnamese Golden Ball (for the best female player of the year). Kieu Trinh is the reigning winner of the Vietnamese Golden Ball (for the best female player of the year). Earlier, in late March, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced Kieu Trinh as an ever-present figure at the Asian Cup, as she has participated in all Asian Cup competitions within the past decade. Kieu Trinh and her national teammates are currently competing in the 2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Jordan.

Hanoi to “raise bar” for grassroots policeVietNamNet Bridge – The police chief’s position in Hanoi’s communes will be assigned to professional police officers instead of semi-professional ones, Ha Noi People’s Committee chairman Nguyen Duc Chung said on Tuesday. A police officer talks to residents in a rural area in Hanoi. Chung said this would not be a drastic change but a step-by-step effort to improve social order in rural communes. “We will not replace all commune-level police positions with professional ones, only the chief and deputy chief positions, depending on different localities. All 386 communes in the city are expected to have professional chief police officers by 2020.

Mon Asian Food Festival to run in Hanoi, Quang NinhThe Mon Asian Food Festival (MAFF), sponsored by Vietnamese construction and real estate group HD Mon Holdings, is scheduled to take place in Hanoi and Ha Long City this April. The festival, to which entry is free, will open in Hanoi on April 20 in the Mon City My Dinh apartment complex at No 2 Le Duc Tho Street. Food presentation and art performances are set to run during its course starting 10 am. The show will introduce Asian culinary delights to Ha Long City at the 30/10 Square from April 27 – 29. It will also treat local food lovers to hot-air balloon trips and a charity run.