VietNamNet Bridge - As only six percent of wastewater in HCM City is now collected and treated, HCM City will need to build more than 10 wastewater treatment plants to help clean several canals.

VietNamNet Bridge - Despite many efforts to improve the environment, air pollution caused by traffic activities has been increasing steadily over the last 10 years.

 Northern provinces forecast to see 3-4 cold spells; Firecracker smugglers seized at Lao border; Bus carrying 30 passengers barely avoids collision; Taxi and long-range coach companies slash fares; Police seize fake cooking additives

Skyscraper project on Han River bank cancelled; Deputy PM instructs implementation of many highway projects; Education ministry gives guideline on primary students’ remarks; Hanoi’s traditional medicine street revived

Hundreds of households in An Khanh Commune in Thai Nguyen province’s Dai Tu District have had no running water to use for several years because of a coal mine, the provincial Department of Natural Resources and the Environment has said.

 The Ministry of Public Security on Tuesday began an investigation into a series of recent incidents leading to the rupture of the pipeline bringing water from Da River to Ha Noi.

 Construction firm VINACONEX has apologised for poor quality of the main pipeline bringing water from the Da River to Ha Noi and pledged that another one that it is laying now will steer clear of mistakes made in the first.

Illicit tobacco products are readily available in Ho Chi Minh City, causing numerous challenges as the booming black market reaches record levels.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The lack of water for Hanoians over the last two weeks was caused partly by the water supply plant reducing water pump pressure for fear that the pipeline may break down again.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Unable to access the city’s tap-water resources, Ho Chi Minh City’s suburbanites must use water from wells they dig themselves. But the underground water is getting seriously polluted.

 Strategy on marine environment protection announced; Remains of US servicemen repatriated; Trial begins for bandits in Dien Bien; Chinese man fined for wife purchase; Illegally imported tobacco impounded

 Mekong Delta strives to cut poverty rate; HCM City water supplier needs $215m to reach all residents; Bird flu inspections strengthened at border gates; PM takes measures to stop wildlife trafficking

 Fishing boat with 11 fishermen rescued off Nha Trang; HCM City student wins Canada contest; Poor ethnic people supported during Tet holidays; Japan funds 8 development projects

A survey released on Wednesday reveals a large and persistent gap in development outcomes between residents living in mountainous and lowland regions.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked ministries and agencies to raise efforts in implementing the Party and State's development policy in ethnic and mountainous regions.

  Job placement services to be enhanced by 2015; Food Safety Action Month launched; Training programmes meet ASEAN standards; Residents without water supply

At 11:30 pm on March 23, the pipe leading water from the Da River in Hoa Binh province to Hanoi was broke at a point on the Thang Long Avenue. About 70,000 households in the southwest of Hanoi were affected by this incident.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Lawmakers backed the Government’s proposal to allocate more than VND5.524 trillion (US$263 million) in Government bonds to important projects