Welcome to The Hanoi Times' Words on the Street column, where we reflect on the most pressing issues and events in Vietnam and Hanoi.

To streamline residence management and reduce land paperwork, Hanoi is speeding up the digitization of land use rights and assets and cleaning up the city's land data.

Welcome to this week's Words on the Street, where we explore the latest shifts shaping Vietnam's digital landscape, and look at Deepseek's quiet but intriguing entry into an AI market where ChatGPT reigns supreme.

In late September, a bankruptcy at No.5 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, caused chaos in Ha Dong district.On the evening of September 23, many people flocked to this house to demand payment of their debts. These people said that the couple who live in this house, Nguyen Hong Hao and Nguyen Thi Dau, borrowed millions of USD from them but did not settle the debts. Since then, dozens of people have surrounded this house to hinder the couple from running away.

A seminar o­n accelerating the implementation of the National Strategy o­n Gender Equality during the 2011-2020 period took place in Hanoi o­n Sept. 29.

The Hanoitimes-  Prices of many goods and services may well be high during Tet (the Lunar New Year) in late January 2012 since businesses still pay high interest rates o­n bank loans.

Thirty-two students from 14 countries throughout the world, including Vietnam, participated in the English Summer Camp in the Japanese central prefecture of Shiga from August 21- 27.

Forty Vietnamese experts joined their US colleagues in sharing experiences in coping with climate change and water resource management in Vietnam’s Red River basin and the US Mississippi River.

The The Vietnam-US Dialogue Group o­n Agent Orange/dioxin made a field trip to the heavily AO-contaminated province of Dong Nai province o­n August 17 as part of a survey for a project to build centres o­n reproductive health and rehabilitation.

The Hanoitimes -Vietnamese diva My Linh sings out her emotions o­n her newest album Toc Ngan Acoustic – Mot Ngay (Short Hair Acoustic – o­ne Day).

The percentage of poverty-stricken households in 12 rural provinces has fallen strongly, but the proportion remains higher than the national average, a sociological survey showed o­n Thursday.

Truong Hai Auto Joint Stock Co., or Thaco, o­n Friday opened a bus plant at the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone in the central province of Quang Nam’s Nui Thanh district, after over a year of construction.

The Vietnam Business Association in Cambodia opened its first general meeting in Phnom Penh o­n Wednesday, almost o­ne year after it was founded o­n August 15, 2010.

The Hanoitimes - Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan has been appointed to chair a steering board o­n nuclear energy human resource development in preparation for the construction of nuclear energy plants.

Vietnam has emphasised the significance and importance of the UNCLOS, a comprehensive international legal order that has been established in the oceans and seas.

The Hanoitmes - Vietnam will need around 2,135 trillion VND (104.6 billion USD) to develop human resources in the 2011-2020 period, said the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The Hanoitmes - Two United States senators o­n June 13 introduced a resolution condemning the repeated use of force by China in the East Sea o­n May 26 and June 9 and causing damage to Vietnamese exploration ships operating within Vietnam ’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

US filmmaker Ken Burns will produce a 10-12 hour documentary about the Vietnam war.

 A seminar o­n gender equality and women’s rights opened in Hanoi o­n August 6.The event was co-organised by the Vietnam Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) and the Republic of Finland Ministry of Labour. Vietnam has promoted gender equality as well as hoping to narrow the gender gap by issuing the Gender Equality Law in 2006 and other legal document, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, MOLISA Minster affirmed at the forum.  She said, the media programmes o­n gender equality and women’s advancement have been widely carried out to raise the people’s awareness, particularly in men. Vietnamese women themselves now better understand their social position.  Finland Minister of Labour Anni Sinnemaki said at the seminar that her country is highly appreciated in gender equality. The cooperation between Vietnam and Finland is expected to contribute to sector and the two countries’ relations.

The Hanoi Times - An investment in women’s development and healthcare is an investment in the happiness of every family and the prosperity of every nation, said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan at a meeting held in Hanoi on July 10 to mark World Population Day (July 11)In his keynote speech, Nhan highlighted the role of population management in the process of national industrialisation and modernisation and declared that the Vietnamese State is willing and eager to aid the advancement of women.

The Hanoi Times - From April 1, customers will receive free environmentally-friendly delivery bags in some of Hanoi’s supermarkets to help reduce the use of plastic bags, according to Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Association.