Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen The Thao met with Alderman Alan Yarrow, Lord Mayor of the City of London in the UK, on September 11 as part of his working visit to the UK.

Vietnam defines Japan as the leading important and long-term development partner, said Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in his interview granted to major Japanese news agencies and newspapers on the threshold of his official visit to Japan.

 Senior Lieutenant General Ngo Xuan Lich, Chief of the General Department of Politics under the Vietnam People’s Army, held a talk with visiting Cambodian Minister of State General Nieng Phat in Hanoi on September 14.

 The 41st session of the 13th National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee opened in Hanoi on September 14, during which legislators are scheduled to debate several bills and laws.

 Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang and Lao Minister of Public Works and Transport Buonchanh Sinthavong signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on transport cooperation from 2016-2025 in Vientiane on September 14.

 Governor Nguyen Van Binh of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) met with the newly-appointed Asian Development Bank (ADB) Country Director in Vietnam, Eric Sidgwick, in Hanoi on September 14.

 The Parties, Governments, National Assemblies and peoples of Vietnam and Laos always treasure and give the highest priority to consolidating the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive coordination between the two countries.

 Senior officials of the Vietnam-Philippines Bilateral Cooperation Committee convened their eighth meeting in Hanoi on September 14, rejoicing at the recent progress in all-round cooperation.

 Vietnam and Australia have agreed to cooperate in criminal justice and legal enforcement during talks between visiting Minister of Public Security Tran Dai Quang and Federal Attorney-General of Australia Senator George Brandis.

 General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Nguyen Phu Trong left Hanoi on September 15 for an official visit to Japan at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

 The full texts of a draft political report by the Party Central Committee (11th tenure) and a report on the 2011-2015 socio-economic performance have been published on the mass media for public feedback from September 15 – October 31.

The State Bank has told commercial banks to remain cautious about disbursing money for transport projects developed under the mode of BOT (build, operation, transfer). Meanwhile, investors say that BOT projects have an unreasonable mechanism.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese mobile network operators have acknowledged that the mobile internet speed in too low, blaming this on the late deployment of 4G technology.

VietNamNet Bridge - People-founded schools still cannot find enough students for the 2015-2016 academic year, though the first phase of the national enrolment plan has ended.

 VietNamNet Bridge – One year ago, public kindergartens in HCM City began accepting children aged six to 18 months as requested by local authorities in a pilot programme that is expected to be expanded to all kindergartens by 2020.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Thousands of people in the southern province of Dong Nai were hit last week by the worst flooding in 20 years.

 VietNamNet Bridge – A total of 1,600ha of land is to be acquired for 300 infrastructure development projects, many of which have been on hold for decades, this year, HCM City People's Council announced.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Lovers of Ha Noi have been called upon to help preserve the city's charming beauty and cultural values with simple daily gestures.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Seventy per cent of air pollution in Ha Noi is created by the endless streams of traffic, the Centre for Environmental Monitoring has reported.

The Viet Nam Administration of Forestry and Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Co-oporation and Development have launched the "Programme on Conservation and sustainable use of forest biodiversity and ecosystems services in Viet Nam".

 VietNamNet Bridge – The revised laws on Housing and Real Estate Business, which allow foreigners to buy houses in Vietnam, were keenly lauded by the foreign community when they came into force in July 2015.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The market is held once a week in Na Meo Village, Quan Son District, Thanh Hoa Province, more than 200km west of Thanh Hoa City’s center.

VietNamNet Bridge - To enhance the competitiveness of Vietnam’s rice production and value, and bring more profits to farmers, Vietnam needs new breakthrough policies.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Domestic and foreign retailers are mulling over plans to develop a range of convenience store chains across Vietnam, in hopes of meeting rising consumer demand with this high-potential business model.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Viet Nam Railway Corporation (VNR) will sell train tickets for the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday from October 1.