Many commercial banks have released their third quarter financial reports with profit rising sharply despite huge risk provisions, Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reports.

 Vietnam used more than US$22 billion in official development assistance (ODA) in the five years ending 2015 but another US$22 billion was left unused, says a Government report to the National Assembly (NA).

 VietNamNet Bridge – National Assembly deputies stressed the need to clarify responsibilities in the management of public assets when discussing the revised draft law on managing and using State assets on Monday.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The second session of the National Assembly yesterday continued with debates on a five year financial plan, targets and orientation for the mobilisation and use of loans as well as public debt management during 2016-2020.

 VietNamNet Bridge – More than 95 per cent of Vietnamese journalists were hindered from publishing news at least once during their career, according to a report by RED Communication announced yesterday.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Culture and Sports centre of the central city of Hoi An, in co-operation with the Tokyo Shirubakai Art Troupe, has opened a Japanese language and culture education project for primary school students.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Da Nang People’s Committee has granted licences to 29 cruise boats to operate on the Han River and on inshore routes in the Son Tra Peninsula for a year (2016-2017).

 The Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control’s permanent board and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Control for the Central region will establish two working groups to aid flood recovery in the Central provinces.

A Thai Food Week will take place on November 4-10 at the Crowne Plaza West Hanoi.

 Lotte Group will invest US$1 million to support the Vietnamese startup community over the next five years.

 The Vietnamese e-commerce market is expected to surge in the next five years, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which has set an online sales target of US$10 billion or 5 per cent of total retail sales, has said.

 Lovers of literature in Vietnam will have the chance to meet well-known French/Belgian novelist Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt on November 9 in Hanoi.

 Vietnamese plastic firms are facing fierce competition and threats of being acquired by foreign peers, experts said at a conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on November 2.

 Vietnamese businesses’ spending on environmental protection remains modest compared to their total investment and operation expenses, according to a survey released on November 2. 

 The police and relevant agencies of Ho Chi Minh City have intensified crackdowns on drug crimes this year, seizing a large volume of drugs, including 10kg of heroin and over 110kg of synthetic drugs in the last ten months. 

 Hanoi’s fire department will conduct safety checks on all 1,204 karaoke bars in the capital city following the deadly blaze on November 1 at a karaoke bar at 68 Tran Thai Tong Street that claimed 13 lives.

 ASEAN and USAID, in partnership with UL, a global safety science organisation, has announced Dr. Worajit Setthapun of Thailand as the winner of the 2016 ASEAN-US Science Prize for Women, according to the ASEAN Secretariat website. 

  National Assembly deputies on November 2 began exploring the outcomes of the implementation of socio-economic development plan in 2016, the plan for 2017 and the economic restructuring plan for 2016-2020. 

 China wants to deepen result-oriented defence cooperation with Vietnam, stated Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan during his meeting with Vietnam’s Deputy Defence Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh in Beijing on November 2.

 The Government has quickly responded to pressing issues in society since it took office earlier this year, several National Assembly (NA) deputies told the media on the sidelines of the November 2 plenary discussion.