The planted forest area in Vietnam reached 128,800 hectares in the first eight months of this year, a year-on-year decline of 8.7 percent, due to floods in northern mountainous provinces in August.

 The French embassy and the French Development Agency (AFD) will provide a funding worth 120,000 EUR for a technical assistance project on assessing the status of the air environment in Hanoi.

A technical delegates’ meeting and draw for team sports at the fifth Asian Beach Games (ABG5) took place in central Da Nang city on September 5. 

 Temporary anti-dumping duties will be levied on some coated steel products imported from China and the Republic of Korea (RoK) from September 16, 2016 through January 13, 2017. 

 Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion has announced that his country will provide 15 million CAD to help small- and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam with initiatives and technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

 Vietnam’s leaders shared the joy of entering the 2016-2017 school year with millions of students across the country at opening ceremonies held on September 5 morning. 

Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion has suggested Canada, Vietnam and other signatories to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change join hands to achieve the target of limiting the planet’s warming to below 2 degrees Celsius.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is due to leave Hanoi on September 6 for Vientiane, the capital of Laos, to attend the 28th and 29th ASEAN Summit and related high-level meetings.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will pay an official visit to China and attend the 13th China-ASEAN Expo and the 13th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Nanning from September 10-15. 

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc hosted a reception in Hanoi on September 5 for newly-accredited Danish Ambassador to Vietnam Charlotte Laursen. 

Vietnam wishes to enhance the multi-faceted cooperation with Canada, President Tran Dai Quang told visiting Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion in Hanoi on September 5.

Issues related to the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the building of the Code of Conduct (COC) will be submitted to the upcoming ASEAN-China Summit in Vientiane.

VietNamNet Bridge - A series of phishing attacks in which bank account owners lost billions of dong have cast a shadow on Vietnam’s e-commerce market, estimated to have total value of $4 billion.

French President Francois Hollande on September 5 started his three-day State visit to Vietnam at the invitation of President Tran Dai Quang.

The Vietnamese government has many times vowed to boost the equitisation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), but the process has remained sluggish.

Foreign banks are increasing their presence in Vietnam through various forms by establishing 100% foreign-owned banks or opening branches. Once the TPPtakes effect, foreign banks will have more advantages in Vietnam. 

 Many public hospitals in provinces have struggled to keep their doctors, particularly experienced and qualified medical practitioners.

The deforestation cases found recently show problems at supervising agencies.

Southern Ba Ria Vung Tau province called for the implementation of a total of 170 delayed projects at a conference on August 30.

VietNamNet Bridge - While some scientists believe Japanese sea mud treatment technology would help clean the central coast, others think it is unsuited to Vietnam’s conditions.