A special taskforce has been established to supervise the implementation of commitments to deal with consequences of the environmental disaster in central Vietnam, caused by Ha Tinh Formosa Steel in April, over a period ofthree years.

The training ship Kojima of the Japanese Coast Guard with 71 officers, sailors, and apprentices led by colonel Hiroyuki Nanaura and captain Hiroshi Kai landed at the Tien Sa port of Da Nang city on July 25th.

 The Ministry of Defence's Command of Border Guard officially launched its one-stop portal to link with the Viet Nam National Single Window (VNSW) on Thursday.

  Airlines using up to 10 aircraft on international routes are required to have minimum investment capital of VND700 billion (US$31.3 million) to establish and maintain its airline service.

 The 49th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM 49) released a joint communiqué in Vientiane, Laos on July 24, showing the ministers’ serious concern over recent and ongoing developments in the East Sea.

 Former Argentine Ambassador to Thailand and Japan Felipe Frydman on July 24 voiced his support for the recent East Sea-related ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, the Netherland.

Most of the National Assembly deputies at the plenary session on the morning of July 25 agreed that in 2017, the parliament should focus its supervision on pressing issues that are of great interest and have major impact on society and the economy.

 Tran Dai Quang was re-elected as President of Vietnam for the 2016 – 2021 tenure during a plenum of the 14th National Assembly (NA)’s first session on July 25.

 Public debt may exceed the cap of 65 per cent of GDP in the second half of this year, the ongoing National Assembly (NA) meeting heard on July 21.

 A cave in the central province of Nghe An has become a cool hideaway for hundreds of people escaping the summer heat.

 The HCMC Party Committee will establish a steering committee on smart city development and consider this to be the mission and determination of the city Party Committee, government and citizens.

 A lawyer for a foreign auto maker in Vietnam has called for the repeal of the current Law on Investment due to its complexity hindering business activities.

The trial of Vietnam Construction Bank’s former chairman Pham Cong Danh and 35 co-defendants kicked off last Tuesday, with a preliminary hearing on allegations of fraud that cost bank creditors over VND9.1 trillion ($417 million) over three years.

 The Vietnam Creative Festival 2016, which seeks to promote creative sectors in the country, will be organised in HCM City at the beginning of October this year.

VietNamNet Bridge – On Sunday July 24, the customs officers at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City and the police arrested a 37-year-old female Australian Vietnamese with 5kg of heroin in her luggage.

  Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida called for peaceful settlement and compliance to international law in disputes in the East Sea when meeting with his Lao counterpart Saleumxay Kommasith on July 24.

VietNamNet Bridge - Sofitel Plaza Hanoi and Duxton Saigon have been transferred to new owners at a time when many new hotel brands have opened in Hanoi and HCMC. 

 The seventh Foreign Ministerial Meeting of the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) issued a joint statement and a MGC Action Plan for 2016-2018 in Vientiane, Laos on July 24.

 Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh held bilateral meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Singapore and Indonesia on July 24 on the sidelines of the 49 th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Vientiane.

VietNamNet Bridge - The granting of licenses to Formosa and Lee & Man to discharge waste water appears to have violated the 2015 Environmental Protection Law and the 2013 Water Natural Resources Law.