American singer Ariana Grande suddenly cancelled her live show in Vietnam on August 23 evening, just about five hours before the start of the concert, saying health problems were behind her decision.

 Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim left Hanoi on August 24 afternoon, concluding his three-day official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The Vietnamese Government supports the Vietnamese and Australian defence ministries to strengthen practical and sustainable ties to match bilateral strategic partnership.

Vietnam and Australia have agreed to set up long-term cooperation in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing under an MoU signed in Can Tho on August 24 within the framework of the APEC Food Security Week.  

Vietnam’s UNESCO on August 24 signed an agreement to establish two category 2 centres for mathematics and physics.

FAO will continue accompanying Vietnam and supporting the country to implement underway programmes and projects, Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific Kundhavi Kadiresan has said.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc hosted a reception on August 24 for US Secretary of Health and Human Services Thomas Price who has been in Vietnam to attend the APEC High-level Meeting on Health and the Economy. 

Defence Minister Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich and his Australian counterpart Marise Payne agreed to consider the organisation of the first deputy ministerial defence policy dialogue and Australia’s support for Vietnam’s deployment of UN peace keeping forces.

 Vietnamese swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien on August 24 won a gold medal in the women’s 200m individual medley at the 29th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 29) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Vietnam’s Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President of Myanmar Htin Kyaw agreed to establish the bilateral comprehensive cooperative partnership during their talks in Naypyidaw on August 24. 

 Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh has suggested Governor of Japan’s Fukushima prefecture Masao Uchibori encourage local firms to invest in Vietnam. 

 Vietnam won the title in the women’s football at the 29th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 29) after defeating the hosts Malaysia 6-0 in the last match on August 24.

 SEA Games 29: Vietnam secures second place with 37 golds

 A Vietnamese culinary month was jointly launched by the Vietnamese Embassy in the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Lotte Seoul Hotel on August 24 in the RoK’s capital city of Seoul.

 APEC officials and leaders of agricultural businesses in the region met on Thursday to discuss responsible use of resources that will ensure long-term food production and decent living standards for everyone.

 State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in line for equitisation and listing should review their financial situation and re-evaluate their assets before going public, experts say.

 Even as local farmers contend with falling prices and struggle to sell their produce, the country is spending millions of dollars buying imported agricultural products.

 A whopping 1930 conditions on licensing, registration and operations of businesses could be removed under the latest proposal made by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

Private Vietnamese businesses are bearing the burden of high business expenses and struggling with increased pressure from new taxes and fees already adopted or being planned by authorities.

 Many Vietnamese food producers have reported breaches and misuse of their brand images, with not only domestic firms but also foreign firms violating Vietnamese producers’ intellectual property (IP) rights.