VIETNAM TODAY

Municipal officials are calling for punishment for those running illegal wharves that have been operating along rivers and canals in the city for a long time despite orders to shut down.

Tens of residents of the luxury Pacific Place building in Hanoi has held a protest against the management board for continuing with more construction.

Negotiators from 12 member countries of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) yesterday gathered in Brunei for the 19th round of TPP negotiations, with Japan joining for the first time after it became a TPP member last month.

An August 22 high resolution weather forecast conference in Hanoi has warned Vietnam is facing higher temperatures, lower summer rainfall totals, stronger storms, and rising sea levels from now until 2050.

An international human rights group has chronicled attacks on 42 churches, dozens of Christian institutions and schools as well as homes and business owned by Christians.

Credit organisations expect 2013’s consumer price index to reach 6.77 percent, slightly higher than the Government’s 6–6.5 percent target.

The Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in the central province of Quang Binh has been expanded to 123,326 ha from the previous 85,754 ha under a recent decision of the Prime Minister.

Many bird sellers are making unethical profits during festivals by harming the birds they sell so they can find and resell them to other customers.

Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai has urged some northern provinces to speed up land clearence and resettlement of local residents so that work can begin immediately on the key Son La and Lai Chau hydropower plants.

Prosecutors accused ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai of using his wife and son as intermediaries in netting more than $4 million in corruption, as the disgraced populist stood trial Thursday.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement will create both opportunities and challenges for the local agricultural, garments and footwear sectors, a seminar was told in Ho Chi Minh City on August 21.

Vietnam hopes the US President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief will continue providing resources, including technical assistance, to HIV/AIDS prevention in Vietnam to make it more effective.

The 11th East Asia Forum kicked off in Kyoto, Japan on August 21, focusing on greater tourism cooperation among member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Republic of Korean President Park Geun-hye will pay an official visit to Vietnam from September 7-11 to discuss bilateral cooperation, especially in economics, with Vietnamese leaders.

South Korea says North Korea has accepted its request that talks on reuniting families separated by war be held at a border village.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has called on Bac Giang Province officials to boost applications of science and technology in agricultural production to create high-value products and lift exports.

The Ministry of Transport just kick-started the auctioning process relevant to Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong expressway’s toll collection right handover.

Japan will dramatically raise its warning about the severity of a toxic water leak at the Fukushima nuclear plant, its nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday, its most serious action since the plant was destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami

The Government Office has lent its support to a proposal allowing foreign firms a greater stake holding in listed companies, the Dau tu chung khoannewspaper has reported.