Catch up on the news in Vietnam today:

Politics

-- Binh Duong Province, southern Vietnam and the United States’ Nebraska state signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the twinning relationship, as part of the Binh Duong Province chairman’s ongoing visit to the state to promote trade and investment. His trip to Nebraska commenced on Monday.

-- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on October 4 sent his congratulatory message to Sato Kilman on his appointment as Prime Minister of Vanuatu, reported the Vietnam News Agency.

Society

-- The Ho Chi Minh City administration has approved a proposal made by the municipal Department of Planning and Architecture to renovate and revitalize the Saigon River bank in Thu Duc City to make room for an entertainment space, which will feature a pedestrian path for sightseeing.

-- The Quang Ngai Province administration on Wednesday imposed a fine of over VND850 million (US$35,000) on the owner of two fishing boats as he failed to buy insurance for sailors, and to show a license for seafood exploitation.

Business

-- Over 300 exhibitors from 20 countries and territories are showcasing a wide range of advanced metalworking tools and machines at the 16th edition of Vietnam's International Exhibition on Machine Tools and Metalworking Technologies for Production Upgrade (Metalex Vietnam 2023), which opened in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday.

-- The gloomy real estate market has thrown many property developers into financial distress, while they are incurring bank, bond and salary debts, insiders told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

-- Vietnam’s footwear export fetched over $14.8 billion between January and September, down 18.2 percent year on year, according to the General Statistics Office.

Lifestyle

-- Over 700 rowers from nine male teams in Kien Giang and Bac Lieu Provinces in the Mekong Delta region competed in Ngo (Khmer) boat races held in Giong Rieng District under Kien Giang Province on Wednesday.

-- Some 5,000 women wearing either ao dai (Vietnamese traditional costume), or ao ba ba (a traditional garment of people in the southern region) will join a parade as part of the traditional costume festival, scheduled to take place in Can Tho City on October 13 and 14.

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