Red Cross held its annual blood donation festival in Ha Noi, hoping to collect 200 units of blood as demand increases towards the end of the year; over 1.2 million units of blood have been collected since the beginning of the year

80th National Day has been marked with largest military parade in decades at Ba Dinh Square, featuring over 200 land vehicles, 30 aircraft, and more than 40 naval vessels, with international contingents from China, Russia, Laos and Cambodia

The largest administrative reform in decades has been announced: Vietnam will merge provinces and eliminate the district level, reducing local government units by up to 50%, as part of wider governance restructuring

Plans have started for the evacuation of over half a million people and all boats are ordered to stay ashore as Vietnam braces for an intensifying Typhoon Kajiki

Plans to ban fossil-fuel motorcycles and mopeds in central Hanoi have been announced to reduce pollution; The move supports the shift to electric vehicles, led by local firm VinFast, but raises concerns over its social impact on low-income workers