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Each morning, we select some of the most important stories from the capital, the rest of Vietnam and beyond, and digest them into short, accessible links so you can easily keep up with current affairs.

Hanoi

- Students make paving materials from plastic bags. [Dan Tri]

- Authorities apathetic as Red River is sand-mined to death. [VnExpress]

Vietnam

- Tropical depression changes direction towards Philippines. [SGGP]

- Ha Tinh seek scientific help to deal with unknown insect. [Dan Tri]

- Hong Kong firms seek to import rice from Can Tho. [Vietnam+]

- Vietnam ranks first in tea suppliers of Taiwan. [SGGP]

- Vietnam customs to confiscate Volkswagen car with illicit ‘nine-dash line’ map. [Tuoi Tre]

Other

- The environmental toll of cremating the dead. [National Geographic]

- Microsoft Japan says four-day work week boosted staff productivity by 40 per cent. [Straits Times]

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