Hanoi- The global financial crisis is beginning to hurt Vietnamese farmers and agricultural exporters, officials said Monday.

"The US financial crisis is hitting Vietnam," said Minister of Trade and Industry Nguyen Thanh Bien. "Our exporters will face difficulties in the near future."

Local media reported Monday that prices for pre-processed rubber sap, pepper, rice and tea all showed downward trends.

Hanoi - Greek President Karolos Papoulias met with Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet Monday at the start of a six-day visit to the south-east Asian state.

Papoulias is the first Greek president to visit Vietnam since the two countries established bilateral ties in 1975.

"Greece in very interested in promoting relations between our two countries, and proof of this is that just as we promised, we have opened a Greek embassy in your country," said Papoulias.

Hanoi  - Vietnam's stock market fell slightly Thursday as local traders sold on declines in global markets, securities experts said.

The VN-Index closed down 3.65 points, or 0.91 per cent, at 397.7, the lowest level in three months.

Market volume, however, rose to 20.6 million shares, valued at 25 million dollars, up from 14.3 million shares and 4.5 million dollars on Wednesday.

Some analysts said the volume reflected the potential for a bounce in the next few days.

Hanoi - A South Korean condiments manufacturer is disputing media claims that it violated Vietnamese environmental laws, company officials said Thursday.

Several Vietnamese newspapers Thursday ran stories accusing South Korean-owned Miwon Vietnam of intentionally discharging wastewater into the Red River.

The newspapers said Miwon's substandard treatment system had pumped out about 150 cubic metres of wastewater per day since late 2007.

The company admitted to dumping wastewater beyond legal limits and said it had voluntarily reported the amount of discharges to government authorities.

The charges were unfair, the firm said, when it was working to solve the problem.

Hanoi - Government authorities have fined the Taiwanese-owned
condiment company Vedan 7.7 million dollars for discharging thousands
of cubic meters of pollutants into a river in southern Vietnam,
officials said Wednesday.

"We have decided to punish Vedan for its violations," said Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha.

According to the decision released Tuesday, Vedan's factory in Dong

Hanoi - Authorities have detected the H5N1 avian flu virus in ducks in the central Vietnamese province of Nghe An, the third outbreak of bird flu in Vietnam since September 1, a government official said Tuesday.

Bui Quang Anh, director of Vietnam's Animal Health Department, said the outbreak had killed some 300 ducks.

"The ducks had only been vaccinated once," said Anh. "They need at least three injections to become resistant to H5N1."