WELLINGTON -- New Zealand Parliament is leading by example by taking action to cut its carbon footprint by installing solar and improving energy efficiency, Minister for Climate Change James Shaw said on Friday.

The minister confirmed that Parliamentary Services will receive support through the Clean-Powered Public Service Fund to install solar PV and LED lighting, significantly reducing the carbon footprint of the historic parliamentary estate. (New Zealand-Parliament-Carbon Cut)

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HANOI -- The State Bank of Vietnam on Friday set its daily reference exchange rate between Vietnamese dong and U.S. dollar at 23,223 Vietnamese dong per U.S. dollar, up 5 Vietnamese dong against Thursday.

With the current trading band of plus or minus 3 percent, the ceiling exchange rate is 23,920 Vietnamese dong per U.S. dollar, and the floor rate is 22,526 Vietnamese dong per U.S. dollar, said the State Bank of Vietnam. (Vietnam-Reference Exchange)

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CANBERRA -- Australia's Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has declared that the government will not embark on budget repair until the unemployment rate falls back below 6 percent.

With the Australian budget for financial year 2020/21 set to be handed down on Oct. 6, Frydenberg said recently that paying down the deficit while unemployment remained high would be "damaging" to the economy. (Canberra-Australia-Economy)

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KIGALI -- Rwanda named 24 baby mountain gorillas at its annual mountain gorilla naming ceremony Kwita Izina held Thursday virtually for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are over 1,000 mountain gorillas living in the world, more than half of which live in the Virunga Mountains, and the remainder can be found in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda, according to World Wildlife Fund. (Rwanda-Mountain Gorillas-Naming)