Good morning from Vietnam!

Society

-- Those who litter or urinate in public will be fined up to VND7 million (US$313), starting February 1, according to a recent decree by the Vietnamese government.

-- A man from northern Vietnam’s Bac Giang Province who had his neck pierced through by a knife during a fight and was hospitalized with severe blood loss has been saved after a three-hour operation by doctors at a provincial hospital.

-- No fatal traffic accident was reported in Ho Chi Minh City during the five-day Tet, or the Lunar New Year holiday, in contrast to 118 people who lost their lives in such accidents across the country in the same week, according to Huynh Trung Phong, head of the city’s road and rail traffic police.

-- A Vietnam Railways train from Quy Nhon City en route Ho Chi Minh City collided with a long-haul bus in Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province, located in southern Vietnam, killing two and injuring seven others, most of whom are relatives who were on their way to the beach city of Vung Tau for a vacation.

Lifestyle

-- A number of traditional springtime festivals will commence today in northern Vietnamese provinces, ranging from a Buddhist festival at the Huong Pagoda in Hanoi’s My Duc District to a controversial pig-slaughter fest in Bac Ninh Province.

Business

-- The book streets that were connected to Nguyen Hue Flower Street grossed VND3.37 billion ($150,500) in revenue during Tet, welcoming nearly one million visitors over the course of eight days, according to the organizers.

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