Here are the leading news stories about Vietnam you should not miss today, November 4

Politics

-- Colombia looks to foster relations with Vietnam in multiple fields, including economic development and trade, newly-accredited Chargé d’affaires of Colombia to Vietnam, Claudia Liliana Zambrano Naranjo said as she was received by Vietnamese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc in Hanoi on Thursday.

-- Vietnam wants to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) soon, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan at a reception in Hanoi on Thursday.

-- Director of the US Peace Corps Carrie Hessler-Radelet will conclude his five-day visit to Vietnam today, November 4, during which he discussed the schedule to realize the program where the Peace Corps volunteers will teach English in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with local officials.

Society

-- A total of eight fishermen have gone missing at seas due to foul weather in the north and central parts of Vietnam in the first three days of this month, the Vietnam National Committee for Search and Rescue said Thursday.

-- More than 14,660 cars have been fined a total of VND27 billion (US$1.21 million) for speeding inside the Saigon River Tunnel in Ho Chi Minh City, according to the tunnel's  Management Center.

-- Three Vietnamese nationals, allegedly members of a trade promotional trip led by the Ministry of Industry and Trade to Germany between November 1 and 23, have reportedly fled the group for illegally staying in the European country.

-- The number of Zika contraction cases in Ho Chi Minh City has risen to 21 from the 17 cases recorded last week, the municipal administration confirmed Thursday.

-- Hanoi authorities have temporarily licensing new karaoke parlors, in wake of the blaze that killed 13 in a karaoke lounge on Tuesday.

 Business

-- Vu Dinh Duy, former general director of PVtex, the operator of the loss-making yarn mill in northern Vietnam, has not come to work since late October without permission from his superior, the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

-- Vietnam will seek new economic growth models in the future, but never at the expense of environment, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said at the opening session of the Vietnam Summit 2016, an annual conference on external economics, in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday.

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