Here are the top news stories about Vietnam you might have missed over the weekend.

Politics

-- China’s recent announcement of a fishing ban in the East Vietnam Sea violates Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, Spokesman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Hai Binh said Saturday.

Society

-- The locomotive of the SE22 train heading to the central city of Hue from Ho Chi Minh City was severely damaged, and both legs of the train driver were broken, after it crashed into a truck in the southern province of Dong Nai on Sunday.

-- Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper and the World Bank in Vietnam have jointly launched a writing contest in which Vietnamese citizens aged 15 and above are encouraged to describe their expectations for Vietnam’s development in the next 20 years. Entries are accepted between May 18 and June 28.

-- The new statue of late President Ho Chi Minh, placed in front of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee in District 1, was unveiled on Sunday, only two days ahead of his 125^th birthday.

Business

-- Vietnam imported 8,860 vehicles from China in the first fourth months of this year, a massive 289 percent increase from the same period last year, according to the Vietnam Customs.

-- Environmental police in the south-central province of Binh Thuan on Sunday caught a facility, run by Ly Le Chau, red-handed using phosphoric acid, an industrial chemical used in rust removal, to turn white sugar into yellow sugar.

-- Vietnamese lender LienVietPostBank will earmark VND10 trillion (US$466.03 million) for growing macadamia crops and other agricultural produce in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong in the next five to ten years, according a deal it signed Sunday with the provincial administration.

-- International tourists collectively spent $8.39 billion when visiting Vietnam in 2014, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

-- Police seized many drugs and weapons as they raided the Top 9 bar in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City at first light on Sunday.

Lifestyle

-- Thousands of students in Ho Chi Minh City participated in a festival on Sunday to mark the 125^th birthday of late President Ho Chi Minh City (May 19, 1890 - May 19, 2015).

-- A graffiti exhibition aimed to raise awareness of abortion by Vietnamese artist Soor One is running at the 3A Station, an art space in Ho Chi Minh City, until June 2.

Sports

-- Vietnam and North Korea drew 1-1 in their football friendly in Hanoi on Sunday.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!