What you need to know in Vietnam today:

Politics

-- Vietnamese State President Truong Tan Sang and his wife will pay a state-level visit to Germany from November 24 to 26 at the invitation of German President Joachim Gauck, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a recent announcement.

Society

-- Vietnamese police have recently arrested on grounds of urgency three suspects of a ring which has provided wiretapping equipment to steal phone user data since 2012. It has also set up many websites to promote and sold the data to thousands of people.

-- The number of passengers choosing buses to travel in Ho Chi Minh City has been decreasing due to the increase of private vehicles, according to what was discussed at a recent conference in Ho Chi Minh City.

Business

-- On Wednesday, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued a dispatch requiring petrol companies to slightly lower their prices. Specifically, the prices of petrol products in the market are required not to be higher than VND17,054 (US$0.76) per liter for RON 92 gasoline and not to exceed VND16,559 ($0.74 ) per liter for E5 gasoline.

Education

-- Da Lat University in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong on Wednesday granted the Honorary Professor title to Yoo Tae Hoon, the school’s instructor in South Korea studies. Prof. Yoo was the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Vietnam from 2003 to 2005. Besides his expertise, Prof. Yoo has also spent time studying Vietnamese culture, as well as working as a consultant for trade promotion between Lam Dong and South Korean partners.

Lifestyle

-- The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Wednesday introduced the National Tourism Year 2016 under the theme of exploring the southern region. A series of tourism promotion activities will be organized in Mekong Delta provinces, Hanoi, Hue, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City during the year, including workshops on developing tourism in the Mekong Delta, cuisine festivals, fruit fests, and more.