What you need to know in Vietnam today:

Society

-- Thousands of people from the southwestern provinces of Vietnam flocked back to Ho Chi Minh City after the three-day New Year holiday on Sunday, causing serious congestion. The number of vehicles traveling on National Highway 60 was five times that on normal days.

-- Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Sunday opened the improved part of National Highway 1 connecting Hanoi to the northern province of Bac Giang, whose cost was VND4,213 billion (US$192.15 million).  

-- About 124 traffic accidents happened on the New Year holiday in Vietnam (from January 1 to 3), killing 65 people and injuring 94 others, according to the National Traffic Safety Committee. Road accidents accounted for 121 cases.

-- Three residents in the Era Town Apartment Complex in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City were attacked by a group of strangers on Sunday, while they and tens of others were protesting against the wrongdoings in the management of the buildings.

-- Police in Vietnam have carried out an investigation into an illegal kidney trade ring and discovered that its members in the central province of Thua Thien – Hue received help from some doctors of Hue Central Hospital. Officers have also arrested Nguyen Viet Dung for being involved in the crime.

Business

-- Vietnam’s trade deficit with China in 2015 was recorded at $32.3 billion, seeing the highest ever increase of 12.5 percent, the General Statistics Office of Vietnam said. The trade gap was most evident in the trading of metal products, automobiles, garments, and others.

-- The State Bank of Vietnam announced on Sunday that it will issue the central exchange rate for VND/USD daily to provide a basis for other banks in the country to trade the two currencies.

Lifestyle

-- The first meteor shower of 2016, Quadrantids, can be observed in Vietnam after midnight on January 4, with the highest frequency of 120 meteors per hour, according to the Vietnam Astronomy & Cosmology Association.