Check out what is in the news today, December 20

Politics

-- A Vietnamese delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung attended an ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat on the situation of Rakhine State, Myanmar, on Monday.

-- Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc met representatives from religious organizations nationwide on Monday to listen to their opinions and proposals in a bid to better implement the law on beliefs and religion.

Society

-- A Hanoi court on Monday sentenced Nguyen Quang Vinh, a car wash attendant who crashed into and killed three people in the capital when he was driving one of his customers' car in March last year, to ten years behind bars.

-- Hanoi residents will be able to use the rapid bus transit for free in one month starting January 1, 2017 as the capital city's transport department seeks to familiarize city dwellers with the modern means of transportation.

-- The Vietnam National Satellite Center is poised to put the country's first-ever astronomical observatory, located in the south-central city of Nha Trang, into use in March 2017.

-- Border protection officers in the north-central province of Quang Binh said on Monday they had caught a Laotian illegally transporting nearly 2,000 synthetic drug pills to Vietnam.

-- The Ho Chi Minh City transport department is weighing on a plan to charge cars before they enter the city’s downtown area, a decision that sparks mixed responses.

Business

-- Vietnam Electricity, the country's power giant, is poised to inaugurate a VND35.7 trillion (US$1.59 billion) hydropower plant in the northern province of Lai Chau today, December 20, after six years of construction.

-- Potential designs to be used for the new Long Thanh International Airport in the southern province of Dong Nai are scheduled to be on display in Ho Chi Minh City for public feedback between January 13 and 23, the project management board, managed by Vietnam Airlines, said Monday.

-- The Ho Chi Minh City administration has called on the Ministry of Transport to select a VND62 trillion ($2.77 billion) project to develop yet another subway system, connecting Ben Thanh Market in the city’s center and the outer district of Binh Chanh, as the recipient of Japan’s official development assistance.

Education

-- Vietnam claimed the first-ever silver medal, and four consolation prizes, at the 10^th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics, which wrapped up in the Indian city of Bhubaneswar on Monday.

Sports

-- Vietnamese club Hoang Anh Gia Lai will face Thailand in a group stage match at the Under-21 International Cup, held by local Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper, at 6:00 pm today, December 20, in Ho Chi Minh City.

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