Check out the can’t-miss news for today, February 3:

Politics

-- Today marks the 87^th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party in Vietnam (February 3, 1930).

-- Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on Thursday sent a message of congratulations to Rex Tillerson on his appointment as Secretary of State of the U.S.

-- With the week-long Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday ending this past Thursday, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has issued a statement demanding ministries and localities 'forget' playful behavior and refocus on their assigned duties.

Society

-- An unseasonal, highly unusual rainstorm walloped Ho Chi Minh City and some Mekong Delta provinces on Thursday afternoon, inundating several streets in the region just six days into the new lunar year.

-- Traffic accidents claimed an average of 29 lives each day during the week ending February 2, the Lunar New Year holiday period in Vietnam, the National Committee for Traffic Safety said in its final report regarding the holiday on Thursday.

-- The driver of a sleeper bus carrying 29 passengers on a north to south journey was found to be operating the vehicle without a driver’s license after being pulled over by police in the north-central province of Quang Binh on Thursday.

-- A wanted Australian national in hiding for the past 15 years has been arrested by police in the southern Vietnamese city of Can Tho after allegedly colluding with a U.S. man to swindle at least three local people out of more than VND6 billion (US$267,857).

-- Police in the central province of Quang Nam announced Friday that they are investigating the cause of a fire that engulfed the bus manufacturing section of a local facility operated by automaker THACO the day before. There were no casualties and reports of financial damages are not immediately available.

Business

-- Ho Chi Minh City will cooperate with Vinamilk to increase the productivity of dairy cattle in the southern metropolis to 30 liters of milk per animal per day, from the current 17 liters per day, the municipal Party chief Dinh La Thang said during his visit to the country's largest dairy production plant on Thursday.

-- Vietnam began issuing online visas with 30-day validity for foreign visitors on February 1, with approval granted within three days of application.

Sports

-- Numerous international badminton stars, including the world’s No.1 mixed doubles Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen, are slated to arrive in Vietnam in mid-February to attend the Robot Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships 2017, running from February 14 to 19 in Ho Chi Minh City.