Check out what is in the news today, April 21

Politics

-- Vice U.S. President Mike Pence has confirmed President Donald Trump will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vietnam in November.

-- Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his wife will visit Cambodia and Laos next week at the invitation of his counterpart Hun Sen and his spouse Thongloun Sisoulith.

Society

-- Drastic measures should be taken to limit the number of motorbikes and ban its use altogether in Ho Chi Minh City by 2030 in a bid to alleviate traffic congestion, experts proposed at a seminar on Thursday.

-- Villagers of a commune in outer Hanoi, who have held law enforcement officers hostage since last weekend, refused to attend a much-awaited dialogue held in My Duc District Party’s Committee office on Thursday with the capital’s chairman Nguyen Duc Chung in order to resolve the escalating land dispute, insisting he talk to them right in their locality.

-- A two-story house in Quy Nhon City in the north-central province of Binh Dinh collapsed on Thursday morning, hurling an octogenarian man to his death, with a preliminary investigation pointing to the improperly built foundation of a next-door house as the culprit.

Business

-- Up to 675 flights operated by airlines in Vietnam missed their scheduled departure within a week from April 12 to 18. -- Nguyen Quoc Hung, from the State Bank of Vietnam, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Thursday that the country’s outstanding credit balance on hi-tech agricultural projects has amounted to merely VND3.7 trillion (US$162.8 million) so far, though several banks had pledged large loans for the sector.

-- Tran Thanh Hai, deputy head of the export-import agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, told a meeting on Thursday that Vietnamese farmers enjoy a mere one percent of their exported produce value, as the country’s export remains heavily reliant on the overseas market.  

Education

-- A plan to comprehensively transform Vietnam’s national education unveiled earlier this month has met with concerns from local experts and educators, with some even suggesting the country adopt high school curricula from developed countries.

Lifestyle

-- A festival meant to promote German culture and foster the economic and educational ties between the European nation and Vietnam will be held for the first time on Saturday at Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.

-- A Vietnamese-Japanese music exchange program, slated to take place on Saturday night in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, will feature performances by celebrated artists from the two countries and raise funds for an orphanage in neighboring Binh Duong Province.

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