Here are the news stories you should not miss today, October 31:

Politics

-- General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Xi Jinping received Hoang Binh Quan, head of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations and special envoy of the Party chief, Nguyen Phu Trong, in Beijing on Monday.

Society

-- The water level in the Saigon River is forecast to rise due to high tide in the next few days, posing a high risk of inundation at several locations in Ho Chi Minh City, the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting reported, adding that a low-pressure zone in the southern part of the East Vietnam Sea may also strengthen, causing bad weather patterns in the city.

-- A fire broke out at a wood company in the southern province of Binh Duong at around 11:00 am on Monday, causing damage estimated at billions of dong (VND1 billion = US$44,070). The flames were put out about an hour later.

-- The Superior People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City asserted on Monday that the Drug Administration of Vietnam under the Ministry of Health is also responsible for the import of fake cancer medicines of Vietnamese pharmaceutical firm VN Pharma.

-- Police in the north-central province of Nghe An confirmed on Monday evening they had arrested two people for producing and trading fake A92 gasoline.

-- Four people were injured after the roof of an under-construction supermarket gave way in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau on Monday.

-- An 11-month-old child in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang died on Monday after swallowing a balloon.

Business

-- A variety of tours to central Vietnam have been introduced on the occasion of the 2017 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit week in Da Nang from November 6 to 11.

-- According to the National Financial Supervisory Commission, profits of Vietnam’s banking system in January-September reached VND47 trillion ($2 billion), up 39 percent year-on-year.

Lifestyle

-- Two contestants from Vietnam and Thailand were named the winners of the International Guitar Festival in Hanoi, which ran from October 27 to 29.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!