Politics

-- Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, chairwoman of Vietnam's lawmaking National Assembly, visited naval units stationed in the Cam Ranh military base in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa on Sunday.

Society

--  A new national flag tower, located at the point where the Hong (Red) River enters Vietnam from China, was inaugurated in A Mu Sung Commune in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai on Sunday.

-- Emirates Global Aluminium has signed a three-year agreement with state-run Vietnaemse goal giant Vinacomin for a supply of 300,000 metric tons of alumina per year to the United Arab Emirates, the Dubai-based company said Sunday.

-- The Vietnam Book of Records (Vietkings), as authorized by the World Records Union, on Sunday recognized a golden-everlasting statue of Avalokiteśvara, in Linh Phuoc Pagoda in the Central Highlands city of Da Lat, as the largest of its kind the world.

-- A Hamilton-class cutter, the eighth such vessel the U.S. Coast Guard had transferred to the Vietnam Coast Guard, arrived at the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau last weekend, after a launching ceremony in Hawaii in May.

-- A cold snap that has been chilling northern Vietnam since the middle of last week strengthened on Sunday night, sending the lowest temperatures in Hanoi to 9-12 degrees Celsius, while also spreading its effect to the southern region.

Business

-- Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Co Ltd (BSR), the operator of Dung Quat Refinery, will lauch an initial public offering (IPO), believed to be Vietnam’s biggest-ever, on January 17 next year, hoping to raise some VND4 trillion (US$157.4 million).

-- The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has green-lighted a VND5.2 trillion ($230 million) plan to upgrade Con Dao Airport on the namesake islands off the southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, to make it capable of receiving bigger aircraft than only the ART72 plane today.

-- Vietnam Beverage Co Ltd, a Vietnam unit of Thai Beverage, has registered to buy 53.59 percent of Vietnamese brewer Sabeco, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing Vietnam’s trade ministry.

Education

-- The Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh City and the University of California Los Angeles inked a memorandum of understanding in Washington D.C. on Sunday (local time), toward promoting scientific research cooperation.