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Politics

-- During her reception for Chief Justice of the Lao Supreme People’s Court Khamphanh Sithidampha in Hanoi on Thursday, chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan urged deeper cooperation between the judicial systems of Vietnam and Laos.

Society

-- The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training has proposed the municipal People’s Committee encourage private kindergartens to install surveillance cameras with the consent of parents in order to prevent child abuse.

-- Market watchdogs in the southern province of Binh Duong on Thursday detected 300kg of expired frozen buffalo meat and chicken as well as more than two tons of frozen meats of unknown origin at a company supplying meals to workers at many other firms.

-- The People's Procuracy of the south-central province of Khanh Hoa on Thursday said it had approved a decision to prosecute Dinh Tien Su, general manager of Bavico Ltd. Co., for organizing prostitution for 25 hostesses with Chinese guests at Bavico Nha Trang Hotel.

-- Leading health experts from Cuba will work at the Vietnam-Cuba Dong Hoi Hospital in the north-central province of Quang Binh from the beginning of this year, pursuant to the terms of an agreement between the Vietnamese province and the Cuban Ministry of Public Health.

Business

-- Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has recently requested a clarification on the cessation of Vietnam’s first-ever soda water production plant which cost VND2.3 trillion (more than US$101 million) in the central province of Quang Nam.

Lifestyle

-- In recent years, Ho Chi Minh City has seen a boom in the number of pet coffee shops where customers are free to play with dogs and cats as long as they pay for drinks costing from VND40,000 ($1.7) to VND70,000 ($3).

-- A culinary festival on Vietnamese and international foods is expected to take place at Le Van Tam Park in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, from January 11 to 14, with a focus on “The Journey of How Cuisine Connects the World.”