Check out what is in the news today

Politics

-- Vietnamese defense minister General Ngo Xuan Lich and his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoygu agreed to beef up ties in national defense during the latter’s two-day visit to the Southeast Asian nation, which wrapped up today, January 24.  

Society

-- Border guards in the southernmost province of Ca Mau have seized 114 trafficked pangolins weighing a total of 780kg before handing the animals over to forest rangers to release them back into the wild.

-- Thirteen youths tested positive for drugs during a police crackdown on a hotel in Bien Hoa City, approximately 30km from Ho Chi Minh City.

-- Police in Hoc Mon District, Ho Chi Minh City revealed on Tuesday they were investigating a case in which a young man was found dead early Monday with his severed left hand nearby. The victim had allegedly been slashed brutally by two other young men during a brawl.

Business

-- Many Vietnamese travel firms have offered tours to China for the 2018 AFC U23 Championship final, in which Vietnam will take on Uzbekistan on Saturday.

-- Nguyen Bon, chairman of the People’s Committee of Dak Nong Province in the Central Highlands, has revealed the locality had sought permission from Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to build a dual-purpose airport and a railway after 2020 to facilitate transport in the area.

-- Apricot blossom growers in Ho Chi Minh City have been on edge as their flowers, a hallmark decoration for the Lunar New Year holiday, had bloomed prematurely due to persistent rain and high humidity over the past several days.

-- Zinc Oxide Vietnam, a member of Korea Zinc Group, on Tuesday broke ground on a plant to process and recycle oven dust in Tan Thanh District, Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province, approximately 120 km from Ho Chi Minh City.

Lifestyle

-- A poster collection of truc chi (Trucchigraphy), a paper embossing art originating in Vietnam, created by a young female artist which had earlier been honored with a top international award has nabbed another prize at a contest organized by New York-based Graphis design magazine.