Check out the news you should not miss today:

Politics

-- A scientific and technological human resources training center, a symbol of science and technology cooperation between Vietnam and Laos, was inaugurated in Vientiane on Sunday, witnessed by Vietnamese  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Laotian counterpart Thoonglun Sisulit.

-- Chairwoman of the lawmaking National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan visited needy households and victims of Agent Orange in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang on Sunday, presenting gifts to 100 families and 200 children with disabilities to celebrate Tet, or the Lunar New Year.

Society

-- A severe cold spell continued to hit northern Vietnam early today, February 5, with temperatures in Sa Pa and Mau Son dropping to below zero degrees Celsius and snowfall in the forecast.

-- A father, his son and daughter drowned when their boat capsized in the northern province of Bac Giang on Sunday, with a man who was trying to help them also losing his life.

-- Police in the southern province of Binh Duong are hunting for a suspect who walked straight into a local gold shop, breaking some boxes with a hammer and fleeing with some gold bullion and jewelry on Sunday night.

-- Rach Mieu, one of the main bridges connecting Ho Chi Minh City with the Mekong Delta, was packed with vehicles over the weekend, raising concern that the structure will become even more overloaded during the Lunar New Year holiday next week.

Business

-- Masan Group held a groundbreaking ceremony on Sunday for a massive VND1 trillion (US$44 million) meat processing complex in an industrial park in the northern province of Ha Nam.

-- Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) has plans to make its initial public offering (IPO) in mid-2018, with an expected charter capital of $630 million, the Vietnam News Agency reported on Sunday.

Sports

-- The Vietnamese U23 team attended a fan meeting in Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday, one week after returning from China as heroes with the second place at the 2018 AFC U23 Championship.