Read what is in the news today, October 24!

Politics

-- Leaders of China, Laos, Cuba, and Russia have congratulated Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, on his Tuesday election as the State President of Vietnam for the remainder of the 2016-2021 tenure, following the death of his predecessor Tran Dai Quang in September.

-- The Embassy of Israel in Vietnam has announced it would hold a series of activities this Saturday in collaboration with the People’s Committee of Hanoi to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Vietnam-Israel diplomatic ties.

-- Nguyen Manh Hung, who has been acting Minister of Information and Communication since July replacing his scandal-hit predecessor Truong Minh Tuan, was sworn into office on Wednesday by the lawmaking National Assembly.

Society

-- Ha Tien, a town of 81,000 people in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang, has been approved for an upgrade into a city from November 1, according to a resolution issued by the Standing Committee of Vietnam’s lawmaking National Assembly.

-- A Liberian-flagged ship has rescued and brought to safety four Vietnamese fishermen whose ship sank near Phu Quoc Island off the southern province of Kien Giang on Tuesday.

-- A man from the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho was fined VND90 million (US$3,850) for exchanging a 100-U.S.-dollar bill into Vietnamese currency at a local gold shop that is not licensed to provide currency exchange service.

Business

-- Vietnam and Romania have agreed to target $500 million in trade, from the current $200 million, as Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received Romanian Minister for Business Environment, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship Stefan Radu Oprea in Hanoi on Tuesday.

-- Prosecutors in Ho Chi Minh City have advised a court to rule in favor of local taxi company Vinasun in its ongoing lawsuit against ride-hailing service Grab, in which Vinasun demanded compensation of VND41.2 billion ($1.77 million) from Grab for losses they claim to have been caused by the rival company.

Education

-- Vietnam ranks 53 out of 150 countries in overall quality of its higher education, according to the latest Higher Education System Strength Rankings announced on Tuesday by British company Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).

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