Politics

-- Vietnam is a special partner of Belarus as the first country to sign a free trade agreement with the Eurasia Economic Union, of which Belarus is a member, said Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Dapkyunas on Tuesday during a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son in Hanoi.

Society

-- Ten new high-speed patrol boats have been commissioned by border guards in Ho Chi Minh City to improve the southern metropolis’ capability in responding to emergencies in waterways.

-- The coastal city of Nha Trang in south-central Vietnam is mulling a complete ban of all floating restaurants in its iconic Nha Trang Bay for safety and pollution reasons, following a partial ban implemented since 2016.

-- The transport department of Ho Chi Minh City has said it will consider shortening the toll collection period of the An Suong – An Lac Toll Station in Binh Tan District after the station was forced to shut down temporarily on Monday due to drivers’ objection.

-- The suspect who held hostage and shot dead a commune leader in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai on Monday had broken into a weapons vault at a local military command and stolen guns which he used in the murder.

Business

-- Vietnam is the world’s factory which multinational companies can rely on to manufacture their products for worldwide sales, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on Tuesday as he chaired an annual business forum of Vietnamese enterprises in Hanoi.

-- The General Department of Taxation of Vietnam is looking to introduce a set of criteria and indicators which will be used to “score” businesses based on their compliance with tax regulations. The score will help categorize enterprises into risk-based groups for better management.

-- Tour packages for travelers looking for a getaway this upcoming Lunar New Year, which will fall on February 5, 2019, is highly sought after as tour operators have reported filling 60 percent of seats on their scheduled tours for the travel season.

-- Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai has refuted rumors that the country had prepared “four plans” to increase electricity prices in 2019, as he addressed a government press conference in Hanoi on Tuesday.

Education

-- Vietnam’s education ministry has announced it will introduce a range of new measures to prevent cheating in the 2019 national high school exam, including installing CCTV cameras at testing revenues, following this year’s high-profile scandal where hundreds of exam papers had their scores manipulated by officials.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!