Here are today’s leading news stories:

Politics

-- Vietnamese Party chief and Stat President Nguyen Phu Trong held talks with Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Viktorovich Volodin in Hanoi on Monday, as part of the latter’s visit to the Southeast Asian country from December 23 to 24.

-- The ninth plenum of the Central Party Committee is scheduled to begin in Hanoi on Monday morning and is expected to last three days.

Society

-- People in provinces and cities across Vietnam gathered at local churches on Monday night to celebrate Christmas Eve as well as to admire the beautiful decorations put up there to mark the holiday.

-- A 34-year-old man in the north-central province of Nghe An was found dead following an explosion at a house on Monday morning. Officers later discovered two boxes containing a type of powder which was possibly explosive.

-- The traffic police division under the Ministry of Public Security are mobilizing forces to increase patrols across the country to closely monitor alcohol content of road users in a bid to minimize traffic accidents caused by driving under the influence of alcohol from now to February 15.

-- The People’s Committee in the central city of Da Nang on Monday issued a project requiring local residents to register their pet dogs and cats to ward-level administrations to have a better control over rabies among the animals. The plan is expected to begin in 2019.

-- A crash between two trucks along the expressway connecting Da Nang City and the south-central province of Quang Ngai resulted in a serious traffic jam along the route on Monday afternoon.

-- A tenth-grade school girl in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang has gone missing for about ten days after telling her family she was heading to a friend’s birthday party on December 15. Police officers have been aware of the case and are searching for the young girl.

-- Officers in the northern province of Bac Giang on Monday arrested a 36-year-old woman, who is a fish seller at a local market, for murdering another merchant out of superstition last week.

Business

-- The Peoples’ Committee in the southern province of Tay Ninh and Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup on Monday inaugurated a complex consisting of a shopping mall, five-star hotel, and commercial houses, which is considered as the biggest of its kind in the province some 100km northwest of Ho Chi Minh City.

Lifestyle

-- Authorities in the Central Highlands city of Da Lat started providing free WiFi to residents and visitors at its downtown area on Monday. People can access free-of-charge Internet via DaLat_Wife_Free and Dalat-MegaNet Free.

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