Read what is in the news today, July 1!

Society

-- Ho Chi Minh City’s plan to replace diesel-fuelled buses with environmentally friendly buses that run on compressed natural gas (CNG) is faced with a huge setback as the sole supplier of the “green fuel” has announced plans to cut 20-30 percent of its CNG supply for buses in the second half of 2019 to reserve the fuel for electric generation.

-- Police in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa on Sunday arrested Le Van Nam, deputy director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and two other officials for “abuse of power and authority” linked to their alleged violations while managing a local stadium, causing huge losses.

-- Around 15,000 people and dozens of fire trucks have been dispatched to fight an ongoing man-caused forest fire in the north-central province of Ha Tinh that has ravaged the area since Friday with no signs of weakening.

-- Over 1,000 hectares of natural ‘ba kich’ (Indian mulberry), a plant believed to have many positive medicinal properties, have been discovered among a protected forest in the central province of Quang Nam.

-- From Monday, the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City has stopped broadcasting flight announcements on its loudspeakers in an effort to curb noise pollution and build an image of a ‘quiet airport’.

Business

-- The Vietnamese government will create favorable conditions for businesses to access opportunities created by the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said at a press conference after the signing of the EVFTA in Hanoi on Sunday.

-- A US$470.7 million project by Vietnamese conglomerate FLC Group to develop a massive tourist resort complex in the central province of Quang Ngai broke ground on Sunday on the occasion of the province’s 30th birthday (July 1, 1989). FLC, which owns Bamboo Airways, said it is already working with authorities to launch flights to Quang Ngai in the near future.

Lifestyle

-- Vietnamese fashion designer Patrick Pham is set to present his ‘Ngoc Vien Dong’ (Pearl of the Far East) collection on Tuesday on the catwalk of the Paris Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2019 fashion week, which is taking place from June 30 to July 4 in the French capital.

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