Read what is in the news today, August 3!

Politics

-- Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Friday received head of the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam Bruno Angelet and Irish Ambassador Cáit Moran, who came to bid farewell at the end of their tenures in Hanoi.

-- Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on Friday suggested participating countries of the East Asia Summit (EAS) enhance their maritime cooperation and connectivity as he addressed the 9th EAS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand.

Society

-- Two international airports in northern Vietnam - Cat Bi of Hai Phong Province and Van Don of Quang Ninh Province – are temporarily closed from 12:00 pm on Friday to 12:00 pm on Saturday due to tropical storm Wipha.

-- Ho Chi Minh City’s police have launched a two-week campaign between August 1 and 15 to disseminate traffic rules among foreigners in the city, during which foreigners will receive warnings only for their violations. From August 16 until the end of October, the city’s police will increase patrols and impose traffic fines on foreigners who break traffic rules.

-- State-run companies’ total outstanding loans guaranteed by the Vietnamese government by the end of 2018 was around VND437,372 billion (US$18.9 billion), equivalent to 13.5 percent of Vietnam’s public debt and 7.9 percent of the country’s GDP, according to a Finance Ministry report.

-- The World Bank and the State Bank of Vietnam on Friday signed an agreement worth $4.2 million in non-refundable aid provided by the Japanese government to launch a taxation system modernization project in Vietnam. 

Business

-- Bamboo Airways is looking to be the first airline to operate direct flights to the U.S., the airline’s Deputy Director General Truong Phuong Thanh said at a seminar in Hanoi on Thursday, adding that he has full confidence that the young budget carrier can achieve this goal.

-- The International East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC) Trade and Tourism Fair opened in the central city of Da Nang on Friday, featuring nearly 500 booths displaying electrical and electronic devices, timber products, furniture, handicrafts, jewelry, tourism products, consumer goods, garments-textiles, footwear, pharmaceutical products and cosmetics.

-- Vietnam’s biggest dairy company Vinamilk has maintained the leading position in Forbes Vietnam’s list of top 50 brands in 2019, with its brand value exceeding $2.2 billion. This is the fourth consecutive year Vinamilk has won the top place in the rankings.

-- Consul General of Singapore in Ho Chi Minh City Roy Kho on Friday called on Vietnamese investors to consider investing in Singapore’s megaproject to deploy the world’s largest floating solar power systems, which will raise the country’s solar power generation capacity to 1GW from 2020, as he hosted an early celebration of Singapore’s 54th National Day (August 9) in Ho Chi Minh City.

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