Here are today’s leading news stories:

Politics

-- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is set to open up new prospects for Vietnam-Australia ties during his upcoming visit to the Southeast Asian country from August 22 to 24, according to Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Ngo Huong Nam.

Society

-- Police in Bu Dang District in the southern province of Binh Phuoc confirmed on Monday they had launched an investigation into the case where a pregnant woman was forced off a rental car by the driver and had to deliver the baby on the side of a street with no medical assistance, causing the child to die after birth on Sunday.

-- A fire broke out at a plastic company in the southern province of Dong Nai on Monday, resulting in damage worth more than VND20 billion (US$860,000).

-- Officers in the northern province of Quang Ninh on Monday arrested a 36-year-old man for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl who lives in the same neighborhood on August 12.

-- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is expected to spend $50 million on funding a program that supports people with disabilities caused by Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin in seven Vietnamese provinces.

-- The Vietnamese fishermen who previously saved 22 Filipino fishers whose boat was sunk by a Chinese vessel in June, returned to the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang on Monday following their three month long journey.

Business

-- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will continue to cooperate with and assist Vietnam in policy consultancy and capacity improvement, IMF’s newly-accredited Resident Representative in Vietnam Francois Painchaud said at a meeting with Nguyen Van Binh, head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, in Hanoi on Monday.

-- The Fujiwara solar power plant, developed by the namesake Japanese company, was inaugurated in the south-central province of Binh Dinh on Monday. With the capacity of 50MWp, this is Binh Dinh’s first-ever solar power plant.

-- About $3.63 billion worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) capital was poured into Ho Chi Minh City in the first seven months of this year, an annual rise of 15.2 percent, according to the municipal administration. 

Lifestyle

-- Firework displays are scheduled to take place at three locations in Ho Chi Minh City, namely the Saigon Rive Tunnel, Landmark 81 Tower, and Dam Sen Park, from 9:00 pm to 9:15 pm on September 2 to mark the 74th anniversary of Vietnam’s National Day.

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