Read what is in the news today.

Politics

-- The Indian naval ship INS Sahyadri arrived at Tien Sa Port in Da Nang on Tuesday, starting a visit to the central Vietnamese city as part of India’s operational naval deployment to Southeast Asia.

-- Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung on Tuesday thanked the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and relevant agencies of the UK for their active support and sharing of information with Vietnam related to the 39 lorry deaths in Essex in a phone call to FCO Minister for Asia and the Pacific Heather Wheeler.

Society

-- The Vietnamese government has proposed that the lawmaking National Assembly approve a pilot scheme where Hanoi will streamline its apparatus by erasing the People’s Councils in 177 urban wards, while Ho Chi Minh City wants to keep only its city-level People’s Council in a separate proposal.

-- Thuong Nhat JSC, the operator of Ho Chi Minh City’s maiden river bus, has been green-lighted to operate a 75-seat cruise ship offering tours along the city’s Saigon River.

-- Vietnamese provinces along the south-central coast and in the Central Highlands region are preparing for emergency evacuation of residents out of danger zones as Storm Matmo, the fifth to hit Vietnam this year, is forecast to make landfall in the regions on Wednesday evening, packing winds of 50-74 km/h and gusts of 89-102 km/h.

-- The administration of Ha Giang Province in northern Vietnam has ordered that construction be halted on a massive religious tourism complex near a landmark flagpole in the province as a delegation of officials began inspecting the project on Tuesday.

Business

-- A leader of the General Department of Vietnam Customs told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Tuesday the agency is considering “tough, appropriate” measures to handle a Volkswagen Touareg car which was displayed at a recent motor show in Ho Chi Minh City with the default navigation app containing an illicit ‘nine-dash line’ map, including destroying the vehicle as punishment for the violation.

-- The Ho Chi Minh City taxman has announced the nullification of invoices by the Nha Hang Mon Hue Ltd., which operates the Mon Hue restaurant chain in Vietnam that closed en masse last week, and asked that the municipal Department of Planning and Investment also withdraw the firm’s business license.

Education

-- Twelve Vietnamese students, aged 14-16, were shortlisted from nearly 300 applicants to be awarded the ASEAN Scholarships on Tuesday. They will study at selected schools in Singapore for four years starting from 2020.

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