Read what is in the news today:

Society

-- The construction of a green waste-treatment plant in the southern province of Long An that was mapped out in the early 2000s to handle 21,400 metric tons of waste per day by 2025 has remained a plan on paper with only some streets and two bridges leading to the project completed after more than 15 years.

-- All passengers on a Ho Chi Minh City-bound passenger bus were fortunately safe after the vehicle rushed into an abyss in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong on Friday morning.

-- Air pollution in Hanoi became severe on Friday, with air quality readings at many automatic monitoring stations mostly at the very bad level, according to the Hanoi Agency of Environmental Protection.

Business

-- Nam A Bank on Thursday became the first Vietnamese bank to use the robot OPBA, an artificial intelligence application, to serve customers.

-- CEO of Vietnamese low-cost airline Vietjet Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao has been named among the ‘World’s 100 Most Powerful Women’ in 2019, the third consecutive year she has received the honor, by Forbes magazine.

Lifestyle

-- Four hundred and twenty-five presents worth VND700,000 (US$30.34) each were gifted to child cancer patients at the Ho Chi Minh City Children's Hospital 2, the Blood Transfusion and Hematology Hospital and the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital in the southern metropolis on Thursday and Friday by the 'Thuy’s Dream Foundation' – a charitable organization set up by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper to support children with cancer.

-- The inaugural Ho Chi Minh City International Music Festival, or HOZO, kicked off at Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in District 1 on Friday evening with its second and last performance nights continuing to take place on Saturday and Sunday.

Sports

-- Dutch club SC Heerenveen paid tribute to Doan Van Hau for helping Vietnam win their first gold medal in Southeast Asian (SEA) Games men’s football in a short ceremony at the Abe Lenstra stadium before their home match against Willem II on Friday.

-- Vietnam’s national women’s football team have ended 2019 in the 32nd place in the world, as they climbed two notches in the FIFA Women's World Ranking, which was released on Friday afternoon, after winning their sixth gold medal in SEA Games 2019 women’s football last week.

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