Read what is in the news today:

Society

-- A plan to streamline the administrative apparatus in Vietnam until 2021 will see the reduction of six districts and 560 communes, as well as an excess of 20,000 officials who will either be laid off or reassigned to other positions, according to Home Affairs Deputy Minister Tran Anh Tuan.

-- The transport department of Ho Chi Minh City has ordered that all street works in the city be temporarily halted between January 17 and February 2 as the country celebrates Tet, or Lunar New Year, which will fall on January 25 with preparation and celebration taking place a week before and after the date.

-- High temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius on average during the day is in the forecast in southern Vietnam while the northern region will experience bitter cold during the upcoming Lunar New Year, according to the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting.

-- Police officers in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long on Sunday captured four people suspected of making an unlawful arrest of a debtor while they were taking the captive from Vinh Long to Ho Chi Minh City in a car.

Business

-- Vietnam-made plastic packaging products have a competitive edge over similar products from other regional countries when entering the European Union common market, as they are not subject to anti-dumping taxes of 4-30 percent, said Ho Duc Lam, chairman of the Vietnam Plastics Association.

-- Da Nang business tycoon Phan Van Anh Vu, a.k.a. Vu ‘nhom,’ and two former chairmen of the central city, Tran Van Minh and Van Huu Chien, have denied causing losses of VND22 trillion (US$952.6 million) to the state budget through their transactions of 22 public properties and seven real estate projects at a court on Sunday.

Lifestyle

-- Around 20,000 people visited the Tet Festival 2020 at Le Van Tam Park in Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday evening, the last night of the three-day event jointly held by the city’s Department of Tourism and the Vietnam Cuisine Culture Association.

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