Here are today’s leading news stories:

Politics

-- A ceremony chaired by Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue was held in the central city of Da Nang on Monday to kick off a series of workshops and forums on economic, labor, and tourism cooperation between Vietnam and Japan.

Society

-- A 12-year-old boy and 44-year-old man were killed and three others injured after an unidentified man fired his gun at a group of people inside an automobile repair garage in the northern province of Lang Son on Monday night. Police have extracted CCTV footage and initiated a manhunt for the suspect.

-- Three fish sauce facilities in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long and An Giang were fined a total of VND780 million (US$33,700) for using banned chemicals in their production of the condiment in mid-2019, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development announced on Monday.

-- A deputy director of a hospital in the northern province of Thai Binh was fined VND35 million ($1,500) and had his driver’s license revoked for 23 months for driving his car after drinking at a party last week.

-- Officers initiated legal procedures against nearly 2,000 suspects for drug-related crimes in Ho Chi Minh City in 2019, the municipal Department of Police reported at a conference on Monday.

-- A fire engulfed a house and nine kiosks, used for living and running business, within a 300-square-meter area in Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City on Monday evening.

-- A company in Da Lat, a tourist city in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, is facing a fine for constructing a glass bridge without a permit in the Love Valley, one of the city’s most popular attractions.

Business

-- Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City plans to serve more than 3.7 million passengers during the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, according to a representative of the airdrome.

-- Nearly 45,000 flights were delayed or canceled in 2019 by Vietnam Airlines, VietjetAir, Jetstar Pacific, Vasco, and Bamboo Airways, a year-on-year rise of 0.25 percent, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV).   

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