Here are today’s leading news stories:

Politics

-- Head of Vietnam’s mission to the UN, Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy has chaired a session to review activities of the UN Security Council (UNSC) in January, during which Vietnam held the Presidency of the UNSC. The meeting was attended by more than 100 representatives from UN member countries and observers.

Society

-- Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Saturday signed Decision No.173.QD-TTg, declaring the acute respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus (nCoV) an epidemic in Vietnam.

-- The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health confirmed on Saturday that four people, including three French nationals and a Vietnamese, have been quarantined after showing signs of being infected with the novel coronavirus. All of the four had previously traveled to Wuhan, China.

-- A 56-year-old South Korean man passed away due to health issues on board flight VN415 operated by national carrier Vietnam Airlines, which was traveling from Seoul to Hanoi on Saturday.

-- A total of six people in the northern provinces of Thai Nguyen, Bac Ninh, and Vinh Phuc have been fined VND12.5 million (US$541) each for posting false information regarding the new coronavirus on Facebook.

Business

-- About 500 Chinese tourists and 3,000 Chinese workers were stuck in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa as of Saturday evening after all flights between Vietnam and China were grounded to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

-- The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has resumed the flights between Vietnam and Taiwan to clear passengers who were unable to get on board after all services between Vietnam and China have been grounded since 1:00 pm Saturday.

Education

-- The Ministry of Education and Training on Saturday submitted a document to the prime minister, proposing that all students from kindergartens to high schools in northern Vinh Phuc Province, north-central Thanh Hoa Province, and south-central Khanh Hoa Province be allowed to stay home from February 3 to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.

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