Read what is in the news today:

Politics

-- The National Assembly Standing Committee will convene its 43rd session in Hanoi from March 23 to 25 under the management of Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and her deputies. The session is scheduled to hear Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, head of the national steering committee on COVID-19 prevention and control, who will report on the work.

Society

-- Nearly 200 Vietnamese attending English courses in the Philippines have been trapped in the country as it has halted all international flights due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic. They are waiting for the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs to grant permission for a charter flight operated by Vietnam Airlines to bring them back to Vietnam.

-- People who are over 60 years old are advised to stay home and refrain from contacting other people or gathering in large groups, while the general population should wear face masks in public, wash their hands regularly, improve their nutritional intake, and exercise more, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at a meeting on COVID-19 prevention and control in Hanoi on Sunday.

-- A 30-minute hailstorm damaged houses and destroyed crops in the northern province of Dien Bien on Sunday.

-- The Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam has requested that activities observing this year’s Vesak Day, which will fall on May 7, avoid the gathering of large crowds and organizing float and lantern parades on the streets in light of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Business

-- The U.S. is considering importing medical supplies and equipment from Vietnam to fight COVID-19, Vietnamese Ambassador to the U.S. Ha Kim Ngoc told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Sunday.

-- Vietnam’s shrimp industry has not faced a great impact from the COVID-19 epidemic as the country is expected to enter its shrimp harvest season in August, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers told the Vietnam News Agency.

World News

-- The novel coronavirus has infected nearly 317,000 and killed more than 13,500 people globally as of Monday morning, according to Ministry of Health statistics. Over 97,500 cases have recovered.    

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