What you need to know in Vietnam today:

Politics

-- Vietnam's Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong on Thursday met with outgoing Russian Ambassador Konstantin Vnukov, who came to bid farewell at the end of his term, in Hanoi, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

-- The Central Inspection Commission has suggested expelling Nguyen Duc Chung, former chairman of Hanoi, from the Communist Party of Vietnam over his involvement in recent scandals, including his alleged appropriation of state secrets.

-- Vietnamese Deputy Defense Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien and Peter Tesch, Deputy Secretary Strategy, Policy, and Industry at the Australian Department of Defense, co-chaired the fourth Vietnam -- Australia defense policy dialogue via videoconference on Thursday, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

Society

-- Ho Chi Minh City chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong on Thursday proposed that police charge a Vietnam Airlines flight attendant for breaking quarantine rules, leading to local COVID-19 infections in the community recently.

-- Vietnam logged three imported coronavirus and zero local cases on Thursday, taking the national tally to 1,361, according to the Ministry of Health.

-- Vietnam will harshly punish those who may be implicated in allegations by some Taiwanese people that they were required to pay 'under-the-table' money to make an entry into the Southeast Asian country, Le Thi Thu Hang, spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Thursday.

Business

-- Many South Korean companies expressed their interest in investing in tourism, services, and technology in Da Nang during a webinar organized in the central city on Thursday.

Lifestyle

-- Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will cooperate to organize a gala dinner for diplomatic missions and the media to honor pho, a hallmark Vietnamese beef noodle soup, in Hanoi on December 10.  

Education

-- About 170,000 students have been told to stay home over four recently announced domestic coronavirus cases in Ho Chi Minh City, according to data pooled by Tuoi Tre.

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