Read what is in the news today.

Society

— Vietnam confirmed three new imported COVID-19 cases on Friday, including one Austrian national and two Vietnamese repatriated from the UK and the Czech Republic, raising the patient tally to 1,512, with 1,357 recoveries and 35 virus-related deaths.

— Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved the National action program for children for the 2021-30 period with a view to creating a safe, healthy and friendly environment for children. The rate of children aged under eight accessing to comprehensive healthcare services is expected to reach 90 percent by 2025 and 95 percent by 2030, according to VGP News.

— Police in Dang Ha Commune, located in Bu Dang District, southern Binh Phuoc Province, are clarifying a video recorded by an in-vehicle camera that went viral on Facebook earlier this week showing a man riding a motorbike directly hit the motorbike of another man running in the opposite direction on Sao Bong - Dang Ha Street. After the collision, the former repeatedly beat the other with an apparently iron tube.

— Police in southern Binh Duong Province on Friday said that they had caught 21 people illegally gambling at a container parking site in Di An City, seizing ten game sets, 11 motorbikes, four cars and a total cash of nearly VND500 million (US$21,626).

— A newly-upgraded runway at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City is slated to be put into use again on Sunday after six months of closure for renovation, the deputy director of the project’s management agency said on Friday.

— Police in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang on Friday arrested three men to further investigate their role in the illegal entry of COVID-19 patient No. 1440, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

Business

— Vietnam Airlines has officially gained the access to the refinancing loan worth VND4 trillion ($172.94 million) approved by the government in support of its recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.

— Thac Mo Hydropower Joint Stock Company held an inauguration ceremony and put the Thac Mo solar power plant project with a capacity of 50MWp and an investment of more than VND820 billion ($35,472) into operation in Binh Phuoc Province on Friday.

Lifestyle

— The New York Times has included Con Dao off Vietnam’s southern Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province in its list of “52 places to love in 2021.”

— The Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam is introducing Japanese traditional dolls at an exhibition that opened at the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts on Friday and will run through January 27 with free admission.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!