Here are today’s leading news stories:

Politics

-- Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held phone talks with French PM Jean Castex on Monday to discuss measures to further enhance the two nations’ traditional, trusted, and strategic partnership, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

COVID-19 Updates

-- The Ministry of Health on Tuesday morning recorded one imported COVID-19 case and 70 local infections in Ho Chi Minh City, Bac Giang, and Bac Ninh, raising the country’s tally to 10,881, with 4,236 recoveries and 61 deaths.

-- A lockdown was lifted from K Hospital’s Tan Trieu branch in Hanoi on Monday afternoon after a COVID-19 cluster previously detected at the infirmary had been put under control. The hospital is expected to receive patients again from Wednesday.

-- Authorities in the northern province of Nam Dinh decided to reopen such non-essential services as karaoke parlors, bars, and massage parlors from Tuesday as the province has not recorded any local COVID-19 case for over 30 days.

Society

-- Six people, including four adults and two children, were killed after a fire broke out at a teahouse in the north-central province of Nghe An at around 0:05 on Tuesday.

-- Police in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday expelled 13 foreigners who were caught entering Vietnam illegally after they had completed their quarantine period in the metropolis.

-- Officers in the north-central province of Quang Tri have launched an investigation after a six-year-old boy drowned in a water pit at the construction site of a local street on Sunday.

-- The Ministry of Public Security confirmed on Monday it had coordinated with Ho Chi Minh City police to arrest more than 20 suspects involved in an illicit football betting ring with transactions worth up to VND1.5 trillion (US$65.3 million).

Sports

-- Vietnam will compete with hosts the UAE in the second qualifying round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup at 11:45 pm on Tuesday (Vietnam time).

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