Here are today’s leading news stories:

Politics

-- Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris is scheduled to pay a visit to Vietnam from August 24 to 26 at the invitation of her Vietnamese counterpart Vo Thi Anh Xuan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Monday.

-- Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue led a Vietnamese delegation to attend the virtual opening ceremony of the 42nd General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-42) on Monday, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

COVID-19 Updates

-- Ho Chi Minh City currently has 16 active COVID-19 infection clusters, the municipal Center for Disease Control said on Monday, adding that more than 42,000 patients are being monitored and treated at home.

-- The Ministry of National Defense on Monday received 200,000 doses of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine gifted by its Chinese counterpart.

-- The Ministry of Health has added Molnupiravir to the list of medicines used in treating COVID-19 patients. A shipment of 300,000 Molnupiravir pills imported from India arrived in Vietnam on Monday afternoon.

-- The Ho Chi Minh City administration has asked competent authorities to conduct rapid COVID-19 tests on homeless people and take them to local social protection centers if their results come back negative. Those who test positive will be brought to ward-level quarantine and treatment facilities.

Society

-- Downpours and thunderstorms are forecast to dampen northern Vietnam from Tuesday to Thursday, while similar weather patterns will linger in southern provinces until Saturday.

-- Border guard officers in the north-central province of Quang Tri confirmed on Monday they had arrested three Laotian men for smuggling 46 kilograms of crystal meth into Vietnam.

-- Rains and cyclones blew off the roofs of 23 houses, knocked down multiple utility poles, and damaged nearly 200 hectares of rice paddy in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan on Monday afternoon.

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