Here are today’s leading news stories:

COVID-19 Updates

-- Vietnam’s Ministry of Health documented 15,586 COVID-19 cases on Saturday evening, raising the country’s tally to 1,636,455, with 1,229,684 recoveries and 31,007 deaths. Hanoi recorded the highest daily count on Saturday with 1,879 patients.

-- Three more downtown districts in Hanoi including Ba Dinh, Hoan Kiem, and Tay Ho will suspend sit-down restaurant service from 12:00 pm on Sunday as the locales are now classified as areas at high risk of COVID-19 transmission.

-- Vice-chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Duong Anh Duc has advised local residents to refrain from participating in large gatherings on weekends and during the upcoming New Year holiday given the ongoing risk posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Society

-- The forest protection department in southern Dong Nai Province has begun construction an additional 25 kilometers of electric fence to prevent forest elephants from entering residential areas.

-- A 33-year-old Russian man has been caught illegally growing 27 cannabis trees at a rented house in the south-central province of Binh Thuan.

-- A fire broke out at a restaurant of the Phuc Loc Tho com tam (broken rice) chain in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday morning, burning down a lot of property inside the venue.

-- Authorities in Dong Nai Province kick-started on Saturday the construction of a VND1.3 trillion (US$56.8 million) road that runs along a section of the Dong Nai River.

Business

-- The Tourism Conference 2021, themed ‘Vietnam’s Tourism - Recovery and Development,’ was held in the north-central province of Nghe An on Saturday to discuss ways to accelerate the industry’s recovery and growth in the coming time.

Sports

-- Vietnam will have a rematch with Thailand in the semifinal second leg at the 2020 AFF Suzuki Cup in Singapore at 7:30 pm on Sunday. The game will be aired on VTV6 and OnSports+ channels.

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