Read what is in the news today:

Politics

-- The National Assembly has approved raising the state budget deficit to VND240 trillion (US$10.5 billion) at most for 2022 and 2023.

-- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed at a reception for the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Regional Director for the Western Pacific Takeshi Kasai in Hanoi on Tuesday that the WHO continue to support Vietnam in COVID-19 vaccine and treatment drugs, especially the research, production, and recognition of domestically-grown jabs, according to the VGP News. 

Society

-- Workers in Vietnam will have nine days off to celebrate the 2022 Lunar New Year holiday, the Government Office officially announced on Tuesday evening.

-- Police in Ho Chi Minh City have arrested and initiated legal proceedings against six people in connection with a racket producing more than 30,000 fake branded hats.

-- Vietnam’s Ministry of Health has warned of Molnupiravir’s effect on sperm quality, although the risk is considered low, after the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recommended the anti-viral drug developed by U.S. companies Merck and Ridgeback be kept out of the COVID-19 treatment protocol. 

-- Seven regular international flights between Vietnam and the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, and Cambodia have been available for bookings, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam. 

-- The National Assembly approved on Tuesday afternoon the investment of VND146.99 trillion ($6.47 billion) in the construction of the North - South Expressway.

Education

-- The Ministry of Education and Training and two companies under Bitex Group on Tuesday presented scholarships worth a total of VND5 billion ($220,260) in five years to 400 children orphaned by the COVID-19 pandemic in Ho Chi Minh City.

World news

-- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday amended the fact sheet for Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine to include a rare risk of immune thrombocytopenia, a bleeding disorder, according to Reuters.

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