Read what is in the news today:

Politics

-- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Tuesday congratulated Lao Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh and Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on the traditional new year festivals of the neighboring countries, the Vietnam Government Portal reported.

COVID-19 Updates

-- Vietnam has yet to discover the emergence of BA.4 and BA.5 -- two new sub-variants of the highly transmissible Omicron strain of the coronavirus -- following genome sequencing, the General Department of Preventive Medicine said on Tuesday.

Society

-- Authorities in central Thua Thien-Hue Province successfully cleared on Tuesday two unexploded artillery shells discovered during the construction of an embankment.

-- A fire broke out at a villa in Cam Pha City of northern Quang Ninh Province, killing one woman on Tuesday.

-- Police in southern Binh Duong Province said on Tuesday they were clarifying a video capturing a man, who claimed to be a police officer, clashing with a married couple over a car-parking conflict in Thuan An City.

-- The average power outage duration in Ho Chi Minh City reduced from 3,433 minutes per year a decade ago to only 41 minutes currently, the Ho Chi Minh City Power Corporation said at a conference on Tuesday.

-- Hanoi will set up 579 squads to capture stray dogs and cats for rabies prevention and require official pet ownership declarations under a recently-issued plan for rabies prevention in the 2022-30 period.

-- The Vietnamese level-2 field hospital No. 3 under the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan successfully gave first aid to and saved a 50-year-old UN staff member with a stroke on Monday.

Business

-- A café in Bao Loc City of the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong has raised eyebrows for charging a customer VND249,000 (US$11) for a cup of coffee.

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