What you need to know today in Vietnam:

Politics

-- Vietnam's Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung presented a report on the National Master Plan for the 2021-30 period with a vision to 2050, following the opening of the 15th National Assembly’s second extraordinary meeting in Hanoi on Thursday, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

Society

-- Tran Viet Thai, former Vietnamese Ambassador to Malaysia, was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of abusing powers and positions on duty in relation to repatriation flights to bring citizens abroad back to Vietnam during serious COVID-19 wave in the past two years. Dozens of high-ranking officials have been arrested for allegedly taking bribes when arranging such flights.

-- Authorities in Quang Ninh Province, which borders China, have said they will test only Chinese tourists who exhibit COVID-19 symptoms when the latter enter Vietnam via border gates in the northern province. China has scrapped nearly all COVID-19 restrictions so Vietnam is prepared to welcome an influx of Chinese tourists soon.

Business

-- Vietnam's GDP growth will reach an average of seven percent by 2030 while its GDP per capita will hit US$7,500 by then, according to the National Master Plan for the 2021-30 period Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung presented before the lawmaking National Assembly on Thursday.

Lifestyle

-- Ho Chi Minh City citizens are rushing to buy decorations for the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, which is just over two weeks away.

Sports

-- Vietnam are scheduled to encounter hosts Indonesia in the semifinals of the 2022 AFF Championship at 4:30 pm on Friday. The game will be broadcast live on VTV5, VTV Can Tho, and FPT Play.

World News

-- "Southeast Asia's tourist economies are set to be leading beneficiaries of China's scrapping of travel bans as they have steered clear of the COVID-19 tests before entry that Europe, Japan and the United States have imposed on Chinese visitors," Reuters reported.

-- "Hackers stole the email addresses of more than 200 million Twitter users and posted them on an online hacking forum, a security researcher said Wednesday," according to Reuters.

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