Catch up on the news in Vietnam today:

Politics

-- State President Vo Van Thuong received Governor of Fukuoka Prefecture Hattori Seitaro and some top officials from other prefectures on Wednesday, as part of his ongoing visit to Japan through Thursday.

-- Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to bolster multifaceted cooperation between the two countries at their meeting in Ankara on Wednesday (local time), as part of the former’s ongoing visit to Turkey.

Society

-- Police in Tan Phu District under Ho Chi Minh City busted a massive drug trafficking ring in October, seizing 35 kilograms of narcotics, a shotgun and eight bullets. The police decided to launch criminal proceedings against five drug-traffickers for their alleged involvement in the ring, an officer said on Wednesday.

-- The People’s Committee in Binh Tan District under Ho Chi Minh City will inaugurate its largest park in the Vinh Loc residential area on Thursday. The park was transformed from a polluted landfill.

-- A truck was traveling on the Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet Expressway in Binh Thuan Province, south-central Vietnam, when the vehicle caught fire on Wednesday afternoon, resulting in its cabin being charred.

Business

-- Over 50 firms and investors from Japan and Dong Thap Province, southern Vietnam, attended a trade and investment promotion conference in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday to sound out cooperation opportunities.

-- Vietnam spent over US$4.4 billion importing 6.4 million metric tons of steel products from China between January and October, up 47.8 percent in volume and three percent in value year on year, according to data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

-- Vietnam and Turkey agreed to step up investment and cooperation to raise bilateral trade to $4 billion during talks between PM Chinh and Vice President of Turkey Cevdet Yilmaz in Ankara on Wednesday.

Lifestyle

-- The Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports is compiling a dossier to propose recognizing the city’s pho-cooking as a national intangible cultural heritage, director of the municipal department Do Dinh Hong said on Wednesday.

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