Read what is in the news in Vietnam today:

-- The total number of air passengers in 2023 is expected to reach 74 million, reflecting a 34.5-percent increase compared to 2022 and a 7.4-percent drop compared to the pre-pandemic level, as reported by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

-- The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport has declared a restriction on vehicle access to Le Loi Boulevard and Nguyen Hue Boulevard in District 1 from 9:00 pm on Tuesday through December 26 to facilitate the organization of the third Ho Chi Minh City International Music Festival Ho Do 2023.

-- The People’s Committee of District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City is coordinating efforts to repair damaged sidewalks, with plans to upgrade a minimum of 85 sections of sidewalks and alleyways by allocating VND220 billion (US$9 million) to the project in 2024-25, an official said on Tuesday.

-- The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport had organized 2,150 exams for 394,557 candidates, with 274,813 successfully passing and obtaining driver’s licenses by the end of November, as reported to the Ministry of Transport.

-- Police in Buon Ma Thuot City, located in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, are investigating a video circulating on Facebook of five women riding a motorbike, seeking grounds for addressing their potential administrative violations.

-- Traffic police in Hanoi are probing a viral video on social media which depicts a man on a motorbike obstructing a Toyota Land Cruiser with a blue license plate, indicating a government-owned vehicle was on duty, while the car was running in the direction against traffic in Ba Dinh District.

-- The Ministry of Public Security initiated legal proceedings against and arrested Le Duy Minh, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finance, on charges of taking bribes related to an oil trading company scandal, Lieutenant General To An Xo, spokesman for the ministry, said on Tuesday.

-- Concerns have arisen among drivers as the Tuyen Quang-Phu Tho Expressway, a VND3.7 trillion ($151.9 million) investment set to be operational soon to reduce travel time from Tuyen Quang Province to Hanoi from three hours to approximately two hours, lacks truck escape ramps.

-- Recent data from the Indonesia-based news site Seasia has revealed that Vietnam holds the highest motorbike usage rate in Southeast Asia in 2023, standing at 72.8 percent, while Singapore records the lowest rate at 2.4 percent.

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