Politics

-- Leaders of many countries, political parties and international organizations have recently sent congratulatory letters and cards to Vietnam’s Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on the occasion of the coming Lunar New Year holiday – Vietnam’s traditional Tet, which will begin on Saturday. 

-- U.S. Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Susan Burns and consulate officials on Wednesday took a sightseeing of Nguyen Hue flower street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, amid the joyful atmosphere as Tet is approaching. The diplomat extended her best wishes for happiness and prosperity to the city’s people and hoped the bilateral relations between the U.S. and Vietnam will reach new heights in 2024. 

Business

-- The Thu Thiem Wharf was inaugurated and put into operation at a ceremony held at the Saigon Riverside park in Thu Duc District under Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday. At the same time, the wharf’s investor, Ho Chi Minh City-based Daily Company Limited launched the first route of the new wharf to connect it with Bach Dang Wharf in District 1 using a two-storey tourist boat of the company. 

-- Many bus routes in Ho Chi Minh City will operate throughout the coming Lunar New Year festival, which will start on Saturday, according to the municipal Public Transport Management Center. Particularly, the bus route at Tan Son Nhat International Airport will run 24/7 to serve commuters during Tet.

Society

-- Japanese police have arrested a group of four Vietnamese, two men and two women, at the ages of 30-40, for allegedly committing 67 thefts in Tokyo and seven other localities, causing a total loss of about US$135,000, Kyodo News reported. The group is believed to have stolen a total of 5,237 items during five years until October 2023.

 -- The Hanoi Department of Health has announced a list of 41 public hospitals, 30 medical centers, the Hanoi 115 Emergency Center, 42 private hospitals and one private clinic in Hanoi are ready to provide emergency care around the clock throughout the Lunar New Year festival that will begin on Saturday.

-- Police in Lam Dong Province, the Central Highlands region are hunting for a man who rushed to a VietinBank branch in the province’s Duc Trong District, Lam Dong Province on Wednesday afternoon and used a gun to threaten bank staff and robbed about VND3 billion ($123,000) from the branch. He fired a shot as warning to those who attempted to prevent him from escaping from the scene on a motorbike.     

-- Police in Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam, said on Wednesday they had prosecuted seven suspects, including two men with Chinese nationality for their involvements in the case of ‘harbouring prostitutes, prostitution brokerage, and buying sex from people under 18.” Among the prostitutes identified in the case, two are just 14 years old.

Lifestyle

-- The annual Book Street Festival 2024 to mark Tet opened on Wednesday on Le Loi Street in Ho Chi Minh City’s downtown District 1, covering an area of 11,200 square meters. The event, with the theme of “Spring of Love – Tet Reunion,” will last until February 14.

-- 2,024 colourful drones that formed various images, including a dragon, lighted the sky of Vietnam’s capital Hanoi on Wednesday in a rehearsal for a festival that will be launched at West Lake in Hanoi's Tay Ho District on the eve of Lunar New Year – the year of the Dragon, February 10.   

World News

-- Hamas has proposed a ceasefire plan that would quiet the guns in Gaza for four-and-a-half months leading to an end to the war with Israel, in response to a proposal sent last week by Qatari and Egyptian mediators and backed by the United States and Israel, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

-- Five U.S. Marines were missing on Wednesday after the wreckage of their helicopter was found in a remote area east of San Diego hours after it went missing in a mix of heavy rain and snow, according to Reuters. 

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