Check out the latest news in Vietnam today:

Politics

-- Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will lead a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam to attend the expanded BRICS summit in Russia from October 23 to 24 at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, chair of the BRICS Group in 2024, according to an announcement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

-- Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Tran Thanh Man on Friday met with General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith in Vientiane during his official visit to the neighboring country and attendance of the 45th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly from October 17 to 19.

Society

-- More than 1,000 people along with various vehicles and equipment were mobilized for a fire drill at Tan Cang Station, the largest elevated station of the first metro line in Ho Chi Minh City, on Friday.

-- Italy’s five-star cruise ship Costa Serena docked at the Ha Long International Passenger Port in Quang Ninh Province, northern Vietnam on Friday, bringing 3,040 tourists from Hong Kong to the province.

-- Ho Chi Minh City plans to build 172 new public toilets and call on 500 business establishments to offer gratis toilet service to dwellers and tourists by the third quarter of next year, according to a statement of the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

-- A storm or a tropical depression is expected to form in the East Vietnam Sea between October 23 and 25, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

-- Customs officers at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on Friday discovered a foreign passenger arriving from Hong Kong hiding seven pieces of yellow metal which was suspected to be gold bars, weighing some seven kilograms, in his waistband and shoe soles, the General Department of Vietnam Customs reported.

World News

-- “Cuba plunged into a countrywide blackout on Friday after one of the island's major power plants failed and caused the national electrical grid to shut down,” Reuters reported, citing the energy ministry.

Like us on Facebook or  follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!