The HCM City healthcare sector has assured it is well prepared to respond to the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19 after the city recorded three domestic cases, and called on the public to stay calm and not panic.

The HCM City Department of Transport is seeking approval from the administration to auction land along the under-construction Ring Road No. 3 to raise funds for speeding up work.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang presented views on issues that have drawn concern of the press and the public at the ministry’s regular press conference in Hanoi on January 20.

The National Assembly Standing Committee on January 21 held a gathering of former leaders of the legislature and former members of the NA Standing Committee who retired in Hanoi ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year festival, under the chair of Politburo member and NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.

The winners of the first VinFuture Prize have been revealed. Professors Kariko, Cullis and Weissman were awarded the Grand Prize of US$3 million for their research on mRNA vaccine technology.

A delegation from the Royal Cambodian Gendarmerie High Command led by its Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen Kim Hen visited and offered New Year wishes to the southern province of Soc Trang on January 21.

The High-Level People’s Procuracy in Hanoi on January 21 suggested upholding the first-instance trial's sentences for four defendants in the case that occurred at the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), Saigon Beer - Alcohol - Beverage JSC (Sabeco) and Ho Chi Minh City.

A total of 15,935 new COVID-19 patients were reported in Việt Nam on Friday, raising the total number to 2,110,737.

Many Vietnamese people and businesses in the US have shown their support for the homeland’s restoration of international commercial flights, describing the move as a good start for the New Year.

The Ministry of Health is planning to purchase 21.9 million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines to give to children aged 5-11 years, with scenarios of surplus vaccines likely and accepted.

The High-Level People’s Court in Hanoi on January 21 reopened an appeal trial for the case that occurred at the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), Saigon Beer - Alcohol - Beverage JSC (Sabeco) and Ho Chi Minh City, causing a loss of over 2.7 trillion VND (119.25 million USD) for the State, despite the absence of defendant ex-Minister of MoIT Vu Huy Hoang.

The People’s Court of central Phu Yen province on January 21 sentenced a man to six and a half years in prison for distributing anti-State materials and illegally storing explosive materials.

Efforts are being made to end the consumption of dog and cat meat in Việt Nam. In the popular tourist destination of Hội An, authorities are in the process of banning these traditional dishes, and in HCM City recently police smashed a pet-napping ring where thieves were stealing the beloved animals and selling them for meat.

Vietnamese nurses will gain stronger skills on infusion safety as part of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Vietnam Nurses Association (VNA) and Becton Dickinson Holdings on January 20.

A number of ‘zero dong’ supermarkets are currently open around HCM City, where struggling locals are able to get goods for free to have a more fulfilling Tet, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic had affected their livelihoods.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has asked localities not to make obstacles for residents to return to their hometowns for the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.

Bilateral trade between Vietnam and the US set a new milestone, hitting USD 111.56 billion in 2021, up nearly USD 21 billion over the previous year, according to the General Department of Customs.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) has proposed the Prime Minister provide over 9,877 tonnes of rice in aid for needy households during the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday and the between-crop period of early 2022.

A virtual space introducing tourist destinations of the central province of Thua Thien-Hue was launched on January 20, aiming to optimise digital transformation to boost the industry's recovery and encourage traveling activities amid new normal situation.