What you need to know today in Vietnam:
Politics
— “Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and his Republic of Korea (RoK) counterpart Chung Eui-yong had in-depth discussions on measures to advance the Vietnam-RoK strategic cooperative partnership to a new high during their talks in Seoul on February 10,” the Vietnam News Agency reported the same day.
Society
— Nguyen Ngoc Hai, former chairman of Binh Thuan Province in south-central Vietnam, was arrested on Thursday alongside four other people on charges of state asset mismanagement, police said the same day.
— Ho Chi Minh City authorities will disband the largest COVID-19 resuscitation center established last year at the second branch of the Oncology Hospital in Thu Duc City as the number of critically-ill coronavirus patients has neared zero there, Nguyen Thi Huynh Mai, chief of office at the municipal Department of Health, said on Thursday.
— New COVID-19 infections are forecast to rise in Ho Chi Minh City but severe cases and deaths will decrease in the coming days thanks to better treatment options, Nguyen Thi Huynh Mai, chief of office at the municipal Department of Health, said at a press meeting on Thursday.
Business
— About 1,500 trailer trucks carrying fruits and vegetables have been stuck at the border with China in Lang Son Province over the Chinese side’s strict COVID-19 prevention measures, the municipal Department of Industry and Trade said on Thursday.
World News
— French virologist Luc Montagnier, who won a Nobel Prize for his part in discovering the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS, has died, Reuters quoted French news agency AFP as reporting on Thursday.
Sports
— At a meeting on Thursday, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh lauded the Vietnamese women’s national football team for winning a ticket to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
— The 2022 V-League 1 season will kick off on February 25, organizers announced on Thursday.