After several provinces welcomed back foreign tourists on a trial basis in late November 2021, Vietnam has seen 8,500 foreign arrivals as of January 23.

More than 17.12 million, or 75.71 percent of the total pupils and students nationwide, are likely to return to school for face-to-face learning from February 7 after Lunar New Year (Tet) holidays.

Colonel Le Dung, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Information and Communications Service, Ministry of National Defense, holds the position of Commander of the Ministry’s Cyberspace High Command.

The value added tax (VAT) will be reduced by 2 percentage points to 8 percent starting this February as part of measures helping taxpayers tackle difficulties.

The Nghi Son refinery will reduce capacity and may stop operating from mid-February 2022, causing concerns about a lack of supply for the domestic market.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group (HAGL) has lodged an appeal to securities authorities, requesting that its shares are not delisted from the Ho Chi Minh Exchange (HOSE).

New US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper arrived in Hanoi on January 27, with him and his family now undergoing quarantine.

Passengers arriving in Vietnam on international flights will not be required to conduct rapid tests before boarding and getting off the plane and will only need a medical certificate to show a negative PCR test result.

On the threshold of the Lunar New Year (Tet), Ambassadors to Vietnam of New Zealand, Canada, Norway and Switzerland, have visited Hope Box, a shelter for victims of gender-based violence, in Hanoi.

The Ministry of National Defence on January 28 handed over the President’s decisions to seven officers who will be sent to the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc on January 28 decided to reduce death penalties to life sentences for four prisoners, on the occasion of the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) festival.

The Investigation Security Agency has prosecuted a case of taking bribes at the Consular Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs while licensing the firms that conducted repatriation flights for Vietnamese people.

The police has seized, blocked and averted real estate transactions and accounts worth US$53.86 million relating to the case of COVID-19 test kit developer Viet A Technologies JSC, an officer said on January 28.

Anatasiia Kuusk, a Ukrainian painter who loves Vietnam, has designed a collection of paintings portraying the tiger to celebrate the Year of the Tiger in Vietnam in 2022.

Recruiting and using talents is a policy being pursued by MoMo, a new Vietnamese unicorn (a privately held startup company valued at over $1 billion).

Vietnam will organise a rapid vaccination campaign this spring running from January 29 to February 28, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at a meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on January 27.

Major airlines, travel businesses and hoteliers have signed a petition to the Prime Minister proposing that Vietnam reopen its door to international tourism in February as opposed to April or May as scheduled.

All public and private hospitals in HCM City that meet the conditions mandated by health authorities can now treat people entering the country with COVID-19.

The Ministry of Health has asked the ministries of foreign affairs, national defence, public security and transport, and local governments to create favourable conditions for entrants to Vietnam ahead of the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.

Vietnam’s total import-export turnover this year is anticipated to reach between US$740 - 750 billion, representing a rise of 13 – 15% over the previous year, according to industry insiders.