Breakfast @ Tuoi Tre News — April 13

Read what is in the news in Vietnam today:

Politics

-- Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico arrived in Hanoi on Sunday afternoon, beginning his three-day official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Prime Minister Le Minh Hung.

Society

-- On Sunday, Ho Chi Minh City Social Security said foreign workers in Vietnam subject to compulsory social insurance must also join the national health insurance scheme, with contributions set at 4.5 percent of the monthly salary while violations may trigger penalties and back payments.

-- Five people were rescued and taken to hospital with no fatalities reported after a late Sunday fire at a five-story house in Hanoi, where authorities deployed 10 fire engines to contain the blaze by early Monday, with the cause under investigation.

-- Vietnam’s Prime Minister Le Minh Hung on Sunday attended the groundbreaking ceremony for a high-speed railway linking Hanoi and Quang Ninh Province, a 120-km electrified double-track line designed for speeds of up to 350 kph and expected to cut travel time to about 23 minutes by completion in 2028.

The project, spanning four localities and backed by Vingroup’s VinSpeed unit with an investment of more than VND147 trillion (US$5.6 billion), will use technology supplied by Germany’s Siemens Mobility.

-- Police in Dong Thap Province, southern Vietnam on Sunday said they had arrested two suspects linked to the theft of about 30 taels of 99.99-percent gold from a local business.

-- Vietnam is facing rising rabies risks amid prolonged heat, with Tay Ninh Province reporting seven deaths since the start of 2026 and vaccination demand increasing, while low immunization coverage at below 50 percent in dogs and cats continues to heighten transmission risks, health officials said.

Economy

-- Vietnam Airlines said in its audited 2025 financial statements that it posted an after-tax profit of about VND7.607 trillion ($288.8 million), down more than VND106 billion ($4 million) from its unaudited figure, mainly due to higher cost of goods sold, while its profit fell VND350.2 billion ($13.3 million) from 2024 when one-off debt forgiveness income boosted results.

Ho Chi Minh City

-- Authorities in Vung Tau Ward, Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday said they had fined and suspended for three months a ‘banh mi’ vendor after 108 people were hospitalized with abdominal pain and vomiting following their consumption of the bread from the vendor, with tests showing Salmonella in 28 of 51 bread samples.

-- A fire at a rental house on Nguyen Thi Thoi Street in Ho Chi Minh City early on Sunday killed two people and injured five, including four in critical condition with severe respiratory failure and smoke inhalation who are receiving intensive treatment, while a 14-month-old child has stabilized, authorities said.

-- Ho Chi Minh City police detected 12 cases involving 31 suspects linked to the theft of dogs and cats in the first quarter of 2026, authorities said.

-- Ho Chi Minh City’s prime office rents averaged about $64.7 per square meter per month in the first quarter of 2026, up 1.1 percent year on year, placing the market among the five most expensive in the Asia-Pacific region as steady demand kept vacancy at 18.8 percent despite no new supply, Jones Lang LaSalle Vietnam said.