Breakfast @ Tuoi Tre News — February 17

Check out the latest news in Vietnam today:

Politics

-- At midnight on Monday — the eve of the 2026 Lunar New Year (Tet) — Vietnam's State President Luong Cuong delivered a Tet message, extending his New Year wishes of peace, good health, and happiness to compatriots, officials and soldiers nationwide, overseas Vietnamese communities, and people and friends worldwide.

Society

-- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Monday sent nationwide Tet travel safety wishes via the VNeTraffic app and urged traffic police to build on 2025 gains, when traffic crashes, deaths, and injuries all declined from 2024.

-- Police in Da Nang City said on Monday they had arrested and charged a foreign man, identified as Zhang Junhua, with theft after he allegedly stole over US$6,000, bank cards, and other belongings from two diners at a local restaurant.

-- A cold air spell will bring rain and chilly conditions to northern and north-central Vietnam from Tuesday, the first day of Tet, while the southern region is set to turn hot and sunny, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

Business

-- The General Department of Taxation under the Ministry of Finance has ordered the nationwide reassignment of all non-leadership officials responsible for administering property registration tax and gold trading-related taxes by February 28, citing corruption risks in these high-sensitivity areas.

-- The plant of Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical LLC in Thanh Hoa Province has been operating continuously at 125 percent of its designed capacity throughout the Tet holiday, without a day off, to help stabilize domestic fuel supply and ensure national energy security, according to the company.

Culture

-- A Hungarian man, Jozsef Zelei, departed Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday for a trans-Vietnam cycling journey to Hanoi, traveling through multiple localities over about 16 days to honor the Vietnamese people's struggle for independence and enduring commitment to peace, while wearing a shirt reading 'I love Vietnam.'

Sports

-- Top European football clubs including Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, and Tottenham Hotspur shared unique Tet greetings in Vietnamese, accompanied by eye-catching images, on their official social media accounts, delighting fans in Vietnam at midnight on Monday, the eve of Tet.

Tourism

-- During the Tet peak, Phu Quoc International Airport in Phu Quoc Special Zone, An Giang Province, southern Vietnam is handling 80–84 flights a day, with large numbers of international visitors flocking to attractions such as Hoang Hon (Sunset) Town and Vinpearl Safari Phu Quoc, the airport authority said.

World News

-- The well-known sea-stack arch at Sant'Andrea in Melendugno, Puglia, Italy — widely known as Lovers' Arch — collapsed on Valentine's Day, February 14, after powerful storm surges and heavy rain battered southern Italy, The Guardian reported on Monday.