Breakfast @ Tuoi Tre News — March 15

Read what is in the news in Vietnam today:

Politics

-- Nearly 79 million voters across Vietnam are going to the polls on Sunday to elect deputies to the National Assembly and local People’s Councils for the new term.

Society

-- A collision between a truck and a car on the Cam Lam–Vinh Hao Expressway in Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam on Saturday left two people dead and one seriously injured, local authorities said.

-- Police in Bac Ninh Province, northern Vietnam have arrested and detained a local producer accused of mixing acetic acid with water and selling it as ‘100-percent natural white vinegar,’ seizing 7,488 bottles of the product and 150 kg of acetic acid.

-- Search queries related to fuel in Vietnam surged to nearly seven million between March 1 and March 12, reflecting strong public interest amid market fluctuations, according to data from Coc Coc Research.

-- The latest 26.11.1 update of Google Maps introduces a redesigned interface, integrates the Gemini assistant, and allows customizable navigation icons on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, though several newly announced features remain unavailable in Vietnam.

Economy

-- Financial statements for 2025 showed several Vietnamese banks reduced staffing as the sector accelerated restructuring and technology adoption, with LPBank cutting nearly 1,600 jobs, or about 14.2 percent, to 9,597 employees by year-end, while VIB reduced its workforce by nearly 1,460, about 12 percent, and Sacombank cut 1,272 positions, roughly seven percent of its staff.

-- Vietnam’s dong interbank rates fell by 0.2–0.5 percentage points across maturities of one month or less on Thursday, with the overnight rate at 4.2 percent, while the State Bank of Vietnam conducted VND4 trillion (US$152.1 million) of open market operations and absorbed a net VND4.672 trillion ($177.7 million) from the banking system, according to the Vietnam Interbank Market Research Association.

Ho Chi Minh City

-- Starting Sunday, Ho Chi Minh City launched public electric bicycles alongside its existing bike-sharing service, offering users 15 minutes of free use in March.

-- Nearly 500 chess players aged five to 18 from Ho Chi Minh City and nearby provinces competed at the third VFIS Chess Fest held on Saturday at the Vietnam–Finland International School.