Breakfast @ Tuoi Tre News — January 19

Read what is in the news in Vietnam today:

Politics

-- A total of 1,586 delegates representing more than 5.6 million Party members nationwide attended the preparatory session of the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam at the National Convention Center in Hanoi on Monday morning.

-- Vietnam’s Party General Secretary To Lam has accepted an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump for Vietnam to join the Gaza Peace Council as a founding member, after Trump sent a letter on January 16 inviting Hanoi to participate in the international body aimed at promoting sustainable peace between Israel and Palestine in the Gaza Strip.

Society

-- Vietnam is set to cool from Monday as a cold air mass moves in, bringing colder days ahead, with the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting saying northern regions and the areas from Thanh Hoa Province to Hue City will see isolated rain, early-morning fog and cold nights, while the other regions remain sunny with chilly conditions overnight in the highlands.

-- Vietnamese police have fined a man VND2.5 million (US$95) for approaching foreign tourists to offer drugs in Hanoi’s Old Quarter, authorities said on Sunday.

Ho Chi Minh City

-- Ho Chi Minh City will continue to expand trials of delivery drones with longer flight routes and roll out more complex operating scenarios, including flights in rain and strong winds as well as control-signal loss and technical failures, the city’s Department of Science and Technology said.

-- A 20-meter-long and 10-meter-wide section of road along the Tau Hu Canal in Ho Chi Minh City collapsed on Sunday, prompting authorities to cordon off the area as they investigated the cause and carry out repairs.

Economy

-- Vietnam’s Gia Lai Province has approved the investment policy and selected an investor for the Tay Giang Industrial Park project in Binh Khe Commune, a 300-hectare development with a total investment of nearly VND1.8 trillion ($68.5 million), authorities said on Sunday.

-- Vietnam is stepping up efforts to develop its semiconductor industry through cooperation with Dutch chipmaking equipment maker ASML, Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang said after meeting ASML senior vice-president Eduard Stiphout, citing the company’s growing interest in the Vietnamese market.

World News

-- Billionaire wealth surged at three times its recent pace last year to reach its highest level on record, deepening economic and political divides that threaten democratic stability, Reuters quoted anti-poverty group Oxfam as saying on Monday.

-- “Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in two regions in the south of the country on Sunday as raging wildfires forced at least 20,000 people to evacuate and left at least 18 people dead,” Reuters reported.