Breakfast @ Tuoi Tre News - March 17

Check out the latest news in Vietnam today:

Politics

-- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held a phone call with Angolan President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço on Monday, discussing bilateral ties and global challenges, while requesting Angola’s support in supplying crude oil and natural gas to Vietnam.

Society

-- Humid weather combined with fog is expected to create favorable conditions for dampness across northern Vietnam on Tuesday, while the southern region remains in the peak of the dry season with hot and muggy conditions, according to the national weather center.

-- A truck driver in Tay Ninh Province has been fined VND19 million (US$722) and had four points deducted from his 12-point driver’s license after driving against traffic on National Highway 22, following a report submitted by residents through social media, police said on Monday.

-- Two men were killed by electrocution on Monday in Ca Mau Province, after a piling rig they were relocating accidentally touched a power line, a local official confirmed the same day.

Economy

-- Vietnam’s major banks and securities firms are preparing to establish operations in the country’s planned International Finance Centers in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, signaling strong interest in joining the emerging financial ecosystem.

-- Vietnamese conglomerate Sun Group has become the largest founding shareholder of Vietnam Digital Asset JSC, a newly registered company in Hanoi that plans to operate a digital asset trading platform.

Ho Chi Minh City

-- Ho Chi Minh City’s traffic police said on Monday that they reported more than 84,500 violations in the first two months of 2026, identified through its expanding network of surveillance cameras.

-- The administration of Ho Chi Minh City has asked agencies to monitor fuel prices and supply while keeping bus and coach fares under control, following recent increases linked to rising fuel costs.

-- Restaurants and food stalls across Ho Chi Minh City have begun raising menu prices by VND3,000-20,000 ($0.1-0.8) per dish as input costs surge, particularly gas and fresh produce.