Breakfast @ Tuoi Tre News - March 19

Check out the latest news in Vietnam today:

Politics

-- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested Algeria to supply crude oil and natural gas to Vietnam during a phone call with Algerian Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb late on Wednesday, citing global supply disruptions and energy security concerns.

-- Vietnamese Minister of National Defense General Phan Van Giang and his Chinese counterpart Senior Lieutenant General Dong Jun held talks on Wednesday as part of the 10th Vietnam-China Border Defense Friendship Exchange, taking place from Wednesday to Thursday in Vietnam's Quang Ninh Province and China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Society

-- The national weather center reported that most regions of Vietnam experience sunny weather on Thursday, with some areas facing hot conditions. By late afternoon and evening, scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected in certain places.

-- An 11-year-old student in Phu Quoc, a special zone administered by An Giang Province, died after showing symptoms consistent with meningococcal disease, local health authorities reported on Wednesday.

-- Traffic police are investigating a case in which a bus driver and two assistants were found gambling for money inside a passenger bus while it was traveling on the Cau Gie-Ninh Binh Expressway in northern Vietnam.

Economy

-- The administration of Dong Nai Province on Wednesday approved a zoning plan for a 119-hectare digital technology park near Long Thanh International Airport, with an expected workforce of 9,500 to 10,500 people.

Education

-- Vietnam will break ground on 121 new boarding schools for elementary and middle school students in land border communes across 17 provinces on Thursday, in a project led by the Ministry of Education and Training.

Travel

-- An Giang Province, home to the famed tourist island of Phu Quoc, has set a goal of welcoming 39.5 million visitors, including over three million international arrivals, and generating more than VND108.45 trillion (US$4.1 billion) in tourism revenue by 2030 under a new development plan reviewed on Wednesday.