Breakfast @ Tuoi Tre News - October 4

Check out the latest news in Vietnam today:

Politics

-- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet has sent a letter of sympathy to his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh after storm Bualoi battered northern and central Vietnamese provinces, leaving heavy casualties and widespread damage, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Friday.

Society

-- Storm Matmo, the 11th to hit the East Vietnam Sea this year, intensified in the northern part of the maritime region early on Saturday morning and is forecast to approach the Gulf of Tonkin with sustained winds of up to 149 kph and gusts of 184 kph over the following 24-48 hours, according to the national weather agency.

-- The Vietnam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration is working with relevant agencies to propose removing Bualoi from the rotating storm name list, after the storm left 53 people dead, 14 others missing, 164 injured and caused VND16.510 trillion ($623 million) in damages, head of the national weather agency said on Friday.

-- The Ministry of Public Security has launched criminal proceedings against Hoang Thi Huong, commonly known as Hoang Huong, and five others for serious accounting violations. Authorities estimate that Huong failed to record nearly VND1.8 trillion ($68 million) in revenue and wrongly declared value-added tax on nearly VND2.1 trillion ($80 million) in sales.

Ho Chi Minh City

-- Ho Chi Minh City leaders on Friday affirmed their commitment to support South Korean-owned Lotte Properties HCMC in continuing the stalled $762-million Thu Thiem Eco Smart City project, after the investor signaled it would remain engaged despite earlier concerns.

-- Ho Chi Minh City’s chapter of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee has proposed an initial relief package worth VND28 billion ($1.060 million) to support northern and central provinces severely affected by storm Bualoi, while mobilizing schools, hospitals, and local communities to contribute further aid.

Education

-- Hanoi’s Department of Education and Training has issued an urgent directive requiring schools to closely monitor storm Matmo, suspend risky activities, and ensure the safety of students as the storm approaches northern Vietnam.

Travel

-- Hoi An on Friday inaugurated Thanh Tam pier, the first tourist dock serving coracle boat tours to the famous Cam Thanh nipa palm forest, a popular ecotourism site located about three kilometers from the UNESCO-listed ancient town, now administered by Da Nang City.

World News

-- Both runways at Munich airport were closed on Friday evening for the second time in less than 24 hours after drones were again sighted, authorities said, Reuters reported.

-- Trump administration officials have discussed taking a stake in Critical Metals Corp (CRML.O), four people familiar with the discussions told Reuters, which would give Washington a direct interest in the largest rare earths project in Greenland, the Arctic territory that President Donald Trump once suggested buying.