Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.
- Party General Secretry To Lam, Secretary of the Central Military Commission, attended and delivered a speech at a ceremony in Hanoi on December 20 to mark the 80th founding anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) and 35th anniversary of the All-People Defence Festival (December 22).
The Party chief traced the army’s origin to December 22, 1944 when the Vietnam Propaganda Unit of Liberation Army, the predecessor of the VPA, was established, underscoring that under the guidance of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh, coupled with strong support from the people, the army achieved remarkable growth and numerous victories. Read full story
- The Presidential Office on December 20 announced the President’s order to make public nine new laws that were passed by the 15th National Assembly at its eighth session.
They are the Value Added Tax Law; the Law on amendments and supplementations to a number of articles of the Law on Securities, Accounting Law, Law on Independent Audit, State Budget Law, Law on Management and Use of Public Assets, Tax Management Law, Law on Personal Income Tax, Law on the National Reserves, and Law on Handling of Administrative Violations; the Cultural Heritage Law; the Notary Law; the Law on Urban and Rural Planning; the Trade Union Law; the Data Law; the Fire Prevention, Fighting and Rescue Law; and the Law on Human Trafficking Prevention and Control. Read full story
- Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long has signed a decision approving a scheme on global integration in education and training until 2030, aimed at fostering socio-economic development, people-to-people diplomacy and international cooperation across various sectors.
The scheme targets having at least 10 administrative units join the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities by 2030, and integrating foreign curricula into preschools and general education establishments in five more cities and provinces. Read full story
- The Authority of Information Security (AIS) under the Ministry of Information and Communications, in collaboration with Google, launched the Official Government Apps feature on December 20 to enhance user protection against fraudulent activities and ensure online safety in Vietnam.
Vietnam is the first country to cooperate with Google in implementing this new initiative. Read full story
- Phu Quoc city, a popular resort island off the coast of the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang, reeled in over 21.17 trillion VND (831.75 million USD) in 2024 tourism revenue, accounting for more than 84% of the province's total turnover from the sector.
According to data from the municipal People’s Committee, it hosted more than 5.9 million tourists throughout the year, up 7.1% year-on-year, including 963,000 foreigners. Read full story
- Ten people have been arrested and more than 200kg of drugs seized after police busted a gang smuggling narcotics from Cambodia and Laos to Vietnam.
The Drug Crime Investigation Police Department (C04) under the Ministry of Public Security said on December 20 that the ring leader was Ly Thanh Huu, 40, from Hoc Mon district, Ho Chi Minh City. Read full story
- Vietnam’s tax sector has collected a record-high revenue of 1.7 quadrillion VND (66.7 billion USD) for the state budget in 2024, the General Department of Taxation reported at a conference on December 19.
Despite numerous challenges, tax authorities effectively implemented comprehensive measures throughout 2024 to enhance tax revenue management, heard the event. Read full story
- The Vietnamese women's national football team ended 2024 on a high note, climbing two spots to rank 114th in the latest FIFA rankings, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) announced on December 20.
In December, Vietnam secured two crucial victories in the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024, defeating Laos 4-1 and Indonesia 1-0. These wins added 3.68 points to their total, bringing them to 1,164.79 points. The strong performance also helped Vietnam return to the top 20 teams in Asia. Read full story
- The latest biannual report from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasts a significant increase in global coffee production for the 2024-25 crop, driven by recovery in Vietnam and Indonesia's output.
World coffee production is expected to reach 174.9 million 60-kg bags, marking a substantial increase of 6.9 million bags compared to the previous crop. However, rising consumption means ending stocks are projected to continue declining. Read full story./.
