Police in HCM City have confiscated 1.2 tonnes of khat leaves imported from Africa and one case re-exported to the US. The leaves, which contain the stimulant cathinone, are banned in Việt Nam.

Three Vietnamese students from HCM City University of Technology won the first prize at the nation-wide Smart Water Innovation Contest, organised by the Swedish Embassy in Hà Nội. Their idea was to develop a smart phone app to detect water leakages, the embassy announced yesterday.

Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng has asked the HCM City People’s Committee to inspect violations related to construction of the Bảy Hiền Tower in Tân Bình District, ensuring the rights of local residents.

Minister of Transport Trương Quang Nghĩa, during an inspection on Sunday, said the new Ghềnh Bridge across the Đồng Nai River in the southern province of Đồng Nai would help the railway sector rebound after its recent decline. 

The overloaded boat was carrying 53 passengers and three crew – double the allowed capacity. It skewed heavily in the middle of the Hàn River and capsized almost instantly.

Deputy Prime Minister Vương Đình Huệ has urged HCM City to accelerate the equitisation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to ensure that an SOE plan approved by the Prime Minister is completed by 2018.

The Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for a long-term plan to promote domestic tourism, particularly in the central provinces of Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên-Huế.

Three children drowned this morning when they fell into a small river, where they were fishing, in the central province of Thừa Thiên-Huế.

The Việt Nam Waterway Construction Corporation (Vinawaco) has been removed from the list of 26 poor contractors ranked by the Ministry of Transport.