Here are today’s leading news stories:

Politics

-- Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Japanese counterpart Suga Yoshihide lauded the growing Vietnam - Japan ties and discussed ways to boost the two nations’ extensive strategic partnership during their phone talks on Monday, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

COVID-19 Updates

-- The Ministry of Health on Tuesday morning confirmed 19 local coronavirus cases in Hanoi and the northern provinces of Son La, Ha Nam, and Dien Bien, raising the country’s tally to 4,378, with 2,668 recoveries and 37 deaths.

-- The health department in northern Hai Phong City confirmed that a 42-year-old teacher tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday after she had taught many classes, visited multiple places, and come into contact with a lot of people.

-- Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have required all residents who have symptoms of respiratory disease to fill out health declaration forms whenever they purchase over-the-counter medicine.

Society

-- The Ministry of Public Security on Monday initiated legal proceedings against a married couple who own an IT company named VNIT TECH for collecting and trading a large amount of personal data.

-- A teacher from the Central Highlands city of Da Lat has been disciplined for beating a second-grade student, causing multiple bruises on his buttocks and engaging in a physical confrontation with his mother.

-- Police in Ho Chi Minh City confirmed on Monday they had arrested 40 people and confiscated 10 machetes after raiding a gambling den in Binh Tan District.

-- Traffic police in the southern province of Dong Nai on Monday detected five illegal Chinese migrants hiding inside cardboard boxes on board a long-haul bus.

Business

-- The total volume of rice exported by Vietnam in the first four months of this year was recorded at 1.9 million metric tons, worth US$1.01 billion, down 10.8 percent in quantity but up 1.2 percent in value year on year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.