Check out what is in the news today, June 21:

Politics

-- Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Tuesday received former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the Office of the Government in Hanoi.

Society

-- Border guards in a commune in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre revealed on Tuesday that they had handed over the bodies of two middle-aged fishermen who had died in two separate incidents at sea.

-- A 35-year-old kindergarten teacher in Dak To District in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum was electrocuted on Tuesday while trying to disentangle her son’s kite from electrical wires with an iron stick.

-- Doctors at a pediatrics hospital in Dong Nai Province, neighboring Ho Chi Minh City, have disclosed they had successfully treated a one-month-old infant for her rare congenital esophagus defect.

Business

-- Airlines in Vietnam including national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and budget carrier Vietjet Air have hired airplanes and crews from other countries in recent times to cope with the surge in passengers during peak seasons.

-- Vietnam exported nearly 2.4 million metric tons of rice, worth almost US$1.1 billion, during the first five months of 2017, with the volume to Russia up by 207 percent against the same period last year, according to statistics released by the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

-- Representatives of food associations and businesses complained at a seminar held in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday that their corporate activity has been plagued by complicated paperwork and excessive fees.

Lifestyle

-- A 20-metric-ton, multicolored precious stone which had been seized by authorities in Bao Lam District in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong has been taken to the Lang Biang nature reserve, located near Da Lat, which is recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Biosphere Reserve, where it will be put on public view.

Education

-- Approximately 866,000 students will show up today (June 21) at 2,364 exam sites across Vietnam to get ready for their national high school graduation exam. This year’s exam, the result of which will be used for both high school graduation and university admission, will take place from Thursday to Saturday.