What you need to know in Vietnam today:Politics

-- On July 1, the Consulate General of the United States in Ho Chi Minh City hosted a reception to celebrate the 239th anniversary of Independence Day (July 4, 1776-July 4, 2015). The event was attended by Consul General Rena Bitter, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius and Vice Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Thi Hong.

Society

-- According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the central province of Ninh Thuan has had to stop agricultural production on a 20,000 hectare area due to severe drought, considered the worst for the past 40 years. -- The Ho Chi Minh City Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin on Wednesday began the construction of Cam Village in Hoc Mon District. The village will be a center to offer nurturing, treatment, vocational training and rehabilitation to dioxin victims in southern provinces. The work is expected to finish at the end of 2018. -- Ho Chi Minh City saw 519 cases of dengue in June, a 20 percent increase compared with the previous month, Dr. Nguyen Tri Dung, director of the municipal preventive medicine center, said in a meeting on Wednesday.  -- On Wednesday, doctors at Children's Hospital No. 1 in Ho Chi Minh City successfully removed a 10x15cm lymphatic tumor from the neck of a 15-day-old baby, who is the daughter of D.T.O. from the northern province of Ha Nam. It took the doctors four hours to complete the surgery.

-- The People’s Committee of the central province of Quang Binh began constructing a facility to provide solar power for more than 1,000 households in remote areas that have not had access to the national electricity grid. The total capital for the work is estimated at US$13.78 million, with $12 million of which borrowed at low interest from the South Korean government.

Business -- The Vietnamese Lychee Week in Australia kicked off on Wednesday in Cabramatta, Bankstown, and Marrickvilles, the three places where many Vietnamese people live. The event, held by the Vietnam Trade Office in Australia in collaboration with the Vietnam Enterprise Association in Australia in the hope of promoting the Vietnamese fruit, will run until July 4.