Here are the most important news stories about Vietnam you do not want to miss today, September 2.

Politics

-- Vietnam celebrates its 70th National Day today, September 2, with a series of activities highlighted by a massive parade in the capital city of Hanoi.

-- Leaders from China, Laos, Cambodia, Cuba, and Russia have applauded Vietnam for its socio-economic development over the past 70 years in congratulatory messages sent to their Vietnamese counterparts on the occasion of the country’s National Day.

-- Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc met his Cambodian counterpart Men Som On in Hanoi on Tuesday, when they both agreed that the two countries should continue to enhance solidarity, cooperation and mutual support.

Society

-- Ho Chi Minh City will host two fireworks displays, one at the Saigon River Tunnel in District 2 and the other at Dam Sen Cultural Park in District 11, tonight to mark the country’s 70^th anniversary of independence.

-- A Ho Chi Minh City court on Tuesday gave sentences ranging from 20 months to eight years to 56 people and imposed civil fines on eight others involved in an illegal online gambling ring operating via the website 188bet.com, which was busted by Vietnamese police in 2013.

-- Twelve giant LED screens will be located at 12 points across Hanoi for locals to watch the massive parade to mark Vietnam’s National Day on Wednesday, the municipal administration announced late Tuesday.

Business

-- The Vietnam Railways Corporation managed to sell nearly 16,000 online train tickets on Tuesday – the first day when its maiden e-ticket system was put into use.

-- Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung requested relevant agencies to continue firmly maintaining macro-economic stability and apply synchronous measures to stabilize the foreign exchange rate between the dong and U.S. dollar, as he concluded a monthly government meeting in Hanoi on Tuesday.

-- Vietnam’s exports of mobile phones and parts topped US$19.95 billion in the January-August period, up 31.1 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office.

Lifestyle

-- Tuoi Tre (Youth) Newspaper celebrated 40 years of its development, since the establishment on September 2, 1975, during a live broadcast ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City, where it is headquartered, on Tuesday.

-- Private Vietnamese book firm Thanh Nghia has been fined VND202 million ($8,888) over a number of violations of the law on publishing, which includes publishing banned books and copyrighted English textbooks without permission.

Education

-- Two secondary schools in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang will start offering German courses from the 2015-16 academic year, under a program sponsored by Germany's Central Agency for Schools Abroad.

Sports

-- Binh Duong, a football (soccer) club based in the namesake province in southern Vietnam, won the championship of the 2015 Toyota V-League 1, their fourth title since 2007, two matches in advance after drawing with Hai Phong 0-0 on Tuesday.