Check out the news you should not miss today, June 2

Politics

-- Vietnam will reinforce defense ties with New Zealand, the UK, and Singapore, Vietnamese Minister of National Defence General Ngo Xuan Lich said after respective bilateral meetings with defence officials of these countries on Friday, the sidelines of the 17th Shangri-La Dialogue in the city-state.

-- The French Navy’s Mistral-class amphibious assault ship Dixmude and La Fayette-class frigate FS Surcouf with 713 officers and sailors on board docked in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday, commencing their five-day visit to the southern Vietnamese metropolis.

Society

-- A court in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday handed the death penalty to Thi Danh, former head of a board tasked with site clearance and compensation, for embezzling more than VND54 billion ($2.36 million) in damages that should have been given to people having to relocate for a major project to establish Tan Phu District in 2003.

-- The $196.8 million Ho Chi Minh City Nhi Dong Hospital was officially inaugurated on Friday, the International Children’s Day, after having been put into use since January 2018.

-- The Ho Chi Minh City Supreme Court on Friday decided to cancel the 18-month probation verdict of the court of appeal of a province-level court for Nguyen Khac Thuy on charges of sexually abusing two children aged six and 11 on May 11, determining to keep the previous verdict to sentence him to three years in prison.

Business

-- Vietnam hopes that the Japan International Cooperation Agency will continue working to increase Japanese official development assistance (ODA) for the country, State President Tran Dai Quang has proposed during a meeting  with JICA President Shinichi Kitaoka in Tokyo on Friday, as part of his ongoing state visit to Japan.

-- Children and the elderly will be allowed to check-in at the priority counters for domestic flights with Jetstar Pacific during the summer, the carrier said on Friday.

Lifestyle

-- Two Vietnamese circus performers, known as The Giang brothers, got a standing ovation with their stunning performance during the semi-final of the Britain’s Got Talent 2018 on Friday.

-- French photographer and reporter Nicolas Cornet launched his latest photo book “Vietnam Pagodas” in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday, showcasing 30 pagodas across the nation.