What you need to know today in Vietnam:

Politics

-- White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien is scheduled to visit Vietnam on Friday and Saturday, Le Thi Thu Hang, spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Thursday.

-- Many countries expressed their concerns over the situation in the East Vietnam Sea and affirmed a need to maintain sustainable peace and long-term stability in the important waterway during the 37th ASEAN Summit and the 15th East Asia Summit (EAS), the Vietnam News Agency quoted Le Thi Thu Hang, spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as saying on Thursday.

Society

-- Vietnam reported four imported COVID-19 cases on Thursday evening, taking the national tally to 1,304 patients, with 35 virus-related deaths.

-- Many people were injured when a seven-seater car crashed into 10 motorbikes in Thu Duc District, Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday night.

-- A Hanoi court on Thursday sentenced a man to death for beating his step-daughter to death in 2008.

Business

-- Ho Chi Minh City always considers the World Bank (WB) its important long-term development partner and appreciates WB resources that support the city’s socio-economic development, Vo Van Hoan, vice-chairman of the municipal People’s Committee said during a working session with Carolyn Turk, new country director of the bank in Vietnam, on Thursday.

-- New foreign direct investment (FDI) in real estate rose fourfold quarter-on-quarter to US$2.35 billion in the third quarter, the Vietnam News Agency reported, citing the Ministry of Planning and Investment's statistics.

World News

-- The European Union must only lift coronavirus restrictions slowly and gradually to avoid another wave of infections, Reuters reported the head of the bloc’s executive as saying on Thursday.