What you need to know today in Vietnam:

Politics

-- France's Floréal-class frigate is set to leave Vietnam on Friday after its four-day visit to the Southeast Asian country started on Tuesday, the French Embassy in Hanoi told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Thursday. The French side asserted their support for freedom of navigation in the East Vietnam Sea.

Society

-- Vietnam reported two new local coronavirus cases at a quarantine center in Hai Duong Province on Friday, taking the tally to 2,535 patients, according to the Ministry of Health.

-- A court in Vietnam on Thursday sentenced four convicts to a combined 31 years in prison for "plotting to overthrow the people's government." 

-- Hanoi police have fined a man VND10.5 million (US$455) for riding a motorcycle at 299km per hour on a road on Tuesday. His motorcycle was confiscated for seven days while his driver's license was revoked.

-- The Ministry of Construction has submitted a new proposal on drainage in Ho Chi Minh City to the national government for approval given climate change having caused increasingly complex disasters, including inundation and subsidence.

Business

-- Vietnam's tech unicorn VNG on Thursday announced its $6 million investment in Got It, a local startup offering gifting and rewarding solutions.  

-- FLC Group's stake in Bamboo Airways has plummeted to 39.4 percent from 51.29 percent after the airline increased its charter capital to VND10.5 trilllion ($455 million) from VND7 trillion ($304 million), according to the group's audited financial statement for 2020. 

Sports

-- Vietnam's Viettel FC will play in Group F of the AFC Champions League in Thailand in June or July, according to an announcement from the Asian Football Confederation on Thursday. The Vietnamese club will clash with hosts BG Pathum United FC, Ulsan Hyundai FC from South Korea, and a team who can pass the preliminary round.

-- The 2021 V-League 1 season is poised to resume on Saturday after a two-month hiatus over the COVID-19 pandemic.

World News

-- "Apple Inc has started the assembly of iPhone 12 in India, the U.S. tech giant said, as the company ramps up manufacturing operations in the world’s second-biggest smartphone market," Reuters reported.

-- Several European countries have suspended AstraZeneca vaccinations after reports of blood clots post-inoculation, Reuters and AFP said.