Catch up on the news in Vietnam today:

Society

-- Some 200,000 Vietnamese people suffer a stroke every year, with stroke rates among young adults increasing, doctors at Thong Nhat Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City told a conference on Friday.

-- A fierce fire erupted at a 200-square-meter warehouse of necessaries in Pleiku City under the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai and quickly spread to two neighboring houses on Friday afternoon. The blaze was put under control after raging for nearly two hours.

-- Two people were killed and one other was injured after a truck ran out of control and careered down a pavement on National Highway 1 in Mo Duc District in the central province of Quang Ngai on Friday afternoon.

Politics

-- Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim, and their spouses took a stroll along the December 19 book street in Hanoi on Friday, amazing many locals.

Business

-- The United States sees Vietnam as a key partner in diversifying semiconductor supply chains, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said at a press briefing in Hanoi on Friday.

-- The retail prices of the popular RON95 gasoline and bio-fuel E5RON92 were adjusted up over VND1,200 (US$0.05) per liter on Friday afternoon by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Finance.

-- Vietnam is expected to export $1.2-1.5 billion worth of durians in 2023, a year-on-year surge of 3.5-fold, heard a forum held in Dong Nai Province, a neighbor of Ho Chi Minh City, on Friday.

Sports

-- Thu Duc City under Ho Chi Minh City will roll out an annual running race in early September, making it the city’s first yearly sports event. The event will feature some 4,000 runners in the five-, 10- and 21-kilometer races.

-- Vietnamese and American football fans are eagerly waiting for the opener between Vietnam and four-times champions the United States at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup at Eden Park in New Zealand at 8:00 am (Vietnam time). They thronged the stadium at 6:00 am.

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