What you need to know in Vietnam today:

Society

-- The southern province of Binh Duong has planned to develop 10 more industrial parks in the 2023-30 period, the Vietnam News Agency reported, quoting head of the provincial Industrial Park Management Board Nguyen Trung Tin.

-- Dak Nong Province in Vietnam’s Central Highlands will launch five tours and prepare nearly 200 lodging facilities which can accommodate over 7,100 tourists per day to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the province’s establishment, a local official said on Saturday.

-- The Ministry of Transport has proposed spending VND7 trillion (US$283.2 million) expanding the Cam Lo - La Son Expressway connecting Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Tri Provinces in central Vietnam to four lanes. Most of the expressway currently has two lanes only. If the proposal is approved, the project is expected to be commenced late this year and completed next year, said Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy.

-- Authorities in Dak Nong have suggested the government identify the cause and work out solutions to severe landslides along a local river, which has caused over 122 hectares of farmland to fall into the river since 2010.

-- Many drivers passing through a Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway section near the Long Thanh International Airport project in the namesake district of Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam have recently complained about dust from the construction site. During the same period last year, dust also blanketed thousands of houses, projects, factories, and schools in Long Thanh District and neighboring districts.

-- More than 90 percent of Vietnamese residents suffer from dental diseases, which affect their health and quality of life, chairman of the Vietnam Odonto - Stomatology Association Tran Cao Binh reported.

-- A fire caused by an electrical short circuit engulfed a middle school in Hanoi on Saturday afternoon. There was no report on human loss in the incident.

-- As of Saturday afternoon, 170 patients were still under treatment in hospitals due to suspected food poisoning after consuming chicken rice earlier this week at a restaurant in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam. A total of 358 cases of suspected food poisoning related to the incident have been recorded, according to a report by the provincial Department of Health.

Business

-- More than 3,000 foreigners bought houses in Vietnam from 2015 to the end of the third quarter of 2023, with 90 percent of them purchasing apartments. Up to 60 percent of these foreigners buying apartments for investment, according to a report by realty consultancy firm CBRE Vietnam.

World News

-- “SpaceX is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites under a classified contract with a U.S. intelligence agency, demonstrating deepening ties between billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's space company and national security agencies,” Reuters cited five sources familiar with the program as saying.

-- “A volcano in Iceland erupted on Saturday for the fourth time since December, spewing smoke and bright orange lava into the air in sharp contrast against the dark night sky,” Reuters reported, citing the country's meteorological office.

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