Check out the latest news in Vietnam today:

Politics

-- Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Wednesday sent a letter of congratulations to Lawrence Wong as the latter took office as Prime Minister of Singapore, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

-- Standing Vice-Chairman of the lawmaking National Assembly Tran Thanh Man hosted a reception in Hanoi on Wednesday for André Flahaut, member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, Minister of State, and former President of the Chamber of Representatives. Man affirmed that Vietnam always considers Belgium an important partner in the European Union, reported the Vietnam News Agency.

-- Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Gennady Stepanovich Bezdetko said on Wednesday that Russia threw its support behind Vietnam’s plan to join the BRICS bloc.

Society

-- Nearly 100 workers from a firm, located in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam, were hospitalized with food poisoning symptoms such as abdominal pain and headache after their dinner on Wednesday.

-- The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has ordered relevant units to review inadequate traffic infrastructure projects and remove obstacles facing the city’s traffic system growth to ease traffic jams and minimize accidents.

-- Police in Cam Khe District, Phu Tho Province, northern Vietnam said on Wednesday afternoon that they had busted a major wildlife trafficking ring, detaining three individuals and rescuing a live tiger.

-- Heavy downpours hit Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday afternoon, flooding many streets and leaving traffic paralyzed. This is the heaviest rainfall to have been recorded in the southern metropolis in the year to date.

-- Moderate to heavy rains are forecast to continue sweeping through many parts of Vietnam on Thursday and Friday, with a rain volume of up to 120 millimeters, according to the national weather center.

Lifestyle

-- The second Da Nang Asian Film Festival (DANAFF) will take place in the capital of central Vietnam in early July, according to the Da Nang City Department of Culture and Sports.

-- Tien Giang Province in southern Vietnam will organize a fruit festival at Hung Vuong Square in My Tho City from June 10 to 12, in the hope of treating fest-goers to various local fruits and a wide array of cultural performances.

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