What you need to know today in Vietnam:

Politics

-- Former Vietnamese Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long had his sentence reduced to 17 years from 18 years in prison during an appeal court hearing in Hanoi on Friday as he contributed an additional VND1 billion (US$39,290) to mitigate the consequences of a coronavirus test kit scandal. He was jailed for taking bribes worth $2.25 million.

Society

-- The management board of the Tuyen Lam Lake national tourist site in Da Lat City, a famed tourist city in Vietnam's Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, confirmed on Saturday that a group of five women danced in front of a car parked on a road in the tourist site, encroaching on over one-fourth of the road and slowing down other vehicles.

-- Trees along the Hoa Phuoc - Hoa Khuong section of a beltway in the south of Da Nang City in central Vietnam have lost their leaves and branches and withered.

-- The Ministry of Transport has approved a plan to increase the capacity of Lien Khuong Airport in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong to five million passengers per year by 2030 and seven million passengers by 2050 from the current two million.

-- A pig farm was found to release wastewater with a foul odor into Lak Lake, which was recognized as a national landscape in 1993, in Dak Lak Province, located in the Central Highlands, sparking public concerns.

Sports

-- Vietnam has no gymnast competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics in July as Vietnamese gymnasts failed to secure spots during qualifiers since early this year. The Vietnamese gymnastics team successfully earned tickets to compete at the four previous Olympic Games editions in 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020.

-- Vietnamese martial artist Bac Thi Khiem on Saturday beat her Chinese opponent to claim the women’s 67kg weight class gold medal at the 2024 Asian Taekwondo Championships in Da Nang City, central Vietnam.

World News

-- “Apple is developing a slimmer version of the iPhone that is likely to be launched by 2025,” Reuters reported, citing the Information, an American technology industry–focused business publication.

-- “Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico remains in serious condition and still faces risks of complications but has stabilised, following Wednesday's assassination attempt,” Reuters quoted officials as saying.

Like us on Facebook or  follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!