What you need to know today in Vietnam:

Politics

-- Vietnamese State President To Lam announced on Thursday a gift in the form of 20 Vinfast electric cars from Vietnam to Laos during his two-day state visit to the neighboring country.

Society

-- The criminal police departments under the Vietnamese and Chinese Ministries of Public Security held a conference in Thua Thien-Hue Province on Thursday to launch a campaign to crack down on human trafficking.

-- A Vietnamese company has managed to assemble a small-sized pickup truck to battle fires in alleyways in urban areas instead of relying on imported big trucks for firefighting. The pickup truck fetches VND1-1.2 billion (US$39,331-47,198).

 -- The Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control has warned of the possible transmission of diphtheria to the city from Nghe An Province in north-central Vietnam and Bac Giang in the northern region.

-- Two whales appeared on Thursday in the waters of Cu Lao Mai Nha in Tuy An District, Phu Yen Province, south-central Vietnam, surprising local residents.

Business

-- The REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard, the world's first purely jurisdictional carbon credit standard under Virginia-based carbon registry ART, has accepted Vietnam's carbon registration and monitoring reports, S&P Global quoted ART as saying in a statement on Wednesday. This milestone paves the way for Vietnam to bring jurisdictional carbon credits to the market.

Lifestyle

-- Vietnam Railways Corporation organized a ceremony on Thursday to formally designate Da Lat Railway Station as a tourist destination. The station is located at 1 Quang Trung Street, Ward 10, Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province.

-- The Nha Trang International Light Bay Festival 2024 will open on Saturday evening, with a drone light show competition between South Korea and China at April 2 Square in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, South-central Vietnam. France and the UAE will compete on July 20 at Vinpearl Harbor on Hon Tre Island, which is also the location of the closing ceremony the same day.

World News

-- "New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Thursday that his country needed to stand up for the international rules-based order as potential military flashpoints loom in the Indo-Pacific region," Reuters reported.

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