What you need to know today in Vietnam:

Politics

-- Dennis Francis, President of the United Nations General Assembly, will visit Vietnam from July 21 to 23, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday. This will be the first Vietnam visit by a UN General Assembly president.

-- Vietnam presented to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf its Submission on the Limits of the Extended Continental Shelf in respect of the Central Area of the East Vietnam Sea at the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday morning (local time), according to the Vietnam News Agency.

Society

-- A court in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday sentenced Shawn Han Sxe Siang, 42, and Loh Si Yu, 25, to 3.5 years and three years, respectively, in jail for theft. The Singaporeans stole seven bags from famous brands such as Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Gucci Deco, and others from a shopping mall in Ho Chi Minh City from August 6 to 9, 2023 for resale in Singapore. They claimed to have committed the crime out of their dire straits in the city-state.

-- It is forecast to rain both in northern and southern Vietnam on Friday.

-- On Thursday, police in Thanh Hoa Province, north-central Vietnam announced that they had just dismantled a transnational fireworks transportation and trading ring, arresting five suspects and seizing 225.8kg of various types of fireworks.

-- Authorities in Binh Thuan Province, south-central Vietnam have approved a plan to spend VND88.5 billion (US$3.5 million) closing the Binh Tu landfill in Tien Thanh Commune, Phan Thiet City to reduce pollution and its long-term impact on residents' lives.

-- The Da Nang City People's Committee announced on Thursday that it had submitted a proposal to the People's Council on covering the cost of purchasing smartphones for low-income and near-poor households in the city.

Business

-- Rohit Sharma, Head of ASEAN and Oceania at the Confederation of Indian Industry, stated on Thursday that before their trip to Vietnam, Indian businesses had researched and identified emerging opportunities for cooperation with Vietnamese partners in the mechanical, construction, and energy industries.

-- On Thursday, the General Directorate of Vocational Education and Training under the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs and Grab Vietnam held a conference to summarize and evaluate the cooperation and support for the development and enhancement of skills for technology drivers after three years of implementation. Thousands of drivers in Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City have been trained in safe driving, emergency handling, English communication, passenger support, and personal financial management, with online training sessions receiving over 24,000 views and 4,700 interactions and comments on social media as of June 2024.

-- The Ho Chi Minh City taxman has said that they suspended 2,766 individuals and business representatives from going overseas over their tax debts in the first six months of this year.

World News

-- "ChatGPT maker OpenAI said on Thursday it was launching GPT-4o mini, a cost-efficient small AI model, aimed at making its technology more affordable and less energy-intensive, allowing the startup to target a broader pool of customers," Reuters reported.

-- "U.S. President Joe Biden is continuing to conduct official business while experiencing mild upper respiratory symptoms associated with his COVID diagnosis, his doctor said on Thursday, adding that the president's vital signs remain normal," according to Reuters.

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