What you need to know today in Vietnam:

Politics

-- U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, along with a U.S. delegation sent by President Joe Biden, on Saturday evening offered incense in tribute to General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong and extended condolences to the late Party leader's spouse Ngo Thi Man, as well as his family at their residence on Thien Quang Street in Hanoi.

-- Vietnamese State President To Lam and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Saturday hosted separate receptions for U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, who came to Hanoi to extend condolences to the government and people of Vietnam as well as the family of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong over the Vietnamese Party leader's passing on July 19.

Society

-- Whirlwinds coupled with heavy rain on Saturday swept through various communes in Cai Be District, Tien Giang Province, southern Vietnam, causing 33 houses to collapse or have their roofs blown off, injuring a resident, and uprooting 260 fruit trees, the provincial steering committee for natural disaster prevention and control reported the same day.

-- Police in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City said on Saturday that they had fined and deported a 24-year-old New Zealander and a 26-year-old Frenchman for vandalizing local properties with graffiti. 

-- The Ministry of Transport has sought the government's approval for an adjustment to the estimated investment in the My Thuan - Can Tho Expressway project in southern Vietnam by an additional VND999 billion (US$39.5 million) to nearly VND5.9 trillion ($233.2 million) to develop an intersection and collector roads along the expressway.

-- Police in Ha Tinh Province, north-central Vietnam said on Saturday that they had cooperated with Lao police to burst a drug trafficking ring, arresting a Lao suspect and seizing 209 kilograms of drugs.

Lifestyle

-- The second competition of the Nha Trang International Light Bay Festival, Vietnam’s first international drone light show contest, between France and the United Arab Emirates as well as the closing ceremony for the festival will take place on August 3 on Hon Tre Island in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam, the provincial administration announced. The competition was earlier planned to be held on July 20.

Sports

-- “The opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics drew 28.6 million U.S. viewers,” Reuters reported, citing preliminary data from Comcast's NBCUniversal on Saturday, which the company said was the most-watched start to a summer Games since London in 2012.

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