Breakfast @ Tuoi Tre News – August 13

Catch up on the news in Vietnam today:

Politics

-- Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung affirmed at a meeting with Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam Rajpal Singh in Hanoi on Wednesday that Singapore remains one of Vietnam’s leading regional partners, calling for stronger high-level exchanges and expanded cooperation in areas including trade, investment, clean energy, digital transformation and human resources, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

-- Vietnam’s Politburo has set a target for the country to master technologies for deep processing of rare earths, semiconductor and battery materials by 2030, with domestic content in some strategic materials reaching 50 percent and three to five national materials research centers established by 2028.

Society

-- Ground-penetrating radar surveys conducted recently at Con Tien Hill in Quang Tri Province identified several suspected underground disturbances that may contain the remains of 173 Vietnamese special forces soldiers killed in a 1967 battle, with authorities set to conduct exploratory excavations, Major General Le Van Trung, head of Military Region 4's Steering Committee for the Search for, Recovery and Identification of Martyrs' Remains, said on Wednesday.

-- Hanoi’s Hong Ha Bridge, part of the Ring Road No. 4 project, has reached about 40 percent completion nearly 10 months after construction began on October 31, 2025, the Hanoi Management Board of Traffic Infrastructure Construction Projects said on Wednesday, adding that the bridge and its approach roads are expected to be completed and opened to traffic in 2027.

-- Vietnamese cultural and creative industry stakeholders at a recent conference in Ho Chi Minh City called for stronger digital copyright protections, including cutting copyright registration to seven to 10 working days and using blockchain or digital IDs, amid rising risks of AI-driven infringement on cross-border platforms.

Business

-- Chairman of the Hanoi administration Vu Dai Thang has ordered authorities to intensify oversight of the gold, silver and foreign exchange markets, including conducting thematic inspections of at least two gold and silver businesses this year to detect and crack down on smuggling, illegal trading, money laundering, tax evasion, commercial fraud and price manipulation.

-- Thailand-based nonprofit Kenan Foundation Asia and Thai Nguyen University of Information and Communication Technology launched a program in Thai Nguyen on Wednesday to provide practical AI training and support for 18,700 Vietnamese micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

-- Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City administration Nguyen Van Duoc on Wednesday urged local authorities to accelerate public investment disbursement to drive private investment, remove obstacles to stalled projects and help the city achieve its 10.2 percent growth target in 2026.

Tourism

-- Vietnam’s tourism industry needs about 40,000 new workers annually but can currently supply only half that number, experts said at a conference in Can Tho on Wednesday, proposing a “five-integration” training model to equip workers with professional, digital, foreign-language and innovation skills amid the rise of AI.

Culture

-- Vietnamese jazz artists Quyen Van Minh and Duong Cam said at a press conference in Hanoi on Wednesday that Hanoi is now the country’s jazz hub, with the Hanoi International Jazz Festival 2026 set to bring 16 Vietnamese and international bands to venues around the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake from September 17 to 19.