Breakfast @ Tuoi Tre News – August 19

Catch up on the news in Vietnam today:

Society

-- Along Cach Mang Thang Tam Street in Hoa Hung and Nhieu Loc Wards of Ho Chi Minh City, many sections of the sidewalk have been taken over for street vending, forcing pedestrians to walk on the road.

-- With Hanoi forecast to see heavy rains in the coming days, the municipal administration and the Department of Construction have ordered agencies to remain on 24-hour standby and take proactive measures to maximize drainage capacity and prevent flooding.

-- The People's Court of Tay Ninh Province in southern Vietnam on Tuesday sentenced three people to 15-16 years in prison for setting up 20 Shopee stores to sell health supplements and dietary products made from matcha and wheat flour.

-- The Ho Chi Minh City administration has approved two component projects under the Ho Chi Minh City Beltway No. 4 project, to be developed under public-private partnerships in the form of build-operate-transfer contracts, with a combined length of about 34.95 kilometers.

Economy

-- Tilapia prices in Vietnam are currently high, at VND35,000-40,000 (US$1.3-1.5) per kilogram, but farmers are reluctant to raise the fish, making it difficult for processing plants to source raw materials, a local company leader said.

-- Vietnamese tech startup EON Tech has been recognized by OpenAI as an OpenAI Select Partner, becoming one of two Vietnamese companies, alongside tech giant FPT, to receive the certification.

-- Vietnam’s ST25 rice was officially put on shelves across the Selgros Cash & Carry wholesale supermarket chain in Germany last weekend, opening a new direct channel to European markets for one of Vietnam’s premium rice products.

Lifestyle

-- La Trois, a television channel under Belgian national public broadcaster RTBF, is scheduled to air the documentary 'Saigon, Pearl of the Far East' at 22:15 (local time) on Wednesday. The documentary is one of the few European productions devoted entirely to contemporary economic and social life in Ho Chi Minh City for Belgian and French-speaking audiences, Vietnamplus reported.

Sports

-- Vietnam’s Cong An Ha Noi FC face a challenging schedule in their debut AFC Champions League Elite campaign following the draw for the 2026-27 season, with five opponents from Japan, two from China, and one from Malaysia.