Breakfast @ Tuoi Tre News — July 18

What you need to know today in Vietnam:

Politics

-- A delegation from the Ministry of National Defense on Friday inspected preparations in Hanoi and Phu Tho Province for welcoming military contingents from other countries taking part in a parade marking the 80th anniversary of Vietnam's National Day.

The Vietnamese defense ministry has sent invitations to the defense ministries of eight countries—Russia, China, Laos, Cambodia, Cuba, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan—to attend the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day on September 2.

Five of the countries—Russia, China, Laos, Cambodia, and Belarus—have been invited to send troops to join the military parade at the event.

-- On Friday, Regiment 940 of the Air Force Officer Training School under the Air Defense – Air Force Service conducted a training flight session with the first formation of six Yak-130 aircraft in preparation for a ceremonial flyover at the 80th National Day celebration on September 2.

Society

-- Early Friday morning, the tropical depression over the eastern waters of the Philippines strengthened into a storm, internationally named Wipha, according to Vietnam's national weather forecast center.

-- A representative from the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies has stated that in order to transition 400,000 gasoline-powered motorcycles used by ride-hailing and delivery drivers to electric vehicles, initial policies should focus on offering price incentives. In later years, however, a ban on gasoline-powered delivery motorcycles would be necessary.

-- Chagee Vietnam Co., Ltd. has been fined VND60 million (US$2,294) for featuring an illegal 'nine-dash line' map—violating Vietnam’s territorial sovereignty—on its ordering application.

Economy

-- In the first half of July 2025, multiple companies, including Novaland, were fined by the State Securities Commission of Vietnam for a series of violations, including failure to report stock transactions, withholding information from bondholders (creditors), misreporting transactions worth hundreds of billions of dong, and delays in submitting anti-money laundering risk reports.

-- The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction has proposed that the municipal People’s Committee allow a 12-month pilot program for short-term apartment rentals, set to begin on September 1.

World News

-- "A cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the Air India flight that crashed last month supports the view that the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines," Reuters cited a source briefed on U.S. officials' early assessment of evidence as saying.

-- US President Donald Trump has been diagnosed with a common, benign vein condition, the White House said Thursday, following speculation about his heavily bruised hand and swollen legs, according to AFP.