Breakfast @ Tuoi Tre News - July 5

Check out the latest news in Vietnam today:

Politics

-- Top Vietnamese leaders including Party General Secretary To Lam, State President Luong Cuong, and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Friday sent congratulatory messages to U.S. President Donald Trump to mark the 249th anniversary of U.S. Independence (July 4, 1776 - July 4, 2025) and the 30th anniversary of the Vietnam-U.S. diplomatic relations.

-- General Nguyen Tan Cuong, chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and Deputy Minister of National Defense, hosted an official reception and held bilateral talks with General Songwit Nunphakdee, chief of Thailand’s Defense Forces, in Hanoi on Friday.

Society

-- A tropical depression over the northeastern part of the East Vietnam Sea on Friday night intensified into a tropical storm known internationally as Danas, making it the second storm to hit the marine area in 2025, according to Vietnam’s National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

-- Weather conditions in northern Vietnam are forecast to improve with reduced rainfall and intermittent sunshine today, while thunderstorms are expected in the south by evening, and rough seas persist in the East Vietnam Sea, said the national weather center.

-- The Ministry of Construction has submitted a proposal seeking approval to invest VND9,297 billion (US$385.66 million) in upgrading three major national highways 53, 62, and 91B across the Mekong Delta. The funding includes an expected $262.22 million loan from the World Bank, with the remainder covered by public investment.

Economy

-- Chinese customs officials are scheduled to conduct on-site inspections in Vietnam from July 12 to 17 to assess the country's durian export supply chain, according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

Travel

-- The 10th Vietnam-Japan Festival kicked off on Friday evening at East Sea Park in the central city of Da Nang, drawing thousands of locals and tourists eager to enjoy cultural exchanges and entertainment over the three-day event.

-- A multi-vehicle collision involving four cars and a motorbike occurred near Da Lat Market in Lam Dong Province’s Xuan Huong Ward on Friday afternoon, leaving two tourists severely injured and causing traffic congestion in the busy downtown area.

-- A man from Ninh Binh Province was fined VND5 million ($190) and had two points deducted from his 12-point driver’s license after driving his seven-seater vehicle onto a beach in Binh Kien Ward, Dak Lak Province, where it became stuck in the sand.

World News

-- Torrential rains unleashed deadly flash floods along the Guadalupe River in south-central Texas on Friday, killing at least 13 people and initially leaving nearly two-dozen girls missing from a riverfront summer camp, Reuters cited local authorities as reporting on Saturday.

-- A power outage in large parts of the Czech Republic, including Prague, trapped people in public transport and lifts and idled factories on Friday after a fallen high-voltage cable disrupted the network, according to Reuters.