Breakfast @ Tuoi Tre News – May 18

Read what is in the news in Vietnam today:

Society

-- Vietnam’s national electricity consumption has set multiple daily records over the past week, with power usage reaching about 1.152 billion kWh on Friday and peak demand hitting 54,654 megawatts at 2:15 pm, according to the National Electricity System and Market Operation Company Limited.

-- Vietnam’s Ministry of Health issued an Ebola warning after the World Health Organization declared outbreaks in Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern.

-- Authorities in Vinh Long Province, southern Vietnam have approved the construction of the Co Chien 2 bridge linking the former provinces of Ben Tre and Tra Vinh, with total investment estimated at VND3.5 trillion (US$132.8 million).

Ho Chi Minh City

-- Nearly 100 medical staff members at University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City successfully performed a heart transplant on a 15-year-old patient with end-stage heart failure early on Saturday within about three hours of receiving a suitable donated heart, the hospital said on Sunday.

Economy

-- A 21,800-deadweight-ton oil and chemical tanker named H1033, one of the largest specialized vessels built by a Vietnamese company, was launched in Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday.

-- Vietnam’s durian exports rose 230 percent year on year to about $221.7 million in the first quarter of 2026, helped by strong growth in higher-priced frozen durian shipments, while exports to the United States more than doubled and sales to South Korea, Australia, and Japan also increased, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

-- Gia Lai Province posted economic growth of 8.51 percent in the first quarter of 2026, the highest among six provinces and cities in Vietnam’s south-central coastal and Central Highlands regions and the country’s 16th-fastest growth rate, provincial authorities said on Sunday.

Sports

-- Vietnamese chess grandmaster Le Quang Liem defeated French grandmaster Jules Moussard 2-0 at the Road to EWC 2026 DreamHack Atlanta early Monday (Vietnam time) to secure a berth at the 2026 Esports World Cup.

-- Cong An Ha Noi FC celebrated under heavy rain at Hanoi’s Hang Day Stadium on Sunday after defeating Dong A Thanh Hoa FC to clinch the 2025-26 V.League 1 title with three matches remaining.