DONG NAI, Vietnam, May 1, 2024 (AFP) – Hundreds of thousands of fish have died in a reservoir in southern Vietnam’s Dong Nai province, with locals and media reports suggesting a brutal heatwave and the lake’s management are to blame. Like much of Southeast Asia — where schools have recently been forced to close early and electricity usage has surged — southern and central Vietnam have been scorched by devastating heat. “All the fish in […]
Tag: Vietnam
Vietnam National Assembly head resigns amid graft purge
HANOI, April 26, 2024 (AFP) – The head of Vietnam’s National Assembly has resigned, the ruling Communist Party said Friday, one of the most senior leaders to fall in a sweeping anti-corruption purge. Vuong Dinh Hue asked to step down because of “violations and shortcomings”, the party said in a statement on its website. Thousands of people, including top officials and senior business leaders, have been caught up in the Southeast Asian country’s “blazing furnace” […]
Vietnam tycoon appeals against $27 bn fraud death sentence
HANOI, April 26, 2024 (AFP) – A top Vietnamese property tycoon sentenced to death in a $27 billion fraud case has launched an appeal against her conviction, state media said Friday. Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, was found guilty this month of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. The 68-year-old was found to have embezzled $12.5 billion, but prosecutors said the total damages caused by the […]
Vietnam province declares state of emergency over drought
HANOI, April 6, 2024 (AFP) – Thousands of people in Vietnam are suffering a “severe” shortage of fresh water because of drought and salinisation, prompting authorities to declare a state of emergency on Saturday. A weeks-long heatwave has brought drought and saline intrusion to an area of Tien Giang province, 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of business hub Ho Chi Minh City. The province’s Tan Phu Dong area — with 12 kilometers of coastline along […]
Vietnam property tycoon sentenced to death in multi-billion dollar fraud case
HO CHI MINH CITY, April 11, 2024 (AFP) – A top Vietnamese property tycoon was sentenced to death on Thursday in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated $27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defence arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. […]
Vietnam confirms recall of nearly 6,000 VinFast electric cars
HANOI, March 22, 2024 (AFP) – Vietnam’s leading electric car manufacturer VinFast has recalled almost 6,000 vehicles after a fault in their indicator system was discovered, the government has confirmed, in a fresh blow to the firm. The communist state’s first homegrown auto maker is hoping to compete with electric vehicle (EV) giants such as Tesla, and is trying to crack the global market. But VinFast has struggled to convince international drivers its EVs are […]
North Korean delegation travelling to China, Vietnam and Laos
SEOUL, March 22, 2024 (AFP) – A North Korean ruling party delegation travelling to China, Vietnam and Laos has arrived in Beijing, Pyongyang’s state media said Friday. The delegation, led by alternate politburo member Kim Song Nam, was welcomed by a representative of the Chinese Communist Party at the airport on Thursday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, without specifying the exact nature of the trip. An earlier KCNA report said the delegation […]
Vietnam parliament approves president’s resignation amid graft purge
HANOI, March 21, 2024 (AFP) – Vietnam’s parliament approved on Thursday the resignation of President Vo Van Thuong, the latest high-profile leader to fall as the communist country is roiled by a sweeping graft purge and political feuding. The ruling Communist Party announced Wednesday that Thuong had quit after barely a year in the job, saying he was guilty of unspecified “violations and shortcomings”. The 53-year-old’s departure, following days of rumours he was on his […]
Vietnamese president resigns amid major graft purge
HANOI, March 20, 2024 (AFP) – Vietnam’s President Vo Van Thuong has resigned after just one year in the job, state media announced Wednesday, as the communist country mounts a sweeping anti-graft purge. The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) said Thuong was guilty of “violations and shortcomings” and his resignation was accepted by the party’s central committee. The 53-year-old’s dramatic fall comes as Vietnam undergoes major political upheaval, with his predecessor also forced out in an […]
Vietnam property tycoon on trial in $12.5 billion fraud case
HO CHI MINH CITY, March 5, 2024 (AFP) – A top Vietnamese property tycoon went on trial Tuesday along with dozens of others, accused of embezzling $12.5 billion in the country’s biggest ever fraud case. Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, is said to have swindled the cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over the course of a decade, leaving unsuspecting investors out of pocket. Eighty-five others are also on trial […]
Hanoi chokes as Vietnam capital tops most polluted cities list
Vietnamese capital Hanoi was blanketed by a thick haze of pollution on Tuesday that obscured high-rise buildings and left the city’s nearly nine million people breathing toxic air. The city topped air monitoring website IQAir’s table of the world’s most polluted cities early Tuesday afternoon. Levels of PM2.5 pollutants — cancer-causing microparticles small enough to enter the bloodstream through the lungs — were classified as “very unhealthy” and hit more than 24 times the World […]
Vietnam’s ‘rice bowl’ cracks in monster heatwave
HANOI, Feb 28, 2024 (AFP) – Southern Vietnam, including business hub Ho Chi Minh City and its “rice bowl” Mekong Delta region, suffered an unusually long heatwave in February, weather officials said Wednesday. Several areas of the delta are also suffering drought and farmers are struggling to transport their crops due to low water levels in the region’s canals. The intense period of heat began on February 9, meteorologists told AFP, with temperatures reaching up […]





