Politics

☕ Afternoon briefing on July 17

The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.

☕ Afternoon briefing on July 17

Hanoi (VNA) – The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on July 17 directed the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) to maintain its role as a pioneer on the ideological front of the Party, and to protect its ideological foundation as well as the rights and interests of the nation and its people through information and communication efforts.

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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh addresses the 27th Congress of the VNA Party Organisation on July 17 (Photo: VNA)

The PM was addressing the 27th Congress of the VNA Party Organisation for the 2025–2030 tenure - a significant political event demonstrating the agency’s determination to build a pure, strong, innovative Party Organisation, capable of fulfilling the mission of a national news agency in the new era. Delegates elected a new Party Committee comprising 27 members. Read full story

- Vietnam’s military and police forces conducted a comprehensive joint rehearsal at National Military Training Centre No. 4 in Hanoi on July 17 in preparation for the grand celebration marking the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution (August 19) and National Day (September 2).

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Special task force personnel at the joint rehearsal on July 17 (Photo: VNA)

General Nguyen Tan Cuong, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army and Deputy Minister of National Defence, presided over the event. Read full story

- Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh on July 16 signed an official dispatch instructing ministries and localities to strictly implement the second round of the 2025 amnesty.

This measures aims to strengthen the Party and State’s clemency and humanitarian policy toward offenders while contributing to crime prevention efforts. Read full story

- Retail fuel prices in Vietnam have seen a slight decrease as of 15:00 of July 17, following a decision by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance.

Accordingly, the price of E5RON92 petrol will not exceed 19,481 VND (0.75) per liter, a reduction of 178 VND. RON95-III petrol saw a decrease of 165 VND, capping at 19,925 VND per liter. Read full story

- Former Ho Chi Minh City experienced a remarkable increase in remittances in the second quarter of this year, with inflows jumping 22% year-over-year to nearly 2.82 billion USD, according to data from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)'s Regional Branch No.2.

Tran Thi Ngoc Lien, Deputy Director of the SBV’s Regional Branch No.2, noted that remittance flows in the three-month span through credit institutions and economic organisations showed their strongest growth in recent years compared to similar periods. Read full story

- Director of the US Defence POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) Kelly McKeague has written an article published in The Washington Times, highlighting the cooperation and support of the Vietnamese Government and people in the humanitarian effort to search for US military personnel missing from the war.

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DPAA Director Kelly McKeague (far left) poses for a photo with Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Nguyen Quoc Dung (second from right) at a war remembrance handover ceremony in Washington D.C. on July 15, 2025. (Photo: VNA)

The US remains steadfastly committed to providing the "fullest possible" accounting for the missing soldiers over the past 40 years, McKeague said, affirming that this humanitarian effort has been sustained because of the longstanding cooperation of the Vietnamese government. Read full story

- Cambodian authorities and the Vietnamese Embassy in the country on July 16 and 17 handed over 45 citizens, identified by Cambodia as illegal residents, to the Border Guard Station at the Moc Bai International Border Gate in the southern province of Tay Ninh.

After receiving the deported group, the Border Guard Station and other relevant forces identified their personal background. Read full story

- AI-powered cameras will replace police, automatically detect violations around the clock, and send violation notifications within 2 hours, according to the Traffic Police Department.

By using a surveillance camera system integrated with artificial intelligence (AI), the department's command centre can automatically identify traffic violations and disruptive behaviours, and retrace the route of a vehicle suspected of causing an accident. Read full story

- To facilitate administrative procedures and digital transactions for foreigners residing and working in the locality, police in the central province of Khanh Hoa are actively implementing a 50-day campaign to issue level-2 digital ID accounts, following a nationwide direction from the Ministry of Public Security.

At the headquarters of the provincial Immigration Management Department, a steady stream of foreigners has arrived in recent days to apply for level-2 digital identification./. Read full story

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