Notable events:

• Central Committee Approves Four New Politburo Members and Appoints To Lam President in Major Personnel Restructuring
• PEN America Hllds Annual Gala to Honor Pham Doan Trang and Other Writers
• Prisoners Receive Health Examinations after a Year of Requests
• Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Confirms Visit by Putin

Central Committee Approves Four New Politburo Members in Major Personnel Restructuring

The 13th Central Committee of the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) has approved the admission of four new members to the Politburo during a three-day plenary session between May 16 and 18.

The newly elected members include Le Minh Hung, 53, a former governor at the State Bank of Vietnam; Nguyen Trong Nghia, 62, a military officer who leads the VCP’s propaganda department; Bui Thi Minh Hoai, 59, head of the Central Mass Mobilization Committee; and Do Van Chien, 62, chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, a governmental body that oversees social and welfare affairs.