vietnamese
California sheriff’s deputy charged with murdering Vietnamese married couple in their home
- Devin Williams Jr., a 24-year-old deputy with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, allegedly fatally shot a Vietnamese married couple in their home on Colebrook Lane, California, on Sept. 7.
- Dublin Police Services found Maria Tran, a 42-year-old nurse, and Benison Tran, a 57-year-old retired civil engineer, with gunshot wounds to their heads and necks.
- Williams Jr. turned himself in nearly 11 hours after the shooting and was charged with two counts of murder with special circumstances.
- The motive behind the shooting is still being investigated. However, the defendant’s father revealed that his son was in a “dating relationship” with Maria.
- Williams Jr. is currently being held in a Santa Rita jail where he once worked while awaiting his arraignment.
An Alameda County sheriff’s deputy in California allegedly shot and killed a married couple in their home while family members were present.
Dublin Police Services responded to a double shooting at a home on Colebrook Lane, where they found 42-year-old Maria Tran and 57-year-old Benison Tran with gunshot wounds to their heads and necks on Sept. 7, according to reports.
A 260,000-square-foot Vietnamese indoor market modeled after a Ho Chi Minh City landmark planned for Bay Area
- Development company Intelli is planning to turn a former Sears store in San Jose, California, into an indoor market mimicking the iconic Vietnamese landmark Ben Thanh Market.
- According to Intelli head Do Van Tron, they are planning to create a retail, restaurant and food complex called Hello Ben Thanh Indoor Market at the 2180 Eastridge Loop property they purchased for $24.8 million.
- The new owners are eyeing to model the market after the Vietnamese market built by the French in 1870.
- Intelli’s proposed complex would contain retail stores, food courts, a banquet hall, an entertainment center, common areas and a children’s play center, and is expected to fill out both floors of the old Sears building, covering a total of 260,100 square feet.
- Similar to the actual Ben Thanh Market, the complex will sell contemporary and traditional Vietnamese clothing, fresh vegetables and fruits grown from Vietnamese farms, dry goods, confections, traditional arts, porcelain, jewelry, stone statues and other goods.
A massive indoor market inspired by an iconic Vietnamese landmark could soon rise in San Jose, California, replacing the former Sears store in Eastridge Center.
The old department store was purchased by development company Intelli, which is modeling its renovations after the century-old indoor market Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Minh City.
Female athlete becomes first Vietnamese to win the ‘world’s toughest’ triathlon
- Vu Phuong Thanh, 32, became the first Vietnamese athlete to win the Deca Ultra Triathlon World Championship at the Swissultra in Switzerland on Sunday.
- Considered the world’s toughest triathlon competition, the Swissultra is 10 times the distance of a normal triathlon, covering 23.61 miles for swimming, 1,118 miles for cycling and 262.22 miles for running.
- Thanh finished first in the event’s female category after completing the course in 328 hours 27 minutes 55 seconds, over an hour ahead of France's Nadine Zacharias, who finished in second place.
- Born in Hanoi, Thanh has been nicknamed Vietnam’s “desert rose,” or "the girl who runs around the world” after becoming the first Asian to run through the four harshest deserts in the world.
A female athlete has become the first Vietnamese competitor to win the Deca Ultra Triathlon World Championship at the Swissultra in Switzerland on Sunday.
Considered the world’s toughest triathlon competition, the Swissultra covers 10 times the distance of a normal triathlon.
Huynh Nhu set to become first Vietnamese woman football player to join European team
- Vietnamese football star Huynh Nhu traveled to Portugal on Monday in preparation for signing with Länk FC Vilaverdense, a Portuguese football team, for a two-year contract.
- Nhu, a 30-year-old forward player and the captain of Vietnam’s women’s national football team, could become the first female Vietnamese football player to join a European team if she passes her medical.
- “I have received much advice. There are people who said I need to learn from the male players who had unsuccessful spells abroad in the past. But recently, Nguyen Quang Hai has left a good impression in France,” Nu said.
- “I hope that my image, as well as Vietnamese football, will thrive overseas and there will be more and more female players that can play football abroad,” she added.
- Born in the provincial city of Tra Vinh in 1991, Nhu is one of the world’s most prominent Vietnamese football players. She has won several awards, including the Vietnam Golden Ball award on four occasions.
- With Vietnam's women’s national football team, Nhu won gold during the SEA Games in 2017, 2019 and 2022, as well as during the ASEAN Football Federation Championship.
Vietnamese football star Huynh Nhu is set to become the first female Vietnamese football player to join a European football team.
Nhu, a 30-year-old forward player and the captain of Vietnam’s women’s national football team, traveled to Portugal on Monday in preparation for signing with Länk FC Vilaverdense, a Portuguese football club, for a two-year contract.
Vietnamese billionaires commit to building 1 million affordable housing units in the country by 2030
- Some of Vietnam’s largest real estate developers have committed to building over 1 million affordable housing units collectively from now to 2030.
- On Aug. 1, Bui Xuan Huy, the president of Vietnamese real estate developer Novaland, stated his company’s commitment to developing 200,000 social housing units in Ho Chi Minh City and other southern provinces.
- Previously, in mid-May, a subsidiary of Vingroup called Vinhomes approved a plan to build 500,000 social housing units priced from VND330 million (approximately $14,108) in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.
- Vinhomes, which is owned by billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong, is a leading real estate developer in Vietnam and valued at over $10 billion.
- The Him Lam Group, owned by Duong Cong Minh, who also chairs Vietnamese bank Sacombank, has stated it is ready to develop 75,000 social housing apartments from now to 2030 after resolving some issues related to procedure.
Some of Vietnam’s largest real estate developers have committed to building over 1 million affordable housing units collectively in the country from now to 2030.
On Aug. 1, Bui Xuan Huy, the billionaire president of Vietnamese real estate developer Novaland, stated his company’s commitment to developing 200,000 social housing units in Ho Chi Minh City and other southern provinces.
4 Vietnamese men identified as victims in Oldham mill fire in the UK
- The Greater Manchester Police named four Vietnamese men who were believed to have been burned in the Bismark House Mill in Oldham, Greater Manchester, on May 7.
- The victims include 39-year-old Cuong Van Chu, 31-year-old Uoc Van Nguyen, 29-year-old Duong Van Nguyen and 21-year-old Nam Thanh Le.
- Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire.
- Detectives are also “keeping an open mind with regards to how many people were present and their whereabouts.”
Four Vietnamese men reported missing in the United Kingdom were identified as victims of the Oldham mill fire in May.
After a fire broke out at the Bismark House Mill in Oldham, Greater Manchester, on May 7, authorities initially believed that no one was in the building at the time of the fire. However, police began searching the mill after demolition workers discovered human remains at the scene on July 21.
Vietnamese EV automaker VinFast to open first 6 showrooms in US this week
- Vietnamese Electric Vehicle (EV) automaker VinFast is scheduled to open six U.S. showrooms on Jul 14 and 30 more by the end of 2022, all of which will be located in the Golden State.
- The company reported that it would be opening stores in Berkeley, Commerce, Corte Madera, San Diego, San Mateo and Santa Monica this Thursday, starting with two EV models.
- The first is a 5-seater VF8 electric SUV, priced at around $40,700, and the second is a larger, 3-row, 7-seater VF9 priced at $55,000.
- VinFast also plans to have consumers subscribe to a battery plan rather than purchase one, arguing that EV battery performances degrade over time.
- Earlier last month, VinFast made preparations to begin construction of a $4 billion factory in North Carolina, where it promised to create 7,500 jobs.
Vietnamese Electric Vehicle (EV) automaker VinFast is scheduled to open six U.S. showrooms on Jul 14 and 30 more by the end of 2022, all of which will be located in the Golden State.
The company reported that it would be opening stores in Berkeley, Commerce, Corte Madera, San Diego, San Mateo and Santa Monica this Thursday, starting with two EV models.
Parents of missing Vietnamese Canadian student whose last text was ‘Bye’ appeals for locals’ help
- Chi Thien Tran, a 20-year-old university student, was last seen at approximately 11:00 p.m. in the area of Parkwood Avenue of Saint John, Canada, on May 3.
- Tran sent a text message to his parents that read, “Bye,” on the morning of his birthday on May 4 at 5:30 a.m.
- Tran is described as 5-foot-3-inches tall and 114 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He may have been wearing a black jacket, jeans and black Adidas sneakers before he went missing.
- Tran’s backpack, which contained his personal items and seaweed, was found by a Bayshore Beach resident near Sea Street on May 17. Authorities believe that the backpack may have drifted ashore, but no further evidence was found after additional searches.
- The Saint John Police and his parents are asking residents to help search for the missing boy. His parents have not given up hope that their son is still alive.
The Saint John Police and the parents of a 20-year-old university student who went missing a month ago in Canada asked residents to help search for him.
Chi Thien Tran, also known as John, was last seen at approximately 11:00 p.m. in the area of Parkwood Avenue of Saint John on May 3.
Vietnamese refugees reunite with sailor who saved them from lost fishing boat 44 years ago
- A group of Vietnamese refugees reunited with a sailor who rescued them from their lost fishing boat while escaping Vietnam 44 years ago.
- While escaping communism after Saigon’s fall, 33 adults and 18 children escaped on a fishing boat until they got lost in the South China Sea.
- A chief mate sailor, now 88, convinced his captain at the time to rescue all refugees and bring them onto the boat.
- After spending years trying to find the group of refugees, the 88-year-old finally found them after a neighbor tracked down one of the names on a list.
After years of searching, a chief mate sailor who saved 51 Vietnamese refugees in 1978 was reunited with a group of them 44 years later.
One of the refugees, Lisa Dam, was 19 years old when she escaped from Vietnam after the fall of Saigon. While on a fishing boat with 50 others, including 33 adults and 18 children, the group got lost in the South China Sea.
Comedian Lil Duval gets laughs, criticism for video mocking jeweler Johnny Dang speaking Vietnamese
- American comedian Lil Duval, whose real name is Roland Powell, is being called out for mocking custom jewelry manufacturer Johnny Dang after he spoke Vietnamese in a collaborative Instagram video posted to Powell’s Instagram account on Saturday.
- The short video starts with the 47-year-old Vietnamese jeweler speaking to someone off-camera, when Powell, 44, suddenly turns the focus on himself and begins mocking Dang's accent by talking gibberish.
- “This is disgusting, ignorant and coherently racist,” “Top Chef” participant Tu David Phu said in an Instagram post in response demanding Powell apologize. “[Johnny Dang] is … respected in the Vietnamese community. In amidst of his thoughtful words in Vietnamese you omit this racists sh*t amidst AAPI month,” he continued. “It’s disturbing that it comes from [a] BIPOC entertainer such as yourself. We are disappointed and disgusted.”
- Kena Peay, who won NBC’s “Food Fighters” Season 1, Episode 2, also stood by Phu’s message, writing, “There is a long damaging history of people mocking … our beautiful Asian sisters and brothers and how they speak. It has never been funny. And this isn’t funny. Mocking anyone’s [culture] is not a joke.”
American comedian Lil Duval is being called out online for mocking custom jewelry creator Johnny Dang after he spoke Vietnamese in a collaborative Instagram video Powell posted to his account.
The American comedian, whose real name is Roland Powell, posted the video of him hanging out with Dang in an outdoor setting to Instagram on Saturday.
Vietnamese TikToker says she was ‘disowned’ for refusing to fund sister’s ‘lavish’ college lifestyle
- A Vietnamese TikTok user has gone viral for talking about how her parents "disowned" her after she refused to pay for her sister's “lavish lifestyle” in the United States.
- “I just got disowned by my parents just now because I refused to fund my sister’s lavish lifestyle when she’s here in the U.S. as an international student,” the woman, who is her family’s eldest daughter, says in the video, which has been viewed over 19.1 million times. “They sent her here three years ago knowing that they don’t have the means to pay for it themselves.”
- The TikTok user says she had to take up all of her sister's financial responsibilities, including paying for her room and board, tuition and living expenses.
- “I was called ungrateful and that I got to where I am because of my family and it is my time to pay it back. It is my responsibility to care for my parents and my siblings,” she continues. “So I am their retirement fund, the college fund for my younger siblings.”
A Vietnamese TikTok user has gone viral for talking about how her parents called her “stingy” and “ungrateful” for refusing to pay for her sister’s “lavish lifestyle” as an international student in the United States.
The TikTok user, who did not disclose her real name, reveals in a video she posted on March 26 that she was “disowned” by her Vietnamese parents after she stopped paying for her sister’s expenses.
‘Stop dreaming’: Student shares emotional video of her Asian parents disapproving of her art major
- Vietnamese TikToker @kaitlynnbui posted a video of her parents strongly objecting to her choice to major in art.
- In the video, a teary-eyed Bui is seen eating her dinner while her parents question her choice to major in the arts, telling her that she has “nothing in comparison to others” and that she will struggle “to survive.”
- Since it was uploaded two days ago, the video has amassed 7 million views and 1.3 million likes, with many users commenting with their support and advice.
- Many users related to Bui’s video, sharing their own experiences of making choices that their parents strongly disapproved of.
A Vietnamese TikTok user shared a video on Saturday of an emotional conversation she had with her parents, during which they voiced their disapproval of her choice to major in the arts.
The young woman, Kaitlynn Bui, is seen in the video teary-eyed while eating dinner with her parents. Her mother questions how she will support herself after graduating with an arts degree, saying it is “very hard to survive.”
