Vietnamese contestant Le Quang Cuong has won the World Cup Tasters Championship 2026 in Thailand, marking Vietnam’s first-ever victory at the global coffee tasting competition, the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association (VICOFA) said.
The championship was held from May 7 to 9 at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Center by World Coffee Events and the Specialty Coffee Association. The annual competition challenges contestants to distinguish between different coffee samples based on flavor and aroma characteristics.
This year’s event attracted 46 competitors from multiple countries and territories. In the final round, Cuong correctly identified seven out of eight coffee samples in three minutes and 35 seconds to secure the title.
The contestant from Switzerland placed second after correctly identifying six out of eight samples, while representatives from the U.S. and Japan finished third and fourth, respectively.
Nguyen Thanh Tai, member of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Coffee Cocoa Association (Vicofa), told the Nguoi Lao Dong news site that the victory marked a proud milestone for Vietnam’s coffee industry.
Youth volunteers offer free roadside repairs late at night
A youth volunteer group in HCMC has been providing free roadside assistance to stranded road users late at night, offering vehicle repairs, first-aid and emergency support on local streets.
The SOS Ba Diem team in Ba Diem Commune was officially established on April 22, team leader Pham Thanh Quang told the Tuoi Tre news site.
The six-member team includes a mechanical worker, ride-hailing drivers, students and members of local business households. The volunteers patrol from 9 p.m. to midnight each night, helping repair motorbikes, replace inner tubes, provide first aid to accident victims, and transport injured people to nearby medical facilities when necessary.
On May 4, the volunteers helped Nguyen Quoc Hung, whose motorbike tire went flat while he was returning from a delivery trip in the former Long An Province.
“It is really hard to find a repair shop this late at night,” Hung said, thanking the volunteers after they repaired his motorbike.
Hundreds organize whale funeral after failed rescue effort
More than 400 residents in a coastal commune in central Vietnam gathered to hold a traditional funeral for a whale after efforts to rescue the animal failed, reported the Thanh Nien news site.
The whale, estimated to weigh more than two tons and measure about four meters long, washed ashore in Cat Tien Commune in Gia Lai Province on May 4.
Fishermen first spotted the whale stranded near shore on May 3 while it was still alive, but weak and injured. It was estimated to weigh more than two tons and measure about four meters long. Villagers spent hours trying to push the animal back into deeper waters. However, the whale was later found dead several hundred meters offshore. This is the largest whale ever to wash ashore in the village.
News of the incident quickly spread, prompting local authorities, members of the village whale temple association, and village elders to meet on the beach to arrange the burial.
Because of its size, the whale could not be placed in a coffin. Villagers instead wrapped the body with tarps and red cloth. Traditional offerings, including ceremonial paper items, tea and fruit, were placed nearby.
Transporting the whale proved difficult. Residents had to hire excavators and small farm vehicles to move the carcass from the shoreline to the burial site. By around 7:30 p.m. on May 4, the burial was completed.
Under local tradition, after two or three years, once the remains have decomposed, villagers will hold a reburial ceremony and transfer the whale’s bones to the Nam Hai Whale Temple for worship alongside other whale skeletons.
Girl leaves city life behind for wildlife rescue work
A young veterinarian from HCMC has spent the past four years living and working in Vietnam’s forests, rescuing injured wild animals and helping them return to their natural habitats.
Truong Ngoc Anh, 28, works at Save Vietnam’s Wildlife, a wildlife conservation center where she cares for rescued animals, many of which suffer injuries from traps and hunting, as well as infections. Anh said her work ranges from overnight emergency rescues to rehabilitation and release missions in remote terrain, where staff sometimes have to climb rocky cliffs to return animals to the wild.
In 2023, she spent nearly a year caring for an orphaned pangolin that was only a few days old when it arrived at the center. She said she woke every two to three hours each night to monitor the animal’s condition.
“When it came time to release the pangolin back into the wild, I had mixed feelings,” Anh said. “I was happy because returning rescued animals to nature is the ultimate goal of our work, but after caring for it for such a long time, we had formed a special bond.”
For Anh, every animal saved and every successful release back into the wild brings a simple yet profound sense of happiness. Amid the wilderness, her journey is not only about healing vulnerable creatures, but also about spreading compassion and respect for wildlife.
