Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnam's longest-serving party chief, passes away at 80

Vietnam‘s Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong has died at the age of 80 after prolonged illness, state media reported. He held the country’s most powerful position for 13 years. No further details were provided.
Vietnam’s President To Lam assumed Trong’s duties on Thursday when the party announced that the aging leader needed to prioritise medical treatment.
Although Vietnam officially has no paramount ruler, Soviet-educated Trong, as party general secretary, was the most powerful figure…