Vietnamese real estate tycoon to raise $9 billion or face death penalty

An Ho Chi Minh City court upheld a death sentence for Vietnamese real estate magnate Truong My Lan after convicting her for embezzlement and bribery in the country’s biggest financial fraud case. The 68-year-old still has the right to request a review of the case and can also commute her sentence to life imprisonment if she raises 75 percent of the sums she embezzled, which would total $9 billion. Also, a new plan to reduce the chances of drought in the Panama Canal raises concerns.