Breakfast @ Tuoitrenews – October 15

Politics

-- Vietnam and Sri Lanka will build a comprehensive partnership relationship, as agreed in a talk between visiting Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse yesterday. The two leaders agreed to boost the two-way trade to US$1 billion in a few years to come. They also witnessed the signing of eight cooperation agreements between the two countries’ agencies. Sang attended the Sri Lanka-Vietnam Business Forum the same day.

-- Government Chief Inspector Huynh Phong Tranh proposed the National Assembly that Party secretaries or chairpersons of people’s councils of centrally-run provinces and cities should replace chairpersons of people’s committees as the heads of local steering boards for corruption prevention and control. Tranh raised the proposal at a meeting of the NA Standing Committee in Hanoi yesterday.

Society

-- Twenty-one young engineers and workers of Ho Chi Minh City received the Nguyen Van Troi Awards at a ceremony held yesterday by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Union to mark the HCMC Young Workers' Traditional Day (October 15). They were honored for their effective initiatives at work and significant contributions to the community.

-- The Thu Thiem tunnel, which is located in Districts 1 and 2, Ho Chi Minh City, will be open to traffic on November 20, said the city Transport Department at a press conference yesterday.

-- The Dau Tieng reservoir, located in Binh Duong and Tay Ninh Provinces, may cause inundation to Ho Chi Minh City and the two provinces if its current water level, 23.35 meters, continues rising and exceeds 24.4 meters, experts warned at the seminar titled “Dau Tieng Reservoir: Some Urgent Problems” held by the HCMC Irrigation Science Association yesterday.

-- One more people died from alcohol poisoning in Lam Dong Province yesterday, following three others who was dead in a few days ago. The victims were among seven people who had a party in Da Ron Commune, Don Duong District.

-- A robbery occurred at Thu Thanh jewelry shop in Bac Binh District, Binh Thuan Province yesterday. Five robbers who came in a car stabbed the shop’s owner and another before running away with a large volume of gold items. The police gave a chase and arrested two of them.

-- Four forest rangers in Thanh Hoa Province were given a warning by their forestry protection sub-department yesterday for taking bribes from drivers of timber trucks. In Dak Lak Province, a number of rangers would be punished for taking bribes and abusing position and power while on duty, local authorities said.

Business

-- The State Bank of Vietnam yesterday added another VND10 per US dollar into the interbank exchange rate this morning, sending the rate to a five-month high of VND20,688 per dollar. Based on the rate, commercial banks have fixed their selling and buying prices of US dollar at VND20,895 and VND20,885-20,890 respectively.

-- With an aim to boosting lending activities, many banks in southern provinces urged the State Bank of Vietnam to lower the current lending interest rate of 18 percent per year. At a meeting of the Banking Association yesterday, they said many companies could not afford the rate as it might put them at risk of loss.

Lifestyle

-- Vietnam will for the first time host an international piano festival (Piano Festival 2011) at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory from 18 to 23 October, with the attendance of nearly 70 pianists from eight countries, namely the US, Singapore, South Korea, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Belgium and Vietnam.

-- An international seminar titled “Women and War: A Transnational Approach” organized by the Vietnam Women’s union and the Hoa Sen University will take place at 2 Tan Vien Street, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City from 17 to 19 October.

Sports

-- The Football Association of Malaysia has provided the Vietnam Football Federation with the list of 24 players of the country’s U-23 squad that will attend the 2011 VFF – Eximbank Cup tournament at the National My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi from October 19 to 23. The squad’s chief coach is Ong Kim Swee.