Political News Headlines 13/5

 Indian defence delegation visits Vietnam; Hanoi hopes for multi-sided cooperation with Toro; Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia strengthen friendship; Czech Minister of Industry and Trade welcomed in Hanoi

Big money spent, but waste not treated

 VietNamNet Bridge – Waste treatment remains a big headache for local authorities in the Mekong Delta. While open dumping on the ground pollutes the environment, modern waste treatment plants have been left idle.

Vietnamese vessels strike back attack by water cannons from Chinese ships

 VietNamNet Bridge - After being attacked by Chinese marine surveillance ships, Vietnamese ships counterattacked. The confrontation took place over more than an hour, reported Tuoi Tre Daily.

Lightning strikes in Kon Tum kill four and injure 15

 VietNamNet Bridge - Since the beginning of the rainy season, four people in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum have been killed by lightning. Another 15 have been injured.

China sends fighter planes to protect its illegal oil rig in Vietnam’s waters

Deputy Commander of the Vietnam Marine Police Agency, announced that China has introduced fighter planes in its effort to protect the oil rig that it is illegally building in Vietnam’s waters, violating the sovereignty of Vietnam’s sea and airspace.

VN lawyers push government to sue China

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam Bar Federation has proposed that the government of Vietnam bring China to the international court.

Vietnam changes posture on public debts

Repeatedly affirming that its public debt is still within safe bounds, the government has till now never displayed any worries when presenting reports about the matter before the National Assembly. But the latest report is different.

HCM City summons Chinese diplomat over sovereign violation

 HCM City’s External Relations Department on May 12 called in a representative of the Chinese Consulate General to protest against China’s unilateral deployment of its drilling rig Ocean-981 and escort vessels in Vietnam’s territorial waters.

SSC rejects trading band revision rumors

VietNamNet Bridge – The State Securities Commission on May 8 affirmed that the trading bands on the two local stocks exchanges remain unchanged, denying rumors that the commission would revise the bands down to arrest further steep declines

VN faces high risk of cyber attacks

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam ranks 12th in the list of countries facing the maximum cyber attacks, according to the Internet Security Threat report (ISTR19) released by the Symantec Corporation last week.

Foreign ownership limits set for houses, apartments

 VietNamNet Bridge – An amended Housing Law draft would restrict foreign ownership to no more than 30 per cent of apartments in a building, or 250 houses in a ward.

Gold plated lives of the rich

 VietNamNet Bridge – A new trend among well-to-do Vietnamese families is to gold plate favourite household items for luck or to show off their wealth.

Students indifferent to warnings of redundancy

  VietNamNet Bridge – Even though there have been many warnings about redundancy in the fields of finance and banking, students continue to apply to these departments for the upcoming university entrance exams.

Poor patients hit hard by Hanoi's equitisation move

 VietNamNet Bridge – To attract wealthier clients to upmarket, equitised services, some Ha Noi hospitals are taking beds from the poor and putting them in special wards for the rich.

Readers fund comic series comeback

 VietNamNet Bridge – Readers nation-wide can look forward to enjoying the resurrection of a historical comic series by funding it directly in response to a first-of-its-kind appeal made by Vietnamese authors.

Used electronics imports continue

 VietNamNet Bridge – The ban on the import of used electronic and refrigerative appliances has failed to stop the practice, and experts warn about its health impacts.

Vietnam gives in to foreign retailers without a struggle

 VietNamNet Bridge – The barriers Vietnam has erected cannot prevent the invasion of foreign retailers. The domestic retail market has been flooded with foreign brands.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 13/5

 Steel giant chairman faces sack due to poor performance; PM approves Vinatex IPO plan; Lotte to build $2b complex in HCM City; Dong Nai to set up four new industrial parks; Incentives lure investors to Phu Quoc Island

Six railway officials charged, detained for ‘abusing power'

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Public Security took into custody six railway officials last Friday on charges of "abusing power while on duty" and "irresponsibility causing serious consequences" following a one-month investigation.

Market up after Wednesday's panic selling

 VietNamNet Bridge – Shares on May 9 rebounded from the biggest ever retreat that occurred at the previous session.

Deputy PM: Vietnam, ASEAN unanimous in East Sea issue

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam and ASEAN countries have reached a consensus on the East Sea issue, said Deputy Prime Minister cum Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in a recent interview granted to the media about the results of the 24th ASEAN Summit.

Saudi Arabia registers new cases, deaths of MERS virus infection

 Saudi Arabia registered on Sunday three new cases and three more deaths of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus infection, adding the total number of cases to 483, including 142 deaths.

Eurovision voting figures show juries and public clash

 The latest Eurovision figures have revealed the differences between the public phone vote and the jury vote at Saturday night's competition.

Overseas Vietnamese protest China’s illegal acts in Vietnam’s waters

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese people in the United States, Italy, Japan and Germany took part in demonstrations against China’s deployment of an illegal oil rig in Vietnam’s waters.

Shareholders unhappy with lower, unpaid dividends

 VietNamNet Bridge – Shareholders in many banks have not received their dividends in recent years though banks have set low rates, but not cut them completely.