Below are some of the main stories published today, July 23, in the Vietnamese press:

Society:

-- As a result of public pressure following a controversial draft law to ban liquor sale between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am the following morning in Vietnam, Nguyen Huy Quang, head of the Legislation Department under the Ministry of Health, has suggested three more flexible solutions, including: 1. The ban on liquor sale between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am is only applicable to several particular locations. 2. Authorities in provinces and cities across the country should seek their own solutions to preventing the negative effects of alcohol abuse. 3. Tightly controlling liquor supply and implementing other measures.

-- A Vietnamese passenger is facing a cash fine of up to VND20 million (nearly US$1,000) for opening an emergency exit door while he was on board a Vietnam Airlines plane taking off from Hanoi and landing at an airport in the central province of Thanh Hoa on Tuesday.

-- Vietnam’s low-cost carrier VietJet Air has been fined VND40 million (nearly $2,000) and nine of its staff members fined from VND7.5 million (about $370) to VND20 million (about $1,000) for their involvement in a wrong-airport landing scandal last month.

Business:

-- The consumer price index in Ho Chi Minh City rose 0.12 percent in July, according to the HCMC Statistical Office.

Lifestyle:

-- A cuisine festival featuring foods of the Central Highlands region of Vietnam is taking place in Da Lat City.

Politics:

-- At a meeting with local diplomats in Hanoi on Tuesday, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung urged newly-appointed ambassadors and heads of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad to make active contributions to national defense, construction, and socio-economic development. -- During talks with Permanent Secretary at the Singaporean Ministry of Defense Chan Yeng Kit in Hanoi on Tuesday, Sen. Lieut. Gen Nguyen Chi Vinh, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of National Defense, thanked Singapore for helping Vietnam modernize its army, especially in foreign language training, peacekeeping missions, and search and rescue operations.

Vinh said that Vietnam and Singapore should deepen defense cooperation to match their strategic partnership and suggested the two defense ministries work out a three-year cooperation plan to better realize their commitments.