Below are some of the main stories published today, June 15, in the Vietnamese press.

Politics -- At the ongoing National Assembly’s Q&A session, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on June 14 delivered a report on the country’s socio-economic performances in the past five months. Accordingly, the inflation is under control and the Consumer Price Index in the first five months of this year only grew by 2.35 percent, the lowest rate in the last four years. Export rose 15.1%, while import surged 16.8%, in the reviewed period. Registered foreign direct investment reached US$8.52 billion, up 8.9% and the disbursed volume stood at $4.58 billion, an increase of 1.6%. The Deputy PM affirmed the Government’s determination to best fulfill the 2013 socio-economic targets.Society

-- A four-year-old girl died after falling off the 11th floor of an apartment building in Hanoi’s Hoang Mai District yesterday afternoon. The little girl was said to have been taken by her grandmother to a house on the floor. She had been left without attention before she fell from the floor balcony to the second floor of the building, police said. -- A marine police unit, with the aid of anti-smuggling police, has detected a Vietnamese-flagged ship that carried about 1,000 tons of minerals, likely iron ores, without documents off northern Quang Ninh Province. The ship’s captain said it was transporting the goods from Ninh Binh to Quang Ninh.  The police escorted the ship ashore for investigation. -- The Transport Ministry will organize a competitive examination to recruit the position of head of the road general department under the ministry. Candidates are required to be not over 45 years old, have a seniority of at least five years in the transport sector, and have experienced positions at the level of department head or above. The examination is expected to be conducted early next year. -- In an effort to improve management of taxi operation in Ho Chi Minh City, the local transport department is preparing a plan to install black boxes to a total of 11,039 taxi cabs from 26 firms in the city to monitor the vehicles during their operation. The department will submit the plan to the city authorities in a near future. -- A 30-year-old woman in Ninh Thuan Province, Nguyen Thi Nga, was sentenced to 5 years in prison for attempting to kill her 67-year-old mother-in-law using pesticide.  Nga had mixed the toxic substance into the drinking-water that was drunk by the old woman, the provincial People’s Court said.Business -- The Ministry of Industry and Trade will remove 338 hydropower projects from the list of 899 hydropower projects nationwide since they are of small scale and are likely to bring low economic efficiency. The country now has 260 hydropower plants with a total capacity of nearly 13,700 MW.   

-- Projects calling for Official Development Assistance (ODA) or soft loan sources from abroad must be assessed by independent consultant agencies, according to a new draft circular of the Ministry of Planning and Investment. The circular provides regulations aimed at enhancing the efficiency in management and use of these financial sources. Lifestyle

-- International cruise ship Costa Atlantica with 2,200 tourists and crew members on board landed at the SP-PSA port in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province on Friday, starting it four-day visit to Vietnam.  During its stay in Vietnam, the tourists with explore interesting places in Ho Chi Minh City, southern Tien Giang and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces and central Hue, Hoi An and Da Nang cities. This is the cruise liner’s first visit to the country arranged by leading Vietnamese tour operator Saigontourist.

Sports -- The Vietnamese women's national volleyball team defeated their Filipino rivals 3-0 (25-9, 25-11 and 25-18) in its first match on Friday within the qualification round of the World Cup 2014. Today the team will face the Indonesian team, which has also won 3-0 over its Burmese rivals.