Below are some of the main stories published today, July 5, in the Vietnamese press:Politics

-- Ambassador Le Hoai Trung, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN) on Thursday sent a paper to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon protesting China’s illegal occupation of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago in the East Vietnam Sea and affirming Vietnam’s sovereignty over it, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday.

Society

-- On Friday, China maintained five military ships, 48 coast guard boats, 15 cargo vessels and four tugboats around drilling rig Haiyang Shiyou 981, the oil rig that has been illegally placed in Vietnam’s waters since early May.  As on previous days, these Chinese vessels approached and scared away Vietnamese ships from the platform. Meanwhile, more than 30 Chinese fishing vessels continued disturbing and driving away Vietnamese fishing boats operating normally in their traditional fishing ground in Vietnam’s waters. -- Police in central Thua Thien-Hue Province on Friday arrested six people involved in an online gambling and football-betting ring, with total wagers and gambling amounts reaching over US$37 million. The ring had 31 members and attracted about 2,000 gamblers and bettors, police said.

-- Ho Chi Minh City police on Friday began to pilot a new method for measuring the breath alcohol concentration of drivers’ breath. Accordingly, a fast test will be done first and if any trace of alcohol is detected, traffic police officers with then make a precise measurement by using a specific gauge. The new method will be piloted for a month before it can be applied officially across the city.

-- The Hoa An bridge, which spans the Dong Nai River to link southern Dong Nai Province’s Bien Hoa City to Ho Chi Minh City and some other localities, was put into use on Friday. The 1.3 km long concrete structure, which cost VND1.2 trillion (US$57.1 million) to build, is expected to help ease the traffic flow on north-south National Highway 1A.

Business

-- It takes a business in Vietnam an average of 872 hours to carry out tax-rated procedures each year, a recent report from the World Bank reveals. The duration is four times longer than the average for a business in the Asia-Pacific region. In Thailand, the time is 264 hours, the WB said.   

-- Chinese mushrooms of various kinds that are cheaper and can be preserved longer than Vietnamese ones are flooding the market in Vietnam, where many domestic producers are struggling to compete with their Chinese competitors to recover their market shares, market experts said.

Lifestyle

-- On Friday, President Truong Tan Sang’s wife, Mai Thi Hanh, went to Nu Cuoi, a cheap eatery for the poor at 6 Cong Quynh, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, for lunch with friends. She later donated VND59 million ($2,770) to the eatery, which charges only VND2,000 (US$0.09) per plate. This is the third time that the President’s wife has visited and given donations to Nu Cuoi.

Sports

-- BBC football expert Mark Lawrenson forecasts that the Belgium soccer squad will defeat their Argentina rivals while the Netherlands will win its game against Costa Rica in the last two quarter-final matches of the FIFA World Cup that will take place tonight and early next morning (Vietnam time). Last night, Brazil and Germany defeated their respective rivals Colombia and France (2-1 and 1-0) to go on to the semi-finals.

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