Tuoitrenews briefs some of the leading stories published today on Vietnamese media:

Politics:

-- The UN Human Rights Council UPR working group has approved Vietnam’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Report in the second cycle at its 18th session in Geneva, Switzerland after spending two days on reviewing it. The report will be submitted to the council’s plenary meeting about five months after the session.

-- Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has been appointed as the head of the national anti-terrorism board. The board’s vice chief is the Minister of Public Security.

Society:

-- Special consumption taxes levied on alcoholic drinks, beer and cigarette/tobacco will be raised about 15-30 percent starting July 2015 and later in an effort to increase tax revenues and limit the use of those things which is not good for the health of the users, according to a draft law compiled by the Ministry of Finance.

-- Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock Co (CII) has sought for the HCMC authorities’ approval to take over the tap water supply system of five districts including 12, Tan Binh, Tan Phu, Go Vap and Hoc Mon under BOOT (build–own–operate–transfer) mechanism. CII is a firm initially established by the HCMC government for boosting the construction of infrastructure projects of the city.

-- The number of children hospitalized for measles has increased sharply in northern region with some 90 children have been hospitalized recently, according to statistics of the Central Children’s Hospital in Hanoi.

Business:

-- Many local businesses in Ho Chi Minh City are facing a serious laborer shortage after the long Tet, or lunar New Year, holiday, as many employees had quit working for their old employers to seek for new and better jobs. The situation began before the Tet, pushing many enterprises in the city to put up hiring ads along the streets near industrial and processing zone of Tan Tao, Tan Binh and Linh Trung.

-- The Capital disbursement of foreign-invested projects reached $465 million in January, a 3.3 percent year-on-year increase, according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment. Meanwhile, the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) in newly-licensed projects dropped by 52.4 percent compared to a year earlier to $211 million.

-- The southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau has granted investment licenses to nine new projects, including a $34 million trade centre invested by Korean-owned Lotte Vietnam of and a $27 million fertilizer plant invested by Germany-owned Behn Meyer Agricare.

-- The French cruise ship Le Soleal with 200 passengers has set sail from Saigon Port in Ho Chi Minh City after an eight-day voyage from Hai Phong City to HCMC, while five-star liner from the French operator Compagnie du Ponant will return to the Saigon port on February 10 with more than 100 tourists.

-- Saigontourist Travel Service Company (STS) is set to welcome more than 52,000 passengers and crew on over 20 international liners from January 23 to February 15. Meanwhile, Tan Hong Travel Co is planning to welcome an array of well-known luxury liners such as Seabourn Legend, AIDAura, SS Voyager, Nautica, Diamond Princess and Queen Elizabeth in 2014-2015.

Lifestyle:

-- Visitors to the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology have a chance to discover the culture of the country’s ethnic groups through a series of art performances, folk games and traditional cuisine which have been held to introduce the public to the rich folk culture as well as maintain and promote the cultural value of ethnic groups and regions across the country.