Tuoitrenews would like to brief you on some news stories published in local media today.

Society:

-- Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have shut down sidewalk shops in the Pham Ngu Lao backpacker area in District 1 to ensure public order and security there. However, there have been disagreements over the shutdown.

-- The second Russian-built kilo-class submarine is expected to arrive at Cam Ranh military port based in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa on March 21.

-- Nguyen Quang Thang, a representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Public Security Department, confirmed to Tuoi Tre on Tuesday that a newborn baby delivered at Hung Vuong hospital in HCMC’s District 5 was kidnapped on Monday evening.

-- Vietnamese Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang has appointed Le Anh Son, vice director of Vinalines (Vietnam National Shipping Lines) and son of a former transport minister, as the general director of Vinalines.

-- As many as 166 Chinese workers among 312 foreign workers from several countries in total have been licensed to work for some construction projects in the Nghi Son economic zone, located in the central province of Thanh Hoa’s Tinh Gia District.

-- Nguyen Dinh Giang, director of the Department of Transport of northern Dien Bien Province, said on Tuesday that they will complete the construction of a bridge in Sam Lang village in two months, after people nationwide had been shocked to see a video clip showing teachers and students in the village getting across a fast-flowing stream by wrapping themselves in a plastic bag to be pulled from one bank to the other on their way to school. 

Lifestyle:

-- Nearly 300 people attended an event featuring ‘Đờn ca tài tử,’ the unique traditional musical art of southern Vietnam, and 'Cải Lương', a form of modern folk opera in Vietnam, organized at the headquarters of Tuoi Tre newspaper on Tuesday.

Sports:

-- Vietnam’s national under-19 male team suffered a shocking 0-9 defeat to Tottenham U-19s during a friendly game in the latter’s training center in London on Tuesday.

-- Chelsea reached the Champions League quarter-finals with a 3-1 aggregate win against Galatasaray on Tuesday, with Real Madrid joining them in the last eight after thrashing Schalke 04 9-2 after two legs of their last-16 tie (Reuters).

Politics:

-- Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged on Tuesday to elevate the two countries’ ties to a new level of Extensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia.

-- Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung began his official visit to Switzerland on Tuesday at the invitation of President of the Swiss National Council (Lower House) Ruedi Lustenberger.

-- Vietnam and the United States have collaborated in various fields, especially maritime search, rescue and security, and humanitarian programs, said Lt. Gen. Vo Van Tuan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, at a reception for Michael G. Vickers, Under Secretary of Defense held in Hanoi on Tuesday.