Below are some of the main stories published today, April 26, in the Vietnamese press.

Politics

During his visit to Japan, Vietnamese Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung on Friday attended a conference on promoting Japanese investment in Vietnam’s stock market. The conference, with the theme “Vietnam-a destination for foreign investors”, attracted nearly 200 Japanese and Vietnamese enterprises and investors.

Society --  Vinalines ex-chairman Duong Chi Dung, who was sentenced to death last year for his offenses in a corruption case in 2008, yesterday pleaded not guilty to embezzlement at the appeal hearing that began on April 22. Dung said he did not receive VND10 billion (US$470,000), part of the $1.666 million kickback paid by a Singaporean broker, AP Company, to Vinalines officials after the firm bought an old floating dock at $9 million from a Russian company. The hearing will continue next Monday, April 26. -- Police in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai on Friday arrested four employees of Vi Yen supermarket on charges of “illegal arrest, custody or detention of people”. These four employees detained a junior high school girl student for stealing two books at the supermarket on April 10. They then tied the hands of the school girl and then stuck a sheet of paper reading “I’m a thief” on the girl’s chest.  -- Ministry of Heath on Friday advised everyone not to travel to crowded areas during the coming holidays: Unification Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1) to avoid contracting measles, a contagious disease that has affected more than 3,500 people and killed at least 131 children since it recurred in Vietnam in late 2013. -- Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has requested local governments in all its 24 districts to measure the Citizen’s Satisfaction Index under the instructions of the Department of Home Affairs. The index shows levels of satisfaction of citizens when they deal with administrative procedures at public administration units. -- A hailstorm swept through many areas in District 12 and Go Vap and Hoc Mon Districts on Friday afternoon. The hail lasted for about five 5 minutes. At the same time, numerous houses in District Thu Duc and District 12 had their roofs blown off by strong winds in the heavy rains in the areas. -- About 100 bags containing unknown substance with stinking odor drifted ashore in central Thanh Hoa province over the past several days. These bags have the words “Feng Yuan” on them. Local authorities have collected and buried all these bags.Business -- Many people who have paid in installments to buy flats belonging to the Gia Phu Tenement Project in Thu Duc District, Ho Chi Minh City, have recently discovered that the project’s investor have sold these flats to other buyers. The HCMC Real Estate Association has called on concerned agencies to investigate the fraud.  -- By the end of February this year, bad debts in all credit organizations nationwide accounted for 9.71 percent of their total lending balance, Dao Quoc Khanh, deputy chief inspector of the State Bank of Vietnam at a press conference held by the bank on Friday.  The figure equals to VND318 trillion (US$15.05 billion). Lifestyle -- The first-ever national festival honoring “Don Ca Tai Tu” (southern traditional music), kicked off in southern Vietnam on Thursday. The event, which is recognized by the UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, will last until April 29.Sports -- Manchester United (M.U) welcome Norwich to Old Trafford  this Saturday for a match within the 36nd round of the English Premiership at 11:30 pm today (Vietnam time). This will be the first match of M.U under the leadership of acting coach Ryan Giggs.