Tuoi Tre News briefs you on some of the leading news stories published today, October 4, in Vietnamese media.

Politics

-- The fact that the United States partially lifted a long-time ban on lethal weapon sales to Vietnam will significantly improve political, security, and defense relations between the two countries, American and Vietnamese officials have said. Major General Le Van Cuong said the partial lifting is based on mutual trust and interest. The move was announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in his talks with visiting Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh in Washington on Thursday.

Society

-- A cold snap will affect northern Vietnamese provinces from Saturday evening. It will then extend to the north- and mid-central region, said the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting. As a result, heavy rains will occur in many northern and central provinces from Sunday evening. The cold front will continue to move south on Sunday, the center said.

-- An exhibition on Vietnam’s sovereignty over its sea and islands kicked off in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday, showing more than 250 documents, maps, photographs, and objects that prove Vietnam’s indisputable sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos in the East Vietnam Sea. -- A woman and her husband set their house on fire with gasoline when a local anti-smuggling police team raided the building in the southern province of An Giang early yesterday morning. The fire, which spread to a neighboring house, was later extinguished. All the smuggled goods in the house were burned. The woman and a child suffered burns in the incident.

-- Heavy rain and strong winds uprooted an ancient tree on Hoang Du Khuong Street, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City at 5 pm Friday. The tree fell on the Dong Ho restaurant, knocking down a wall and damaging the roof. Luckily, nobody was injured in the incident.

Business

--  Vietnamese tourism operator Vietravel  has been awarded the title “Best Vietnam Travel Agency”, by TTG Asia Magazine. This is the fourth year in a row that Vietravel has been honored by the magazine. The award was presented at a ceremony in Thailand on Thursday. Vietravel gained US$164 million in revenue in the first nine months of 2014, up by 25 percent year-on-year. --  The Vietnamese retail market has continued to develop, reaching annual sales of US$125 billion, said a Ministry of Industry and Trade official at a seminar held by the Vietnamese Retailers’ Association on Friday. Currently, many foreign investors are continuing to expand their retail chains in Vietnam, including Big C (France), E-Mart (South Korea) and Aeon (Japan).Lifestyle

-- Movie fans in Hanoi will have the chance to enjoy many films on Latin America from October 6 to 11. The cultural event is jointly organized by a number of Latin American embassies, including the embassies of Argentina, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela.Sports

-- Vietnam’s Karateka Nguyen Thanh Duy won a bronze medal at the 27th Asian Games (17th Asiad) in the Republic of Korea on Friday. By 10 pm the same day, Vietnam ranked 21st in the event’s medal table with one gold, 10 silvers, and 25 bronzes. The 17th Asiad ends today, October 4.

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