Tuoi Tre News briefs you on some of the leading stories published today, January 10, in Vietnamese media.

Politics

-- Vietnam will be a “responsible, active, and proactive” member of the ASEAN family, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh wrote in his article, “Vietnam 2015: A Proactive Force for Peace, Stability and Community-Building in Southeast Asia” recently published in the weekly NewEurope in Belgium, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

Society

-- The highest land price in Ho Chi Minh City is VND162 million (US$7,578) per m², which is applied to land on Nguyen Hue, Dong Khoi and Le Loi Streets in District 1, while the lowest land prices in 19 inner and five outlying districts of the city are VND1.5 million ($70.2) and VND60,000 ($2.8) per m² respectively, according to the land price list just announced by the People’s Committee.

-- Amid a warm welcome in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang, head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Internal Affairs Nguyen Ba Thanh returned by air on Friday night after over four months of treatment for myelodysplastic syndrome in the U.S. The official is also deputy head of the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption led by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

-- Two Chinese ships attacked a Vietnamese fishing boat that was operating in waters off Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago on January 1, smashing property on board and taking away navigation equipment and fishing products, according to the Vietnam Fisheries Trade Union.

The union on Friday issued a protest against the attack, which reportedly caused total damage of VND350 million ($16,370).

-- Police in the southern province of An Giang on Friday detained a 37-year-old man, Pham Hoang Hai, in Chau Phu District for killing another local man and stealing a motorbike and a cell phone from the victim on December 30. He then threw the victim’s body into a river and fled to Cambodia, but later returned and turned himself in to police.

Business

-- The Vietnamese Ministry of Transport has set up a six-member inspection team to examine transport charges on truck and air shipments as of January 10, as fuel prices have recently sharply decreased. The inspection of transport charges by trucks will be carried out in eight provinces and cities – including Hanoi, Hai Phong, Nghe An, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa, Dak Lak, Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho – while that of air transport charges will focus on the declaration and publication of charge rates.

-- By the end of Friday, the VN-Index had increased by 16.26 points, or 2.94 percent, to 569.73 points, whereas the HNX-Index rose by 1.54 points, or 1.83 percent, to 85.65 points. For the first business week of January 2015, the VN-Index climbed 4.43 percent and the HNX-Index went up 3.4 percent.

Education

-- Five programs for university examination consultancy and vocational orientation will be carried out by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on January 10 and 11 in three southern localities –  including Ho Chi Minh City and Tay Ninh and Binh Phuoc Provinces – and two north-central provinces, Nghe An and Thanh Hoa. More than 16,000 students are expected to take part in these programs.    

Sports

-- Chelsea will clash with Newcastle at Stamford Bridge in the 21st round of the British Premier League at 7:45 pm on Saturday, January 10 (Vietnam time). This is a chance for The Blues to get revenge after a 2-1 defeat against Newcastle at St James’ Park last month.