Below are some of the main stories published today, July 10, in the Vietnamese press:

Politics:

- Improving the quality of business growth was reported at the business – society session on July 9 within the 14th session of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council. Issues like clean water and administrative procedures were among the main topics of discussion.

Society:

- Young Vietnamese people have the most modest height compared with other neighboring countries, Dr. Nguyen Thi Lam, vice head of the National Institute of Nutrition reported at a health event held in Ho Chi Minh City on July 9. Specifically, young Vietnamese males have an average height of 1.64m, while the average height of young Vietnamese females is 1.54m. Meanwhile, the corresponding figures are 1.7m and 1.6m in Singapore, 1.68m and 1.57m in Malaysia, and 1.67m and 1.57m in Thailand.

- Blood-sucking stink bugs have recently been found in Binh Tri Dong B Ward in Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Binh District. Residents on Nguyen Thien Thuat Street in District 3 also said they have found this kind of bugs in their houses. The municipal Preventive Medical Center said they have not received reports from the districts’ preventive medical centers. Those bitten by blood-sucking stink bugs could have serious allergies which cause swelling and itches together with high fever.

- Wintergreene Scgristopher James, a 42-year-old Australian, died Wednesday in a road accident in the southern city of Vung Tau. The man did not wear a helmet while riding his motorbike.

Business:

- Vietnam has allowed Japanese beef (wagyu) to be legally shipped to the country since April. The beef had been brought to the Southeast Asian nation in the form of portable or smuggled goods for years.

- The price of fresh artichoke flowers in the Central Highlands city of Da Lat has recently seen a sharp increase of VND300,000 (US$14.12) – VND350,000 ($16.47) per kg, three times higher than two weeks ago. According to the business department of the Da Lat People’s Committee, the rise is due to shrunk output unable to meet the demand.

Lifestyle:

- In 2014, Vietnam plans to spend VND60 billion ($2.82 million) from the state budget promoting tourism, the Vietnam Administration of Tourism announced at a press conference on international tourism in Hanoi on Wednesday. A program on promoting local tourism has also been launched by enterprises across the country with the total investment of VND150 billion ($7.06 million).