Tuoitrenews briefs some of the leading stories published today, September 1, on Tuoi Tre Newspaper:

Politics --  Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Luong Thanh Nghi yesterday objected to China National Offshore Oil Corporation for its issuing an invitation for international bidding for 26 blocks of oil and gas in the East Sea, including block 65/12 that is located about 3 nautical miles of Vietnam's Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, on August 28. Such an action by the corporation has seriously violated Vietnam's sovereignty over the Paracel archipelago, Nghi said.

-- At a banquet given to the foreign diplomatic corps in Hanoi on August 31, on the occasion of the 67th anniversary of Vietnam’s National Day, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung expressed his thanks to governments and people worldwide, foreign ambassadors, charge d’affaires and chief representatives of international organizations for their valuable assistance and effective cooperation with Vietnam. With the motto “a trustful friend and partner and a responsible member of the international community”, Vietnam has been active in comprehensively integrating into the region and the world, with contributions at international forums, the PM said.Society -- 1,066 people with foreign origin living in the border area between Laos and Vietnam in Dak Glei and Ngoc Hoi District in Kon Tum Province have been naturalized to become Vietnamese citizens, under a decision by President Truong Tan Sang. Most of these residents have lived there since before July 1989 and desired to be naturalized in Vietnam. -- Quang Ngai Province yesterday announced the A/H5N1 avian flu as an epidemic after the disease has spread to 23 hamlets in 17 communes by August 31. The provincial veterinary agency has sent 80 samples of affected poultry to Da Nang City for testing and the test results showed that all these samples have been infected with the A/H5N1 virus. -- Minh Triet Center under the Vietnam Union of Scientific and Technical Associations is preparing to launch a prize that honor studies carried out by Vietnamese researchers on the East Sea, said researcher Nguyen Khac Chung, the center’s director. -- The toll fee on trucks with load of 18 tons or higher and container trucks on the HCMC-Trung Luong expressway will be lowered by VND2,000 per km to VND6,000 per km from October 15, 2012, according to Circular 134 of the Finance Ministry. -- A flash flood hit Nam Nhu hamlet, Nam Luc commune, Bac Ha district in the northern province of Lao Cai on August 31, killing four people and leaving 9 others missing. Dang Van Khoa, an official of the Bac Ha district People’s Committee, said that all 13 victims are residents of Nam Nhu hamlet. Rescue forces have found four dead bodies, and are searching for those still missing. -- Two children, one five years old and the other 2 years old, died on Thursday after they were stung by a swamp of bees in Hue City on August 26. They had been hospitalized to Hue Central Hospital but could not survive due to their extremely critical conditions due to hundreds of bee stings on their bodies. Business -- Vietnam has exported 5,1 million tons of rice worth more than US$2.2 billion in the first months of 2012, according to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA). In August alone, more than 900,000 tons of rice have been exported for nearly US$400,000. The prices of 5-percent and 15-percent broken rice have currently increased to US$450-460 per ton and $410 per ton respectively. The country has set a target to export 6-6.5 million tons of rice in 2012, which means it will have to ship abroad more than two million tons in the last 4 months of the year.

Lifestyle -- A large number of residents in HCMC yesterday evening flocked to many major pagodas in the city to attend the “Vu Lan” Festival, which is a Buddhist holiday held annually on the 15th of the 7th month of the lunar calendar. The main objective of the event is for the people to express their gratefulness and appreciation toward their parents.Education -- On the occasion of opening the new school year 2012-2013 (September 5), President Truong Tan Sang yesterday sent an open letter to educational officers, teachers, students and their parents encouraging them to make great efforts to achieve good performance in the academic year.