Politics

-- A country should not rely on help from others when it comes to protect and defend for its rights, but it should be able to self-protect, Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen Nguyen Chi Vinh told Tuoi Tre during an interview on the sideline of the 12 th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

-- At the Q&A session of the Shangri-La Dialogue, Gen Vinh also emphasized Vietnam’s consistent defence policy, saying the country only wants to protect its territorial sovereignty and contribute to peace and stability in the region and the world.

-- Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung arrived Sunday in Hanoi, after a successful trip to Singapore to attend the 12th Shangri La Dialogue, where he made a keynote speech.

Business

-- Revitalizing the economy does not only mean pumping more money, but there should be more solutions to boost investment in the agricultural sector as well as strengthening the stock markets, experts told Tuoi Tre.

-- A large hectare of paddy fields in Dong Thap and Tien Giang are in harvest time but traders are either nowhere to be found or asking to buy at dirt cheap prices.

-- Ho Chi Minh City has exported some 3,990 or VND15 billion worth of crocodiles from the year to date, nearly double the figure for the entire last year.

-- The government’s credit aid worth VND30 trillion took official effect on Sunday, allowing low-income earners to buy apartments under the social-housing projects.

-- Hanoi market watchdog officers said many ingredients to make the bubble or pearl milk tea widely sold in the capital city were found to have dubious or unclear origins. Officers conducted checks on the shops selling the beverage following information that Singapore has seized 11 samples of such ingredients that can cause renal failure.

Society

-- Four students from universities in Hanoi died of drowning on Sunday at the Mua Roi waterfall in Thai Nguyen Province. The students are reportedly members of a charity group who came to deliver gifts for children in the nearby commune on the Children’s Day.

-- Tuoi Tre has identified the three accomplices in the visa-for-money scam headed by Michael Sestak, a former head of non-immigrant visa section of the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, with one of them, a Vietnamese-American, already arrested on May 8 in Denver.

-- Police seized Sunday five packs of heroin from a coach passing Lai Chau Town from three men, who confessed buying the drug from a Laotian in Dien Bien.

Lifestyle

-- Upon their arrival to Nha Trang on Sunday, many contestants of the 2013 Vietnam Beach Queen pageant were shocked to learn that the contest was asked to cancel as the organizers have violated five regulations.

-- The Tale of An Phuc House, a documentary featuring the Vietnamese Orange Agent victims produced by Babel Entertainment in Association (Canada) and Crea TV (Vietnam), has been nominated for the documentary award at the New York City International Film Festival.