A summary of some of the leading news stories published Tuesday (April 08) in Tuoi Tre newspaper:

Politics:

-- Bulgarian Prime Minister Plamen Vasilev Oresharski is on his official visit to Vietnam from April 6 to 9 at the invitation of his host counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung to boost cooperation in trade, investment, science and education, tourism, and national security.

-- Captain Paul Schlise, general chief of the 2014 U.S.-Vietnam Naval Exchange Activity, said Monday that the U.S. has increasing demand for ship repairs at Cam Ranh military port, located in central Vietnam, and it depends on the capacity of the host Vietnam during an official five-day call of a delegation of U.S. naval officers to Tien Sa Port in the central city of Da Nang, which started the same day.

Society:

-- Two women were struck dead by lightning in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong on Sunday and Monday.

-- Two people were injured and 300 houses were damaged on Monday by strong winds in Son Linh Commune of Son Ha District in the central province of Quang Ngai.

-- Hoang Son company in the central province of Thanh Hoa was alleged to mastermind fuel trafficking at sea, depriving the state budget of VND25 billion (US$1.2 million) a month.

-- The Ho Chi Minh City Police Department has started investigating an alleged graft case, in which the investor of the Sing-Viet township was accused of bribing officials in Hanoi with $2.8 million.

-- Ho Chi Minh City will install electronic monitors on National Highway 1 from An Suong to An Lac to provide traffic information for drivers.

-- Children suffering respiratory diseases and lung inflammation are on the increase in Can Tho City.

Business:

-- Almost 300,000 tons of rice has been left in warehouses since trucks have stopped running to avoid mobile weighbridges deployed on highways in all provinces and cities in Vietnam. Drivers said that they would have to hike transport prices multiple times if they did not carry overload.

-- About 1,600 apartments in Ho Chi Minh City were sold in the first three months of this year. It is the highest first-quarter number ever recorded over the last three years.

Education:

-- The Ministry of Education and Training has decided to shorten the time for completing exam papers of mathematics and literature from 150 minutes to 120 minutes at the high school graduation examination in early June.