Below are some of the main stories published today, January 11, in the Vietnamese press.

Politics -- Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Luong Thanh Nghi on Friday affirmed that China’s recent acts concerning the East Sea are illegal and of no value, and seriously violating Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes. The acts include the Chinese authorities’ ban of fishing in many areas that fall within Vietnam’s sovereignty and sovereign right in the East Sea, and the publication of the first web and print newspaper of the so-called “Sansha City”.Society --  An ATM set up by Martitime Bank in Hanoi’s Dong Da District was removed by thieves about 10 meters away from its place on Giang Vo Street on Friday morning, police reported. The safe inside the ATM system remained intact. Thieves could have fled when an alarm  inside the system was activated and sounded by the removal, police said. -- Hanoi People’s Court on Friday said it has referred to the local prosecutor’s office the case of “disclosing State secrets”, in which ex-Vinalines chairman Duong Chi Dung, who has recently been sentenced to death for corruption, alleges that in May 2012 Deputy Minister of Public Security Pham Quy Ngo secretly informed him that he would be arrested  and advised him to hide.

-- Four Filipinos who were rescued by Vietnamese fishermen while they were drifting at sea off Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands in the East Sea several days ago have been brought to Sa Ky Port in central Quang Ngai Province on Friday morning. All the four foreigners have been recovered after they were given care by their rescuers. --  Compared to 2012, last year saw the number of sex workers increase by 2,800 to 33,000 and the number of drug addicts also soar by 9,000 to 181,000, the National Committee for AIDS, Drug and Prostitution Prevention and Control reported at a conference on Friday. Business -- As much as 45 percent of the total volume of shoes sold in Vietnam in 2013 were made of China, said the Vietnam Leather and shoes Association in a reported released on Friday. Last year saw 130-140 million of pairs of shoes worth US$1.5 billion marketed nationwide, the report said. Lifestyle --  A Singaporean national on Friday bought an oil painting titled “Benevolence”, which features a young woman, for US$4,000 at an ongoing painting exhibition at the Ho Chi Minh City  Art Association. The painting’s author is painter Nguyen Trung. The exhibition will last until January 16.Sports -- Vietnam’s U-19 football squad will be trained in the UK, Belgium and Japan in the coming time, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) said. The cost of the team’s trips will be funded by VFF, Eximbank, Nutifood and Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group.