Tuoitrenews briefs some of the leading stories published today in Vietnamese media:

Politics:

-- Bui Van Tinh, chairman of the People’s Committee of Hoa Binh Province, and Khamhung Huongvongsi, his visiting counterpart of Huaphan Province of Laos, have signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in cultural exchange, Vietnamese and Lao language training, and trade-investment at the end of a recent working session in the northern Vietnamese province.

-- Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung's official visit to Cuba has hit the headlines in major Cuban newspapers in the Central American country, including Granma, which is under the Communist Party of Cuba, and Juventud Rebelde (Rebel Youth).

Society:

-- The Vietnamese Ministry of Transport has proposed the government task the Ministry of Public Security with cooperating with Japanese invesitgators to probe an allegation that a Japanese firm, Japan Transportation Consultants, Inc., paid over US$780,000 in bribes in return for an ODA project order in Vietnam.

-- HSBC Vietnam and Dariu Foundation under a Swiss non-governmental organization inaugurated Saturday a floating middle school in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long. The school was built on a ship that can carry 300 students, located in Vung Liem District.

Business:

-- Vietnamese enterprises have seen their transportation costs inflated by small-scale operations, improper infrastructure, and a lack of cooperation among transport firms, experts said at a seminar held Saturday in Hanoi. Transportation costs in Vietnam are the highest in Southeast Asia, said Deputy Minister of Transport Le Dinh Tho at the seminar.

-- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become the biggest importer of Vietnamese phones and phone parts since 2010 with an average annual growth of over 100 percent, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Vietnam's export of cellphones to the UAE reached $71 million in 2010, $364 million in 2011, $1.5 billion in 2012, and over $3 billion in 2013.

-- Ho Chi Minh City authorities have stressed that the southern economic hub should work harder in the remaining months of this year to achieve the whole-year GDP growth target of 9.5-10 percent, 1.5 times higher than the national rate.

 Lifestyle:

-- Japanese detective manga series Detective Conan, written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama, has won the golden prize for the most favorite book voted by Vietnamese readers with 7.18 percent of the total votes, followed by Singaporean best-seller writer Adam Khoo's “I Am Gifted, So Are You!” and Japanese manga series Doraemon, written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio.

Sports:

-- Top Vietnamese swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien on Friday won a gold medal at the NASA Junior Championship Cup in Florida after beating Lisa Bratton of St Augustine in the women's 200m medley in a time of 1:58.10. Vien, who was born in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho,  bagged four golds and two silvers at the recent Florida Swimming Spring Senior Championships.

-- Vietnamese top badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh has his name written in the semi-final round of the Ciputra Hanoi – Yonex Sunrise Vietnam International Challenge 2014 after beating the world junior No.1 Christie Jonatan 23-21 and 21-15 on Saturday.