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

Politics:

-- The Vietnam Fisheries Resources Surveillance Department on Saturday reported that the number of Chinese ships deployed to protect oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 illegally placed in Vietnam’s waters continued to be maintained at 118, including six military vessels.

-- The Chinese vessels on Saturday created a protecting ring around 6-9 nautical miles from the oil rig and constantly disrupted Vietnamese ships tasked with demanding China remove its drilling platform from Vietnam’s waters and respect international law.

-- Vietnam’s goodwill to peacefully resolve the confrontation in the East Vietnam Sea was hailed at a talk held on Saturday in the central city of Da Nang. The event, part of an international conference, “Hoang Sa-Truong Sa: HHistorical Truth,” was held to raise the opinions and ideas from the public and experts about China’s illegal placement of drilling rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 in Vietnam’s waters. Many participants said it is time for Vietnam to take legal measures to deal with the maritime disputes in the sea.

Society:

-- Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Saturday asked north-western localities to look after the well-being of ethnic groups, ensuring that their cultural and religious activities are in good shape at a conference in the northern mountainous province of Bac Kan. The event was held after illegal organizations took advantage of religious faith and practices by ethnic residents in Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen and Tuyen Quang Provinces in the north to entice them to stir public disorder.

-- The Vu A Dinh scholarship fund was honored with the Labor Order, first class, for its support for ethnic minority students across the country at a ceremony organized in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday to celebrate the15th founding anniversary of the fund and the 65th commemorative anniversary of ethnic hero Vu A Dinh. Established in 1999, the fund has given scholarships to 50,000 ethnic minority students, built eight schools, 10 bridges, and 35 houses for the poor.

Business:

-- The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam on Saturday reached a deal to offer Laos a $53.16 million loan for its construction of a road in the northern Lao province of Houaphanh in late 2014. The deal, signed by Lao Deputy Prime Minister Somsavad Lenhsavad and Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, will enable Laos to build a two-lane road, stretching about 67km from Houaphanh’s Sam Tay District to Tha Lau on its border with Vietnam, and can be extended to the Nghi Son deep-water port in the central Vietnamese province of Thanh Hoa.

-- Ho Chi Minh City’s consumer price index in June inched up 0.58 percent as the cost of almost all goods and services, including foodstuff, household utensils, pharmaceuticals and healthcare services, housing, fuel, garment, education and other services as the drivers of the index, rose up, according to the municipal statistics office.

Sports:

-- Top Vietnamese badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh has dropped four places to position No.14 in the world badminton rankings with 45,570 points, the first time Minh has ever been eliminated from the world’s top 10 in the last two years, according to the sport's governing body.

-- Vietnamese grandmaster Le Quang Liem failed to defend his world title at the FIDE World Blitz Championship that wrapped up in Dubai on Friday. The grandmaster, seeded No 8, ended up with 14 points after 21 rounds to rank fourth in the event, while his teammate Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son finished 24th with 12.5 points.

-- Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Anh Vien on Friday set a new record at the second Southeast Asian Swimming Championships in Singapore after winning a gold medal in the women's 200m butterfly event with a timing of 2:12.46, 4.79 seconds faster than the old record made in 2012 by Arieswati Lorenza Monaliza of Indonesia. Vien later pocketed her second gold of the day in the 100m backstroke event in which she finished within 1:02.72.