Below are some of the main stories published today, February 22, in the Vietnamese press. Politics -- At the sitting of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee opened yesterday, many members of the committee have proposed delaying a vote of confidence slated for May for those holding positions of power elected or approved by the NA or People’s Councils. They said that before conducting such a vote, it is necessary to review and amend Resolution 35 issued in 2012 on conducting a vote of confidence. The pause in conducting a confidence vote will give lawmakers time to consider and suggest necessary amendments to the resolution, they said.Society -- The Animal Quarantine Station in Thu Duc District, Ho Chi Minh City in conjunction with a traffic police team seized 1.3 tons of quail meat carried in a truck without documents on Friday. The truck’s driver said he was transporting the meat from Dong Nai Proince to Ben Tre Province. This is the second time that the same truck has committed the same offense. -- Police from the Ministry of Public Security on Friday arrested Tran Quoc Tuan, 45, head of the Vung Tau city Department of Natural Resources and Environment for “intentionally violating State regulations on economic management regulations, causing serious consequences.” Tuan has submitted a wrong proposal to the city People’s Committee to change the purpose of use of land in relation to a large project, causing a loss of VND20 billion (US$960,000). Police also arrested three others who are leaders of two real estate companies in Vung Tau. -- The prevalence of obesity among children in Ho Chi Minh City has reached alarming rates, the city Nutrition Center reported. Of the total number of preschoolers in the city, 48 percent are overweight and 10.5 percent are obese. Meanwhile, the malnutrition rate among these preschoolers is 4.3 percent. -- Following Ho Chi Minh City, central Da Nang City is making preparations for building a new urban administration model, with a view to creati a better administrative apparatus that will help boost the city's socio-economic development. According to the new model, Da Nang will have two levels of administration: the municipal and grassroots governments, instead of three levels as present. That means the district administration level will be no longer applied. Also under the new model, the city will establish two new districts.Business -- The price of gasoline has increased by VND300 per liter since 8 pm on February 21, according to a decision of the Ministry of Finance. At the same time, the prices of diesel and kerosene and mazut oil have also increased by VND240, VND230 and VND 200 per liter respectively. Such hikes were made as the world’s prices of gasoline and oil have increased since February 10, the ministry explained. -- Many commercial banks have reduced their interest rates on deposit accounts as they have been facing a slowdown in lending activities. On Friday, Eximbank lowered the interest rates on one-month, two-month and three-month deposits to 6.5, 6.6 and 6.8 percent per year. This is the second interest cut that Eximbank had made within three days. Similarly, Techcombank also reduced the rate on one-month deposits to 6.55 percent per year. The same situation has been seen at many other banks including DongA Bank.Lifestyle -- The Embassy of India in Vietnam and the Ministry of Culture of India in coordination with Vuietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will conduct a “Festival of India” in Vietnam from March 5 to 15, 2014, to promote the friendship and cultural linkages between the two countries, the embassy said in a press conference in Hanoi Friday. The Festival will be held in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City.
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