Tuoitrenews briefs the salient news that will be published today, October 20, in local media:

Society -- Police in Hanoi seized 300 packages of goods weighing nearly 30 tons smuggled from China into Vietnam in 10 vans yesterday. The goods was transported by a smuggling ring that has operated on a large scale, said Lieutenant Colonel Thanh Kien Trung, head of the anti-smuggling police team in Hanoi. -- 12 former officials of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Branch of the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development have been prosecuted for “abusing position and power to appropriate the State’s assets” and “intentionally violating the State’s economic management regulations and causing serious consequences”. These defendants have appropriated more than VND22 billion from the bank. -- The Vietnam Women’s Union yesterday presented the Vietnamese Women Award 2012 have been presented to 10 women, 6 organizations and 6 students who ranks top in the entrance exams at universities nationwide to honor their great contribution to the country’s social and economic development. -- An seismic observation station was inaugurated in Bac Tra My District, Quang Nam Province, where the Song Tranh 2 Hydropower Plant is located. In the past several months earthquakes have continuously occurred in the area, with some measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale. -- Most of National Assembly deputies in HCMC demanded that the revised Law on Personal Income Tax should be applied sooner than July 2013 as planned. Under an amendment to the law, the personal income tax threshold will be raised to VND9 million (US$432) from the current VND4 million ($192).Business -- Hanoi’s consumer price index (CPI) in October rose 0.37 percent against the previous month, according to the municipal Statistics Office. The figure represents a 6.75 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Out of the 11 baskets of commodities measured, only post and telecommunications services remain unchanged. The price of homes, fuel and construction materials saw the highest increase of 1.17 percent. They were followed by culture, entertainment and tourism and transport categories, which saw the rise by 0.82 percent, 0.78 percent and 0.63 percent, respectively.Sports -- Spice Cup defending champion Le Quang Liem has been held to a draw by France’s Maxime Vachier Lagrave on October 19. This is the seventh consecutive draw for Liem in the 2012 Spice Cup Chess Festival in the US. He now ranks fourth of the six chess players with 3.5 points.