Tuoitrenews briefs the salient news published on local media today, November 10:

Politics -- President Truong Tan Sang and his Iranian counterpart, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have affirmed their determination to further strengthen and develop Vietnam-Iran bilateral ties. Receiving the Iranian leader in Hanoi on November 9, President Sang affirmed Vietnam’s foreign policy of multilateralisation and diversification, saying Vietnam attaches importance to developing friendship and cooperation with traditional friends, including Iran. The Iranian President wished Vietnam success with its socio-economic development targets that will prosper the country and increase their position in the world arena.

Society -- 330 young delegates aboard Fuji Maru arrived at Saigon port in Ho Chi Minh City on November 9 as part of the 2012 Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program (SSEAYP). They came from 11 countries including Japan and 10 ASEAN countries. During their 4-day stay they will meet with city leaders and participate in some cultural exchange programs with young Vietnamese people. They will also go on homestays and visit some tourist attractions there. SSEAYP is one of the cooperation programs between the Japanese Government and other ASEAN Governments to foster friendship among young people from these countries.

-- Five Grade 9 students at An Tuong Tay Junior High School drowned while they were bathing in the Kim Son River in Binh Dinh Province yesterday afternoon, Nguyen Van Y, the school’s principal, said. -- The glass window of the cockpit of an Bombardier aircraft was cracked while it was flying from HCMC to Kien Giang Province’s Phu Quoc Island on November 8, said the Air Mekong Airlines. After finding the incident, the plane returned to HCMC for a repair and resumed working yesterday. -- Police in Binh Phuoc Province yesterday arrested 4 security guards of a Farm No. 2 under management of Loc Ninh Rubber Co Ltd. for chopping off both arms of 24-year-old Dang Van Lap on Thursday. The guards were ordered by a farm official to search for another man, Pham Van Dat, who had beaten the official over a conflict, but they mistook Lap for Dat and attacked Lap.

-- Police in HCMC today begin to apply the new penalty rates for traffic violations under Decree 71/2012 by the Government. Under the Decree, the new fine rates are much higher than the old ones, said Lieutenant Colonel Le Hong Son, from the HCMC Road and Railway Traffic Police Department.  -- A survey conducted by the Workers and Trade Union Institute under the Vietnam Labor Confederation on 2,000 workers at 60 businesses including State-owned companies and foreign invested enterprises (FIEs) shows that monthly income of workers is just enough for them to pay 40-46 percent of monthly living costs. According to the survey, the average basic salary at State-owned companies is VND3 million (US$144) per month while it is only VND2.4 million at FIEs. Business -- A forum on investment cooperation was held in the Central Highlands city of Buon Ma Thuot yesterday to discuss measures to boost investment and socio-economic development in the Sub-Mekong region including economic corridors, and the Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia development triangle. The delegates came up with a number of solutions to remove obstacles and boost cooperation by introducing incentives for investors in socio-economic disadvantaged areas. Many said that provinces in the development triangle should be prioritized for investment and policies. Lifestyle -- The International Anthropological Film Festival kicks off today Ho Chi Minh City and will last until November 14. Themed “Modern Society and Sub-cultures,” the event, which is being held for the first time ever in Vietnam, will gather many filmmakers from 17 countries including America, Germany, the UK, Australia, Japan, China, Italy, Ireland, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Serbia, Romania, Estonia, Nepal, Indonesia and Vietnam. The festival aims to introduce and disseminate anthropological films and to develop the genre’s audience in Vietnam.