Below are some of the main stories published today, May 18, in the Vietnamese press.

Politics -- Vietnam and Belarus signed a joint communiqué on the outcomes of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to Belarus from May 15-17 at the invitation of his Belarusian counterpart Mikhail Myiasnikovich. The communiqué says that the two PMs expressed their delight at the dynamic development of their high-level political dialogues based on friendship, mutual trust and respect. They also highly valued the maintenance of official exchanges and constructive traditional partnership between Vietnam and Belarus.

-- A national conference was held in Hanoi on May 17 to partially sum up the two-year implementation of the Politburo’s Directive 03 on “Continued acceleration of studying and following President Ho Chi Minh’s moral example”. All the delegates at the conference agreed to boost the campaign to study and follow President Ho Chi Minh’s moral example in the coming time, considering it as the Party’s big policy that every official and Party member must be implement.

Society -- Police in Tra Vinh Province yesterday seized chief inspector and deputy secretary of the Party Committee of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nguyen Van Troi , 44 for taking a bribe of VND35 million (US$1,680) from a private company. Troi will be detained for four months for investigation.

-- The southern Tay Ninh Province Police Department yesterday suspended 29 traffic police officers for one month pending investigation into their allegedly taking bribes from drivers who committed traffic violations while travelling on the National Highway 22B section from the province's Tan Bien District to Ho Chi Minh City. -- An ancient cannon was found in the Thi Nai Lagoon in Quy Nhon City yesterday. The cannon, which is 2.37 met long and weighs about 1 ton, is said to date back to 200 years ago, according to the Binh Dinh Province Museum.  -- A couple and two young men have been indicted for trafficking nearly 6 kg of synthetic drug from Laos to Vietnam through Tan Son Nhat Airport, Ho Chi Minh City, on May 4, 2013, local police reported.  The woman of the couple has been let out on bail since she has a 5-month baby.

-- A 43-year-old man and his wife died after their small cargo boat sank in the My Duong River in Nghi Xuan District, Ha Tinh Province on Thursday. The overload of the boat was said to have caused the sinking, authorities reported. 

Business -- Many large commercial banks have increased the selling price of US dollar to over VND21,020-20,030 from Friday, May 17, but this rate is still lower the ceiling price regulated by the State Bank of Vietnam. On the open market, US dollar was sold for VND21,330 yesterday. --  Honda Vietnam Co Ltd (HVN) said it has exported 450 SHi150 scooters to Thailand. The value of domestically produced materials accounted for 93 percent of the total value of materials used in production of these vehicles, the company reported. Earlier in March, the company began to export Lead 125 scooters to Japan and expects to ship about 12,000 vehicles per year.

Lifestyle -- Seven large clusters of lamps in the shape of lotuses installed in the Nhieu Loc Canal in Ho Chi Minh City’s Phu Nhuan district was lit yesterday evening. The event was organized by the district Buddhist Sangha Executive Committee and the Bodhisattva Monastery as part of activities to welcome the Buddha’s Birthday anniversary. These lights will be maintained until May 24.  -- Five more foreign channels, i.e. Cinemax, AXN SD, STAR MOVIES HD, AXN HD and FOX SPORTS PLUS have been granted the Editing License by the Ministry of Information and Communication to be broadcasted legally in Vietnam under the Decision No. 20/2011/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister. At 08:20pm on May 17, 2013, these five channels were resumed on K+ platform and K+ subscribers continue to enjoy the channels. Some other foreign channels are expected to be granted Editing License in a couple of days.Sports -- Players found guilty of racially abusing an opponent will be suspended for a minimum of five matches, the English Football Association (FA) has announced. The same punishment will also apply in other discrimination cases, including religion, sexuality and disability. A second offence will lead to an automatic minimum ban of 10 matches, in addition to any financial penalty.