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

Politics:

-- National Assembly (NA) delegates have examined some draft laws, including the amendments and supplements to a number of articles of the Law on Emulation and Reward, the amendments and supplements to some articles of the Residence Law, and the draft Law on Employment, at their recent plenary session of the ongoing fifth session in Hanoi.

-- ASEAN’s tourism ministers attending the 2013 World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia in Myanmar have pledged implementing tourism standards for the region and a common regional visa to boost tourism growth by 20 percent.  At the forum, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines have also agreed to work on an ASEAN Common Smart Visa and signed the Statement of Intent on SMART Visa.

Society:

-- About 30 children with physical disabilities in the northern province of Nam Dinh have been undergone free corrective surgeries under a program organized by the Australian charity organization Hands For Hope. About 100 local children across the nation will benefit from the program this year, said Nhan Nguyen, the organization’s co-founder.

-- Three people were killed and 29 others injured after a Mai Linh bus plunged off a mountain road and fell into a five-meter abyss in Quang Nam central province on Sunday. The deadly accident occurred at 7:15am June 9 on Vinh Dien street, Dien Ban district as the bus was heading towards Da Nang city from Buon Me Thuot city in the central highlands region.

-- The 52-year-old Vo Van Khu from a rural area in the central province of Binh Dinh is dubbed “the man with a demon’s face” due to his big facial tumor that disfigures half of his face. The tumor was easy to remove, but the man had no money for that.

Business:

-- The State Bank of Vietnam have been asked to consider raising the credit line to farmers, and work with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to improve farmers’ accessibility to capital, according to a request made by Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai at a recent conference in Hanoi to seek solutions to address the difficulties in rice production, animal husbandry and fishery.

-- Total non-performing loans (NPLs) in local credit card debt have amounted to some VND2 trillion ($96 million), nearly doubling that in 2012, said a high-ranking official of the State Bank of Vietnam. As of last year, the total NPLs in credit card debt were over VND1 trillion, said Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City branch of SBV.

Lifestyle:

-- The Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand and Le Danang restaurant in Thailand ’s capital of Bangkok have launched the Vietnam Gastronomy Month in Thailand to promote the Vietnamese culture as well as traditional cuisine among not only Thai people but also international residents in the country.

Sports:

-- Vietnam’s young athletes have won 13 gold medals on the first day of the Ho Chi Minh City-hosted 8th Southeast Asia Youth Athletics Championship which will see the competitions of representatives of Vietnam, Thailand, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore.

-- Vietnam team is in the 133rd position in FIFA ranking, down one notch last month, because it did not join or win any matches. In Southeast Asia, Vietnam remains the leader, followed by Thailand (142nd) and the Philippines (144th).