Politics -- A delegation from the permanent office of the State Steering Committee on the National Mine Action Plan, led by Deputy Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh, wrapped up a week-long working visit to Australia on Saturday, during which they met with the Australian authorities to seek assistance and cooperation in dealing with the consequences of unexploded ordnance (UXO) left over from the wars.Society -- Seven primary students were crossing the Nam Mu river in the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau en route to school on Sunday when they were washed away by strong currents. Local people managed to save six of the children and the last one remained missing as of the end of the day. -- Hai Phong police announced Sunday that they had arrested two 21-year-old men, both students of the Maritime College of Hai Phong, when the two were attempting to sell an SH scooter they had earlier stolen from a woman by splashing tear gas onto her face. -- A shrine to worship the Hung Kings, the nation’s founders, located in the Dong Xanh park in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, has shocked visitors by placing description banners under each of the Kings’ statues, saying the country’s founders lived for as long as 600 years old.

Business

-- Vietnam’s national debt has topped US$90 billion, equal to 55.7 percent of its GDP and only a short way from the “red limit” of 65 percent of the gross product, Pham The Anh, dean of macro-economics at the Hanoi-based National Economics University, has warned. The public debt would already cross the limit if debts owed by state-run enterprises were counted, which would then send the national debt to around $180 billion.

-- As of the end of February, 13,124 businesses countrywide ceased operation, up 12.2 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

-- Merger and acquisition has become the hot topic in Vietnam’s banking system these days with at least three credit institutions recently revealing the partners they have planned to merge with or acquire. Sacombank is scheduled to merge with Phuong Nam Bank, while Maritime Bank and Mekong Development Bank will join in a merger. State-owned VietinBank also has plans to merge with PG Bank but it has not acquired the approval in principle from the State Bank of Vietnam.

Lifestyle

-- French artist Sébastien Laval has wowed local people and international tourists in the central city of Hue with his creative exhibition, where 62 black-and-white photos featuring people of the Vietnamese ethnic minority groups are hung on the city’s iconic Truong Tien bridge. The exhibition is held as part of the ongoing 2014 Hue Festival from April 12 to 20.

Sports

-- Vissai Ninh Binh, the V-League football club whose nine players have recently admitted to placing wagers on their own game at the AFC Cup, will continue its journey at the Asian tournament with a squad composed mostly of its under-19 players, club owner Hoang Manh Truong said Sunday.