Below are some of the main stories published today, June 21, in the Vietnamese press.
Politics -- “Our Vietnamese people, Party and State have enough will and resolve as well as a sufficient historical and legal basis to fight in safeguarding our national sovereignty. It is unacceptable that strong countries can defy morality and justice,” President Truong Tan Sang said on Friday in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency on Vietnam’s responses to China’s illegally placing its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 in Vietnam’s waters since May 1. -- Vietnam should to take legal action against China at an international court for illegally placing its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 in Vietnam’s waters, as this act has violated Vietnam's sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf as prescribed by the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), said many foreign scholars at an international seminar held in central Da Nang City on Friday.Society -- Along with other Chinese vessels that are guarding China’s illegal oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 in Vietnamese waters, Chinese coast guard ship #3210 aggressively prevented Vietnamese coast guard CSB 8003 from approaching the rig on Friday. There was a time when the distance of the two vessels was only 50 meters. It is worth noting that the same Chinese ship once took part in a joint patrol with its Vietnamese counterpart CSB 8003 in the Gulf of Tonkin in April 2014. -- As of July 1, 2014, all passengers coming to Vietnam from nine countries that are suffering from the MERS-CoV (the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome caused by the Corona virus) are required to fill out health declaration forms before entering Vietnam. These countries include Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Emirates of Arab, Oman, Yemen, Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan and Iran, according to a new regulation of the Vietnamese Ministry of Health. -- The Naval High Command of Zone 5 on Friday presented insignias “For the cause of protection of Vietnam’s sovereignty over its seas and islands” to 15 correspondents who have made great contributions to the safeguarding of the national sovereignty. The honorees are from three press agencies, including Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Saigon) newspaper, Ho Chi Minh Television Film Company, and Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. -- A court in south-central Khanh Hoa Province on Friday sentenced a former police chief of Khanh Son District, Nguyen Thanh Trung, to 10 years in jail on charges of “consuming property acquired through the commission of crime by other persons.” He and his five accomplices were found illegally selling the aloes wood seized in a smuggling case in 2012, causing a loss of VND4.15 billion (US$195,000).Business -- The retail prices of 312 milk products has been cut by 1-31 percent, the Ho Chi Minh City Finance Department announced on Friday, citing the price registrations submitted by a number of milk producers to the department and the Ministry of Finance. The maximum price reduction will be about VND100,000 (US$4.7) per product. -- The selling and buying prices of US dollar on the open market in Vietnam reduced by VND30 per dollar to VND21,350 and VND21,300 respectively on Friday. These prices are now equivalent to those at several large commercial banks such as Eximbank and ACB. At Vietcombank, the selling and buying prices of US dollars were VND10 and VND20-40 higher than those in the open market on Friday.
Sports -- Ahead of the match between the squads of Ghana and Germany in the final round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Ghana’s Kevin-Prince Boateng has called on his team to “fight to the death” with the German rivals to get their World Cup campaign back on track. The Black Stars will face Group G leaders, Germany in a must-win game in Fortaleza at 2 pm (Vietnam time) on Sunday.