Below are some of the main stories published today, July 7, in the Vietnamese press:

Society:

-- Vietnamese fishing boat #QNg 96185 hailing from the central province of Quang Ngai suffered major damage after being attacked by a Chinese military ship in waters off Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago on July 3. The fishing boat anchored at Ly Son fishing port in Quang Ngai on July 5.

-- During a meeting in the central province of Quang Ngai on Sunday, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat pledged support for local fishermen who catch fish in traditional fishing grounds in waters off Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelagos.

-- Starting July 5, about 15,000 children aged under 14 in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi will be injected with vaccines to prevent viral encephalitis which claimed five lives and affected over 300 others across the country during the first six months of this year, according to Hoang Duc Hanh, deputy director of the Hanoi Health Department.

-- Authorities in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak offers free swimming training courses to more than 300 disadvantaged children in an effort to reduce drowning cases.

-- The Vietnamese community in Canada has donated CAD10,000 (US$9,379) to Vietnamese Coast Guard and fishery surveillance forces and fishermen who are protecting Vietnam’s sovereignty right and jurisdiction over its continental shelf and exclusive economic zone in the East Vietnam Sea.

Lifestyle:

-- Eminent Vietnamese writer To Hoai, author of beloved children's tale De Men Phieu Luu Ky (Adventures of a Cricket), died at the age of 94, according to information from his family.

Business:

-- Vietnam customs tax collection reached VND117.5 trillion ($5.57 billion) in the first six months of this year, a 24.4 per cent year-on-year increase. The figures were reported by general director of Vietnam Customs Nguyen Thai Duong during a conference held in Hanoi on Saturday.

Politics:

-- Vietnam’s National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, who paid a working visit to Chile from July 3 to 5, said senior Chilean leaders and officials have committed themselves to further facilitating ties with the Vietnamese legislature via visits and international inter-parliamentary forums.