Below are some of the main stories published today, July 19, in the Vietnamese press.

Society:

-- Typhoon Rammasun made landfall on Mong Cai, capital city of Quang Ninh province in northern Vietnam, this morning (July 19), bringing heavy rain and strong winds.

About 27,000 people in risky areas have been evacuated, according to Dang Huy Hau, deputy chairman of the Quang Ninh People's Committee.

-- Three Vietnamese nationals are among 298 dead passengers onboard the crashed Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, said Vietnamese Ambassador Le Hoai Trung, the Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations. He added that Vietnam has called on a prompt investigation into the catastrophe that killed 298 people including the flight crew members.

-- The Health Ministry of Vietnam has just proposed a draft bill to ban sale of alcoholic drinks between 10pm and 6am.

-- At a ceremony held in Hanoi on Friday to mark the 60th anniversary of the Geneva Agreement [July 20, 1954-2014], Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang said in his speech that the signing of the agreement, after intense negotiations running though 75 days and nights with 31 meetings during the Geneva conference in 1954, was a great victory of the then Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

Business:

-- Many banks in Vietnam have reported profits in the first sixth months of 2014. Among them, the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) reported a pretax profit of VND5,178 billion (over US$244 million).

Politics:

-- Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang on Friday hosted a reception in Hanoi for former US President Bill Clinton. President Sang conveyed thanks to Clinton and his wife for their contributions to Vietnam-US relations when they were in office as well as for their support from their Clinton Foundation at present.

Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung welcomed and had talks with the former US president the same day in Hanoi.

Vietnam is among Clinton’s stopovers during his trip to five Asia-Pacific countries aiming to promote the operation of a HIV/AIDS Prevention Foundation named after him.

-- Also on Friday, Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang sent condolences to Malaysian King Apdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah over the Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 crash that killed all 298 people, including passengers and the flight crew members.

Vietnam has called on concerned parties in Ukraine to exercise restraint, avoid taking actions that further complicate the situation and cause losses for civilians and try their best, through dialogue, to find a peaceful solution for peace, stability and development in the country and the region.