Enjoy your breakfast while skimming these brief news items on Tuoi Tre News today, April 8.

Politics

-- Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong was warmly received by Chinese President Xi Jinping at a solemn ceremony in Beijing on Tuesday. The two statesmen reviewed the 65-year diplomatic ties between their two countries and discussed further cooperation in various fields.

-- Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday made trips to the Reunification Palace and Cu Chi Tunnels, two noted historical relics in Ho Chi Minh City. Passionate about photography, he took photos of the places himself. This is the first time that he has visited the southern metropolis. He and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung have discussed measures to boost all-around ties between the two countries, particularly in trade and energy during his three-day visit to the Southeast Asian country, starting Sunday.

Society

-- Tran Trung Dung, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs, on Tuesday signed a decision to suspend Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, director of the Linh Xuan HIV/AIDS Care and Support Center in Ho Chi Minh City from work from April 7 to 21. A Tuoi Tre investigation, which was conducted for over one month and released on Monday, disclosed that some caretakers beat kids with HIV every day during meals with their bare hands, slippers, and legs at the center. Five nannies have been temporarily relieved of their job following the exposé.

-- A seminar held Tuesday in Nha Trang City, the heart of the south-central province of Khanh Hoa, heard that 1,150 irrigation reservoirs nationwide have sustained damage and safety are not ensured there. The country is currently home to 6,648 such reservoirs, with a storing capacity of roughly 11 billion cubic meters of water.

-- Colonel Nguyen Duc Cuong, head of the police office in Hong Bang District in the northern city of Hai Phong, announced Tuesday that the local police successfully rescued a four-year-old girl at around 8:00 pm the same day. An hour earlier, the little girl’s father stayed put inside their home, soaking himself in petrol and threatening to set fire to his house and kill his daughter. The police force broke the door down and overpowered the father. Witnesses said the man showed signs of getting high on drugs during the incident.

-- A number of outbound passengers have recently complained to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper about the relentless harassment they suffered while performing immigration procedures at some international airports in Vietnam, including Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh City. The passengers managed to get through only after they “bribed” the airport and customs staffers.

Business

-- Vu Van Tu, director of the Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong  announced Tuesday that his center has called for investment in two major projects to construct an international university complex and Dau Giay-Lien Khuong Expressway, which connects Lam Dong and Dong Nai Provinces neighboring Ho Chi Minh City. The two projects cost an estimated $4 billion. Lam Dong has also mobilized investment in 49 other projects which are worth a total of US$1.5 billion.

-- Vo Hung Dung, deputy chair of the Vietnam Pangasius Association, told a Tuesday press meeting that his association will boost export and promotion of the catfish to China to cater to burgeoning demand. According to the association’s report, China accounted for some 6.5 percent of Vietnam’s catfish exports last year. The percentage rose to eight during the first two months of this year and is expected to exceed 10 percent later this year.