Let us start your Sunday by skimming these news items on Tuoi Tre News.

Politics

-- On Saturday, Vietnamese Defense Minister General Phung Quang Thanh and his Chinese counterpart Chang Wanquan witnessed a joint patrol by the two countries’ border soldiers which took place in the northern Vietnamese province of Lao Cai. The activity is part of the second Vietnam-China border amity exchange program.

-- Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Le Hai Binh on Saturday voiced the country’s fierce objection to a fishing ban recently imposed by China on part of the East Vietnam Sea, and dismissed the ban as invalid.

Society

-- The Co Chien Bridge, which links the Mekong Delta provinces of Ben Tre and Tra Vinh, was opened to traffic during a ceremony on Saturday, which was attended by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. The bridge, which measures 1,599 meters in length, was constructed for 21 months under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model and cost VND2.3 trillion (US$107.56 million).

-- The Dong Nai 2 Hydropower Plant was inaugurated on Saturday afternoon after some eight years of construction. The plant, built on the Da Dang River and crossing Di Linh and Lam Ha Districts in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, boasts a total capacity of 70 megawatts and cost over VND3.5 trillion ($163.11 million). 

Business

--Vietnam's largest fuel wholesaler, Petrolimex, recently announced it has pocketed VND461 billion ($21.48 million) in profits in the first quarter of 2015, compared to VND255 billion ($11.88 million) in the same period last year, though the group has seen a 25 percent year-on-year drop in turnover. 

-- Huynh Vinh Lac, head of the office of the People’s Committee in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang, said on Saturday that the committee has approved a project to build Vincom Center in Rach Gia City. The project, to be implemented on a plot of over 1.6 hectares, incorporates commercial centers and residential areas.   

Lifestyle

-- The Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography recently announced it has successfully brought over 10,700 square meters of coral back to life under a project that finished in 2011 and was meant to revive hard coral in key marine reserves.

-- Work has started on a project which is worth VND35 billion ($1.63 million) and intended to restore the Nga Bay floating market, located in  Nga Bay Town in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang. The project is also aimed at tapping into the area’s waterway ecological tourism potential.