Here are the leading news stories about Vietnam you should not miss today, May 10

Politics

-- Preparations for the upcoming general election, taking place on May 22, are going in accordance with the plan and schedule at all levels, from central agencies to provinces and cities, the Ministry of Home Affairs said on Monday.

Society                                                      

-- Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has decided not to give in-principle approval to a controversial US$1.1 billion project to open a water route and build six hydropower plants on the Hong (Red) River, running through nearly ten northern Vietnamese provinces, the government said in a fiat sent to the investment ministry on Monday.

-- The police force should make Ho Chi Minh City a place criminals will be “frightened to death” every time they hear about it, Dinh La Thang, secretary of the municipal Party Committee, said at a ceremony held to reward District 8 police for their outstanding crime-fighting performance on Monday.

-- A resident in the northern city of Hai Phong found four bombs, each weighing 250kg, when he was dredging his fishing pond on Sunday.

-- The Vietnam Food Administration has taken samples of the bottled green tea C2 and energy drink Rong Do (Red Dragon), produced by URC Hanoi, for tests, following unverified online reports that the beverages contain high levels of lead.

Business

-- As 32 outlets countrywide of supermarket chain Big C are undergoing a tax inspection ending later this month, Vietnamese tax authorities are also looking into if the retailer has practiced transfer pricing.

-- Vietnam posted a budget deficit of VND53 trillion ($2.37 billion) in the first four months of this year, with total spending of VND370 trillion ($16.52 billion) against VND317 trillion ($14.15 billion) in revenue, the Ministry of Finance said in a press release on Monday.

-- The administration of the north-central province of Thanh Hoa said on Monday that it is calling on the government to suspend the operation of a local sugar plant, which had dumped untreated water into the Buoi River, killing 17 metric tons of fish raised in 71 floating fish cages in the area.

Education

-- A question in a recent geography examination at a high school for gifted students in the south-central province of Binh Thuan has been blasted for containing inaccurate information, saying Vietnam’s 2010 GDP was 145 times higher than Thailand’s.           

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