Politics
-- At an international seminar on the East Sea, which was held in Washington in the US on June 27 and 28 by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), US Senator Joe Lieberman (D-Connecticut) said that the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation’s (CNOOC) announcement to invite international bids for nine oil and gas blocks within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone is "quite provocative". "On its face," he said, "it's an unprecedented and unfounded claim, that’s within an economic zone recognized by international law that is Vietnam’s".
Society
-- Doctors at Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City yesterday performed a surgery on 21-year-old D.T.D to remove a 7 x 7 mm benign tumor in the pituitary gland. D is 2.03 meter tall and had diagnosed been with Gigantism, which had led to abnormally large growth due to an excess of growth hormones caused by the tumor. Doctors at the hospital said that those with Gigantism often develop complications like diabetes, high blood pressure, and arthritis, among others.
-- The Vinh Phuc Province People’s Court yesterday sentenced two former chairmen of the Vinh Yen City People's Committee to 5 years imprisonment each for “abusing position and power”. They had illegally allowed others to use 25 hectares of farmland for an urban project for their own benefits.
-- Police in Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai, Khanh Hoa, and Binh Dinh Provinces yesterday busted several illegal football betting rings, arresting about 70 people and seized hundreds of millions dong (VND100 million = US$4,800) in betting money, several computers and other items.
-- Quang Ngai province People’s Court yesterday opened a trial for a team of 4 state auditors who were charged with “abusing position and power to appropriate assets.” They demanded money from contractors in exchanged for their illegal modifications to reports related to the use of Government bond capital. Nguyen Van Quyen, the instigator, got 10 years in prison while his three accomplices received 3-8 years imprisonment.
-- Due to great difficulties in operation, 4,800 businesses in Ho Chi Minh City cut down their workforce in the first four months of this year, causing about 16,700 workers to be jobless, the city Department of Labor, War Invalid and Social Affairs reported. The department said it was giving vocational training to these unemployed workers and assisting them in seeking new job opportunities.
-- Every Vietnamese people spends 130 minutes on using Internet every day on average, Le-Usami Vann, online research director of Cimigo, an independent team of marketing and brand research specialists, said at the seminar titled Vietnam Mobile Advertising 2012 held in Ho Chi Minh City yesterday. About 95 percent of Internet users in Vietnam are in the ages of 15-24, Vann said.
-- 3,000 people will have chances to seek jobs through the “2012 Summer Jobs” program that will be carried out by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union from July 9 to August 15 in Ho Chi Minh City.
Business
-- Vietnam cut interest rates for a fifth time this year to spur growth after a report yesterday showed economic expansion stayed below 5 percent this quarter. The State Bank of Vietnam lowered the refinance rate to 10 percent from 11 percent and the discount rate to 8 percent from 9 percent, it said in a statement on its website yesterday, with the cuts effective July 1.
-- More than 26,300 private enterprises have halted operation or dissolved in the first 6 months of this year, due to big financial difficulties including high lending interest rates, the General Department of Statistics reported. In June alone, about 4,100 private have gone bankruptcy or stopped operation.
Sports
-- Spain and Italy will rematch in a history Euro match. This time, however, Spain and Italy are playing for the European Championship and a place in the history books. The Mediterranean rivals meet Sunday in Kiev's Olympic Stadium, three weeks after they drew 1-1 in their opening match of the tournament's group stage. As the defending champion and World Cup holder, Spain is bidding to win a third straight major title, cementing its place as one of the greatest national teams. It would also match Germany's record of three European Championship titles.