VIETNAMESE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 3, 2006.

HANOI, July 3 Asia Pulse - Following are highlights of Vietnam's major newspapers today:

NHAN DAN:

- Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung recently approved funding of US$625,000 for a project to build houses for poor Khmer ethnic minority groups in the southern coastal province of Bac Lieu in 2007. The Prime Minister asked the provincial authorities to manage and utilise the investment capital and survey the tempo of the housing development project in a bid to contribute to reduce poverty for local poor Khmer groups.

TUOI TRE:

- The Ho Chi Minh City decided to establish a task force to inspect the East-West Highway mega project, which has a total ODA value of US$616 million. The inspection will focus on assessment of the project in terms of design, consultancy, procurement and site clearance compensation. The inspection work aims to strictly punish construction violations and improve management to ensure the project quality and fight corruption.

SAI GON GIAI PHONG:

- As much as 70 per cent of Vietnam's population live on agriculture and 69 per cent of its labour force work in the agricultural sector. Accordingly, when Vietnam joins the WTO, as many people said, the agricultural sector will not only enjoy advantages but also face many difficulties. This will cause negative effects on farmers' lives.