HANOI, July 2 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in the official Vietnamese press on Thursday. Reuters has not verified these stories. FINANCIAL NEWS: TUOI TRE -- The Vietnam Coffee Assocation (Vicofa) might ask exporters to cease coffee exports to beef up sagging prices, Vicofa Chairman Luong Van Tu said. THANH NIEN -- Vietnam's economy could grow 5 percent this year, with annual inflation below 10 percent, if it is able to maintain the current expansion pace, the General Statistics Office said. THOI BAO KINH TE VIETNAM -- Partly private Eximbank said its gross profit hit more than 800 billion dong ($45 million) in the first half of this year, 53 percent of the annual projection. ECONOMIC AND GENERAL NEWS: HANOI MOI -- Foreign tourist arrivals in June dropped 4.7 percent from May to 279,000 due to the H1N1 flu outbreak and global economic slowdown, tourism officials said. SAIGON GIAI PHONG -- The average salaries of employees in the state-owned sector in the first half rose 12.1 percent from the same period last year to nearly 2.8 million dong ($157) per month, the Ministry of Planning and Investment said. -- Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung asked visiting Thai Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon to increase joint sea patrola and sought more cooperation between their two armies. LAO DONG -- The number of H1N1 flu cases has jumped to 166 as of Wednesday, the Health Ministry said. (Reporting by Hanoi Newsroom)
Vu Duc Trung, a member of the Vietnamese military, walks past a basin, which the U.S. army used to store the defoliant Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, at Danang airbase ...
