HANOI, Aug 21 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in the official Vietnamese press on Friday. Reuters has not verified these stories. FINANCIAL NEWS: THOI BAO KINH TE VIET NAM -- Hanoi's consumer price index in August increased an estimated 4.02 percent from a year ago, the Hanoi Statistics Office said. TUOI TRE -- Land prices in Ho Chi Minh City will not rise as strongly as in the last six months, experts said without mentioning a time frame. ECONOMIC AND GENERAL NEWS: VIETNAM NEWS -- Vietnam's textile and garment industry has revised down its export target this year to $9.2 billion from $10.5 billion and also set lower objectives for the 2010-2015 period due to the impacts of the global financial crisis. NHAN DAN -- The traffic police said they found 17 ivory tusks hidden in a car in the northern province of Thanh Hoa on Thursday. HANOI MOI -- Consumption in Hanoi in the January-August period rose an estimated 15.2 percent from the same period last year, of which retail sales alone jumped 16.8 percent, the city's statistics department said. SAIGON GIAI PHONG -- August's consumer price index in Hanoi rose 0.47 percent from June, well above the monthly rise in Ho Chi Minh City of 0.22 percent, according to statistics from the two cities. LAO DONG -- Seven Vietnamese rice exporters have offered to sell rice below the floor set by the Vietnam Food Association, Deputy Chairman Nguyen Tho Tri said. TUOI TRE -- Vietnam will open a consulate in the U.S. city of Houston no later than September, the new Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga said. The country already has a consular office in San Francisco in addition to its embassy in Washington. THANH NIEN -- The H1N1 flu virus is spreading quickly in schools in Ho Chi Minh City, health officials said. -- Nearly 149,000 houses in Ho Chi Minh City will have to change address numbers due to overlap. (Reporting by Hanoi Newsroom)
Agent Orange victims are seen at the Friendship Village, a hospice for victims, in Hanoi August 10, 2009. Vietnam launched an "Orange Day" campaign on Monday to raise funds for people ...
