Court hands out tough sentences to heroin traffickers

The Hà Nội People’s Court on Monday handed the death penalty to one drug trafficker and a life sentence to another in two cases.

In the first case, the accused, Phan Văn Hùng, 36, a resident of the northern mountainous province of Lạng Sơn, received the death sentence for illegally trading heroin.

On December 29, 2016, the Hà Đông District Police in Hà Nội caught Hùng transporting around 1.7kg of heroin in two nylon bags in a five-seater car. The police also seized two more nylon bags containing around 1.8kg of methamphetamine.

Hùng confessed that he had been hired by a Chinese man to transport five bags of heroin and methamphetamine from Lạng Sơn Province to the northern Bắc Giang Province and Hà Nội, for which he would be paid VNĐ10 million (US$400) per bag. Before being caught, Hùng had delivered one bag with 900g of heroin to a man in Bắc Giang.

In the second case, the court sentenced Chu Văn Phi, 46, a resident of Hà Nội’s Ba Vì District, to life, and Nguyễn Quang Ước, 33, a resident of Hà Nội’s Đống Đa District, to 18 years’ imprisonment for transporting heroin.

On October 15, 2016, the Hà Nội Police caught Ước with around 145g of ketamine while he was driving his motorbike in Hai Bà Trưng District’s Minh Khai Ward.

Ước revealed that while he was serving his earlier prison sentence, he became friends with Phi, who asked him to deliver the ketamine to an acquaintance.

The police conducted a search of Phi’s house and confiscated another 1.1kg of heroin.

Two companies stopped from exploiting sand from river

The Hòa Bình People’s Committee on Monday temporarily stopped two companies from exploiting sand and gravel from the Đà River in Kỳ Sơn District.

The two companies are Sahara Mineral Exploitation Joint-stock Company and Hùng Yến Co Ltd.

The People’s Committee also asked the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment to join hands with concerned organisations to prepare documents about the two companies’ violations in mineral exploitation, check the quantity of sand and gravel being exploited by the two companies and monitor the situation on the ground to consider letting the companies restart their activities.

Inspectors should patrol Hợp Thành and Hợp Thịnh communes in Kỳ Sơn District in the morning and at night to receive reports from residents and ensure timely action against violations by organisations and individuals exploiting and transporting sand and gravel from the Đà River.

Earlier, last Wednesday, Nguyễn Văn Quang, chairman of Hòa Bình People’s Committee, met residents of Hợp Thịnh and Hợp Thành communes to resolve problems related to sand and gravel exploitation by the two companies.

During the meeting, many residents asked the committee to withdraw licences for sand exploitation by the two companies following their violations.

Repair fishing vessels post-haste: Deputy PM

Repairing newly-built substandard offshore fishing vessels is a matter of great economic, political and social significance that should be done immediately, Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng said yesterday.

Speaking at a conference held in Hà Nội to review implementation of the 2014 Government decree on development of the fisheries sector, the Deputy PM asked central and local leaders to focus on removing its limitations.

The Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development (MARD) should review the fishing vessel registration process to ensure the ships are in good condition. Supervision of the shipbuilding process and the people involved should be stepped up, he said.

He also wanted commercial banks to untangle loan procedures for fishermen.

“Disciplinary action should be taken against individuals and organisations involved in the faulty implementation of the decree,” he said.

The Deputy PM also called for changes to the decree that should be made public within the fourth quarter of this year and go into effect at the beginning of next year.

Evaluating overall implementation of the decree in recent years, Deputy PM Dũng said it was a groundbreaking, comprehensive policy that served the needs of fishermen and contributed to the development of the country’s marine economy.

Under Decree 67 (dated July 7, 2014), ship owners building steel or ships with new material (other than wood) with engine capacities between 400CV and 800CV can borrow up to 90 per cent of the total cost at the interest rate of 7 per cent per year.

Reports from localities show that under the Decree, ship owners in 27 of 28 coastal provinces and cities had borrowed money to build and/or renovate 1,948 – or 85 per cent – of the total 2,284 fishing ships.

As of July 31, some 760 vessels had been pressed into service. Of these 460 were newly-built (301 steel-clad ships, 53 composite and 407 wooden) and 105 others renovated.

Earlier in May, some 40 ships built in the central provinces of Bình Định, Phú Yên, Thanh Hóa and Quảng Nam were reported to be in bad condition, their shells rusty, machines broken and equipment malfunctioning.

Repairs of these vessels are expected to be completed by the end of next month.

Deputy Agricultural Minister Vũ Văn Tám said there were shortcomings in the selection of shipbuilding companies, design consultation and construction supervision, since it was the first time fishermen were taking part in building steel-ships.

This time, MARD would oversee the repairs and bring the vessels back into operation as soon as possible, he said. He asked fishermen to conduct periodical renovations and repairs.

Tám also highlighted high interest rate on loans as a drawback of Decree 67. “Its loan mechanism is unsuitable for fishermen, and there is no risk management mechanism for commercial banks, which discourages fishermen from borrowing money and banks from providing loans,” he said. 

VN, neighbours discuss migrant work

Ensuring social security, knowledge and stable incomes for workers is a top priority for Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Việt Nam, Deputy Minister of  Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Doãn Mậu Diệp, said yesterday.

He spoke at the opening of a Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) from these countries in central Đà Nẵng City.

He said the meeting of the so-called CLMTV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Việt Nam) forum played an important role in the context of the rising number of migrant workers in the five countries.

“The co-operation among CLMTV nations has achieved sustainable prosperity goals and boosted integration and economic connections. Migrant workers make considerable contributions to countries’ economic growth and sustainable development, but it also presents challenges for nations in dealing with human resources management and training, as well as related problems,” Diệp said.

Việt Nam hopes representatives of the relevant countries, the International Labour Organisation and the International Organisation of Migration will discuss and review achievements in vocational training, prevention of human trafficking and illegal migrant labour, as well as legal support and worker protection.

Diệp said the meeting would be an opportunity to focus on migrant worker safety and related challenges ahead of the Ministerial Declaration at today’s CLMTV Ministers Meeting.

Acording to Dr Nguyễn Hổng Minh from Việt Nam’s General Department of Vocational Training Việt Nam has 53 million employees, 22 per cent of them are trained workers with diplomas or certificates.

But the rate of skilled workers with vocational training is only 38.5 per cent, considered low. According to a report issued last year, the country had nearly 2,000 vocational training centres in which 2.2 million students were enrolled.

Participants also joined discussions on promotion of legal cross-border employment and bilateral agreements, addressing the root causes of irregular migration and unprotected migrant workers.

Participants agreed on the need to raise awareness of their people of safe labour immigration, rights, benefits, responsibilities and obligations. Migrant workers should undergo courses on employment contracts, language, culture, discipline, and laws in destination countries. 

Judicial Affairs Committee starts 6th plenary session

Yesterday in HCM City, the National Assembly’s Judicial Affairs Committee opened its 6th plenary session (lasting 2 days) to discuss reports and proposals from directors of Supreme People’s Procuracies, Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court, and amendments to the Judicial Records Act.

On the first working day, the committee reviewed a proposal by the head of the People’s Procuracy on a job scheme in the Procuracy branch – which would include 226 positions at all levels, with a total of at least 17,516 employees on the state payroll (10.4 per cent higher than the current number of 15,860).

The assessment council of the committee said that the necessity for increased employment must be studied further, and the proposed scheme would be submitted to the National Assembly’s Standing Committee for feedback, as the Party is advocating for streamlined civil service.

Also, the committee discussed a proposal by the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court in which regulations on dress code – including materials and forms for the black robe, and ornamental linings indicating ranks/seniority – of the judges of People’s Courts are put forth.

Lê Thị Nga, Chairwoman of the committee, basically concurred with the proposal, saying that a court dress protocol for judges is a necessity and in line with international practices as “the presiding judges act on behalf of the State, serving justice.”

Previously, on June 13, 2016, the NA issued Resolution 1214 on piloting the dress code, and the People’s Supreme Court has implemented the regulations in some provinces and cities, and high satisfaction was reported.

This time, the Judicial Committee unanimously agreed to submit the bill to the NA’s Standing Committee for review and passing, in which the new uniform requirement will be enforced starting from the beginning of 2018, 2 black robes will be issued for each judge for each of their five-year terms.

Golf tournament connects Vietnamese in Europe

Golfers from 11 European countries and Vietnam recently teed off at Sweden Open 2017 at the 45-hole Barsebäck Golf & Country Club, considered one of Europe's most beautiful and best golf facilities.

It is part of the Golf Championship of the European Vietnamese Golf Association.

Golfer Nguyen Gia Bao from Russia said the Vietnamese community in Europe is united through the golf tournament, which started about eight years ago.

This golf tournament is big and helps Vietnamese expatriates become closer to each other. 

PM approves national health target programme

Vietnam aims to curb the annual ratio of infections and fatalities due to dengue below 0.09 percent by 2020 and early detect oral, breast, cervical and colorectal cancer in nearly 20 percent of people.

More than 95 percent of under one-year-old children will be fully vaccinated while all centrally-run cities and provinces will have markets ensuring food safety.

These were mentioned in the Prime Minister’s approved national target programme on healthcare and population for 2016-2020. 

The programme will be carried out in provinces and cities nationwide at a total expense of 19.38 trillion VND (852.72 million USD).

It comprises eight sub-projects on preventing communicable diseases and common incommunicable ones, expanded vaccination, population and development, food safety and HIV/AIDS prevention.

The programme also aims to prevent haematological diseases, as well as provide healthcare services for army and people in sea, island, border areas and key security defence regions, while evaluating healthcare communications.

PM approves dissemination about global integration events

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has recently approved a plan to promote dissemination work on global integration events in 2017-2020. 

The plan aims to popularise images of Vietnam, its culture and people at home and abroad, contributing to improving Vietnam’s stature in the international arena. 

It targets ministries, ministry-level agencies and those from the central to local level, socio-political-economic organisations, businesses, foreign entities operating in Vietnam, researchers, students, workers, citizens from ASEAN member states, Vietnam’s strategic partners and countries that signed free trade agreements with Vietnam. 

The work will focus on the Party’s policies and guidelines, State laws on global integration, Vietnam’s achievements in politics, national defence-security, socio-economy, education-training, science-technology, bilateral and multilateral cooperation with countries and international organisations. 

Information will be regularly disseminated via mass media such as Vietnam News Agency, Vietnam Television, Radio the Voice of Vietnam, Nhan dan newspaper, grassroots media and prestigious news websites.

Between now and 2020, Vietnam will assume a number of positions such as host of APEC Year 2017, ASEAN Chair in 2020 and bid for non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council for 2020-2021. The country is due to deliver on international commitments regarding entry to the World Trade Organisation by 2018 and embark on several free trade agreements.

Exhibition on Cham culture in An Giang, Ninh Thuan opens

An exhibition themed “Cham culture in An Giang and Ninh Thuan provinces” kicked off in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang on August 1.

The event was held in the lead up to the 72nd anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day (Sept. 2).

As many as 131 photos and nearly 250 exhibits are on display, including ancient tools, Bau Truc pottery products, My Nghiep woven products, traditional music instruments and costumes of Cham people in Ninh Thuan province, among others.

The event aimed to introduce the unique culture of the Cham ethnic minority group in An Giang and Ninh Thuan provinces.

The exhibition runs until September 29 at the An Giang Museum.

Int’l conference promotes sea-island tourism development

Tapping huge potential of sea and island tourism coupled with preserving natural landscapes was discussed at an international conference jointly held by Ton Duc Thang University and the National Penghu University of Science and Technology, Taiwan (China) on August 1.

The event drew the participation of over 40 researchers, lecturers as well as tourism students from Australia, Austria, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, the UK and the US.

Experience in sea tourism model development as well as education activities on environmental protection were shared at the conference. Some researchers also analysed impacts of tourism development on the socio-economy and local livelihoods while highlighting public efforts to develop tourism sustainably.

Speaking at the event, Tran Trong Dao, Vice Rector of Ton Duc Thang University, underlined that Vietnam boasts huge potential for sea tourism development, however, unprofessional investment in human resources and shortage of highly-competitive tourism products have hampered the development.

Meanwhile, Chun-Chieh Hu from the National Penghu University of Science and Technology said that sea tourism development strategies are built based on scientific research evaluating the influence of technology on natural environment and local residents.

Other participants also agreed that enhancing quality of high-ranking tourism managers plays a key role in developing sea-island tourism in line with global trend.-

Lao national arrested for smuggling 10,000 drug pills into Vietnam

A 49-year-old Lao national was arrested in Ngoc Hoi district, the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum on July 31 for allegedly attempting to smuggle over 10,000 drug pills into Vietnam.

Thao Ef from Laos’ Bolikhamxay province was caught red-handed transporting 10,020 methamphetamine pills by anti-drug police and border guards at Iec hamlet of Bo Y commune which shares the border with Laos.

The authorities also discovered him possessing many knives of different sizes and other types of weapons which were used to resist arrest.

ASEAN Cultural Day opens in Vinh Phuc

ASEAN Cultural Day took place in the northern province of Vinh Phuc on August 1 to celebrate the 50th founding anniversary of the bloc with the participation of representatives from the embassies of the ASEAN member countries in Vietnam.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Vu Viet Van said the event offers participants a chance to learn more about special cultural values of the ASEAN member states, and hoped that it will also foster friendship and economic and cultural exchanges between Vinh Phuc and the ASEAN nations as well as build the ASEAN Community of peace, prosperity and sustainability. 

Speaking at the event, Indonesia’s Ambassador to Vietnam Ibnu Hadi said in recent years, Vinh Phuc has become an attractive destination for foreign investors from Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. 

Indonesia is now among top 20 investors in Vietnam, with Japfa Comfeed Vietnam being one of the 500 largest enterprises in the country. 

The province currently records 27 projects by ASEAN investors with a total registered capital of over 500 million USD. 

In education - training, Vinh Phuc has assisted Laos in training hundreds of tertiary and post-tertiary students. 

Meanwhile, Singapore and the Philippines have helped Vinh Phuc train hundreds of English teachers under the government’s project on teaching and studying foreign languages in the national education system for the 2008-2020 period. 

During the event, a music exchange between the  ASEAN member states and an exhibition themed “ASEAN – Peace and Development” were organised.