People's Court sentences three men for drug trafficking
The Hoa Binh Province People's Court on Wednesday sentenced three men for drug trafficking.
Ly A Thenh, 39, from the northern province of Dien Bien, was sentenced to death. Ly A Chu, 34, from the northern province of Son La, was sentenced to life imprisonment, while 25-year-old Boun Miher Khamtong from Laos' Houaphanh Province has been imprisoned for two years.
The Dien Bien Police had been hunting for Thenh since 2006 for trafficking 700 grams of heroin. Thenh fled the province with his family and moved to Laos. Then he made a fake identity card, passport and driving licence and worked with a large drug trafficking ring operating in Laos and Viet Nam.
In August 2012, the Hoa Binh Province Police and the provincial Border Guards caught Thenh, Chu and Khamtong in the act of transporting more than 20 kilograms of heroin and more than 1 kilogram of methamphetamine, an extremely addictive stimulant. The drugs were hidden inside an automobile that had a Laos number plate.
The three men admitted that they were hired by a man in Laos to smuggle the drugs into Viet Nam and then to foreign countries for sale.
The police said that in the period between May and August 2012, Thenh and Chu smuggled nearly 60 kilograms of drugs and more than 1kilogram of methamphetamine into Viet Nam.
Binh Chanh fire destroys company workshop
A fire broke out at a wood processing company in HCM City's Binh Chanh District early this morning, destroying its 1,000-square-metre workshop.
The local police mobilised more than 20 fire engines and 100 firefighters to extinguish the blaze, which was finally stamped out after seven hours.
A large number of products and equipment of the company were destroyed in the fire, but no injuries were reported.
The case is under investigation.
HCM City highway toll stations to triple
In the next 11 years the number of highway toll stations in HCM City will increase to 20 from the current seven, the Department of Transport has envisaged in its zoning plan.
This is expected to recoup investment in roads, smoothen traffic flow to the city centre, and raise funds for more road works, the department said.
The seven existing toll booths are on the Ha Noi Highway, Phu My bridge, Binh Trieu Bridge, An Lac, Nguyen Van Linh, the HCM City-Trung Luong Expressway, and HCM City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway.
More are set to come up by 2020 on the Ben Luc-Long Thanh Expressway, National No.22 in Cu Chi District, Provincial Road 15 in Hoc Mon District, Ring Road No.3, Thu Thiem Tunnel, and near the Phu Huu Industrial park in District 9.
By 2025 the number will rise to 20 with new ones set up on the HCM City-Moc Bai Expressway and HCM City-Thu Dau Mot-Chon Thanh Expressway when they are finished and beside flyovers in Districts 1, Phu Nhuan, Binh Thanh, Tan Binh, Binh Tan, and Binh Chanh.
But critics like Assoc Prof Dr Pham Xuan Mai, former dean of the transportation technology faculty at the University of Technology, HCM City, saying the toll booths would cause a heavy burden on the common man.
Thai Van Chung, general secretary of the HCM City Association of Transportation and a lawyer, was quoted on Tuoi Tre newspaper that the distance between toll stations, as regulated by the Ministry of Finance, should be around 70km, but in HCM City they were 8km apart. Travelling around the city and paying toll at several stations would be a big burden on transport operators.
Dr Nguyen Huu Nguyen of the HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanities rejected the department's argument that toll stations would help ease traffic congestion, saying that with many drivers trying to avoid them the congestion would worsen in other places.
He too complained about the surfeit of toll booths. For instance, between Binh Chanh District in HCM City to Vung Tau, vehicles have to pass through five toll stations.
Thong Quan Company said transport costs have risen 30-40 percent in the last two or three years.
Dang Van Diem, director of the company, was quoted by Dat Viet Newspaper said a truck must pay VND160,000 (US$7.6) for a round trip between Binh Duong and HCM City, and double that between Dong Nai and ports in HCM City.
For a fleet of five container trucks making two round trips between Dong Nai and HCM City, his company pays VND5 million ($238) a day.
He feared the cost would rise by at least 50 per cent when a toll station is set up at Dong Nai Bridge.
Residents told to relocate from dangerous building
The People's Committee of Ha Noi has ordered 37 households living in an old apartment building in Ba Dinh District's Giang Vo residential area to shift by the end of next month.
The 35-year-old structure has been condemned and is said to face a high risk of collapse.
The city has prepared accommodation for the households in the Phap Van-Tu Hiep urban area, the committee said on Tuesday.
It added that if families had their own accommodation, they would receive financial support from the city.
Vice chairman of the committee Nguyen The Thao said that the residents had to move out by the end of September.
Thao assigned the capital Construction Department and the People's Committee of Ba Dinh District to mobilise residents.
He said that if necessary, the two agencies could enforce evacuation of any household.
The construction department has been asked to find a suitable investor to try and repair the old apartment building.
An assessment made by the department in July last year showed that the building was sinking, the staircases and walls were weak. The staircase has been placed on a high-alert danger list during the rainy and flood season.
The department has temporarily reinforced the staircase to ensure safety for the residents in the short term.
However, the residents used the repair work as a pretext for not leaving the old apartment building, the committee said.
One of the residents, Tran Thi Sam, told Viet Nam Television (VTV) that she and others wondered if they would be allowed to return if they left the building.
"We need to know a specific time for our return," she said.
Terms of home loan repayments extended
The Government has extended repayment terms from 10 to 15 years on loans borrowed from the national VND30 trillion (US$1.41 billion) home-credit package.
The beneficiaries of the new decree are household and individual clients who applied for the loans to purchase or lease homes.
In addition, the new decision adds groups of loanees, such as civil servants and office holders, members of armed forces (soldiers and policeman), and workers purchasing homes (from property projects in localities they are residing) valued under VND1.05 billion.
During his visit to worker dormitories in HCM City in May, Construction Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said he would ask the Government to relax the requirements for accessing low-interest home credit.
The ministry's move would make it easy for banks participating in the credit package programme to increase lending, a representative of a real estate firm in HCM City said.
Over the past year, only 7 per cent of the VND30 trillion home credit package has been disbursed.
Private hospitals struggle to attract new patients
Private hospitals are facing huge difficulties in getting patients. They claim they could help reduce overcrowding at State-owned hospitals if they had Government co-operation, a spokesperson for the Viet Nam Private Hospitals Association has said.
At a conference on private hospitals on Tuesday, Nguyen Van De, chairman of the association, said that huge investments had been made on private hospitals in terms of size, infrastructure and medical equipment.
However, many were still struggling to attract patients.
Figures from the Ministry of Health show that there are about 170 private hospitals nation-wide with a total of about 45,000 beds.
Some had 500 beds or more, such as Vinmec International Hospital, Hoan My Hospital and Hop Luc General Hospital in Ha Noi. However, the association claims that, at most, only 60 per cent of beds are used.
De said an association survey of 170 private hospitals showed that many were losing money.
Some are even in the verge of bankcruptcy.
The reason, according to De, is the gap between private and State-owned models.
He cited patient transfers as an example. Patients at State hospitals are always moved to other State-owned hospitals instead of private ones, even if there are plenty of private vacant beds.
De said the availability of qualified health staff was another problem. Most private hospitals had to hire retired doctors or employ doctors and specialists from State hospitals part time.
This was not conducive to private hospitals conducting complicated operations, he said.
Vu The Hung, director of Trang An Hospital, said private hospitals were also in need of good doctors and health staff. However, many refused to do join because they did not want to give up safe positions and sign private contracts.
According to the association, private hospitals should be given more supports such as tax breaks, special land deals and human resources to develop sustainably.
Unregulated electric scooters raise risk of traffic accidents
The lack of regulations for increasingly popular electric scooters increased the risk of traffic accidents, speakers said at a national conference on Tuesday.
Up to 80 per cent of traffic accidents involved electric bikes and motorbikes, and most of the drivers were under 18, Vice Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee Khuat Viet Hung said.
As many as 87 per cent of electric bike riders did not wear helmets, according to a survey carried out by the World Health Organisation in Viet Nam earlier this year.
Nguyen Thi Mai Anh from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs' Department of Child Care and Protection described typical driving practices, saying students often rode electric bikes with as many as three people on a single bike, none of them wearing helmets, and veered unpredictably from side to side.
More than 61,300 electric bicycles and motorbikes were legally imported to Viet Nam between 2009 and May 2014, while millions of others were estimated to have been imported illegally. However, the Ministry of Transport granted technical standard certificates to only 780 electric motorbikes and 24,200 electric bikes. Only 70 vehicles had registered licence plates.
Electric motorbike users were required to have licence plates starting in June under a new Ministry of Public Security regulation. When applying for the plates, users must provide quality certificates and receipts.
The new rule does not apply to electric bicycles that can be pedalled and have maximum speeds of 25km per hour. However, many electric bike users cannot register with authorities anyway because they lack papers certifying vehicle quality, origin or ownership.
Specific regulations for electric scooters would improve traffic safety, as would higher fines for drivers who violated regulations, Deputy Head of the Department of Road and Railway Traffic Police Nguyen Ngoc Tuan said.
Electric motorbikes without plates would be punished like other motorbikes starting next July, said committee vice chairman Hung. The committee would work with relevant agencies to help drivers complete registration procedures before the deadline.
Ly Son island joins national grid
A submarine power cable from Ly Son island in central Quang Ngai province was successfully connected to a transformer station onshore in Binh Son district on Tuesday.
This was part of a US$31.1-million project to provide electrify for the island's 22,000 people. The project included 8.7km of middle voltage transmission lines in Binh Son district and 26.2km of 22kV undersea cable.
The network connecting Ly Son with the national grid is expected to come into operation on September 28.
Japan gives grant to elderly care centre
The Japanese Embassy in Ha Noi yesterday provided healthcare funding of US$120,700 to the Tuyet Thai Elderly Care Centre in Ha Noi's Dong Anh District.
The money will be used to purchase medical equipment such as X-ray machines and rehabilitation machines, and patient monitoring. The grant is part of a non-refundable aid deal worth $325,080 that the Japanese Embassy signed with Viet Nam early this year. The rest of the aid would be used to build primary schools in Bac Kan and Ha Nam provinces.
Currently, 32 elderly individuals aged 58-103 are receiving care at the Tuyet Thai Elderly Care Centre.
Ha Noi seizes 8 tonnes of fake MSG
Ha Noi Market Watch has seized nearly eight tonnes of fake seasoning powder or monosodium glutamate (MSG) in the city.
On Tuesday, the inspectors found a truck carrying more than two tonnes of packets with the label of seasoning manufacturers Ajinomoto, Miwon, Aone and Knorr.
The driver of the truck failed to show the required documents and admitted that he had been hired to transport the goods to a storage facility in Gia Lam District's Yen Vien Commune.
Inspectors checked the storage facility and found more 5.7 tonnes of packets with the same known labels.
Government to send drought aid to Ninh Thuan
The government will send nearly 800 tons of rice immediately to Ninh Thuan Province to help families struggling with drought there.
According to a decision signed on Tuesday by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh, the rice consignment will be taken from the national reserve storage. The People's Committee of Ninh Thuan is in charge of allocating the rice to the deserving beneficiaries.
The labour and finance ministries will have to monitor the situation of the people, see if further emergency aid is needed and report to the Prime Minister.
The Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan provinces have been suffering from drought for the past five months.
Dengue fever cases fall from last year
The number of dengue - fever cases so far this year has dropped by 40 per cent compared with the same period last year.
The turnaround has been credited to a better flow of information about the disease, said Tran Dac Phu, director of the Ministry of Health's Department of Preventive Medicines.
Viet Nam has had more than 10,000 cases of dengue fever so far this year - and seven fatalities.
In the central area, the number of patients fell by more than 70 per cent and in the Central Highlands by 60 per cent.
Ha Noi had 90 cases, a decrease by 50 per cent compared with the same period last year.
Phu told the Nong thon ngay nay (Countryside Nowadays) that medical workers kept close watch on affected areas and gave advice on preventing the disease.
After an outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease last month in Yen Hoa Commune in Ha Noi, the city's Preventive Medicine Centre joined hands with medical stations to spray affected areas.
"We do not have a vaccine for dengue fever. The only measure to prevent the disease is to destroy the mosquitoes' reproductive environment," he said.
Director of Ha Noi Preventive Medicines Centre Nguyen Nhat Cam said residents should clear up water puddles around their houses.
They should use mosquito nets while sleeping and wear long-sleeve shirts when going into mosquito-ridden areas, he said.
Odon Vallet scholarships awarded to more students
The Vallet Scholarship Fund continued its mission in Vietnam with the granting of 272 scholarships worth nearly 1.8 billion VND (over 85,700 USD) to extraordinary students in central Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Ha Tinh provinces on August 27.
French Professor Odon Vallet from the Sorbonne University in Paris, who established the fund, came to Quang Binh’s city of Dong Hoi to present the scholarships.
Students at university and in college received 10 million VND each, whilst secondary school students were given 6 million VND.
Over the past 14 years, Odon Vallet has used his own money to finance the grants to excellent young students in France and Vietnam .
He will be touring Vietnam from August 23 to September 7 to present the scholarships to the beneficiaries.
Since its establishment in 2001, the fund has allocated over 100 billion VND (4.76 million USD) to more than 21,000 students.
In 2014, the fund is expected to grant over 2,000 scholarships worth 20 billion VND (nearly 952,400 USD) to students throughout Vietnam.-
Workshop exchanges nuclear radiation response experiences
Experiences in state of emergency mechanisms for dealing with nuclear radiation were shared during an event jointly organised by the Vietnam Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety and the Office of Nuclear Energy under the US Department of Energy in Ninh Thuan province on August 25-26.
In the workshop, McClelland, an expert in the US department’s National Nuclear Security Administration, gave an overview of the US ’s preparations for nuclear radiation incidents and introduced the country’s state of emergency mechanism as a response to nuclear radiation. He also explained the Robert T.Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act) and the revised Atomic Energy Act to the participants.
According to McClelland, a unified and effective national response programme is not possible without active participation and coordination across sectors at all levels. He noted that local authorities in particular need to play a leading role.
The Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety presented Vietnam ’s progress in developing a nuclear and radiation incident response plan, with the aim of establishing a comprehensive organisational structure that strengthens the coordination between relevant agencies in order to deal with the incidents in a timely manner and thus minimise the impact on human lives and property.
The central province of Ninh Thuan will house Vietnam ’s first nuclear power plant, to be designed by Russian groups and put into operation between 2023 and 2024. The nuclear plant will have a total capacity of 2,000 MW from two turbines.-
Trial bilingual teaching in natural science subjects to start
Bilingual teaching in Vietnamese and English of maths and natural science subjects will be conducted on a trial basis at senior high schools for the gifted and those meeting certain conditions, in the 2014-2015 academic year, according to the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET).
This forms part of the pilot activities under the programme “Teaching and learning foreign languages in the national education system for the 2008-2020 period.”
The Ministry of Education and Training also requested schools participating in the pilot English programme for 5th, 7th and 10th graders continue to expand the programme to other grades to ensure the continuity in study.
At the same time, the ministry will continue to assess the competence of teachers of English and organise training courses to ensure they meet the requirements of the new curricula.
On the other hand, the teaching of other foreign languages, including French, Japanese, German, Chinese and Russian will be encouraged depending on the capacity and needs of localities.
Vietnam determined to control disease on animalsIllegally imported chicken may possibly cause recent bird flu outbreaks in the country but the livestock sector were safe as bird flu, blue-ear, and foot-mouth diseases are under close observation, said experts of a meeting in August 26 in Hanoi held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Dam Xuan Thanh, deputy head of the Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that after discovery of three bird flu outbreaks in the northern mountainous provinces of Lang Son, Lao Cai and the central province of Ha Tinh, poultry samples were taken by accidents for tests.
Tests showed that all samples are negative for bird flu virus A/H5N6.
No more fresh outbreak has been detected since then.
However, medical experts worried that virus strain in poultry outbreaks in Lang Son, Lao Cai and Ha Tinh is same deadly kind discovered in Sichuan, China that caused deaths.
That kind of virus strain was also found out amid the poultry in Luang Prabang of Laos in July.
Vets said that illegally imported chicken in Lang Son from the north boder gates was the cause of bird flu in the province while chicken in Ha Tinh was transmitted the virus from wild birds because farmers here let their ducks foaming in the field with the wild ducks.
Hoang Thanh Van, head of the Department of Livestock Production said that the livestock sector were safe as bird flu, blue-ear, and foot-mouth diseases are under close observation; accordingly no fresh outbreaks occurred. Price of poultry in the country hike; breeders can earn profit.
Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Cao Duc Phat said that poultry farmers are excited as they earn profits; however, if the government and local authorities are neglected in controlling the bird flu domestic waterfowl flocks will be destroyed.
Japanese police confirm identities of Vietnamese drowning victims
Japanese police have officially confirmed the identities of the two Vietnamese who drowned in a beach accident and recovered from the coast of Hamamatsu city, Shizuoka prefecture on August 18.
The unfortunate are 22-year-old Bui Ngoc Diep, a student living in Tokyo, and 21-year-old Do Thi Viet Trinh, a company worker residing in Nagoya city. Their fingerprints coincide with the samples registered at the time of their arrival in Japan , the police said.
The two were among a group of seven Vietnamese young people who were swept away by high waves while swimming in a forbidden sea area in the coastal city on August 15. Four of them fortunately escaped alive, while one was rescued but later died at hospital and Diep and Trinh went missing. Their bodies were found on August 18.-
Lack of license suspected in Operation Smile deathsDespite OSCA's claim to have only used licensed practitioners, authorities have said that the organization did not have a license to perform the surgeries.
The Hanoi-based Centre for Researching and Aiding Operation Smile (OSCA) was originally a beauty salon. In 2011, the chairman of OSCA was prosecuted after illegally performing cosmetic surgery, which ended with a woman's death. The Hanoi Department of Health said they gave OSCA permission for orthopedic, rehabilitation and physical therapy, but not a license for plastic surgery.
According to OSCA, the organisation was established by a government decision and licensed by the Department of Science and Technology in Hanoi. However, Luong Ngoc Khue, head of the Treatment and Examination Management Department, said only central hospitals are established by government decisions, and the Hanoi Department of Science and Technology does not have authorisation to issue medical licenses.
Dr. Le Tan Phung from the Khanh Hoa Province Department of Health said they had ordered OSCA to provide licenses and a letter certifying agreement from Military Hospital 87. He said, "We received the dossier on August 22 and haven't had the chance to review it. But on that same day, the OSCA had already carried out surgeries on the children." He went on to say that reports from OSCA after the incident still lack details, such as a complete list of names of surgeons and anesthesiologists.
Pham Van Ai, chairman of OSCA, said after the complications on the first child, they replaced the machines and continued with the other surgeries. However, the second child also showed complications, so they changed operating rooms. Even though eight of the children came out of surgery normally, complications continued with the third child. Ai then said that the complications might be from the side effects of medications used.
Colonel Nguyen Ba Hanh, director of Military Hospital 87, said this is the second time they have cooperated with OSCA. The hospital lends out equipment and facilities while OSCA doctors perform the surgeries. The hospital has halted the programme and sealed off all evidence and equipment for the pending investigation.
Luong Ngoc Khue, head of the Treatment and Examination Management Department, said problem could be with the anesthesia used.
Fire Prevention, Fighting and Rescue Police Department restructured
The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) held a ceremony on August 26 to officially launch the Fire Prevention, Fighting and Rescue Police Department (FPFRPD).
According to Government Decree No. 21/2014/ND-CP issued on March 25 which amends and supplements some regulations on the functions, tasks, and organisational structure of the MPS, the FPFRPD, which used to be under the Police General Department for Administrative Management of Social Order and Safety, will now be directly governed by the MPS.
Speaking at the ceremony, Lieutenant General Bui Quang Ben, Deputy Minister of the MPS, emphasised that the event marks an important milestone in the development of the FPFRPD.
He also urged the Department to continue to uphold its traditions and to work hard to fulfil all assigned tasks.
Head of the FPFRPD, Colonel Doan Viet Manh vowed to work out a concrete action plan to fulfil the goals of fire prevention and fighting, contributing to socio-economic development and thus earning the respect of the Party, State and people.
Scientists stress request to develop sci-tech human resource
Scientists of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) have stressed the request to develop future scientific researchers, at a working session with Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee President, Nguyen Thien Nhan on August 26.
According to Director of Institute of Materials Science, Nguyen Quang Liem, human resources mobilised in science and technology have not yet met the quest for the sector’s development.
He cited that under Vietnam’s National Strategy for Science and Technology Development, Vietnam targets 90,000 working in the field. The figure, according to him is modest in comparison with neighbouring countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore where six or seven people out of 1,000 people work in the field.
His opinion was supported by Director of the Institute for Environmental Technology, Nguyen Hoai Chau. Chau pointed out that research institute units have been allocated with limited quota for official personnel, which leads to the lack of human resources for the institutes, while causing difficulties for young and talented scientists who want to apply for jobs.
Speaking at the event, VFF President, Nguyen Thien Nhan highly appreciated the frank and enthusiastic opinions contributed by the scientists.
He asked VAST to work out a plan to develop human resource for science and technology for the next five to 10 years.
He also pledged that VFF would work closely with the science and technology circle to boost human resources for national construction and development.
Vietnam Robocon team welcomed in homeland
Members of Vietnam Robocon team returned to their homeland yesterday and were welcomed as winners of the 2014 Asia-Pacific Robocon Contest in India by crowded teachers and closed friends.
Robocon team of Lac Hong University won championship of the 2014 Robocon contest and beat against current champions from Japan in the final round at the 45th seconds.
The annual robocon contest was launched by Asia - Pacific Broadcasting Union. Ho Chi Minh City University of Science and Technology ever won this contest’s championship in 2002, 2004 and 2006.
Duong Chi Dung's brother receives prison sentence
The senior police official Duong Tu Trong gets his sentenced increased by 15 months in prison for helping Duong Chi Dung flee during the Vinalines corruption case.
Duong Chi Dung, former chairman of the state-owned Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) was prosecuted for violating government directives and regulations and causing damages to the state.
Duong Tu Trong, former deputy director of Hai Phong Police Department and Dung's brother, helped him flee the country before his arrest. Dung was later prosecuted and sentenced to death.
In May, the Supreme People's Court sentenced Trong to 16 years in prison for helping a wanted suspect escape the country.
On August 28, the Haiphong City People's Court is holding the another trial for Duong Chi Dung for the added charge of abuse of power. Trong has admitted to his wrongdoings.
Because Duong Tu Trong fully cooperated with the investigation, has a good record and has contributed to the state, the prosecutor proposed reducing his sentence to 12 to 18 months of imprisonment.
Trong said, "I'll accept whatever verdicts the jury hands down. I won't appeal."
Duong Tu Trong was sentenced to 15 more months in prison.
Media urged to work more to stop rhino killing
The media was urged to devote more coverage to the major threat facing the world’s population of rhinoceros, which has declined by 90 percent over the last 40 years due to surges in poaching for rhino horn.
Participants made the call at an informal discussion on “The media’s role in raising public awareness and improving Vietnam’s image in the rhino horn crisis”, which was held in Ho Chi Minh City on August 27 by the Vietnamese non-governmental organisation CHANGE, the WildAid organisation and the African Wildlife Foundation.
Due to rooted traditional belief that rhino horn can cue a range of diseases including cancer, Vietnam and China are the two largest consumer markets for rhino horn.
The last rhino in Vietnam was killed in April 2010.
In South Africa, research shows that 1004 rhinos were poached in 2013; while the number for this August already reaching 658, a dramatic rise on both accounts compared to the 13 rhinos killed in 2007.
If this trend is not reversed, rhinos will become extinct in approximately 6 years.
Doctor Nguyen Chan Hung, President of Vietnam Cancer Association, cited research results announced by the World Wide Fund for Nature as early as 1983 as saying that rhino horn has no healing power, as it is made of the same material as human’s finger nails or hair.
Several public information campaigns have been launched in the country with the aim of changing public misconception and reducing demand for the horn.
The CHANGE organisation, in coordination with WildAid, African Wildlife Foundation and the Centre for Environment Training and Communication, started the Stop Using Rhino Horn campaign in Hanoi on March 3. Many local TV channels, radio stations and newspapers pledged to join the drive.-
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