Construction labs will improve quality

Viet Nam plans to build 200 to 300 new laboratories by 2015 with the hope of improving the quality of construction work under a newly-ratified Government decision.

As part of the VND225 billion (US$11.5 million) plan to enhance construction quality, the new laboratories will be equipped to examine the quality of construction materials and projects.

The country now has 896 construction laboratories, according to Le Van Thinh, an official from the Department of State Examination on Construction Work Quality under the Ministry of Construction.

However, these laboratories only have the capacity to evaluate and experiment with the most popular construction materials like cement, concrete and mortar; few can examine rarer materials like glass, pottery, porcelain and organic materials. Similarly, these laboratories are ill-equipped to evaluate actual works. Experiments that assess the effects of wind, earthquakes or fires cannot be conducted.

The new project also plans to create 100 qualified organisations to assess construction quality.

In addition, there will be professional training for about 1,000 experimenters, 400 examiners, and 300 construction experts.

The project will be carried out over the next four years, from 2011 to 2014.

Four injured in blast at power plant

Four Hiep Phuoc Power Plant workers in HCM City's Nha Be District were injured when the gas pipe system of an air conditioning unit they were repairing choked up and exploded on Thursday at noon.

The victims suffered from burns on their heads, hands and feet. Two of them, Le Dang Phu Duc, 36, and Nguyen Ho Bao Luan, 22, were taken to the Eye Hospital for cornea problems.

Local police said the incident occurred in an isolated storehouse, so other facilities were not affected. The case remains under investigation.

Murderer of VN bride gets 12 years' jail

A South Korea court has handed down a 12-year jail sentence to a Korean man who stabbed his new Vietnamese bride to death.

The prosecution had asked for a life-sentence for the 47-year-old man, identified only as Jang, who was diagnosed with mental health issues.

The court in Busan ruled that Jang would be required to continue treatment in prison and wear an electronic tag for the next 10 years.

Jang killed 20-year-old Thach Thi Hoang Ngoc only eight days after she arrived in the country to live with him.

Close to 30 million won (US$25,000) was collected by organisations and agencies in South Korea for the girl's family.

Student jailed for assault on teacher

Thu Duc District People's Court has sentenced a male student to nine years in prison for intentionally injuring his teacher.

At the HCM City hearing, the court also ordered Tran Xuan Thanh to give the victim VND210 million (US$10,700).

According to the indictment, Thanh threw five litres of acid at his teacher last August in the city's Agriculture and Forestry University.

Thanh was motivated by revenge because he suspected the teacher had failed him on his foreign language exam four times.

PM Dung calls for greater efforts to help flood victims

All forces should be actively seeking ways to provide relief aid to people in flood stricken areas and continue the search for fishermen in distress at sea, said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung during his October 9 inspection tour of the central province of Quang Binh.

Immediately after his arrival in Quang Binh, Mr Dung met with representatives from the provincial Party Committee and local people from Quang Ninh district which suffered great damage from the recent floods.

Nguyen Huu Hoai, Chairman of the Quang Binh provincial People’s People, told PM Dung that the worst flood in 20 years has left 42 people dead, 22 missing and 11 injured with estimated damages and losses of VND 1,200 billion.

PM Dung acknowledged the efforts by the local administration and people to copy with the situation and called on Quang Binh to allocate its budget to support flood victims so that no one is left hungry or gets sick because of the catastrophe.

Quang Binh needs to repair damaged irrigation works and breed hardly strains of livestock and plants to help local people stabilize their lives as soon as possible, Mr Dung stressed.

On behalf of Party and State leaders, PM Dung sent his profound condolences to families whose relatives were killed and property was lost during by the foods.

After visiting Quang Ninh district, Mr Dung worked with the Quang Binh provincial Party Committee and the provincial People’s Committee on measures to overcome the consequences of the flood.

December 1 chosen as Vietnam Internet Day

The Internet Society of Vietnam in Hanoi on October 9 organised its first national congress for the 2010-2015 term, and delegates agreed that December 1 will be the official Vietnam Internet Day.

Le Nam Thang, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, said Vietnam has 25 million people using the internet as of July, 2010 and it was listed among the top 20 countries in the world with the highest number of internet subscribers.

With such quick development, the official day will help Vietnam become a leader in internet infrastructure and service in Asia, making the country a strong nation in the field of information technology, he said.

At the national congress, participants also discussed the structure and function of the Internet Society of Vietnam. The society now has 66 members and aims to ensure the safety of information and system security on the internet, and prevent it from being abused.

The Internet Society is expected to be a bridge between authorities, businesses and society.

Also at the event, a new 33 member executive board was established for the Society.

Drug control effort makes progress

Narcotics squads have rooted out a number of drug hot spots and broken hundreds of major transnational gangs over the past five years, reported a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on October 8.

The workshop, held by the Executive Office for Crime and Drug Control under the Ministry of Public Security, also reported progress made in the detoxification and rehabilitation of former drug users and strong international cooperation in this field.

Sen. Lieut. Col. Hoang Anh Tuyen, Deputy Head of the Executive Office for Crime and Drug Control, said the narcotics squad, including police, border guards and customs officers, detected over 56,000 drug-related cases involving almost 84,000 offenders. They have also uncovered 245 drug crime rings where almost 26,600 offenders were involved.

Detoxification and rehabilitation centres nationwide have treated more than 180,000 drug users over the past five years, the senior officer reported.

Narcotics squads warned of the need to maintain vigilance due to an increasing complexity in drug crimes on land, by air, waterway and inside the country.

RoK MP vows to foster relations with Vietnam

The Republic of Korea (RoK) Friendship Parliamentarians League Chairman Lee Ryung Suk pledged to do his utmost to strengthen and develop bilateral relations with Vietnam.

The Republic of Korea (RoK) Friendship Parliamentarians League Chairman Lee Ryung Suk pledged to do his utmost to strengthen and develop bilateral relations with Vietnam.

Lee, who has been in Hanoi to attend the city’s millennial celebrations, made the promise during a meeting with President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Huynh Dam on October 8.

Lee said attending the anniversary is a chance for the RoK delegates to recall memories about the city.

Dam said the anniversary was an important event to Vietnam and Hanoi. The presence of the RoK delegates demonstrates the solidarity between the two nations, he added.

The official said he hoped that the league would help foster the development of economic and cultural relations between Vietnam and the RoK.

VNN/VNS/VOV