HCMC association promotes Vietnam-Japan friendship

The Vietnam-Japan Friendship Association of Ho Chi Minh City organized a ceremony on August 12 to commemorate its 20th year of establishment (1992-2012).

Over the past two decades, the organization has played an important role in developing people-to-people diplomacy between Vietnam and Japan, particularly in HCM City.

In addition to organizing cultural exchanges and economic cooperation activities, the association has been involved with many charity activities such as presenting gifts and scholarships to poor Vietnamese students and raising funds to assist Japanese victims of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Japan’s Consul General in HCM City, Hida Harumitsu, said 2013 is Vietnam-Japan Friendship Year and the two sides agreed to promote cultural exchanges. He also said he hopes the association will carry out various practical activities during the upcoming special year.

At the event, the HCM City Municipal People’s Committee presented a traditional flag to the association to commemorate its 20 year anniversary. The friendship organization also established its 12th branch at the Si Hoang Trading Services Company Ltd.
An Giang police seize smuggled cigarettes

An Giang Police have uncovered a cigarette trafficking racket in Chau Thanh District's Vinh An Commune.

Police confiscated around 800 cartons of cigarettes and nine motorbikes used to transport them. The value of the cigarettes, branded Hero, remains unknown.

The smugglers were caught while transporting the cigarettes from Chau Phu District to Long Xuyen City. They jumped into a river and escaped.

An Giang is known for cigarettes smuggled from Cambodia's border areas to provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta region and HCM City. About 1 million of cartons of contraband cigarettes are seized each year.

Lawyer injured in acid attack, says cop did it

A senior lawyer in the northern province of Hai Phong is being treated after two unknown assailants sprayed acid on him last Tuesday, possibly in retaliation for his disclosure of wrongdoings committed by a police officer.

Lawyer Tran Hong Linh, who used to be a senior police officer, became the victim of an acid attack on August 7 morning when he left home for office on Kien An District’s Truong Chinh Street.

The 60-year-old cop-turned-lawyer is suffering from serious burns on shoulders, hands, and especially on his face. His sight is in danger as both eyes have sustained severe injuries.

Linh told us he could not write or see anything when Tuoi Tre correspondents visited him at the hospital.

Linh, who used to be a senior investigative policeman and whose father was a police officer, has called for an urgent investigation into the case to prevent similar incidents to other whistleblowers.

“If the case is not brought to light, I’m afraid I will have to be hospitalized again because they will continue to chase to kill me,” Linh told Tuoi Tre.

The lawyer believes that Khuc Van Toan, a former police officer in Kien An district, is involved.

According to Linh, he had discovered officer Toan violated criminal procedures and fabricated evidence to accuse his client - Vu Duc Anh who was charged with misappropriating property.

Linh then reported Toan’s wrongdoings to the Ministry of Public Security and the People’s Supreme Procuracy.

Last month, the Procuracy charged Toan with “abuse of power while performing government service.”

Linh has urged authorities not to assign police of Kien An District to investigate into the acid attack because he used to denounce one of their officers.

However, when reached by Tuoi Tre, Colonel Do Huu Ca, director of Hai Phong’s police department, said they have directed Kien An police to be in charge of the case.

Ca added that he will consider changing investigators if needed in accordance with existing laws.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Van Ty, acting head of the Kien An police force, said they have yet to receive any evidence that Toan is the mastermind.

According to Hai Phong City Bar Association, Linh is an honest lawyer and it could be “a revenge attack”.

Lawyer Tran Hong Linh had been first treated at Vietnam National Institute of Burns before being transported to Hanoi-based Central Ophthalmology Hospital for further treatment.

HCM City targets school zone traffic jams

City authorities have asked several agencies to deploy more personnel to control traffic congestion in areas where students attend school.

Gateways leading from the outskirts to the city centre have become more congested recently because some schools have resumed operation for the upcoming academic year.

"Travelling to the centre is more difficult now, and congestion takes a lot of time every day," Ngo Minh Tri, a resident of District 12, was quoted as saying in Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper.

Tri travels every day on the busy Truong Chinh – Cong Hoa route to go to his job in District 3. Twenty primary and secondary schools are located around the route.

In Phu Nhuan District, congestion has become more severe at the intersections of Phan Dang Luu – No Trang Long and Phan Dang Luu – Hoang Hoa Tham, where there are three primary schools.

Congestion occurs when parents park on the street in front of school gates to drop off or pick up their children.

Drivers who are going to work and leaving offices on separate working shifts are also contributing to congestion, particularly when it occurs during opening and closing hours of schools.

The city Traffic Police, which has identified 125 areas vulnerable to congestion, has set up a plan to deal with traffic problems.

Traffic policemen will work with local communities' security officers and traffic volunteers to help guide traffic during rush hours.

The city has also deployed inspectors to clear sellers' stands along streets and pavements to open up more parking space for students and parents.

"The city People's Committee has ordered the districts to clear stands as well as deal with traffic violation," said Nguyen Ngoc Truong, deputy director of the city's Traffic Safety Committee.

At busy intersections, the city has also set up electric signs that direct drivers to travel in another direction if there is congestion ahead.

Train loses rear wagon soon after departure

Passengers on a train from Hanoi to Lao Cai Province last Thursday panicked after the 16th wagon – the last one – of the train was suddenly left behind soon after departure.

The incident occurred 10 seconds after the train left the Hanoi terminal at 9:30 pm yesterday evening, said Pham Van Binh, head of the Railway Safety Board under the Vietnam Railway Corporation.

The incident caused a loss of electricity on the train, scaring passengers, especially those in the last wagon.

Repairs were made and the train resumed its journey within an hour.

Binh blamed the mistake on poor connection between the wagons. Technicians at the Hanoi Passenger Wagon Enterprise had not connected the wagons in accordance with technical requirements, he explained.

Although the case has not caused any serious consequences, those involved in the problem will be punished, Binh said. Once the train returns to Hanoi it will be checked carefully to ensure safe conditions, he added.

A similar incident occurred at the Ghenh Bridge in Dong Nai province in February, when the rear wagon of a cargo train was suddenly left behind while the train continued moving forward.

The connection between the wagon and the preceding one was broken due to a technical problem in the brake system. It took technicians 20 minutes to deal with the problem.

Da Nang TV begins satellite broadcasts

Da Nang Radio and Television (DRT) has become the first station outside a large metropolitan area to use satellite services to broadcast live.

Since July, its broadcast signal has been picked up by the whole South-east Asian region.

DRT, operating two channels, has been using Audio Vision Global (AVG) to provide the link-up.

Only four Vietnamese channels have been allocated space on the satellite, AVG, Viet Nam Multi-media Corporation, HCM Television and K-Plus. DRT can be seen through Mobile TV or IPTV nationwide. AVG, which is licensed to operate a satellite and digital television company, launched a 70-channel TV package last year.

More funds raised for Agent Orange victims

The Association for Victims of Agent Orange of central Da Nang City has raised VND300 million (US$14,000) for victims to mark AO Day on August 10.

The donation, raised from domestic and foreign members, will be used to help victims repair houses and breed poultry and cattle.

Da Nang has more than 5,000 AO victims, of which 1,400 are children.

Power station director suspended

Nguyen Van Khanh, director of the Ngan Son power station in the northern mountain province of Bac Kan, has been suspended for allegedly supplying power to illegal gold miners.

Inspectors from the provincial People's Committee discovered large electric cables running from the Pac Lang 3 station to illegal underground gold mines. The capacity of the station had also been increased to provide the extra power.

Bac Kan power corporation has now limited the use of electricity in the area to lighting only.

Bathers had penises nearly severed in fish attack

While bathing in a river in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap, three children were attacked by a shoal of fish on August 5. Two of the boys sustained serious injuries in their penises.

The victims were admitted to Thap Muoi General Hospital with one of them having been discharged. Two others, Nguyen Huu Thien, 7 years old, and Nguyen Hoan Hao, 4 years old, still remain hospitalized due to severe injuries.

The penises of Thien and Hao were nearly chopped off with Hao’s having been half-severed, said Dr Nguyen Van Hoang, deputy head of the hospital’s Surgery Department.

Thien's condition was worse. The two nearly-severed sections of his penis were merely connected by a thin piece of skin.

Doctors have performed some necessary surgeries before stitching the wounds.

The three children, of Thap Muoi District’s Tan Kieu commune, were bathing in the Kenh Giua River when they were suddenly attacked by some unidentified fish, Nguyen Huu Tinh, Thien’s father, said.

They shouted for help and were rescued by some adults, Tinh said.

An expert from the Southern Freshwater Fisheries Center said he was surprised to hear about the incident since freshwater fish in the Mekong Delta provinces are usually gentle and not dangerous to humans.

“We will ask local authorities to warn people about such an attack and take measures to identify the species of the fish involved,” he said.

Japan helps UXO victims in Quang Tri

The Japanese Government will provide non-refundable aid worth almost 123,000 USD to a project to support victims of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in the central province of Quang Tri.

The aid contract was signed by Hideo Suzuki, charge d’affaires of the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam, and Jeanne Samuel, Country Director at the US ’s Humpty Dumpty Institute (HDI) in Vietnam, in Hanoi on August 10.

Under the contract, the funding will be granted to farmers, single women and ethnic people involved in the project, helping them participate in mushroom growing to improve home economics.

Conducted by HDI in cooperation with Vietnam’s RENEW Project since 2010 through the joint programme called “Mushrooms with a Mission”, the project now sees the participation of 100 families in 15 communes in Trieu Phong and Cam Lo districts.

It enables UXOs victims and their families to increase their income through mushroom farming, significantly contributing to the livelihood of affected families.

Quang Tri remains one of the most mine-affected provinces in Vietnam. According to the reports, more than 100,000 people are victims of UXOs and landmines, out of total of 600,000 people in the province, and they are facing difficulties in their life.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Suzuki expressed his belief that the project will help improve living standards for the victims in the province.

It is also expected to strengthen and further deepen the friendship and mutual understanding between Vietnam and Japan, he said.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre