Eight men sentenced for disturbing public order

The People's Court in Bac Giang City, capital of northern Bac Giang Province on Wednesday sentenced eight men to jail for disturbing public order and attacking civil service officers.

The heaviest penalty was four years for Le Quoc Huy, 25, from Bac Giang City.

The rest received terms ranging from one-and-a-half to two years.

The men, most of them in their twenties, were indicted by the People's Procuracy for involvement in a protest occurring near the office of the provincial People's Committee on July 25 last year.

All of them admitted their illegal acts and showed repentance during the hearing.

According to the indictment, the protest was to demand that local authorities provide a "proper explanation" over the death of Nguyen Van Khuong from Tan Yen District.

Khuong died in the district police station hours after being arrested for committing traffic offences on the afternoon of July 23.

An ex-policeman was later sentenced for an assault on Khuong that resulted in his death.

Although local authorities had tried to pacify the mob, including Khuong's family, they insisted on driving the hearse to the provincial People's Committee office.

Many screamed, beat drums or clashed with police. Some even pulled down the office's steel gates and threw stones at officers.

The court was told that the acts had injured 20 policemen, some seriously. Several cars and motorbikes belonging to the police and property of the People's Committee were damaged. Total losses amounted to more than VND120 million (US$6,000).

Offering incense in commemoration of Son My massacre

Hundreds of local people and foreign tourists attended a flower and incense offering ceremony held in Son My village, Quang Ngai province, on March 16 to honour the victims of the My Lai massacre conducted by the US army during the Vietnam War.

Photo: VOV

Opening the ceremony was a minute's silence in memory of the 504 people who were killed on the same day 43 years ago.

US veteran Mike Boehm was present at the event and played a piece of music “The Sound of the Violin in My Lai”. A bell rang in commemoration of the souls of the 504 victims.

Many US war veterans also attended the event to gain a better understanding of the massacre that they knew through mass media.

US war veteran Donglas Mowney said “I had known the relics and I felt so sad.”

On March 16, 1968, the US army cruelly killed 504 unarmed Vietnamese citizens in the hamlets of My Lai and My Khe in Son My village, Son Tinh district, Quang Ngai province. All the victims were civilians, including women, children and old people. Many of them were beaten, tortured, maimed or sexually abused. Some were found mutilated.

Every March 16 is the day that Son My people recall their heart-breaking history.

36 years after Reunification Day, the Party and State have always paid great attention to Son My village to help it heal its war wounds and grow from the collapse. The village is getting a facelift.

Italian NGO helps people with disabilities

More than 120 young people with disabilities in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue have benefited from a project funded by AIFO, a non-governmental organisation from Italy.

The AIFO-funded project has been carried out in Huong Tra and Phong Dien district since 2008 until present to provide vocational training to disabled young people.

The project has also granted more than VND200 million in loans to generate jobs for people with disabilities and equip, educational and rehabilitation facilities for those people.

AIFO has been involved in providing development and humanitarian assistance to disabled people in six provinces and cities of Phu Tho, Hai Phong, Nghe An, Da Nang, Binh Dinh and Thua Thien-Hue.

Seminar talks biodiversity vision until 2020

The Vietnam Environment Administration held a seminar entitled “The United Nations Decade on Biodiversity 2011-2020” in Hanoi on March 17.

At the event, the delegates discussed priorities of the Convention on Biological Diversity and Vietnam’s orientations as well as issues in biodiversity planning and preservation.

Dr. Pham Anh Cuong, Deputy Director of the Biodiversity Preservation Department outlined activities of preserving biodiversity from now until 2020, saying that these activities must draw the participation of community and socio-political organisations in localities.

Dr Cuong also informed participants about outcomes of the tenth meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity (COP10) that took place in the Japanese central city of Nagoya with 16,000 delegates from 193 parties and partners taking part.

COP10 aims to complete negotiations for the new Strategic Plan on Biodiversity for the next 10 years and visions to 2050.

Issues relating to the access to biodiversity and sharing of benefits, climate change, finance, economic tools were debated at the conference.

MoLISA focused on developing labour market

 The Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) and the International Labour Organisation held a conference in Hanoi on March 17 to discuss a draft project to develop Vietnam’s labour market in the 2011-2020 period.  

The project is focused on developing a modern, effective, competitive and fair labour market to contribute to implementing the country’s socio-economic development targets for the 2011-2020 period.

Participants agreed on specific targets including improving the quality of human resources, providing jobs for labourers, building an infrastructural base for the labour market, helping disadvantaged groups integrate into the labour market and promoting social welfare.

All opinions collected from the conference will be submitted to the National Assembly session in April.

Germany funds project for disabled people in Thanh Hoa

German Terre des Hommes has funded a project on gender equality education and care of disabled people’s reproductive health in the northern province of Thanh Hoa. 

The EUR44,778 project is being conducted in 54 communes of six districts and cities with the aim to improve living conditions of people with disabilities, especially women, and children. 

In three years (2011-2013), the project will set up teams to provide knowledge and advice on gender equality and how to care for disabled people’s reproductive health in order to raise awareness on domestic violence, gender equality, HIV/AIDS and sexual transmitted diseases for women with disabilities. 

It also provides vocational training for disabled people so that they can ensure their living and integrate into the community. 

According to statistics, there are 172,000 people with disabilities in Thanh Hoa province.

Taiwan to recruit more Vietnamese workers

There is an increasing demand in Taiwan for Vietnamese guest workers from Vietnam, according to the Overseas Labour Management Department under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA).

Exploring bauxite ore deposits in Lam Dong

Work to mine bauxite ore deposits began at the Tan Rai mine in Bao Lam district, in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong, on March 16.

This was the first operation of the Lam Dong Bauxite-Alumina Complex, nearly four years after the mining project received approval.
The project, conducted by the Ha Tu Coal Joint Stock Company under the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin), will supply materials for aluminium processing at the complex, which is scheduled to start later this year.
Addressing the event, Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang said that the Lam Dong Bauxite-Alumina project is a key industrial project in the country and the largest for Vinacomin.
The Minister assigned Vinacomin to closely coordinate with Lam Dong province to promptly put the complex into stable production, following the Government’s plan.
According to Vinacomin, despite shortages of electricity human resource, the group is trying its best to put the aluminium processing plant into trial operation by the end of the year.

Vietnamese students honoured with scholarships

Two Vietnamese students from the Electricity Institute under the Ha Noi University of Science and Technology received a VND50 million ($2,200) scholarship from the ABB Jurgen Dormann Foundation (JDF) on Wednesday.

The JDF, set up in 2007 by ABB Group, aims to provide students with financial assistance for a maximum of five years to enable them to study and enhance their talents.

Local man receives drug rehab compensation error

Chau Thanh District's People's Committee has been ordered to pay compensation of VND57 million (US$2,600) to a local man by the Tay Ninh Province People's Court, after he was wrongly sent to a drug rehabilitation centre.

Nguyen Van Son was found guilty of drug addiction on March 3, 2006, but the committee did not provide enough evidence to prove his addiction.

His family sent several petitions against the judgement, before the decision was overturned. ­

Local man receives drug rehab compensation error

Chau Thanh District's People's Committee has been ordered to pay compensation of VND57 million (US$2,600) to a local man by the Tay Ninh Province People's Court, after he was wrongly sent to a drug rehabilitation centre.

Nguyen Van Son was found guilty of drug addiction on March 3, 2006, but the committee did not provide enough evidence to prove his addiction.

His family sent several petitions against the judgement, before the decision was overturned.

Agriculturalists win recognition awards

Seven leading Vietnamese agriculturalists last night received medals from the Australian-based non-profit Crawford Fund, in recognition of their significant contributions to the development of the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries.

The awards were presented by Allaster Cox, Australian Ambassador to Viet Nam.

Over the last 15 years, the fund has supported Master Classes and Training Courses for over 600 Vietnamese scientists.

Path to Phong Nha Cave obstructed

The Son River's sedimentation has obstructed access to Phong Nha Cave, a travel destination in central Quang Binh Province, according to the Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park Management Board.

The causes of the sedimentation have not been determined. In recent years, the rate of sedimentation has increased, said the board's director, Luu Minh Thanh.

Investment for dredging is considered a priority.

Drug traffickers sentenced to death

Two men from Bac Giang and Lang Son provinces in the north were sentenced to death by the Hoa Binh Province People's Court on Wednesday after being found guilty of trafficking illicit drugs.

According to the provincial People's Procuracy, the men were caught transporting 120 bars of heroin weighing 0.31kg on National Highway 1A on August 5, 2009.

Two of their accomplices are still at large.

Another man in Xuan Mai Town, Ha Noi was also sentenced to life imprisonment for possession of three bars of heroin weighing more than 1 kilogramme, on the same date by the Ha Noi People's Court.

Activities commemorate 80th anniversary of HCM Communist Youth Union

Ten activities in celebration of the Youth Month will be held, announced the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) on March 17.

VNN/VOV/VNS