Quang Binh seizes 370kg of explosives

The central province of Quang Binh's Border Guard arrested nine men transporting 371kg of explosives from Laos through a border in Bo Trach District on Wednesday. The explosives were hidden in nine shopping bags.

The men admitted to having illegally crossed the border to set up deals with local explosives traders from the beginning of this month.

Boarder guards reported that this was the largest bust of its kind to date.

Vietnamese handicrafts join charity fair in Japan
Vietnam and 26 other member countries of the Asia Pacific Ladies Friendship Society (ALFS) sold their typical handicraft articles at a charity fair on Apr. 18 in Japan’s capital Tokyo to raise money for welfare activities and aid relief to natural disaster victims worldwide.

The event offered a good chance for regional women to exchange information, enhance knowledge and learn about the culture of other countries.

ALFS is an organisation under the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the aim to promote exchanges, enhance friendship and contribute to social welfare. The 500-member organisation gathers wives of former prime ministers, politicians and diplomats of Japan and wives of 27 Asian-Pacific ambassadors to Japan.

All proceedings from sales of goods at the fair will be sent to the society’s fund, and then be distributed among member countries for domestic charitable work.

In 2011, all the earned money was donated to people in Japan’s Northeast who suffered from the severe earthquake and tsunami on Mar. 11, 2011.

 

Ha Noi moves to curb illegal mobile adverts

Ha Noi Department of Information and Communications has proposed that telecommunications companies stop supplying service to 168 mobile phone subscribers who use it for illegal ads.

According to the department, these subscribers have been using these services for spamming purposes.

Since 2010 authorities have started to crack down on the problem of illegal mobile service ads on large streets and boulevards. But the problem persists along smaller streets and alleyways.

Driver takes back rotten meat during incineration

The carrier of 2.2 tons of rotten cattle meat that was being burnt by concerned agencies stealthily removed the meat from the incineration site in Dong Nai Province on Wednesday.

At 10 am yesterday morning, market management officers in Dong Nai and a veterinary unit of the province’s Bien Hoa City discovered a freezing truck transporting 2.2 tons of rotten cow and buffalo meat packed in 33 bags.

The truck’s driver, 27-year-old Nguyen Van Hoan, failed to produce any documents related to the meat, saying that he was hired to transport it from Hanoi to HCMC’s District 12.

The inspectors made a report about their finding and escorted the truck to a yard in Long Binh Ward for destruction of the meat.

At 5:15 pm, all the bags of meat were put in a large hole in the yard and set on fire with about 5 liters of petrol. About 20 minutes later, the officers in charge left the area.

As witnessed by Tuoi Tre, at that time the fire just burnt the upper layer of bags of meat and then died down due to the wetness of the rotten meat.

At this moment, Hoan, his assistant and another man rushed to the fire and pulled all the bags of meat out of the hole.

They then loaded the bags of meat back onto the truck and drove it towards Binh Duong Province.

Tuoi Tre correspondents followed the truck and after seeing it driving into the warehouse area of Trien Khanh Private Enterprise in Binh Hoa Ward, Thuan An Town, they reported it to concerned agencies in Binh Duong.

As a joint inspection team, including economic police, market management, veterinary force, arrived at the scene, the lighting system in the warehouse area was turned off.

The inspectors asked the enterprise’s staff to turn on the power but they said only their boss knew where the switch was. Thirty minutes later, when the light was switched on, the truck had disappeared.

The inspectors examined the warehouse and seized more than 1 ton of rotten stinking pig organs without any documents about its origin.

The team is continuing its investigation to track down Hoang and his truck.

Fishing boats to receive GPRS systems

Over 150 fishing vessels have been slated to be the first installed with satellite equipment from a French-funded project, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The EUR13.9 million (US$18 million)-project will equip 3,000 fishing vessels in 28 coastal provinces with modern communications systems.

The programme will last through 2013, and the equipment is meant to help fishermen improve their productivity through more effective and modern means.

Man indicted for anti-state plots

Prosecutors at Ministry of Public Security have indicted Vo Viet Dzien and put him in custody for four months over charges of plotting to overthrow the People’s State as prescribed in Article 79 of the Criminal Code.

According to investigators, Dzien had a relationship with Nhat Thang of “Phuc Hung Viet Nam” (Vietnam restoration) organization, a reactionary force based in the United States.

From March 26 to 30, Dzien went to Thailand to meet members of the organization.

At the time, he attended some training courses to jam radio frequencies, broadcast anti-state messages, cause unrest in Chinese communities in Vietnam, and distribute anti-state leaflets on the upcoming April 30 (South Vietnam’s liberation day and National Unity) with the aims of overthrowing the People's State. 

In April 2012, Dzien admitted his guilt and begged for leniency from the government.

Students risk life getting to school

Hundreds of K-12 students at two schools in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai risk their life to wade a fast-flowing river to get to school.

Every school day is now like a thrilling adventure for the students enrolled at Le Quy Don Middle School and Luong The Vinh High School, both located in K’bang District, as they have to walk through the Ba River with school bags and even bicycles on their backs and shoulders.

It is common for the students to have their school bags, slippers, and even bicycles taken away by the powerful currents of the river.

Many Le Quy Don 6th- and 7th-graders have even narrowly escaped death on their way thanks to friends rescuing them.

6th-graders Nguyen Thi Hang and Le Ngoc Son, for instance, were once swept away by the river’s swift currents for several meters while they were crossing the Ba.

Fortunately, Luong The Vinh 11th-grader Nguyen Cong Long, who was also on the way to school then, managed to save the two from the fatal water.

A few days later, Le Quy Don 7th-grader Truong Thi Thuy Van was also carried away by the current, but a schoolmate succeeded in rescuing her.

Danger still waits for these students every day.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre