Fake medicine producer detained


Director of Viet Phap Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company Huynh Ngoc Quang was detained by HCM City Police on Tuesday after a year's hunt for allegedly producing fake medicines.

Quang had enticed dozens of people to produce fake medicines since 2009 in about 20 locations.

His 14 accomplices have been in detention since early 2010.


Radioactive cloud to arrive in Vietnam
A radioactive cloud is forecast to arrive in Vietnam on March 25, said Ngo Dang Nhan, Head of the Vietnam Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety (VRANS).  

However, it will not cause any harm to the people’s health.

He also said that food imported from Japan will be checked for radiation contamination and the department will issue an alarm if it finds any evidence of danger.

Earlier, a white steam-like vapour was seen rising from one reactor at 18:22 pm and a white hazy smoke from another reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant at 15:55pm.

All of the workers were evacuated and the Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said that the white smoke was extishguished at 7am on March 22.


Death sentence for Nigerian


HCM City People's Court on Tuesday sentenced a Nigerian man to death for trafficking heroin. His Vietnamese wife received a life-sentence for the same offence.

According to the indictment by the Supreme People's Procuracy, Michael Ikenna Nduanya asked his wife, Nguyen Thi Hai Anh from the central Highlands province of Dak Lak, to collect nearly one kilogram of heroin from a friend in Cambodia in early December, 2009.

Hai Anh was reported to have caught a bus from HCM City to Cambodia to get the drugs and was caught red-handed at the city-based Mien Dong coach station on her way to Ha Noi.

The heroin was allegedly found in her shoes, purse and handbags by crime investigation police from the Department of Drugs and the Border Guards.

The couple had allegedly committed the crime four times before, and police are now conducting further investigations.


Union opens for people with disabilities


The Union for Disabled People’s Associations will make its debut on March 26 in Hanoi to help people with disabilities further integrate into the community and become engaged in mainstream activities.

Addressing the press briefing on March 22, provisional Deputy President Nguyen Ngoc Lam said the union will also create favourable conditions for communities and disabled people to help each other in daily life.
Together with making contributions, building and boosting the implementation of the State’s regulations on disabilities and the international convention on the rights of people with disabilities, the union will also represent Vietnamese disabled people in international organisations and will attend international cooperation conferences regarding disabled people.
According to the National Coordinating Council for Disabilities under the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, Vietnam is home to 6.7 million disabled people, accounting for 7.8 percent of the population.
In recent years, both Party and State have issued many policies and implemented support programmes for disabled people, many of whom have tried their best to live independently.
To date, 30 cities and provinces nationwide have set up associations for people with disabilities.


Hail, whirlwind cause $2.5m in damages


Heavy hail and whirlwinds caused damage estimated at VND50-60 billion (US$2.3-2.5 million) to trees in several communes in Bu Gia Map District, Binh Phuoc Province on Monday and Tuesday.


Head-on collision leaves one dead


A person was killed and seven others injured when two coaches collided head-on Tuesday night on National Highway 1A in Van Thang Commune in the central province of Khanh Hoa.

The dead man, a driver's assistant, was aged 39 and came from Ham Tan District in Binh Thuan Province.


Dairy firm profits from energy efficiency


FrieslandCampina Viet Nam's factory in Ha Nam had saved VND8.9 billion (US$445,000) by conserving energy over the last two years, the company said.

Treated waste water produced by the dairy firm also meets environmental Level A standards prescribed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

The environmental standard covers a range of criteria including the PH, coliform and phenol.


More than 1,000 Vietnamese workers to arrive in Hai Phong


The Hai Phong border guard and relevant agencies met on March 21 to discuss ways to help more than 1,000 Vietnamese guest workers get back home from Libya by sea.

According to the Navigation Agency, Greece’s Lissos ship carrying 1,000 Vietnamese workers from Libya is expected to arrive in Dinh Vu port on March 28.

Vinaconexmec and VTC Corp- the two labour exporters will arrange 30 cars to bring those workers from northern provinces home while other workers from far away localities will be provided with travel costs.


Couple arrested for land document fraud


A couple living in Ha Noi were arrested yesterday for allegedly making fraudulent papers to sell land. They had falsified certificates of land use to sell land in An Khanh Commune, Hoai Duc District, for VND2.85 billion (US$130,000), police said. The victims reported the alleged fraud to police. The case is still under investigation.


Two injured when crane collapses


A crane with a long jib collapsed while being operated on a road leading to the Thu Thiem Tunnel in HCM City on Monday.

Two people – one of them a foreign engineer – were injured in the collapse and taken to hospital.


Red Cross collects $60,000 for quake


A donation of VND13 billion ($60,000) was made by the Viet Nam Red Cross after one week in a nationwide campaign to support Japan's earthquake and tsunami victims. The campaign will end on Sunday.


Viet Nam to host 8th UNESCO World Congress


Viet Nam will host the 8th Congress of the World Federation of UNESCO Clubs, Centres and Associations (WFUCA) this year, said chairman of the Viet Nam Federation of UNESCO Associations, Nguyen Xuan Thang in Ha Noi yesterday.

The congress also marks the 30th anniversary of the federation.

The five-day congress was scheduled to be held at My Dinh National Convention Centre from August 18-22, Thang said.

Youth issues would come under the spotlight, due to the fact that 2011 had been designated as International Year of Youth by the United Nations, he said.

The congress is expected to draw around 300 international delegates from non-governmental UNESCO movements worldwide.

The Viet Nam federation has assigned Tran Nguyen Uyen Linh, a 23-year-old singer, as an ambassador for youth issues.

The WFUCA's President George Christophides said at a press briefing in Ha Noi yesterday that Viet Nam had met the criteria to successfully host the congress.

Viet Nam's Federation of UNESCO Associations was established in 1993 and it now has nearly 7,000 individual members and about 150,000 participants who regularly join in its activities.


Youth meeting to promote friendship, unity


A meeting of Cambodian, Laos and Vietnamese youth delegations was held yesterday evening in Ha Noi.

The meeting, held by the Hanoi 's Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, is part of a series of activities by youth delegations from the three neighbouring countries held from March 22 to 30 in Viet Nam to promote solidarity, traditional friendship and co-operation.

Delegates will later attend a seminar to discuss the value of traditional friendship and unity, as well as exchange experiences in mobilising the youth and promoting their roles in boosting socio-economic co-operation between the three countries in the future.

The Cambodian and Laos delegates will also take part in meetings and cultural exchanges with Vietnamese students, visit successful businesses run by young Vietnamese entrepreneurs and sight-seeing tours to historical monuments and beautiful landscapes in Viet Nam.

The programme is being held on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Viet Nam Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the Viet Nam Youth Year 2011.

VNN/VOV/VNS