A world of 7 billion-challenges and opportunities for Vietnam

The world’s population is projected to reach 7 billion on October 31, creating opportunities and challenges for Vietnam, a populous country in the process of global integration.  

This was said by Bruce Campbell, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), at a press conference on the State of World Population 2011 report in Hanoi on October 27.

The rate of poverty reduction in most vulnerable groups, including Vietnam’s ethnic minority women and children, has dropped slightly despite the fact that the rate has been reduced to less than 14 percent nationwide.

Reducing inequity and finding ways to ensure the well being of people today, as well as future generations, will pose great difficulties for the country, said Campbell.

However, a world of 7 billion also creates opportunities as Vietnam is now entering the golden population period with young people aged between 10-24 accounting for nearly one third of the nation’s total population.

The report says the country can take advantage of the young workforce by ensuring that they all have access to basic social services, education and training. This will help them better contribute to the country’s future socioeconomic development.

The UNFPA report entitled People and Possibilities in a World of 7 Billion reveals the opportunities and challenges that we as a global community face.

Prosecutor’s husband busted for drugs, prostitution

An ex-gangster who owns two shady hotels in Nha Trang was arrested for possessing drugs when several skeletons tumbled out of his cupboard – he owned weapons, had prostitutes in his employ, and his wife is a city prosecutor.

Nguyen Thanh Binh, 39, was taken in following raids on Thien Binh 1 and Thien Binh 2 hotels October 20.

Officers found 20 grams of synthetic drugs on Binh’s person while a 16-year-old employee had two more grams.

They also found equipment for drug use.

When they went on to search Binh’s house, they found a number of tear-gas guns, knives, and swords.

They found many sex workers staying in two other places and they confessed they served guests at Binh’s hotels.

The police took him in along with more than 50 others, including hotel staff, prostitutes, and drug users and traders.

They had carried out the raids following a tip-off by the public, the police said.

Binh has a previous conviction for “intentional assault” for which he got a two-year suspended sentence several years ago.

He used to be a member of a local gang led by notorious gangster Hanh Nhat, who was in jail, the police said.

Binh told the police that his wife Van Thi Xuan, 50, was a prosecutor at the city procuracy.

Nguyen Thuan, deputy head of the People’s Procuracy, confirmed this information, saying Xuan had been transferred from the provincial People’s Procuracy in 2005.

She has been asked to report about whether she had known about Binh’s illegal activities, he added.

The Khanh Hoa Province party committee has ordered the provincial prosecutor’s office to find out if Xuan had been involved in her husband’s activities.

KAVAO presents US$40,000 scholarships to poor students

The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) and the Korean Association of Veterans and Agent Orange (KAVAO) presented US$40,000 scholarships to poor pupils and students across the country on October 27.

VUFO chairman Vu Xuan Hong thanked donors, KAVAO partners, Jeong Soo Fund and Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) for presenting scholarships to Vietnamese pupils and students. He praised their contributions to Vietnam’s development, poverty reduction and charitable work, which helps strengthen the ties of friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea.

KAVAO is a Korean non-governmental organization which raises funds for disabled people and grants scholarships for children, especially Agent Orange victims.

Since 2008, KAVAO has coordinated with VUFO to present Jeong Soo Fund’s scholarships for poor and disabled Vietnamese children, especially AO victims.

KAVAO has also helped build a vocational training school for AO victims in Dong Anh, Hanoi worth US$5.6 million and a rehabilitation centre for disabled people in Thai Binh province worth US$120,000.

Sudden fires burn down bus, bike on street

A bus and a bike suddenly burst into flames on the road in two different places in Vietnam this week, but luckily there were no casualties.

At 2am last Wednesday, a bus with 43 passengers was traveling on Ho Chi Minh trail near Lo Xo mountain pass in Kon Tum Province when suddenly a fire broke out.

Driver Ho Minh Phuong (37) shouted a warning and everyone managed to get out. But all their attempts to put out the blaze was in vain and the bus burned down completely.

The Kon Tum police showed up soon after and regulated the traffic.

A short circuit in the back has been identified as the most likely cause.

At 7am the next morning a man was driving a Honda Air Blade scooter in Hanoi’s Hai Ba Trung Street when his bike suddenly began to burn.

Nguyen Quoc Minh, the bike owner, said he had been taking his son to school when others on the road noticed a small fire under the bike.

Startled, he took his son and got off the bike when the fire became fierce.

He and some others tried to put out the fire but his bike burned down completely and only its metal frame remained.

The incident blocked the street for a long time.

Honda Vietnam’s PR department told Tuoi Tre that customer service had been informed and they were trying to contact Minh to get to the bottom of the problem.

Project improves natural disaster resilience

Over the past year, public awareness of natural disaster prevention and fighting has significantly improved under a pilot project.   

A meeting was held on October 27 to review the implementation of the year-long project on “Strengthening Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (VCA) to enhance community resilience against natural disasters in Vietnam” (DIPECHO 7).

The project was jointly carried out by the European Commission, Dutch Red Cross and Vietnam Red Cross (VRC), starting from September, 2010, in the six cities and provinces of Son La, Quang Tri, Quang Binh, Dak Lak, Binh Thuan and Can Tho.

Doan Van Thai, VRC Vice President and Secretary General, said the project’s basic objectives have been fulfilled and expressed his hope that people in the localities would maintain activities and benefits after the project terminates.

DIPECHO 7 Director Nguyen Huu Thang said the project has supplemented human resources for Vietnamese associations and helped local authorities and people assess potential risks posed by natural disasters.

The project has also provided equipment and essential measures for the community to reduce risks.

Court confirms 18-year jail term for kidnapper

OnlineThe Ho Chi Minh City Appeals Court Wednesday rejected an appeal for a reduced sentence by a man who got 18 years for kidnapping a child for ransom.

Nguyen Chi Trung, 35, of HCMC’s District 1 was found guilty of kidnapping an 18-month-old girl last year and demanding a ransom of US$300,000 by the HCMC People’s Court last June.

The appeal court said there were no grounds to consider a commutation for Trung, who was released in 2005 after serving 14 years for murder.

Along with two other accomplices he had kidnapped the daughter of Nguyen Phuc Hoang, a pharmacy owner in District 11.

Huynh Nhut Thong, 29, of Dong Thap Province, the instigator of the kidnapping, and another man known only as Khai, fled after Trung’s arrest and continue to elude the police.

The police arrested Trung on July 17 last year when he was receiving the ransom money from Hoang in District 7.

Trung told the court that Thong, a friend of his, had dated P.T.H.H., Hoang’s niece, and visited Hoang’s house several times.

Finding that Hoang was rich, Thong hatched a plan along with Trung to kidnap the child and extract a large ransom.

Thong promised to give Trung 20 percent of the money.

On April 20, 2010, after carefully studying the daily routine of Hoang and his family, Khai took Trung to Hoang’s house where the latter pretended to be looking for a house to lease.

The family’s help let him in and went inside to call Hoang.

As soon as she left, Trung took the baby and fled with his accomplice.

He then called Hoang and demanded 300 taels of gold – then worth US$556,000– for his child’s release.

But following negotiations the sum was reduced to $300,000.

Danang wins environmentally sustainable city award

The central city of Danang has won the “ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City” Award, Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Danang Nguyen Dieu said on October 25.

The criteria for selecting winners are based on indicators of clean atmosphere, land and water and efforts to improve and conservethe environment.

The award ceremony is scheduled to take place in Indonesia on November 23 as part of the 17th ASEAN Summit.

Ca Mau tax official hauled up for abusing power

The Ca Mau Province party committee has issued a warning to a tax official who went to a massage parlor in Ca Mau city for nearly five years for free but still slapped arbitrary penalties on it.

Pham Minh Quang, deputy head of the city Tax Sub-Department, had been warned for violating the moral code for party members, the committee said.

Le Hoang Phuong, the head of the sub-department, said administrative action would be taken against Quang.

An investigation by the committee found that since 2006 Quang had been taking his friends to the Thuy Cung Massage Center owned by the Nghe An Restaurant Co Ltd without ever paying for its services.

He would even force the center’s owner, Huynh Thanh Trieu, to tip masseuses on his behalf.

Besides, he had taken his family to fortune-tellers several times and forced the owner to pay.

Despite all this, he would often send his staff to inspect the center, and on four occasions had wrongly imposed fines totaling VND150 million (US$7,200), the committee said.

Trieu complained to the authorities after the fourth fine.

The province Tax Department has also ordered the return of all fine amounts to Trieu.

AusAID, WB support Vietnam’s human resource development

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) has signed an agreement to fund phase II of the Vietnam Blended Learning Programme, managed by the World Bank through its Vietnam Development Information Centre (VDIC).

The AUD900,000 grant over five years (2011-2015) is part of a AUD674,000 trust fund that AusAID contributed to VDIC for the 2004-2010 period.

The programme aims to support Vietnamese institutions’ projects through the use of innovative learning methodology in their education and training courses, such as applying information and communications technologies.

Vietnamese, Lao youths strengthen exchange

A Vietnamese delegation led by Nguyen Ngoc Luong, a member of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee, has paid a two-day visit to Laos.

The delegation visited the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos on October 27. Ambassador Ta Minh Chau briefed the delegation on the special ties between the two countries that grew during the resistance struggle for national independence, and broad cooperation over recent years. He expressed his hope that youth unions of both countries will continue promoting the age-old tradition of solidarity and further strengthen cooperation.

On the same day, the delegation presented gifts to overseas Vietnamese families of social policy and the Vietnam-Laos Friendship School in Vientiane.

They will hold talks with the Vientiane Youth Union to discuss cooperative plans on October 28.

Overseas Vietnamese pedophilia suspect arrested

David Lai Van Mai, a Vietnamese-American accused of abusing two minor girls in the US, has been arrested by Interpol Vietnam after hiding in the country for the last three years.

Police arrested him in the northern Hung Yen province July 24 following a raid on a hotel in which he was staying in Van Lam District.

He gave himself up quietly after the police produced the international arrest notice for him, an Interpol Vietnam officer said.

Another Interpol officer told newswire VnExpress that Mai had been born Mai Van Lai in 1950 in Hai Phong, and immigrated to the US in 1970.

“In the US, he had traded in interior decoration items and had a family.”

In 2005 Mai allegedly abused the eight-year-old daughter of his friend. The case came to light two years later, leading to a bitter quarrel with his wife and their parting of ways.

He was also accused of molesting another child.

In August 2007 the US police summoned him for questioning, but he declined to cooperate and fled to Vietnam to “visit relatives.”

Three months later a California court issued a global arrest warrant against Mai on pedophilia charges.

US law enforcement authorities were unable to find him for three years until, in July 2010, they received information that he was possibly hiding in Hai Phong and planning to flee abroad.

But Interpol Vietnam could not find any trace of him in Hai Phong. But they kept looking and finally tracked him down to Binh Duong Province near Ho Chi Minh City where he had been running a wood products business.

But due to business losses, he had returned to Hai Phong, and, last July, had fled to Hung Yen Province to escape from police.

An Interpol official who handed Mai over to US police officers said he expressed much remorse for his crime and wished to live out his life in Vietnam after his prison term.

Police finds 300 kg of cattle organs soaked in bleach

The anti-environmental crime police in Dong Nai Province have caught an unlicensed meat processor soaking 300 kg of buffalo and cow organs in a chemical solution to bleach them before selling them to eateries.

Following a tip-off from the public, a police team raided a meat processing establishment, at Long Binh Ward, Bien Hoa City, early yesterday morning and found five workers processing about 700 kg of organs of buffalo and cow, of which 300 kg had been soaked with a bleaching chemical in a tank.

The establishment’s owner, Tran Hoang Vu, failed to show the police a business license and documents to identify what the chemical was, the team said.

Vu said he usually bought animal organs from some slaughters in the ward and then bleached them to make them fresh before selling them to eateries in Bien Hoa and neighboring Binh Duong province.

The team made a report on their finding, gave an administrative fine to Vu, and seized all the bleached organs and two 20-liter cans of chemical.

The team said it would destroy the contaminated food and continue investigating the case after testing the chemical to identify what it is.

Similar cases have been found recently by market management forces in some provinces, in which dishonest meat processors, using a few kinds of detergents and flavors, turned rotten pork into fresh one or even changed it into high-priced venison easily and quickly.

After washing or soaking the poor quality pork with a special detergent, the processors would marinate it with a certain flavoring to transform it into meat from cows, deer, weasel or so on.

Commune officials disciplined for using fake diplomas

The Party Committee’s Commission for Inspection in Tu Nghia District, Quang Ngai Province, has given a warning to two leaders of the Nghia My commune for using fake high school diplomas.

The disciplined officials are Luong Phuoc Hong, the secretary of the commune Party Committee, and Nguyen Minh Tan, chairman of the commune People’s Committee.

To meet the qualifications required for the position they held, the two men had borrowed the real diplomas from their acquaintances, erased the diploma holders’ name, and took out the photos and other personal details. Then they put in their own names, attached their own photos and claimed the degree was theirs, the commission said.

The fake diplomas were later included in their personal files, which they used to win the election for the commune people’s council last May.

Talking with Tuoi Tre, Nguyen Duc Van, the commission’s chairman, said the agency has asked the district People’s Committee to take disciplinary actions against them.

Several similar cases have recently been discovered in other provinces.

In July this year, the Huong Tra District Party Committee in Thua Thien-Hue Province removed Truong Van Dung from his post as secretary of Huong Toan Commune Party Committee for using a fake high school diploma.

In August, Duong Thanh Thi, chairman of the Lien Chieu District People’s Committee in Da Nang, received a disciplinary reprimand from the city’s Party Committee for faking a high school diploma.

In another case, which was much more serious, Nguyen Ngoc Khai, 52, Party Committee’s secretary and acting director of a branch of the Agriculture and Rural Development Bank of Vietnam in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, was ousted from the Communist Party of Vietnam on August 12 for using three counterfeit high-school certificates, a fake advanced political theory certificate, and a false English level-C certificate.

Vietnam, Cambodia continue search for soldiers’ remains

Vietnam and Cambodia plan to search for and repatriate about 1,350 sets of remains of Vietnamese voluntary soldiers and experts, who died in Cambodia during the past wars, in the dry season of 2011-2012.

This is the content of the 10th agreement signed between the special committees of the Vietnamese and Cambodian Governments on October 26 in the southern city of Can Tho.

Implementing the 9th agreement of this kind between the two governments, the two sides found and repatriated 1,758 sets of Vietnamese martyrs in Cambodia in the 2009-2010 and the 2010-2011 dry seasons.

There are still 6,000 Vietnamese fallen soldiers buried in Cambodia, of which some 2,300 tombs have been located.

PV