Drug trafficking ring leader jailed for life

Nguyen Thi Thuy Lieu from Yen Noi Commune in the northern province of Phu Tho was sentenced to life imprisonment by the provincial People's Court on Wednesday night for drug trafficking.

The 32-year-old was caught transporting six bars of heroin with her sister and 10-year-old son in a taxi on May 1 in Co Tiet Commune.

Investigations showed Lieu had been leading 27 others in a drug trafficking ring since 2006.

Twenty of her accomplices were also sentenced to between 15-20 years in jail.

Lawyers back AO victims

At the twentieth session of the United Nations' Human Rights Council yesterday, June 28, the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) called for the protection of Vietnamese Agent Orange victims.

Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh, president of the Vietnamese Association for Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA), which represents more than three million agent orange victims, was present at the event.

IADL president Jeanne Mirer told hundreds of delegates from UN member countries that during the American War, the United States launched chemical warfare - the biggest in the history of mankind - by spraying about 80 million litres of toxic herbicides referred to as Agent Orange over the country.

She said that while recognising and compensating US veterans with Agent Orange connected diseases, the US government mostly ignored the plight of the Vietnamese victims.

She asked the US to admit its responsibility, saying that many of the victims were nearing the end of their lives. She asked the Human Rights Council to act immediately.

KOICA donates school training equipment

The Korea International Co-operation Agency (KOICA) yesterday handed over US$10,000 worth of pre-school training equipment to Lien Hao kindergarten, which it constructed in Tien Lang District, Hai Phong Province in 2008.

Previously, the KOICA donated three ultrasound machines worth $90,000 to the Viet Nam – Korea Friendship Clinic of Saint Paul Hospital in Ha Noi on Wednesday through a project carried out by three KOICA doctors who are working as volunteers at the clinic.

Container truck hits motorbike, kills rider

A 35-year-old policeman died after a container truck collided with his motorbike yesterday on a stretch of National Highway No 1A in southern Dong Nai Province's Thong Nhat District.

According to initial investigations, the accident occurred while the container was traveling in the direction of Binh Thuan Province – HCM City.

The driver of the truck, who escaped, is suspected to have lost control of his vehicle.

7 sentenced for sending people to Australia illegally

The Ba Ria-Vung Tau People’s Court yesterday opened a trial for a ring of seven men who thrice organized journeys for other people to go to Australia, illegally, by boat.

The ring’s leader, Nguyen Dinh Chien, 48, of Nghe An Province, got 6 years and 6 months in prison, while his six accomplices were given sentences ranging from 3 to 6 years imprisonment.

They were charged with “organizing the illegal immigration of people abroad,” the court said.

According to the indictment from the local prosecutor’s office, from June 2010 to April 2011, Chien organized three boat journeys to Australia for a total of 124 people, most of whom were from Nghe An and Ha Tinh Provinces.

He charged each person about VND100 million (US$4,800) for their journey.

Australian authorities discovered all three of the immigration cases and expelled most of the illegal immigrants back to Vietnam.

Chien has confessed to police that he had smuggled these people into Australia over a 13-17 day period aboard a fishing boat he had bought for VND500-700 million ($23,900-33,500).

During the first trip, in 2010, Chien and a number of others were seized by Australian authorities and later sent back to Vietnam. But he organized two more trips in February

and April 2011 for other immigrants, but was caught both times.

Many of his customers reported their experience to the provincial police, who launched an investigation and arrested Chien and his accomplices.

Coastal provinces set to prepare for storm

The Standing Office of the Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control yesterday, June 28, requested coastal provinces from Quang Ninh to Binh Dinh to prepare for tropical storm Doksuri.

Formed east of the Philippines on Tuesday, it was forecast to strike the East Sea early this morning.

Doksuri, which was moving west-northwestward at a speed of 20kph, was expected to be the third such storm to enter the area this year.

An Giang women set to benefit through training

A five-year programme to provide free vocational training and jobs for women in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of An Giang that began last year is proving successful.

Under the VND9 billion (US$420,000) project, the Women's Union has organised 68 vocational training courses for 1,900 people this year.

They trained the women in several skills like sewing, nail polishing, and making flowers, jewellery, and handicrafts.

Most trainees have since found jobs or set up their own business.

The Women's Union has also co-operated with local companies to provide vocational skills and jobs for women.

Thanh Truc Fashion Company in Cho Moi District, for instance, provided sewing courses for many women before hiring them.

Nguyen Thi Cam Tu, deputy chairwoman of the local commune Women's Union, said Thanh Truc was the first company to co-operate with the My Hiep Commune Women's Union to provide vocational skills and jobs for female labourers.

None of the trainees were jobless, she said. Even those who lived far away and could not travel to the company every day to work were taken care of: Thanh Truc lent sewing machines to them to work for it from home.

More than 40 per cent of them had escaped poverty.

Tran Ngoc Mai, deputy chairwoman of the provincial Women's Union, said the project offered women, especially rural, middle-aged, ethnic minority ones and those living in extremely difficult circumstances and resettlement areas, the opportunity to acquire vocational skills.

The Women's Union planned to train 12,000 people under the project, she said.

Not only are trainees offered support in the form of training and transportation subsidies, but also provided with loans to start their own business and promote their products.

AFD focuses on aid efficiency, not profit

The French Development Agency (AFD) in Vietnam does not provide loans to make a profit but to promote efficient socio-economic development in central Quang Ngai province, stated its Director Jean Marc Gravellini on June 28.

At a meeting with Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Vo Van Thuong, the AFD Director added that he hopes Quang Ngai and the AFD will meet regularly to discuss project progress.

The AFD Vietnam has invested in a number of projects in Quang Ngai province since 1993 through the Asian Development Bank.
They include a US$10 million project to build drainage networks to prevent floods, an US$8 million irrigation system in Thach Nham and a US$2.5 million project to provide teaching equipment and materials for the Vocational School in Dung Quat.

Thuong said that Quang Ngai remains a poor province with poor infrastructure and high poverty levels in six mountainous districts.

At present, the province is in need of capital to develop its transport, education and healthcare infrastructure and mitigate the impact of climate change, said Thuong.

He said Quang Ngai hopes that AFD Vietnam will continue to support the province with investment capital.

VNN/VNS/VNA