Japan Red Cross commits to disaster risk reduction project

Japanese Red Cross has committed US$2.76 million to help a Viet Nam Red Cross mangrove and disaster risk reduction project till 2015.

Local Red Cross deputy chairman Phung Van Hoan said at a workshop yesterday, Nov 29, that the project aimed to support 346 vulnerable communes in eight northernmost coastal provinces and 10 communes of two extended mountainous provinces, Vinh Phuc and Hoa Binh.

The project was expected to directly benefit 125,000 people and indirectly benefit 2 million people in 356 communes of 10 provinces nation-wide that belonged to three major hazard zones of Viet Nam, including the Northern mountains, Song Hong (Red River) Delta and Central coastal zones.

Activities would be focused on the adaptation of local Red Cross experiences in forest resource development from coastal to mountainous areas. Around 150 communes in 20 provinces would receive intensive technical support and assistance to become safer and more resilient, Hoan said.

The local Red Cross was expected to expand its project to 1,000 communes and to provide input into the National Programme for Community-based disaster risk management that would cover 6,000 communes.

According to the statistics, 22,400ha of mangroves have been planted in 166 communes of eight coastal provinces of Viet Nam thanks to Red Cross projects since 1994.

A total 222 communes received disaster preparedness training and support, including 3,900 teachers and 108 students. About 350,000 people have directly benefited from the project and around 2 million people now are better protected from the impact of typhoons and floods.

Project helps fight HIV among youths

The project was launched in November, 2006 by the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) under the sponsorship of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Pact Vietnam

The aims was to minimize the risk of HIV infection among young people aged between 15-24 at vocational training centres and street children in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Nghe An, Can Tho and An Giang.

Editors demand fresh probe into writer’s murder

The Editorial Board of Nguoi Lao Dong, the press agency where journalist Le Hoang Hung worked before he was allegedly burned to death by his wife Tran Thuy Lieu early this year, has requested relevant agencies to re-investigate the case once again.

The request has been sent to the Minister of Public Security, the head of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, and the chief judges of the Supreme People’s Court, as well as the Long An Province People’s Court.

Although the case has been re-investigated following the August 5 request by Nguyen Thi Kim Nga, Hung’s mother; and the police in October reiterated their earlier conclusion that Lieu acted alone in the killing and the provincial Procuracy has prosecuted her for murder, there remain signs that the investigators may have missed someone else who could have involved in the crime, Nguoi Lao Dong said.

In their second examination of the case, investigators rejected speculation that Nguyen Van Tam, Lieu’s lover and the former head of a local market management team, might have been involved in the crime, but the provincial Police Department had previously reported to the local prosecutor’s office that there were signs showing Tam concealed criminals, the newspaper said.

It pointed out the following five issues that need to be clarified.

First, Hung’s statements before his death have not been included in the case file. This is a major shortcoming on the part of the investigators, the newspaper said.

Second, the investigators have yet to examine the contents of communications exchanged between Lieu and Tam before and after the killing. 

Third, the police’s re-creation of crime scene has not been carried out in accordance with the prevailing regulations.

Fourth, there are contradictions between the testimonies of the witnesses and other relevant persons.

And the last is that Lieu’s criminal motive is neither proven clearly nor suitable to the developments of the case.

Earlier, after the case was re-investigated, Nguyen Van Duc, Nga’s legal representative, also petitioned the Long An Province People’s Court to return the case file to the prosecutor’s office once gain for a fresh probe, arguing the same details as the newspaper.
Duc also pointed out some other issues that remained unclear.

An examination of the crime scene had found that the mattress on which Hung had been lying caught fire in two places at the same time, but the police’s explanation of this fact was not convincing, the lawyer said.

In addition, the police found three gas lighters on the scene, while Hung was a non-smoker. His family said they had not used such lighters, and Lieu said she had used only one lighter to burn her husband, he added.

As reported, on January 19 Hung, 51, was sleeping alone in a bedroom when Lieu went out to the balcony, tied a rope to the railing, and let it fall to the ground.

She returned to her room, got some petrol, a newspaper, and a lighter, walked into Hung’s room, poured the petrol on the mattress, set fire to the newspaper, and threw it on the mattress.

Hung died 10 days later in a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.

On February 20 Lieu pleaded guilty to the burning of Hung and told the police she had acted alone in the crime.

Hung was a journalist covering social, underworld, and anti-corruption issues.

Russian academy keen on Vietnam’s education

The Russian Academy of Sciences is interested in educational development in Vietnam, said Deputy President of the academy, Prof. Vladimir Fedorovich Solinov.

The academician made this statement while visiting the southern province of Vinh Long as part of an education, science and technology cooperation programme in Vietnam.

Prof. Vladimir Fedorovich Solinov said that Russia decided to open a branch academy in Vietnam to be located at Binh Duong University.

The professor is joining a delegation of Binh Duong University to visit Vinh Long province where the university plans to build its branch with facilities for maritime training.

Construction of the Binh Duong-Vinh Long branch is expected to be completed within two years. With the assistance from the Russian Academy of Sciences, the university will train students in ship repairs and as ship captains, for Vietnam and regional countries.

Former VNA pilot holds three pilot licences

Former Vietnam Airlines (VNA) pilot Kim Tae Hun of South Korean origin, who struggled to land an airplane after a flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Busan in April, holds three pilots licenses issued by three different countries, according to a source from VNA.

He holds a licence issued by the American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that does not include a certificate qualifying him to fly aircraft made by Airbus; a licence issued by South Korean airport authorities that allows him to pilot the ATR72, an Italian-made turbo-prop, and Airbus planes; and a licence issued by Indonesian airport authorities.

All three of the aforementioned pilot licences are real, according to the source.

However, several investigations have found that Kim does not have the 680 hours of flight time experience that he earlier claimed to hold.

But, there was no immediate report of how many hours of flight experience he really has, though South Korean airport authorities claim that his actual flight time experience was only one hour, which isn’t enough to qualify him for his post.

Kim likely used a fake experience certificate to get a well-paying job at Vietnam Airlines, the source said.

Suspicion of the pilot’s lack of qualification to fly an airplane and possible use of a fake license was raised after it took him several tries to land VNA flight VN970, carrying 160 passengers, at Busan airport in South Korea on April 26.

After the incident, airport officials in South Korea asked Vietnam Airlines to review its process of training and issuing licenses to its pilots.

Kim Tae Hun is currently working for an airline in Laos.

Woman drops lawsuit against media over icon image

Due to lack of evidence, an accidental female model in Vinh Long Province has dropped a lawsuit against a photographer and 13 media outlets and enterprises after they used her image without consent for eight years.

26-year-old Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, a resident in Binh Minh District, decided to drop the suit since she has yet to gather enough evidence proving the photo usage has caused her “loss of honor, dignity and prestige” as she earlier claimed.

Nevertheless, at the trial held in Vinh Long City Monday, she requested the accusers to stop using her image and asked them to offer apologies for displaying her face on multiple websites and street posters.

Due to such violations, her face has since become one of the most well-known images associated with beautiful girls from the rural south.

For their parts, the media outlets and enterprises have removed her photo from their websites but refused to apologize to her, saying this demand is not listed in her lawsuit.

According to media representatives, they had used her photo for articles and programs aimed at promoting Vietnamese women’s beauty, which absolutely do not cause her “loss of honor, dignity and prestige” as she accused.

Additionally, they took her photo which has no credit source from Internet so they couldn’t contact the author for licensing.

In the lawsuit filed in March last year, Trang said her pirated photo, which has been known as Cô gái vườn bưởi (Girl in the grapefruit garden), had been used since 2004 in many publications, calendars, and ads.

She accused Nguyen Vinh Hien who took the photo eight years ago and used it, allegedly without her knowledge and consent.

However, Hien, a local resident of Vinh Long City, told the court that in 2003 Trang and another student had agreed to pose for him in fruit orchards to promote the province.

But there was no written agreement between them then.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre