Cu Huy Ha Vu to stand trial for anti-State propaganda

The Hanoi City People’s Court opened a trial against Cu Huy Ha Vu on April 4 on the charge of “conducting propaganda against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” pursuant to Article 88 of the Penal Code.

According to the Hanoi City People’s Procuracy’s indictment, from 2009 to October 2010, Vu, born in 1957, had many writings and interviews posted on the Internet with contents against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
These writings and interviews distorted the Party and State’s guidelines and policies, defamed the government and State institutions and blackened the Vietnamese people’s resistance war.

New terminal at Da Nang Int’l Airport to be opened

Photo: VOV

Vietnamese workers from Libya to arrive at Cai Lan port

A ship with more than 1,100 Vietnamese workers in board will anchor at Cai Lan port in Quang Ninh province on April 4 instead of Hai Phong, according to the Overseas Labour Management Department under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA).

Leader grieves with quarry victims' families

Party General Secretary and National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong has sent condolences to the families of victims of the recent Len Co quarry landslide, which claimed 18 lives last Friday in the central province of Nghe An.

In the message sent on Saturday on behalf of the Party and State, Trong expressed deep sorrow over the landslide.

The last body discovered at the site of the landslide was removed yesterday, when authorities found victim Nguyen Tho Vu from Yen Thanh District under a massive pile of rubble.

Local authorities have assisted Thanh's family to organise a proper funeral for him.

The landslide was triggered last Friday after a large explosion. The massive rockfall following the explosion at the quarry also injured six other workers. The authorities have concluded that mining regulations were not strictly followed at the site.

Many organisations and individuals have sent donations to help victim's families.

The Viet Nam Fatherland Front Central Committee's Standing Board provided the victims' families with VND5 million (US$245) for each victim and VND3 million ($140) for each injured person.

Nghe An's rescue committee reported it had received a total of VND600 million ($29,000) in donations to support injured people and victims' families.

New housing planned for Ha Noi

The municipal Department of Construction has announced that 3.5 million square metres of housing will be built in Ha Noi by the end of this year.

The housing will be aimed at students, industrial zone workers and low-income earners under the guidance of the Government and municipal authorities.

Existing housing projects for workers in Dong Anh District's Kim Chung and Nguyen Khe communes, students in Thanh Tri District's Phap Van and Tu Hiep communes and low-income earners in the Sai Dong residential quarter in Gia Lam District will also be completed.

The department will submit a 10-year plan to municipal authorities for approval in which details of how investors can rebuild dilapidated parts of the city will be included.

The department also has plans to complete water treatment facilities in Ha Dong, Tu Liem, Son Tay and Bay Mau.

Mideast still hungry for VN guest workers

The Middle East remains one of the major markets for Vietnamese guest workers despite ongoing social and political unrest across the region, the deputy minister of labour, invalids and social affairs has said.

"The huge demand of labour and the variety of careers for both skilled and unskilled manual workers make the region a promising market for Vietnamese guest workers," said Nguyen Thanh Hoa, speaking at a conference on the 2011 National Target Programme on Employment held last week in Da Nang City.

"Much effort has been made to explore the market over the last seven years," he said.

Labour exports to the region would continue as it regains political stability, he noted.

Malaysia, Taiwan, North Korea and Japan are other major markets for Vietnamese guest workers.

The country has 167 labour-export companies, of which 20 per cent are considered lacking in capacity for the work, according to a report released by the Overseas Labour Management Department.

The country targets sending 87,000 guest workers this year, with labourers from the country's 62 poor localities accounting for 7,000-8,000.

The ministry would focus on providing loans from the National Employment Fund for companies to ensure job creation for 1.6 million workers as this year's target, with a priority to companies to create jobs in non-agriculture, according to Tao Bang Huy, deputy director of the ministry's Employment Department.

Localities would be supported to improve labour-market forecast systems and information to facilitate effective connections between employers and employees.

Last year, more than 85,000 guest workers were sent to 25 countries and territories, an increase of 11,000 workers compared with the previous year. A total of 1.6 million people were employed last year.

Nearly 87,000 new employees needed for Q2

Companies in HCM City will need 87,000 employees in the second quarter, an increase of 10 per cent over the first quarter, because of new projects and orders, according to the city's Centre for Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labour Market Information.

"Many manufacturing and trading companies need to recruit more people at this time of year because of more orders," Tran Anh Tuan, the centre's deputy head, said.

The centre's report shows that out of 87,000 employees, more than 10,000 are needed for companies in the city's industrial and export processing zones. These companies are mostly in the fields of electronics, mechanics and garments.

In addition, skilled workers are needed in trading, marketing, IT, finance and banking, accountancy and audit, and health and pharmacy.

Unlike the first quarter, the number of workers quitting jobs and moving to other companies for higher salaries would be low, and would even fall compared to the first quarter, Tuan said.

Employees are looking for stability and social welfare benefits, and are also paying attention to working conditions when seeking jobs, according to surveys of 80,000 people seeking jobs during the first quarter.

VRC hands over $1m for Japanese quake victims

The Viet Nam Red Cross (VRC) announced on Friday that donations of US$1 million raised by Vietnamese people had been handed over to Japanese victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

The first donation of $400,000 was made on March 23 and the remaining $600,000 was transferred on April 1.

These donations would be channelled through the Japan Red Cross.

As of 1 April, 834 organisations and individuals in Viet Nam had contributed VND34 billion ($1.6 million) to the Japan Earthquake Relief Fund.

VRC said the remaining donations would be handed over to the Japan Red Cross in mid-April when the fund-raising campaign ends.

The Japanese Embassy in Viet Nam has also received over VND14 billion ($600,000) from 600 individuals and units to support the earthquake and tsunami victims.

Rough seas forecast off Spratly Islands

An area of low pressure over the Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelago is expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds to the central and southern regions.

The National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting said yesterday wind speeds would reach up to 49kph.

Rain ruins tonnes of salt in Ben Tre

Thousands of tonnes of salt in Ba Tri and Binh Dai districts have been spoilt by unseasonable rains, according to the Ben Tre Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The provision of loans to salt producers has been proposed to branches of commercial banks by the local State Bank branch to help them overcome difficulties.

A clean salt production project is also being carried out over a three-ha area in Thach Phuoc Commune, Binh Dai District.

There is about 1,000ha of salt production fields in southern Ben Tre Province, with Ba Tri District accounting for 70 per cent of the total area. The district produced 80,000 tonnes of salt in 2010.

Disadvantaged kids get scholarships

Scholarships worth over US$29,000 were handed over to 650 handicapped and other disadvantaged children in seven HCM City districts and two districts in Long An Province last week.

The scholarships were granted by Taiwan-based Fusheng Viet Nam Ltd company, in cooperation with the HCM City Association for the Support of Handicapped children and Orphans.

The annual scholarship programme was founded by the company's chairman, Hou Teng Lee.

Over the last five years, the air-compressor and industrial air-condition manufacturer has made charity donations of over $300,000 to help needy people in Viet Nam.

Most outstanding students honoured

A ceremony was held in Ho Chi Minh City on April 2 to honour 71 outstanding students who achieved the best results in the 2010 university graduation exam for HCM City, central provinces, the south-eastern region and the Mekong Delta.

US to promote cooperation in education

A US delegation of representatives from 60 universities and colleges led by Francisco J.Sanchez, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, will visit Vietnam and Indonesia from April 2-9.

VNN/VOV/VNS