Smuggled chicken seized in Bac Giang

Police in the northern province of Bac Giang seized 600 kilos of chickens being illegally transported from northern border Lang Son Province to Ha Noi on Sunday afternoon.

After local police asked a truck driver on National Highway 1A to stop for an inspection, he tried to drive away, but the truck was intercepted on National Highway 31 in Luc Ngan District. The driver escaped, according to local police.

Another case of rhino horn smuggling

A woman was caught at Noi Bai International Airport attempting to smuggle animal products, alleged to be rhino horn, into Viet Nam.

A woman was caught at Noi Bai International Airport attempting to smuggle animal products, alleged to be rhino horn, into Viet Nam.—Illustrative image

Nguyen Thi Nhan, age 26, was stopped after arriving on a flight from Doha, Qatar on May 30, according to airport customs officers.

While the officers were completing her entry procedure, Nhan showed suspicious signs and was informed she would have her luggage searched.

At that moment, she took three pieces of animal horn out of her coat and told the customs officers they were rhino horn. She did not declare the goods and failed to produce import certificates.

The pieces were sent yesterday, June 3, to the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department under the General Department of Vietnam Customs for tests to determine their origin.

Three hot spells in June

Northern provinces will have 3-4 medium and heavy rains and 2-3 hot spells in June.

Meanwhile central provinces will brave the hottest weather but see little rain, said Bui Minh Tang, Director of the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting.

He warned that there will be shortages of water for agricultural production and daily use as the drought will last until the end of July in both central and southern regions.

With rainfall in the Central Highland and southern regions estimated at a higher level than in previous years, the shortage of water won’t be as serious as before.

By early June, most irrigation reservoirs from Thanh Hoa to Quang Ngai could operate at 65-88 percent of their design capacity due to the slow flow of most rivers in the central region.

As June is the height of the rainy season in the northern region there may be whirlwind, heavy rain and hailstone, especially flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas.

Since early this year, there have been as many as 80 whirlwinds and hailstones in 29 provinces and cities, killing 7 people, injuring 113 others and destroying 44,000 houses and 15,000 hectares of rice and subsidiary crops. Damages are estimated at VND668 billion.

The National Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control has asked the Government to allocate VND80 billion and 300 tonnes of rice for affected provinces, including VND30 billion and 300 tonnes of rice for Lao Cai, VND15 billion for Cao Bang, VND10 billion for Ha Giang, VND5 billion for Lai Chau, VND5 billion for Phu Tho, VND5 billion for Nghe An and VND5 billion for Binh Dinh.

Dregs of tea recycled for embalmment

A 39-year-old man was found manufacturing fake embalmment products from the dregs of tea in southern Binh Duong Province's Thuan An Town, local police and market watch announced on Monday.

Local authorities discovered tonnes of tea dregs, coffee grounds and jasmine on a property in Binh Hoa District's Binh Duc Street.

The materials were bought from two local green tea manufacturing companies for VND200-300 per kilo, local residents said.

The products were then sold to funeral service companies in neighbouring provinces for embalming purposes at the price of VND6,000-10,000 ($0.3-0.5) per kilo, said the property manager Lu Quang Hoang.

Hoang told the police that he did not own the property.

The case is currently under investigation.

HCM City's crocodile exports double

HCM City has exported 3,985 crocodiles so far this year, nearly two times the total of last year, according to the city's Forest Protection Division.

Exporters have earned revenues of VND15 billion (US$700,000) so far.

Of the exported crocodiles, 3,710 were live, up four times against the total number of the live reptiles exported last year.

The number of licences under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) granted so far this year to the city's crocodile breeding and trading enterprises has increased by 37.6 times against the same period last year.

The city's CITES-licensed enterprises have exported crocodiles and crocodile-related products mostly to China, Thailand, Singapore, Japan and South Korea.

The city now raises about 176,000 crocodiles, according to the Forest Protection Division.

Big C grants VND6 billion worth of prizes

Outstanding primary and secondary school students across the nation received presents worth a total of VND6 billion (US$285,700) from French supermarket chain Big C.

The gifts were presented to about 120,000 top students on the occasion of the International Children's Day on June 1.

The programme aimed to encourage study and highlight the academic achievements of pupils during the 2012-13 school year.

HAGL helps develop community in Laos

Doctors from the Medical Hospital under the Vietnamese Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group (HAGL) has provided free medical checks-up and medicine for 1,500 local people in Cambodia’s Rattakiri province.

The check-ups are held semi-annually and patients with serious illnesses will be transported to the HAGL hospital for further treatment.

This is part of the group’s US$10 million project for sustainable community development to improve living standards in the province by 2016.

The project will employ local people to build communal houses, medical stations and roads for ethnic minority groups, hold free vocational training courses and grant scholarships for teachers and medical students studying in  Gia Lai and Kon Tum provinces in Vietnam.

HAGL has also invested in planting rubber and palm trees in the province’s Kon Mum, Andong Meas and Oyadaw districts since 2009.

Taxi hotline set up for ripped-off tourists

The Ha Noi Taxi Association established a hotline to handle complaints about dishonest taxi drivers.

The hotline was created in response to the increasing number of taxi swindles this year, which primarily targeted foreigners. To report an incident, victims can call (04) 37710851 or (04) 38525252.

Thirty club-goers charged with using drugs

Thirty youngsters have been detained temporarily by police officials in Ngo Quyen District for reportedly using drugs at a local club.

On Saturday, officers raided Thuy Cung club, which forms part of Hai Phong Youth Culture House, and confiscated evidence that the thirty had participated in drug taking.

Police are questioning the detained.

Four members of a volunteer team drown

A drowning incident claimed four lives in the northern province of Thai Nguyen's Vo Nhai District.

The four people who drowned on Saturday afternoon were among a volunteer team with more than 20 members from Ha Noi. They went to the district's Thuong Nung Commune to deliver presents to local children on the occasion of International Children's Day.

On their way back to Ha Noi, the volunteer team visited the Mua Roi waterfall, where six members fell into an abyss. Two of them were rescued, while four were swept away. Their bodies were found on Saturday and Sunday. The four victims, aged between 20 and 21, were students at different universities in Ha Noi.

Vietnamese give to Russian children

Vietnamese Embassy staff and overseas Vietnamese in Russia presented gifts to disabled and orphan Russian children at special childcare school No. 7 in Gagarin District, Moscow on Saturday on the occasion of International Children's Day.

The delegation, joined by representatives from the Association of Overseas Vietnamese in Russia (AOVR), Voice of the Heart Foundation (VHF), Moscow Association of War Veterans, United Russian Party and authorities of Gagarin District granted teaching aids and toy doll houses to the school.

Engineering students get scholarships

Fifty female engineering students were rewarded merit-based scholarships worth VND8 million (US$380) each last Friday for posting excellent academic results.

The students were chosen from HCM City University of Technology, HCM City University of Technical Education and Can Tho University.

The AmCham Women in Engineering Scholarship (ACWES), jointly instituted by AmCham (American Chamber of Commerce in Viet Nam), Intel Products Viet Nam and Coca-Cola Beverages Viet Nam, aims to encourage female engineering students to study and work in major engineering disciplines.

Rescue station on Ly Son operational

The Border Guard High Command of central Quang Ngai Province on Saturday put into operation a rescue station in Ly Son island district after over five months of construction work.

The station, the first of its kind in Quang Ngai and the central region, aims to support fishermen and contribute to protecting the country's sovereignty over marine territory and islands, said Colonel Bui Phu Phu, Vice Commander of the Quang Ngai Border Guard High Command.

Ministry to crack down on overloaded trucks

A station is expected to be set up in Bao Loc City this month to inspect the loading capacity of trucks travelling along a stretch of National Highway 20 in Lam Dong Province.

The station's establishment was part of a plan made by the Ministry of Transport's Directorate for Roads of Viet Nam and the Ministry of Public Security's Department for Administrative Management of Social Order.

According to the directorate, trucks transporting bauxite beyond their permitted loading capacity via a route from Lam Dong Province's Tan Rai Factory to southern Dong Nai Province's Go Dau Port for export, were causing serious damage to national highway 20 and 51, as well as provincial bridges and roads.

Several weak bridges faced a high risk of collapsing if the situation was not rectified, the directorate said.

Before the plan, the directorate ordered Viet Nam National Coal – Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) - which was assigned to take responsibility for transporting bauxite via the route - local authorities and relevant agencies to bring the situation under control.

Despite this, the number of overloaded trucks carrying bauxite was believed to be increasing, the directorate revealed.

Deputy director of Lam Dong Province's Transport Department Nguyen Van Gia told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper the permitted loads of trucks depended on the permitted loading capacity of bridges the trucks travelled across.

It was estimated there were 20 bridges with a permitted loading capacity of 10-30 tonnes on the route, he said.

Trucks were only allowed to carry less than 15 tonnes over some weak bridges, he said.

Only last Tuesday, Dong Nai Province's police discovered 15 trucks transporting more than the permitted capacity of 6-19 tonnes through a stretch of national highway 51.

The truck drivers were forced remove bauxite to reduce their truck's loading capacity. Their driving licences were seized for 1-2 months and they received a fine of VND1-9 million (US$48-432), police said.

The plan is part of a massive programme to inspect the loading capacity of trucks in 63 provinces and cities nationwide.

Directorate sources say that over 30 provinces and cities started to implement the programme.

Hanoi launches Action Month for Children

An Action Month for Children with the themed "Creating equal opportunities for poor and ethnic minority children" was launched in Hanoi on June 1.

State Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan praised .the Party, State, families and society’s efforts to provide better care and living conditions for most children over the years.

However, poor and ethnic minority children continue to quit school, and many others are facing sexual abuse, labour exploitation, accidents, and malnutrition. Caring for children with HIV/AIDS also remains a challenge.

The Action Month is a good chance to disseminate information and raise public awareness of caring for, educating and protecting children, Doan said.

She urged Party Committees, local governments, organisations, families and communities to strictly implement measures to help children with special circumstances, and to prevent them from sexual abuse, labour exploitation, and trafficking.

They should also promote the national action program for children in the 2011-2020 period and the 2011-2015 national program on child protection.

On the occasion, the National Fund for Vietnamese Children (NFVC) received nearly VND10 billion from five donors to carry out projects for disabled and disadvantaged children.

The NFVC also handed over VND1 billion for the Hanoi Fund for Children to repair school classrooms and playgrounds for children and presented 60 bicycles to poor and ethnic minority pupils.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA