Nation opposes US intervention in trial


Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga yesterday, April 5, denounced a statement by the Acting Deputy Spokesperson of the US Department of State relating to the trial of Cu Huy Ha Vu on Monday as an intervention in Viet Nam's internal affairs.

The spokeswoman made the statement while answering questions from the media on Viet Nam's response to the US statement.

"Viet Nam handles law-violating cases according to Vietnamese and international laws, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights," she stressed.

In Viet Nam, the rights to freedom and democracy, including freedom of speech, were regulated clearly in the Constitution and other legal documents, Nga said, adding they were respected and enforced in reality.


First baby delivered by caesarean section on Spratly island

 

Lieutenant General Nguyen Thanh Cung (second right), who led a delegation of central agencies on a visit to the Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands, carries the first baby delivered by caesarean section on the island. (Photo: VNS)
A baby was successfull delivered by caesarean section on the Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands yesterday, April 5, the first such operation on the archipelago.

The caesarean section was conducted by doctor Ho Xuan Lang and staff at a medical centre on Truong Sa Lon Island at 10.30am.

Lang said the mother and baby girl(3.2kg) are doing well.

A video conference with Hospital 175 in HCM City provided technical advice for the Truong Sa Lon team.

"The mother has uterine fibroids and her baby was lying in a horizontal position in the womb," Lang said.

"We had a thorough discussion with doctors from Hospital 175 and decided to give her a c-section."

Hospital 175 deputy director Hoang Thanh Binh said it was difficult to carry out a c-section on Truong Sa Lon as it was not well-equipped.

"We had the mother's O-type blood delivered to the island by helicopter," Binh said

Doctors on Truong Sa Lon are from Hospital 175; they take turns to serve three to six months on the island.

The first baby delivered on the archipelago was by vaginal birth on May 16, 2009.


Vietnam, France share experience in geographic information


Vietnamese and French experts gathered in Hanoi on April 5 for a workshop on the development of geographic information system (GIS) in Vietnam.

The workshop aimed to create conditions for French businesses to inquire into prospect for such development, particularly in the areas of housing, transport, agriculture, environmental management, risk prevention, crisis governance and topography. The application of geographic information is expected to help Vietnam in economic development, sustainable growth and prevention of environmental risks and natural disasters.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Manh Hien said the GIS has been applied in Vietnam in agriculture-forestry planning, forest management, archives of geology, topographic and land survey, urban management.

He stressed the workshop’s importance, describing it as a promising start between the French Trade Mission UBIFRANCE of the French Embassy in Vietnam and Vietnam’s agencies and organisations in developing bilateral cooperation in the topographic surveying field.

French Ambassador Jean-Francois Girault said that the presence of French firms at the workshop is a signal for France ’s desire to work closely with Vietnam in ensuring the country’s sustainable development and self-reliance.

He said he wished the workshop would be an opportunity to develop sustainable partnerships, creating long-term cooperation on earth observation and topography between France and Vietnam. 


More than VND1 billion to help landslide victims


The Yen Thanh dictrict People’s Committee on April 5 received VND1.2 billion in aid from businesses and individuals to help families of landslide victims.

Of the total, VND100 million came from the Pacific group, VND86 from Ha Tinh province, VND60 million from the Nghe An Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company, VND50 million from the Chinh Nghia Co. Ltd, VND50 million was donated by Le Van Hien, director of the Binh Long Rubber Company, and VND12 million came from the Yen Thanh high school.

The Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee previously handed over VND5 million in aid for each fatality and VND3 million for each one injured.


Chinese drug traffickers caught red-handed


The border guards of the northern province of Quang Ninh have recently broken a Chinese-involved drug trafficking ring, confiscating 2.3 kg of ketamine and 1,500 tablets of amphetamine type stimulants.

Two Chinese people, Yan Xiao Zeng, born in 1972 and Wang Jian Ping, born in 1977, residing in Hunan province, China, were arrested when illegally entering the Vang Lay border area in Mong Cai town.

The ring’s other members included Jin Qian Fu and Wu Dao Jun from Hubei and Chongqing provinces, who were also arrested in Mong Cai town. 

They confessed to bringing the drug to Cambodia for sales.


US veterans convey files on Vietnamese solders


Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) has handled five files on Vietnamese soldiers who died during the American War to authorities in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.

One of the files contains information relating to a burial site in the Chan May-Lang Co area in Phu Loc district.


Nearly VND45 billion spent on child protection


The Quang Nam provincial People’s Committee on April 5 approved a VND44.85 billion child protection project for the 2011-2015 period.

The five-year programme is aimed at creating a safe living environment for children and reducing risks that may threaten them.

It will also help disadvantaged children integrate into the community and provide them with equal opportunities for development.


HTML clipboard

HCM City's drug price stabilisation plan passed


HCM City's People's Committee has approved a plan to stabilise drug prices following recent rises.

Pham Khanh Phong Lan, deputy director of the municipal health department, said the price-stabilisation programme, which began on Friday, would run until March 31next year. Funds worth VND9 billion (US$429,000) have been set aside for the programme.

Under the scheme, the price of forty domestically made drugs used to treat allergies, diarrhoea, stomach aches, coughing, heart disease and diabetes would be at least 10 per cent less than the market price.

Companies taking part in the plan would be provided with interest-free loans.

Four enterprises have signed up for the programme – the March 2 Pharmaceutical Company, Domesco Medical Import-Export Company, Glomed Pharmaceutical Company and Euvipharm Pharmaceutical Company.

 

PM to step up mineral exploitation inspections


Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has ordered that safety checks be carried out at mines and quarries in the country following a fatal disaster last week.

Dung said inspectors should focus on issues relating to design, extraction procedures and labour safety.

Officials from the Ministry of Trade and Industry plan to work with representatives fromprovincial People's Committees and city authorities when carrying out the checks.

Dung said that mines and quarries found to breaking labour safety rules would be temporarily closed.

Meanwhile, Central Nghe An Province police yesterday decided to prosecute Phan Van Chin, the owner of Len Co quarry, for violating labour safety rules. A rockfall at the quarry in Yen Thanh District killed 18 workers and injured six others.

Thelocal authority has received over VND1 billion (US$48,000) in donations for thevictims' families.

 

Russian firms hope to foster closer relations with Vietnamese counterparts


 Russian businesses, particularly from Sverdlovsk Province, said they wanted to boost co-operation with Vietnamese firms in the fields of agriculture, mining, manufacturing, railways, energy, banking, construction and environmental protection.

Russian business representatives will be taking part in a conference today in Ha Noi.

The conference will be an ideal opportunity for businesses in the two countries to form new partnerships, event organiser the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry said.

During their visit to Viet Nam, the Russian business delegation will attend the 21stViet Nam International Trade Fair, which also begins today in the capital.

Two-way trade between Viet Nam and Russia is expected to reach US$3 billion by 2012,according to the Viet Nam-Russia medium-term action plan in trade and investment.

Annual average bilateral trade was worth $1.8 billion over the past three years.

 

Tri An reservoir sinks to 23-year low

 

The water level at Tri An Reservoir in southeastern Dong Nai Province has reached its lowest level in 23 years, according to Vo Van Nhan, deputy head of the hydropower plant.

Nhan said there had been little rain or run-off. The water level is now 53 metres, only three metres higher than the minimum workable level.


 US veterans convey files on Vietnamese soldiers

 

Viet Nam Veterans of America (VVA) has handed five files on Vietnamese soldiers who died during the American War to authorities in central Thua Thien-Hue Province.

One of the files contains information relating on a burial site at the Chan May-Lang Co area in Phu Loc District.


 New university may be set up in Bac Ninh


 A new university is likely to be set up in northern Bac Ninh Province, the Prime Minister announced on Tuesday.

The new facility would enrol a high percentage of disabled students.

The Ministry of Education and Training will evaluate the feasibility of the project and report back to the PM for a decision.

 

Dead whale drifts ashore in Phu Yen

 

A dead whale, weighing more than four tonnes, was found washed up on Bai Xep beach in south-central Phu Yen Province's Tuy An District on Monday.

The carcass, which was found to carry some injuries, will be buried in An Chan Commune after a traditional whale funeral.

This is considered to bring luck to local residents, especially to the one who found the whale.


 Cold spell kills nearly 600 cattle, buffalo

 

Nearly 600 cows and buffaloes have died in Kon Plong District in the Central Highland province of Kon Tum Province, the provincial Animal Health Department has reported.

According to the department, prolonged cold weather and free grazing may have been involved in their deaths.

Samples from the animals proved negative for foot-and-mouth and other diseases.


VNN/VOV/VNS