HCM City to build taxi barriers

The People's Committee of HCM City's District 1 is seeking local approval to set up four taxi barriers in the city centre in Ben Thanh Ward. The barriers would stop taxis from unlawfully picking up passengers off the streets. Taxi barriers have worked well in many countries, said committee chairman Tran Vinh Tuyen.

250,000 disabled people to get jobs by 2015

The Government has approved a project to support people with disabilities in the 2012-2020 period.

Accordingly, in the 2012-2015 period, around 250,000 working-age disabled people will be provided with vocational training and suitable jobs. 70 percent of disabled people will access medical services annually and 70 percent of children under 6 will have check-ups for early detection of congenital malformation and growth disorders. Around 60,000 disabled people and children will benefit from orthopedic surgery, rehabilitation and support facilities.

In the 2016-2020 period, all public projects, such as bus and medical stations, education and training centres, and culture and sports facilities will be accessible to people with disabilities.

The project aims to develop learning programmes and documents for disabled and autistic children to access information technology and improve communication skills

The focus will be on building pilot vocational training and rehabilitation models for disabled people in some provinces.
In addition, 15 sports events will be held to create favourable conditions for disabled people to compete both at home and abroad.

Romanian seized for using fake ATM cards

Staff members of DongA Bank in Ho Chi Minh have seized a Romanian man for withdrawing money from an ATM using fake cards. His accomplice escaped.

Ciprian, who used the fake cards, was handed over to police on Sunday for investigation, said Nguyen Quoc Toan, deputy general director of the bank.

On August 4, the bank discovered a number of abnormal transactions made through the bank’s ATM system. It was also informed by some clients of incidents related to their ATM accounts.

The bank then launched an investigation and arranged employees to supervise ATM stations in the city’s downtown.

As a result, at 12 am on Sunday, the bank’s employees caught two suspicious men withdrawing money at an ATM at the Tran Cao Van-Hai Ba Trung intersection in District 1.

The workers rushed to the scene and seized Ciprian, while his accomplice escaped.

On searching the man’s room at a hotel, police found equipment for detecting and copying information from ATM cards, machines to counterfeit ATM cards and VND300 million (US$14,400) in cash.

The foreigner confessed that he belonged to a ring that has made and used fake ATM cards to appropriate money from clients of about 10 banks in Vietnam.

They use specialized devices to steal information from ATM card holders at ATM stations and then use such information to withdraw money from their victims’ accounts, Ciprian said.

In January this year, police in HCMC also arrested three Malaysians involved in a ring that created and used fake ATM cards to steal money from many individuals and businesses from ATMs of various banks.

The detainees confessed that they left Malaysia for Vietnam in late November 2011, and brought with them many fake ATM and credit cards provided by their ringleader in Malaysia.

Landslide kills two in Cao Bang

A landslide triggered by prolonged heavy rains left two people dead yesterday in the northern mountainous province of Cao Bang's Nguyen Binh District, on a section of National Highway No 34 to Ha Giang Province. The victims remain unidentified.

Soc Trang farmer captures 80kg python

A farmer in the southern city of Soc Trang city has recently captured a giant reticulated python weighing around 80kg and measuring more than 6 meters long during the past weekend.

According to Lieu Minh Sang, 23, the farmer who found the python on his family’s corn field on August 3 late afternoon, 10 people were required to carry it to Sang’s home.

Sang’s uncle, Lieu Van Sia said since the python is in its skin shedding period, it doesn’t attack other creatures.

Some people have asked to buy the animal at the price of VND20 million to VND30 million (US$1,000 – US$1,500) but Sang didn’t sell it. He said he will bring the python to a local pagoda to feed it.

Thousands of curious people have flocked to Sang’s house to witness the huge animal.

Last month, a 4-meter python was captured in the northern province of Ha Tinh. The animal around 35 kg in weight was also determined to be a reticulated python.

Reticulated python, also known the Asiatic reticulated python, is a species of python found in Southeast Asia. They are the world's longest snakes and longest reptile, but are not the most heavily built. Adults can grow to 6.95 meters in length but normally grow to an average of 3-6 meters.

Children’s dreams to be lit up

The programme entitled “Lighting up Children’s dreams” will be launched by the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank), in Vinh City, central Nghe An province on August 11.  

The event is expected to attract around 330 children from central provinces, such as Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Thua Thien Hue, Ha Tinh.

They will have the chance to take part in games and receive scholarships from Vietcombank.

At the opening ceremony, the bank will present 330 gifts and 30 scholarships to street and poor children who excel in their studies.
Over the past four years, it has been sponsoring the programme to bring hope to street and disadvantaged children.

Vietnam, Indonesia search for fishermen in distress

Vietnam’s fishing boat, BV 95134 TS, with 7 fishermen on board, sunk after being hit by an unknown ship at co-ordinates 0600’N-107000’E at 5am on August 6.

The Office of the National Committee for Search and Rescue has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) to report this to Indonesia so that the country can direct relevant authorities to search for the missing.

It has also urged the Vietnam Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) to work with the Indonesian MRCC to conduct a joint search with assistance from the border guards of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.

Right after the MoFA sent a diplomatic note to the Indonesian Embassy in Hanoi, the Indonesia MRCC ordered a plane to patrol but it could not take off due to the bad weather.

Vietnam, Laos to sign labour cooperation agreement

The Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs worked with the Lao Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare in Hanoi on August 6, aiming to discuss negotiations for a labour cooperation agreement in 2013.

They examined the two countries’ labour demands for socio-economic development, the exchange of skilled labourers, and management of their guestworkers in line with the regulations in each country.

The agreement will apply to Vietnamese labourers working in Laos and Lao labourers working in Vietnam, as well as relevant enterprises and organizations.

Vietnam also asked Lao and Vietnamese experts to finish reports and draw up suitable regulations in accordance with both countries’ labour laws.

The agreement is scheduled to be signed in August.

Lao citizens arrested for drug trafficking

Three Lao citizens carrying 60 blocks of heroin and 12,000 ecstasy pills were arrested on August 5 in Tan Lac district, Hoa Binh province.

They were caught red handed carrying the drugs on a Toyota Prado bearing Laos’ registered plate numbers.

The arrested, Lee Chia Neng (34) and Ly Chue Sor (38) from Vientiane and Boun Miber Kham Toong (23) from Houaphan province, confessed that they are members of a large transnational drug trafficking ring.

The case is still under investigation.

Deputy Minister of Public Security Lt. General Pham Quy Ngo sent a letter to the police praising their efforts to bust the transnational drug ring and urged relevant forces to expand the investigation and detain the remaining related criminals.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre