Vietnam sentences 5 drug traffickers to death

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Source: Xinhua 2019-11-14 13:43:28|Editor: Li Xia
HANOI, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) — Five members of a transnational drug trafficking ring, including the 41-year-old Lao ringleader and four Vietnamese accomplices, were sentenced to death for smuggling 148 cakes of heroin, Vietnam News Agency reported on Thursday.

The People’s Court in Vietnam’s northern Quang Ninh province on Wednesday handed down the death penalties to the five defendants. Four other members of the ring were sentenced to life imprisonment, while four others got 20-year jail term each.

According to the indictment, on June 16, 2018, police of Quang Ninh province detained a 43-year-old Vietnamese man transporting 72 heroin cakes hidden in a fridge. After further investigations, the provincial police arrested 12 other individuals, who allegedly transported a total of 148 cakes of heroin from Laos to Vietnam for sales.

The police were also hunting for two others members of the ring.

According to the Vietnamese law, those convicted of smuggling over 600 grams of heroin or more than 2.5 kg of methamphetamine are punishable by death. Making or trading 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal drugs also faces death penalty.

Vietnam macaque island draws tourists – and criticism

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| Publication date 13 November 2019 | 21:27 ICT Phnom Penh Post

Content image - Phnom Penh Post

Monkeys cling to a tourist at Monkey Island in Nha Trang, central Vietnam. There are about 1,200 macaques on the small island, where vaccine experiments were once carried out by Soviet scientists before it was transformed into a tourist attraction in the 1990s. NHAC NGUYEN/afp

Menacing macaques snatch bags of crisps, water bottles, cookies and crackers from uneasy tourists on Vietnam’s Monkey Island, a popular attraction decried as cruel by activists calling for an end to animal tourism in Southeast Asia.

Tourists are encouraged to show the monkeys their empty hands if they don’t want to be accosted by the aggressive macaques, who routinely steal snacks, hats, and even mobile phones from visitors, who nervously laugh and snap pictures.

“They grabbed my biscuits and climbed on my body,” Dinh Thi Hoa said on the small island in Nha Phu bay in south-central Vietnam. Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam macaque island draws tourists – and criticism” →

ASEAN CÓ THỂ NGĂN NGỪA “CHIẾN TRANH NƯỚC” MEKONG NHƯ THẾ NÀO – How Asean can avoid Mekong ‘water war’

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Anchalee Kongrut – Bình Yên Đông lược dịch, Bangkok Post – 31 October 2019 Mekong-cuulong Blog

Đập thủy điện Xayaburi ở Lào [Ảnh: Chiang Rai Times]

Đập Xayaburi, đập đầu tiên trên dòng chánh ở hạ lưu sông Mekong, đã bắt đầu hoạt động đúng vào thời điểm đáng chú ý – chỉ vài ngày trước khi Thái Lan đăng cai Thượng đỉnh ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Hiệp hội các Quốc gia Đông Nam Á)) thứ 35th trong tuần nầy.

Đáng chú ý vì con đập, được xây trong lãnh thổ Lào – cùng với 10 đập tiếp theo trên sông Mekong – được ca tụng như là một đỉnh cao của đối tác và hợp tác kinh tế giữa các quốc gia ASEAN.  Nó được tài trợ bởi một nhà đầu tư Thái và trên 90% số điện sản xuất sẽ được bán cho Cơ quan Phát Điện Thái Lan (Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT)). Tiếp tục đọc “ASEAN CÓ THỂ NGĂN NGỪA “CHIẾN TRANH NƯỚC” MEKONG NHƯ THẾ NÀO – How Asean can avoid Mekong ‘water war’” →

China is weaponizing water and worsening droughts in Asia – Trung Quốc biến nguồn nước thành vũ khí, gây thêm hạn hán ở châu Á

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China is weaponizing water and worsening droughts in Asia

Its dams are provoking regional tensions, so Beijing needs to reconsider its policy

Brahma Chellaney, Neikki Asia Review

A night view of China’s Three Gorges Dam: Asia can build a harmonious, rules-based water management regime only if China gets on board, which does not seem likely.   © Visual China Group/Getty Images

The focus on dams reflects a continuing preference for supply-side approaches, which entail increased exploitation of water resources, as opposed to pursuing demand-side solutions, such as smart water management and greater water-use efficiency. As a result, nowhere is the geopolitics over dams murkier than in Asia, the world’s most dam-dotted continent. Tiếp tục đọc “China is weaponizing water and worsening droughts in Asia – Trung Quốc biến nguồn nước thành vũ khí, gây thêm hạn hán ở châu Á” →

Foreign experts criticize China’s actions in East Vietnam Sea

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Foreign experts criticize China’s actions in East Vietnam Sea
Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung speaks at the 11th [East Vietnam Sea] International Conference in Hanoi on November 6, 2019. Photo: Nhat Dang / Tuoi Tre

Rare snakebirds spotted in southern Vietnamese province

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Rare snakebirds spotted in southern Vietnamese province
A snakebird at Buu Long Tourist Area in the southern Vietnamese province of Dong Nai. Photo: A Loc / Tuoi Tre

A large flock of rare snakebirds was recently discovered at a tourist site in the southern Vietnamese province of Dong Nai.

The birds have been nesting on the islets dotting Long An Lake in the Buu Long Tourist Area, according to Le Viet Dung, deputy head of the provincial forest protection department.

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The snakebirds living on the islets number about 500, Dung estimated, adding that it is one of the biggest flocks of snakebirds to have been discovered in Vietnam.

This is also the first time the bird species has been sighted in Dong Nai Province.

<em>Photo</em>: A Loc / Tuoi Tre
Photo: A Loc / Tuoi Tre

“We are also working on a plan to better preserve the rare bird species and will soon submit the plan to higher authorities for discussion,” Dung elaborated. Tiếp tục đọc “Rare snakebirds spotted in southern Vietnamese province” →

Hanoi struggles to curb fake ‘Made in Vietnam’ goods

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Hanoi struggles to curb fake 'Made in Vietnam' goods
Vietnam is struggling to curb fraud in exports destined for America as manufacturers seek to dodge punishing tariffs due to the US-China trade spat by illegally using ‘Made in Vietnam’ labels. Photo: AFP

Vietnam is struggling to curb fraud in exports destined for America, custom officials said Thursday, as manufacturers seek to dodge punishing tariffs due to the US-China trade spat by illegally using “Made in Vietnam” labels.

Exporters have started shifting production from China to Vietnam to avoid steep tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods. Tiếp tục đọc “Hanoi struggles to curb fake ‘Made in Vietnam’ goods” →

First Vietnamese named honorary citizen of Seoul

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Friday, November 15, 2019, 16:05 GMT+7 Tuổi Tre
First Vietnamese named honorary citizen of Seoul
Le Nguyen Minh Phuong (C) receives the Seoul Honorary Citizenship from Seoul Mayor Park Won Soon in Seoul, South Korea, November 13, 2019. Photo: Vietnam News Agency

A woman has become the first Vietnamese national to be granted the honorary citizen of Seoul title for her contributions to the South Korean capital.

Le Nguyen Minh Phuong, a native of the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang, was among 18 foreigners awarded the honorary citizenship of Seoul in 2019 at a ceremony held at Seoul City Hall on Wednesday. Tiếp tục đọc “First Vietnamese named honorary citizen of Seoul” →

Vietnam arrests 8 more suspects over UK truck deaths

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Total number of arrests in Vietnam rises to 10 in connection with deaths of 39 people found in truck in UK last month.

British police initially said the victims were Chinese [File: UK Pool via AP]
British police initially said the victims were Chinese [File: UK Pool via AP]

Vietnam has arrested eight more people in connection with the 39 people found dead in a truck in the United Kingdom who are believed to be Vietnamese, according to police.

Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam arrests 8 more suspects over UK truck deaths” →

Vietnam court convicts music teacher of anti-state actions

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A Vietnamese court has sentenced a music teacher to 11 years in jail for what it says were “anti-state” Facebook posts

By The Associated Press ABC News
November 15, 2019, 6:55 AM
A Vietnamese court sentenced a music teacher on Friday to 11 years in jail for “anti-state” Facebook posts, state media reported.

The official Nghe An newspaper said Nguyen Nang Tinh was found guilty of publishing photos, videos and comments on his personal Facebook page with messages to instigate demonstrations and oppose the government.

The newspaper, published in Nghe An province, where the trial occurred, said Tinh frequently held meetings with members of Viet Tan, an overseas-based political group that the government has branded “terrorist,” to discuss “reactionary” activities, although he was not an official member of the group.

It said Tinh, as a musical teacher, also taught his students anti-state songs. Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam court convicts music teacher of anti-state actions” →

Thu Thiem Catholic Church to be preserved as national relic

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The Thu Thiem Catholic Church complex will be preserved as a national relic under the Cultural Heritage Law, an official said at a meeting in Ho Chi Minh City on November 12.
VNA 
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Thu Thiem Catholic Church to be preserved as national relic hinh anh 1Thu Thiem church complex on Thu Thiem peninsula in HCM City’s District 2 (Photo: VNA)

HCM City (VNS/VNA) – The Thu Thiem Catholic Church complex will be preserved as a national relic under the Cultural Heritage Law, an official said at a meeting in Ho Chi Minh City on November 12. Tiếp tục đọc “Thu Thiem Catholic Church to be preserved as national relic” →

Vietnam wins world’s best rice title for 1st time

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Vietnam wins world’s best rice title for 1st time
The Vietnamese delegation attends the 11th World Rice Conference in Manila, the Philippines on November 11-13, 2019.

Vietnam has been honored for the first time with the highest award at the annual World’s Best Rice competition.

Organized by The Rice Trader, a publication providing in-depth analysis of the global rice industry, the contest was one of the key events at the 11th World Rice Conference in Manila, the Philippines from November 10 to 13. Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam wins world’s best rice title for 1st time” →

Vietnam Law Codifies Abuse Victims’ Right to Lawyer

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Voice of America
13 Nov 2019, 22:05 GMT+10

HO CHI MINH CITY – It is fairly common that a person accused of a crime has the right to an attorney, but what about the victim of the alleged crime? This question was raised in Vietnam, which has now answered it with a regulation that guarantees victims the right to legal representation. This could also have a direct effect on the problem of human trafficking in Vietnam. Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam Law Codifies Abuse Victims’ Right to Lawyer” →