Hundreds protest on Philippine streets as Duterte jails top critic

MANILA: More than 1,000 people took to the streets of Manila on Saturday to protest Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on drugs, following the arrest of his most high-profile critic.

The protestors massed outside the national police headquarters where Senator Leila de Lima was detained on Friday, in a demonstration against the alleged death-squad murders of thousands of drug suspects.

Demonstrators warned the Duterte crackdown could lead to a repeat of the military-backed dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, which was toppled in a bloodless “People Power” revolution 31 years ago to the day. Tiếp tục đọc “Hundreds protest on Philippine streets as Duterte jails top critic” →

Kim Jong Nam probe: Indonesian suspect says she thought liquid was baby oil

KUALA LUMPUR: The Indonesian citizen detained in Malaysia in connection with the alleged assassination of Kim Jong Nam has maintained that she was duped into committing the act, believing that she was part of a prank on a TV show.

This was according to Indonesia’s Deputy Ambassador to Malaysia, Andriano Erwin, on Saturday (Feb 25), after a 30-minute meeting with Siti Aisyah.

She said she didn’t know that the liquid she used on Kim Jong Nam was in fact poison. “She only said that it’s a kind of oil, baby oil, something like that,” Mr Erwin told reporters. Tiếp tục đọc “Kim Jong Nam probe: Indonesian suspect says she thought liquid was baby oil” →

Vietnam’s catfish exports face bad press in Europe

 

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam’s catfish industry has encountered bad press in recent months. Carrefour, the largest retail group in Europe, announced the stop of the sale of Vietnam’s catfish in Spain, Italy, France and countries where the group has branches.

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Meanwhile, several newspapers in Europe reported that some schools in Spain have refused to buy Vietnam’s catfish.

Truong Dinh Hoe, secretary general of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said that in the last 10 years, Vietnam has struggled against unhealthy competition and slandering campaigns triggered by rivals.

According to Hoe, in January 2017, Cuatro TV in Madrid gave false information about Vietnam’s catfish farmed in the Mekong River. The report said the catfish was being bred in unclean cages and not fed standard fish, but dead fish and other waste, which was why Vietnamese could provide fish at such low prices. Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam’s catfish exports face bad press in Europe” →

Vietnam localities defend receiving costly cars gifted by local businesses

TUOI TRE NEWS

Updated : 02/24/2017 16:48 GMT + 7

Authorities from one Vietnamese city and another province have addressed public concerns over luxury cars gifted to the local governments by local businesses, saying the practice is by no means a legal or ethical issue.

State entities in the central city of Da Nang and the southernmost province of Ca Mau have attracted public attention following reports from local media outlets that a number of state-owned cars at their disposal were presents from the local business community.

The Ca Mau administration has two luxury Lexus in its state-owned car fleet, whereas the Da Nang Party Committee and the municipal administration each have four cars gifted by businesses. Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam localities defend receiving costly cars gifted by local businesses” →

Experts in South say North Korea has large chemical weapons stockpile

Japan Times

AFP-JIJI Feb 24, 2017

North Korea has up to 5,000 tons of chemical weapons, South Korean experts said Friday, including the toxin used to assassinate Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of leader Kim Jong Un.

Traces of VX — a nerve agent listed as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations — were detected on swabs from the face and eyes of Jong Nam, who was poisoned at a Kuala Lumpur airport last week, Malaysian police said Friday. Tiếp tục đọc “Experts in South say North Korea has large chemical weapons stockpile” →

Nerve agent used to kill Kim Jong-nam: police

Al Jareeza

Malaysian police say nerve agent found on face of half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Kim Jong-nam was attacked by two unidentified women at Kuala Lumpur airport [EPA/YONHAP]

Malaysian police say a preliminary report shows the murder of Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was carried out with a nerve agent used in chemical warfare.

A statement on Friday from the inspector general of police said that a preliminary analysis from the Chemistry Department of Malaysia identified the agent at “VX nerve agent”.

VX nerve agent, or S-2 Diisoprophylaminoethyl methylphosphonothiolate, is a chemical weapon classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations. Tiếp tục đọc “Nerve agent used to kill Kim Jong-nam: police” →

Senator Leila de Lima arrested in the Philippines

Al Jazeera

Senator and vocal critic of President Duterte faces drug-trafficking charges related to her term as a justice secretary.

De Lima has branded the president a ‘sociopathic serial killer’ after he was accused of ordering drug killings [EPA]

A Philippines senator and staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs has been arrested by law enforcement agents after charges were filed in court alleging that she received money from drug dealers inside the country’s prisons.

Senator Leila de Lima is accused of orchestrating a drug-trafficking ring when she was justice secretary during the 2010-2015 administration of Benigno Aquino.

“The truth will come out and I will achieve justice. I am innocent,” she told reporters shortly before law enforcers escorted her away from her office on Friday. Tiếp tục đọc “Senator Leila de Lima arrested in the Philippines” →

Con Sam – biểu tượng vợ chồng chung thủy – có thể bị tuyệt chủng

Vợ chồng sam
Vợ chồng sam

 
Chào các bạn,

Trong văn hóa Việt Nam, sam là biểu tượng của vợ chồng chung thủy, dùng thường xuyên để giáo dục đạo vợ chồng. Nhưng biểu tượng này có nguy cơ tuyệt chủng vì ngày nay người ta rầm rộ quảng cáo “đặc sản sam”, “món ăn không thể bỏ qua”, “tuyệt vời gỏi trứng sam” trong các nhà hàng.

Sam (tên khoa học Tachypleus tridentatus), đôi khi được gọi là sam biển, thường sống ở các cửa biển và các khúc sông gần cửa biển, luôn đi đôi một cặp vợ chồng. Sam cái lớn hơn sam đực, đi trước. Sam đực theo sau, bám chặt vào sam cái. Nếu người ta bắt sam thì luôn luôn bắt hai con bám nhau như thế. Vì vậy, từ xưa sam đã được dùng làm biểu tượng cho vợ chồng chung thủy, để dạy chúng ta ăn ở thủy chung. Tiếp tục đọc “Con Sam – biểu tượng vợ chồng chung thủy – có thể bị tuyệt chủng” →

North Korea more isolated than ever after Malaysia murders

JapanTimes

AFP-JIJI Feb 23, 2017

North Korea had few friends even before the assassination of the leader’s half brother at a Kuala Lumpur airport last week, but the fallout from the killing looks set to further isolate the nuclear-armed state.

Pyongyang and Kuala Lumpur have enjoyed relatively warm economic ties, with some bilateral trade and citizens from both countries entitled to travel to the other under a unique reciprocal visa-free deal.

Malaysia has also provided a channel between Pyongyang officials and the wider world, with Kuala Lumpur in recent years serving as a discreet meeting place for talks between the regime and the United States. Tiếp tục đọc “North Korea more isolated than ever after Malaysia murders” →

Asia-Pacific States Are Buying Arms at Record Post-Cold War Levels

Asia-Pacific freedom tested: US admiral

By Peter Mitchell, AAP US Correspondent Australian Associated Press

One of America’s top military commanders has painted a bleak picture of the Asia-Pacific, declaring freedom, justice and the rules-based international order hang in the balance.

Admiral Harry Harris, head of the US Pacific Command, told a conference in San Diego the path to stability in the region faces four considerable challenges: North Korea, China, Russia and Islamic State.

He warned the US would “co-operate where we can, but we’ll be ready to confront where we must”. Tiếp tục đọc “Asia-Pacific freedom tested: US admiral” →

Boeing to build satellite to increase Asia Pacific connectivity

Spaceflight Insider

305787_jcsat-18_702_kacific_3-high-res-1280x720Boeing will build a 702 satellite to expand communication for mobile telephone, data and internet users throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Caption and Image Credit: Beoing

Boeing announced Feb. 20, 2017, that it has contracted to build a satellite for two customers: SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation and Kacific Broadband Satellites. The new “702 satellite” will provide expanded coverage for mobile, telephone, data, and internet users across the Asia Pacific region.

“The scalable Boeing 702 satellite is a flight-proven design that we are evolving to meet the future needs of our customers,” said Mark Spiwak, president of Boeing Satellite Systems International, in a press release. Tiếp tục đọc “Boeing to build satellite to increase Asia Pacific connectivity” →

Vietnam to punish officials over mass fish deaths

HANOI: Vietnam said on Wednesday (Feb 22) it will punish 11 senior officials for misconduct over a toxic waste dump last year that killed tonnes of fish in one of the country’s worst environmental disasters.

Taiwanese steel firm Formosa was blamed for the crisis that decimated livelihoods in coastal fishing communities in central Vietnam and was forced to pay $500 million in fines.

Fishermen and activists in authoritarian Vietnam have staged rare protests since the disaster and filed lawsuits demanding a fair share of compensation. Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam to punish officials over mass fish deaths” →

New casino rule attracts big investors, new players

Last update 16:00 | 22/02/2017

VietNamNet Bridge – A flight carrying the representative of a US-based group which runs many large casinos worldwide landed in Vietnam just days before Vietnam’s traditional Tet holiday. A closed negotiation was conducted in an effort to enter the domestic casino market.

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Just days later, Decree No 03 on casino management  [Nghị Địnn 3/2017/NĐ-CP], which allows Vietnamese to go to casinos, was issued.

Soon after the decree came out, Vietnam became a ‘hot spot’ for the US-based Las Vegas Sands, Singapore’s Banyan Tree, Australia’s Crown and Macao’s Chow Tai Fook and Sun City.

With the legal document, plus the decree on horse and dog races, and football betting, the doors to cash-prize games in Vietnam opened widely. Tiếp tục đọc “New casino rule attracts big investors, new players” →

Keen singer to police cell – Vietnamese suspect in Kim murder

Reuters, Wednesday Feb 22, 2017

By Matthew Tostevin

The Vietnamese woman suspected of helping to kill the North Korean leader’s half-brother was a keen singer whose Facebook pages featured pouting portraits and pictures of parties.

Four days before Kim Jong Nam was killed at a Malaysian airport, she appears to have posted a picture of herself wearing a shirt emblazoned with the acronym “LOL”, similar to the one on the fleeing suspect caught on CCTV cameras.

Doan Thi Huong worked at an entertainment outlet, according to Malaysian police, who have arrested her over the murder of Kim Jong Nam. Tiếp tục đọc “Keen singer to police cell – Vietnamese suspect in Kim murder” →