Tác giả: Trần Đình Hoành

I am an attorney in the Washington DC area, with a Doctor of Law in the US, attended the master program at the National School of Administration of Việt Nam, and graduated from Sài Gòn University Law School. I aso studied philosophy at the School of Letters in Sài Gòn. . I have worked as an anti-trust attorney for Federal Trade Commission and a litigator for a fortune-100 telecom company in Washington DC. I have taught law courses for legal professionals in Việt Nam and still counsel VN government agencies on legal matters. I have founded and managed businesses for me and my family, both law and non-law. I have published many articles on national newspapers and radio stations in Việt Nam. In 1989 I was one of the founding members of US-VN Trade Council, working to re-establish US-VN relationship. Since the early 90's, I have established and managed VNFORUM and VNBIZ forum on VN-related matters; these forums are the subject of a PhD thesis by Dr. Caroline Valverde at UC-Berkeley and her book Transnationalizing Viet Nam. I translate poetry and my translation of "A Request at Đồng Lộc Cemetery" is now engraved on a stone memorial at Đồng Lộc National Shrine in VN. I study and teach the Bible and Buddhism. In 2009 I founded and still manage dotchuoinon.com on positive thinking and two other blogs on Buddhism. In 2015 a group of friends and I founded website CVD - Conversations on Vietnam Development (cvdvn.net). I study the art of leadership with many friends who are religious, business and government leaders from many countries. I have written these books, published by Phu Nu Publishing House in Hanoi: "Positive Thinking to Change Your Life", in Vietnamese (TƯ DUY TÍCH CỰC Thay Đổi Cuộc Sống) (Oct. 2011) "10 Core Values for Success" (10 Giá trị cốt lõi của thành công) (Dec. 2013) "Live a Life Worth Living" (Sống Một Cuộc Đời Đáng Sống) (Oct. 2023) I practice Jiu Jitsu and Tai Chi for health, and play guitar as a hobby, usually accompanying my wife Trần Lê Túy Phượng, aka singer Linh Phượng.

US pledges nuclear defence for Japan and South Korea

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ChannelNewsAsia

  • Posted 17 Feb 2017 02:27
  • Updated 17 Feb 2017 02:30

Japan’s Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida (L), US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (C) and South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (R) shake hands before a meeting at the World Conference Centre in Bonn, Germany. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP)

BONN: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Thursday (Feb 16) pledged that Washington would use the full range of its arsenal, including nuclear weapons, to defend allies Japan and South Korea against North Korea if needed.

“The United States remains steadfast in its defence commitments to its allies, the Republic of Korea and Japan, including the commitment to provide extended deterrence, backed by the full range of its nuclear and conventional defence capabilities,” Tillerson said in a joint statement after meeting the foreign ministers in Bonn.

North Korea has carried out repeated missile launches despite UN sanctions and last year conducted two nuclear tests in a bid to develop a weapons system capable of hitting the US mainland.

Pyongyang said the latest missile tested on Sunday could carry a nuclear warhead.

Continue reading on ChannelNewsAsia

Islamic State-claimed bomb kills 70 at Pakistani shrine

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ChannelNewsAsia

  • Posted 17 Feb 2017 01:44
  • Updated 17 Feb 2017 04:15

Pakistani devotees gather at the 13th-century Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in Sehwan in 2014. (AFP Photo)

KARACHI: At least 70 people were killed and hundreds wounded on Thursday (Feb 16) when a bomb ripped through a Sufi shrine in Pakistan, officials said, after a series of extremist assaults shook the country’s growing sense of security.

The Islamic State group (IS) claimed the attack, the deadliest to hit Pakistan so far in 2017, in the town of Sehwan in Sindh province, some 200 kilometres northeast of the provincial capital Karachi.

A police source said a suicide bomber entered the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, a 13th century Muslim saint, and blew himself up among hundreds of devotees.

The centuries-old shrine, one of the most revered in Pakistan, had been crowded on a Thursday, considered a sacred day for prayers. Tiếp tục đọc “Islamic State-claimed bomb kills 70 at Pakistani shrine” →

Thai police end first day of search for monk at Dhammakaya temple

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ChannelNewsAsia

  • Posted 16 Feb 2017 19:10
  • Updated 16 Feb 2017 19:23

Thai security forces said on Thursday (Feb 16) that they would continue the raid on the Dhammakaya Temple the next day. (Photo: Twitter / @SaksithCNA)

BANGKOK: Thai police called off the first day of their search for an influential Buddhist monk after their efforts proved unsuccessful, but vowed to resume on Friday.

Security forces had entered Thailand’s biggest Buddhist temple Dhammakaya Temple on Thursday to search for the monk, wanted for money laundering after the leader of the ruling military government declared he was imposing control over the vast temple complex.

“We didn’t find him today,” police spokesman Woranan Silam told reporters. “We’ll continue the search in the remaining areas tomorrow.”

Authorities covered about 15 to 20 per cent of the temple grounds on Thursday, he added.

– Reuters

Police arrest third suspect in Kim Jong Nam assassination

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A medical staff member stands at the entrance of the forensic department at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. Malaysian police arrested a woman Wednesday in the apparent assassination of Kim Jong Nam, the North Korean leader’s exiled half brother who South Korean spies say once begged his sibling to spare his life. (Vincent Thian/AP)
Washington Post By Anna Fifield February 16 at 9:44 AM
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Three people have now been arrested in connection with the apparent fatal poisoning of the half-brother of North Korea’s leader, including a Malaysian man held to “assist” in the investigation, police said Thursday.The man, 26-year-old Muhammad Farid bin Jalaluddin, has been identified as the boyfriend of an Indonesian woman arrested earlier Thursday, suspected of being one of the two women who carried out the brazen attack at Kuala Lumpur airport this week on Kim Jong Nam, the older half-brother of Kim Jong Un.

“Suspect is currently remanded in custody to assist investigation,” Khalid Abu Bakar, the inspector general of police, said in a statement.

Continue reading on Washington Post

The Pentagon said it wouldn’t use depleted uranium rounds against ISIS. Months later, it did — thousands of times.

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Washington Post By Thomas Gibbons-Neff February 16 at 7:00 AM
 
An A-10 Thunderbolt II. (Justin Connaher/ U.S. Air Force)

Months after the Pentagon said it wouldn’t use a controversial type of armor-piercing ammunition that has been blamed for long-term health complications, U.S. aircraft fired thousands of the rounds during two high-profile air raids in Syria in November 2015, the Pentagon acknowledged Wednesday.

The use of the ammunition, a 30mm depleted-uranium bullet called PGU-14, was first reported by a joint Air Wars-Foreign Policy investigation on Tuesday. The roughly 5,265 rounds of the munition were fired from multiple A-10 ground attack aircraft on Nov 16, 2015, and Nov. 22, 2015, in airstrikes in Syria’s eastern desert that targeted the Islamic State’s oil supply during Operation Tidal Wave II, said Maj. Josh Jacques, a U.S. Central Command spokesman.

When loaded with depleted-uranium bullets, the A-10s fired what is called a “combat-mix,” meaning the aircraft’s cannon fires five depleted-uranium rounds to one high explosive incendiary bullet.

Continue reading on Washington Post

Nghệ An lên tiếng về vụ việc phức tạp tại Giáo xứ Song Ngọc

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Thứ năm, 16/2/2017 | 20:51 GMT+7
  VnExpress

16 cán bộ, cảnh sát của Nghệ An đã bị thương trong vụ xô xát với hàng trăm giáo dân giáo xứ Song Ngọc ngày 14/2.

Vụ việc được TTXVN đánh giá là “phức tạp” xảy ra tại Giáo xứ Song Ngọc, xã Quỳnh Ngọc (Quỳnh Lưu, Nghệ An). Theo nguồn tin này, ngày 10/2, Linh mục Nguyễn Đình Thục, quản xứ Song Ngọc, soạn “thư ngỏ” kêu gọi các linh mục và cộng đoàn các Giáo xứ Hiệp Thông, cầu nguyện cho giáo dân Giáo xứ Song Ngọc đi gửi đơn khởi kiện Công ty TNHH Hưng Nghiệp Formosa tại Tòa án Nhân dân Thị xã Kỳ Anh (tỉnh Hà Tĩnh) vào ngày 14/2/2017.

Sáng sớm ngày 14/2 khoảng 500 giáo dân tập trung tại Giáo xứ Song Ngọc để đi vào tỉnh Hà Tĩnh. Khi đến xã Diễn Hồng (Diễn Châu, Nghệ An), cảnh sát giao thông đã tổ chức phân làn phương tiện tham gia giao thông khác đi vào một làn đường và đoàn giáo dân đi vào một làn đường để tránh ách tắc.

Tiếp tục đọc “Nghệ An lên tiếng về vụ việc phức tạp tại Giáo xứ Song Ngọc” →

Arrests made over death of Kim Jong-nam

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AlJareeza

Malaysian police say first female suspect was carrying Vietnamese passport and was alone at the time of arrest.

Malaysian police have detained a second woman believed to be connected to the death of Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, state media reported.

Police Inspector General Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar confirmed the detention on Thursday and said an official statement would be released later in the day, state news agency Bernama said.

On Wednesday, a a woman carrying Vietnamese travel documents bearing the name Doan Thi Huong was arrested at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the scene of Monday’s poisoning. Tiếp tục đọc “Arrests made over death of Kim Jong-nam” →

Vụ ông Kim Jong-nam bị giết: Bắt nữ nghi phạm thứ 2

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16/02/2017 10:30

(NLĐO) – Tổng thanh tra cảnh sát Malaysia Khalid Abu Bakar hôm 16-2 xác nhận một phụ nữ khác đã bị bắt vì nghi liên quan đến cái chết của ông Kim Jong-nam, anh trai nhà lãnh đạo Triều Tiên Kim Jong-un.

 Theo tuyên bố được cảnh sát đưa ra, người phụ nữ này 25 tuổi, có mang hộ chiếu Indonesia. Thông tin ghi trên hộ chiếu cho biết người phụ nữ này tên Siti Aishah, đến từ TP Serang.

Nữ nghi phạm đầu tiên bị bắt hôm 15-2 và dự kiến ra tòa ngày 16-2. Nhiều phóng viên đã tập trung bên ngoài tòa án ở Sepang để đợi đưa tin về phiên tòa. Tiếp tục đọc “Vụ ông Kim Jong-nam bị giết: Bắt nữ nghi phạm thứ 2” →

Lời khai của nữ nghi phạm sát hại anh trai Kim Jong-un

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ 1 bình luận
Thứ tư, 15/2/2017 | 18:22 GMT+7
  VnExpress

Nữ nghi phạm trong vụ sát hại Kim Jong-nam, anh trai nhà lãnh đạo Triều Tiên Kim Jong-un cho biết cô được 4 nam thanh niên chỉ đạo thực hiện vụ tấn công.

loi-khai-cua-nu-nghi-pham-sat-hai-anh-trai-kim-jong-un

Nữ nghi phạm đã bị bắt khi quay lại sân bay tìm bạn. Ảnh: Star

Theo Oriental Daily của Malaysia, nữ nghi phạm 29 tuổi bị cảnh sát Malaysia bắt giữ hôm nay trong cuộc điều tra liên quan đến vụ sát hại Kim Jong-nam, anh trai của nhà lãnh đạo Triều Tiên Kim Jong-un.

Nghi phạm đi cùng một người bạn nữ và 4 người đàn ông. Họ đến Malaysia với tư cách du khách. Nghi phạm nói rằng ngay sau khi họ hạ cánh tại sân bay, 4 người đàn ông nói rằng họ muốn chơi khăm một trong những hành khách. Họ chỉ đạo cô phun chất lỏng vào mặt Kim Jong-nam. Người phụ nữ còn lại bịt khăn tay vào mặt nạn nhân.

Tiếp tục đọc “Lời khai của nữ nghi phạm sát hại anh trai Kim Jong-un” →

North Korea: isolated state with a long history of assassinations

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The Guardian

Kim Jong-nam’s death is believed to have been an ordered hit. If so it would not be the first time citizens were targeted abroad

The North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and his exiled half-brother Kim Jong-nam.
The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, left, and his half-brother Kim Jong-nam. Photograph: Wong Maye-E, Shizuo Kambayashi/AP

Kim Jong-nam was almost certainly murdered by North Korean agents, according to intelligence officials in South Korea, as suspicions mount that his assassination at Kuala Lumpur airport was ordered by his estranged half-brother, the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.

Kim Jong-nam, Kim Jong-il’s eldest son, was once seen as heir apparent, but fell out of favour in 2001 following a failed attempt to enter Japan on a forged passport, apparently to visit Disneyland. He lived in Macau while his brother took over the nuclear-armed state. Tiếp tục đọc “North Korea: isolated state with a long history of assassinations” →

North Korean officials objected to autopsy on Kim Jong Nam’s body: Source

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ChannelNewsAsia

  • Posted 15 Feb 2017 21:52
  • Updated 15 Feb 2017 23:26

People watch a television news report in a Seoul railway station on the death of Kim Jong-Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader. (Photo: AFP/JUNG Yeon-Je)KUALA LUMPUR: North Korean government officials in Malaysia objected to an autopsy being performed on the body of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Malaysian government sources aware of the discussions said on Wednesday (Feb 15).

North Korea embassy officials leave the morgue at Kuala Lumpur General Hospital. (Photo: Reuters / Edgar Su)

The officials requested that the body be released to them right away, but Malaysia rejected the request, several sources said.

No decision has been taken on whether the body of Kim Jong Nam will be handed over to North Korea, the sources added. Tiếp tục đọc “North Korean officials objected to autopsy on Kim Jong Nam’s body: Source” →

Female suspect arrested over death of Kim Jong-nam – female suspect carrying Vietnamese passport

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Female suspect arrested over death of Kim Jong-nam

Malaysian police say female suspect was carrying Vietnamese passport and was alone at the time of arrest.

AlJazeera
Malaysia police have arrested a female suspect in connection with the death of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un.

Police said the woman they arrested on Wednesday carried a Vietnamese passport and was alone at the time of arrest.

The woman, detained at the low-cost terminal of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in the Malaysian capital, was identified on the travel document as Doan Thi Huong born on May 31, 1988, police said.

The “suspect was positively identified from the CCTV footage at the airport and was alone at the time of arrest”, they added. Tiếp tục đọc “Female suspect arrested over death of Kim Jong-nam – female suspect carrying Vietnamese passport” →

North Korean leader’s half-brother ‘killed’ in Malaysia

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ChannelNewsAsia

  • Posted 14 Feb 2017 19:37
  • Updated 15 Feb 2017 01:35

This file photo taken on Feb 11, 2007 shows a man believed to be North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s eldest son, Kim Jong-nam. (Photo: AFP)

SINGAPORE: The half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-nam has been killed in Malaysia, South Korean media reported on Tuesday (Feb 14).

Malaysia’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief Mohmad Salleh earlier told Channel NewsAsia that travel documents found on the man indicated he was Kim Jong-nam. He added that a post-mortem had not yet taken place and that the body was in Putrajaya Hospital. Tiếp tục đọc “North Korean leader’s half-brother ‘killed’ in Malaysia” →

Chinese weapons, warplanes reaching ‘near-parity’ with West: study

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This file photo taken on Dec. 14 shows a Chinese J-15 fighter jet preparing to take off from the deck of the Liaoning aircraft carrier during military drills in the Bohai Sea, off China’s northeast coast. China continues to arm itself faster than other countries to the point of moving towards near parity with the West in some military areas, according to the annual report of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) released on Tuesday. | AFP-JIJI

Japan times

AFP-JIJI Feb 15, 2017

LONDON – China is beginning to export its own weapon designs, including armed drones, worldwide and is reaching “near-parity” with the West in terms of military technology, according to a report on Tuesday.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies said that China’s official defence budget of $145 billion (€137 billion) last year was 1.8 times higher than those of South Korea and Japan combined.

It also accounted for more than a third of Asia’s total military spending in 2016, the IISS annual Military Balance report said, adding that spending in Asia grew by 5 to 6 percentage points a year between 2012 and 2016.

Total global military spending instead fell by 0.4 percent in real terms in 2016 compared to 2015, largely due to reductions in the Middle East.

“China’s military progress highlights that Western dominance in the field of advanced weapons systems can no longer be taken for granted,” IISS director John Chipman said at a presentation in London.

continue reading on Japan times

Head of U.S. Pacific Command urges democracy in Thailand

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U.S. Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris (left) and Thailand defense forces chief Gen. Surapong Suwana-Adth pose during the opening ceremony of the multilateral Cobra Gold military exercises at Sattahip Royal Thai Marine Corps Base in Chonburi, Thailand, on Tuesday. | REUTERS

Japan times

AP Feb 14, 2017

SATTAHIP, THAILAND – The highest-ranking U.S. military official to visit Thailand since a 2014 coup urged the country to restore democracy, saying Tuesday that America needs “a strong and stable ally” in Southeast Asia.

Adm. Harry Harris, the head of the U.S. Pacific Command, spoke at the start of the annual Cobra Gold joint military exercises, the largest in the Asia-Pacific region.

The U.S. is vying with an increasingly powerful China for influence in Asia.

“We look forward to Thailand’s reemergence as a flourishing democracy because we need Thailand as a strong and stable ally,” Harris said. “We need Thailand to get back to being the regional and global leader that it always has been.”

Twenty-nine countries, including China, India and Malaysia, are participating in or observing the exercises.

continue reading on Japan times