Quang Trung Software City celebrates 10th anniversary

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan congratulated Quang Trung Software City on its 10th anniversary, for the bold steps and great achievements it had made to grow so strongly and quickly into becoming a leading software park in Vietnam.

Quang Trung Software City (QTSC) held a ceremony to mark its 10th anniversary since its establishment on March 16. Nguyen Thien Nhan, Deputy PM, Le Thanh Hai, secretary of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, Pham Phuong Thao, Chairwoman of the city People’s Council and Le Hoang Quan, Chairman of the city People’s Committee were present on the occasion.

Established on March 16, 2001, QTSC officially began operations in District 12 with 21 businesses and 250 workers.

Within ten years, QTSC has become the leading software park to attract investments from 101 information technology companies, of which 43 are foreign companies and 58 are domestic companies. At present there are 23,859 employees working in QTSC.

On the same day, QTSC welcomed the 102nd member of the HP Group, a multinational company into its fold.

On the occasion, QTSC was also honoured with the Vietnam Labour Medal of Class II by President Nguyen Minh Triet.

China experts detained near HCMC over inside job

Police in southern Vietnam yesterday detained five employees, including two Chinese experts, of a company for suspicion they colluded to steal nails and screws worth over US$47,900 from their own firm.

At dawn yesterday, local police in Binh Duong province near Ho Chi Minh City caught a driver and an interpreter of Airoware Co., Ltd., in Dong An Industrial Park, transporting about 30 tons nails and screws without documents about the origin of the goods.

The interpreter is Doan Van Bau, 24, and the driver is Pham Van Cuong, 28, from northern Tuyen Quang province.

The two men later confessed to the police that they had colluded with the two foreign experts and a security guard, Nguyen Van Thanh, 28, to steal the goods from their company.

They planned to sell the nails and screws, which had recently been produced, to a metal scrap trader for VND8,000 (US$0,38) per kilogram, while the total value of the allegedly stolen goods is more than VND1 billion (US$47,900).

If their declaration is true, the difference between the sales of the goods as scrap and the real value of the goods will be about $36,500.

The police later decided to detain the two Chinese and the security guard for investigation.

HCM City committed to price stabilization program

Ho Chi Minh City leaders stressed in a meeting with enterprises and relevant agencies, that the city remains committed to stabilizing prices through its program to ensure that necessary goods and commodities met with consumer demands without unusual price fluctuations.

Nguyen Thi Hong, vice chairwoman of the People’s Committee, presided over the meeting on March 16, reassuring of the stabilization program in HCMC for 2011 and for the Tet ( Lunar new year) season of next year. The highlight of this year’s program is that all enterprises from all sectors in society can join the program, provided they meet with the necessary requirements.

This year nine commodities of rice, sugar, cooking oil, cattle meat, chicken, chicken eggs, vegetable, fruit, seacooking and also domestically-made medicines have been selected for the price stabilization program.

These commodities account for 20-25 percent of the market demand and the stabilized price on them will be at least 10 percent lower than that on the market. The program for 2011 begins from April 1 to December 31, 2011 and from January 1, 2012 to March 31, 2012 in preparation for Tet 2012.

Selected enterprises will enjoy benefits such as receiving interest free loans from the city People’s Committee, free advertising in local media and no mortgage payment necessary on property within 12 months after disbursement.

Le Ngoc Dao, deputy head of the Department of Industry and Trade said that all enterprises able to meet the required norms will be permitted to join the program from March 18 to 25.

Hong said the stabilization program should connect with the campaign to promote consumption of Vietnamese goods. Only quality commodities and hygienic safe food could enter the program. Enterprises must ensure enough commodities to meet the demand.

Commodities need to be accessible to all customers, especially residents and workers living in suburban districts and in industrial parks, said Hong.

Police rewarded for seizing first nail trapper

Thu Duc district’s People’s Committee and Party Committee yesterday granted a VND5 million (US$240) reward along with a certificate of merit to Thu Duc district’s Binh Tho ward police for their capture of Phung Anh Tuan, who scattered sharp metal objects and nails on city streets.

The district authorities asked the local police to consider a public trial for Tuan, if his acts are to be found constituting a crime.

Tuan is the first to be caught in Ho Chi Minh City for the shameful scam. Previously some have been arrested in Binh Duong city, near HCMC.

Tuan’s act was aimed at trapping motorbike drivers to make money out of mending their flat tires or selling new tires at exorbitant prices.

During their patrol, local police caught Tuan, 33, bringing with him a lot of sharp metal objects while he was riding on streets in the district on Wednesday.

Tuan is a motorbike repairer, who is from the northern Ninh Binh province and resides in the district’s Linh Chieu ward.

Searching Tuan’s house, the police found a large quantity of nails, other sharp metal objects and a full set of motorbike repair tools.

At the police office, Tuan pleaded guilty to scattering nails on some streets in the district.

HCMC bookstore kidnapper indicted

Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Binh District police have issued an indictment against Voong Hung Minh, 27, who was subdued after keeping hostage a female employee at scissor point at a local bookstore on Tuesday.

Minh, from southern Dong Nai province, is facing charges of “threatening to kill others,” according to the prosecution warrant signed by Lieutenant Colonel Le Hoang Chau yesterday.

Minh is a drug addict and was once sentenced to five years in prison for robbery. He was released after serving his sentence in June last year.

Minh committed a new crime on March 15, when he ran into Phuong Nam Bookstore located inside the MaxiMark supermarket and used a scissor and kept hostage Ngau Ngoc Lan, 29, a female employee at the bookstore.

Local police and emergency police 113 persuaded Minh to surrender and release his hostage, but he turned down the police’s order. Instead, he said he wanted a taxi to leave the bookstore with his hostage.

An undercover policeman dressed in a taxi driver uniform rode a taxi to the scene, and when Minh and his hostage got in the car, the ’driver’ used an electrical baton to strike him and seize him.

As a drug addict, Minh told police he had a delusion that an underworld gang was chasing and trying to kill him.

Therefore, he deliberately caused such a disturbance with a hope that police could come to the scene and thereby saved him from the gang.

OVs help spur HCMC’s development

Ho Chi Minh City has persuaded more Vietnamese expats to return home to help spur its wide-ranging development.

At a conference to launch its work for 2011, the HCMC Committee for Oversea Vietnamese Affairs reported that there are 138 OV professors, associate professors, Ph.Ds, and researchers working in various projects and programs in the city, which is Vietnam’s biggest economic hub.

By the end of 2010, more than 2,500 OVs registered for doing business in the city with a total charter capital of nearly VND37 trillion.

The municipal authorities had granted licences to 117 OV-invested projects capitalized at US$275 million, including 10 projects worth nearly $158 million in the Hi-tech Park.

In 2010, OVs’ remittances to Ho Chi Minh City hit $4 billion.

Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan said OVs have made sizeable contributions to the city’s annual average GDP growth rate of 11.2 percent over the past five years.

Flood tide could up to 1.5m in HCMC

HCMC is predicted to be babdly flooded due to flood tide the coming daysA large flood-tide with the highest water level could reach to 1.42-1.45m is forecast to occur in Sai Gon river from March 19-23, Ho Chi Minh City’s Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control and Rescure Board announced Thursday.

The highest water levels will take place from 4:00-7:00am and from 17:00-20:00pm the coming days.

Specifically, on March 19, the highest flood-tide at the Phu An pumping station on Sai Gon River are expected to be 1.34m at 4:30am and 1.40 at 5:30am while at the Nha Be pumping station, the flood tide could go up to 1.38m the same day.

The flood tide not only overflows the banks of dykes but also causes the saltiness of southern rivers to rise alarmingly, the Southern Hydro-Meteorological Station has warned.

The city’s Committee has aksed local authorities to implement measures to boost up flood prevention projects in an effort to prevent the kind of dangerous weather.

Wild elephant rages in Dong Nai

A big wild elephant, 2.5 meter tall, appeared from nowhere at the residential quarter 1, hamlet 3, Phu Loi commune, Dinh Quan district, causing great panic among local residents.

Many farmers who were harvesting in their cashew and mango gardens hastily fled at the sight of the ferocious animal.

After trampling and destroying some gardens, the elephant moved to Gia Canh commune nearby, knocking down a part of the house of Nguyen Van Giap, a local.

The wild creature later destroyed the pigsty of Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan before crossing the Gia Canh village road to return to the forest nearby.

The wild animal was previously seen in another far-flung district, but this time it moved to the areas close to National Highway 20.

Wolf gang faces law for raping Yahoo chat victims

The 8 defendants and a scooter they robbed from one of their victims Hanoi police have concluded investigation into a case of child rape and robbery of victims from yahoo chats and proposed the local Procuracy to indict 8 people including a 15-year-old ringleader for the crimes four years ago.

The criminal gang was led by Dao Thi Thu Huong, 15, the youngest, who was dubbed as My “soi” (wolf), residing in Hoang Mai District, and her lover, Trinh Thang Long, 19. Huong and Long have long dropped out of school.

The others include Nguyen Xuan Thang, Nguyen Duc Hoang, Le Quang Vinh. Au The Doan, Hoang Trong Dat, and Tran Hoang Nam. The first three are 23 years old and the others, 19. All of them had led a fast life before their arrest.

Except Nam who is facing robbery charges, the remaining seven are charged with three crimes: rape, raping children, and robbery.

All of the eight are residents of Hanoi.

According to indictment, Huong and Long made acquaintances with teen girls via chats on Internet.

The couple later lured the teens to go out with them and then forced them into hotel rooms where the other male members of the gang raped them and then robbed their assets.

They committed their first crime on July 16, 2010 and the victim was Pham Thi K.T, 25, a resident of Hanoi. Huong lured T. to go out and then forced her to go to a hotel, where she was raped many times.

The gang also robbed VND200,000 (now US$9.6) and a mobile phone from T, who later managed to escape from the hotel.

The gang later carried out four other crimes, in which they abducted, beat, raped and robbed their victims.

Total value of the assets robbed by the gang is estimated at VND30 million ($1,440).

Cultural diversity of Vietnam introduced at US festival

“Various types of costumes, besides the national costume – Ao dai (traditional long dress) - worn by members of the Vietnamese Students’ Association in Hawaii (VSAH) today represent cultural diversity of Vietnam.”

So announced the speaker of the Grand Parade held on March 13 in the framework of the Honolulu Festival when the 60- graduate student delegation of Vietnam was passing the podium on Kalakaua Avenue in the Waikiki Beach Walk. The Honolulu Festival, the annual biggest one of Hawaii state in the US, was organised from March 11-13.

“This is the third year the VSAH, based at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, has participated in the Honolulu Festival, but is the first time it joins the Festival Parade,” said the speaker.

“Besides, you should know about Vietnam’s Pho (rice noodle soup) which I have been enjoying at least once a week,” he added.

Goro Nakamura from Japan, who was among tens of thousands of witnesses of the parade, told Vietnam News Agency’s correspondent that his wife, two daughters and himself waited for the parade quite a long time and enjoyed it much.

Right after the parade, the VSAH was invited to attend cultural activities to be held in Honolulu during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, slated for Nov. 7-13 this year.

Also at the Convention Center in Honolulu on March 13, Vietnamese graduate students also performed a fashion show and the “Beauty of Central Highlands” dance.

Vietnam’s diversified culture will also be introduced by Vietnamese post graduates and PhDs in Hawaii to friends of the US and other countries next month at the East - West Fest to be held by the East - West Center and the International Day by the Hawaii Pacific University.

“Nail trap” confirmed to cause death

After a series of suspected accidents, police in the southern province of Binh Duong have confirmed the first deadly accident caused by the nails scattered on roads by motorbike repair shops.

In July 4th, 2010, Dao Xuan Bac (born in 1987) rode a motorbike from Dong Nai to Ho Chi Minh City along National Road 1A with his friend Tran Van Thao (born in 1985).

As they reached Hiep Thang Hamlet, Binh Thang Commune, Di An District, Binh Duong Province, the motorbike reeled, throwing both on the road.

Thao was run over by a truck and died immediately. After inspecting the scene, the police found two 3-centimeter nails in the motorbike’s rear tire.

The National Road 1A section from Dong Nai Bridge to Thu Duc District in HCMC has been known as a dangerous “nail trap.”

Last month, a young man was riding down Song Than Bridge when his tire exploded. He fell on the street and was also killed by a truck.

Witnesses at the scene suspected the nails. The police are still investigating.

Work begins on bauxite deposits in Lam Dong

Work to mine bauxite ore began at the Tan Rai mine in Bao Lam district, in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, on Mar. 16.

This was the first operation of the Lam Dong Bauxite-Alumina Complex, nearly four years after the project received approval.

The mining works, conducted by the Ha Tu Coal Joint Stock Company under the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin), will supply materials for aluminium processing at the complex, which is scheduled to start later this year.

Addressing the opening event, Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang said that the Lam Dong Bauxite-Alumina project is a key industrial project in the country and the largest for Vinacomin.

So far, all construction components of the complex have followed the schedule and quality standards, said the minister. He said the project’s major component - the aluminium processing plant - will become operational by the committed time.

The Minister assigned Vinacomin to closely coordinate with Lam Dong province to complete the project’s implementation and to promptly put the complex into stable production, following the Government’s plan.

According to Vinacomin, the complex still faces difficulties in electricity supply and human resource availability. However, the group pledged to try its best to put the aluminium processing plant into trial operation by the end of the year

Wedding car crashed, four injured

Four persons were injured when a truck and a wedding car crashed last Thursday on National Road 1A in Cai Tac Town, Chau Thanh A District in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang.

The four passengers in the wedding car – the driver, an elderly man, and the couple - were all injured.

The wedding car’s front was completely destroyed. The accident caused traffic jam for more than an hour.

According to Thai Vinh Thanh, the driver of a coach which was also hit in the crash, the truck was driving from Can Tho City to Cai Tac and crashed into the wedding car, which was coming from the opposite direction.

The wedding car changed its course and hit Thanh’s coach.

The police is further investigating.

Ex-Yale lab worker to admit to killing Annie Le

A former Yale University laboratory worker will plead guilty to killing 24-year-old graduate student Annie Le days before she was to be married, his lawyer said.

Raymond Clark will enter his plea tomorrow before Connecticut Superior Court Judge Roland Fasano in New Haven, Clark’s lawyer, Beth Merkin, said in a phone interview yesterday. Clark pleaded not guilty to murder and felony-murder charges in January last year.

“We anticipate a change of plea,” Merkin said yesterday. She declined to comment further, including whether Clark will plead to murder or a lesser charge.

Clark, 26, was arrested in September 2009 and is being held on $3 million bail. He’s accused of strangling Le, a pharmacology student, five days before her Sept. 13, 2009, wedding. Clark cleaned mouse cages in the Yale lab building where her body was found.

Le’s body was discovered hidden behind a wall in the basement of the Yale School of Medicine research lab at 10 Amistad Street in New Haven the day she was to be married. The Office of Connecticut’s Chief Medical Examiner said Le died of “traumatic asphyxiation due to neck compression.”

Le, a Vietnamese-American who was studying for her doctorate, was from Placerville, California, according to a September 2009 Yale University statement. She graduated from the University of Rochester, in New York, where she met her fiance, Jonathan Widawsky, the university said.

Clark was suspended from his job when he was arrested, Yale University President Richard Levin said in a 2009 statement.

Police hunt for slashers of female students

After many female students were attacked by men riding on a scooter who slashed them on their thighs or buttocks using a razor or a small knife, police in the southern province of Tay Ninh are trying to track down culprits.

In order to protect students, the Tay Ninh province Department of Education and Training yesterday dispatched an official letter to warn its units at towns and districts, and all local high schools about this new crime.

As of yesterday, at least seven female students have been identified as victims.

Of the victims, five are in Tay Ninh town and two others in Hoa Thanh district.

They were attacked either on the way to their schools or on the way home after class, the police said.

Four girl students of Tay Ninh High School were attacked, said school headmaster Quach Van Cho.

Many other local high schools, including Hoang Le Kha, Tran Dai Nghia and Chu Van An, have warned their students to be high alert.

Trial over Communist Party official death halted

The trial of two killers of the deputy head of the Communist Party Committee of Phu Nhuan District was halted after a lawyer refused to defend them both since they exposed conflicts at court.

The HCM City People’s Court yesterday decided to suspend the trial after finishing the questioning session during which Nguyen Trong Nhan, 31, and Luong Hoai Sang, 21, declared details that created a conflict in rights and interests between them

.

They have been charged with murder and robbery, for which they can face death penalties.

As previously planned, lawyer Pham Quoc Hung would defend both defendants at court, but in face of their conflictions, he said he opted to give advocacy to Nhan only.

It is against professional ethics and violates the procedural regulations to defend both defendants who have contradictory interests and rights, the lawyer from the HCM City Bar said.

In order to protect Sang’s defense right, the Court announced the suspension and said it would ask the Bar to designate a lawyer to defend Sang.

According to the indictment, Nhan and Sang stabbed Dang Thu Hong, 47, to death when she came to the house of Bui Ngo Thi My, 54, head of the District Department of Natural Resources and Environment on September 20 last year.

Before killing Hong, the two men attacked My with an electric baton, forcing her to reveal where she kept her money.

Nhan allegedly wanted to kill My who he claimed frequently reprimanded his wife and threatened to sack her.

They also battered My’s daughter, Tran Thu Huong into unconsciousness.

Half an hour after committing their crimes, they were arrested on the scene by the local police and militia.

School to provide free overseas study consulting

The International School of Business (ISB) under the Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics (UEH) in partnership with Studylink International will provide free consulting services for students who want to study abroad.

The two will supply necessary information regarding overseas study, such as the appropriate schools and majors, destination country, application for scholarships, and English study programs.

The University will also negotiate with its international partners to secure the best study programs, most favorable scholarship criteria and tuition fees for Vietnamese students.

ISB, established in January, is tasked with managing and coordinating UEH’s international cooperation programs.

It enrolls students for bachelor, master and doctor courses taught in English to meet the demand of local students who want to study abroad and foreign learners who choose to study in Vietnam.

StudyLink International provides free consulting services for Vietnamese students seeking assistance in overseas study. It represents more than 1,000 international education institutions in English speaking countries.

It is now officially recognized by the US Commercial Services (US), British Council (United Kingdom), Australian Trade Commission (Australia), and other international organizations.

Police rescue girl from kidnapping dad

At 4:00am this morning, police conducted a raid into Huong Diep guesthouse, Uong Bi district in the northern province of Quang Ninh to rescue a 12-year-old girl held hostage by her biological father.

Earlier, around 7:00pm the previous day, police in Ha Long city received a message from a local saying that 12-year-old Nguyen Mai Phuong has been kidnapped by some people for a ransom.

“They constantly threatened my family and demanded a ransom of VND150 million to be paid at an eatery in Hai Phong northern province in return for releasing her,” the family’s victim said.

The group of criminals include Nguyen Van Huan, 35 hailing from Dai An urban center, Tu Minh ward, Hai Duong city, who is also the victim’s birth father, Pham Huu Diem, 27, hailing from Hai Duong, Vu Thi Lan, 30, and Tran Van Tien, 23.

They are now under arrest and Phuong is safe back home.

According to initial testimony, due to big argument with his wife, Huan and his accomplices had colluded to kidnap Phuong for money.

Police are investigating.