Vietnamese couple seized for sex trafficking

Police in Ho Chi Minh City Friday arrested a couple for allegedly running a sex trafficking ring which sent seven Vietnamese women to Malaysia. Vo Thi Thanh Thuy, 29, was caught receiving money from the families of two of her victims in exchange for their freedom on Monday, police said. Her boyfriend, 29-year-old Ngo Trong Hieu, present at the time, was also arrested. According to police, they set up a sting operation following tip-offs from the families of two victims whose identities were not revealed, but have now returned to Vietnam. Initial reports claim that when working as a masseuse at the Star Robin Spa Hotel in Malaysia between March and September last year, Thuy entered into an agreement with the hotel’s owner to provide Vietnamese women to be sex workers...

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Posted in: Experimental Society,Society,Vietnam

North Korea airs 'birthday' documentary of new leader

North Korea has marked what is reported to be the birthday of its new leader, Kim Jong-un, with a documentary aired on state television.  Clips from the documentary showing North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un  The film shows him in his new role as supreme military commander - inspecting troops, saluting and sitting in a tank. It also confirms that he was being groomed for the role from 2009, showing footage of him from that time watching a rocket launch with his father. Kim Jong-un's age is not known but he is believed to be in his late 20s. The death of Kim Jong-il on 17 December left the threat of a dangerous vacuum in a society raised to venerate one supreme leader, the BBC's Lucy Williamson reports from Seoul. Less than a...

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Posted in: Asia,Korea,nuclear,Politics

Bomb explodes in Vietnamese police chief’s house, no one hurt

A suspected bomb explosion badly damaged the first floor of a senior police official's house in the northern province of Thai Nguyen on Saturday, but no one was hurt, according to local reports. At around 2 a.m., a huge sound coming from the house of Colonel Nguyen Nhu Tuan, director of Thai Nguyen Province Police Department, shook the residential area on Luong Ngoc Quyen Street in Thai Nguyen City. Reisdents rushed out of their houses and saw thick dust in the air. The front door and the first floor of Tuan’s house were totally damaged. All the glass windows of the house and that of a dozen nearby houses were broken. A computer store next to Tuan’s house also had its collapsing gate damaged. Tuan, his wife and two children were sleeping...

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Posted in: Asia,Society,Vietnam

Tuoi Tre initiates traditional Tet program

 Enjoy the festive atmosphere and celebrate your Tet with the following columns and contests: * Vietnamese Tet Spirit: presenting articles on Vietnamese customs, countryside festivities, and the homesickness of overseas Vietnamese during Tet. * Tet Manual: providing Tet food recipes, house decoration techniques, and fashion and beauty care tips. * Vietnamese Talent: publishing stories about Vietnamese people and local handicraft villages. * Spring Journeys: reporting on places of interest the world over * Green Tet: featuring stories of environmental protection and eco-friendly Tet celebrations * Six online competitions with many attractive prizes:  The logo of Eximbank, or the Vietnam Export Import Bank which...

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Posted in: Experimental Society,Society,Tet,Vietnam

Malaysia court finds Anwar Ibrahim not guilty of sodomy

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been acquitted of sodomy after a two-year trial.  Anwar Ibrahim said justice had been served by the court in Kuala Lumpur  Judge Zabidin Mohamad Diah said DNA evidence submitted by the prosecution was unreliable and discharged the case. Mr Anwar, 64, has consistently denied the charges and called them a government bid to cripple his political ambitions and influence. The government said the verdict showed Malaysia's judiciary was free from government influence. Sodomy is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia but, says the BBC's Jennifer Pak in Kuala Lumpur, very few people are ever prosecuted. Mr Anwar had been accused of having sex with a former male aide. He had faced up to 20 years...

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Posted in: Asia,Politics,Society

Anti-corruption journalist Hoang Khuong arrested

Journalist Hoang Khuong smiled while police were searching his house Police in Ho Chi Minh City Monday noon arrested Tuoi Tre newspaper’s journalist Hoang Khuong on charges he indirectly gave bribes to a police officer. Mr. Khuong is a prize-winning journalist famous for exposé articles into police corruption. The receiver of the bribe is Huynh Minh Duc, former traffic officer in Binh Thanh District who had been arrested earlier. The police also searched Mr. Khuong’s house and work office. Traffic police officer Huynh Minh Duc captured receiving bribes. This photo was shot by  journalist Hoang Khuong Mr. Khuong will be detained for four months pending investigation According to the police,...

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Posted in: Society,Vietnam

William Hague: Burma to free more 'political prisoners'

Burma has vowed to free more political prisoners, William Hague said after meeting his counterpart during the first visit to Burma by a UK foreign secretary for 55 years. Wunna Maung Lwi also promised that changes in Burma were "irreversible". But he later did not use the word political when referring to prisoners. William Hague is the first British foreign secretary to visit Burma since 1955 Mr Hague's visit is the latest by top world diplomats after Burma's first elections in 20 years which brought in a nominally civilian government. Since then the new administration has freed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and begun a process of dialogue. Last month she formally registered her National...

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Posted in: Asia,Politics

Top China airlines to ignore EU carbon tax, body says

China is one of the world's fastest growing airline markets China's biggest airlines will not pay a new European Union tax aimed at cutting carbon emissions, their trade body has said. On 1 January, the EU brought airlines under its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which levies a charge on flights based on their carbon emissions. The tax has been criticised by China, India, the US and Canada. Chai Haibo of the China Air Transport Association said that its members would not cooperate with the ETS. The China Air Transport Association (CATA) represents companies including Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Hainan Airlines. Airlines which do not comply with the new EU tax can be fined and even prohibited from...

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Posted in: Business,China,European