Chapter v responsibilities rights and privileges of cooperative

China Railway Sixth Group Co Ltd. has done well in constructing the line, but it lacks experience in putting the line into commercial operation, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The said at a National Assembly session Wednesday. The contractor was appointed by China according to the terms of a loan agreement beween the two countries, he added. The project can only operate after the Chinese contractor finishes the remaining construction and receives safety certificates for the whole system, he said. In order to evaluate the project safety, the Ministry of Transport has hired a number of foreign consultants, led by a French company. "They can only guarantee the project’s safety if the Chinese contractor provides all the data correctly," the minister said. For these reasons, delays in the commercial operation of Hanoi’s first metro line will likely continue, The said without giving a specific date for the opening. Hanoi’s first metro line is one of five metro projects in … [Read more...] about Inexperienced Chinese contractor responsible for Hanoi metro delays

U.S.-based Human Rights Watch drew on interviews with more than 50 North Korean escapees to chronicle gruesome details of rape and other abuses perpetrated by security officers such as border guards, but also civilian officials. The nuclear-armed North, which is accused of widespread rights abuses by the United Nations and other critics, is a deeply hierarchical and patriarchal society where traditional values of deference to authority still hold sway. But the vast majority of both defectors and market traders in the North are female. Many women have more freedom of movement than men as they are not assigned a state job from which their absence will be noticed. North Korean women caught fleeing the country to China or who are repatriated from its neighbour face severe punishment including torture, imprisonment and sexual abuse, the report said. "Every night some woman would be forced to leave with a guard and be raped," said one abuse victim in her 30s who was once held at a border … [Read more...] about N Korean women face rampant sexual abuse by officials: HRW

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the event (Photo: VNA)   Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on December 9 lauded the Defence Ministry’s performance through the year in giving strategic advice to the Party and State in military-related issues, as well as effectively dealing with different circumstances. Addressing a political-military conference in Hanoi to review the implementation of military-defence tasks for 2019 and set orientations for 2020, the leader also said that through dealing with developments, especially those in the East Sea earlier this year, the military has shown responsibility and sensitiveness in evaluating the situation, giving timely reports and consultations on responding measures, thus safeguarding the national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and creating peaceful and stable environment for national development. Regarding tasks for 2020, the Government leader noted that the world situation may see complicated developments … [Read more...] about PM lauds Defence Ministry’s performance in 2019

The U.S. was Vietnam’s largest export market in the first five months with a value of $22.6 billion, up 28 percent year-on-year. China came second with $13.4 billion, down 2.6 percent, according to Vietnam's General Statistics Office.  Vietnam was the U.S.’s 12th largest supplier last year, but if this pace of growth is sustained for a full year, it could leapfrog Italy, France, the U.K., and India in the ranks of top exporters to the U.S, Bloomberg said in a new report. The country has become a standout in a region where the world’s export engines are largely hurting amid trade-war tensions and a slowing electronics cycle, the report added. U.S. Census Bureau data shows Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan all saw export contractions in April, while in the same month Vietnam’s exports gained 7.5 percent from a year earlier.  Experts have called Vietnam a "winner" of the trade war as it has received increasing investment as major … [Read more...] about Vietnam exports to US rise 28 pct as China-US trade war intensifies

Women in Tokyo are most in favour of having single-sex carriages on public transport, according to a poll in five of the world's biggest commuter cities released on Thursday, despite such policies face growing criticism. A Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of 1,000 female travellers in Tokyo, London, New York City, Cairo and Mexico City found less than half were in favour of women-only sections on trains and buses to boost safety. But nearly 70 percent of women in Tokyo backed single sex carriages that were introduced into the city in 2000 to combat a phenomenon commonly known as "chikan", or groping, on trains. More than half of women in the Japanese capital said safety was their top transport concern but seven in 10 were confident they could now travel without sexual harassment or violence. Women in Cairo and Mexico City also said safety was their biggest concern about using public and private transport and 60 percent and 55 percent respectively said women-only sections on trains and … [Read more...] about Women in Tokyo strongly back single sex transport amid security fears