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Pending Trump Indictments On State And Federal Levels

Posted byNguyen Ayi

Pending Trump Indictments On State And Federal Levels

By Joe Fotalattee

On Monday, the U.S. Senate’s January 6 committee urged the Justice Department to prosecute civilian Donald Trump for Obstruction of Justice, Inciting And Aiding An Insurrection, Conspiracy To Defraud The United States, And Conspiracy To Make False Statements.

Normally, at The Beat, we avoid repeating a criminal’s name or news outside Vietnam, but the complete lack of coverage in the local Vietnamese press highlights the misunderstanding of US politics on a local level. Therefore, we will share the details of four charges the former president could face from the justice department. 

These offenses relate to the former president’s actions during last year’s uprising in the U.S. and his attempts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

The Justice Department will now be the center of attention as it decides its approach to prosecution.

ASSISTING IN AN INVASION OR CAUSING ONE

The committee’s attempt to hold Trump responsible for the riot itself — for both his actions and inaction as well — is exemplified by the inclusion of this statute.

According to the law, Trump did not need to plan his uprising with his supporters. Instead, one could break the law by simply encouraging an uprising or offering support to those who are already taking part in it.

Following the attack on the Capitol, the House impeached Trump on a charge of incitement; however, the Senate later found him not guilty. He urged the crowd to “fight like hell” that day while also directing them to travel to the Capitol.

The committee notes that on January 6, Trump invited rioters to Washington. The committee documented some of the alleged rioters charged by the Justice Department have cited Trump’s tweets encouraging them to come as their inspiration.

The … Read more

EnvironmentNews
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Vietnam’s Plastics Problem

Posted byNguyen Ayi

By Joe Fotalattee

The recent release of a World Bank study is raising awareness of the severity of Vietnam’s plastics pollution. Findings would be obvious for those of us who can see millions of civilians sipping like toddlers from sippy cups while sitting inside cafes. Perhaps, you don’t need that single milk tea delivered across town cradled in plastic coverings. Vietnam needs to regulate the plastics industry, and businesses need to be more socially responsible and accountable. Takeout habits need to be curbed as Styrofoam food containers were among the top five items in waterway pollution. 

Here are some other key findings: 

  • Plastic waste was by far the most prevalent type of waste found in the field surveys, making up roughly 94 percent. 
  • The most common sources of plastic waste were waste from take-out food packaging (44 percent), waste from fisheries (33 percent), and waste from households (22 percent). 
  • Single-use plastic (SUP) items made up 72 percent (in number) of the total plastic waste found at riverbanks.
  • 71% of the coastal sites surveyed were classified as having extremely poor cleanliness according to the Clean Coast Index (CCI) measurement.

The World Bank study was carried out from July 2020 to April 2021 in response to a request from the Government of Vietnam. Its goal was to gain a deeper understanding of the various plastic waste types that leak into rivers and the ocean in Vietnam and to identify alternatives. 

The report covered three areas:

1- Field surveys on riverbanks and at coastal sites to assess the level of plastic pollution and the top 10 polluting items

2- Remote sensing and net trawl surveys to track plastic waste in waterways that flow into the ocean

3- Examining substitutes for Vietnam’s most polluting plastic products

CrimeNews
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Alleged Sex Trafficking Under Age Of 16

Posted byNguyen Ayi

By Joe Fotalatte

On December 21, the police of District 12 (HCMC) detained Pham Hoang Em, 34, Vu Van Tuan, 28, Vu Duc Hoang, 42, and Vu Hoang Tan, 18, to investigate acts of sex trafficking under the age of 16.

On December 12, the police of Dong Hung Thuan Ward, in coordination with District 12 police, checked the hotel owned by Le Thanh Doan and his wife Le Thi Hue.

The police questioned Tuan, Hoang, Tan, hotel staff, and 11 girls, which included a 14-year-old victim.

Tuan, Hoang, and Tan’s group managed and guarded the girls not letting them leave the hotel. They pick them up and dropped them off to prevent the girls from leaving, which constitutes the crime of kidnapping.

Through initial testimony, District 12 police quickly determined to arrest Hoang Em in Can Tho City.

Good News
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Doctors Create Free Medical Facility For Needy in Thu Duc

Posted byNguyen Ayi

Doctors Create Free Medical Facility For Needy in Thu Duc

by Joe Fotalattee

Vietnam News reports Dr. Lê Thanh Nga and her husband, Hunh Văn Huy, took four years and spent nearly half a million dollars building a medical facility and residence to serve underprivileged patients.

Nga, 44, formerly worked at Hospital 175 in HCM City, and her husband Huy, 47, is employed by Lê Văn Viet Hospital in Thu Duc.

Read the story here

Finance
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A Year In Review And Vietnam’s Economic Goals For 2023

Posted byNguyen Ayi

According to Vietnam News, Nguyen Văn Nên, secretary of the municipal Party’s Committee, stated at a recent meeting that the city will experience challenges in 2023 due to a global slowdown and lowered its growth target to 7.5-8% next year.
The city has set a goal of bringing in 4–5 million foreign visitors to earn five billion USD in revenue.

The city intends to maintain a 60% service-based economic structure with a labor growth of 7%. However, post-pandemic economic numbers look promising. The city’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) increased by 9.03% in 2022.

Exports from the city were worth $49 billion USD, and imports were worth $66 billion USD, both up 10%.

Tourism grossed over five billion USD. Three and a half million foreign visitors visited the city this year, a fraction of neighboring countries with welcoming visa policies. For example, Thailand received over 10 million visitors in 2022, generating 16 billion USD in tourism revenue.

Fortunately, Vietnamese were buying more than 36 billion USD in sales of goods and services, an increase of 30 percent from the previous year.

FinanceNews
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Vietnam to Speed Up Infrastructure Spending

Posted byNguyen Ayi

Vietnam to Speed Up Infrastructure Spending

by Joe Fotalattee

According to the HCM City People’s Committee chairman, Phan Văn Mi, the city will accelerate public spending to prevent delaying the development of public works and infrastructure.

Phan Văn Mi said the city has a target of disbursing 95% of approved public investment capital during a meeting on the city’s socio-economic goals for 2023.

Additionally, the city will prioritize enhancing public services, streamlining administrative reform, reducing inflation, and stabilizing the local economy. Major transportation projects will also move along more quickly.

Tech
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New VNG Data Center In District 7

Posted byNguyen Ayi

 

By Joe Fotalatte

VNG Corporation announced the opening of its new data center in District 7, a Tier 3 facility that is a carrier-neutral facility. Carrier-neutral connectivity provides more stability and flexibility by offering multiple providers. The data center will initially offer 410 racks and will be expanded to 1,600 racks.

Senior Director of VNG Gary McKinnon stated during the Opening Ceremony, “VNG’s Data Center will continue to build on our existing customer services while providing both local and global customers surety in meeting data residency, compliance, and security needs.”

A Tier 3 facility does not require a complete shutdown for maintenance or equipment replacement and can maintain operations in the event of a local or regional power outage. Tier 3 facilities provide 72 hours of backup power and an overall 99.982 percent up-time on an annual basis.

The company’s data center is now operational, offering its Vietnamese clients the best up-time infrastructure for all digital service platforms, safe data storage, and customized cloud solutions.

Additionally, VNG disclosed Up-time Tier III certification for the new data center’s design (TCDD) and hardware for data center installation (TCCF). There are currently only three data centers in Vietnam that meet this requirement. The VNG team earned international certificates in data center operations.

According to VNG’s press release, the opening of the VNG Data Center ensures flexible, secure, and dependable access to data storage for local and international clients in the private and public sectors, and leverages the data solutions to advance their business.