VN news (May 12)

[Dam Son <son@fermi.phys.washington.edu>]

May 12: Over 5,400 HIV/AIDS Cases Detected in Vietnam 
May 12: Peruvian president to visit Vietnam 
May 12: New Vietnamese ambassador stresses trade
May 12: Police tighten security outside heroin drug trial 


Over 5,400 HIV/AIDS Cases Detected in Vietnam

HANOI (Xinhua News) - Vietnam had detected 5,401 HIV/AIDS carriers in
50 of the total 61 provinces and cities nationwide by April 26,
Vietnam's National AIDS Committee said today.

About 760 cases have developed full-blown AIDS. almost all of the
hiv/aids are carriers drug addicts in the age between 20 and 49, said
the committee.
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Peruvian president to visit Vietnam 

HANOI (AFP) - Peru's President Alberto Fujimori is to visit Vietnam
from May 23-24, a source said Monday.

"This visit was announced at the end of last year, probably in
November during an Asian tour by the Peruvian president," the source
said.

Fujimori was invited to visit here by his Vietnamese counterpart Le
Duc Anh. The visit is aimed at improving bilateral economic
cooperation.
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New Vietnamese ambassador stresses trade 

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Vietnam's new ambassador to the United States said
Monday that his number one priority here would be to work towards a
trade accord with the United States.

"The trade agreement between the two countries should be the number
one," said Le Van Bang, who arrived here Friday when Douglas "Pete"
Peterson arrived in Hanoi to become Washington's first ambassador to
Vietnam.

Talks on a trade accord have been continuing for more than a year with
Hanoi seeking most favoured nation trading status, which would boost
Vietnamese exports to the United States by cutting tariffs.

"With the exchange of ambassadors, that means an important step in the
relations between the two countries," said Bang. "I think the
relations between the two countries will move along quicker than
before."

Bang acknowledged that Washington attached special importance to the
issue of soldiers missing in action (MIAs) during the Vietnam War and
never since accounted for, a problem he said he hoped "will be quickly
resolved."

He said the war had also bequeathed problems for Vietnam, notably war
invalids.

As relations develop, Bang said Vietnam's objective would be for
cooperation in science and technology, as well as cultural exchanges.
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Police tighten security outside heroin drug trial 

HANOI (AFP) - Police tightened security Monday outside the courthouse
where Vietnam's biggest heroin smuggling case began its ninth and
possibly final day.

Police with megaphones were out on the street in front of the Hanoi
People's Court to keep traffic moving and people off the sidewalks in
front of the French-built courthouse, which has been cordoned off
since the second day of the trial.

The security clampdown was prompted by the large numbers of curious
onlookers expected on what was officially scheduled to be the last day
of the trial in which 22 people stand accused.

However a non official source said the trial was expected to drag on
until Tuesday.

According to the Cong An Nhan Dan People's Police Newspaper, the
prosecution office on Saturday recommended the death penalty for eight
defendants, including the suspected ringleader and former Interior
Ministry Police Captain Vu Xuan Truong.

The defendants also include two women, Lai Thi Ngan and Ta Thi Hien,
who face the death penalty for their role in a drug syndicate believed
to have smuggled about 400 kilograms (880 pounds) of heroin into
Vietnam since 1992.

Truong's wife Nguyen Thi Lua and his younger brother Vu Thuong Kiet
are likely to receive life prison sentences.

Possession or trafficking of at least 100 grams, (3.5 ounces) of
heroin is punishable by death.

The case dates back to 1995 when two Laotians were arrested with 15
kilograms (33 pounds) of heroin. One of them, Sieng Pheng, earned a
last-minute reprieve from the firing squad in exchange for the names
of those involved in a massive drug-smuggling ring last June.

In all, 43 people have been arrested in connection with the case.
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