Top domestic news of the past week

1. Former Prime Minister Phan Văn Khải has passed away.

Former Prime Minister Phan Van Khai at the seminar on 40 years of Ho Chi Minh City's development and integration, March 17, 2015.

Former Prime Minister Phan Văn Khải was born on December 25, 1933; his hometown is Củ Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City.

As one of the senior leaders of the Party and State in the early stages of the Doi Moi (Renovation) and National Development process, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai was active and determined in building institutions in the spirit of reform, promoting the capabilities of all economic sectors, especially the private sector, while simultaneously opening up and integrating internationally.

During Prime Minister Phan Van Khai's nearly two terms, fundamental laws were enacted in the early stages of the reform and opening-up process.

The government under Prime Minister Phan Văn Khải was marked by the promulgation of the Enterprise Law, simultaneously abolishing hundreds of types of "parent licenses" and "sub-licenses"; and went through many arduous rounds of negotiations in the process of Vietnam's accession to the WTO...

Prime Minister Phan Văn Khải was awarded the Gold Star Order and the 55-Year Party Membership Badge (in 2014) by the Party and State in recognition of his contributions to the revolutionary cause.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern welcomed Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the New Zealand government building in Auckland.

On March 11th, the Prime MinisterThe Vietnamese government under Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his wife, along with a high-level Vietnamese delegation, paid an official visit to New Zealand from March 11 to 14; and an official visit to Australia and attended the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Sydney from March 14 to 18 at the invitation of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc's first official visit to New Zealand takes place amidst the increasingly positive development of friendly cooperation between Vietnam and New Zealand, aiming to further deepen the comprehensive partnership between the two countries, established in 2009.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc meets with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Canberra on March 15. Photo: AFP.

Immediately following his visit to New Zealand, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will pay an official visit to Australia and attend the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit.

As the first summit between the two sides held in Australia, the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit, themed "Enhancing Security and Prosperity in the Region," as proposed by Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, aimed to reaffirm Australia's commitment to strengthening its strategic partnership with ASEAN in a new phase.

3. Inspectors recommend initiating an investigation into the MobiFone acquisition of AVG.

The MobiFone project to acquire 95% of AVG has a total investment of 8,900 billion VND.

On the afternoon of March 14th, the Government Inspectorate announced the conclusions of a comprehensive inspection of the project in which MobiFone Telecommunications Corporation purchased 95% of the shares of Global Audio-Visual Joint Stock Company (AVG).

Accordingly, recognizing this as a very serious economic case, the Government Inspectorate recommended that the Prime Minister assign the competent investigative agency of the Ministry of Public Security to take over all inspection files and documents of the project for consideration, prosecution, and handling of the case in accordance with the law, ensuring that the right people are held accountable for the right violations.

The Government Inspectorate also forwarded its conclusions to the Central Disciplinary Committee for consideration and handling, within its authority, of officials under the management of the Politburo and the Central Secretariat who are involved in the shortcomings and violations mentioned in the inspection report.

4.The Central Disciplinary Committee is considering disciplinary action against leaders of several localities.

23rd Session of the Central Inspection Commission

Over two days (March 12-13), the Central Inspection Committee held its 23rd session in Hanoi. Comrade Tran Quoc Vuong, member of the Political Bureau and Chairman of the Central Inspection Committee, presided over the session.

At this meeting, the Central Inspection Committee (CIC) considered and concluded on the following main issues:

1. Regarding the results of the investigation into suspected violations by the Standing Committee of the Dong Nai Provincial Party Committee and its members during the 2015-2020 term. This includes: Mr. Nguyen Phu Cuong, Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council; Mr. Tran Van Tu, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Ms. Phan Thi My Thanh, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation; Mr. Dinh Quoc Thai, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Provincial People's Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

2. Consider and implement disciplinary action against Mr. Tran Quoc Cuong, Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Deputy Secretary of the Dak Lak Provincial Party Committee, former Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Political and Logistics Department (B41), General Department V, Ministry of Public Security.

3. Review the results of the monitoring of the Standing Committee of the Yen Bai Provincial Party Committee and some members of the Standing Committee of the Yen Bai Provincial Party Committee regarding their compliance with the Working Regulations of the Provincial Party Committee and Directive No. 33-CT/TW, dated January 3, 2014, of the Politburo on strengthening the Party's leadership over the declaration and control of asset and income declarations.

5. Former Director of the Cybercrime Prevention Police Department Arrested

In 2009, Mr. Hoa transferred from the Department of Economic Crime Investigation to become the Director of the Department of Police for Combating High-Tech Crimes. Photo: People's Police

On the evening of March 11th, the Ministry of Public Security announced that the Security Investigation Agency (Phu Tho Provincial Police) had initiated criminal proceedings against Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hoa (60 years old, Major General, former Director of the High-Tech Crime Prevention Police Department - C50, Ministry of Public Security) to investigate the crime of Organizing Gambling, under Clause 2, Article 249 of the 1999 Penal Code.

Also on March 11th, the President signed a decision to strip Mr. Hoa of his title as a People's Police officer.

Following the Phu Tho Provincial Police's initiation of legal proceedings for "using the Internet to commit acts of property appropriation, organizing gambling, gambling, illegal trading of invoices, and money laundering" occurring in Phu Tho and several other provinces and cities, Mr. Hoa was suspended from his position at the end of 2017.

6. Fire at an old villa in Da Lat leaves 5 dead.

The scene of the horrific fire in Da Lat that killed 5 people.

At approximately 7:30 PM on March 12th, many residents heard a loud explosion emanating from an old villa on Tran Hung Dao Street (Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province). A few minutes later, flames suddenly erupted, accompanied by screams.

At 9 PM, after the fire was extinguished, police discovered five bodies in the two burned houses. The victims included Mr. Nguyen Van Thang (42 years old), his wife, their two children (14 and 16 years old), and another man.

On the evening of March 15th, Major General Bui Van Son, Director of the Lam Dong Provincial Police, announced that DNA test results had identified the perpetrator who set fire to and murdered the entire family of Mr. Nguyen Thong Thang (45 years old, residing at 13 Tran Hung Dao Street, Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province) as Tran Van Quoc (49 years old, a neighbor of the victim's family).

Quoc was both the perpetrator and a victim of the fire. According to DNA test results, the fifth charred body found in the fire in Da Lat city (Lam Dong province) was Tran Van Quoc (49 years old), the suspect in the case.