Hailstorm, unseasonal rain hit [Vietnam] north-central, southern regions

A hailstorm on Sunday blew off the tin sheet roofing from several houses in Thach Ha District in the north-central province of Ha Tinh

Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Thanh Nien News (Hanoi)

A hailstorm on Sunday damaged power lines and blew away the roofs of hundreds of houses in the north-central provinces of Ha Tinh and Nghe An.
In Ha Tinh Province, two people were injured; and 687 houses and three schools in the districts of Thach Ha, Cam Xuyen and Ky Anh lost their roofs.

About 28 kilometers of power lines were devastated in Thach Ha District.

The hailstorm destroyed 90 hectares of rice paddies and 35 hectares of crops in the province, inflicting damages estimated at more than VND2.5 billion (US$141,000).

In Nghe An Province, nearly 200 houses were unroofed in Thanh Duc and Thanh Nho communes in Thanh Chuong District and Cao Son Commune in Anh Son District.

Dozens of electricity poles in these districts were broken, and hundreds of hectares of rice paddies and crops suffered serious damage.

The unpredictable weather Monday caused unseasonal rains in the south and is forecast to do the same today.

Le Thi Xuan Lan, an official of the weather bureau for the southern region, said Monday’s rains in Ho Chi Minh City and the provinces of Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Ca Mau and Kien Giang came from convection clouds that had been formed by hot weather in the area.

She said the phenomenon will spread to more areas in the south tomorrow, including HCMC and the provinces of Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai and Tay Ninh; the coastal provinces and partially on areas bordering Cambodia.

The center also warned of possible storms and lightning in the coming days.

However, temperatures are expected to increase slightly in the south, with southeastern provinces expected to experience a peak of 37 degrees Celsius.

Reported by Mai Vong – Khanh Hoan

Hailstorm, unseasonal rain hit [Vietnam] north-central, southern regions

A hailstorm on Sunday blew off the tin sheet roofing from several houses in Thach Ha District in the north-central province of Ha Tinh

Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Thanh Nien News (Hanoi)

A hailstorm on Sunday damaged power lines and blew away the roofs of hundreds of houses in the north-central provinces of Ha Tinh and Nghe An.
In Ha Tinh Province, two people were injured; and 687 houses and three schools in the districts of Thach Ha, Cam Xuyen and Ky Anh lost their roofs.

About 28 kilometers of power lines were devastated in Thach Ha District.

The hailstorm destroyed 90 hectares of rice paddies and 35 hectares of crops in the province, inflicting damages estimated at more than VND2.5 billion (US$141,000).

In Nghe An Province, nearly 200 houses were unroofed in Thanh Duc and Thanh Nho communes in Thanh Chuong District and Cao Son Commune in Anh Son District.

Dozens of electricity poles in these districts were broken, and hundreds of hectares of rice paddies and crops suffered serious damage.

The unpredictable weather Monday caused unseasonal rains in the south and is forecast to do the same today.

Le Thi Xuan Lan, an official of the weather bureau for the southern region, said Monday’s rains in Ho Chi Minh City and the provinces of Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Ca Mau and Kien Giang came from convection clouds that had been formed by hot weather in the area.

She said the phenomenon will spread to more areas in the south tomorrow, including HCMC and the provinces of Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai and Tay Ninh; the coastal provinces and partially on areas bordering Cambodia.

The center also warned of possible storms and lightning in the coming days.

However, temperatures are expected to increase slightly in the south, with southeastern provinces expected to experience a peak of 37 degrees Celsius.

Reported by Mai Vong – Khanh Hoan

Hailstorm, unseasonal rain hit [Vietnam] north-central, southern regions

A hailstorm on Sunday blew off the tin sheet roofing from several houses in Thach Ha District in the north-central province of Ha Tinh

Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Thanh Nien News (Hanoi)

A hailstorm on Sunday damaged power lines and blew away the roofs of hundreds of houses in the north-central provinces of Ha Tinh and Nghe An.
In Ha Tinh Province, two people were injured; and 687 houses and three schools in the districts of Thach Ha, Cam Xuyen and Ky Anh lost their roofs.

About 28 kilometers of power lines were devastated in Thach Ha District.

The hailstorm destroyed 90 hectares of rice paddies and 35 hectares of crops in the province, inflicting damages estimated at more than VND2.5 billion (US$141,000).

In Nghe An Province, nearly 200 houses were unroofed in Thanh Duc and Thanh Nho communes in Thanh Chuong District and Cao Son Commune in Anh Son District.

Dozens of electricity poles in these districts were broken, and hundreds of hectares of rice paddies and crops suffered serious damage.

The unpredictable weather Monday caused unseasonal rains in the south and is forecast to do the same today.

Le Thi Xuan Lan, an official of the weather bureau for the southern region, said Monday’s rains in Ho Chi Minh City and the provinces of Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Ca Mau and Kien Giang came from convection clouds that had been formed by hot weather in the area.

She said the phenomenon will spread to more areas in the south tomorrow, including HCMC and the provinces of Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai and Tay Ninh; the coastal provinces and partially on areas bordering Cambodia.

The center also warned of possible storms and lightning in the coming days.

However, temperatures are expected to increase slightly in the south, with southeastern provinces expected to experience a peak of 37 degrees Celsius.

Reported by Mai Vong – Khanh Hoan

Hailstorm, unseasonal rain hit [Vietnam] north-central, southern regions

A hailstorm on Sunday blew off the tin sheet roofing from several houses in Thach Ha District in the north-central province of Ha Tinh

Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Thanh Nien News (Hanoi)

A hailstorm on Sunday damaged power lines and blew away the roofs of hundreds of houses in the north-central provinces of Ha Tinh and Nghe An.
In Ha Tinh Province, two people were injured; and 687 houses and three schools in the districts of Thach Ha, Cam Xuyen and Ky Anh lost their roofs.

About 28 kilometers of power lines were devastated in Thach Ha District.

The hailstorm destroyed 90 hectares of rice paddies and 35 hectares of crops in the province, inflicting damages estimated at more than VND2.5 billion (US$141,000).

In Nghe An Province, nearly 200 houses were unroofed in Thanh Duc and Thanh Nho communes in Thanh Chuong District and Cao Son Commune in Anh Son District.

Dozens of electricity poles in these districts were broken, and hundreds of hectares of rice paddies and crops suffered serious damage.

The unpredictable weather Monday caused unseasonal rains in the south and is forecast to do the same today.

Le Thi Xuan Lan, an official of the weather bureau for the southern region, said Monday’s rains in Ho Chi Minh City and the provinces of Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Ca Mau and Kien Giang came from convection clouds that had been formed by hot weather in the area.

She said the phenomenon will spread to more areas in the south tomorrow, including HCMC and the provinces of Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai and Tay Ninh; the coastal provinces and partially on areas bordering Cambodia.

The center also warned of possible storms and lightning in the coming days.

However, temperatures are expected to increase slightly in the south, with southeastern provinces expected to experience a peak of 37 degrees Celsius.

Reported by Mai Vong – Khanh Hoan

“Duch must not be sentenced”: Kar Savuth, Duch’s lawyer

Kar Savuth (Photo: ALG, Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

30 March 2009
By Ky Soklim and Adrien le Gal
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the article in French

According to the Cambodian defense lawyer of the former S-21 boss whose trial is opening on Monday 20 March, it is “impossible” that a sentence could be handed down to his client.

Cambodge Soir Hebdo: How is your client feeling?

Kar Savuth: When his trial started, Duch was very happy and he was not worried at all. He knows that if the tribunal is fair, he will be freed because he is not part of the high-ranking KR officials who should be the only ones to be tried by the KR Tribunal (KRT).Is there still an uncertainty on the sentence that will be handed over to him?

It is possible that there will be sentence. It’s the law. Duch should not be in jail. He did not want to be the chief [of S-21], he wanted to do something else, but he was not allowed to. He told me clearly that he never wanted to be in charge of this place where people were being killed. Who wants to kill human beings? No one! But, what could he do? If he refused to obey the orders, he would have been killed also.

The civil parties want to re-open the investigation to determine if Duch was involved in forced marriages…

It’s too late, the investigations are closed. In any case, forced marriages were done everywhere under the KR regime. They should not accuse Duch who is only obeying his bosses.

You fought so that Duch is not charged with “participation in joint criminal enterprise”…

This charge is not right. In any case, there were 196 jails in the country. It is unfair to accuse Duch. In his center, 12,381 people died, whereas in other jails, more than 150,000 died… We seek justice. Duch is a scapegoat, others who killed are still roaming free.

You were Hun Sen’s lawyer… How do you get along with François Roux who, in France, defends civil disobedience followers?

François Roux and I, we have the same strategy. But, it is wrong to say that I defend only people close to power. I am interested in important affairs, and I defended the KR since 1982. Duch must have heard about me, and that’s why he chose me. The other people charged were also interested [in me], but we can only defend one of the accused.

As Cambodian, do you consider yourself a victim of the KR regime?

Yes, I am victim. But, I don’t have a grudge against Duch, nor the other four who were charged. I am not angry against the minor officials, I am angry against those who issued orders, i.e. Pol Pot. The others were only following orders.

“Duch must not be sentenced”: Kar Savuth, Duch’s lawyer

Kar Savuth (Photo: ALG, Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

30 March 2009
By Ky Soklim and Adrien le Gal
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the article in French

According to the Cambodian defense lawyer of the former S-21 boss whose trial is opening on Monday 20 March, it is “impossible” that a sentence could be handed down to his client.

Cambodge Soir Hebdo: How is your client feeling?

Kar Savuth: When his trial started, Duch was very happy and he was not worried at all. He knows that if the tribunal is fair, he will be freed because he is not part of the high-ranking KR officials who should be the only ones to be tried by the KR Tribunal (KRT).Is there still an uncertainty on the sentence that will be handed over to him?

It is possible that there will be sentence. It’s the law. Duch should not be in jail. He did not want to be the chief [of S-21], he wanted to do something else, but he was not allowed to. He told me clearly that he never wanted to be in charge of this place where people were being killed. Who wants to kill human beings? No one! But, what could he do? If he refused to obey the orders, he would have been killed also.

The civil parties want to re-open the investigation to determine if Duch was involved in forced marriages…

It’s too late, the investigations are closed. In any case, forced marriages were done everywhere under the KR regime. They should not accuse Duch who is only obeying his bosses.

You fought so that Duch is not charged with “participation in joint criminal enterprise”…

This charge is not right. In any case, there were 196 jails in the country. It is unfair to accuse Duch. In his center, 12,381 people died, whereas in other jails, more than 150,000 died… We seek justice. Duch is a scapegoat, others who killed are still roaming free.

You were Hun Sen’s lawyer… How do you get along with François Roux who, in France, defends civil disobedience followers?

François Roux and I, we have the same strategy. But, it is wrong to say that I defend only people close to power. I am interested in important affairs, and I defended the KR since 1982. Duch must have heard about me, and that’s why he chose me. The other people charged were also interested [in me], but we can only defend one of the accused.

As Cambodian, do you consider yourself a victim of the KR regime?

Yes, I am victim. But, I don’t have a grudge against Duch, nor the other four who were charged. I am not angry against the minor officials, I am angry against those who issued orders, i.e. Pol Pot. The others were only following orders.

“Duch must not be sentenced”: Kar Savuth, Duch’s lawyer

Kar Savuth (Photo: ALG, Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

30 March 2009
By Ky Soklim and Adrien le Gal
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the article in French

According to the Cambodian defense lawyer of the former S-21 boss whose trial is opening on Monday 20 March, it is “impossible” that a sentence could be handed down to his client.

Cambodge Soir Hebdo: How is your client feeling?

Kar Savuth: When his trial started, Duch was very happy and he was not worried at all. He knows that if the tribunal is fair, he will be freed because he is not part of the high-ranking KR officials who should be the only ones to be tried by the KR Tribunal (KRT).Is there still an uncertainty on the sentence that will be handed over to him?

It is possible that there will be sentence. It’s the law. Duch should not be in jail. He did not want to be the chief [of S-21], he wanted to do something else, but he was not allowed to. He told me clearly that he never wanted to be in charge of this place where people were being killed. Who wants to kill human beings? No one! But, what could he do? If he refused to obey the orders, he would have been killed also.

The civil parties want to re-open the investigation to determine if Duch was involved in forced marriages…

It’s too late, the investigations are closed. In any case, forced marriages were done everywhere under the KR regime. They should not accuse Duch who is only obeying his bosses.

You fought so that Duch is not charged with “participation in joint criminal enterprise”…

This charge is not right. In any case, there were 196 jails in the country. It is unfair to accuse Duch. In his center, 12,381 people died, whereas in other jails, more than 150,000 died… We seek justice. Duch is a scapegoat, others who killed are still roaming free.

You were Hun Sen’s lawyer… How do you get along with François Roux who, in France, defends civil disobedience followers?

François Roux and I, we have the same strategy. But, it is wrong to say that I defend only people close to power. I am interested in important affairs, and I defended the KR since 1982. Duch must have heard about me, and that’s why he chose me. The other people charged were also interested [in me], but we can only defend one of the accused.

As Cambodian, do you consider yourself a victim of the KR regime?

Yes, I am victim. But, I don’t have a grudge against Duch, nor the other four who were charged. I am not angry against the minor officials, I am angry against those who issued orders, i.e. Pol Pot. The others were only following orders.