Google dismisses worries about impact of eu privacy rules

U.S. District Judge Patrick Wyrick, an appointee of former Republican President Donald Trump in Oklahoma City, on Friday dismissed an indictment against a man charged in August with violating that ban, saying it infringed his right to bear arms under the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment. Wyrick said that while the government can protect the public from dangerous people possessing guns, it could not argue Jared Harrison's "mere status as a user of marijuana justifies stripping him of his fundamental right to possess a firearm." He said using marijuana was "not in and of itself a violent, forceful, or threatening act," and noted that Oklahoma is one of a number of states where the drug, still illegal under federal law, can be legally bought for medical uses. "The mere use of marijuana carries none of the characteristics that the Nation's history and tradition of firearms regulation supports," Wyrick wrote. Laura Deskin, a public defender representing Harrison, said the ruling … [Read more...] about Ban on marijuana users owning guns is unconstitutional, US judge rules

Bao Ngoc, a 21-year-old student in Hanoi, said he and his group of 20 friends had been loyal Zenly users for 3 years. But the 10-year-old app, which is owned by Snap, officially shut down on February 2. "The end of the app made our group disheartened, so we wanted to find a similar app to replace it," Ngoc said. Potential candidates include Whoo, BFF or iSharing, Ngoc said. Each of them have different functionalities, but all are similar to the now-defunct Zenly. However, the most popular location-tracking app in Vietnam at the moment is Whoo. Data from Google Trends revealed that the number of searches for the keyword "Whoo" has tripled since the end of January. Over the past week, Whoo has also ranked among the most downloaded apps on the App Store and Play Store. Whoo, developed by Japanese firm LinQ, was released on iOS in December last year, and then on Android in January. The app garnered over 100,000 downloads on the Play Store in just 10 days. Its interface and … [Read more...] about With Zenly gone, new location-tracking apps watch Vietnam

At the ceremony, Phuc, 69, said that as the prime minister during the 2016-2021 term, he was responsible for letting several officials, including two deputy prime ministers and three ministers, commit violations that caused severe consequences. "Being aware of my responsibility to the Party and the people, I summitted a request to resign from all positions and to retire. During the extraordinary meetings of the Central Party Committee and the National Assembly, I had raised this issue unequivocally and clearly," he said. "My family, my wife and children did not earn personal gains or commit corruption related to Viet A, and have never met Viet A director, and these have been clearly concluded by the Central Inspection Commission," Phuc said, referring to the test kit scandal of Viet A Technology Corporation that involved many government officials. On January 17, the Central Party Committee agreed to let Phuc stop serving as a member of the Politburo and the committee , … [Read more...] about Former president Nguyen Xuan Phuc formally hands over work

According to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA), under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), close to $1.7 billion worth of foreign capital poured into Vietnam last month. While this figure was down 19.8 per cent on-year, partly due to the timing of the Lunar New Year, January still saw positive signs. Some 153 new foreign-invested projects, valued at $1.2 billion, were granted licences, up 48.5 per cent in number and 3.1 times in value compared to the same period last year. “We can consider this a signal confirming the confidence of overseas financiers to expand their interests in Vietnam,” said Do Nhat Hoang, director of the FIA. This confidence is also reflected in the amount of new projects that were granted investment registration certificates or signed an MoU in the first month of the year. Bac Giang People’s Committee have granted several investment certificates and MoUs for a number of internationally funded projects with total registered capital of about … [Read more...] about Strong figures for FDI in January

Addressing the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Jakarta, Indonesia, Minister Bui Thanh Son said that initiatives in the region should come from the goodwill of cooperation, complementarity and reciprocity to ASEAN-led mechanisms, thus contributing to the common goal of peace, security, stability and development. Sharing common concerns about unpredictable regional and international fluctuations, the Vietnamese minister stressed that ASEAN needs to maintain solidarity, self-reliance and flexible adaptation, strengthen internal resources, and promote its centrality. He reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security and safety of navigation and aviation in the East Sea (South China Sea), emphasizing the necessity for the group to strengthen its principle stance, and uphold international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, towards a rules-based regional maritime order, and effectively protecting the legitimate interests of … [Read more...] about ASEAN should maintain balanced, harmonious approach to partners: FM Son

The signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on February 6, 1840. (Photo: nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/the-signing-of-the-treaty) Hanoi (VNA) - The ambassador of New Zealand to Vietnam, Tredene Dobson, has written an article on the occasion of New Zealand's Waitangi Day (February 6). The following is the full text of the article. "All countries are unique – they all have a thousand big and small things that make them special. And most countries have a national day where the people of that nation come together to celebrate those special attributes and qualities.  One of the things that makes Aotearoa New Zealand unique is that we don’t have a national day – not officially anyway. Not one day set down in law – different to all of the other public holidays – that carries the weighty title of ‘national day’. We do have ‘Waitangi Day’ though – a day so special and unique to our country that it is often regarded by international friends as our national day. Waitangi Day marks the … [Read more...] about Waitangi Day reflections on New Zealand – Vietnam Partnership

President Joe Biden said he had issued an order on Wednesday to take down the balloon, but the Pentagon had recommended waiting until it could be done over open water to safeguard civilians from debris crashing to Earth from thousands of feet (meters) above commercial air traffic. "They successfully took it down, and I want to compliment our aviators who did it," Biden said. Multiple fighter and refueling aircraft were involved in the mission, but only one -- an F-22 fighter jet from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia -- took the shot at 2:39 p.m. (1939 GMT), using a single AIM-9X supersonic, heat-seeking, air-to-air missile, a senior U.S. military official said. The balloon was shot down about six nautical miles off the U.S. coast, over relatively shallow water, potentially aiding efforts to recover elements of the Chinese surveillance equipment in the coming days, officials said. The shootdown came shortly after the U.S. government ordered a halt to flights in and out of … [Read more...] about US fighter jet shoots down suspected Chinese spy balloon with missile

The event was a turning point for the country, ending a crisis in orientations for national salvation and leadership of the patriotic movement of Vietnam in the early 20th century. The moment also became the starting point for the victory of Vietnamese revolution and the growth of the nation in the following periods. With sound policies, the CPV strongly inspired and revived aspirations for national liberation among the Vietnamese people. Only 15 years following the Party revolutionary path, Vietnam had made a great miracle – the success of the August Revolution in 1945, smashing the colonial-feudal rule, establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and bringing the nation into the era of independence and freedom. On September 2, 1945, at Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi, President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence, giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. A new era opened for the nation, the most glorious era in the national history – the Ho Chi Minh era. … [Read more...] about Communist Party of Vietnam – leader, companion of nation

Under the impact of a cold air mass from the east and the strong current in the upper westerly wind zone, the weather in the north will switch from dry to humid. In the next two weeks, the humidity in the air will stay at more than 80%, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting. The center said during the period, the average temperature in northern localities will rise 4-5 degrees Celsius to 18 degrees at night and 22-24 degrees during the day. The arrival of humidity in the region at this time of year is a normal phenomenon after the Lunar New Year holiday. This type of weather benefits the growth of crops but imposes disadvantages for daily life as it make it difficult to dry clothing, street surfaces will stay wet, and the fog could affect traffic visibility in the morning. American site Accuweather said Hanoi is likely to have fog and dizzling rain throughout February. It predicted the average temperature in the city would be between 18-21 … [Read more...] about Northern Vietnam to remain humid for the next two weeks

It will not be easy to keep inflation at 4.5% this year as targeted, economic expert Nguyen Bich Lam, former General Director of the General Statistics Office (GSO), has said. Inflationary pressure for Vietnam's economy in 2023 is "huge" and comes from many factors, he said in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA). People queue up at a petrol station in Hanoi. (Photo:VNA) The demand-pull and cost-push inflation will put pressure on the country's efforts to control inflation amid surging demand and strengthening of the US dollar which yields increased import prices. Demand for petrol and electricity – the two important commodities for production and consumption – will increase in 2023. The domestic electricity price has been kept unchanged for the past few years, while the price of coal and gas used in the production of electricity has increased, he said, noting that thermal and gas power account for a large proportion of the total generated electricity. … [Read more...] about Vietnam faces huge inflationary pressure in 2023: expert