Brazilian police stopped three U.S. Olympic swimmers from boarding a flight home on Wednesday to question them about inconsistencies in their accounts of being robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro, police sources said. Federal police also want to question gold medalist Ryan Locke, but he had already returned to the United States. A Brazilian judge ordered police on Wednesday to seize the passports of Lochte and fellow gold medalist James Feigen so they could be questioned over their description of the robbery, which took place in the early hours of Sunday morning and also involved team mates Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger. Lochte, 32, one of swimming's most decorated Olympians, had flown home already on Monday, a police spokesman said. The other three men were stopped by police at Rio's international airport on Wednesday evening, one police source said. A spokesman for the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) confirmed that Bentz and Conger were pulled from their flight. "We can confirm that … [Read more...] about Brazil police pull U.S. swimmers from flight in robbery probe
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lionaire investors turn bearish as U.S. stocks hit record highs
Several big-name hedge fund investors soured on U.S. stocks in the second quarter and moved to gold and other bearish bets, failing to anticipate the stock market rally in the current quarter. Noting the recent run-up in the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index to fresh record highs while economic growth remains weak and corporate earnings are stagnant - George Soros, Jeffrey Gundlach, Carl Icahn and David Tepper were among billionaire hedge fund investors and money managers who slashed their long equity positions in the second quarter, according to regulatory filings. All three major U.S. stock indexes ended at all-time highs on Monday, extending their record-setting climb of the past few weeks. The trailing price to earnings ratio of the S&P 500 is now at 20, a level at the high end of its historical range. Gundlach, who oversees more than $100 billion at DoubleLine Capital, told Reuters last month, "The artist Christopher Wool has a word painting, 'Sell the house, sell the … [Read more...] about lionaire investors turn bearish as U.S. stocks hit record highs
Vietnamese entertainer pleads guilty to child molesting in U.S.
Minh Beo will be sentenced in December to 18 months in prison. Popular Vietnamese actor and comedian Hong Quang Minh, who goes by the stage name Minh Beo or Fat Minh, pleaded guilty on Wednesday at a court in California to child molesting charges. Minh was arrested on March 24 on charges of having oral sex with a 16-year-old boy and attempting to commit a lewd act upon a child under 14 years old. The second charge against Minh came from a meeting he had tried to arranged with a police officer who was acting as a 13-year-old boy. He has been held at Theo Lacy Jail in Orange County since March. During the 15-minute trial yesterday, Minh pleaded guilty to having sex with a 16-year-old boy and attempting to commit a sexual assault on a boy under 14 years old. He will be sentenced to 18 months in state prison in December and must register as a sex offender for life, said Orange County prosecutors. Entertainment firm boss Dung Taylor and reporter Ngoc Lan who were present at the trial … [Read more...] about Vietnamese entertainer pleads guilty to child molesting in U.S.
Vietnamese mangoes to enter U.S. market
Mangoes will be the sixth Vietnamese fruit to gain access to the world’s biggest economy The U.S. Department of Agriculture has recently published proposed rules for imports of fresh mangoes from Vietnam and asked for U.S citizens to contribute their comments. This move is likely to lead to mangoes becoming the sixth fruit Vietnam exports to the U.S. market after dragon fruit, rambutan, lychee, longan and star apple. Experts said that Vietnam will be able to export about 3,000 tons of fresh mangoes to the U.S. each year, equivalent to one percent of U.S. import volume and its total domestic output. However, fresh mangoes from Vietnam will be subject to regulations that would include orchard requirements, irradiation treatment and port of entry inspection. The fruit would also be required to be imported in commercial consignments and accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by Vietnam’s Plant Protection Department. Each year, the U.S. imports about 400,000 … [Read more...] about Vietnamese mangoes to enter U.S. market
Starwood signs first U.S.-Cuba hotel deal since 1959 revolution
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (HOT.N) on Saturday became the first U.S. hotel company to sign a deal with Cuba since the 1959 revolution, announcing a multimillion-dollar investment a day before U.S. President Barack Obama was due to visit Havana. Starwood will manage and market two properties in Havana and signed a letter of intent to operate a third. Such deals would normally be prohibited under the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba, but Starwood received special permission from the U.S. Treasury Department last week. Jorge Giannattasio, chief of Latin American operations, said the deals included a “multimillion-dollar investment to bring the hotels up to our standards,” making Starwood the first U.S. company to commit major money to Cuba since Fidel Castro and his bearded rebels overthrew a pro-American government on Jan. 1, 1959. Castro quickly nationalized the tourism industry and made the Habana Hilton the new government headquarters for months. Cuba’s … [Read more...] about Starwood signs first U.S.-Cuba hotel deal since 1959 revolution
On Anniversary of Normalization: Leaders Create New Images of U.S.-Vietnam Relations
On Anniversary of Normalization: Leaders Create New Images of U.S.-Vietnam Relations Vietnam, for Americans, is a series of images. The change in the relationship between the two erstwhile battlefield enemies is closely linked to the change in these images – a fascinating, yet laborious process of adapting mentally to the discovery that what one once believed about the other is no longer true. Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) described his mental voyage at an Asia Society event last month. He described three images of Vietnam, all surrounding a girl in an ao dai, the tight-fitting, national dress. First, she bikes to school on a rusty bicycle, with a cheap ballpoint pen and schoolbook, wearing a cheap polyester dress. In the next picture, she rides a motorbike, heading for English classes, which, she knows, will give her a heads-up in the emerging market economy that begins to engulf Vietnam. In the last mental picture, he sees a young woman, her ao dai expensive silk, with a laptop … [Read more...] about On Anniversary of Normalization: Leaders Create New Images of U.S.-Vietnam Relations
U.S Grammy-winning group to perform in Vietnam
Hard work, persistence and maybe a little bit of luck have paid off for Pasadena's 22-member Southwest Chamber Music, which in March will embark on the largest-ever cultural exchange between the United States and Vietnam. Members of Pasadena's Southwest Chamber Music are getting ready for the upcoming Ascending Dragon Music Festival and Cultural Exchange in Vietnam, coinciding with the 1,000th anniversary of the founding of Hanoi. The group was was one of just three nationwide to receive a State Department grant for cultural exchange programs (Courtesy Photo) In its third attempt, the Grammy-winning group was awarded a highly competitive $300,000 U.S. State Department grant for its six-week Ascending Dragon Music Festival and Cultural Exchange. For three weeks in March, 19 members of Southwest Chamber Music will travel to Vietnam, while 19 Vietnamese will come to Pasadena for three weeks in April and May. "It's a big deal," Artistic Director Jeff von der Schmidt said. "Playing in … [Read more...] about U.S Grammy-winning group to perform in Vietnam
U.S. cruise ship arrives in Sai Gon
U.S. luxury cruise ship Azamara Journey with 750 tourists and crewmembers on board arrived at Sai Gon Port on Monday to start a six-day exploration of Viet Nam. Doan Thi Thanh Tra, marketing and public relations manager of Saigontourist Travel Service Company, reported strong growth in international arrivals on cruise ships handled by her enterprise this year. Under an agreement with Malaysia’s Star Cruises alone, Saigontourist from October to March next year would serve 58 trips of the cruise ship SuperStar Gemini carrying more than 70,000 tourists and crewmembers. The ship mainly carries Chinese visitors on the scheduled routes Sanya-Danang, Sanya-Halong and Sanya-Halong-Danang. Currently Saigontourist is serving visitors from international cruise lines such as Costa Crociere S.p.A, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, Phoenix Cruises, Saga Shipping, Orion Expeditions Cruise and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. The firm has welcomed over 170,000 international visitors on cruise ships this … [Read more...] about U.S. cruise ship arrives in Sai Gon
A strategic opportunity to advance U.S.-Vietnam relations
This week, the United States and Vietnam will open a new chapter in our history as General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong travels to Washington, the first visit by Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary to the U.S. since our two nations established relations 20 years ago. This year, we are hard at work on one of our most ambitious and important efforts yet: the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation trade deal that, if achieved, will establish high standards on labor, intellectual property, and the environment. It will unlock vast new markets, promote investment, encourage innovation, and support higher-paying jobs. It will level the playing field between state-owned enterprises and private companies. And it will have strong, enforceable provisions that uphold the rights of workers, prohibit forced labor, and protect our forests and oceans. But this trade agreement is about more than economic dividends. It is a strategic opportunity for the entire region - an unprecedented chance … [Read more...] about A strategic opportunity to advance U.S.-Vietnam relations
U.S student group travel to Vietnam to provide basic health care, promote education
Pierced in Steven Pham’s mind is the surreal sight of a physically disabled caretaker who drags herself around with her hands. The woman, in spite of her disability, cares for a two-week-old Vietnamese orphan who was abandoned by impoverished parents who couldn’t feed him. Dressed in girls’ clothing, the infant boy and his circumstances enveloped Pham with anguish. “You look at this child – he was sleeping, this woman next to him. You think, that’s going to be his family, that’s what he’s going to know,” said Pham, a second-year biochemistry student who traveled to Vietnam for the first time last summer with a medical outreach student group. Pham, a pre-medical student, has already acknowledged that American medical professionals can only do so much to heal the grief of a desperate Vietnam. But the thought of Vietnamese orphans who are unable to reach their full potential continues to kindle Pham’s passion to serve the … [Read more...] about U.S student group travel to Vietnam to provide basic health care, promote education