Vivian on three-day visit to Vietnam

Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan will arrive in Hanoi today for a three-day introductory visit to Vietnam.

He will meet Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh, who is also the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Dr Balakrishnan and Mr Minh will sign a renewed agreement that will facilitate the participation of senior Communist Party of Vietnam officials in study visits and executive education programmes in Singapore.

Dr Balakrishnan will also meet other senior officials and attend a reception for the Singaporean community in Hanoi. The minister will be accompanied by his wife.

S. Korea's Park seeks constitutional reform

SEOUL • South Korean President Park Geun Hye yesterday called for constitutional reform that could allow future presidents to serve two terms to pave the way for a more stable implementation of long-term policy. The presidential office stressed that there was no possibility of Ms Park herself running for a second term.

REUTERS

Hanoi hunts escaped drug addicts

HANOI • Vietnamese police hunted yesterday for hundreds of drug addicts who escaped from a compulsory rehabilitation centre, with some using sticks and fire extinguishers to break out.

The Communist government decrees up to two years of forced rehabilitation for addicts. Rights groups have denounced poor conditions at the facilities and mass escapes occur periodically.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE