Ben Tre reports seven swine flu cases

Seven students from Giao Thach Primary School in the southern province of Ben Tre were hospitalized this week with swine flu, said the province’s Department of Health.

These are the first swine flu patients to be recorded in the province in this year.

The local health authorities reported another 200 students of Giao Thach School fell mildly will with flu like symptoms.

Vietnam has recorded 96 cases of influenza A/H1N1 infection, including one death, since the beginning of this year.

Hanoi recorded 67 cases, according to the agency announcement. In addition to afflicting individuals in Ho Chi Minh City, confirmed cases have also been reported by authorities in provinces like Long An and Bac Giang.

Swine flu was first detected in Vietnam in May, 2009. Since then, the Ministry of Health has logged more than 11,000 cases of the virus, including more than 50 deaths.

Officials say that the chances of an outbreak on the same scale seen in 2009 are very small.

Phd professor jailed in school scam

Nguyen Viet Tai and his accomplices at court on February 25A former university lecturer with a doctorate degree was sentenced 13 years in prison for swindling money off gullible students.

He would take money from job seekers or those who wanted to get admission to schools and universities.

The Hanoi People’s Court yesterday announced its verdict to Nguyen Viet Tai, 63, a local resident.

Taking advantage of his broad social relationships and his academic title, Tai convinced his victims that he could help them get jobs or admission to schools in the public security sector, the court said.

For each people wanting to find a job or get admitted to schools, Tai charged them VND45-210 million (US$2,150-10,050), but after that he did deliver his promise.

Tai and his accomplices committed 17 such cases, swindling nearly VND2 billion ($95,760) from his victims.

According to the indictment, in November 2008, Nguyen Viet H., 40, an acquaintance of Tai’s, asked Tai to help his three nephews have a job at some police agencies in the capital.

The two men agreed that H. had to pay Tai VND60-135 million ($2,870-6,460) for each job Tai brought to H.’s nephews.

On February 5, 2009, when H.’s nephews presented some papers they received from Tai to the police agencies where they wanted to get a job, those agencies found them to be fake.

After investigation, the police arrested Tai, the provider of those false papers, and his accomplices, including Nguyen Thi Le Giang, 27, a Hanoi resident, who aided Tai the most in his cheating schemes.

Giang was sentenced 8 years in jail, while the other culprits got 24 - 30 months’ imprisonment.

Communist magazine’s boss killed self with knife

Dao Truc Thuc, editor-in-chief of a magazine belonging to the Communist Party Central Committee’s Commission for Inspection, could have stabbed himself twice in the chest in Hanoi yesterday morning.

Police said they suspected Thuc 55-year-old Thuc, editor-in-chief of Kiem Tra magazine, committed suicide.

Thuc’s chest sustained two knife stabs. One stab wound was found directly to his heart.

According to initial information, on the night of February 24, Thuc did not come home.

Suspicious something was amiss, his wife Nguyen Thi Ha came to his office the next morning. Thuc’s office is inside the Office of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Inspection located at 403 B1 - 195 Doi Can Street, Ba Dinh district.

Ha and office staff opened Thuc’s room and found him lying dead.

Police suspect he committed suicide with a sharp knife because they say there are two stab wounds at his chest, one leading directly into the heart.

On his office table, there is a blood-stained knife and a letter.

Police have not revealed the detail of the letter but they say this is a suicide letter.

The magazine, belonging to the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Inspection, covers policies of the Communist Party and other issues related to the Party, state and people.

Hospital for HIV/AIDS patients opens in Hanoi

A hospital for those living with HIV/AIDS officially opened in Tan Trieu commune in Hanoi’s outlying district of Thanh Tri on February 25.

The hospital, officially known as Hospital 09, consists of 10 specialised wards and four functioning rooms, providing up to 200 patient beds.

It provides check-up and treatment for HIV carriers together with care for AIDS patients in Hanoi.

The hospital is also tasked to cooperate with organisations and individuals in and outside the country to conduct scientific research related to HIV/AIDS diagnosis, care and treatment.

Hospital for HIV/AIDS patients opens in Hanoi

A hospital for those living with HIV/AIDS officially opened in Tan Trieu commune in Hanoi’s outlying district of Thanh Tri on February 25.

The hospital, officially known as Hospital 09, consists of 10 specialised wards and four functioning rooms, providing up to 200 patient beds.

It provides check-up and treatment for HIV carriers together with care for AIDS patients in Hanoi.

The hospital is also tasked to cooperate with organisations and individuals in and outside the country to conduct scientific research related to HIV/AIDS diagnosis, care and treatment.

Entries open for national analog chip design contest

Students nationwide are invited to enter the second analog design contest called AICD-2011 by Vietnam National University – HCMC (VNU-HCM) from April 4 to June 25.

The contest will be held in Hanoi, HCMC and Danang. The topic of AICD-2011 is “To improve the design and maximize solutions for switching regulators”. The contest gives students the opportunity to learn about the process of designing analog chips and analog technology. It is also a good chance for young people to gain experience and talk with top experts in the industry from the U.S (Analog Devices), Singapore (Synopsys) and Vietnam (ICDREC) among others.

A training course and the final round will take place in HCMC. For students in remote areas, two main members of each team will be sponsored all costs of air tickets, accommodations, meals and transportation.

The first AICD contest in 2010 attracted 20 teams and the first prize went to DTVT_TDT team from HCMC University of Natural Sciences, UIT-ICD from HCMC University of Information Technology and MTAHUT from Hanoi University of Science and Technology came second and third respectively.

This year the contest’s technical and financial sponsors are Synopsys and Analog Devices.

Danang students go on sex education tour

The Danang Youth Union and the Viet Da Tourism Joint Stock Company organized Vietnam’s first ever Sex Education Tour for students Sunday.

Around 80 people booked for the tour and were educated through games, meetings with health and sex counselors, and a visit to the Cham Museum to see the ancient people’s tradition of representing in forms that are considered stylized sex organs by modern scholars.

God Shiva is represented by the lingam and Goddess Shakti by the yoni.

Danang was chosen for the tour since it was the cradle of the Cham culture, Dinh Van Loc, director of Vietda Travel, said.

Sex education for students has so long been confined to textbooks and this tour aimed to give them a clearer idea, he added.

They had to pay VND80,000 with organizers subsidizing the rest.