Suspected probable and confirmed case

Dao Van Chieu, from the north-central province of Thanh Hoa, said that he received a call on Monday, his first day back in the city after a visit to his hometown for Tet . "They offered me a job listening to music and liking songs on an online music site for VND10,000 (43 cents) per song," Chieu said. Despite having previously read warnings about online tricksters, he still tried out the gig as a way to investigate and possibly warn other people of the scam. "They actually paid me VND10,000," Chieu said, "then they tempted me to send in money for high commission. The online group they established had attracted nearly 4,000 members." As soon as he joined the group, his phone began receiving a relentless flow of chat notifications. Every time someone completed a task, they would send a message to the group. "Receiving hundreds of messages means hundreds of people believed in the system and had completed the tasks," Chieu said. "Among them, many might have been deceived." … [Read more...] about Hundreds fall for post-Tet online scams

The government's rebranding campaign, "Hello, Hong Kong", bills itself as an effort to tell "good stories" about the southern Chinese city. Promising "no isolation, no quarantine and no restrictions" during a speech to business and tourism heavyweights, Chief Executive John Lee announced 500,000 free air tickets for visitors to experience the city's "hustle and bustle." The giveaway will open in March, with another 80,000 tickets up for grabs to residents in the summer. "This, ladies and gentlemen, is probably the world's biggest welcome ever," Lee said. Adherence to Beijing's zero-Covid doctrine of quarantine, closed borders and face masks kept Hong Kong largely virus-free until a deadly Omicron outbreak at the start of 2022. But it also contributed to an economic recession and the exodus of more than 2.5% of the population. Even as business leaders warned Hong Kong would need a full Covid exit plan before any meaningful reboot, officials insisted on gradually rolling back … [Read more...] about Hong Kong offers free flights after Covid isolation

Luan provides the service to strangers for a small fee, and to friends for free. The artificial intelligence (AI) app chats with users as though it were a human being with the ability to apply encyclopedic knowledge in a variety of ways. More than one million people around the globe signed up for the app during the first week of its release in early December of last year. The AI-based chatbot became highly sought-after in Vietnam shortly thereafter. Luan said he received about 300 requests to create accounts with the chatbot in December. By mid-January, ChatGPT had taken the world by storm and the number of global users had skyrocketed. ChatGPT had signed up 10 million subscribers across the world 40 days after its launch. According to Google Trends statistics over the past three days, "ChatGPT" and "OpenAI" (the U.S. startup that created ChatGPT) have been two of the most searched keywords in Vietnam. Luan said the number of account set up requests he received last … [Read more...] about AI trend ChatGPT taking over Vietnam

Doctors at a hospital in Quang Ninh Province, northern Vietnam have successfully removed a sharp bamboo toothpick from the duodenum of a female patient. The patient, 56-year-old N.T.H., had suffered stomach pain since January 21 but she did not see a doctor because it was the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday. As the pain escalated, H. was taken to a local medical center where she was diagnosed with foreign bodies in the digestive tract, and was later transferred to Quang Ninh General Hospital. Her CT scan result showed a sharp rod-shaped foreign body about three centimeters long in the second part of the duodenum. Doctors later performed a gastroscopy to remove the object. During the procedure, doctors discovered that the foreign body was a sharp bamboo toothpick, with one end piercing through the intestinal mucosa. Despite difficulties, doctors were able to remove the toothpick from the patient’s duodenum after nearly an hour. The patient is now in a stable condition and is … [Read more...] about Vietnamese woman hospitalized after swallowing toothpick

Vietnamese artists are set to participate in Chingay Parade Singapore 2023, one of the largest street parades throughout Asia, on February 3 - 4. A float at the 2018 Chingay Parade (Photo: rove.me) The ensemble is made up of 20 members from Ho Chi Minh City Light Music Center. The local artists are expected to introduce Vietnamese culture to international friends through Ao Dai (traditional long dress) performances during fashion shows to be held at the function. Chingay is an annual street parade which is held in Singapore in celebration of the birthdays of the Chinese deities, or in some cases the procession of the Goddess of Mercy as part of the Chinese New Year festivities. The event, first held in 1973, has become the largest street parade throughout Asia. After two years of holding the event online due to the development of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chingay Parade Singapore is set to resume this year, drawing the participation of art … [Read more...] about Local artists to attend Chingay Parade Singapore 2023