Ministry warns of bird flu pandemic in Vietnam

Nguyen Van Binh, Head of the Department of Preventive Health under the Ministry of Health, stated on March 9 that Vietnam had recorded four cases of bird flu since the beginning of this year, two of which had succumbed to the disease.

Although the Ministry of Health has continually warned the public not to consume sick, dead or undercooked poultry or water fowl, people have paid little or no heed to the warning.

Binh warns that with the disease developing a more complicated strain, if awareness about the deadly effects of the virus is not raised, the number of patients dying or infected by bird flu will increase, as the disease is becoming more widespread.

In order to prevent bird flu from transferring from fowl to humans, the ministry has ordered its medical units to step up supervision to detect infected cases early. In addition, it emphasised raising awareness amongst people not to consume poultry or water fowl that was suspect, infected or undercooked.

In related news, the Preventive Health Centre in Lai Chau Province said that three people in Khoen On Commune in Than Uyen District were reported infected with anthrax in the last month. The infected are believed to have eaten meat of a dead horse in their village. Source

More solar flares to come, expert warns

Britain could be facing another 18 months of potentially disrupted power grids, satellites and flights during a “few rough years of space weather”, according to a leading expert.



Space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock said there could be another “five or six” major incidents in the coming months, where the sun emits massive amounts of matter.

The warning comes as the Sun enters the most active stage of its 11-year cycle, heralded by a massive solar flare being predicted to hit Earth yesterday.

Experts speculated there could be power blackouts, GPS disruption and huge disturbance to flights, as a cloud of charged particles arrived at about four million miles per hour.

In reality, the event passed peacefully with no noticeable effect to electrical, navigation or computer systems.

Dr Aderin-Pocock told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “So far there are no reports of damage but this is early days. Read More

Iran's UN fact sheet: Weapons track not confirmed

VIENNA (AP) — Nine years ago, the United States invaded Iraq after telling the world that Saddam Hussein had covert weapons programs that could build nuclear arms. In the end, nothing was found. Today, acting on similar fears, Israel is threatening to attack Iran.

While much is known about Iran's nuclear activities from U.N. inspection visits, significant questions remain uncertain, fueling fears of worst-case scenarios and calls for new Mideast military action.

This much shapes the anxieties: In just one decade, Iran's modest nuclear program has expanded into a mature operation that some experts say has the capability to produce a warhead in less than a year.

And this much is verified: Iran has the equipment and raw materials to produce the fissile core of a nuclear weapon, as does any country that can produce its own reactor fuel.

But there is no evidence that the Islamic Republic has taken steps in that direction. Read More