Water is the source of life

"Nang ve nuoi cai cung con De anh di tray Nuoc non Cao Bang” (Go back home and take care of our children and our mother Let me go and have a venture in the majestic nature of Cao Bang) This popular Vietnamese folk song explains that Cao Bang is a magnificent land filled with attractions. One such mystical place is Non Nuoc Cao Bang Global Geopark, one of the most impressive attractions of the province, which has been recognized as a UNESCO global geopark, the second of its kind in Vietnam. Located in the north of Vietnam, 300km from Hanoi, Non Nuoc Cao Bang UNESCO Global Geopark covers 3,000sq.km. It covers six districts of Ha Quang, Tra Linh, Quang Yen, Trung Khanh, Ha Lang, Phuc Hoa, and part of Hoa An, Nguyen Binh and Thach An districts. The geopark is home to nine ethnic groups including the Tay, Nung, Mong, Dao and San Chay. The geopark is an exceptional territory which offers insights into the history of our planet across more than 500 million years through protected sites. Fossils, marine sediment, volcanic and plutonic rocks and minerals are witness to the remarkable evolution and changes of our planet, and they constitute an exceptional geological heritage. It is also a land of tangible and intangible cultural heritage sites and special historical monuments. The area is also well-known for its high biological diversity with abundant endemic plant and animal species and ecosystems. There are three main routes to explore the geopark, including going to the east to experience traditional cultures, north to see history and freedom, and west to experience Phia Oac, the mountain of transformations. Wonderland to the east The path to the route east is winding with one side green limestone mountains, and the other an abyss covered by white mist. Little wild flowers in many colors in the wind, fresh cool air, yellow sunlight, imposing scenes, and ethnic Tay girls in black costumes working happily in the rice fields created a painting of …

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HCM City: early start proposed for over VND4.8 trillion traffic project Traffic congestion on Cong Hoa road The Ho Chi Minh City management board for traffic works construction and investment has urged early completion of paperwork for construction on a road linking Tran Quoc Hoan and Cong Hoa roads to begin in December. Costing more than 4.84 trillion VND (211.2 million USD), the project is slated to complete in July 2023, in conjunction with the completion of the Tan Son Nhat international airport’s Terminal 3 The project, approved in December 2019, includes the building of a six-lane 4km road, an intersection tunnel, and a 1,200m overpass in front of the Terminal 3. Apart from the project, the city also conducting procedures to implement the expansion of Hoang Hoa Tham road and upgrading of Cong Hoa road around the Tan Son Nhat airport. The construction of both projects was initially set to begin in 2020 but it was delayed due to problems in site clearance./. No COVID-19 infections logged on March 4 morning Vietnam documented no COVID-19 cases in the past 12 hours to 6:00 am on March 4, keeping the national tally unchanged at 2,482 patients with 1,566 domestically-transmitted cases, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control. The country has 51,572 people who came in close contact with COVID-19 patients or arrived from pandemic-hit areas under quarantine nationwide, including 533 at hospitals, 13,776 at other quarantine sites, and 37,263 at home. Among the patients under treatment, 66 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, 37 twice, and 113 thrice. The Treatment Sub-committee said that 1,898 patients have been declared clear of the coronavirus so far. In a bid to live safely with the pandemic, people should strictly follow the Ministry of Health’s 5K message: khau trang (facemask), khu khuan (disinfection), khoang cach (distance), khong tu tap (no gathering) and khai bao y te (health …

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Many elderly people join 2nd stage of Nano Covax vaccine trials A total of 367 volunteers, including 30 aged over 60, have been injected with Nano Covax, Vietnam’s first homegrown COVID-19 vaccine candidate, in the second phase of its human trials, according to the Military Medical University. The second stage has been conducted by the university and the Ho Chi Minh City-based Pasteur Institute since February 26. It has been carried out at the university in Hanoi and the medical centre of Ben Luc district in the southern province of Long An, with the participation of 560 volunteers aged from 12-75, including 80 aged over 60. They will receive two doses of either the vaccine or the placebo AIPO4, with an interval of 28 days. Each volunteer will be monitored for 12 months after the first dose. Volunteers receiving shots on the morning of February 26 will receive the second doses in late March. Lieutenant-General Do Quyet, Director of the Military Medical University, said since the trial sees the participation of volunteers with underlying health conditions, competent authorities have been prepared for all scenarios and ensure safety for all volunteers. Results of the trial will be announced in May 2021 before preparing for the third-stage trial during which only one single shot of the vaccine will be administered to 10,000-15,000 people from both domestic and foreign pandemic-hit regions, Quyet added. Developed by the Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC and the Hanoi-based Military Medical University, Nano Covax is Vietnam’s first COVID-19 vaccine to reach the human trial stage. The first-stage trial of the Nano Covax vaccine showed that it is likely to be effective against the B117 variant from the UK. Vietnam is one of 40 countries and territories in the world to have begun human trials of a COVID-19 vaccine, after successfully producing coronavirus test kits early in the pandemic./. National university processes complaint of lecturers in …

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