Death row sentence

A man posthumously tested negative for the novel coronavirus after being found dead at a hotel in Tam Dao Town, a popular tourist destination in the northern Vietnamese province of Vinh Phuc.

The deceased man has been identified as Nguyen The D., a 46-year-old resident of Hanoi, Nguyen Thanh Hai, director of the Vinh Phuc Department of Health, confirmed to Tuoi Tre ( Youth) newspaper on Saturday afternoon.

D. was discovered dead in his hotel room in Tam Dao Town on the early morning of the same day.

Police officers and health workers later arrived to probe the scene and collect his samples for COVID-19 testing.

All residents and visitors were not allowed to enter or exit Tam Dao Town following the discovery of his death.

Local authorities also asked all tourists and employees of local hotels, restaurants, and karaoke parlors to fill out health declaration forms at the town’s medical center.

The temporary lockdown was lifted after D.’s test result came back negative for the novel coronavirus on Saturday afternoon.

According to preliminary information, D. previously traveled to Tam Dao with his wife and child.

Prior to his death, the man had consumed a lot of alcohol.

He had a history of high blood pressure and might have died from a stroke, according to officers.

Further investigation is ongoing.

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* China reported seven new COVID-19 cases on Feb. 16, down from 16 cases a day earlier, the country’s national health authority said on Wednesday. Total confirmed COVID-19 cases in mainland China now stand at 89,795. The death toll remains unchanged at 4,636.

* The United States last week reported a 23% drop in new cases of COVID-19 and a 16% fall in the number of people hospitalized with the virus, with both figures declining for a fifth week in a row.

* Japan on Wednesday began administering its first COVID-19 vaccinations to medical workers, with the first inoculations using the vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer and German partner BioNTech taking place at the National Hospital Organization Tokyo Medical Center.

* India’s COVID-19 tally rose to 10,937,320 on Wednesday as 11,610 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, said the latest data from the federal health ministry. According to the official data, the death toll mounted to 155,913 with 100 new deaths.

* Russia on Wednesday reported 12,828 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, including 1,282 in Moscow, taking the national tally to 4,112,151. Authorities also reported another 467 deaths, raising the official toll to 81,446.

* The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines reported on Wednesday 1,184 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 553,424.

* Mexico surpassed 2 million coronavirus cases while new infections in the United States fell for a fifth week in a row, with the White House increasing its supply of vaccines to states and pharmacies this week.

* The United Kingdom could give two doses of vaccine to all adults by August or September, the interim head of the country’s vaccine taskforce told Sky News.

* US Treasury yields hit one-year highs on Wednesday, lending support to the dollar but pressuring lofty valuations for stocks, as investors reckoned that a stimulus-fuelled global recovery will eventually bring rising inflation.

* Japan’s exports accelerated in January, led by a jump in Chinese demand, and manufacturers’ sentiment turned positive for the first time since 2019.

* India will increase the number of its vaccination sites by up to five times after administering nearly 9 million shots in a month.

* Arab League (AL) Secretary-General Aboul-Gheit and UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland discussed on Tuesday the developments in Palestine and Israel in light of the upcoming elections in the two countries.

* France reported 19,590 new COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours, sharply up from 4,376 confirmed a day before, and 18,870 a week ago, health authorities said on Tuesday.

* Denmark registered the more contagious coronavirus variant B.1.1.7, first detected in Britain, in close to half of all positive tests in the second week of February.

* The White House is increasing the supply of vaccines sent each week to states to 13.5 million doses, and is also doubling the amount shipped to pharmacies to 2 million doses this week.

* Moderna said the release of some of its vaccine doses to the US government have lagged recently because of “short-term delays” in the final stages of production at its contractor Catalent.

* Mexico will this week raise concerns at the United Nations Security Council about unequal access to vaccines globally, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said.

* Sources said the EU is in talks with Moderna on buying more vaccines, while Australia’s medical regulator granted provisional approval for the AstraZeneca vaccine.

* New Zealand will lower the COVID-19 alert level in its largest city Auckland on Wednesday midnight after five community cases have been found over the past four days.

* At least 20 people have died in a series of winter storms across the United States over the past few days, local media reported on Tuesday.

* The COVID-19 second wave in Canada’s epidemiological curve has been trending downward for weeks, with the seven-day national average dropping from about 8,000 daily cases in early January to 3,000 over Valentine’s Day weekend.

* The Portuguese government decreed Tuesday to levy a carbon tax of EUR2 (US$2.42) per passenger on air or sea travel starting July.

* The first batch of China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine purchased by Hungary arrived at Budapest on Tuesday.

* South Africa plans to share 1 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses with other African countries.

* Iraq recorded a sharp rise in cases after it confirmed infections of one of the newer variants of the coronavirus.

* Pizza, hummus, pastry and a cup of coffee were on the menu on Tuesday to entice Israelis to get their vaccinations.

* Zimbabwe will begin vaccinating on Thursday, starting with health workers and other essential service personnel.

The trial of a Japanese man accused of killing a 9-year-old Vietnamese girl will start in three months time, a Japanese court said on Monday.

Yasumasa Shibuya, 46, has been charged with murder and abandoning the girl’s body, the Chiba District Court said, as cited by Japanese media reports.

Prosecutors allege that Shibuya strangled the third-grader to death and left her body near a drainage ditch after abducting her on the morning of March 24, 2017, the Japan Times reported.

Shibuya has refused to speak since his arrest in April, it said.

Media reports did not mention rape charges, although autopsy results suggested the girl had been sexually abused.

The victim, Le Thi Nhat Linh, went missing after she left home for school in Matsudo City, one hour northeast of Tokyo, on March 24. Her body was discovered two days later. Shibuya was her neighbor and head of the parents’ association at her school at the time.

The case had shocked both the Japanese and Vietnamese public.

Linh’s parents have been gathering tens of thousands of signatures from both countries, hoping that public pressure will prompt prosecutors to call for Shibuya to be sentenced to death.

In Japan, murder can be punished with death sentence and executions are carried out by hanging. The punishment is usually imposed in cases of multiple murders, though some single murderers have also been hanged when their crime was considered serious.

* China on Sunday reported seven new COVID-19 cases in the mainland for Feb. 20, compared with eight cases a day earlier, the health authority said. All the new infections were imported cases, the National Health Commission said in a statement. There were no new deaths.

* All adults in Britain will be offered a first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of July, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday ahead of a planned announcement on the cautious reopening of the economy from lockdown.

* Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday, calling the start of the nation’s vaccination programme a “massive step” that will enable it to return to normal.

* The Italian Coast Guard said on Saturday it had rescued 45 migrants after their ship capsized 15 miles south of the Italian island of Lampedusa.

* A shipment of 150,000 COVID-19 vaccines developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University arrived at Belgrade airport on Sunday, making Serbia the first country in the Western Balkan region to receive supplies of the shot.

* Russia on Sunday reported 12,742 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, including 1,602 in Moscow, taking the national tally to 4,164,726. Authorities also reported another 417 deaths, raising the official toll to 83,293.

* Brazil registered 1,212 additional COVID-19 deaths and 57,472 new confirmed cases of the virus on Saturday, according to data released by the Health Ministry. The South American nation has now recorded 245,977 total coronavirus deaths and 10,139,148 confirmed cases.

* The number of new coronavirus cases in France compared to a week earlier rose for the third day in a row, with the health ministry reporting 22,371 new cases on Saturday, compared to 21,231 last Saturday. The seven-day moving average of new cases increased further by 163 to 19,217, after falling nearly continuously in the first half of the month.

* Italy reported 251 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday compared with 353 the day before, the health ministry said, while the number of new infections fell to 14,931 from 15,479. Some 306,078 coronavirus tests were carried out, compared with a previous 297,128, the ministry said.

* Republic of Korea will begin administering the first of 117,000 doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine on Feb. 27, a day after the country begins its first vaccinations with AstraZeneca’s products, the prime minister announced on Sunday.

* The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 7,676 to 2,386,559, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday. The reported death toll rose by 145 to 67,841, the tally showed.

* Mexico’s health ministry on Saturday reported 7,785 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the country and 832 more fatalities, bringing its total to 2,038,276 infections and 179,797 deaths.

* Niger votes on Sunday in the second round of a presidential election that is expected to usher in the first democratic transition of power since the West African nation gained independence from France in 1960.

* Iran is studying a European Union proposal for an informal meeting between current members of Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal and the United States, but has yet to respond to it, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Saturday.

* Israel reopened swathes of its economy on Sunday in what it called the start of a return to routine enabled by a COVID-19 vaccination drive that has reached almost half the population.

* Sudan’s central bank set a new baseline exchange rate of SDG375 to the US$ in sharp devaluation on Sunday, banking sources said.

* Iran closed several crossing points with Iraq on Saturday in an effort to stem the spread of a mutant variant of coronavirus which the Iranian health minister said was entering from the neighbouring country.

Apricot blossoms in Mu Nau Valley of Son La Province, northern Vietnam.

Mu Nau Valley lies in sub-zone 13 of Moc Chau Town in Son La Province. Two kilometers south of Moc Chau center, the valley spans 200 hectares and comprises a 40-year-old apricot forest, a 25-year-old plum forest, and an old-growth forest.

The route from the town to the valley is short but steep and requires excellent driving skills, often scaring first-timers.

Leaving Moc Chau around 5 p.m, I was accompanied by Duy, owner of Pho Nui Tinh Yeu Homestay, to Mu Nau. He picked me up at the intersection near town and advised me to mentally prepare myself for the ride, an effort that would prove futile as soon as we hit the road.

The higher we got, the more Duy revved his engine, with the slope becoming increasingly uncooperative. I was not in the least comforted by the fact I was on the back of a local’s bike. At one point, I was shaking with my eyes closed shut out of fear the vehicle would flip over. As we ascended the hill, I gripped onto Duy, holding on for dear life.

After five minutes of wrestling with the road, we finally reached our destination. Drenched, I quickly used my arm to wipe the sweat off my forehead. This would be the first and last time I would ever take that “death” road, I thought to myself.

From the tippy top of Mu Nau, sun rays gently lit wild flowers, weeds, and evergreen grassy plots. The entire town of Moc Chau nestled snugly at the bottom. Pretty, poetic, and romantic beyond words. It was afternoon and breezy, with a hazy mist floating far off. Indeed, at the end of a rocky road was a real-life paradise.

Enraptured by the amazing beauty of the landscape, I stood contemplating it as the sun gradually set behind the mountains.

It was now 6 p.m. and the sun had completely disappeared. As dusk fell, lights brightened Moc Chau. Lining the main streets of town, yellow lights sparkled in the dark night like stars in the sky. Night had arrived in Moc Chau!

Under the night sky, Duy drove me to Pho Nui Tinh Yeu Homestay in Mu Nau Valley. Tucked in the heart of Mu Nau Valley, Duy’s homestay is the sole one in the valley.

Pho Nui Tinh Yeu Homestay in Moc Chau, Son La Province.

To many people in Moc Chau, Duy goes by “crazy guy”. The nickname originates from his love of the hometown; it was so strong it ended his thriving career at a leading Hanoi construction firm, drawing him back here as a proud homestay owner.

During the initial construction period, he encountered many obstacles since the area lacked electricity and basic materials. Duy personally transported every rock, steel bar, and sack of cement for the homestay on his bike. After countless arduous days, a charming and inviting homestay was erected.

That evening, Duy’s family welcomed me with a scrumptious feast of mountain specialties like jungle fowl and wild boar. After the delicious dinner, Duy started a campfire and together with his wife told me nostalgic anecdotes of their tough beginning as the crackling flames danced to the spring breeze. In a heartwarming spirit, I slipped into a deep sleep in the middle of Mu Nau Valley.

Unlike my previous visits to Moc Chau during which fog obscured the way, the following morning was vibrantly blue with fluffy clouds floating about. My first morning in Mu Nau was a tender one. While stretching, I caught the first sunrays of the day.

I then relished in a hearty breakfast that Duy’s wife had prepared ahead. After the meal, I put on a deep red H’mong dress and began another exciting day of adventure in Mu Nau Valley.

I climbed on the back of Duy’s bike to follow him through the gorgeous landscape of Mu Nau. From the homestay, I passed by pristine white bok choy flower gardens, strawberry fields, as well as old-growth forests. We eventually stopped at an apricot garden.

One simply cannot talk about Mu Nau without mentioning its three specialties: apricots, plums, and old-growth forest. For a novice, it is incredibly difficult to distinguish between an apricot and plum blossom. Their beauty is unquestionable, however.

Mu Nau apricot flowers grow by themselves. They have five round and smooth petals of one to three centimeters in diameter and are characterized by their snowy white shade. The trunk of a plum flower tree is typically taller than an apricot tree, its height varying from four to 15 meters. The petals of a plum blossom are also white but bunched up.

From the hilltop, I saw endless rows of spotless white apricot flower trees blending in the beautiful landscape of humble-sized H’mong abodes.

Moc Chau is mostly known for the poetic beauty of its enchantress, Na Ka plum valley. However, in the last two years, another hidden gem was discovered – Mu Nau plum valley. Fairy-like plum gardens stretch all over the hillsides of the valley, brightening up the Moc Chau plateau.

More than visually pleased by the rows of pristine white apricot flower trees, I climbed back on the back of Duy’s bike to visit the plum garden. Shortly after, I found myself lost in a paradise of plum flower trees and time seemed to slow down.

From the back of Duy’s trusty motorbike, I contemplated the snow white plum blossoms that fluttered throughout the garden aisles, almost resembling snow. I quickly climbed down, rushed to the trees, caressed the soft petals, and attentively watched as they flaked off branches and flooded the way.

Far off, the visual of local H’mong grazing their horses on a pasture completed the dreamy landscape.

The author, Xu Kien, amid plum blossoms.

* Before traveling to Mu Nau

Transport

Motorbikes are the only means by which to reach Mu Nau from Moc Chau Town. From the Moc Chau intersection, you can rent a motorbike taxi to Mu Nau. You could also attempt to walk to Mu Nau. However, please note it is highly recommended not to drive up to Mu Nau if you are a beginner due to the dangerous route. My suggestion is contacting Duy to book a ride at 097 492 66 96 .

Accommodation

Homestay Pho Nui Tinh Yeu Moc Chau is currently the sole option in Mu Nau. It offers a selection of dorm rooms as well as private rooms in a contemporary style.

Food

Mountain specialties like wild fowl, boar, and vegetables are must-tries when in Moc Chau. It is worth noting all produce are locally grown and free of pesticides.

Time

The most ideal time to visit Mu Nau Valley is from mid-December until early March during which apricot and plum flowers are in full bloom. March is fruiting season and April, harvest season. For the rest of the year, Mu Nau dons a green garb.

Other activities

In addition to visiting apricot and plum flower gardens, Duy also organizes trekking tours to Thai and H’mong ethnic villages, departing from the homestay. The opportunity to interact with ethnic culture is truly an enriching experience one should not miss when traveling in the northwest.