Outstanding domestic and international events on February 22

DOMESTIC

On February 22, during his working program in Ho Chi Minh City, General Secretary To Lam experienced Metro Line No. 1 (Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien) - the first metro line in Ho Chi Minh City. Experiencing the journey from Ben Thanh Station to Tan Cang Station, General Secretary To Lam met and talked intimately with the people on the train. The people were excited to share their feelings when traveling on modern public transport, greatly reducing travel time in the inner city, meeting the huge daily travel needs of the people and contributing to improving the quality of life.In the picture:General Secretary To Lam takes Metro train No. 1 Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien and talks with people.Photo: Thong Nhat - VNA

On February 22, Inspection Team No. 1914 of the Politburo led by Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thang, Politburo member, Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council, Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, announced the Decision to establish the Inspection Team and the Inspection Plan for the Standing Committee of Dong Thap Provincial Party Committee, the Standing Committee of Ben Tre Provincial Party Committee and the Standing Committee of An Giang Provincial Party Committee.In the picture:Conference scene announcing the Decision to establish an Inspection Team and Inspection Plan for the Standing Committee of Dong Thap Provincial Party Committee.Photo: Nhat An - VNA

On February 22, in Phuoc Tan and Phuoc Hoa communes, Bac Ai district (Ninh Thuan province), Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), Power Project Management Board 3 held a ceremony to launch the construction of Bac Ai Pumped Storage Hydropower Plant - Phase 2. This is the first pumped storage hydropower project to be built in Vietnam and is one of EVN's key projects to be implemented in 2025.In the picture:Delegates performed the ceremony to launch the construction of the Bac Ai Pumped Storage Hydropower Plant project.Photo: Cong Thu - VNA

On February 22, towards the 70th anniversary of Vietnamese Doctors' Day (February 27, 1955 - February 27, 2025), 2,200 workers, civil servants and students of the Can Tho City Health Sector participated in the walking program "Can Tho Health Sector - 70 years of following Uncle Ho's teachings" with the message "towards poor patients". The event raised more than 1.138 billion VND to support poor patients and those in difficult circumstances who are being treated at medical facilities in the area.In the picture:Leaders of Can Tho Health Sector and representatives of Can Tho City Health Sector.Photo: Trung Kien - VNA

On February 22, the Dong Nai Province Association for Promotion of Education in collaboration with local businesses organized the "Let me go to school" scholarship award ceremony to encourage, support, and help 400 disadvantaged students to continue going to school with a total amount of more than 540 million VND. Each junior high school student received a scholarship worth 1.2 million VND/student; each high school student received a scholarship worth 1.5 million VND/student.In the picture:400 disadvantaged students in Dong Nai received "Let me go to school" scholarships.Photo: Le Xuan - VNA

On February 22, the Investigation Police Agency, Son La Provincial Police issued a decision to prosecute the criminal case and issue an order to detain and arrest the detainee in an emergency case against Nguyen Dinh Hung (born in 1983, residing in My Duc commune, Hanoi), the driver of a passenger car who caused a serious traffic accident on National Highway 6, in Sap Vat commune, Yen Chau district (Son La), at 11:22 p.m. on February 21, killing 6 people and injuring 8 others, to investigate in accordance with the provisions of law.In the picture:The Investigation Police Agency, Son La Provincial Police, implemented the decision to initiate criminal proceedings and issue an order to detain and arrest the detainee in an emergency case against Nguyen Dinh Hung (marked X).Photo: VNA

INTERNATIONAL

On February 22, US President Donald Trump removed Air Force General Charles CQ Brown from his position as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and announced that he would replace five other senior positions in an unprecedented shakeup of the US military leadership. In a post on Truth Social, President Trump said he would nominate retired Lieutenant General Dan "Razin" Caine to succeed General Brown. General Caine previously served as Deputy Director for Military Affairs of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).In the picture:Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General Charles CQ Brown speaks at an event in Arlington, Virginia, on May 27, 2024.Photo: REUTERS/TTXVN

Polish President Andrzej Duda had a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on February 21, during which he suggested that President Zelensky should cooperate "calmly and constructively" with US President Donald Trump to achieve peace. The Polish leader stressed that there is no other way to stop the bloodshed and achieve lasting peace in Ukraine without US support.In the picture:Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) receives US Special Envoy for Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, in Kiev, February 20, 2025.Photo: REUTERS/TTXVN

According to the plan, on February 22, the Israeli government and Hamas Movement will carry out the largest hostage and prisoner exchange between the two sides since the Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect on January 19. According to the announcement of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, Israeli authorities will release 602 prisoners today, including 445 people arrested in the Gaza Strip during the outbreak of the conflict, 50 people serving life sentences. This is the largest number of prisoners released by Israel since the Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect more than a month ago. In return, Hamas Movement will release 6 Israeli hostages, also the largest hostage release since the beginning of the ceasefire.In the picture:Three Israeli hostages were released on February 8.Photo: AP/VNA

Chinese scientists have discovered a new coronavirus strain from bats that can invade human cells through the same cell surface protein that SARS-CoV-2 (which causes COVID-19) does. This has raised concerns that the virus could spread to humans in the future. However, Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota (USA), said that excessive concerns about the new virus strain are unnecessary. He pointed out that compared to the time of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, the community now has a large number of antibodies to similar SARS viruses, which could reduce the risk of a pandemic.In the picture:Medical staff take COVID-19 test samples in Chongqing, China on August 24, 2022.Photo: THX/TTXVN