Ho Chi Minh City’s first bike-only lane is now complete along Mai Chi Tho Boulevard, offering a 6 km shaded route starting from Dec. 31 that links key urban areas and encourages greener commuting.
A fire at a nursing home on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi killed more than a dozen people, with three others injured, a local official said Monday.
Thai businessman Prasit Jeawkok has been sentenced to 806 years and 8 months in prison for running large-scale fraudulent loan schemes that defrauded hundreds of investors, though under Thai law he will serve only 20.
A finance specialist who struggled after running in smog and a doctor who fears for the health of his children are among the activists spearheading landmark air pollution legislation in Thailand despite political uncertainty.
Police in Vietnam's coastal city of Nha Trang have detained 30 Chinese nationals and one Vietnamese suspect after late-night raids uncovered an online gambling ring operating from hotels and rental apartments.
South Korea's former first lady was alleged by prosecutors Monday to have accepted lavish bribes totaling over US$200,000, including fine art, jewelry and a handbag, as well as meddling in state affairs.
Vietnam's population is projected to peak around 2059 before entering a period of slow growth or stability, as the country prepares for rapid aging, persistent gender imbalances and shifting migration patterns.
All passengers traveling on the Ben Thanh–Suoi Tien metro line will be exempt from fares on Jan. 1, 2026, as part of activities to welcome the New Year, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Company No.1 (HURC1).
Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) has warned the public to prepare for four major scam trends expected to intensify in 2026, urging people to stay alert and avoid falling victim to online fraud.
A 14-year-old girl in the northern Phu Tho Province suffered acute drug poisoning after consuming eight 500 mg paracetamol tablets to treat a headache.
A 30-year-old man in China's Hunan Province narrowly survived a life-threatening ordeal after a 30-cm-long eel was found alive and moving inside his abdominal cavity.
A bus carrying a group of teachers on a charity trip from Hanoi overturned in Lao Cai's Phinh Ho Commune on Saturday morning, leaving 9 people dead and the other 9 injured, authorities said.
Vietnam's average healthcare spending has reached about $270 per person annually (VND7.3 million), most of it on medication, and is projected to rise to $328 within the next three years, the Ministry of Health reported.
Thailand and Cambodia agreed to an "immediate" ceasefire on Saturday, the two countries said in a joint statement issued by the Cambodian side, pledging to end weeks of deadly border clashes.
The Ministry of Health estimates that tobacco use claims more than 100,000 lives in Vietnam each year, with annual healthcare costs and economic losses reaching approximately VND108 trillion (US$4.2 billion).
Nearly nine in 10 international students in the United States are worried about the security of their visa status, amid mounting uncertainty over immigration policy, personal safety, and future prospects.
The fifth Laos–Thailand Friendship Bridge spanning the Mekong River was inaugurated on Dec. 26, strengthening transport connectivity within the Mekong sub-region, particularly among Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.
China's sprawling high-speed rail network passed 50,000 km in total operating distance with the opening of a new line on Dec. 26, state media reported.
Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was found guilty on Friday of abusing his power in the 1MDB graft scandal, which saw billions plundered from the now-defunct sovereign wealth fund.
A diesel spill at an oil depot in the Dung Quat Economic Zone has polluted fields, canals and rivers, killing fish en masse and putting the upcoming winter–spring rice crop at risk, authorities say.
A lucky lottery player in the U.S. state of Arkansas has won the $1.8 billion Powerball prize, the second-largest U.S. lottery jackpot ever won, the gambling game's organizer said on Thursday.
Indonesia has reported the highest number of methanol poisoning cases globally, prompting calls for stronger emergency preparedness plans to mitigate the risks of methanol exposure.
A garment factory employing 2,640 workers in Ho Chi Minh City is set to shut down early next year after struggling to secure new orders post-Covid, raising concerns over jobs just ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
Police in Khanh Hoa Province in central Vietnam on Dec. 25 accused a man and six others with exhuming hundreds of dead pigs infected with African swine fever and selling the meat illegally.
Ho Chi Minh City will officially put into operation the first public electric bus route in the Con Dao Special Zone from Thursday, marking an important step toward building a modern, environmentally friendly public transport system for the island.
Danone Vietnam has donated 90,000 boxes of Aptamil Kid UHT milk, worth VND1 billion (US$38,000), to support children in Vietnamese provinces affected by recent flooding.
Vietnam’s 2025 was defined by unusually structural shifts, from a sweeping administrative overhaul and major infrastructure push to its first strategic technology roadmap, unfolding amid some of the most damaging natural disasters in decades.
Vietnam endured a year of unprecedented meteorological crises in 2025, as record-breaking rainfall and historic tides triggered disasters that overwhelmed infrastructure across the nation.
More than 63,000 computer-based IELTS tests worldwide have had their results adjusted after a technical error affected scores recorded between Aug. 24, 2023 and Sept. 4, 2025, according to IELTS.
Ho Chi Minh City's first and only metro line Ben Thanh–Suoi Tien has carried more than 19 million passengers in its first year of operation, averaging 52,000 trips per day.
Ho Chi Minh City has proposed building a 15-kilometer cable car linking Co Ong Airport with the center of Con Dao, aiming to ease future congestion while limiting damage to the island’s forests.
Ho Chi Minh City plans to introduce a low-emission zone from early 2027, with a full ban on gasoline motorcycles in downtown areas set to take effect in 2028 as part of Vietnam’s green transition.
A female university student who won gold for Vietnam in Esports at the 33rd SEA Games has been rewarded with VND102 million ($3,900) and an iPhone 17 Pro Max by her university.
The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday it was replacing its longstanding lottery system for H-1B work visas with a new approach that prioritizes skilled, higher-paid foreign workers.
Vietnam's Ministry of Home Affairs has proposed a plan to extend the New Year 2026 holiday to four consecutive days, up from the single day currently mandated.
A 43-year-old man who caused a chain-reaction traffic accident in Hanoi while under the influence of drugs is facing criminal investigation under Vietnam's amended Penal Code that criminalizes illegal drug use.
A Thai woman suspected of coercing her teenage daughter into sex work in a high-profile case in Japan was deported from Taiwan on Dec. 22 for prostitution-related offenses and violating immigration laws.
Hanoi will pilot restrictions on heavy trucks weighing 10 tonnes or more, as well as container trucks and tractor-trailers, on several key routes during peak hours as part of its effort to ease traffic congestion.
More than 10 tons of frozen noodlefish imported from China and preserved with formaldehyde, a toxic chemical banned in food, have been seized by police in central Vietnam, authorities said.
The first-instance trial of 55 defendants in a bribery case involving the Food Safety Authority (VFA) under Vietnam's Ministry of Health is scheduled to begin on Jan. 5, according to a decision issued by the Hanoi People's Court.
A woman who had been declared dead five years ago has reappeared and sought to annul her death registration after allegedly defrauding insurance companies of more than VND1.2 billion (US$45,600).
The Geological Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has said that out of around 500 volcanoes in Indonesia, 127 of them are active volcanoes.
Every year, editors for publications ranging from the Oxford English Dictionary to the Macquarie Dictionary of Australian English select a "word of the year."
A new scholarship initiative linked to the upgraded Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and the United Kingdom is providing Vietnamese students with expanded access to U.K.-standard university degrees beginning in 2026.
Distinguished by its unique spiral-shaped campus, Dwight School Hanoi pairs the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum with Manchester City’s football syllabus, a premium combination that commands the highest tuition rates in the capital.
With 12 million cars and motorbikes, a slew of transportation and urban development projects and outdated waste-treatment technologies, Ho Chi Minh City's air is becoming increasingly polluted, experts warn.
International students at some U.S. universities can pay as little as US$2,900–8,600 per year for on-campus housing and meal plans, far below the national average of $14,544.
A man in southern Vietnam has been summoned by police after posting a joking online comment threatening to bomb Long Thanh International Airport, authorities said.
Singapore Police have announced enhanced security measures along Orchard Road, the city-state’s busiest shopping belt, as large crowds of residents and visitors are expected on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
A junior high school teacher in Ho Chi Minh City has been disciplined after fining students for failing to follow a strict daily schedule that required them to sleep before 9 p.m. and wake up at 5 a.m., sparking backlash from parents.
The 15th plenum of the 13th Party Central Committee concluded on Tuesday morning after two days of intensive working, completing all agenda items with a high degree of consensus and quality.
