TOKYO -- Three Japanese organizations working for the abolition of nuclear weapons issued a joint appeal in Tokyo on Wednesday, calling for spreading across the country the reality of atomic bombings.

The Vietnamese team secured an impressive victory at the 55th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO 2025) held in France from July 18 to 24, taking home one gold and four silver medals, according to the Ministry of Education and Training.

SYDNEY -- Five Australian women who say they were pulled from a Qatar Airways flight by armed guards and strip-searched have won the right to sue the airline, after a court on Thursday overturned an earlier decision to throw out the case.

Ho Chi Minh City restricts car traffic on the Le Loi Boulevard section from Nguyen Hue to Pasteur Streets in Saigon Ward for five days to host the 2025 Vietnam-South Korea Friendship Cultural Festival.

BRUSSELS - The European Union has begun consultations to further simplify environmental policies after cutting back an initial set of sustainability laws earlier this year in response to criticism from industries.

HYBE, the agency behind K-pop superstars BTS, was raided by police on Thursday in connection with alleged fraudulent trading involving its founder Bang Si-hyuk, investigators said.

Ngo Phuong Ly, spouse of Vietnam’s Party General Secretary To Lam, visited the Hanoi-Moscow Multifunctional Complex (INCENTRA) and attended two Vietnamese language classes at the Asia-Europe prodigy center in Moscow, Russia on Wednesday morning (Moscow time).

FRANKFURT -- The European Central Bank was set to keep interest rates on hold on Thursday, pausing after seven straight cuts as it waited for the fog surrounding Europe's trade relations with the United States to clear.

Costing nearly VND1.4 trillion (US$53.5 million), the Phu Tho circus and multi-purpose performing arts center complex project, located on Lu Gia Street in Phu Tho Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, is scheduled for completion and operation in August.

The United States will stop distributing all influenza vaccines that contain mercury-based preservative thimerosal, marking the latest move by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reshape vaccine policy.

Health authorities in Vietnam’s southern hub Ho Chi Minh City have issued an urgent alert after dengue fever cases surged by more than 159 percent and resulted in 10 fatalities.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Finance has proposed increasing the monthly family deduction for personal income taxpayers and their dependents starting in 2026, aiming to align the threshold with current socio-economic conditions and provide stronger support for households.

Vietnam’s V.League 1, the country’s top professional football division, is facing disruption ahead of the 2025–26 season after Quang Nam FC announced they would withdraw, while multiple clubs in lower leagues are also struggling to secure their futures.

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Vietnam is developing a national product identification and traceability solution, called NDA Trace, to combat the growing problem of counterfeit and substandard goods, with the Ministry of Public Security set to oversee its nationwide rollout through the National Public Service Portal.

Four companies have been committed to investing a total of US$400 million in the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) Can Tho in the namesake southern city despite the industrial park still being under construction.

In Vietnam, many people see taking leftovers home from weddings or parties a practical, even considerate act, while others view it as poor manners and socially inappropriate.

Severe thunderstorms and whirlwinds have swept through Dong Thap and An Giang Provinces, located in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, destroying or damaging more than 300 homes and injuring 17 people, according to local authorities.

Police in Ho Chi Minh City have arrested famous fashion designer Nguyen Cong Tri in alleged connection with illegal drug use, possession, and distribution.

AOMORI -- The National Governors' Association on Wednesday urged the Japanese government to give top priority to measures against escalating population decline.

Vietnamese badminton player Nguyen Thuy Linh has reached a career-high world ranking of No. 18 in women’s singles, the highest ever for a Vietnamese female athlete, according to the Badminton World Federation’s latest update.

GENEVA -- The World Health Organization issued an urgent call for action on Tuesday to prevent a repeat of an epidemic of the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus that swept the globe two decades ago, as new outbreaks linked to the Indian Ocean region spread to Europe and other continents.

THE HAGUE -- The United Nations' highest court will deliver an opinion on Wednesday that is likely to determine the course of future climate action across the world.

As Vietnam accelerates its transition from gasoline-powered vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs), experts and residents are sounding a clear message: charging infrastructure must lead the way.

A large whale was spotted hunting in Nha Trang Bay Marine Protected Area in Vietnam’s Khanh Hoa Province at midday on Tuesday, drawing excitement from conservation officials and signaling encouraging signs for marine biodiversity.

Authorities in An Hai Ward, Da Nang City, central Vietnam issued an administrative fine of VND750,000 (US$28.7) against a street vendor involved in overcharging a group of six Lao tourists on the evening of July 13.

Yukihito Honda, managing executive officer and general manager of the infrastructure business unit at Sumitomo Corporation, expressed the group’s ambition to develop the North Hanoi Smart City into an emblem of Vietnam–Japan relations.

A man from Ho Chi Minh City has won a record VND345 billion (US$13.2 million) in Vietnam’s Power 6/55 lottery, the largest single-ticket jackpot in the country’s history, state-owned lottery company Vietlott said on Tuesday.

Storm Wipha, the third to affect Vietnam in 2025, weakened into a tropical depression over northern Ninh Binh and north-central Thanh Hoa Provinces late on Tuesday afternoon, with maximum sustained winds of 39-61 kph and gusts up to 75 kph, according to the country’s National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

Leaders of Laos and Japan sent condolences following a tourist boat capsizing in Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay that killed 37 people, with 10 rescued and two still missing as of Tuesday.

TOKYO -- Japan's nonlife insurance industry stands at a crossroads as it confronts the need to overhaul its long-standing business model.

CHEONGSONG, South Korea -- The apples grown in the South Korean county of Cheongsong in the country's southeast are so renowned for their flavour that they are often given out in neatly-packaged gift boxes during national holidays.

Thanh Binh Commune in Da Nang City, central Vietnam formally received provincial heritage status on Monday for the Hang Doi cave complex, one of the region’s most ancient geological formations, local officials said.

HANOI -- Tropical storm Wipha was set to cross Vietnam's northern coastline on Tuesday morning, with almost 350,000 soldiers on standby as the state weather agency forecast up to 50 cm (20 inches) of rainfall that could cause flooding and mudslides.

Japan has proposed a joint bid with several East and Southeast Asian countries to host the 2046 FIFA World Cup, but Vietnam is not among the countries included in the plan due to infrastructure limitations.