Good morning from Vietnam!

Before the official opening of the Cashless Day Festival 2025, slated for Saturday, Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in downtown Ho Chi Minh City is bustling with a hive of activity as exhibitors and technicians are rushing to finalize the last details of one of the year's most dynamic financial and technology events.

Storm Wutip, the first to strike the East Vietnam Sea this year, is forecast to strengthen to level 12 (118-133kph) with gusts up to level 14 (150-166kph) on Friday evening, according to Vietnam’s national weather agency.

TOKYO -- Abnormal tau protein causing dementia accumulates in the brains of middle- to old-age patients with mood disorders, such as depression, at a higher rate than in their healthy counterparts, a study has found.

An Air India flight from Phuket in Thailand to India's capital New Delhi received an onboard bomb threat on Friday and made an emergency landing on the island, airport authorities said.

Swedish Parliament Speaker Andreas Norlén expressed Sweden’s willingness to support Vietnam in its ambition to become a high-income developed nation by 2045 during a meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Stockholm on Thursday.

Tropical storm Wutip has severely disrupted travel in central Vietnam, forcing dozens of flight cancelations and delays at Da Nang International Airport and stranding fishing vessels at sea, authorities said on Thursday.

Mobile Internet speeds in Da Nang saw a steep drop in May, falling to less than half of April’s levels, according to the latest i-Speed report from the Vietnam Internet Network Information Center (VNNIC).

Europe's soccer market grew by 8% in terms of revenue in the 2023-24 season to 38 billion euros ($43.46 billion) with England's Premier League generating the most, Deloitte said in a study published on Wednesday.

Police in Ho Chi Minh City have uncovered two businesses and one individual storing nearly 70 metric tons of pig udders, chicken cartilage, beef shank, and other meat products without invoices or documents proving their origin.

The European Union should further slash the number of companies subject to its environmental and corporate sustainability rules, the European Parliament member leading negotiations on the policies said on Thursday.

Ramesh Viswashkumar, the only known survivor out of the 242 people onboard an Air India plane that crashed in Ahmedabad on Thursday, had been sitting near an emergency exit of the London-bound flight and managed to jump out, police said.

Vietnam’s law-making National Assembly has passed a resolution on the reorganization of provincial-level administrative units, reducing the number of provinces and cities from 63 to 34.

Pham Nhat Vuong, chairman of Vietnam’s leading private conglomerate Vingroup, has registered to contribute over 70.6 million Vingroup (VIC) shares, equivalent to 1.82 percent of Vingroup’s charter capital, to newly-established energy firm VinEnergo.

Many localities in central Vietnam, including Da Nang City, Hue City, and Quang Nam Province, are facing severe flooding due to torrential rains triggered by the impact of storm Wutip in the East Vietnam Sea.

SANJŌ, Japan -- All is calm at Satoshi Yamazaki's rice farm, with its freshly planted rows of vivid-green seedlings, but a row over the cost of the staple in Japan is threatening to deal the government a blow at the ballot box.

Authorities in several Hanoi districts have launched investigations into illegal dumping and construction along the Day and Bui River floodplains, following a report by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, officials confirmed.

LONDON -- The combined revenue of Premier League clubs rose to a record £6.3 billion ($8.5 billion, 7.5 billion euros) in the 2023/24 season, but fan unrest and worsening competitive balance are cause for concern, according to financial experts Deloitte.

Misidentified bones that languished in the drawers of a Mongolian institute for 50 years belong to a new species of tyrannosaur that rewrites the family history of the mighty T-Rex, scientists said Wednesday.

TOKYO -- Chinese fighter jets flew unusually close to Japanese military patrol planes over the weekend, Tokyo said, after two Chinese aircraft carriers were spotted operating simultaneously in the Pacific for the first time.

Vietnam has formally launched the pilot phase of an emissions trading scheme aimed at encouraging three major industrial sectors to cut the amount of carbon dioxide they produce, the government said on Tuesday.

Storm Wutip, the first storm to enter the East Vietnam Sea this year, is forecast to strengthen over the next 24 hours and continue delivering heavy rains to central provinces, according to Vietnam's national weather agency.

Russia grants 1,000 scholarships each year to Vietnamese citizens across a range of study levels, including undergraduate, master’s, doctoral, internships, and Russian language training, heard a working session held on Wednesday between Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Van Phuc and representatives from Bauman Moscow State Technical University.

Passengers on Ho Chi Minh City’s first metro line, which runs from Ben Thanh Market in District 1 to Suoi Tien Coach Station in Thu Duc City, have recently been surprised to see the priority seats given a vibrant new look, part of a wider campaign aimed at promoting courteous and thoughtful behavior on public transport.

Around 40,000 people are expected to take part in Vietnam’s National Day parade on September 2, marking the 80th anniversary of the country’s independence.

Despite a global trend toward imposing special consumption taxes on sugary drinks, Vietnam remains slow to act, prompting calls from the World Health Organization (WHO) for the country to accelerate its efforts to reduce health risks linked to sugar-sweetened beverages.

Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien had working sessions with the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) and the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) on Monday, calling on them to continue supporting Vietnam in the process of negotiating a reciprocal trade agreement with the U.S..

Vietnam presented its document of ratification for the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), commonly known as the High Seas Treaty, at the ‘Special Treaty Event’ organized by the United Nations (UN) on Monday in Nice, France.

BRUSSELS -- The world experienced its second-warmest May since records began this year, a month in which climate change fuelled a record-breaking heatwave in Greenland, scientists said on Wednesday.

Vietnamese Party General Secretary To Lam has called on U.S.-based semiconductor giant Qualcomm and other American companies operating in Vietnam to support trade negotiations between the two countries.

Los Angeles police began arresting people in the city's downtown late Tuesday, as groups gathered in violation of an overnight curfew after a fifth day of protests against Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

NEW YORK -- U.S. Major League Baseball has announced that special manhole covers featuring Japanese players currently active in the professional league will be installed in their hometowns, starting Monday.

A powerful downpour lasting over two hours inundated several parts of Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday evening, turning streets into rivers and leaving commuters stranded.

Over 500 manufacturers from China will introduce thousands of household, restaurant, and hotel products and seek business partners at an international exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City from July 9 to 11.

Australia sealed qualification for the World Cup on Tuesday with a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in Jeddah while Oman kept their hopes of a place at the finals alive with a last-gasp 1-1 draw against Palestine in Jordan.