Thousands of vehicles were caught in a severe traffic jam on the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay Expressway on Wednesday afternoon, particularly in the direction from Dong Nai Province to Ho Chi Minh City, with congestion peaking near Long Thanh Bridge, where repair work was underway.

A group of volunteers in northern Vietnam are working to remove plastic and household waste from Lan Ha Bay, a popular tourist destination known for its emerald waters and limestone islands, amid growing concerns over marine pollution.

Police in Hanoi on Thursday detained a driver involved in a devastating multiple pile-up on Nguyen Trac Street in Duong Noi Ward that left one person dead and three others, including two young children, seriously injured on Wednesday night.

Two children were treated for suspected carbon monoxide poisoning at a hospital in northern Vietnam after falling ill during a car journey on Wednesday.

Authorities in Hanoi are encouraging residents and businesses to make restrooms available free of charge to tourists during the upcoming National Day celebrations on September 2, as part of a wider public hygiene and hospitality campaign.

Good morning from Vietnam!

Hai Phong City in northern Vietnam granted investment certificates and signed memoranda of understanding worth US$15.5 billion during an investment promotion conference held on Tuesday, attended by top national and local leaders.

OSAKA -- Researchers at the University of Osaka Hospital conducted surgeries last year to reduce the number of fetuses in 10 cases of multiple pregnancy, it has been learned.

Following the prolonged delay of Jetstar flight JQ62 to Australia, which disrupted the itinerary and caused frustration among travelers, Vietnamese tour operator Vietravel has submitted an official request to the airline seeking an explanation and compensation for affected passengers.

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Hien, Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of National Defense, hosted Admiral Jirapol Wongwit, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Navy, in Hanoi on Tuesday to boost defense cooperation between the two nations.

STOCKHOLM - After four years of waiting, Ms Jenny Leonor Werner sees the light at the end of the tunnel, able to legally switch gender following a recent change to Swedish law.

The European Commission will kickstart two years of tense negotiations when it unveils its proposal Wednesday for the EU's long-term budget including funding reforms that risk renewed confrontation with farmers.

BEIJING -- Chinese state firm employee Zhang Jinming makes up for a 24% cut to his salary by delivering food for three hours every night after work and on weekends - and hopes he can avoid awkward encounters with colleagues.

A tropical depression located east of the Philippines is forecast to intensify into a tropical storm and move into the East Vietnam Sea within the next two to three days, posing a potential risk of heavy rainfall across northern Vietnam, according to the National Center for HydroMeteorological Forecasting.

Sweeping foreign aid cuts led by the United States will cause international health funding to plummet to the lowest level in 15 years, a study said Wednesday, warning the world has entered a new “era of global health austerity.”

Good morning from Vietnam!

More than 4,000 foreigners in Ho Chi Minh City have applied for level-2 digital identification (ID) through the VNeID app since the beginning of this month, with local police processing over 400 applications daily.

Many Vietnamese travelers buying a package tour to Australia have expressed frustration as Australian airline Jetstar’s flight JQ62 was severely delayed, disrupting their schedules, incurring additional costs, and significantly affecting the quality of their vacations.

The Australian government, in partnership with Dear Our Community, has announced the launch of the Australian Alumni Business Network, a new initiative that is intended to connect Australian-educated Vietnamese professionals and strengthen people-to-people and business ties between Australia and Vietnam.

TOKYO -- The proportion of people in Japan who think that their living conditions are more comfortable than a year before has fallen to the lowest level in over 15 years, according to a Bank of Japan quarterly survey for June.

Local authorities in Quang Ngai Province, central Vietnam have identified two previously little-known waterfalls in a primary forest area that could be developed for eco-tourism, a local official said on Monday.

Ho Chi Minh City’s water supplier Saigon Water Corporation (Sawaco) has announced a water outage and weakened water supply for this weekend in many wards citywide due to maintenance and equipment upgrades at Thu Duc Water Plant.

TOKYO -- The Japanese government on Tuesday launched a new office at the Cabinet Secretariat to oversee policies related to foreign residents.

The Vietnamese team has won four gold medals at the 57th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) in Dubai, tying with China and the United States for the number of golds, according to the Ministry of Education and Training.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction has requested relevant agencies to urgently study and propose plans to restrict high-emission vehicles, specifically gasoline-powered vehicles, in areas at risk of environmental pollution.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose heavy tariffs starting August 1 is posing a major challenge to several ASEAN countries, with Malaysia facing a 25-percent tariff and Thailand 36 percent, while Vietnam could make a difference due to its bold and rapid responses.

TOKYO -- The number of patients with fifth disease, or slapped cheek syndrome, in Japan hit the highest level in some 26 years in the week that ended June 22, according to data compiled by the Japan Institute for Health Security.

TOKYO -- The average correct answer rates in Japanese language and math sections of a national achievement test for students in Japan in fiscal 2025 fell from the previous year, the education ministry said Monday.

Underground infrastructure relocation for Ho Chi Minh City’s metro line No. 2 is around 60 percent complete and is being fast-tracked to ensure its sod-cutting takes place in December as scheduled, according to the city’s Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR).

CATANIA/ITALY -- Monia, a Sicilian woman in her early forties, was overjoyed when she discovered in October 2022 she was expecting her first child. Her doctor, however, recommended a genetic test due to her age, and the result was one no parent wants to receive.

CMC Corporation said on Sunday it received approval from Ho Chi Minh City's Saigon High-Tech Park management board to invest over US$250 million in a large-scale data center project at the park.

Editor’s note: The views and experiences shared in this article are solely those of the author, an Australian citizen who has lived in Ho Chi Minh City for over 10 years and is married to a Vietnamese national. This piece reflects personal experiences and observations, and readers are reminded that their own experiences may vary.

VinSpeed High-Speed Rail Investment and Development JSC, a newly established company under Vietnam’s Vingroup chairman Pham Nhat Vuong, announced on Sunday it is accelerating recruitment to prepare for two major high-speed railway projects in southern and northern Vietnam.

A new «Superman» movie from Warner Bros hauled in an estimated $122 million to lead weekend box office charts in the United States and Canada, a strong domestic debut that kicked off a new era for DC comic book heroes on the big screen.

Some schools and roads remained shut on Monday as New Zealand’s Tasman and Nelson regions started cleaning up after heavy rain over the weekend caused flooding, landslides and forced evacuations.