Two former American war correspondents who have spent more than half their lives following Vietnam's development story share an unwavering belief in the Southeast Asian country's potential for growth.

It was past 9:00 pm on Saturday and crowds were still dancing and chilling along Le Loi Boulevard in Saigon Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, as Tony Memmel and his band joined Vietnamese singers to rock the stage of the U.S.-Vietnam Friendship Festival with Son Tung M-TP’s hit ‘Dung Lam Trai Tim Anh Dau.’

Travel businesses have put forward a series of initiatives as part of Vietnam’s determined effort to achieve its ambitious goal of 25 million international visitors, with just under four months left in 2025.

A tropical depression over the East Vietnam Sea intensified into storm Tapah on Saturday afternoon and is forecast to strengthen further before heading toward southern China, according to Vietnam’s National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

Con Dao National Park in the namesake special zone administered by Ho Chi Minh City confirmed on Saturday it recently received five rare Nicobar pigeons with vibrant plumage to nurse back to health before releasing them into the wild.

Vietnam's economy showed robust signs of growth in the first eight months of 2025, recording a trade surplus of nearly US$14 billion, a 27.3-percent rise in registered foreign direct investment (FDI), and a 15.7-percent increase in new business registrations, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Once a widespread and feared method of fishing in Vietnam’s southernmost province, electric shocking is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, thanks to strict prison sentences, grassroots innovations, and a renewed communal push to protect freshwater fish stocks.

Vietnam must improve its digital infrastructure, regulatory framework, and cybersecurity standards to support the development of its digital asset market and attract global investment, industry executives said last week.

A sixth-grade student died on Saturday after being struck by a garbage truck on a school campus in Vietnam’s Central Highlands, local authorities said.

Duong Anh Duc, head of the Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, affirmed that the city stands ready to support Cuba through difficult times during his reception for Victor Fidel Gaute Lopez, vice-president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, on Friday.

As a special guest of the U.S.–Vietnam Friendship Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday, guitarist Tony Memmel, who was born with only one hand but is self-taught on the guitar, has arrived for his performance.

BRUSSELS -- Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google was hit with a 2.95-billion-euro ($3.45 billion) European Union antitrust fine on Friday for anti-competitive practices in its lucrative adtech business, a sharp sanction that riled up U.S. President Donald Trump.

A surfer attacked by a large shark at a Sydney beach has died of his injuries, police said on Saturday, the first such incident in more than 3-1/2 years, prompting the closure of several beaches.

Officials in south-central Vietnam have been ordered to assess damage and develop a repair plan for the decorative lighting system at the Nghinh Phong Tower, a popular tourist attraction that has been partially inoperable for more than seven months.

Vietnam, with its competitive costs and abundant agricultural resources, is gaining recognition as a rising player in the global halal market and could become a key hub connecting Asia and the Middle East, experts said at a forum in Ho Chi Minh City.

Hanoi police have announced temporary traffic restrictions on several major roads from September 6 to 15 to ensure safety and order during the National Achievements Exhibition marking the 80th anniversary of Vietnam’s National Day.

PARIS -- Gustave Eiffel, who designed France's world-famous monument, had the names of 72 scholars inscribed on the base of the tower in golden letters. All of them men.

Anthropic will pay at least $1.5 billion to settle a US class action lawsuit over allegedly using pirated books to train its artificial intelligence models, according to court documents filed Friday.

A tropical depression in the East Vietnam Sea is forecast to strengthen into a storm on Saturday, potentially becoming the seventh storm to hit the maritime area this year, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

Nine Jarai ethnic minority students in Gia Lai Province, Vietnam were hospitalized over food poisoning after catching and cooking toads while their parents were away at work, a local official confirmed on Friday.

LONDON -- The World Health Organization has added GLP-1 drugs to treat diabetes to its essential medicines list, alongside treatments for cystic fibrosis and cancer, and said it hopes this will improve global access to the costly drugs.

BERLIN -- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz inaugurated a supercomputer powered by Nvidia (NVDA.O) chips on Friday that is the world's fourth-fastest, saying it helps Europe catch up with the leaders in AI, the United States and China.

TOKYO -- The Japanese government officially decided Friday to start a new system to provide comprehensive support for victims of serious crimes or bereaved families of such victims on January 13, 2026.

Police in Da Nang City, central Vietnam have arrested three suspects accused of targeting and robbing tourists, particularly foreign visitors, during the recent National Day holiday.

A low-pressure system, currently located east of Luzon Island off the Philippines, is moving westward toward the East Vietnam Sea and is forecast to intensify within the next 24 hours, according to the national weather center.

TOKYO -- Honda Motor Co. said Thursday that it will release a new model of its Prelude sports car on Friday, reviving the iconic name for the first time in 24 years.

Rescue workers on Thursday pulled bodies from the rubble of homes razed in Afghanistan's earthquakes as the confirmed death toll topped 2,200, while homeless survivors faced a bleak future with global aid agencies warning of dwindling resources.

TOKYO -- With concerns growing over the potential loss of original manga drawings in Japan, new initiatives are being launched to preserve celebrated manga heritage, underscoring a growing commitment to safeguarding these cultural treasures for future generations.

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court on Thursday sentenced Han Qiang, a 51-year-old Chinese national, to two years and six months in prison for stealing about US$2,280 from a fellow passenger on a domestic flight.

As the temporary suspension of rice imports from Vietnam by the Philippines, the former’s largest rice buyer, has sent ripples through the Mekong Delta region, where farmers are now bracing for falling prices, industry insiders and growers are urging the government to step in with rice stockpiling measures to prevent steep price drops and protect livelihoods.

TOKYO -- Japanese manga comics, celebrated worldwide for their creativity and influence, now face a pressing challenge: the original drawings that bring these stories to life are at risk of deterioration and disappearance.

The Vietnamese Politburo has urged the swift implementation of the Ninh Thuan 1 and Ninh Thuan 2 nuclear power plants in Khanh Hoa Province, which were recently resumed after an eight-year hiatus, with operations targeted for 2030–35.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin walked shoulder to shoulder with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, a hot mic caught them discussing organ transplants and the possibility that humans could live to 150 years old.

Online fast-fashion retailer Shein received a 150 million euro ($175.61 million) fine on Wednesday from France's data protection authority over the improper use of cookies, a decision the company contested and said it would appeal.

Good morning from Vietnam!