WASHINGTON - On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse traversed a wide swathe of North America stretching 2,500 miles (4,000 km) from Mexico's Pacific Coast through Texas and across 14 other U.S. states into Canada. The period of totality, when the moon covered the face of the sun, lasted about four minutes depending on the location.

A skeleton found on Britain's Jurassic Coast has been identified as a new species of ichthyosaur, a type of prehistoric marine reptile that once ruled the seas, scientists said Friday.

Vietnamese insurers are estimating payouts of more than VND1.67 trillion (US$63.55 million) for damage caused by storms Bualoi and Matmo, the country’s financial regulator said on Friday.

PORT-AU-PRINCE -- Haiti's food insecurity is expected to deepen by mid-2026, with around 6 million people projected to face critical hunger levels amid gang violence and economic collapse, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said in a report published on Friday.

Vietnam and North Korea signed five bilateral cooperation documents across key areas in Pyongyang on Friday afternoon, including diplomacy, defense, healthcare, and trade during a state visit by Vietnamese Party General Secretary To Lam to North Korea.

Ho Chi Minh City on Friday broke ground on a new children’s center in the Thu Thiem urban area, a project valued at VND1.124 trillion (US$42.67 million) and scheduled for completion by December 2028.

Good morning from Vietnam!

Police in Tan Thanh Binh Commune, Vinh Long Province, southern Vietnam have returned a mobile phone to an Indian tourist after it was found by a local resident, authorities said on Friday.

TOKYO -- The number of foreign residents in Japan as of the end of June rose 5.0 pct from the end of 2024 to a record high of 3,956,619, Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki said Friday.

Party General Secretary To Lam’s state visit to North Korea marks a significant diplomatic milestone, reaffirming Vietnam’s long-standing policy of multilateralization and diversification, as well as its role as a bridge for peace, according to a U.S.-based researcher.

As floodwaters receded on Thursday, Thai Nguyen Province in northern Vietnam was left blanketed in thick mud and debris, with its residents struggling to recover from the worst floods the area has seen in decades.

TOKYO -- Japan's Cabinet Office has urged U.S. artificial intelligence giant OpenAI to take measures to prevent copyright infringement through its Sora 2 video generation tool, Minoru Kiuchi, minister for intellectual property strategy, said Friday.

TOKYO -- The Japanese government said Friday that it will tighten the requirements for foreigners to obtain the country's residency status as a business manager, effective on Thursday.

Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Van Duoc has expressed the city’s intention to form a comprehensive partnership with Nasdaq, one of the largest electronic stock exchanges in the U.S., to support the development of Vietnam’s international financial center in the city.

Vietnamese Party General Secretary To Lam and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have agreed to advance Vietnam–North Korea relations to a new phase of more practical and effective development, contributing to both nations’ development goals as well as to peace, stability, and prosperity regionally and globally.

As part of a plan to develop telecommunications and digital infrastructure to support international financial centers in Vietnam, the Ministry of Science and Technology has called for full 5G coverage and the eventual rollout of 6G mobile networks in Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnamese billiard player Bao Phuong Vinh broke the world record for average points per inning during the fourth qualifying round of the World Cup 3-Cushion 2025 in Antwerp on Thursday.

Traffic police in Ho Chi Minh City will advise the municipal Department of Public Security on expanding and upgrading AI traffic camera systems, including connections to former Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau Provinces, through the end of the year.

The highly esteemed Michelin Guide on Wednesday unveiled its global Michelin Key hotel rankings, naming Vietnam a rising star in Asia’s hospitality scene and recognizing 13 Vietnamese hotels on the list.

Ho Chi Minh City has temporarily reduced Cong Truong Dan Chu Roundabout in size for preparatory work on an underground station of the second metro line project.

The Department of Anti-Money Laundering under the State Bank of Vietnam reaffirmed the country’s commitment to international anti-money laundering standards in a bid to be removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list during a cryptocurrency policy dialogue in Da Nang on Wednesday.

They could soon be unboxing fines rather than freebies -- Germany's online influencers are facing a tax evasion crackdown that has left them screaming OMG!

Ca Mau Province in southern Vietnam will spend nearly VND180 billion (US$7 million) building and renovating more than 800 restrooms across public schools in an effort to improve hygiene and learning conditions for students and teachers.

WELLINGTON - New Zealand and Singapore on Friday signed a comprehensive strategic partnership (CSP), with their prime ministers pledging to continue to find ways to work together to maintain the international rules-based order at a time of growing tensions.

KYOTO -- Susumu Kitagawa, a 74-year-old Japanese researcher who has won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, has words of Chinese thinker Zhuangzi to live by--something apparently useless is actually important.

The Hanoi People’s Committee held a groundbreaking ceremony at the Xuan Dinh Depot on Thursday to launch the construction of metro line No. 2, covering the Nam Thang Long – Tran Hung Dao section.

TOKYO -- Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. have concluded an agreement on the mass production of cathode materials for all-solid-state batteries for electric vehicles.

Students in Vietnam who engage in misconduct or physically assault teachers could be separated from schools under a draft decree on administrative penalties in education, on which the Ministry of Education and Training is seeking public feedback until October 16.

Severe flooding triggered by the circulation of storm Matmo has left four people dead, two missing, and roughly 200,000 houses inundated in Thai Nguyen Province, northern Vietnam, according to the provincial administration.

ABU DHABI -- The world's top conservation body is holding its world congress starting Thursday in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi and will unveil its updated «red list» of threatened species.

Good morning from Vietnam!

Vietnam's benchmark stock index hit a record high on Wednesday as the government and investors alike welcomed FTSE Russell's announcement that the country was set to be upgraded to emerging market status.

Authorities in Hanoi on Wednesday began construction of the Thuong Cat Bridge, the city’s sixth crossing over the Red River.

Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) president Tran Quoc Tuan has been appointed by FIFA to the organization’s National Teams Competitions Committee for the 2025–29 term.

Elite Dental Group in Vietnam has attained international quality certification from the United States, granted by the American Accreditation Commission International (AACI), a leading organization in healthcare quality accreditation.