TOKYO -- Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba actively interacted with foreign dignitaries who visited the East Asian nation to attend the 2025 World Exposition in the western city of Osaka.

SJC-branded gold bar prices soared to an all-time high on Monday afternoon, reaching VND144.1 million (US$5,470) per tael, marking the highest level ever recorded in Vietnam's gold market.

In just one year, the combined wealth of the top 10 richest Vietnamese entrepreneurs on the stock market has witnessed a remarkable transformation, soaring to nearly VND700 trillion (US$26.6 billion), more than double the previous year’s total.

A series of seven small earthquakes struck early Monday in central Vietnam’s Quang Ngai Province, in an area formerly part of old Kon Tum Province, with authorities warning that seismic activity in the region is likely to continue.

The Economic Police Division under the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Public Security announced on Monday that it had initiated criminal proceedings and arrested Vo Thi Ngoc Ngan, commonly known as DJ Ngan 98, on charges of manufacturing and trading counterfeit food products.

Vietnam’s domestic carriers like Vietjet, Vietravel Airlines, and Bamboo Airways are launching large-scale recruitment drives for flight attendants while accelerating the expansion of both domestic and international routes ahead of the 2026 Tet holiday.

Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) has reached US$510 billion in 2025, marking a significant rise from $346 billion in 2020, representing a jump of five places in global rankings, heard a plenary discussion held as part of the first Party Congress of the Government for the 2025-30 tenure on Sunday.

MEXICO CITY -- At least 44 people were killed in Mexico after days of heavy rains and flooding, the government said on Sunday.

Natalie Grabow proved that age really is just a number when the 80-year-old became the oldest woman ever to complete the gruelling Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii on Saturday.

Mohammed Kudus scored as Ghana beat Comoros 1-0 in Accra on Sunday to win Group I and become the fifth African qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup after Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.

Ho Chi Minh City is accelerating efforts to build a vibrant innovation ecosystem based on the ‘Triple Helix’ model — a partnership connecting government, academia, and industry — with the goal of becoming Southeast Asia’s leading innovation hub by 2030.

The air route between Vietnam and Hong Kong is witnessing a strong rebound, with airlines increasing flight frequencies and launching new international routes to meet surging travel demand.

TOKYO -- The internet has become the main source of daily news in Japan, overtaking commercial television for the first time, a survey by the Japan Press Research Institute has shown.

Most higher education institutions in New Zealand have offered direct admission to Vietnamese students, reflecting strong recognition of their academic performance, according to Education New Zealand (ENZ).

Vietnamese conglomerate CT Group JSC has proposed investing in a railway project connecting Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho City, and Ca Mau Province in southern Vietnam, with a total investment of US$12 billion.

The first direct flight from Minsk, the capital of Belarus, landed on Phu Quoc Island off An Giang Province in southern Vietnam on Sunday morning, marking the start of a new tourism and trade connection between the two countries.

TOKYO -- Japan Fisheries Information Service Center will start a service next fishing season that shows expected fishing grounds for saury by size class, based on analysis using artificial intelligence technology.

Australian airline Qantas said Sunday that data from 5.7 million customers stolen in a major cyberattack this year had been shared online, part of a leak affecting dozens of firms.

Ho Chi Minh City accounts for up to 12 percent of Vietnam’s total cancer-related deaths and is witnessing a shift from infection-related cancers to those associated with lifestyle and aging, such as breast and colorectal cancers, according to a conference held in the city on Saturday.

Police officers from Ba Dinh Ward, Hanoi have recovered a lost iPhone 17 Pro Max belonging to Lao TikToker Maysaa Phanthabouasy, who has more than 1.4 million followers on TikTok, the municipal Department of Public Security announced on Sunday.

A devastating flood triggered by the circulation of storm Matmo has inflicted severe damage across residential areas in Hanoi, including one family in Da Phuc Commune whose entire property — their house, more than 100 metric tons of bran and paddy, and thousands of chickens — was lost in only 10 minutes.

When it comes to the Mekong Delta's dream of transformation, people often think of bridges stretching across rivers or expressways reaching out to the sea. But if one project truly has the potential to reshape the region’s development, it is the Ho Chi Minh City-Can Tho railway.

SYDNEY -- New Zealand on Sunday pledged to cut biogenic methane emissions by up to 24 percent from 2017 levels by 2050, which its conservative government said would protect the agriculture sector and meet the country's climate commitments.

An ailing Novak Djokovic was knocked out of the Shanghai Masters semi-finals on Saturday by world number 204 Valentin Vacherot, who will face his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in a surprise all-family final.

BRUSSELS -- European Union member countries began rolling out a new entry and exit system on Sunday at the bloc’s external borders, electronically registering non-EU nationals' data.

OpenAI has officially expanded its most affordable subscription plan, ChatGPT Go, to 16 additional countries across Asia, including Vietnam, making the latest GPT-5 technology more accessible to users in the region.

A man who used an unauthorized medical degree to practice medicine at a clinic in Ca Mau Province, southern Vietnam treated more than 4,500 patients before being exposed.

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.