Australia’s ban on social media for children under 16 has gained strong support in Vietnam, where experts and parents see it as essential for protecting young people’s mental health and comprehensive development.

Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Oanh won the women’s 3,000 meters steeplechase in 10:13.74 on Tuesday to secure her third athletics gold medal at the 2025 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and take her career total to 15 SEA Games golds.

Controversies surrounding referee decisions continue to overshadow the 2025 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand, as athletes, including many of Vietnam, face unfair rulings in multiple sports.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday ended a long-standing recommendation that all U.S. newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine, leaving it instead to parents, in consultation with a healthcare provider, to decide whether infants born to hepatitis B-negative mothers should get the vaccine, including the birth dose.

Hospitals in Vietnam’s major cities have reported a rise in admissions for strokes and other cardiovascular emergencies as temperatures drop toward the end of the year, doctors said.

Residents who sing karaoke at any time of day may be fined if the noise exceeds permitted limits, starting from December 15, marking a significant shift in Vietnam’s approach to controlling noise pollution.

Two ex-leaders of the Vietnam Food Safety Authority under the Ministry of Health, along with dozens of former officials and specialists, have been charged with receiving bribes totaling more than VND100 billion (US$3.8 million).

TOKYO -- Japanese startup Space One Co. will launch a Kairos small rocket carrying artificial satellites on February 25 next year after two failed attempts.

Vietnam’s Sapper Unit No. 4, deployed to the United Nations Interim Security Force in Abyei, Africa, held a gift-giving event for local residents and children on Monday.

Vietnam’s largest private conglomerate Vingroup has proposed breaking ground for the major sea-crossing bridge project linking Can Gio and Vung Tau in Ho Chi Minh City in June next year, with a total investment of over VND104.4 trillion ($4 billion).

Ho Chi Minh City has set a roadmap to fully transition government vehicles to electric and green energy, with the goal that 100 percent of public buses and government passenger cars will use clean energy by 2030, city authorities said.

TOKYO -- A day after news broke that Japan would soon lose its last two giant pandas to China, thousands of fans flocked to Tokyo's Ueno Zoo on Tuesday to catch a final glimpse, with many bidding the twins a tearful farewell.

Mongolia won the gold medal at the 2025 World Memory Championships, held in Ho Chi Minh City, after a strong finish on Sunday.

PARIS, France -- US actor Angelina Jolie revealed her double mastectomy scars in a photo shoot for Time France, in the magazine's first French edition that launched this week.

Vietnam’s women’s volleyball team lost 3-2 to Thailand in a dramatic 2025 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games final on Monday, with many fans citing the absence of star player Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen cost them the gold medal.

Vietnam recorded its first-ever 20-millionth international arrival in a single year on Monday, with the milestone celebrated in Phu Quoc Special Zone, an island administered by southern An Giang Province.

The number of people hospitalized in a suspected food poisoning incident linked to ‘banh mi’ in Phan Thiet Ward, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam has spiked to 80, local authorities said on Monday afternoon.

Good morning from Vietnam!

The new Decree 282 officially takes effect on Monday, setting out administrative penalties for violations in the fields of security, social order and safety; prevention of social evils; and notably, prevention of domestic violence, directly affecting marital relationships and household conduct.

Vietnam’s inaugural technical flight to Long Thanh International Airport on Monday became the world’s most-watched flight of the day, according to Flightradar24.

SYDNEY -- Australia vowed stricter gun laws on Monday as it began mourning victims of its worst mass shooting in almost 30 years, in which police accused a father-and-son duo of killing 15 people at a Jewish celebration at Sydney's famed Bondi Beach.

Vietnam’s government has approved a special mechanism allowing state agencies to directly assign or place orders with domestic companies for technology transfer in major railway projects, a move that could benefit large industrial firms positioning for future rail investments.

TOKYO -- The Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo's Chuo Ward, a popular tourist spot crowded with food shoppers and inbound visitors, has issued an unusual request this month asking tour operators to refrain from guiding tourists there toward the end of the year to avoid causing problems.

A total of 105 people have been hospitalized in Quang Ngai Province, central Vietnam over the past several days for suspected food poisoning after consuming ‘banh mi’ from Hong Van outlets, Do Ngoc Hoa, deputy director of the local health department, said on Monday.

BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH - Thailand's military said on Monday that it has stopped fuel shipments passing through a border checkpoint with Laos because of fears they were being diverted to Cambodia, with which it is fighting a fierce border conflict.

Children’s Hospital 1 in Ho Chi Minh City has confirmed the deaths of two schoolchildren, a seven-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy, who drowned in separate incidents at public swimming pools, despite the accidents occurring in shallow water and under teacher supervision.

HONG KONG -- China will cover all out-of-pocket expenses related to childbirth next year, said the country's national healthcare security administration, as authorities try to incentivise more young couples to have children.

As Vietnam’s largest airport, Long Thanh International Airport in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam, is expected to unlock a wealth of opportunities when it enters commercial operations from mid-2026.

Authorities in Dak Lak Province, central Vietnam will break ground later this week on the Cu Lao Mai Nha high-end resort complex, a tourism project worth VND4.998 trillion (US$190 million), local officials said.

SYDNEY -- A brave few dashed towards Australia's Bondi Beach as a mass shooting unfolded on Sunday night, wading through fleeing crowds to rescue children, treat the injured and confront the gunmen.

A technical test flight will be conducted on Monday afternoon as a final rehearsal before Long Thanh International Airport in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam welcomes its first official flights on Friday, according to Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV).

Vietnam inaugurated its first power project using imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) on Sunday, a US$1.4-billion cluster in Dong Nai Province designed to boost energy security and expand cleaner electricity generation.

Vietnamese rapper and music producer Rhymastic attended the premiere of ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ in Wellington on Saturday as the only representative from Vietnam for the Asia-Pacific region, 20th Century Studios confirmed.

Thirty-six people in Lam Dong Province, central Vietnam were hospitalized after suspected food poisoning linked to 'banh mi' purchased from the same location in Phan Thiet Ward, the provincial health department said on Sunday evening.

Good morning from Vietnam!