Good morning from Vietnam!

Vietnam will significantly increase salaries and bonuses for elite athletes and coaches, with Olympic gold medalists who break Olympic records eligible for rewards of up to VND4.9 billion (US$186,500), under a new government decree issued last week.

Traffic police in Ho Chi Minh City have stepped up enforcement against motorcyclists and car drivers who encroach on the bicycle-only lanes along both sides of Mai Chi Tho Boulevard, with fines of up to nearly US$230, as repeated violations continue to pose safety risks to cyclists.

Residents and organizations in central Hanoi are vacating properties to make way for a new public square and park east of Hoan Kiem Lake, as authorities move to complete site clearance for the project by March.

Vietnam’s economy expanded by 8.02 percent year on year to about US$514 billion in 2025, marking the second-highest growth in 15 years, driven by strong performance in industry, construction, and services, according to data from the National Statistics Office of Vietnam (NSO) under the Ministry of Finance.

Traffic police in Ho Chi Minh City confirmed on Monday they had seized a Honda SH scooter after a teenage girl was filmed riding hands-free while carrying two passengers on the Ba Son Bridge, an incident that drew widespread attention on social media.

The administration of Nha Trang Ward in Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam confirmed on Tuesday it had suspended the operations of BlueSea Beach & Bar after a group of its employees was filmed threatening foreign tourists with a shovel and a chair on a public beach.

LAS VEGAS - Autonomous driving technology is expected to dominate the CES trade show in Las Vegas this week as investors bet that artificial intelligence will invigorate an industry beset by slow progress, high costs, safety incidents and regulatory scrutiny.

Vina Kraft was honored among the Top 100 Sustainable Businesses at the 2025 Corporate Sustainability Index (CSI) program, held in early December last year, a recognition underscoring the company’s journey toward green manufacturing and long-term sustainable development.

Ho Chi Minh City recorded 3,197 newly detected HIV infections in the first nine months of 2025, with men who have sex with men accounting for more than half of the new cases, the city’s health department said.

Vietnamese chess player Dinh Nho Kiet has been awarded the International Master (IM) title at the age of 16, becoming one of the youngest players in the country to achieve the distinction, Vietnam’s chess authorities said on Monday.

Vietnamese photographer Phi Long has received an honorable mention in the Amateur Conceptual category at the 2025 Monochrome Awards, an international black-and-white photography competition.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security has proposed a new decree introducing a wide range of administrative fines for violations related to data activities, with the highest penalties reaching up to VND200 million (US$7,600).

In Ho Chi Minh City, public awareness of wildlife protection has continued to improve, with more residents voluntarily handing over wild animals, alongside ongoing efforts by forest rangers to receive, care for, and release them back into their natural habitats.

After nearly three decades since its master plan was approved in 1996, Thu Thiem New Urban Area in Ho Chi Minh City is entering an accelerated phase, with authorities targeting full completion before 2030 as part of the city’s long-term development strategy.

Local police in Quang Tri Province, central Vietnam have recovered and returned approximately VND86 million (US$3,250) worth of cash and assets, along with personal documents, to a Lao tourist, earning heartfelt thanks and praise for the country’s hospitality.

Good morning from Vietnam!

BERLIN -- Matcha is in short supply as the Japanese green tea is at the center of a global boom.

TOKYO -- Japan's Environment Ministry plans to compile by March an action plan aimed at reducing large amounts of clothing waste from households.

Phu Quoc International Airport in Phu Quoc Special Zone, an island in An Giang Province, southern Vietnam, is operating at full capacity to handle a record surge of international visitors, with around 80 flights arriving daily as the island cements its status as a top tourist destination in early 2026.

A beachfront bar in Nha Trang Ward, Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam has responded after a video surfaced of its employees threatening foreign tourists with a shovel and a plastic chair on a public beach, saying the altercation began when the tourists allegedly harassed a female staff member.

BEIJING/SINGAPORE -- A boom in battery storage has bolstered the demand outlook for lithium in 2026, driving hopes for an accelerated turnaround for an industry struggling with oversupply.

The second Sa Dec Flower and Ornamental Plants Festival in Dong Thap Province, southern Vietnam attracted more than 1.17 million visitors over nine days, including around 1,700 international visitors, according to local authorities.

Vietnam will require every house, apartment, and real estate asset nationwide to be assigned a unique electronic identification code starting March 1, as per a government decree issued to standardize data on the housing and property market.

The Cinema Department of Vietnam has requested that Netflix remove the Chinese TV series ‘Shine on Me’ from its website and app after the drama was found to feature the illegal nine-dash line, which China uses to assert unlawful claims over most of the East Vietnam Sea, violating Vietnam’s national sovereignty.

After more than two years of renovation, the Saigon River bank area on the Thu Thiem side, once part of Thu Duc City in Ho Chi Minh City, has taken on a striking new appearance, marked by a green public park and open, welcoming landscapes, with a field of blooming sunflowers being a highlight.

Traffic fatalities across Vietnam fell sharply during the four-day New Year holiday, with deaths down nearly 32 percent compared with the same period last year, according to a rapid report released by the Traffic Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security.

Ho Chi Minh City’s tourism sector generated more than VND2.63 trillion (US$100 million) in revenue during the four-day New Year holiday, signaling a strong start to the new year, according to the municipal tourism authority.

The Honda Activa e:, an electric scooter, is widely seen as a strong candidate to enter the Vietnamese market ahead of the 2026 Lunar New Year although there has been no official confirmation.

Vietnam’s stock market upgrade to secondary emerging-market status by FTSE Russell has drawn interest from some of the world’s largest investment funds, including institutions managing trillions of dollars in assets, the country’s securities regulator said.

President Donald Trump doubled down Sunday on his claim that Greenland should become part of the United States, despite calls by Denmark's prime minister to stop «threatening» the territory.

Police in Quang Ninh Province, northern Vietnam said on Sunday they were investigating an illegal gambling operation on Ha Long Bay after detaining 30 people during a raid on three fishing boats.

Local authorities in Nha Trang Ward, Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam are investigating an incident in which foreign tourists were threatened by a group of Vietnamese men armed with a shovel and a plastic chair at a public beach, after a video of the confrontation spread widely on social media.

Good morning from Vietnam!

The People’s Committee of Da Nang City in central Vietnam has approved a controlled, time-limited test allowing a company to trial a new technology for converting digital assets into fiat currency and vice versa.