NEW DELHI — Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday that India and the European Union have reached a free trade agreement to deepen their economic and strategic ties.

Trinh Van Quyet, founder of FLC Group, together with the real estate developer’s leadership, has held a meeting with South Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Choi Youngsam to discuss cooperation orientations and expand connections between the business communities of the two countries.

A pair of photos showing a towering foreign visitor awkwardly eating a bowl of ‘hu tieu’ (Vietnamese rice noodle soup) at a sidewalk stall in Vietnam has gone viral on local social media, sparking amused commentary about cultural contrasts, street food, and the country’s famously low plastic stools.

BERLIN -- European carmakers, squeezed by U.S. tariffs and price wars in China, will get a welcome boost from an EU-India trade deal that sharply drops tariffs on car imports, but face a tough market dominated by homegrown firms and compact Japanese «kei cars.»

PARIS - France's National Assembly on Monday backed legislation to ban children under 15 years old from social media, amid growing concerns about online bullying and mental health risks.

Authorities can confiscate gold bullion involved in transactions conducted at shops that are not licensed to trade gold bars from February 9, as per a new government decree imposing tough penalties on illegal gold business activities.

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President of the European Council António Costa will pay an official visit to Vietnam from Wednesday to Thursday at the invitation of Vietnamese State President Luong Cuong, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday.

NAGOYA -- Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority on Monday began an on-site inspection of Chubu Electric Power Co.'s headquarters over earthquake risk data fraud linked to the firm's Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan.

Vietnam recorded a sharp surge in Russian tourist arrivals in 2025, with visitor numbers nearly tripling from a year earlier to nearly 690,000, recording the fastest growth among major inbound markets and exceeding the pre-COVID-19 peak, according to the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT).

Along the winding Mang Den mountain pass in central Vietnam, a small forest of giant crape myrtle trees beneath Dak Rve Bridge briefly transforms the mountainside each year, drawing travelers to slow down and take notice.

A life-threatening winter storm brought hazardous conditions to a wide swath of the United States on Sunday, from Texas to New England, prompting warnings to stay off roads, along with mass flight cancellations and power outages.

A group of armed attackers killed 11 people and injured 12 at a soccer sports field after a match in the Mexican city of Salamanca, its mayor, Cesar Prieto, said on Facebook on Sunday, but a motive was not immediately clear.

MAITON ISLAND, Thailand -- After a brief countdown by conservationists, a young Indo-Pacific leopard shark glided into the blue waters off Maiton Island in southern Thailand, released in the country's first efforts to «rewild» the endangered species.

Vietnam’s rapid rise in international scientific publishing has been accompanied by one of the world’s highest numbers of retracted research papers, prompting calls from experts for stronger research ethics, better funding, and tighter oversight, speakers said on Sunday.

Party General Secretary To Lam on Monday morning presided over a welcome ceremony in Hanoi for General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith, with the highest protocol reserved for a head of state.

Leaders from many countries, including China, Russia, Japan, North Korea, Cuba, and Cambodia, have sent congratulatory messages to To Lam on his re-election as general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) at the recent 14th National Party Congress.

The death toll from a ferry boat accident in the Southern Philippines has reached at least 15, with 316 people rescued, the Philippine Coast Guard said on Monday as the search continued for the dozens still missing.

A newly-completed public park at a long-idle prime land lot in Ho Chi Minh City has been handed over to local authorities for management and public use, offering residents a new green space just in time for the Lunar New Year holiday, slated for next month.

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Ho Chi Minh City has moved closer to promoting tap drinking water as part of its push for a greener and more livable urban environment, with plans underway to develop standards governing public tap drinking water quality, according to an urban studies expert.

Former Prime Minister of South Korea Lee Hae-chan passed away in Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday afternoon after suffering cardiac arrest, according to South Korean media.

Tours set during the Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet, are being booked earlier than ever, with many itineraries already sold out well before the peak travel period, according to several travel companies.

After just two weeks of construction, the long-vacant plot on Vo Van Tan Street, once considered prime land left idle for years in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, has been dramatically transformed into a vibrant public park bursting with flowers.

TAIPEI - U.S. climber Alex Honnold scaled the Taipei 101 skyscraper without ropes or safety netting on Sunday, watched by thousands of cheering and waving fans as he clambered up one of the world's tallest buildings.

SYDNEY - New Zealand authorities suspended recovery efforts on Sunday for victims of a landslide that hit a busy campground on the country's North Island.

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SYDNEY -- An Australian boy had died in hospital after being bitten by a shark in Sydney Harbour, his family said on Saturday after a series of shark attacks along the country's east coast.

Ho Chi Minh City police have dismantled a criminal ring involved in drug possession and organizing illegal drug use, pressing charges against 10 suspects including eight South Korean nationals, authorities said on Saturday.

Vietnam’s drug regulator on Friday ordered a nationwide recall of a batch of Diacerin 50 capsules used to treat osteoarthritis after tests showed the product failed to meet quality standards.

Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sent a letter of congratulations to the national under-23 football team and its coaching staff following their dramatic victory over South Korea in the third-place playoff at the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup on Saturday.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training has issued an urgent directive requiring schools to strictly monitor the origin and safety of food served in student meals.

Police in Dong Thap Province, southern Vietnam have arrested two suspects in connection with the discovery of a foreign man’s body on the Trung Luong-My Thuan Expressway, a local police official confirmed on Friday, saying the case is linked to an illegal border-crossing network.

Ca Mau Province in southernmost Vietnam has approved plans to attract investors for two new wind power projects with a combined investment of more than VND4.8 trillion (US$183 million).

TAIPEI -- Poor weather on Saturday forced U.S. climber Alex Honnold to postpone his «free solo» rope and harness-free ascent of the outside of Taiwan's Taipei 101 skyscraper, one of the world's tallest buildings.