SAN FRANCISCO -- Forget flashy cars and mansion photos – today's ultimate flex is posting pictures from the Super Bowl field while making snow angels in celebratory confetti and people are paying big bucks for the privilege.

SEOUL - Lee Seung-heon, one of the leading candidates to become the next Bank of Korea governor, backs raising taxes on property ownership to stop surging home prices from stoking inflation but a policy pivot to more monetary tightening would be premature.

Ho Chi Minh City has moved to deploy a US$2 billion artificial intelligence (AI)-based hyperscale data center project jointly developed by a UAE-based group and domestic investors, a landmark step toward becoming a regional hub for data, technology, and international finance.

SEOUL -- A South Korean Army AH-1S Cobra attack helicopter crashed on Monday during a training flight in the northern county of Gapyeong, killing both crew members on board, the country's military said.

SYDNEY -- Asian markets jumped on Monday as a resounding win for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi whetted appetites for more reflationary policies, while there was widespread investor relief at a last-gasp rebound in U.S. chip stocks.

In a series of notable cases in Vietnam over the past weeks, individuals and businesses who received large sums of money erroneously credited to their bank accounts have returned the funds to their rightful owners, underscoring legal obligations under Vietnamese law to give back mistakenly transferred money.

Vietnam won a silver medal in the men’s 25m standard pistol team event at the 2026 Asian Rifle and Pistol Championships in India on Sunday, the Vietnam Shooting Federation said.

Police in Ho Chi Minh City have dismantled a gang of cat thieves who used pepper spray to resist capture, recovering 18 stolen cats and arresting multiple suspects.

An Indian couple has recently hosted a lavish wedding in Da Nang City, central Vietnam, welcoming 250 guests at a luxury venue in the coastal city.

Good morning from Vietnam!

BANGKOK - Polls opened in Thailand on Sunday in a general election defined by a three-way battle between the country's conservative, progressive and populist camps, with no single party expected to secure a clear majority, prolonging the spectre of political instability.

A vibrant fireworks display lit up the sky over Vinhomes Green Paradise Can Gio in Ho Chi Minh City, marking the opening of the Can Gio Spring Festival on Saturday night.

A woman was charged this week by police in Vietnam’s Lam Dong Province after live-streaming pornographic videos from a hotel to collect fees from viewers.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and President of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) Hun Sen witnessed the signing and exchange of cooperation documents between Vietnamese and Cambodian ministries, agencies, and localities in Phnom Penh on Friday, as part of the Vietnamese leader’s state visit to Cambodia.

Police in An Giang Province, southern Vietnam have uncovered two local establishments accused of producing fake ground coffee that operated openly for years, putting tens of metric tons of counterfeit products on the market without being detected, officials said on Saturday.

More than 30 foreign diplomats and their families joined a spring friendship tour in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday morning, immersing themselves in the colors, rituals, and warmth of Vietnam’s traditional Tet, or Lunar New Year, in the days leading up to the holiday.

The Ministry of Education and Training will roll out a nationwide plan to survey the English proficiency of teachers, but the survey results will be kept confidential.

Good morning from Vietnam!

Vietnam welcomed nearly 2.5 million international visitors in January 2026, the highest monthly total on record for the country’s tourism industry, official data showed.

Khanh Hoa Province, home to the famed beach destination of Nha Trang in south-central Vietnam, has announced a new tourism development strategy aiming to generate US$9 billion in revenue between 2026 and 2030, positioning itself among the country’s top five destinations.

More than 70 tourists from Poland joined local residents in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta in early February to experience traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) customs, as travel firms expand culture-focused tours for inbound visitors.

Vietnamese mathematician Ngo Bao Chau, the country’s only Fields Medal laureate, will officially join the University of Hong Kong (HKU) in June 2026 after 15 years at the University of Chicago in the U.S.

BRUSSELS -- TikTok was charged on Friday with breaching EU online content rules over what the bloc's regulator said were its addictive features and was told to change the design of its app or risk a fine of as much as 6% of owner ByteDance's global turnover.

SHOMPOLE, Kenya -- The dozens of cow and goat carcasses scattered around Maria Katanga's family compound testify to the grinding impact of an ongoing drought on Kenya's pastoralist communities who rely on livestock for survival.

A 97-year-old H’Mong textile artisan in Vietnam’s northern highlands has become an unlikely social media sensation after a short video posted by a U.S. travel blogger showed her smiling and greeting visitors in English.

Phuc Long Dragon is going to launch its first flagship store at 82 Hang Dieu Street, Hanoi on Sunday, marking its initial step to bring the tea culture close to capital city residents.

SEOUL -- South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb said on Saturday it had accidentally given away more than $40 billion worth of bitcoins to customers as promotional rewards, triggering a sharp selloff on the exchange.

LAHORE -- Extravagantly coloured kites dueled above Lahore and cries of victory rang out from rooftops on Friday, as the city celebrated the lifting of an 18-year ban on a spectacular three-day traditional Punjabi kite-flying festival.

Good morning from Vietnam!

TOKYO -- Kindai University said Thursday that it has achieved the world's first complete aquaculture of blackthroat seaperch, a popular and expensive fish in Japan.

ZURICH -- The World Economic Forum has launched an independent investigation into its CEO Borge Brende to clarify his relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the organization said on Thursday.

Phu Quoc Special Zone, an island in An Giang Province, southern Vietnam, welcomed nearly one million visitors in January, driven by a sharp rise in international arrivals.

KARIWA, NIIGATA PREF. -- Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. announced Friday that it will restart the No. 6 reactor at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, on Monday.

Vietnam and Laos have reaffirmed their commitment to deepening all-round cooperation, focusing on stronger economic, trade, and investment ties and working toward a long-term goal of lifting bilateral trade to US$10 billion, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The police agency of Gia Lai Province in central Vietnam held a press conference on Friday morning to release detailed information on the arrest of suspects involved in the January 19 armed robbery at Vietcombank’s Tra Ba branch in Hoi Phu Ward, which has drawn significant public attention.