KYOTO -- A weakening of a mechanism that produces a sense of satisfaction after drinking could lead to excessive alcohol consumption, a team of Japanese and other researchers has found.

TOKYO -- Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi held talks separately with his counterparts from Britain and Italy in Munich, southern Germany, on Friday, confirming cooperation toward joint development of a next-generation fighter jet.

Vietnam has delivered 250 metric tons of rice to Cuba as part of a bilateral agreement aimed at strengthening food security and agricultural cooperation between the two nations.

Minister of National Defense General Phan Van Giang hosted a reception for Michael DeSombre, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, in Hanoi on Friday.

Police in Thanh Hoa Province, north-central Vietnam have detained and prosecuted two local men in connection with an illegal tiger bone paste operation, one of whom is accused of producing the paste and the other of supplying tiger carcasses.

Police in Ha Tinh Province, north-central Vietnam broke up an interprovincial electronic cigarette trading ring, confiscating nearly 50,000 products valued at over VND8.7 billion (US$336,650), an officer said on Friday.

Police confirmed on Friday they had fined a bus driver and the vehicle owner a combined VND207 million (US$8,006) after the driver was caught transporting 83 passengers in a 45-seater bus on the Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway in northern Vietnam.

The United States is seeking to deepen strategic ties with Vietnam both bilaterally and in regional and global affairs, underscoring the importance Washington attaches to the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Michael DeSombre said on Friday.

Police in Ho Chi Minh City have dismantled a large-scale ring involved in the production and distribution of counterfeit food and household products, seizing nearly one metric ton of fake monosodium glutamate (MSG), thousands of bottles of fish sauce and hundreds of kilograms of detergent.

The practice of charging foreigners a higher price is still common in Vietnam. As tourism numbers increase, this habit may undermine a bright future, as some street sellers and businesses continue to overcharge people based on their appearance.

Vietnam earned a staggering US$99 million from tilapia exports in 2025, buoyed by surging demand from the United States and Brazil.

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's economy expanded at its fastest pace in three years in 2025, surpassing expectations as strong domestic demand, exports and investment propelled growth, with momentum likely to continue this year, the central bank said on Friday.

Michael Kors launched its fall/winter collection on Thursday during New York Fashion Week as models in wool coats and monochromatic sweaters walked the runway carrying feathered bags.

Eli Lilly had $1.5 billion worth of pre-launch inventory of its experimental oral weight-loss drug, a filing showed on Thursday, ahead of an expected decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April.

WASHINGTON - The formation of a black hole can be quite a violent event, with a massive dying star blowing up and some of its remnants collapsing to form an exceptionally dense object with gravity so strong not even light can escape. But, as new observations indicate, the process sometimes can be a rather quiet affair.

Nike-owned Converse is cutting corporate roles as it aligns its operating model with its sportswear giant parent, a source familiar with the development told Reuters on Thursday.

Airports fill to unimaginable levels. Bus stations flood with human desperation. It can only be one time of the year in Vietnam: Tet.

Pop superstar Taylor Swift has asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to block a bedding company from securing a federal trademark featuring the phrase «Swift Home,» arguing it would confuse shoppers.

Passengers can travel free of charge on both the Cat Linh-Ha Dong and Nhon-Hanoi Station metro lines in Hanoi for nine days during the Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet.

VinFast, the electric vehicle arm of Vietnam’s largest private conglomerate Vingroup, delivered 16,172 electric vehicles in Vietnam in January 2026, up 55 percent from a year earlier, the company announced recently.

A seafood company in Ca Mau, Vietnam’s southernmost province, has been officially recognized for producing the largest Ca Mau crab ever recorded in Vietnam, with the specimen weighing over 1.8 kilograms.

SHANGHAI/GUANGZHOU - When Zhou, a 33-year-old Chinese civil servant, was a student, finding love and companionship was something she believed would happen with time.

SYDNEY - Australia's labour market has stabilised from a slowdown and remains tight, consistent with stubborn inflationary pressures in the economy, a senior central bank official said on Thursday.

Noi Bai International Airport and Tan Son Nhat International Airport are expected to handle record passenger volumes during Tet, the Lunar New Year - the Year of the Horse, according to airport authorities.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology, in collaboration with Vietnam Post Corporation, and CT UAV Joint Stock Company, on Thursday opened the city’s first cross-sea postal route using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that connects Can Gio Commune with Vung Tau Ward.

BANGKOK - A female teacher died on Thursday in southern Thailand's Hat Yai district after a gunman opened fire at a school where she worked, the provincial administration said on social media.

James Van Der Beek, the star of 1990s teen drama «Dawson's Creek,» died on Wednesday at the age of 48 after a battle with cancer, his wife announced on social media.

Police in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam have busted a large-scale drug trafficking ring, detaining 11 suspects and seizing some five kilograms of narcotics.

The War Remnants Museum has become the first museum in Ho Chi Minh City to introduce an online ticketing system, marking a significant step toward modernizing visitor services and ending long lines at the entrance.

OTTAWA - The suspect in a deadly school shooting in western Canada was an 18-year-old woman with mental health issues who killed her mother and stepbrother before attacking her former school, police said on Wednesday, but investigators did not offer a motive for one of the worst mass slaughters in Canadian history.

Online shopping in Vietnam continued to grow strongly in 2025, but consumers became more price-sensitive and cautious in their spending as platform fees jumped and incomes lagged behind rising prices, according to industry data released on Wednesday.

Heineken on Wednesday said it would cut up to 6,000 jobs from its global workforce and set lower expectations for profit growth in 2026 than a year earlier, as the Dutch brewer and its peers face weak demand.

Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday officially launched the Vietnam International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City (VIFC-HCMC) at its headquarters at 8 Nguyen Hue Street, Saigon Ward.

MISATO, SAITAMA, Japan -- Sparks illuminate the soot-covered studio of Japanese swordsmith Akihira Kawasaki as his apprentice hammers red-hot steel, showcasing a millennium-old craft now enjoying a resurgence in popularity.

In pet-mad Brazil, the state of Sao Paulo will allow animals to be buried in family graves starting Tuesday, with a law recognizing «the emotional bond» that exists between humans and their household critters.