Good morning from Vietnam!

LONDON/MILAN -- For more than a century, cafes in the Italian city of Padua have welcomed customers for an early evening drink, or aperitivo, encouraging them to sit outside and socialise before dinner.

A Polish bus crashed into a ditch on a Hungarian highway early Sunday, killing 12 people and leaving at least 10 with critical injuries, officials said.

Vietnam took a major step toward the ASEAN Cup 2026 final after securing a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Malaysia in the first leg of their semifinal away from home on Saturday evening.

A Russian woman has been detained in Da Nang City, central Vietnam for allegedly stealing a bag containing a Rolex watch, a Louis Vuitton handbag, and other valuables worth more than US$19,000 from another foreign tourist staying at a hotel.

Two villas at the more-than-100-year-old Bao Dai Villas heritage site in Nha Trang Ward, Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam have been renovated, restored, and reopened to visitors after years of closure.

State-owned Vietnam Post Corporation (Vietnam Post) has officially announced its entry into Vietnam's mobile telecommunications market as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), with a tourist SIM card under the Pottel brand as its first product.

Mooncakes have hit Ho Chi Minh City streets, with prices rising amid higher input costs. Bandai is using its first Gundam Base pop-up in Vietnam to assess the local market. Vietjet has added US$9.5 million to its Starlink investment. And more in our podcast.

«Vietnam's proposal hits on an undeniable truth: the best time to prepare for old age is decades before it arrives, and the only way to beat 20 years of inflation is to start early.»

The bitter white pith of pomelo, a part that might otherwise be thrown away, is put to good use by Vietnamese people to create a unique dessert once praised by food website TasteAtlas.

The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) said a drone detection and suppression system being tested at Da Nang International Airport has posted positive initial results.

Vietnamese motorcycle maker Nuen Moto has unexpectedly announced that it is suspending the development of the N1-S, a high-performance electric motorcycle that drew attention for its distinctive positioning and price tag of up to VND220 million (US$8,415).

With greater squad depth and more balanced personnel, Vietnam are tipped to secure victory despite facing Malaysia away from home in the first leg of the 2026 ASEAN Championship semifinals at 8:00 pm on Sunday.

Thousands of visitors are flocking to The Gundam Base Pop-up World Tour 2026 in Ho Chi Minh City, as Bandai, the Japanese company behind the Gundam brand, uses the event to assess Vietnam's market for Gundam products.

Few regional rivalries carry as much latent friction as Malaysia versus Vietnam, and when the two collide in the ASEAN Championship semifinals on Sunday, the contest arrives with an unmistakable Brazilian pulse.

Major brands such as Bibica, Kinh Do, Dong Khanh and Nhu Lan have rolled out large quantities of mooncakes in Ho Chi Minh City for this year's Mid-Autumn Festival, with most raising prices amid rising input costs.

El Nino is forecast to remain strong to very strong through at least February 2027, raising the risk of below-average rainfall in central Vietnam during the peak rainy season, while bringing an early end to the rainy season in the Central Highlands and southern regions.

Fewer than eight percent of the companies trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE) generated three-quarters of the bourse’s total profit in the second quarter of 2026, highlighting the widening gap between large and small enterprises.

Vietnam's budget carrier Vietjet has approved an additional VND250 billion (US$9.5 million) contribution to Galaxy Pay to invest in a Starlink satellite Internet system for its aircraft.

Doi (Bat) Pagoda in southern Vietnam risks losing the very animals that gave it its name. Once home to tens of thousands of large flying foxes, the centuries-old Khmer sanctuary now harbors only 300 to 400 bats, with fears growing that the iconic colony may never recover.

Thailand will take a 3-1 lead into the second leg of their ASEAN Championship semi-final against Singapore after Teerasak Poeiphimai scored twice on Saturday to give Anthony Hudson's visitors the upper hand ahead of the return in Bangkok.

Residents and tourists, especially vegan food enthusiasts, will have the chance to savor a wide range of traditional and modern plant-based dishes at the 2026 Green Food Festival held from August 24 to 30 at Binh Phu Park in Binh Phu Ward, Ho Chi Minh City.

A communal house in Hoi An with a history spanning over 200 years has been turned into an exhibition space, marked by the opening of the 'Hoi An through Old Eyes' event on Saturday as part of a cultural program promoting the ancient town’s heritage and identity.

Vietnam's electronics sector posted a trade deficit of more than US$12.3 billion in the first seven months of 2026, driven mainly by surging imports of chips, components, machinery and equipment for AI, data center and production expansion, according to the Vietnam Electronic Industries Association.

Binh Dan Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City has performed 4,278 robot-assisted surgeries over the past decade, setting a national record for the largest number of such procedures performed by a hospital in Vietnam during that period.

The «Smart Police Station» kiosk model was officially launched for pilot operation in Hanoi on Saturday morning.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has revealed the star-studded cast of the upcoming «X-Men» film at Disney's D23 fan event in California.

Vietnamese farmers and agricultural exporters need to prepare for stricter EU food-safety requirements as the bloc moves to lower maximum residue limits for a range of pesticides.

Vietnamese securities investors could soon be able to open accounts and complete transactions entirely online without signing paper contracts, under a draft amendment to the Securities Law that also proposes easing rules for ETFs and cutting licensing requirements for securities businesses.

Football Prediction AI, a football analytics platform specializing in data-driven match forecasts, has predicted that Vietnam will beat Malaysia 4-0 in the first leg of their 2026 ASEAN Cup semifinal on Sunday.

Good morning from Vietnam!

A heritage tourist train linking Hue and Phong Nha, two of Vietnam’s renowned tourism destinations, is set to begin operations on August 28, with ticket discounts available during its initial launch period.

Vietnam is stepping up efforts to build a regulated digital asset market, with a basic regulatory framework largely in place and five prospective exchanges preparing for a pilot, as the country seeks to develop blockchain and crypto assets into a new source of capital for the economy.

The Vietnam Medical Association, in collaboration with other organizations, on Friday released the findings of a study on the health impacts of climate change on informal outdoor workers in Vietnam’s major cities.

Hue City in central Vietnam on Friday conducted a disaster response and search-and-rescue drill featuring drones to locate and rescue people stranded by floods, as the locality prepares to respond effectively to storms, heavy rain and flooding when they occur.