VIETNAM TODAY

Meat from the winning buffalo at a traditional festival in Phu Tho was sold for VND 5 million (about USD 200) per kilogramme on March 5, drawing strong demand from thousands of visitors.

Vietnam raised retail petrol and oil prices sharply on March 5, marking the second consecutive increase amid rising global energy costs.

Airlines from the Middle East have introduced support measures for passengers in Vietnam after flight cancellations and schedule changes caused by escalating regional tensions.

Vietnamese customs officers have seized 3.6kg of cocaine hidden in the luggage of a South Korean passenger arriving at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi.

Residents and tourists have flocked to a riverbank in Danang after bright red and yellow formations, dubbed “blooming rocks”, appeared on a large stone along the Tram River.

Vietnam’s National Remote Sensing Department has identified 110 air pollution hotspots in Hanoi, including 14 craft villages, 68 major construction sites and 30 rice-straw burning areas.

Following agreements signed during Party General Secretary To Lam’s recent working visit to the US, American investment in Vietnam is accelerating, particularly across the southern economic region.

Under the plan, AI clusters will be developed under a model that combines centralised physical spaces with digital network linkages.

Vietnam’s central bank said liquidity remains stable despite recent pressure on the USD/VND exchange rate driven by global volatility and escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Customs officers at Noi Bai International Airport seized 12.3 kilogrammes of suspected gold from four passengers arriving from Taiwan on March 3, with the case transferred to police for investigation.

Prime minister Pham Minh Chinh has called for macroeconomic stability and tighter inflation control as Vietnam pushes to achieve growth of at least 10 per cent this year.

Vietnam has issued a high-level maritime security alert after eight cargo vessels carrying about 160 Vietnamese seafarers were reported operating near conflict hotspots in the Middle East.

Obesity is rising rapidly in Vietnam, with nearly 20 million people overweight or obese, raising mounting health, economic and social concerns, experts warned on March 4.

A VND 1.032 trillion (about USD 41 million) upgrade of Lien Khuong International Airport in Lam Dong Province began on March 4 and is scheduled for completion by late August.

A nearly two-metre oarfish weighing about 10 kilogrammes washed ashore in Danang on Wednesday, attracting crowds of residents who stopped to watch and take photographs.

Conscription ceremonies began nationwide on March 4 as tens of thousands of young people started their military service in a three day recruitment drive.