VIETNAM TODAY

PM Pham Minh Chinh has announced the establishment of an international financial centre in Vietnam, describing it as a turning point that will open the country to financial technology integration.

Two Vietnamese species, the sucker-mouthed fish Supradiscus varidiscus and the bee Habropoda pierwolae, were among over 70 new species identified in 2025 by the American Museum of Natural History.

Vietnam’s total import-export turnover in 2025 is expected to reach a record USD 920 billion, propelling the country into the top 15 global trading economies and second in ASEAN.

Indonesia will not import rice for either consumption or industrial use next year, citing sufficient domestic production, according to a government official.

Northern Vietnam is set to experience two additional cold air surges, bringing rain and lower temperatures from December 21 and again around December 24, according to the national weather agency.

Vietnam has rejected what it described as “biased and inaccurate” assessments contained in a recent update on religious freedom released by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

The Asian Development Bank and BIDV have signed a USD 250 million financing package to support climate-resilient agriculture and expand access to credit for women-owned enterprises in Vietnam.

Police in the central province of Quang Tri have seized a shipment of 149 gun components that was being transported illegally to Hanoi.

Hanoi plans to build two additional waste-to-energy plants in Soc Son and Son Tay, with the goal of largely treating all of the city’s household waste by 2028.

Vietnam today simultaneously held groundbreaking and inauguration ceremonies for 234 major projects across the country to celebrate the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training has proposed extending student fare discounts to metro and ferry services under a draft decree implementing the Education Law.

Hanoi plans to install an additional 2,460 AI-powered traffic cameras in 2026 at major intersections, bridges, hospitals and bus terminals, as part of efforts to modernise traffic management.

A Hanoi household owning a 421 sq m plot beside Hoan Kiem Lake is set to receive about USD 17.7 million in compensation as authorities prepare to build a major new square and park in the area.

Ho Chi Minh City police used an AI camera system to locate an iPhone lost by an Australian tourist, recovering the device within 10 minutes of receiving the report.

An unexploded 227-kilogramme bomb containing more than 87 kilogrammes of explosives has been found about 50 metres from a market and bus station in Hue, authorities said.

Nearly 1.7 million people have left Vietnam’s Mekong Delta over the past decade, driven partly by climate pressures on farming and fisheries, a World Bank report says.

Camera traps have captured images of the Asian golden cat for the first time in Pu Hoat Nature Reserve in the central province of Nghe An, conservation officials said.

Three people were killed and two injured after an ambulance crashed into a parked container truck and burst into flames on the Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway early on December 18.

Vietnam’s total fertility rate has dropped to 1.93 children per woman, below replacement level, highlighting a continuing trend towards smaller families.