VIETNAM TODAY

Ho Chi Minh City’s Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro route (Metro Line 1) was full of passengers in the early hours of New Year’s Day as large crowds returned home after fireworks celebrations.

Military and public security forces are working around the clock to complete construction before the Lunar New Year (Tet), which falls on middle February 2026.

Fireworks were set off simultaneously at five locations across Hanoi at 11.45 pm on December 31 to mark the New Year 2026.

Crowds poured into central areas of major cities across Vietnam, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, to welcome the New Year 2026.

Vietnam has appointed four more army officers to serve in UN peacekeeping missions in Africa and Europe, reinforcing its growing and increasingly professional role in global peace operations.

Severe coastal erosion has continued to batter Hoi An’s beaches after late-2025 storms, damaging large stretches of shoreline and raising concerns over safety, tourism and livelihoods.

Long Bien Bridge in Hanoi will reopen to two way traffic on January 1, 2026, after nearly two months of repairs aimed at improving safety on the historic crossing over the Red River.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has requested more breakthroughs in banking reform and policy implementation to drive the country's double digit economic growth.

Two rare silver pheasants wandered into a resident’s garden in Lam Dong Province and were handed over to authorities for release into the wild, police said.

Doctors in Hanoi saved the life of a foreign man who suffered sudden cardiac arrest while playing pickleball, after he collapsed at a hospital gate and was resuscitated under an emergency protocol.

Two residents in Thanh Hoa Province have voluntarily handed over rare wild animals to authorities for care and release back into the wild.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Construction has reaffirmed plans to break ground on the north-south high speed railway by the end of 2026, despite Vingroup’s decision to withdraw its investment proposal.

Modern retail infrastructure in Vietnam grew substantially, reaching 1,293 supermarkets and 276 shopping malls nationwide, complemented by 8,274 traditional markets.

A strong cold air mass is forecast to affect northern Vietnam and the north-central region from January 1, 2026, bringing rain, colder temperatures and locally severe cold in mountainous areas.

Scientists have identified a group of 37 critically endangered Delacour’s langurs in Ninh Binh Province, highlighting the area’s growing importance for wildlife conservation.

The Government has issued Decree No. 340/2025/ND-CP on administrative penalties in the monetary and banking sector, set to take effect on February 9, 2026.

The northern city of Haiphong plans to expand its area by over 5,600 ha by 2030 through land reclamation to support industry, services, logistics and coastal tourism.

Vietnamese victims have lost nearly VND 40 trillion (about USD 1.6 billion) to more than 24,000 online scams since 2020.

A wild monkey has attacked several residents in Chieng Hac Commune in the northern mountainous province of Son La, injuring three people, local authorities have confirmed.