World

South Korea’s central bank raised its policy interest rate by an unprecedented half point on Wednesday, aiming to pull inflation from 24-year highs while balancing fear of a sharp economic downturn as business activity flounders. Though 6 percent inflation prompted calls for action, a policy rate widely seen peaking by …

A smuggling ring had bribed Coast Guard officials with VND2 billion ($86,000) per month to bring gasoline from Singapore to Vietnam. According to a verdict heard at an ongoing trial in Hanoi, Phan Thanh Huu, the leader of a ring accused of smuggling gasoline from Singapore, and his son have …

Two women in Hanoi were killed after being struck by lightning Wednesday morning. At around 7 a.m., the women were on a paddy field in a village in Hoai Duc District when a storm hit. A bolt of lightning struck the paddy field, electrocuting the women on the spot. A …

Hanoi plans to build a 13,000-square-meter performing arts center, capable of hosting around 3,500 seats, near the West Lake. The center, designed to float on Dam Tri Lake, is part of the planning for Quang An Peninsula. The Tay Ho District People’s Committee is currently gathering opinions regarding the idea. …

Twitter Inc sued Elon Musk on Tuesday for violating his $44 billion deal to buy the social media platform and asked a Delaware court to order the world’s richest person to complete the merger at the agreed $54.20 per Twitter share. “Musk apparently believes that he – unlike every other …

Boeing Co delivered 51 airplanes in June to bring its first-half tally to 216 jets, up 38 percent from the same period last year, pushing its shares sharply higher on Tuesday. June’s deliveries exceeded the 50 threshold for the first time since March 2019 and included 43 Boeing 737 MAX, …

Thailand is close to introducing chemical castration as a means of tackling sex crime after lawmakers approved a bill that will give some offenders the right to choose the procedure in return for a reduced prison sentence. The bill, which the lower house passed in March, was approved late on …

TikTok suspended changes to its privacy policy for targeted advertising on Tuesday, a day before they took effect, while the lead European Union regulator studies whether they comply with the bloc’s data protection rules. Italy’s data protection authority had sounded an initial alarm, saying that Chinese-owned TikTok had told users …

A man in the southern province of Dong Nai died Tuesday, two days after being bitten by a king cobra that he’d caught with his bare hands. The 57-year-old man, whose name was not revealed, was helping his neighbor catch the snake, which he thought was non-venomous, his family said. …

Two Coast Guard commanders are standing trial in Hanoi after being charged with accepting VND8.7 billion ($372,000) in bribes from a gasoline smuggling ring. The trial of Major General Le Van Minh, 57, Commander of the Coast Guard Zone 4 and Major General Le Xuan Thanh, 61, Commander of Coast …