World

Germany handed over 2,558,000 Moderna vaccine doses via the Covax facility in Hanoi today, promising to take total donations to more than 10 million doses. The latest batch, which arrived in the country December 10, was delivered to National Institute of Hygiene and epidemiology, according to a German Embassy press …

Authorities in California said Monday they were reinstating mask mandates in all indoor public spaces to try to curb the resurgence of Covid-19 in recent weeks. The mask mandate, which will come into force Wednesday, applies to all individuals, whether vaccinated or not. Los Angeles, San Francisco and other counties …

Seven more Pfizer vaccine batches in Vietnam have had their expiration dates extended from six to nine months, the national epidemiology institute announced. In a document sent to local Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Monday, the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology announced seven more batches of vaccines have …

The Asian Development Bank warned Tuesday that the highly mutated Omicron coronavirus variant could have a “substantial” economic impact, as it trimmed its 2021 and 2022 growth forecasts for developing Asia. Despite a sharp drop in infections and increased vaccination across the region stretching from the Cook Islands in the …

The first Vietnamese to receive the Exceptional Bravery at Sea award for risking his life to save people from rough seas says it was a job he signed up for. It was also a humanitarian act and others would have done the same, said Tran Van Khoi, a member of …

Major Chinese manufacturing province Zhejiang is fighting its first Covid-19 cluster this year, with tens of thousands of citizens in quarantine and virus-hit areas suspending business operations, cutting flights and canceling events. The province reported 74 locally transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms on Dec. 12, official data showed on Monday, …

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a strong commitment to Indonesia on Monday, a senior official said, as he kicked off a Southeast Asia trip aimed at strengthening ties with a region that has become a strategic arena for Washington and Beijing. In his first trip to the region …

Hanoi’s Dong Da District administration has banned large gatherings and suspended on-site dining, citing the “complicated” Covid-19 situation. The decision was taken after Dong Da was named the only district in the city with a high risk of coronavirus infections. A document issued by the Dong Da People’s Committee said …

Two sides of a sea-crossing bridge along Vietnam’s longest interprovincial expressway in northern Quang Ninh Province have been joined together. Van Tien Bridge spans 1.5 kilometers linking Van Don and Tien Yen districts of Quang Ninh, home to world-renowned Ha Long Bay. Costing VND800 billion ($35 million), it is the …

Health authorities in northern China’s port city of Tianjin have detected the first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the country’s mainland, the state-run Tianjin Daily reported on Monday. The infection was discovered in a traveller who arrived in the city from overseas on Dec. 9, the newspaper said, …