World

A nursing home in southern Japan is “hiring” babies for a very important job — to keep its elderly residents company and make them smile. The salary? Nappies and milk formula. New recruits at the facility in Kitakyushu must be under four years old, and their guardians have to sign …

The European Union is preparing to take emergency action to reform the electricity market and get a grip on energy prices that have soared since Russia invaded Ukraine, senior officials said Monday. Energy ministers from EU member states will hold urgent talks in Brussels on September 9. High gas prices …

Police in the northern city of Hai Phong have arrested a woman seeking to sell her two-year-old daughter. Vu Thi Hien, 26, a native of northern Nam Dinh Province, is under arrest along with Dang Van Dung, 33, and Bui Thi Phuong, 32. Both Dung and Phuong live in Hoa …

The HCMC Department of Transport wants to upgrade 11 roads to improve connectivity with five ports and has sent a proposal to the administration seeking approval. The VND30.5 trillion (US$1.3 billion) they are budgeted to cost could be raised by increasing the public spending proposed in 2021-25, the department said. …

A diesel shortage has stranded many fishing vessels in the coastal town of Phan Thiet in Binh Thuan Province and the morning fish markets are eerily quiet. The Phan Thiet port in the central province was unusually quiet Monday morning despite it being peak fishing season. Hundreds of fishing vessels …

Worsening droughts, storms and torrential rain in some of the world’s largest economies could cause $5.6 trillion in losses to the global economy by 2050, according to a report released on Monday. This year heavy rains have triggered floods that inundated cities in China and South Korea and disrupted water …

An engine-cooling problem forced NASA on Monday to postpone for at least four days the debut test launch of the colossal new rocketship it plans to use for future astronaut flights back to the moon, more than 50 years after Apollo’s last lunar mission. The space agency declined to set …

Bangladesh is finalizing deals with Vietnam and India to import a total of 330,000 tonnes of rice as it races to replenish reserves and cool domestic prices, two officials with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday. Soaring prices of the staple grain for the country’s 165 million people …

Dong Nai Province and Vietnam’s airport operator have completed procedures to build two roads connecting with Vietnam’s largest airport-to-be Long Thanh. The two routes are estimated to cost VND4.8 trillion ($205 million) and the process of bidding to choose a contractor is set for November, the Airports Corporation of Vietnam …

With more people contracting Covid-19 and the number of severe cases rising again, a Ho Chi Minh City health official has warned of another wave. According to official numbers, 164 people contracted Covid-19 each day in HCMC in the past week compared to 127 the previous week. In the week …