General Secretary and State President To Lam and his spouse on November 10 visited Kanagawa Prefecture, where he met with and attended a reception hosted by Governor Kuroiwa Yuji, visited Meiko Electronics, toured the Vietnam–Japan Sculpture Exhibition, and attended the Vietnam–Japan Friendship Concert in the prefecture, according to VNA.

During the meeting, the General Secretary and State President stated that Vietnam and Japan identify local-level cooperation as a vital channel to substantiate high-level bilateral agreements, establishing a sustainable foundation for relations between the two nations.

The Vietnamese top leader proposed that Governor Kuroiwa Yuji foster cooperation with Vietnamese localities to effectively harness available potential by intensifying delegation exchanges and cultural ties, while encouraging the prefecture’s enterprises to expand economic and investment collaboration with Vietnam—particularly in Kanagawa’s key strengths such as high technology, semiconductors, and green transition.

The Vietnamese leader expressed hope that Kanagawa would continue to advance cooperation in healthcare and public wellness, popularizing the ME-BYO healthcare model to help improve the quality of life for senior citizens in Vietnam, while creating favorable conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to access the prefecture’s market, technologies, and innovation ecosystem.

The General Secretary and State President thanked the Governor and Kanagawa Prefecture for consistently caring for and supporting the community of more than 45,000 Vietnamese individuals studying and working in the prefecture, and welcomed the prefecture’s initiative to establish the Hanoi – Kanagawa Economic and Trade Office this year.

Governor Kuroiwa Yuji highlighted that Kanagawa is Japan’s leading manufacturing hub for artificial satellites, affirming his desire to cooperate in the aerospace field, maintain momentum in healthcare, public wellness, innovation, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence (AI), and receive more high-quality workers and technical interns from Vietnam to work in the prefecture.

According to Governor Kuroiwa Yuji, more than 40 enterprises from Kanagawa Prefecture are currently investing in Vietnam, and the Vietnamese community represents the largest foreign community in the prefecture.

Mr. Kuroiwa Yuji noted that Kanagawa will organize the Kanagawa Festival 2026 in Hanoi in November 2026 and stage the opera “Princess Anio” at Ho Guom Opera House in March 2027, expressing his hope that the production will reach wider audiences across Vietnam.

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Source: Vietnam Insider

The Most Expensive Bowl Is Made to Order, Not the Standard Price

According to Ms. Loan, the stall serves a wide range of price tiers. Whether customers ask for a bowl priced at 50,000, 70,000, 100,000, or 150,000 VND, she scoops it with full portions of crab meat, prawns, and pork hock. The entry-level bowl includes pork slices, blood pudding, and broth for around 50,000 VND. Diners can also select intermediate options at 100,000 or 200,000 VND to match their individual budgets.

Meanwhile, the 350,000 to 400,000 VND bowls are strictly custom orders. According to the owner, the stall only prepares these premium bowls when a customer explicitly requests the most exclusive portion featuring two giant crab claws, abundant crab meat, and large prawns. The price is always quoted to the customer in advance. The final bill fluctuates based on the exact quantity of claws, crab meat, and prawns requested.

What Goes Inside the Special Bowl?

The stall operates without elaborate signage or air conditioning, consisting only of a steaming broth vat alongside a few low plastic tables and stools set along the alleyway. Many diners know the address as “Banh Canh Cua Alley 360,” while regulars affectionately address Ms. Loan as Auntie Gai. The stall has occupied this alley for more than thirty years, earning a long-standing reputation as one of the most expensive street-side noodle soup spots in the city.

Roughly two years ago, the stall’s signature high-end bowl made headlines when prices were cited at 300,000 to 350,000 VND. Recently, reports of bowls reaching 350,000 to 400,000 VND circulated widely across social media following a review by a food content creator. In that video, the creator ordered a 350,000 VND bowl, highlighting a crab claw spanning nearly half the size of an adult hand placed in the center of the bowl.

The crab meat at Ms. Loan’s stall comes from live crabs hand-picked into thick flakes rather than frozen processed meat. The crab meat is served with a side dish of lime-pepper-chili salt to accentuate its natural sweetness. Alongside crab, the bowl features large, crisp, peeled black tiger prawns, sweet and chewy crab patties, a rich piece of tendon pork hock, and fried featherback fish cake floating in a golden, thick broth. The broth remains the most praised component, known for its rich profile, aromatic crab tomalley, fried shallots, and balanced viscosity. The volume of tapioca noodles in the special bowl is identical to a standard portion; the surcharge reflects the substantial seafood toppings.

What the Owner Says About Pricing and Ingredient Quality

The following details reflect statements provided directly by Ms. Loan. She explained that wholesale live crab prices fluctuate significantly on the open market. Her stall exclusively sources live Grade-1 Ca Mau and Nam Can sea crabs, inspecting each specimen individually. According to her, she never purchases suffocated crabs, frozen stocks, or cheap iced supplies.

The cost economics, as she describes, are straightforward. A kilogram of live sea crab costs several hundred thousand dong at wholesale. Yet after boiling, manual peeling, and claw cracking, it yields only a few hundred grams of solid crab meat. Hand-picking the crab meat from the early hours of the morning requires painstaking labor, meaning seafood represents the overwhelming majority of her operational capital. She also noted that across recent years, rising wholesale prices for fresh black tiger prawns, pork marrow bones, cooking oil, fried shallots, cooking gas, and seasoning compelled the stall to incrementally adjust the price of its custom bowl over time.

Regarding billing, Ms. Loan emphasized that prices are always communicated to diners before bowls are prepared. She noted that having traded in this alley for over thirty years, customers who ate here in their youth now bring their children and grandchildren back. According to her, the business operates on professional pride.

Ms. Loan’s workday begins around 3:00 to 4:00 AM, when she visits the wholesale market and inspects every crab and batch of black tiger prawns delivered by trusted vendors. She explained that crab claws and meat are boiled, cracked, and hand-shredded directly during business hours, refusing to serve overnight leftovers. The broth simmers gently for hours from pork marrow bones combined with pureed fresh crab tomalley, whole chicken, pork hock, fish, prawns, and pork. According to the owner, the broth’s natural thickness comes from simmered crab tomalley and bone reductions, without adding tapioca starch or food coloring.

The stall gained wider public recognition in late 2022 when filmmaker and entertainer Tran Thanh announced his Lunar New Year film project The House of No Man (Nha Ba Nu). He shared that he wanted to craft a film around a female protagonist who sells crab noodle soup, portrayed by artist Le Giang. During the project launch event, Tran Thanh purchased crab noodle soup from the stall to treat attendees, and he is known as a loyal regular of the vendor.

Current Business Operations

During its initial burst of fame, diners formed long lines that packed the entire alley. According to recent reviews and video clips, customer traffic has become more evenly distributed. Early in the week, the alley remains relatively calm, while Friday evenings and weekends see heavier crowds, occasionally running out of parking space. The stall operates from around 3:30 PM until sold out, typically closing before 8:00 PM or at the latest around 9:30 PM. Ms. Loan shared that her stock usually sells out within a few afternoon hours, meaning late arrivals frequently find the crab claws entirely gone.

Like many food stalls made famous by unconventional pricing, Ms. Loan’s crab noodle soup continues to draw debate. One side argues that 350,000 to 400,000 VND for a roadside bowl of noodles is excessive. The opposing side counters that fresh premium seafood, labor-intensive preparation, and upfront price quotes justify the cost. On online review platforms, diners remain divided: some praise the generous fresh crab portions and rich broth, while others feel the roadside dining experience does not match the price tag. In response, Ms. Loan said that those who find it expensive simply do not need to eat it, as every customer possesses a different budget and palate.

Tips for First-Time Visitors

For first-time visitors, the most practical approach is to ask for the price before ordering and select a portion size suited to your appetite rather than defaulting to the most expensive option. A standard bowl priced under 100,000 VND is sufficient to taste the broth and traditional toppings. Diners wishing to experience the custom high-end bowl can share it among two to three people given the large volume of seafood. During peak hours, patrons should expect a brief wait, as the owner cooks and serves directly with minimal assistance.

As raw ingredient and operating costs rise, even multi-decade street food vendors must adjust their pricing. What sets this noodle stall apart is an expansive pricing spectrum ranging from 50,000 to 400,000 VND drawn from the exact same pot of broth, with the top-tier bowl prepared only upon specific customer request.

Source: kenh14.vn 

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Safeguarding Rights as Work Arrangements Become Increasingly Flexible

The expansion of the digital economy, e-commerce, the service sector, and flexible labor models is reshaping the employment landscape. Alongside traditional full-time employment, an increasing number of positions operate on shift-based, hourly, daily, or weekly schedules tailored to corporate staffing demands and personal circumstances. Part-time labor is not only prevalent in retail, food services, and hospitality, but also across various industries characterized by flexible workflows.

However, diverse working hours, contract formats, and compensation arrangements necessitate clear definitions of insurance obligations. This clarity prevents situations where workers earn an income but remain excluded from standard social safety nets.

In practice, administrative bottlenecks regarding insurance eligibility for part-time workers have emerged across multiple localities.

Speaking with Phap Luat Viet Nam (Vietnam Law) Newspaper, Le Thi Dung, an accommodation facility owner in Hanoi, noted that her business employs three part-time technical maintenance staff. These workers report only when technical faults arise rather than keeping fixed office hours. Because these technicians already hold formal labor contracts and contribute to mandatory social insurance at another company, the owner remains uncertain about her statutory insurance obligations at their secondary workplace.

In another instance, Thu Phuong, a student in Hanoi, works eight hours a day on a part-time basis at a local coffee shop. Phuong noted that she remains unsure about her insurance obligations under a part-time labor agreement.

The 2024 Social Insurance Law stipulates that part-time employees working under labor contracts with a term of one month or longer—whose earnings meet or exceed the statutory minimum wage threshold for mandatory social insurance—must participate in mandatory social insurance. In cases where an individual enters into labor contracts with multiple employers, mandatory social insurance contributions are remitted under the first signed contract.

Both cases demonstrate that part-time employment does not exempt workers from statutory social insurance regulations. Compliance hinges on establishing the true nature of the employment relationship, contractual term, wage level, and current insurance status of each individual.

Determining Unemployment Insurance Contribution Wages Under Employment Contracts

Decree No. 374/2025/ND-CP details the monthly wage basis for unemployment insurance contributions applicable to part-time workers: the monthly wage must equal or exceed the minimum wage threshold used for mandatory social insurance contributions, determined by the monthly remuneration agreed upon in the labor contract.

Notably, the decree provides specific conversion mechanisms for contracts that do not define compensation on a monthly basis. Under these provisions, if wages are agreed upon on an hourly basis, the monthly calculation equals the hourly rate multiplied by the agreed total monthly hours. Similarly, for daily or weekly wage agreements, the insurable baseline equals the corresponding daily or weekly rate multiplied by the agreed working days or weeks in the month.

This regulation establishes a unified legal basis to enforce unemployment insurance obligations for flexible work arrangements, curbing arbitrary income conversions and inaccurate wage declarations.

For example, a worker signs a part-time contract at an hourly rate of 40,000 VND for an agreed schedule of 80 hours per month. The monthly wage basis for unemployment insurance is calculated at 3.2 million VND.

If the employee must enroll in unemployment insurance under this contract, each party pays the current statutory rate of 1% of the monthly wage baseline. In this scenario, the worker contributes 32,000 VND and the employer contributes 32,000 VND each month.

Another critical factor is the statutory wage threshold governing mandatory participation. Under the 2024 Social Insurance Law, the lowest wage basis for mandatory social insurance contributions equals the reference level. Effective July 1, 2026, the statutory base salary was adjusted to 2.53 million VND per month pursuant to Decree No. 161/2026/ND-CP; a corresponding reference level applies during the interim phase prior to the complete abolition of the statutory base salary system.

Consequently, employers must compare the calculated monthly wages of part-time staff against the threshold enforced at the time of determining insurance liabilities.

Enterprises must also distinguish genuine part-time employees working under direct employment relationships from independent service contractors. This determination rests on contractual terms, compensation structures, and the degree of direct managerial control, direction, and oversight exerted by the employer.

Expanding unemployment insurance eligibility to part-time labor addresses concrete needs as national employment structures evolve. Shift, hourly, and flexible-schedule workers who satisfy statutory criteria can now access the unemployment safety net rather than remaining unprotected simply because they do not log standard full-time hours.

Source: baophapluat.vn

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A Fleeting Visit

The aircraft was an Airbus A300-600ST, the original first-generation Beluga. Arriving from Kolkata, India, as an empty ferry flight, the aircraft was scheduled to depart Da Nang for Taiwan the same evening. Although it remained on the tarmac for only a few hours, its unusual silhouette drew photographers to the airfield perimeter. Local social media channels filled quickly with aviation imagery. One local photographer observed that the airport had previously welcomed Air Force One and aircraft carrying the Russian president. However, he had never seen an airplane shaped like a whale.

The aircraft measures 56.15 meters in length and 17.25 meters in height. Inside, it utilizes a semi-automated cargo handling system across the main deck. A common misconception circulated at the time: several contemporaneous reports labeled the airframe as a “BelugaXL.” Nevertheless, the airframe dimensions and official A300-600ST designation confirmed it as the earlier ST generation. In July 2023, another A300-600ST departed Da Nang for Clark, Philippines, marking the aircraft type’s maiden landing in that nation.

Airbus did not disclose the official purpose of the transit flight. At the time, the European manufacturer was actively marketing the outsized transport capability of its Beluga ST fleet to external customers. That commercial venture originated in early 2022. The first commercial charter occurred in late December 2021, transporting a helicopter airframe from Toulouse, France, to Kobe, Japan.

From the Super Guppy to the Beluga Whale

Airbus operates as a pan-European consortium. As a result, factories in France, Germany, Britain, and Spain manufacture wings, fuselages, and tailfins before shipping them to final assembly lines. The consortium initially relied on overland road networks. However, rising production rates eventually pushed Airbus to move heavy aerostructures by air. For over two decades, that logistical role belonged to the turboprop Super Guppy. The final Super Guppy retired on October 24, 1997, after roughly 26 years of operational service.

A project to replace the aging fleet launched in 1991. Aérospatiale and Deutsche Aerospace established a joint subsidiary to oversee development, with Airbus financing the program directly. Aerospace engineers cut away the upper fuselage of an A300-600 airframe. Above the floor line, they mounted a massive bubble-shaped cargo bay, complemented by an upward-opening nose door and a lowered cockpit floor. The prototype conducted its maiden test flight on September 13, 1994, in Toulouse, entering commercial service in 1995.

The name Beluga, which references the white arctic whale, originated as an informal nickname due to the aircraft’s distinctive swollen crown. The moniker gained immense internal and public affection, prompting Airbus to adopt it as the formal operational designation. In total, the manufacturer constructed only five airframes: registrations F-GSTA, F-GSTB, F-GSTC, F-GSTD, and F-GSTF. The youngest unit, F-GSTF, entered service in 2001. Annually, the fleet logged roughly 7,600 flight hours, with only 5% of segments flown without revenue payloads. Due to the lowered cockpit arrangement, conventional tow tugs cannot push back a Beluga from the front nose gear, requiring specialized pushback procedures.

The Beluga ST cargo bay measures 37.7 meters in length with an interior diameter of 7.4 meters and a payload capacity of approximately 47 metric tons. Beyond ferrying internal Airbus components, the specialized airframe tackled unique external missions. In 1997, it hauled a chemical tank for a merchant vessel, setting a record for the heaviest single payload moved by air. In 1999, it carried Eugène Delacroix’s iconic painting Liberty Leading the People from Paris to Tokyo. In 2003, it transported Eurocopter Tiger and NH90 helicopters to the Avalon Airshow in Australia.

The most famous missions involved space agency payloads. In 2006, a Beluga delivered the European Space Agency’s Columbus laboratory module to the Kennedy Space Center for subsequent launch to the International Space Station. The aircraft also transported the MPLM Leonardo, Harmony, and Tranquility space station modules. In 2022, it delivered the HOTBIRD 13G telecommunications satellite to Cape Canaveral. Later, in September 2024, a Beluga touched down at London Heathrow, delivering replacement structural components from Toulouse to repair a damaged British Airways aircraft.

BelugaXL: The Smiling Sky Whale

As manufacturing output for the A320neo and A350 escalated, the Beluga ST fleet reached maximum utilization limits. In November 2014, Airbus initiated the BelugaXL program. The new specifications required an interior cargo hold roughly 45 meters long, a diameter of 8 meters, a 50-ton payload capability, and sufficient space to transport two complete A350 wings simultaneously—a task impossible for the Beluga ST. Engineers combined the forward fuselage of an A330-200 Freighter with the aft section of an A330-300, adding an outsized fuselage shell that widened the exterior cross-section from 5.6 meters to 8.8 meters.

The resulting BelugaXL airframe measures 63.1 meters long and 18.9 meters high, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 700 turbofans. It delivers an operational range of roughly 4,000 kilometers and a cargo volume of 2,209 cubic meters, offering 30% more capacity than the Beluga ST.

The prototype’s maiden test flight took place on July 19, 2018, lasting 4 hours and 11 minutes above Toulouse before roughly 10,000 spectators. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued type certification on November 13, 2019, followed by the aircraft’s first revenue flight on January 9, 2020. The sixth and final BelugaXL completed its maiden flight on July 21, 2023. The whimsical whale smile livery won an internal employee vote, capturing 40% of all ballots cast over five competing designs. Airbus compared the aircraft’s 19-meter height to a three-story residential building, with its 51-ton maximum payload matching the combined weight of seven mature male elephants.

Sunset of the First Generation

As the full six-aircraft BelugaXL fleet entered routine service, Airbus attempted to commercialize the older Beluga ST models. The standalone freight subsidiary Airbus Beluga Transport was established in early 2022, securing an air operator certificate on November 13, 2023. However, Airbus halted this commercial outsized freight enterprise in early 2025, operating its final external revenue charter on January 17, 2025.

On January 29, 2026, Airbus formally began retiring its operational A300-600ST fleet. The fifth airframe, F-GSTF, made its final landing at Hawarden Airport near the Broughton wing assembly plant in North Wales, where it serves as a dedicated STEM education center for schools and surrounding communities. Airbus plans to withdraw all remaining Beluga ST airframes before 2027.

At least one airframe has secured a permanent museum home. The fourth aircraft, F-GSTD, performed a farewell flyover above Toulouse before being transported overland to the Aeroscopia aviation museum, parking alongside a preserved historic Super Guppy.

Airframes that once hauled commercial aircraft wings and space station components now welcome museum visitors into their cockpits and main decks. Meanwhile, core logistical missions have transitioned entirely to six BelugaXL freighters—carrying a broader smile across a familiar silhouette over global skies.

Reference sources: Airbus Group, Tuoi Tre Newspaper, The Aviationist

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Yet the innate human yearning for emotional connection has not withered.

In that hollowed-out space, companion animals—cats in particular—emerge as an ideal emotional fit: intimate, steady, and undemanding. According to research by Professor Katsuhiro Miyamoto of Kansai University, this “cat economy,” or catnomics, is projected to generate roughly 3 trillion yen (around 19 billion USD) for Japan in 2026. Still, feline commerce represents only the visible crest of a far broader social reality.

The Burgeoning Industry of Emotional Substitutes

Economists have coined a term for this expansive commercial terrain: the loneliness economy. It encompasses every commodity and platform engineered to bridge human separation: matchmaking apps, remote teletherapy portals, companionship-for-hire agencies across Japan and South Korea, and conversational AI companions. The AI companion market alone was valued at 37 billion USD in 2025 and is projected by Precedence Research to hit 552 billion USD by 2035.

Isolation has evolved into a dual economic force, producing staggering social overhead while simultaneously driving immense commercial revenues. The two realities sustain each other in a closed loop.

The deeper concern lies in how society reacts to this shift. Pervasive solitude is no longer treated merely as an unintended byproduct of modernization. The modern market has adapted to monetize disconnection, turning human detachment into a reliable consumer baseline.

Vietnam offers clear evidence of this urban transition. The urban population grew at an annual rate of 3.06% from 2019 to 2024, half again as fast as the preceding period. In 2024, the national total fertility rate dropped to a historic low of 1.91 children per woman. Citizens are clustering into metropolises at unprecedented rates. Yet the organic architecture of community life—accessible civic squares, tight neighborhood networks, and informal community anchors—has lagged far behind. Urban density draws bodies closer geographically while driving them further apart emotionally.

Across high-rise developments in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, residents rarely know their immediate neighbors. An entire generation is coming of age in packed high-rises devoid of the default social ties that once sustained traditional alleyways and older collective residential blocks. For many young urbanites, particularly Gen Z, dating platforms have quietly replaced civic gathering spaces. People use them to seek romance, but also to find casual conversation, visibility, or simply a glowing screen to wind down the night.

Systemic Isolation as a Public Health Crisis

This estrangement spans far beyond national borders. The World Health Organization confirmed in 2025 that one in six people worldwide experiences persistent loneliness. The United Kingdom appointed a Minister for Loneliness in 2018 after reports showed more than 9 million citizens felt chronically isolated. Japan instituted a similar ministerial post in 2021 following the first rise in national suicide figures in over a decade. These public offices are not tasked with comforting individual sorrow; they coordinate systemic public policy to treat chronic isolation as an urgent societal and public health challenge.

Formalizing the problem as the UK and Japan have done marks critical progress. Many global initiatives still rely heavily on supplemental support programs, which simply layer on more paid services.

Such measures can soothe immediate emotional distress, yet they rarely touch the deeper roots: fractured historical communities, fragmented workdays, and living setups that discourage lasting bonds.

Here lies the fundamental paradox: an industry that monetizes solitude has little incentive to cure it. Its business model requires managing symptoms just enough to keep consumers returning to the checkout counter. Professional counseling, community hubs for migrant workers, and eldercare services offer undeniable value. Yet the prevailing corporate framework prioritizes user retention over human resolution. The moment genuine human connection is cataloged as a billable item on an invoice, social life shifts onto perilous ground.

Reclaiming Bonds Beyond the Checkout Counter

Are we willing to seek out the things that cannot be packaged or sold?

Modern psychological research offers a clarifying insight: profound isolation rarely begins with a lack of surrounding people. It starts with self-alienation—losing touch with our own interior needs, emotions, and aspirations beyond algorithmic recommendations. Adding another app or attending another superficial meetup merely multiplies interactions; it does not build authentic communion.

The moments that cultivate enduring relationships carry no commercial barcodes. They live in quiet shared meals free from glowing phone screens, unrecorded personal stories shared without an audience, and calm pauses spent sitting together without needing digital entertainment. No corporate entity gains financially by prompting us toward those quiet spaces. For that precise reason, no algorithmic feed will ever recommend them.

The four-legged pet coats flying off retail shelves in Tokyo are not popular because of an eccentric subculture. The market is simply performing its assigned function: locating the emotional vacuums carved out by modern life and converting them into consumer stock-keeping units.

We must ask whether humanity is letting isolation become the easiest desire to fulfill simply because it carries a retail price tag, while neglecting the unmonetized practices that actually bring us together.

Source: vnexpress.net

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On November 3, the People’s Committee of Nghia Giang Commune issued an administrative fine against the owner of Ba Chin eatery, located on the access road to the Da Nang–Quang Ngai expressway, for two violations: failing to list prices and selling goods above listed prices.

Specifically, the mustard greens soup was sold 10,000 VND higher than the declared price, while boiled chicken was not listed on the price board. In addition to paying the fine, the eatery must display prices fully and refund the excess amount charged to the customer.

This enforcement action was taken after local police stepped in to clarify the violations.

(The 300,000-VND chicken portion criticized by the driver for its high price)

The Meal Dispute

The incident stemmed from a meal on October 22 involving driver Nguyen Van Duc and three companions. The group ordered half a boiled chicken, boiled sweet potato greens, braised pork with eggs, minced meat mustard greens soup, and rice, and was billed a total of 640,000 VND.

Within that total, half a chicken cost 300,000 VND, braised pork with eggs was 150,000 VND, mustard greens soup was 80,000 VND, sweet potato greens were 60,000 VND, and rice was 50,000 VND. Believing the price was excessively high, Mr. Duc questioned the charges, leading to an argument with the staff. Afterward, the eatery reduced the chicken portion to 250,000 VND, bringing the total bill down to 590,000 VND.

Mr. Duc said the eatery neither listed nor announced the price of each dish before serving. The incident was posted on social media, sparking considerable debate.

Mrs. Tran Thi Minh Trinh, the eatery’s owner, later explained that a whole chicken costs 500,000 VND. When the customer ordered half a chicken but requested extra cuts from the remaining chicken, the staff charged 300,000 VND instead of the customary 250,000 VND. She admitted that the eatery did not notify the customer of the price beforehand and apologized to the guest.

Land Use Violations and Public Apology

During the inspection, local authorities also determined that several facilities on the eatery’s premises had been built by the landowner on agricultural land without permission, with a total violating area of 1,747 square meters. The landowner was fined 15 million VND in May but has not yet rectified the situation; the commune is continuing to urge compliance.

On the morning of November 3, Ba Chin eatery published an apology to customers, transport companies, and the people of Quang Ngai, stating that it would not dispute right or wrong and hoped to prove its change through food quality and service attitude.

Source: vnexpress.net

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Twelve years after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 vanished, the captain’s final words still haunt the aviation world. The fate of the wide-body aircraft remains unsolved.

On March 8, 2014, Flight MH370 left Kuala Lumpur for Beijing with 239 people on board. Around 38 minutes after takeoff, the crew checked in with air traffic control over the South China Sea.

Minutes later, the transponder went dark on civilian secondary radar screens. However, Malaysian military radar tracked the Boeing 777 for another hour. The jet veered west off its filed route. It finally dropped off radar 200 nautical miles northwest of Penang Island.

An Abrupt Turn into the Unknown

Authorities found no clear cause for the plane’s disappearance. Investigators considered various theories, including hijacking and deliberate crew intervention. Search teams presume all 239 passengers and crew died.

Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 52, commanded the aircraft. The veteran aviator joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981 and logged 18,365 flight hours. First Officer Fariq Abdul Hamid, 26, flew alongside him, bringing 2,763 hours of flight experience.

Captain Shah signed off with air traffic controllers as the jet exited Malaysian airspace. His final radio call was routine: “Good night, Malaysia three seven zero.”

Those words marked the last voice transmission from the cockpit. The aircraft never checked in with air traffic control in Ho Chi Minh City.

Unsolved Questions in the Modern Radar Era

The baffling incident shocked people worldwide. Observers wondered how a massive jet could vanish during an era of modern satellite surveillance.

Small fragments of verified marine debris washed up on western Indian Ocean beaches. Even so, search teams never found the main fuselage.

Investigators believe the aircraft likely crashed in the remote southern Indian Ocean. Consequently, the Malaysian government approved several deep-sea search operations.

Satellite data shows the aircraft flew for several hours after going dark. The engines sent automated pings for another seven hours before fuel ran out.

New Research Weighs Leading Crash Scenarios

Simon Maskell, a professor at the University of Liverpool, spoke to The Diplomat about the tragedy. His team analyzed Weak Signal Propagation Reporter data to reconstruct the final flight path. The method tracks low-frequency radio transmissions recorded by amateur radio operators.

Maskell’s group examined years of database records to identify three plausible scenarios.

First, a sudden emergency may have incapacitated the crew before they could divert. Second, a perpetrator staged a murder-suicide and survived until impact. Third, the perpetrator died before the plane crashed.

The murder-suicide theory gained support after investigators examined a flight simulator at Shah’s home. The simulator held routes deep into the southern Indian Ocean. Nevertheless, investigators found no definitive proof that either pilot deliberately crashed the plane.

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The Hanoi Traffic Police Department reported that at approximately 2:40 PM on November 1, at the Thach Ban–Co Linh intersection, a duty team from Road Traffic Police Team No. 5 cleared an emergency corridor to transport an injured, unconscious man to 108 Military Central Hospital.

At the time, Captain Giap Thanh Tung and Captain Nguyen Ngoc Son, officers of Road Traffic Police Team No. 5 under the Hanoi Municipal Police Department’s Traffic Police Division, were regulating traffic flow at the Thach Ban–Co Linh intersection when they received an urgent request for assistance from Ho Van Cuong, a ride-hailing driver operating a vehicle with license plate 29H-971.82.

Cuong reported that his passenger, identified as D.X.U., had been picked up in the Nhu Quynh area of Hung Yen province. According to relatives, U. had suffered a fall resulting in a head injury, was vomiting, and had lapsed into unconsciousness, requiring immediate emergency hospitalization.

Recognizing the critical condition of the passenger, the police team deployed specialized patrol motorcycles to escort the vehicle through traffic and clear the way directly to 108 Military Central Hospital.

The swift intervention of the traffic officers enabled the patient to reach the medical facility in time, securing crucial minutes during the emergency.

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On October 30, the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) announced that it had dispatched an official notice to the People’s Committee of Dong Nai regarding the projected operational launch of Long Thanh International Airport starting from 0:00 on December 24, 2026.

The scheduled timeline announced by ACV is grounded in the operational planning roadmap for Long Thanh Airport. It establishes a definitive benchmark for line agencies and relevant units to align their final preparations, aiming toward safe, synchronized, and comprehensive commercial operations.

ACV formally requested the People’s Committee of Dong Nai to instruct affiliated departments and units to coordinate and assist the corporation within their respective functions, duties, and jurisdictions, creating favorable conditions to put the airport into service.

Currently, core infrastructure components of Long Thanh Airport are undergoing synchronized completion to serve commercial launch requirements. These assets include the runway system, taxiways, and aircraft aprons; aeronautical ground lighting and navigation aids; passenger and cargo terminals; aviation jet fuel supply infrastructure; emergency search and rescue and firefighting facilities; aviation security systems; alongside the air traffic control tower and flight navigation support structures.

To facilitate passenger transit during the initial operational phase, ACV previously proposed that authorities study priority transport solutions connecting to Long Thanh Airport.

Under these proposals, dedicated airport express buses and inter-airport shuttles operating between Long Thanh and Tan Son Nhat could receive dedicated transit priority at major intersections and along critical arterial corridors. This approach aims to mitigate traffic gridlock risks and secure predictable, reliable travel times for air passengers.

Over the long term, ACV plans to build an integrated multimodal transit network linking Long Thanh International Airport with Tan Son Nhat International Airport and key regional metropolitan hubs. Ground transportation modes, including public bus routes, express coaches, and inter-airport transit vehicles, will directly tie into primary transit junctions, public passenger transfer centers, and future urban rail networks.

Airports Corporation of Vietnam plans to allocate a maximum of around 366 flights per week at Long Thanh International Airport during its preliminary operational window. Domestic services will make up the bulk of early operations with 322 flights, alongside 44 scheduled international departures and arrivals.

Long Thanh International Airport spans an area of approximately 5,000 hectares in Dong Nai, with an estimated total capital expenditure exceeding 16 billion USD—equivalent to roughly 416 trillion VND—divided into three distinct investment phases.

Phase 1 represents an investment of over 5.4 billion USD, engineered to process 25 million passengers and handle 1.2 million tons of cargo per year. The opening phase is scheduled for completion at the end of 2026 after more than five years of construction.

Upon full development across all three phases, Long Thanh Airport’s design capacity will scale up to 100 million passengers and 5 million tons of freight annually. With this scale, Long Thanh is positioned to emerge as one of Southeast Asia’s major international aviation transit hubs.

The facility features a 4,000-meter primary runway capable of accommodating the largest wide-body commercial aircraft, including the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8. This represents a foundational infrastructure asset engineered to serve long-haul intercontinental flight networks in the coming years.

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At around 10:42 AM on October 30, the Liberian cargo ship AROSA, crewed by 18 foreign sailors, was en route from Singapore to Hon Gai Port to offload cargo. Upon reaching waters approximately 3.7 kilometers east of Long Chau Island, the vessel collided with Vietnamese fishing boat HP-90880-TS carrying six fishermen.

The impact caused the fishing boat to sink, throwing all six crew members into the sea.

Upon receiving distress reports, the Hon Gai Port Border Guard Station and Border Guard Squadron 2 coordinated with the Quang Ninh Maritime Administration, maritime pilots, and Hon Gai Port to mobilize vessels to the rescue scene.

Rescue teams brought all six individuals ashore, where one was confirmed dead and five sustained injuries. The survivors were transferred to Quang Ninh Provincial General Hospital for emergency medical treatment.

On the afternoon of the same day, the Quang Ninh Provincial Border Guard Command stated that authorities are investigating the cause of the maritime collision.

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Source: Vietnam Insider