SEA Games to light up Hanoi after COVID-19 delay: AFP
The 31st Southeast Asian Games will officially open in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi on May 12 after months of COVID-19 delay, reported AFP in a story entitled “SEA Games to light up Hanoi after COVID-19 delay” on May 10.
SEA Games 31's flag-raising ceremony takes place at Hanoi's My Dinh National Stadium on May 11. (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – The 31st Southeast AsianGames will officially open in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi on May 12 aftermonths of COVID-19 delay, reported AFP in a story entitled “SEA Games to lightup Hanoi after COVID-19 delay” on May 10.
More than 5,000 athletes including Olympic champions arevying for more than 500 gold medals in the event, in what should be packedarenas, the French news agency said.
The 11-nation Games include traditional Olympic sports suchas athletics, swimming and boxing, but also regional ones like sepak takraw, aneye-catching volleyball-style game where teams kick a rattan ball.
This 31st edition of the regional spectacular will be thefirst to feature xiangqi, also known as Chinese chess, which is wildly popularin the host country. Events retained from 2019 include e-sports, dancesport - acompetitive form of ballroom dancing - and the ancient Uzbek wrestling art ofkurash.
Organisers have though still added some local flavor as thisyear’s games will also see the return of Vietnamese martial art vovinam.
AFP quoted Games organising committee deputy head Tran Duc Phan as saying that "The hosts will have to fight as hard as other teams toearn golds against powerhouses, especially Thailand, Malaysia andIndonesia."
Thailand's taekwondo world number one Panipak Wongpattanakitand Philippine weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who both won gold at last year'sTokyo Olympics, are among the top athletes on display, the story said.
Singaporean swimmer Joseph Schooling, who won thecity-state's historic first Olympic gold in 2016, also hopes to regain hisscintillating past form, according to AFP./.
The opening ceremony of SEA Games 31, which will take place on May 12 night at My Dinh National Stadium, will depict a beautiful, friendly and hospitable Vietnam.
The capital city of Hanoi plans to deploy an additional 129 buses with 714 extra trips per day on 55 routes in the locality to meet the rising demand of passengers at the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31)’s competition venues.
With the progress seen through recent tournaments held both at home and abroad, Vietnamese free fire teams have high hope to bring gold from SEA Games 31.
Indonesia aims to start nuclear power generation by 2034, with a government roadmap already in place to develop small modular reactors (SMRs) with capacities ranging from 300 to 500 megawatts.
The package, endorsed on June 24, comprises 481 projects designed to boost GDP by an additional 0.4% and generate temporary employment for about 7.4 million people nationwide.
An Indonesian official emphasised that energy security is extremely essential amid global geopolitical and economic fragmentation, highlighting the need for the energy industry to strengthen resilience and responsiveness in the face of fluctuating oil prices and the shift to clean energy.
ASEAN must deepen collaboration through platforms such as the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC) to ensure regional responses keep pace with the rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape.
Speaking at the launch of the Indonesia Economic Prospects June 2025 edition on June 23 in Jakarta, Turk noted that Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 4.9% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year.
Anti-dumping duties will continue to be imposed on producers from China and Japan while those on relevant exporters from the RoK and Vietnam will be terminated, starting from June 23.
A specialist police unit has acquired a fleet of off-road vehicles to help officers navigate rough, unpaved terrain – and flood waters – to respond more quickly to public security incidents.
The pact covers goods, services, investments, intellectual property rights, customs facilitation, competition policy, sanitary and phytosanitary, trade and sustainable development, government procurement and economic cooperation.
The talent programmes mark another milestone in the technical partnership between PETRONAS and the Energy Institute, which focuses on three pillars: promoting decarbonisation and operational excellence through innovative solutions, enabling informed decision-making with expert advice, and nurturing the next generation of energy professionals.
The firefighters found an active blaze at the lorry depot located in the city of Pasir Gudang near the state capital of Johor Bahru, with flames spreading quickly due to strong winds and igniting a neighboring disused oil storage area.
Investigators believe the operation is part of a broader scam network involving romance scams, where victims are lured into fake relationships and persuaded to transfer money.
Ambassadors, Consuls General, along with staff and their families, joined traditional sports and cultural activities of Southeast Asia and performances bearing regional identity, thus contributing to strengthening unity and the ASEAN community spirit in New York.
In his post on social media the same day, Hun Manet said energy companies would be able to import sufficiently from other sources to meet domestic fuel and gas demands in the country.
The forum, which involves global experts and creative leaders from across 14 cultural sectors, aims to expand Thailand’s presence on the world stage through innovation and cultural exchange.
SEA Games 31's flag-raising ceremony takes place at Hanoi's My Dinh National Stadium on May 11. (Photo: VNA) 
