(VOVWORLD) - A New Year 2021 flag-salute ceremony was held on the first day of 2021 in Hoa Tam commune in the south central province of Phu Yen - the easternmost point of Vietnam, where the sunrise is first seen on the mainland of the country.

(VOVWORLD) - Fireworks soared into the sky above the Sydney Opera House, but the harbour below was a deserted ghost town, a fittingly creepy send-off for a year that will not be missed.

(VOVWORLD) - World leaders took to social media and the airwaves on New Year’s Eve to wish their citizens a brighter future. Many affirmed their commitments and determination to bring their countries to prosperity in 2021.

(VOVWORLD) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday said the UK would be an “open, generous, outward-looking, internationalist and free trading” country once it quits all EU rules at 23:00 GMT on Thursday.

(VOVWORLD) - US President-elect Joe Biden shared a New Year's Eve message on Thursday calling for the US to "unite, heal and rebuild in 2021."

(VOVWORLD) - About 3,000 babies are to be born in Vietnam on the first day of 2021, accounting for 0.8 percent of the more than 370,000 babies given birth in the day around the world, according to the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF).

(VOVWORLD) - At least 1 billion new trees will be planted across Vietnam in the next 5 years as climate change and natural disasters continue to take a heavy toll on the country, according to a recent Directive signed by the Prime Minister.

(VOVWORLD) - Millions challenged chilly, rainy weather and a year marred by COVID-19 to crowd streets across Vietnam to ring in the New Year.

(VOVWORLD) - The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday granted emergency validation to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, opening the door for countries to quickly approve the import and distribution of the vaccine. The BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine is the first to receive such approval from the global body.

(VOVWORLD) - Bac Lieu received a certificate recognizing its salt making craft as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage at a ceremony on Thursday in Go Cat hamlet, Dong Hai district.