Visitors reaching the summit of Fansipan in the northern province of Lao Cai were delighted to witness a rare natural scene as ice coated the peak in white early on the morning of Dec. 25.

Foreign visitors were surprised by the bustling atmosphere on Christmas Eve in Vietnam and streets and churches being filled with crowds of people late into the night.

A 41-year-old man has been arrested following the fatal stabbing of a Russian flight attendant in a luxury hotel room in Dubai.

Ta Pa Valley in southern Vietnam comes alive during harvest season, with rice fields glittering at dawn alongside sugar palms and Khmer temples.

Thailand, the second largest economy in Southeast Asia, received 31.76 million foreign visitors so far this year, down 7.25% from the same period a ‌year earlier.

Oman Air will operate non-stop flights from Singapore Changi Airport to Muscat, the capital of Oman, four days a week starting July 2 next year.

Indonesia, the largest economy in Southeast Asia, received 12.76 million foreign arrivals between January and October this year, marking a 10.32% year-on-year increase.

Hong Kong was named the world’s second most visited city for international arrivals this year, after Thailand’s Bangkok, with 23.2 million visitors, according to global market research company Euromonitor International.

Indonesia has banned British porn star Bonnie Blue for 10 years, immigration officials said on Dec. 22, after her deportation over content production that could cause “public unrest”.

Lao cuisine ranked 96th out of 100 in the world’s best cuisines list this year by international food magazine TasteAtlas, up three places from last year and the lowest among Southeast Asian countries.