What they said

WADA Director General, Olivier Niggli, expressed disappointment over the development, stressing the importance of uniform accountability across the anti-doping system. “It is always disappointing when a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code is alleged as non-compliant,” he said. “However, it is crucially important for the global system that Anti-Doping Organisations are held to the same high standards that we expect from athletes,” Reuters quotes. WADA further stated that the decision, including all its consequences, will automatically take effect on 2 October 2025 unless it is formally challenged before that date. Niggli added that WADA remains committed to working with non-compliant organisations to help them improve and regain compliance, for the benefit of athletes both domestically and internationally. 

"On principle, China has always strictly abided by international doping regulations and has a zero-tolerance attitude toward doping. I also want to emphasise that sports issues should not be politicised. All athletes from all countries should be treated equally, and there should be practical safeguards for a fair competition environment," said Ning.

The WADA report, authored by Swiss prosecutor Eric Cottier, found no evidence of favouritism towards China. However, it highlighted areas where WADA’s anti-doping rules and administrative processes could be improved. 

The investigation followed concerns over the participation of 11 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned heart medication ahead of the Paris Olympics. WADA acknowledged the findings and said it would work on strengthening its procedures, the AFP reports.

Cities and provinces across Vietnam are prioritising social housing development as part of a national strategy to meet the growing needs of their residents. Under the national policy "Investment in building at least one million social housing apartments for low-income people and industrial park workers in the period 2021-30," major cities, including Hà Nội, the nation’s capital and Ho Chi Minh City, the most populous city in the Southeast Asian nation have shifted focus on this strategy. By 2025, the programme plans to add 428,000 apartments and an additional 634,000 by 2030, according to Vietnam News . Ho Chi Minh City plans to spend about VNĐ3.8 trillion ($160 million) for social housing by 2025 and VNĐ8.6 trillion ($367 million) for social housing by 2030, Vietnam News reported.

Doping ban for gymnast

The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) has banned Vietnamese gymnast Tran Ha Vi for 24 months after she tested positive for doping. The ban was put in place as a result of a positive sample that was collected during the FIG Asian Championships in Mongolia in 2023, where Vi took home the gold medal. Vi's suspension expires on November 15, 2025, and her performances from September 16, 2023, will be voided. “The federation has required Vi to provide a report on the incident… We heard that she had allegedly taken medicine for a urinary tract infection before the tournament without informing the coaching staff,” a representative from the Vietnam Gymnastics Federation is quoted by local media Tuoi Tre . The Vietnamese gymnast has won 12 gold medals in 11 tournaments between 2011 and 2016.

Wind power import from Laos

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has requested approval from the Vietnamese Prime Minister to import wind power from Laos to address potential electricity shortages in the northern region of the Southeast Asian nation. The proposal is in response to a request from the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) to manage power outages in northern provinces, according to local media Saigon Times . According to agreements between the two countries, the ministry's proposal assesses the viability of importing power from the 250 MW Truong Son wind power facility in Laos. The wind farm, set to begin operations in 2025, will be connected to Vietnam's grid via a 220 kV Do Luong substation in Nghe An province in north-central Vietnam bordering Laos, Saigon Time reported.

Chinese tourists

Chinese tourists are increasingly visiting Vietnam via the Mong Cai international border gate in the northern Quang Ninh province, a coastal province in northeastern Vietnam. Over 141,000 Chinese tourists have crossed the border this year, with daily arrivals reaching around 2,000, the Saigon Times Vietnam reports. According to Saigon Times, the majority of the Chinese tourists are senior citizens, interested in purchasing Vietnamese handicrafts, jewellery, and cigarettes from souvenir shops close to the Mong Cai International Border Gate.

Construction of second airport runway

Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) has proposed the construction of a second runway at Long Thanh International Airport in Đồng Nai province in the Southeast region of Vietnam. The first runway is scheduled to be completed in April 2025, according to ACV Director General Vu The Phiet. Building a second runway is essential to guaranteeing the airport's continuous operations if its primary runway is compelled to close. The airport, which has a total investment of VND336.63 trillion ($13.74 billion), is divided into three phases, with the first phase focusing on a passenger terminal and runway, local media Vn Economy reported.

“The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) acknowledges today’s decision from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the case of Romanian tennis player Simona Halep. Following a hearing held between 7-9 February 2024 in Lausanne, Switzerland, the CAS panel has partially upheld an appeal from Halep against a disciplinary sanction imposed by an independent tribunal in September 2023, reducing the period of ineligibility from four years to nine months,” the ITIA said.

“An essential element of the anti-doping process is a player’s ability to appeal, and the ITIA respects both their right to do so and the outcome. The ITIA awaits the full reasoned decision and will review it thoroughly in due course,” ITIA Chief Executive Officer, Karen Moorhouse added.

After the U.S. Open in 2022, the 32-year-old tested positive for roxadustat, a banned anti-anaemia drug that boosts the production of red blood cells, leading to her suspension.

In 2023, the former French Open and Wimbledon champion faced an additional doping accusation due to anomalies in her athlete biological passport (ABP), a system established to track various blood parameters over time to detect possible doping.

Halep attributed testing positive for the banned roxadustat to tainted nutritional supplements and accused the ITIA of an ABP violation after experts discovered her identity.

“I adjusted my nutritional supplements. None listed ingredients included any prohibited substances however we now know and the tribunal agreed one of them was contaminated with roxadustat. I was tested almost weekly after my initial positive test through early 2023, all of which came back negative. Despite this evidence, the ITIA brought an ABP charge only after its expert group learned my identity,” Halep said in a statement in September 2023.

She has strongly denied the roxadustat doping charge of which she had evidence to show small amounts of the anaemia drug entered her system from a contaminated licensed supplement.

Halep has accused the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) of charging her with an ABP violation after the group of experts who assessed her profile learned her identity.

An independent tribunal accepted Halep's argument that she had taken a contaminated supplement but determined the volume she ingested could not have resulted in the concentration of roxadustat found in her positive sample.

"The ITIA relied solely on the opinions of these experts who looked only at my blood parameters - which I've maintained for more than 10 years in the same range… This group ignored the fact that no prohibited substance has ever been found in my blood or urine samples with the sole exception of one August 29 positive test for roxadustat," she said last year after ITIA’s four-year ban decision which runs until October 6, 2026.

The ITIA said it came to its conclusion based on the collection and analysis of 51 blood samples provided by Halep.

"The volume of evidence for the tribunal to consider in both the roxadustat and ABP proceedings was substantial," Karen Moorhouse, CEO at the ITIA told the media after the agency released its concluding statement last year.

CAS said it was unclear when a ruling might be made after the three-day proceedings and stated that Halep would not make any statement until the proceedings end.

"It's catastrophic if it's going to be four years… I don't know how I will handle it. Probably it will be the end of my career," Simona Halep told Euronews in December last year.

“Following a circulatory vote of its Executive Committee (ExCo) that ended on 5 January, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) removed, with immediate effect, the National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO) of Gabon from the list of Signatories that are non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code (Code),” said WADA.

“The flag and national anthem of Gabon may once again be raised and performed during international competitions, all disciplines combined,” the Gabonese sports ministry said .

According to the anti-doping governing body, Gabon’s National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO) did not include the Code's 2021 version which prompted WADA to add NADO to the code non-compliant watchlist on 17 November 2022.

NADO after failure to execute its corrective action plan within the four months stipulated period were sent a formal notice of non-compliance on 20 March 2023 and was added to the non-compliant list on 11 April 2023.