What you need to know today in Vietnam:

Politics

-- Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse Le Thi Bich Tran have had an orchid hybrid named in their honor – the Papilionanda Pham Le Tran Chinh – at the Botanic Gardens in Singapore. He arrived at Changi Airport on Wednesday afternoon, commencing a three-day official visit to the city-state.

Society

-- It will be sunny and as hot as 36 degrees Celsius in southern Vietnam in the next few days while the northern region will be rainy and cold, according to weather forecasters.

-- Authorities in Dak Lak Province, located in Vietnam's Central Highlands, have decided to cease elephant ride services at a local tourism site to preserve the elephants there.

-- Vietnam has dispatched a group of 100 police officers and soldiers to help with relief efforts in Turkey in the wake of the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria on February 6 and have killed over 20,000 people.

Business

-- Vietravel Airlines debuted the Ho Chi Minh City - Bangkok service on Thursday, offering tickets at VND18,000 (US$0.76), exclusive of fees and taxes, and one flight a day. Vietravel Airlines is the sixth Vietnamese air carrier, the others being Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet, Pacific Airlines, Bamboo Airways, Vasco. 

-- China has announced a list of 20 countries where its companies can take tour travelers to but this list excludes Vietnam, worrying Vietnamese tourism firms.

Sports

-- Hanoi FC beat Cong An Hanoi FC, a police-owned club, 2-0 in the second round of the 2023 V-League 1 on Thursday. Hanoi have earned four points after the first two matches of the season while Cong An Hanoi have pocketed three.

World News

-- "Cold, hunger and despair gripped hundreds of thousands of people left homeless after the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria three days ago as the death toll passed 20,000 on Thursday," Reuters reported.

-- "The United States will explore taking action against entities connected to China's military that supported the flight of a Chinese spy balloon into U.S. airspace last week, a senior State Department official said on Thursday," according to Reuters.

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