What you need to know today in Vietnam:

Politics

-- Pham Thu Hang, spokesperson for Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Thursday strongly condemned the bombing incident in Kerman, a city in southeastern Iran, on Wednesday. According to Reuters, two explosions resulted in nearly 100 fatalities and numerous injuries during a commemorative event on Wednesday for General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by a U.S. drone strike in 2020.

Society

-- Da Nang is set to pilot its first pedestrian street initiative in the first quarter of 2024 along the Bach Dang route, connecting the Dragon Bridge to the Nguyen Van Troi Bridge.

-- After technical issues were resolved at Phu Quoc International Airport, on Phu Quoc Island off Kien Giang Province in southern Vietnam, the Airbus A330-202 with registration EAZ212, operated by Eznis Airways, took off at 1:37 pm on Thursday, transporting approximately 200 passengers to Mongolia.

-- The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) in Vietnam has affirmed that sports and music events in the country will proceed as planned, with no announcements regarding travel restrictions or event suspensions. The affirmation was made after Monday's magnitude-7.6 earthquake, which has killed more than 80 people in the Hokuriku region, destroyed infrastructure, and left homes without power, struck days after regulators lifted an operational ban on Tokyo Electric's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, as reported by Reuters.

-- A young man of undisclosed identity has sparked controversy by posting a video on TikTok showcasing him reaching a speed of 210 km/h on the My Thuan - Can Tho expressway in southern Vietnam. On Thursday, police said that they were actively pursuing efforts to locate and apprehend the young man responsible for the dangerous behavior.

Business

-- Taiwan's Cathay United Bank has announced a strategic repositioning of its business activities, expanding its scope into the consumer finance sector in Vietnam.

Lifestyle

-- Vietnamese rapper B Ray has removed the song 'De Ai Can' from all digital platforms after it was flagged as containing vulgar lyrics.

World News

-- "Carrefour is telling customers in four European countries it will no longer sell products, such as Pepsi, Lay's crisps and 7up because they have become too costly, in the latest tug-of-war over prices between retailers and global food giants," Reuters reported.

-- "Consumer Reports has found that plastics retain a 'widespread' presence in food despite the health risks, and called on regulators to reassess the safety of plastics that come into contact with food during production," according to Reuters.