Breakfast @ Tuoi Tre News — November 28

What you need to know in Vietnam today:

Politics

-- Vietnam’s Consulate General in Hong Kong said it is ready to provide citizen protection and has so far received no reports of Vietnamese among the 75 people killed in Wednesday’s apartment fire at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in Tai Po District, New Territories.

-- The New Zealand Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City hosted on Thursday evening a ceremony at the Reverie Saigon hotel to mark the 50th anniversary of Vietnam–New Zealand diplomatic relations.

Society

-- A strong cold spell on Friday pushed Ho Chi Minh City’s temperature down 1–2 degrees from the previous day, with weather apps showing 19°C.

-- A total of 60 factory workers and 19 high school students were hospitalized on Thursday at Hoc Mon Regional General Hospital and Thu Duc Regional General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City with suspected food poisoning.

-- Vietnam has received nearly US$16 million in international assistance to address recent flooding in the central region, the foreign ministry's spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said at a Thursday press briefing in Hanoi.

Economy

-- Ho Chi Minh City leaders said on Thursday that the city hopes to partner with Chinese enterprises as it works toward becoming Southeast Asia’s leading innovation and startup hub.

-- The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court rejected on Thursday Coca-Cola Vietnam’s lawsuit against the local tax department, upholding the agency’s decision to hold the company liable for a total of VND821 billion ($31 million) in fines and tax arrears.

Lifestyle

-- The photo exhibition 'Vietnam–Indonesia: Through the Lens of Friendship,' opened on Wednesday in Hanoi by the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists in collaboration with the Federation of Photographic Society of Indonesia and the Indonesian Embassy, showcases vibrant images of both countries and their people.

World News

-- The head of France’s Institut Pasteur respiratory infections center has warned that the bird flu virus spreading in animals could trigger a pandemic worse than COVID-19 if it mutates to spread between humans, according to Reuters.

-- Flood rescue teams in Thailand deployed drones and helicopters to reach people stranded on rooftops on Thursday, as the country’s worst floods in years claimed more lives and the cyclone death toll in Indonesia rose to 61, Reuters reported.