VN Customs ranking 8th in customs statistics, Vietnam stock sector has foundation day, Central bank approves company-bank merger, Vietnam's consumer confidence improves: Nielsen, Hai Phong seeks to attract more investors

 PM approves programme to prevent child injuries, More CNG buses to run in HCMC, Da Nang's online facility to receive public complaints, ASEAN-Korea Centre’s former chief acknowledged with insignia

 Dozens of students at Phan Huy Chu High School in Hanoi were banned from classes on February 16 just because of their hair colour. The students were penalised and forced to do cleaning work instead.

 The Prime Minister’s Advisory Council for Administrative Procedure Reform gathered on February 19 to review its operation in 2015, and set forth tasks for 2016.

 VietNamNet Bridge – New Zealand Wine & Food Festival will return to the RMIT University campus in HCMC’s District 7 on March 12.

 VietNamNet Bridge – A sofa and dressing table topped with roses were part of a stunning stage backdrop for a romantic play staged recently in HCM City by the The Gioi Tre (The World of Youth) Drama Troupe.

Thai conglomerates are running a race to buy Big C supermarkets in Vietnam and Thailand from French Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Commercial Division in Thailand.

 Tourists visiting Sin Suoi Ho village in mountainous Lai Chau Province's Phong Tho District will see beautiful cymbidium orchids in nearly 100 ethnic Mong households.

  Global Beauties, an online magazine for international beauty, has announced that Vietnam was ranked 24, up from its previous 35, in the latest list of global beauty.

 Photography Life Magazine recently posted 20 fascinating images of Vietnam taken by four photographers on its website in a piece entitled Visions of Vietnam – 4 Photographers, 4 Styles.

 The Ministry of Transport is preparing procedures for construction of more expressways in central Vietnam, including one connecting the coastal cities of Nha Trang and Phan Thiet.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Commentators are blaming the spike in violence and the number of brawls that occurred during the Tet holiday on an apparent lack of self-control and patience among young people.

 For high-performance athletes, national pride is always the strongest emotion energising them to overcome difficulties and challenges and bring pride to the country. Sweat, tears and sometimes blood have been shed for that noble mission.

 Iran crushed Vietnam in the second semi-final match of the Asian Football Confederation Futsal Championship in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on February 19.

 Financial autonomy has helped many universities in HCM City improve their facilities, human resources, scientific research and training quality, thereby building a brand name both locally and internationally.

VietNamNet Bridge - The 2016 White Book with Vietnam economic updates released by Vietnam Report showed that Vietnam gained an impressive recovery in 2015, while the business circle remains optimistic about 2016.

VietNamNet Bridge – The Prime Minister has approved a program to develop nine items into national key products by 2020 five years ago. However its result has been little because of time consuming implementation and businesses’ confusion

 The annual Vietnamese Poetry Day will be organised as a festival with myriad activities, said Huu Thinh, President of the Vietnam Writers’ Association, on February 19.

 Vietnam’s securities sector reaped satisfactory results in 2015, thanks to its strong measures to attract external capital flows and through the restructuring of the stock market system.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Lang Biang Biosphere Reserve is home to an array of species, making it ideal for research and eco-tourism.

 VietNamNet Bridge – A study by Vietnamese and Japanese experts has found that dioxin continues to affect the neurodevelopment of pre-school children in contaminated areas of Viet Nam, due to perinatal dioxin exposure.

VietNamNet Bridge - Luxury manufacturers have reported fully satisfactory business results in Vietnam for 2015. Vietnamese, who have an annual income per capita of nearly $2,000, are willing to spend billions of dong to buy luxury products.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Large local banks, which are chosen by the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) to apply Basel II governance standards, are trying to increase capital to meet the standards.

 A special art performance named Warwick Vietnight will be held at Albany Theater, in Coventry City by the Vietnamese student community in the UK on February 27.

 HCM City and other southern provinces need thousands of labours, mostly manual workers in industries such as textiles, footwear, wood processing and electronics after Tet (the Lunar New Year).