Nem Thuong Village’s traditional pig slaughtering festival in Bac Ninh Province, is still being held in private despite the huge public outcry.

 Statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) shows that English is still the most popular foreign language at local schools, while only 1% pupils choose to study other languages.

 The low quality of university education is blamed on curricula which focuses on theoretical knowledge and does not provide enough practicum hours.

 The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) has drafted a decree on foreign investment into the education sector, aiming to offer more favourable conditions for foreign investors.

 Local economists forecast that the Vietnamese economy will face greater challenges in 2017 amidst global geopolitical changes and financial uncertainties.

 Vietnam Real Estate Association Chairman Nguyen Tran Nam said that the local property market would see more cheap housing supply in 2017 to meet increasing demand.

 The Ministry of Finance has unsurprisingly batted away criticism of its ministry-owned computerised lottery in Vietnam, underlining it operates in a totally transparent way and in line with the law.

 Pfizer's breast cancer drug Ibrance, or palbociclib, is too expensive to justify its use on Britain's state-run health service, the country's healthcare cost-effectiveness watchdog said on Friday.

 A string of new policies on civil status registration, employment, escorted transfer of violators, and individual income exemption involving foreign elements came into effect in 2016.

 Backed by a strong end of year with 2016’s fourth quarter GDP growth of 6.8 per cent and a growth rate of 6.2 per cent for the whole year, the primary driver of Vietnam’s robust economic expansion is manufacturing, HSBC wrote in its latest report.

 Hanoi only introduced fines for littering from February 1, but few locals are aware of the new regulation.

 Young men in Thuy Linh village, Hoang Mai district, Ha Noi competed in the locality’s traditional ‘lucky ball’ scrambling festival on February 2 (the sixth day of the first lunar month).

 Vietnamese Chess Grandmaster Le Quang Liem has dropped two places to No 32 in the men’s standard category, according to the International Chess Federation’s February rankings.

Ho Chi Minh City has been listed among 50 most beautiful cities in the world by World famous travel website CNTraveler.

 Young Vietnamese actress/director/producer Ngo Thanh Van has revealed that she is joining the cast of Hollywood blockbuster ‘Bright’ directed by David Ayer.

It is said that the first lunar month in Vietnam is for celebrations. A myriad of cultural, historical and religious events are held after the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.

A host of traditional spring festivals have kicked off in different cities and provinces across the country.

 Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien has set high goals for the Vietnamese sport at the upcoming 29th Southeast Asian Games, which will take place from August 19-31 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

 The Cat Linh – Ha Dong elevated urban railway in Hanoi will begin its test run, expected to last between three and six months, on October 1.

 The Vietnamese Government has paid special heed to reducing poverty in an inclusive and sustainable manner, stated Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, head of the Vietnam Mission to the UN.