VietNamNet Bridge – Television and radio stations in the country are no longer allowed to partner to produce news and political programmes, according to a new governmental regulation that took effect yesterday, March 15.

Thai businesses have been focusing on investment in processing and manufacturing industries in Vietnam, data issued by the planning and investment ministry's Foreign Investment Agency showed.

 Vietnam has banned the import of soil into the country, said the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development (MARD).

  A Facebook user in the northern Thai Nguyen Province has been fined VNĐ12.5 million (US$560) for posting a fake story about children being kidnapped for their internal organs.

 The Hanoi Department of Education and Training will withdraw the regulation stipulating that pupils can be suspended from school for repeated traffic offences.

 Japan took the lead in the team rankings of the Binh Duong International Women's Cycling Tournament – Biwase Cup 2016, which concluded on March 16.

 On March 15, representatives of Vietnamese expatriates living across Europe sent the European Parliament (EP) an open letter expressing their concerns over Chinese unilateral moves that have provoked escalating tension in the East Sea.

 President Truong Tan Sang’s freshly concluded tour of Tanzania, Mozambique and Iran is expected to create a new impulse to step up economic and trade ties between Vietnam and these countries, said Deputy Foreign Minister Vu Hong Nam.

VietNamNet Bridge - Major General Doan Duy Khuong, Assistant to the Minister of Public Security Tran Dai Quang, has been appointed the Director of the Hanoi Police Agency, replacing Major General Nguyen Duc Chung, who is now Hanoi’s chairman.

VietNamNet Bridge - Thai businessmen have been pouring money into profitable Vietnamese businesses and strong brands, not just to seek short-term profits.

 VietNamNet Bridge – In the first two months of 2016, Vietnam obtained trade surplus of $680 million and had five export products with turnover exceeding one billion US dollars.

 The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday as it balances continued concerns about the health of the global economy with fresh signs that domestic inflation is starting to rear its head.

 Asian shares were mostly lower on Wednesday while the dollar dithered as markets waited anxiously for the Federal Reserve to provide guidance on the risk of U.S. rate hikes this year.

VietNamNet Bridge – Most Vietnamese people between the age of 18 and 35 use smartphones and their time for surfing internet is three times more than that of the people in other Southeast Asian countries.

 VietNamNet Bridge - Nearly 100 km away from estuary, Can Tho – the largest city in the Mekong Delta – is still affected by salty water as saline intrusion is the worst in decades in Vietnam’s southwestern region.

Along with the ancient capital city of Hue, Nha Trang City in the central province of Khanh Hoa were voted by international tourists on TripAdvisor website as a destination should not to be missed in 2016.

Since hydro-power plants were built on the Serepok River, the 20km segment running through Daklak Province – the kingdom of tamed elephants in Vietnam – has dried up, causing problems for the local tourism industry and local people.

  Famous Vietnamese saxophonist Tran Manh Tuan has presented two new albums called “Thang Cuoi” (Legendary Shepherd on the Moon) and “Simply Soul”.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam will host two football events this year, the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) has announced.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Preparations for upcoming elections and measures for social and economic development are Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s top concerns,