Central bank pledges $2b in soft loans; January surplus tops 2013 figure; Sugar industry has huge stockpile; Nine cement projects removed from plans; Investors withdraw from IPs; Work to begin on $2.5b thermal plant

 Frost expected again in the north; New urban authority model designed for HCM City; Government earmarks US$15.5 million to develop rice cultivation land; Korean agency to help Viet Nam combat crime; Two killed in coach-truck collision

Abu Dhabi prince Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan has taken part in an adventure tour which explored Son Doong, said to be one of the world's most attractive caves.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Suspect goods seized by Ho Chi Minh City’s customs officials have been identified as three African ivory tusks weighing a total of 4.2 kg, the Institute of Tropical Biology reported on February 17.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Steering and Organisation Boards of the 132nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU–132) convened yesterday, Feb 17, to review preparations for the global event slated for March 2015 in Viet Nam.

VietNamNet Bridge – The National Assembly Standing Committee is scheduled to hold its 25th session in Ha Noi from February 20 to 22 and will focus mainly on drafting laws.

Female volleyball team left in limbo; Flying dragon stadium to host Da Nang matches in 2015; Top-form Thanh Hoa continue domination; Vietnam invests US$ 200,000 for swimmer Anh Vien

A resort building crashed down in the southeastern city of South Korea Monday night, killing 10 people, including nine college students, and injuring dozens of others,

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Law on Credit Institutions has been taking effects for three years already, but a lot of the provisions of the laws have not been implemented, including the one on the individuals’ ceiling ownership proportions.

 VietNamNet Bridge - The strange creatures appeared in Kien Hai district of the southern province of Kien Giang after the Lunar New Year. They produce poison that kills fish.

 VietNamNet Bridge – At 3pm today, February 18, Tanaka Koji will officially become the chief organizer of V-League - the most important football league in Vietnam after a signing ceremony with the Vietnam Professional Football JSC.

 VietNamNet Bridge – On February 17, thousands of people and around 1,000 Buddhists from Da Nang City and Quang Nam province attended a ceremony praying for nation’s peace and prosperity at the Ba Da Pagoda, Da Nang.

 VietNamNet Bridge - At around 11am yesterday, February 17, hundreds of curious people gathered along the 19/5 canal, HCM City, to witness the police examining the scene and fishing a “human arm" from the black canal.

 VietNamNet Bridge – According to the Military Service Council of HCM City, 2,050 young men in 12 districts will be admitted to the army on February 19.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Representatives from 30 Tokyo tourism companies, travel agencies, airlines and hotels have launched a scheme in Hanoi to attract Vietnamese to the Japanese capital.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The crowd quickly shaped into a circle in the front yard of the Viet Nam Museum of Ethnology as drumbeats resounded and amateur artisans put down heaps of clay.

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam hopes to have 5,000 businesses operating in science-technology by 2020, which should generate between 7-15 percent of the country’s gross domestic product

 VietNamNet Bridge – A lot of education experts have suggested removing the “floor mark mechanism” from the 2014 exam season because it is “unreasonable” and “unscientific.”

 VietNamNet Bridge – The reasonable prices of Android TV Box proves to be the great advantage that helps Android TV Box become more favored than smart TVs. Experts believe that this would be the biggest choice for TV users in the near future.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam dong is believed to be undervalued by 39 percent if compared with the US dollar.