The first round of Kiteboard Tour Asia 2016 was held in the central coastal province of Ninh Thuan from February 25 to 28.

 Vietnam is attending Locations Show 2016, India’s largest film tourism event held by the India International Film Tourism Council (IIFTC) and the Film Federation of India (FFI), for the first time.

 Banking assets by the end of 2015 rose 12.35 percent year-on-year to more than 7,319 trillion VND (332 billion USD) thanks to the improved business performance of most of the credit institutions.

 The number of users on Zalo, the mobile-based free texting and calling app, is now equal to half of Vietnam's population and matches the number of subscribers of the country's biggest mobile carrier.

 UK Ambassador to Vietnam Giles Lever has acknowledged Lam Dong province’s efforts in searching for the bodies of three British tourists who died climbing waterfalls in the locality on February 26.

 VietNamNet Bridge - According to the latest rankings on Global beauties, from 2006 to 2015, Vietnam rose by 11 spots, from 35th to 24th in the world rankings for beauty.

Vietnam for the first time introduced a candidate to the International Law Commission (ILC), a prestigious global legal forum in charge of compiling international treaties, including the 1958 Convention on the Law of the Sea.

VietNamNet Bridge - What is the future for Vietnamese goods when foreign goods, following foreign retailers’ steps, penetrate the Vietnamese market?

VietNamNet Bridge - English will be a compulsory subject for third grades and above from 2018. This means that primary schools only have two more years to prepare teachers of English.

Instead of a walking stick, visually impaired people now can walk safely on the street with a glove using a sound wave sensor created by two young students, Lam Vu Hoang and Tran Quoc Co, from Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Environmentalists as well as travel firms, which could benefit from a proposed road through a special-use forest, have voiced their protest against the project.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam Cable Television (VTVcab) and Saigon Tourist Cable Television (SCTV) are going public in the first quarter of 2016.

Reeling from the downturn of the global oil market over the last two years, foreign investors in the Vietnamese oil and gas industry are facing difficulties in finding new partners to proceed with projects currently under construction.

 VietNamNet Bridge - Decree No. 11/2016/ND-CP dated February 3rd 2016 detailing the implementation of granting work permits to foreign nationals working in Vietnam has replaced Decree No. 102/2013/ND-CP.

VietNamNet Bridge - The market share of Vietnamese sweets manufacturers is getting smaller.

 VietNamNet Bridge – 2015 was littered with M&A activity in the property market, especially in residential, hospitality, and retail, and the trend is forecast to continue in 2016.

 VietNamNet Bridge - Mercer, a consulting and market research firm in the UK, has announced the rankings of quality of life of 230 cities around the world. Hanoi and HCM City are ranked 152nd and 155th respectively.

VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Construction recently issued a circular on granting certificates to real estate agents as part of efforts to ensure a high quality of brokering and clean up the current mess in the sector.

 VietNamNet Bridge – With the fastest growth of Internet users in Asia, Viet Nam has up to one-third of its population as potential customers of e-commerce. Therefore, many policies on e-commerce have been revised to be closer to reality.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Modernity threatens to wash away the old rituals of Mother Goddess worship, but it has found new life as meaningful entertainment for the public.