Politics

-- The United Nations Human Rights Council reviewed Vietnam’s Universal Periodic Review Report in the second cycle in Geneva, Switzerland on Wednesday, according to Vietnamplus, a member of the official Vietnam News Agency. The report underlined Vietnam’s achievements in respecting, protecting and promoting human rights; and mentioned existing challenges and limitations plus the Vietnamese government’s priorities in human rights development.

Society

-- Thirty-one people died and 62 were injured in 65 traffic accidents on Wednesday, the sixth day of Tet or Vietnam’s Lunar New Year, National Traffic Safety Committee statistics show. Over the past nine days, 598 accidents killed 286 people and injured 626 others.  

-- Passengers and vehicles got caught in traffic jams nearly all day on Wednesday as they traveled through My Thuan Bridge in the southern province of Tien Giang on their way back to Ho Chi Minh City after Tet celebrations.

-- Vietnam will inaugurate an undersea cable system to supply electricity to Phu Quoc Island, administered by the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang on Thursday.

Business

-- Banks in Vietnam resume their operations on Thursday after closing from January 28 to February 5 for Tet holidays.

-- VietJet Air, a local no-frills airline, said Wednesday that it will sign a contract to buy 62 A320 planes from French aircraft maker Airbus at an air show in Singapore, taking place from February 11 to 16, at a cost of US$ 6.1 billion.   

Lifestyle

-- A Vietnamese film, Nuoc (Water) 2030, will be screened to open the Panorama Section at the Berlin International Film Festival, one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events, on Thursday.

-- Over 40,000 pilgrims jostled one another on Wednesday at the Huong (Perfume) Pagoda festival, one of the biggest in northern Vietnam, which began the same day in Hanoi. Over 160,000 visits to the pagoda were recorded between February 1 and 5, according to local authorities.     

Sports

-- Vietnam lost 0-3 to Hong Kong on Wednesday in the second match of Pool A in the women’s tennis event at the 2014 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Asia/Oceania Zone Group II, hosted by Kazakhstan.