What you need to know today in Vietnam:

Politics

-- Tu Chinh Reef, internationally known as Vanguard Bank, is part of Vietnam's continental shelf and the country has been consistently protecting its legitimate rights and interests at sea, Pham Thu Hang, spokesperson for the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular press briefing in Hanoi on Thursday, in response to requests for comment on China's coast guard ships operating around the reef. 

Society

-- Authorities in Dong Thap Province, southern Vietnam approved on Thursday a scheme to build infrastructure for conserving red-crowned cranes at a cost of VND11.6 billion (US$470,588). All facilities, including cages, will have been built by 2025.

-- Chinese-made C919 and ARJ21 aircraft will be on display at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday.

-- Police in Ho Chi Minh City booked about 16,000 instances of drivers violating regulations on blood alcohol content last month, according to statistics unveiled on Thursday.

Business

-- Japanese visitors to Vietnam and the Japanese community in the country will be entitled to discounts when using services at over 70 locations in the ecosystem of Saigontourist Group from March 1 to December 31.

-- Vietnam earned about $9.84 billion worth of agricultural, forest, and aquatic product exports in January-February, up 50 percent year on year, Phung Duc Tien, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, told reporters on Thursday. 

Lifestyle

-- The 9th Vietnam-Japan Festival will take place in Ho Chi Minh City from March 9 to 10, as part of the efforts tighten the friendship between the two countries, Vietnamplus cited Tran Phuoc Anh, director of the municipal Department of External Relations, as saying on Thursday.

World News

-- A massive fire raced through a six-storey building in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka late on Thursday, killing at least 43 people and injuring dozens, Reuters reported the country's health minister as saying.

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