PRESS DIGEST - Vietnam newspapers - February 20

HANOI, Feb 20 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in the official Vietnamese press on Wednesday.

Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

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VIETNAM NEWS

-- March is a very high risk month for bird flu outbreaks in Vietnam, Deputy Agriculture Minister Bui Ba Bong said.

-- The government should regulate this year's rice exports carefully as crops in the northern provinces were likely to suffer after cold weather, Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Nguyen Thanh Bien said.

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NHAN DAN

-- The central bank's tightening monetary policy could make it more difficult to achieve 9 percent GDP growth this year, Finance Ministry economist Ngo Tri Long said.