(VOV) - More than 150 athletes from 15 cities and provinces nationwide began National Muay Championships competitions in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa on August 10.

(VOV) - Renowned Australian model coach Adam Williams has been invited to judge Vietnam’s Next Top Model 2013 auditions in Ho Chi Minh City on August 12 and Hanoi on August 19. 

(VOV) - Chinese player Lin Dan shattered his Vietnamese rival Nguyen Tien Minh’s hope of winning the World Badminton Federation (WBF) World Championship in a semi-final match on August 10.

(VOV) - Le Quang Liem and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son flew to Norway on August 9, representing Vietnam at the 2013 Chess World Cup.

(VOV) - Leading Vietnamese player Nguyen Tien Minh has advanced to the semi-final of the World Badminton Federation (WBF) World Championship after defeating Denmark’s Jan O. Jorgensen 2-1 on August 9.

(VOV) - The 2013 Mekong River Delta bicycle race will begin in Ho Chi Minh City on August 12, featuring 19 domestic teams as well as the amateur American representatives Tamouh. 

(VOV) - The Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange (AO)/Dioxin (VAVA) has chosen 2012’s Miss Vietnam Dang Thu Thao as the first charity ambassador of its programme “Easing AO/Dioxin Pain Together”. 

(VOV) - The Vietnam Drama Theatre will perform Cải Lão Hoàn Đồng (Rejuvenation) at the China-ASEAN Theatre Festival, hosted by the Chinese city of Nanning from August 27 to September 1.

Some 48 Vietnamese billiards players will join four world class competitors from Japan and Indonesia, including ex-world champion Arai Tatsuo, in an international tournament which will open in the southern province of Binh Duong on August 15. 

(VOV) -Vietnam is taking part in a cultural festival in Bangkok on August 8, marking the 46th anniversary of ASEAN.

(VOV) - Poland has committed VND840 million (roughly US$40,000) in non-refundable aid to a project to refurbish King Tu Duc tomb of the Hue Relics complex.

(VOV) -A series of activities will be held during the 11th Hoi An-Japan cultural exchange in the central province of Quang Nam from August 23-25.

(VOV) - An art programme was held in Hanoi on August 8 to celebrate the 46th founding anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and 18 years since Vietnam joined the regional grouping.

(VOV) -The national men’s football squad’s 139 points have dropped it 11 places to 156th in the International Federation of Football Association’s (FIFA) August rankings.

(VOV) -Leading Vietnamese player Nguyen Tien Minh has narrowly defeated Spain’s Pablo Abian 2-1 in their World Badminton Federation (WBF) World Championship round of 16 match on August 8.

Artists from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) will get together at a festival next week which aims at promoting the friendship among ASEAN members and the solidarity between the four above-mentioned countries. 

(VOV) - Two Vietnamese dance and music troupes will make a performance tour of the US as part of a cultural exchange programme.

(VOV) - The U19 Vietnam football team is scheduled to have friendly matches in August with guest teams from the Arsenal JMG Football Academy, Laos and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

(VOV) - Vietnam’s First Mrs World Doan Thi Kim Hong on August 7 flew to the US to work as a jury member of the Mrs. America 2013 due to take place from August 18-28.

(VOV) -13-year-old player Nguyen Hong Son from the Promotion Fund for Vietnamese Football Talents (PVF) has been selected by Serbian coach Bora Milutinovic to train in Qatar’s Sports Aspire, one of the most famous football academies worldwide.

(VOV) - Ba Ria-Vung Tau on August 7 announced a series of activities to celebrate the 40th anniversary of establishing Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relations.

(VOV) - Top Vietnamese badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh has cruised to the third round of the BWF World Championships 2013 in China after defeating Germany’s Dieter Domke 24-22 and 21-17 on August 7. 

(VOV) -As many as 350 athletes from 46 cities and provinces across the country are taking part in the national junior athletics championships which opened in the Mekong Delta of Kien Giang province on August 6.

(VOV) -Sydney FC of Australia will take part in the U21 International Football Tournament sponsored by Thanh Nien (Youth) newspaper, announced Tony Pignata, Executive Director, and Miro Vlastelica, Coach of Sydney FC.

A flock of more than 7,000 “Oc” storks have moved in the Tram Chim National Park in the southern province of Dong Thap, the park’s director Nguyen Van Hung said.

A collection of poems and prose pieces by dozens of modern Vietnamese and Thai writers just hit the bookshelves in Hanoi on August 5.

(VOV) -Le Cong Vinh, a striker originally representing Song Lam Nghe An, has held an August 6 press conference in Japan prior to his first appearance for his new club Consadole Sapporo.

(VOV) -An evening concert commemorating the 40th anniversary of Vietnamese-French diplomatic ties will be held at Hanoi’s Hang Day Stadium on October 11-12.

(VOV) - French coach Grachen Guillaume has been chosen to lead the U19 Vietnam football team to the coming Southeast Asian tournament.

(VOV) - Serbia’s coach Bora Milutinovic has returned to Vietnam to seek young talents for Qatar’s Aspire Sports Academy under the “Football Dream” programme sponsored by Barcelona club (Spain).