For the first time, a Vietnamese artist has won the hearts and minds of the Russian audience, playing the Dan Bau - a typical Vietnamese musical instrument – in a Russian TV contest on October 5.

Folk songs that are all performed with Vietnam’s traditional musical instruments are attracting the attention of Japanese audiences during a Vietnamese traditional music performance’s tour of the land of the Rising Sun from October 3-26.

The culture of ethnic groups from 20 provinces across the country has been on display at the Vietnam Centre for Exhibition, Culture and Arts in Hanoi. The Festival of Regions’ Culture Identity Exchange will gather hundreds of ethnic artists in the capital from October 6-9.

Standing ovations to “Starlight” sung by pop star Quang Ly and an opera performance by Vietnamese students from TAFE colleges made the “Dream” gala night on October 4 a real entertainment to hundreds of Vietnamese students in Australia.

Twenty Vietnamese artists are joining 1,000 other singers from Asia, Europe, Americas and Oceania in the World Folksong Festival, which opened in Beijing on October 3.

An Italian-language book about the plight of Agent Orange victims in Vietnam that hits the shops in Italy calls on Italians to support Vietnamese AO victims’ fight for justice.

People from around the world should say “no” to war and shoulder responsibility for protecting world peace, said Pro. Dr. Truong Quoc Binh, Director of the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum at an exhibition entitled “Art in times of War” that opened in Hanoi on October 3.

Vietnam will host the ASEAN Golden Vocalists Festival for the first time in Ho Chi Minh City from October 15-19.

Forty three art works, including 36 paintings depicting 36 old Hanoi streets by painter Nguyen Bao Toan will be displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi from October 10-25 to mark the 54th anniversary of the capital city’s liberation.

The cream of the Japanese movie scene will hit Vietnamese screens as the Japanese Film Festival opens in the capital from October 10-14 and Hai Phong port city from 17-21.

Archaeologists have made significant finds after conducting more than 400 excavations last year, experts from the Vietnam Institute of Archeology have said.

The French General Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City and the Institute for Cultural Exchange of France (Idecaf) inaugurated the ‘Month of Images-2008’ on October 2 to introduce a new style of photography to the city’s residents.

The Hanoi Municipal People’s Committee has submitted a dossier to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to recognise its ancient Thang Long Royal Citadel relic as a World Heritage site.

Vietnamese singer Ho Quynh Huong will represent Vietnam to attend the fifth Asia Song Festival 2008 to be held in Seoul, the Republic of Korea, on October 4.

The Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre will host its first annual coconut festival on January 1, 2009 to celebrate the inauguration of Rach Mieu Bridge and the 49th anniversary of the Ben Tre General Uprising (January 17, 1960).

The Vietnamese Government has allowed the south-central province of Khanh Hoa to host Miss World 2010 in Nha Trang City, according to a report from the Government Office on September 30.

A classical music programme entitled “Vietnam Airlines Classics 2008” will be held in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with the participation of 23 boys from the famous Vienna Boys’ Choir, Vietnam Airlines announced at a press briefing on September 30.

Nguyen Ngoc Yen Nhu, a 9-year-old primary pupil from Vietnam’s southern province of Long An, and another girl from Thailand, won the first prize for Asia from an International Children’s Drawing Contest on the theme of Gender Equality.

Marc Levy, who was noted for Et si c’etait vrai (If only it were true), will arrive in Vietnam on October 3, announced the Nha Nam Publishing and Communications JSC on September 29.

Six pieces of art from the 2008 VYSA Photo Contest were awarded at a ceremony held at Tokyo University in Japan on September 28.

Creative and charming fashion designs from eighteen competitors hit the stage on the final night of the 2008 VietNam Collection Grandprix held in Hanoi on September 28.

The Cham ethnic minority people, followers of Balamon, in south-central Ninh Thuan province are enjoying their traditional Kate festival, the biggest annual festival of Cham people, from Sept. 28-30.

About 700 students, representing 3,000 Vietnamese students in the Republic of Korea (RoK), gathered at the Vietnamese Embassy in Seoul on Sept. 28 for their fourth annual meeting.

Vietnam is considered a second home by Israeli Ambassador Extraordinary to Vietnam, Ephraim Ben Matityau, who said the first thing that comes to mind every time he returns to Israel is missing Vietnam.

Four exhibitions on the US education will take place in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in October, according to the Institute of International Education in Vietnam (IIE Vietnam).

Nguyen Ngoc Tu is Vietnam’s first youngest female writer who has been nominated to receive the ASEAN Literature Award 2008.

A total of 42 propaganda posters, drawn by Vietnamese painters during the 60s and 90s of the last century, are showcased in Spain’s capital of Madrid from September 26, 2008 to January 11, 2009.

Professor John Balaban gave a talk on the poetry of Ho Xuan Huong in New York on September 26.

The Argentine Metro TV has broadcast a talk show about Vietnam to introduce socio-economic achievements gained by the Southeast Asian country, as well as challenges it is facing during national construction and development.

Germany’s Abegg Trio will give performances at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatoire on September 28 and the Hanoi Opera House on October 3.