“I want to pay regular visits to Vietnam or stay to work in the country for a long time,” says Viktor Vladovich, a regional development director of Russian Company Vivasan in Vietnam.

A ceremony was held in Son Trach commune, Bo Trach district in the central province of Quang Binh on July 26 to mark the 5th anniversary of Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park’s recognition as a world’s natural heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

Vietnamese writers, poets and translators joined their Russian colleagues in an exchange programme in Moscow on July 25.

Vietnam’s photos collection titled “Preserving the traditional cultures of ethnic groups in Vietnam” has won the highest award at the 29th black and white photography contest, Biennial FIAP, organised by the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP), in Slovakia, announced Chu Chi Thanh, a FIAP official in Vietnam.

Fifty photographs by 20 Ho Chi Minh City children star in an exhibition in Hanoi Children’s Palace titled Vietnam Through Children’s Eyes.

A Japanese architectural firm has been selected as the contractor to design the proposed National Museum of History, the Government announced on July 23.

Ninety-five Honda Civic cars and more than 200 customers drove through the main streets of the central city of Vinh in a procession before gathering in Binh Minh Square in the coastal town of Cua Lo, Nghe An province.

Language Link Vietnam (LLV) has worked with the Vietnamese Student Cultural Centre to organise an annual singing contest called “Let’s get loud”.

Vietnam is getting ready to host the Mrs World beauty pageant in September next year in southern coastal Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.

Vietnam’s Uoc mo cua Thuy (Thuy’s dream) was selected as one of 40 finalists for the first international documentary film festival on cancer which will be held in Switzerland next month.

After spending nearly a year in Southeast Asia, American-Vietnamese Lam Triet has completed a series of paintings inspired by his visit to Cambodia’s Angkor Wat.

The fifth Vietnam Tea Days officially opened in Ly Thai To flower garden in downtown Hanoi on July 19 to honour tea culture and promote the Vietnamese tea trademark.

Miss Israel Shunit Faragi, who has recently attended Miss Universe 2008 contest in Vietnam, had a cultural exchange with the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union in Hanoi on July 18.

Vietnamese children’s choir has secured a silver medal at the 5th World Choir Games (WCG) in Graz City, Austria, from July 9-19, according to Pham Hong Hai, deputy director of the Vietnam Opera and Ballet Theatre on July 18. An awards ceremony will be held at the Stadthhalle palace, Graz City on July 19.

Hanoi Days in Moscow officially opened on July 17 with many cultural, art and trade activities being held. According to the Moscow authorities, this is a great event in July of the capital city, helping to boost the traditional friendship between the two cities and the two peoples.

Fifty-two candidates for this year’s Miss Korea title showed off their nation’s Hanbok traditional dress in Hanoi on the evening of July 16.

Many cultural and arts events will be held during the “Hanoi Days” in Moscow, including a fashion show at the Novaya Theatre, a puppetry show in Gorky Park and a photo exhibition called Hanoi-Development and Integration”.

The 2008 International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) in Vietnam aims to train students who are excellent in physics, to widen their knowledge of foreign affairs and to heighten Vietnam’s image in the international arena.

The Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Korean Broadcasting System on July 14 launched the first channel offering Vietnamese programmes with Korean subtitles.

Dayana Mendoza from Venezuela became the owner of the Miss Universe crown worth US$120,000 in the final round at the Crown Convention Centre in Nha Trang on July 14.

Vietnam is calling for its citizens and foreign friends to step forward and donate war memorabilia from the resistance period in a bid to help it preserve its history.

The fourth Khmer cultural, sports and tourism festival will take place in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho in the fourth quarter of this year, according to the Ministry of the Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The Nam Cat Tien National Park in southern Dong Nai province on July 12 put into operation a wildlife rescue centre, specializing in primate.

Diamond Bay Resort & Golf, a five-star golf course, will be built at Lo River in Phuoc Dong commune, Nha Trang city, in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa.

A delegation of beauty pageant contestants and winners from the Republic of Korea (RoK) arrived in Vietnam on July 11 for a week-long tour.

Thirty young Hanoian people are joining a 10-day exchange programme, which will run through July 19 in Laos’ capital city of Vientiane.

Hanoi Days will be held in Moscow, Russia from July 16-23, announced Hanoi’s Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) at a press briefing on July 12.

Nearly 1,000 gamers from northern provinces and cities participated in the World Cyber Games Vietnam 2008 in Hanoi on July 12.

A photo exhibition of the Vietnam war opened at the Rome Museum in Italy, with 120 back and white photos showing the Vietnamese people’s past struggles for national independence and freedom against foreign aggressors.

Miss Korea 2006 Honey Lee will arrive in Hanoi to participate in a fashion show at Daewoo Hotel on July 16.