A Chilean week in Vietnam is being held by the Chilean Foreign Ministry’s Trade Commission (ProChile) in Ho Chi Minh City from April 16-19.

Mong Hoa and Mong Trang are two dialects to be used in the Mong ethnic language programme of Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) when it is broadcast from northwestern Son La province.

Several ancient bronze drums have been unearthed in the two northern mountainous provinces of Thai Nguyen and Dien Bien over the past two weeks.

The Hue Monuments Conservation Centre has carried out a series of restoration projects on the imperial citadel to prepare for the upcoming Hue Festival 2008.

A jubilant atmosphere covers the whole Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang as nearly 400,000 local Khmer ethnic people celebrate their traditional New Year Festival Chol Chnam Thmay.

Pop star Ho Quynh Huong will represent Vietnam when she sings at the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympics Games, according to the Ministry of Culture, Information and Tourism.

Liubov Fedotova, the wife of the Ukrainian Ambassador to Vietnam, is displaying her Vietnamese-inspired lacquer paintings at an exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City.

Central Khanh Hoa province’s People’s Committee and the organising board of Miss Universe 2008 discussed preparations for the event at a meeting on April 14.

Twenty colourful oil paintings by artist Le Thanh Son are on display at a five-day exhibition that opened in Tokyo, Japan, on April 13.

The Da Gos Gongs festival will open in Madagui tourist area of Cat Tien-Lam Dong national park from April 26-May 1 to mark the Liberation Day (April 30) and International Labour Day (May 1).

Two Vietnamese were named among 72 individuals recognised for their contributions to the Russian community in an encyclopedia.

A house of compassion, financed by the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Kumho Asiana fund and Kumho Construction Co. Ltd., opened at Van Dien Town, Thanh Tri District, Hanoi on April 10.

A total of 200 photographs, paintings and calligraphy works by 30 artists currently on display at the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Art Association will be on sale to raise funds for the poor.

A tourism week, entitled “Ninh Binh – Charming Landscape”, began in the northern province of Ninh Binh, about 90 km away from Hanoi, on April 9 with the aim of promoting the province’s potential for tourism development.

Many Vietnamese young people and Cambodian students attended a get-together in Hanoi on April 9 to celebrate the Khmer New Year festival known as the Chol Chnam Thmay.

Three of 47 museums, which have their exhibits displayed on the website showcasing Asian and European masterpieces, are from Vietnam, namely the Museum of Ethnology, Fine Arts Museum and Museum of Vietnamese History.

After nearly four years’ preparation, “The Missing Woman” drama has staged by Vietnamese writer and director Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc at New York’s West End Theatre for the first time on April 7.

German cruise liner Maxim Gorky has brought 550 German tourists to Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO world cultural heritage site, in northern coastal Quang Ninh province.

Hundreds of foreign and domestic music lovers were dazzled by performances of ten local and foreign bands at a recent outdoor music festival in Hanoi.

The world’s largest cup of coffee as recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records arrived in Hanoi on April 8 after a long journey from Bien Hoa near HCM City.

Camera group Canon Singapore in Vietnam on April 8 debuted its Guinness books of records recognized world’s largest photo album featuring Vietnamese women.

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem has pledged support for Lang Co bay in central Thua Thien-Hue province to become a member of “The World Most Beautiful Bays” club soon.

Vietnamese music lovers had a good chance to enjoy an international music festival in Hanoi on April 5 with performances by a range of foreign and domestic musicians.

The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) reviewed the 2007 Targeted Budget Support for National Education-For-All Plan Implementation Program (TBS-EFA) in Hanoi on April 7.

A Vietnam-France semi-marathon kicked off in Ho Chi Minh City on April 6, opening the first-ever French Week in Vietnam.

Thousands of people flocked to the second Japanese cherry festival, held at the Vietnam Exhibition Centre, Hanoi, on April 6.

The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology on April 5 released a set of three CD-ROMs in Vietnamese, English and French, to support researchers, visitors and students in exploring the museum.

The Hanoi Golf Club will coordinate with several companies to launch a campaign to vote for Lang Co Beach in central Hue city as one of the World Most Beautiful Beaches.

Ethnic Khmer people gathered in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on April 4 to celebrate their traditional New Year Festival (Chol Chnam Thmay).

Well-known Italian tourism TV channel Marco Polo has been broadcasting a series of lively reports from Vietnam since April 1.