Vietnamese hairstylist Bui Duc Thinh has won top prize at the 2007 World Hairstyle Contest in Barcelona, Spain.

An exposition of 45 propaganda paintings by Vietnamese artists is taking place in the Asia House in Barcelona to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Spain-Vietnam diplomatic ties.

Beauty Priscilla Perales from Mexico surpassed 61 other beauties to be crowned Miss International 2007 in the final round of contest in Japan on October 15.

Vietnam will send around 1,000 students to do doctorates in the UK in the 2008-2020 period and 100 are expected to complete their work in 2008-2009.

More than 10,000 tourists visited International Travel Expo HCMC 2007, or ITE 2007.

Vietnam’s three different faces, north, central and south, are being explored in an exhibition of rare photographs taken mostly by French photographers more than a century ago.

Vietnamese contestant Pham Thi Thuy Duong won the Miss International Image, at the Miss International beauty pageant, which was held in Japan from October 1-15.

Miss Sports Vietnam and her two runners-up will join the Vietnamese sports delegation at the 24th SEA Games in Thailand to promote the image of Vietnam and its people.

Vietnamese writer Tran Van Tuan received the South East Asia Writers Awards 2007 for his novel “Holy Forest, Pure Water” at a ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand, on October 12.

Vietnamese artist Pham Thi Doan Thanh, who lives in Germany, opened her exhibition of paintings at Biesdorf castle, Berlin, on October 11.

Vietnamese film Ao Lua Ha Dong (The White Silk Dress) directed by Luu Huynh is to complete documents for a 2008 Oscar in the best foreign language film category.

The first festival for brass bands within the Catholic community started in the Red river delta province of Thai Binh on October 11 with the participation of 10 brass bands from eight provinces and a military brass band from Hanoi city.

A logo design contest to mark the 35th anniversary of Vietnam-Australia relations was launched in Hanoi on October 10 by Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Bill Tweddell.

Nine artists from central Da Nang city will perform various traditional dances and music at the Colourful Daegu Festival in the Republic of Korea, which kicked off on October 10.

On October 10, the US Television Cable News Network (CNN) began to broadcast a 30-second clip introducing Vietnam as an attractive destination for travellers on CNN Asia channel.

More than 200 Khmer dignitaries, monks, nuns and people from Mekong Delta localities have flocked to Can Tho city on October 8-10 to celebrate the Sene Dolta Festival.

Nuong Van-Dinh Tran, a Vietnamese American artist, is displaying her art at an exhibition entitled “Myself and My Environment” at the Washington Printmakers Gallery in Washington, the US.

A statue of the late Indian President Indira Gandhi was erected in a park named after the well-known politician in Hanoi on October 9.

The organising board of the Miss Universe Contest will come to Vietnam next week to sign the contract to hold the beauty contest in the country.

The second runner-up of the Miss Photo Vietnam competition, Nguyen Ai Chau, will represent Vietnam to participate in the Miss Young International to be held in Taiwan on October 12 with 40 other contestants.

The “Italian rainbow in Vietnam” festival closed in Hanoi on October 8 in the presence of Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema, Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Matacotta Cordella, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh and others.

Tourists to Laos will have the chance to learn about the culture and traditions of the country and those of its neighbours, Thailand and Vietnam, when paying a visit to a culture village to be built in Bolykhamxay province.

The UPU Letter Writing Contest Vietnam 2008 was launched at Hanoi’s Ngo Sy Lien Junior Secondary School on October 8.

A 29-strong delegation from Vietnam will join the Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Programme 2007 (SSEAYP) in Japan from October 31 to December 12.

A programme to give an overall view of French cinema will be launched in Hanoi and HCM City on October 11.

The National FM transmitter station has been erected on the top of Mount Phia Oac in the district of Nguyen Binh, in northern Cao Bang province. The architectural design of the transmitter is considered a work of art and a cultural symbol for the province.

Coffee culture week will be held in the Unification Park in Hanoi from November 29 to December 2 and the Tao Dan Cultural Park in Ho Chi Minh City from December 13-16 with a wide range of activities, aiming to promote Vietnamese coffee.

The national “Then” song and “Tinh” music festival closed in the northern mountainous province of Cao Bang with an awards ceremony for the best artists on October 5.

The Vietnam Folk Song and Dance Troupe will perform in Japan from now till October 21.

Three beauty queens who were crowned Miss Earth and Miss Water arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on October 4 at the invitation of the municipal Tourism Department and the Viettravel Company to promote green tourism.