The “Trans-Vietnam path” delegation led by East Asia Bank came to central Da Nang city on June 19 to continue their charity work.

The VOV online newspaper, VOVNews, should pay more attention to improving the quality of programmes, update information quickly and increase Vietnamese language teaching programmes for overseas Vietnamese.

A seminar on similarities between the cultures of Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) was held in Hanoi on June 19, as part of the Vietnam-RoK Cultural Festival to mark the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the two countries’ diplomatic ties.

A “Trans-Asia Bridge Span” cultural and tourism festival will be held from July 24-27 in central Quang Tri province.

With his noble characteristics, the late President Ho Chi Minh has become the main subject of projects by international researchers, including those in Russia. Moscow-based correspondent Diep Anh interviewed Evgheni Kobelev, advisor to the Far-East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who has written many works on Ho Chi Minh.

A collection of press cuttings by Vietnamese reporter Tran Thanh Phuong was exhibited in HCM City on June 16.

VOVNews website has coordinated with the Labour Confederation Chapter in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City to organize a cooking contest entitled “Family Culinary Art”. The contest, which took place on June 17, attracted 50 pairs of candidates to prepare 50 meals respectively, each for four diners.

The centennial Long Bien bridge - a witness of the past fierce war – has become a historical symbol of Hanoi capital. Unfortunately, the bridge was not upgraded while many other post-war construction works took place. However, a recent pre-feasible study has raised a new hope for the bridge’s future.

Some 24 photographers were honoured at a ceremony held in Hanoi on June 15 to mark the 82nd anniversary of Vietnam’s Revolutionary Press Day.

It takes only six hours for tourists to travel by coach from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Lat resort city in the Central Highlands – known with other romantic names as Land of Flowers, City of Love, and Paradise of Tourism.

The 2007 Nha Trang Sea Festival successfully concluded on June 15, helping introduce local and foreign visitors to potential and advantages of central Nha Trang city.

The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union held a ceremony at the Moc Bai International Border Gate in southwestern Tay Ninh province on June 16 to receive 60 outstanding young people from the Cambodian Youth League.

VOVNews and the UNESCO Gastronomy Club held an online exchange entitled Training Chefs in Ho Chi Minh City on June 15, attracting Vietnamese food experts, leading chefs, tourism managers and students from the local tourism services school.

A solemn ceremony was held on June 9 to place a bust of late Vietnamese president Ho Chi Minh in the Russian City of Ulyanovsk, where V. I. Lenin was born.

A meeting to mark the 30th anniversary of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO was held in Hanoi on June 14 with the participation of former Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Khanh, former Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien and domestic and foreign scholars.

The Vietnamese children’s chorus will perform for the first time in three western states of the US, including California, from July 7-20, according to the Ministry of Culture and Information.

Hanoi is focusing on the implementation of six key cultural works to mark the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long, the ancient city now known as Hanoi.

More than 50 works of art four young Vietnamese photographers are being displayed at a photo exhibition in Rome, which opened on June 12 to feature the everyday life, fashion and beautiful landscape of Vietnam.

Vietnamese craftsmen and artists will participate in the 41st Smithsonian Folklife Festival scheduled to take place in Washington D.C in the US, from June 27 to July 8.

Nearly 70 paintings and sculptures by Vietnamese and French artists are on display at the Vietnam-France Fine Art Exhibition, which is taking place as part of the 2007 Nha Trang Sea Festival.

An arts festival for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia will take place in central Quang Tri province from July 20-24 to coincide with the second Trans-Asia Bridge cultural and tourism festival.

A team from Da Nang’s Polytechnic University successfully beat all rivals to become champions of the Robocon Vietnam 2007 at the final round of a national robot contest, which was held in Quan Ngua Sports Palace in Hanoi on June 10.

Various activities have been held in the central coastal city of Nha Trang as part of the 2007 Nha Trang Sea Festival, which began on June 10. Visitors were attracted to a kite flying festival, a swimming tournament, a photo exhibition, a flower arranging contest and a beer festival.

Sixteen Vietnamese students who excel in their study at universities across the country left for the Republic of Korea (RoK) on June 11 to explore this country’s traditional culture at the invitation of the RoK International Education Development Institute.

The 2007 Nha Trang Sea Festival opened in central coastal Khanh Hoa province on June 9.

“I always consider myself Vietnamese and try to improve my mother tongue to preserve my origins,” said a 20-year old Vietnamese American after arriving in Vietnam.

The 2007 Flower Festival will be held from December 15-22 in the central highland city of Da Lat. The festival will feature a number of attractions, including an international flower exhibition, a street flower festival, and street flower shows. There will even be a beauty contest of Vietnam ethnic minorities during the festival.

More than 200 handicraft artisans from across the country are gathering at the second festival of traditional handicrafts in the former imperial city of Hue from June 8 to 10 to display their skills such as copper-casting, carving, engraving and silversmithing.

A traditional music band “Tieng to dong”, made up of five musicians and one Overseas Vietnamese singer in France, has appeared at the FIMU (Festival International de Musique Universaire) Festival in Belfort on the outskirts of Paris, performing 10 traditional music pieces and songs about Vietnam.

The central coastal province of Khanh Hoa has decided to restore the Cau Ngu (Fish Worshipping) festival – a typical and common ritual of fishermen living in the coastal area – and to include it in the Nha Trang Sea Festival 2007 which is due to begin on June 9.