The German government has sent experts and provided 355,000 euros in non-refundable aid to Vietnam to restore 3,610 sq.m of frescos in An Dinh Palace in the former Imperial Capital of Hue.

An English-Vietnamese bilingual photo book about late Party General Secretary Le Duan was made public on April to mark his 100th birth anniversary.

Rare photos of legendary turtles living in Hoan Kiem Lake went on show at the Temple of Literature in Hanoi on April 3.

An oratorio will be performed at the Hanoi Opera House on April 6 to mark the opening of a German Cultural Week in Vietnam, announced the German embassy and the Goethe Institute at a press conference in Hanoi on April 4.

The Hue Historic Monuments Conservation Centre has decided to organize Royal Palace Night - one of Hue’s special tourism products - on full-moon nights (from 14th to 16th every lunar month).

A musical exchange in response to the "The whole country lends a hand to Son La Hydroelectric Power Plant" campaign was held in Hanoi on April 3 by the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Ideology and Culture, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, the Vietnam Television and the Phuong Dong Culture Company.

Vietnamese have an aptitude for learning Russian and speaking with surprising fluency. According to a Russian diplomat, the reverse is also true – Russian make excellent Vietnamese speakers too.

The International Sculpture Camp took place in Hon Dau Island in the northern port city of Hai Phong on April 2, drawing the participation of more than 40 Vietnamese and foreign sculptors.

“Hanoi Cultural Week” in Toulouse, southern France, will see many activities and events being held to promote cooperation in investment, trade and tourism between Hanoi’s enterprises and their partners in France.

A seminar opened in Hanoi on April 2 to discuss solutions for preserving and developing national cultural diversity and traditional values, as well as building an advanced cultural industry during the country’s industrialisation and modernisation process.

A “Hanoi Cultural Week” will take place in Toulouse, a southern city of France, in May 2007 following a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between representatives of the two cities on March 30.

A ceremony was held in Hanoi on March 31 to honour 124 outstanding Vietnamese who did well in entrance exams, International Olympic competitions and university graduation exams in 2006.

The National Symphony Orchestra of the Hanoi Music Conservatoire will give four performances in Paris and some other areas of France from May 12-19.

There are many new kinds of Pho restaurants in Vietnam such as Pho 24, Pho Vuong, Pho Ngon which are contributing to promoting traditional pho and Vietnamese culinary arts abroad.

A countryside culinary arts festival for the Northwestern Region will take place in Sa Pa district, northern Lao Cai province from April 14-17 with the participation of 28 chefs, who are ethnic minority people from eight mountainous provinces in the region.

A week-long Vietnamese films festival opened in Warsaw, Poland on March 27 to provide Polish cinema goers with a chance to discover Vietnam’s history and cultural identities.

The “Living in Fear” film by Vietnamese director Bui Thac Chuyen was screened in New York and Connecticut from March 27-29.

A “Vietnam-Europe Day” has been organised in Rennes, France by the European House in Rennes (Maison de l’Europe de Rennes), the French Association of Retired People and Volunteers for Welfare Development (ARABCO), the Rennes Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Vietnamese Embassy in France.

The Hai Phong Tourism Festival 2007 will kick off on Do Son beach in the northern port city of Hai Phong on April 28.

The outgoing chief of the Hanoi office of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has been honoured with an insignia in recognition of his contributions to preserving and promoting the Vietnamese culture.

A Spanish pianist, David Gomez, will give a performance at the Hanoi Opera House on March 30. He will present pieces of music of renowned Spanish, Mexican and Cuban composers such as Granados, J.Turina, A.Piazzolla, M.ponce and Lecuona.

Vietnam’s dance group “Big Toe” has recently participated in the third international break dance contest, “Floor Wars”, in Denmark.

More than 8,000 young singers around the country are expected to turn out for auditions for the new Vietnam Idol, a spinoff of American Idol, one of the world's most popular TV shows.

The six-month festival will introduce the Vietnamese public to the most recent trends and traditional aspects of Italian culture and economy, with the aim of boosting the relationship and cooperation between Italy and Vietnam.

Of the number, 98 students ranked first during university entrance exams or won gold medals at International Olympic competitions, and 24 others were rated excellent university graduates in 2006.

The Vietnam Historical Science Society has coordinated with the World Publishing House to publish a book in an effort to make the history of the country’s southern land clearer.

The Ministry of Defence held the 7th Creativity Youth awards ceremony and commended 10 outstanding youths in the army force in 2006 to mark the 76th anniversary of the founding of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (March 26).

French Ambassador to Vietnam Jean-Francois Blarel on March 23 presented the National Order of Merit (Ordre National du Merite) to Nguyen Thi Mo, former Rector of Hanoi Foreign Trade University in recognition of her positive contributions to higher education cooperation between Vietnam and France.

A book on the Vietnam-Russia relations has been published in both Vietnamese and Russian, according to the Vietnam-Russia Friendship Association and the National Politics Publisher at a press briefing in Hanoi on March 22.

Markus Nyikos, the principal cellist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, will perform at the HCM City Conservatory of Music on March 23.