Period antiques from the southernmost province of Ca Mau were put up for the first auction in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on January 29, said the provincial People's Committee.

Some 28 photos on the land and people of the US are being showcased at an exhibition which opened in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on January 30.

China’s Yunnan circus troupe will perform in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and some other localities from February 18 to March 18 during the Vietnam’s traditional Lunar New Year festival which falls on February 17.

A 26-member art troupe from HCM City is making a performance tour of San Francisco (US) and joining the Vietnamese community there in welcoming the traditional Lunar New Year festival (Tet).

Over 1,000 overseas Vietnamese in San Francisco and representatives from the local authorities and businesses joined a reception to celebrate Vietnam's traditional lunar New Year festival held by the Vietnamese General Consulate in San Francisco, California, on January 27.

A well-known piano duo from Israel, Sivan Silver & Gil Garburg, displayed at the Hanoi Opera House on January 27 with famous compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Franz Schubert and Franz Liszt.

Vietnamese artists gave a special art performance in Hanoi on January 26 for foreign diplomats to mark the New Year 2007.

Vietnamese photographer Dao Tien Dat has been named the Best of Asia at the prestigious 2006 Venice International Photo Contest.

A photo contest has been launched in Hanoi on January 26 to raise public awareness, especially among young people and the press circle, of air pollution, impacts and solutions for the capital city.

“Les Âmes Errantes”, a documentary film on post-war Vietnam directed by French stage-manager, Boris Lojkine, is being screened in Paris, France, from January 24-31.

Dep Fair 2007, an exhibition of cosmetics and fashion, will be held for the eighth time at the Hanoi Friendship Cultural Palace from March 7-11 with the theme “Honouring Beauty”.

Hundreds of relics of coral fossils have been found recently on the bed of the Huong (Perfume) River in central Thua Thien-Hue province, which is expected to assist the study of the river, believed to be about 50 million years old.

American singer Denise Mininfield will be back for her second tour of Vietnam from January 24-31, according to the US Embassy in Vietnam.

Editor-in-Chief of Tien Phong (Vanguard) daily Duong Xuan Nam, on January 22, presented more than 200 book titles, over 200 newspapers and magazine titles to Vietnamese women and young workers in Taiwan.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Nguyen Duy Hung on January 19 presented a Vietnam-style garden model at the International Bonsai and Flowers Exhibition in Chiang Mai province as a gift to Thailand.

An imposing art performance is scheduled to be held on Lunar New Year's Eve in Hanoi on February 16 to celebrate Vietnam's achievements during its renovation and integration process.

Nguyen Van Anh, who is considered a pianist of genius in Australia, performed at the HCM City Conservatoire on January 19.

Gong players from K'Sia village in the Central Highlands city of Buon Ma Thuot will make a tour of France from February 11 to 17 at the invitation of the France-Vietnam Cultural Development Cooperation Committee, said the provincial department of culture and information.

A 3 sq. m wide slab of stone believed to be an altar for prehistoric people has been discovered in Xin Man district, northern mountainous Ha Giang province.

Festival Hue 2008, scheduled for the former imperial city of Hue from June 3-11, 2008, will continue to feature many historical and cultural festivities under the theme Cultural Heritage with Integration and Development, according to the Thua Thien-Hue provincial People’s Committee.

Vietnam and Spain have agreed to boost their cooperation in the areas of culture, education and science in the 2007-2009 period.

An Australia Month was launched in Hanoi on January 11 in the hope of offering people across Vietnam a better chance to understand the land and culture of the world's biggest island nation.

A documentary on the war in Vietnam directed by American stage-director Peter Yarrow has been screened at the Wilkinson Library in the United States.

A folksong festival of the northern midland region opened in the northern province of Nam Dinh on January 13, drawing the participation of professional and amateur artists from 10 provinces and cities.

AEI Vietnam, an Australian education organization, will launch many activities introducing Australia’s education and culture in January to mark the country’s national day (January 26).

A series of Vietnamese Cultural Days will be held in France, India, the US, Russia and Cambodia in 2007, said an official from the Ministry of Culture and Information.

The Ho Chi Minh Museum has collected nearly 1,000 pages of precious documents concerning the late President Ho Chi Minh’s revolutionary life after a one-month working visit to Russia’s social, political and historical archives.

A 30-tonne bronze bell was successfully made by artisan Nguyen Van Sinh and his team at Duc ward in the former imperial city of Hue on January 11.

The first cultural festival for the Chinese community in Vietnam will be launched in Ho Chi Minh City from February 28 to March 4 to enjoy the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.

Two Vietnamese IT projects: a supporting centre for printing and Braille library of Bung Sang School for the Blind, and building and developing information technology for the Deaf of Hy Vong School for the Deaf have received awards worth US$90,250 from the Samsung Digital Hope 2006 Programme.