Three out of ten artifact groups in the central city of Hue have been listed for recognition as national treasures, including nine sacred cannons, nine urns and a great bell, said an official on February 7.

Vietnam Television (VTV) Director General Tran Binh Minh and Lao Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism (ICT) Bosengkham Vongdala on February 2 in Vientiane signed a memorandum of understanding on bilateral cooperation in the 2012-2015 period.

Vietnam Law Firm and some lecturers from the Law Faculty of Binh Duong University raised funds to build a compassion house for Nguyen Van Nam, who is former principal of Tan An high school in Cang Long district in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh.

The provincial People’s Committee chairman Le Thanh Cung on Feb. 8 chaired a meeting to launch a project of building Becamex social housing for the 2011-2015 period with the participation of investors including Becamex IDC and relevant departments and agencies.

A photographic exhibition is being held in Navia city, Spain, to feature the beauty of Vietnamese land and people.

In the morning of February 06 (the 15th day of lunar January of 2012), at the venue of Thien Hau Pagoda on Nguyen Du Street, Thu Dau Mot Town, organizer held an auction bid for 9 “lanterns of saint” at floor price of VND 1,500,000 each.

SetiaBecamex has just held a festival to welcome the lunar New Year 2012 and launched its sales program of two or three-storey houses, luring more than 400 clients and local people.

On the occasion of the Thien Hau Lady Temple Festival 2012, Hiep Thanh ward’s Red Cross Society, Women’s Union and Youth Union actively got involved in social charity activities.

With expectation of hundreds of thousands of tourists everywhere, Thien Hau Lady palanquin procession festival took place solemnly, lively and orderly at Thu Dau Mot town’s Phu Cuong ward on Feb. 6. In addition, Lady palanquin procession festivals at Hiep An ward and Lai Thieu ward… were organized at the same time.

It is expected that visitors to Thien Hau Pagoda Festival 2012 will surge up, requiring organizer to allocate inter-units to ensure a safe and civilized festival.

Vietnam has joined Nepal and Bangladesh as members of the United Nations’ Commission for Social Development (CSD) for the 2012-2015 term.

Reps of the provincial Department of Foreign Affairs just paid a working session with reps of Korean delegation to discuss establishment of Vietnam-Korea Culture Exchange Center. This activity is to spur cooperative relationship between Daejeon and Binh Duong provinces.

The World Bank approved the Vietnam Climate Change Development Policy Operation on Thursday, the first of three such operations to support priority actions aimed at strengthening policies, strategies and institutions in order to respond to climate change.