CULTURE AND SPORT

Video assistant referee technology (VAR) will make its debut at the World Cup in Russia this summer despite lingering opposition from within and outside football, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Friday (Mar 16).

A wheelchair-bound Australian is aiming to become the first paraplegic to reach Everest base camp unaided, a breathless trek he reckons he will make mostly on his hands.

18 Vietnamese and Italian designers will participate in the Italy - Vietnam Autumn-Winter Fashion Week as part of activities to mark 45 years of the diplomatic ties between the two countries.

About 8,000 people will take part in the 45th Hanoi Moi Newspaper Run for Peace, which will be held at the capital’s My Dinh National Stadium in Nam Tu Liem district on March 25.

A festival showcasing Peruvian grapes will take place in Hanoi from March 13 to 20, organized by the Embassy of Peru to mark Vietnam permitting the importation of the country’s grapes after more than five years of negotiations.

Vietnam won two gold medals at the first stage of the Asian Archery Championships held in Bangkok, Thailand, from March 2-9.

Vietnamese representative Nguyen Huong Giang won Miss International Queen 2018, one of the world's top beauty pageant for transgender women, held in Thailand on March 9.

Vietnamese film lovers will have the chance to enjoy cinema works by the Francophone community at a film festival to be held in Vietnam from March 17 to April 1.

Vietnam - Korea Friendship Marathon Championship 2018 is scheduled for April 13-15 at Bien Dong Park in Danang.

A total of 271 players from 21 countries and territories have registered to participate in the annual HDBank International Open Chess Tournament, slated for March 10 – 15 in Hanoi.

More than 2,300 runners will compete in the Dalat Ultra Trail 2018 to be held in Lạc Dương District in the Central Highliands province of Lâm Đồng on March 16-18.

Vietnamese musicians Nguyên Lê and Ngô Hồng Quang have been nominated for Echo Jazz 2018, a prestigious jazz award hosted by the ACT Music recording company.

The third International Food Festival will be held from March 14-17 in the ancient city of Hoi An, Quang Nam province, with the participation of 12 famous chefs from around the world.

A film on French playwright and director Marine Bachelot Nguyen’s Les Ombres Et Les Lèvres (Gays and Lesbians), a production on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Vietnam, will be screened in HCM City on Tuesday’s night.

Do Trinh Hoai Nam has been voted as the ao dai designer of the year in 2017 at the on-going 5th Ao Dai Festival held in HCM City.

When spring comes around with flowers seen everywhere, thousands of young people and families come to the book street in Hanoi, where a festival named “Doai Area welcomes spring” (Xu Doai Don Xuan) is organised.

Former heavyweight boxing champion of the world Mike Tyson has joined the cast of Girls 2 directed by Hong Kong director Barbara Wong Chun Chun, a film which has most of the scenes filmed in Vietnam.

Vietnamese and Thai teams have been selected in the same No. 1 seed group for the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup 2018.

International media have published articles reporting that Formula 1 could have three new Grand Prix events next season, as Miami, Buenos Aires and Hanoi are close to confirming a deal.