Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi said on Sunday he will not attend next month's Academy Awards ceremony, comparing US President Donald Trump's visa ban on seven Muslim countries to the actions of hardliners in his own country.

Hundreds of people from 16 ethnic groups will gather at Việt Nam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism near the capital to celebrate Tết on February 4 and 5.

January 27 marks the start of the Year of Rooster, the tenth ranked of the Chinese zodiac animals, another Lunar New Year.

The country is celebrating the first days of a lunar new year, the Year of the Rooster, with hopes for a better year compared with the previous Year of the Monkey, which was a difficult year accompanied by disasters, unfavourable weather, as well as a challenging economic situation.

A Khèn (panpipe) Festival will open for the first time from January 30 to February 12 in Sa Pa in the northern province of Lào Cai.

Enjoying thủy tiên (Narcissus) plants during Tết has also been an elegant hobby dating back a long time for Hanoians.

A performance to celebrate the lunar New Year will be staged on the east side of the Hàn River bank in the central city of Đà Nẵng on January 30

 Norma John (R) performing at the final rehearsal of the ’Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu’ (The New Music Contest) in Espoo, Finland, 28 January 2017.

 People sled, ski the five kilometre-distance across frozen Lake Balaton near Budapest, Hungary.