‘Floating Lives' makes splash

Vietnamese film Canh Dong Bat Tan (Floating Lives), an adaptation from
an award-winning short story by Nguyen Ngoc Tu, is poised to become a
box-office hit in HCM City.

Tickets were sold out hours
before the filmshows began at big cinemas like Megastar Hung Vuong,
Galaxy Nguyen Du and Galaxy Nguyen Trai on Oct.27.

Several theatres increased the number of daily shows from two to three but many people were still unable to get tickets.

The film, produced by the BHD Company, has grossed nearly 4 billion VND (205,000 USD) in the first four days of screening.

"We're encouraged that Floating Lives are attracting big crowds at
cinemas and many viewers have posted favourable comments on social
networking sites," said Ngo Thi Bich Hien, BHD deputy director.

"The film tells an emotional story and audiences are curious about it, " Hien said.

"We enjoyed the film because its representation of human despair,
suffering and love is lively and persuasive, " said a third-year HCM
City university student. "The film's well-known actors and actresses
also attract young people," he said.

Floating Lives,
which premiered at the Vietnam International Film Festival in Hanoi
last week, will also be screened in Bien Hoa, Da Nang and Hai Phong.

The film, directed by Nguyen Phan Quang Binh, tells the
story of a family who leads a nomadic life on rivers in the Cuu Long (
Mekong ) Delta region. The main character is Vo (played by overseas
Vietnamese actor Dustin Nguyen) whose wife left him for a cloth vendor.
He seeks solace in other women, whom he jilts as soon as they have
fallen in love with him.

When Suong (acted by Do Thi Hai
Yen), a prostitute, joins the family, Vo's daughter and son welcome her
and love her. Vo's affection for her also grows.

Canh Dong
Bat Tan created a literary stir among Vietnamese readers when it was
published five years ago. Released by the Tre (Youth) Publishing House,
the story was a bestseller in Vietnam in 2005.

"We
know how difficult it is to turn a work of literature appreciated by a
great number of people into an equally popular film," the film makers
said.

The story won an award of the Vietnam Writers Association in 2006./.

Foreign jugglers lure local children

Lately, teenagers and children have been frequenting the Sunday
afternoon circus performance of a foreign entertainment group at Hanoi
Botanical Park.

The group, which includes
amateur artists of many nationalities, shows the audience outstanding
and original skills. One of the members of the group, Fran Donovan, a

petite from Wales, England carefully juggles colourful balls of all different sizes, catching them with her skilful hands.

"When I was a child, my parents used to take me to the local circus
and to festivals on weekends. Watching people and animals performing
magic tricks made a strong impression on me," said Donovan.

Donovan and her boyfriend Ali Evans started the group and invited their friends to join.

"I love children a lot. It was a great idea to teach them my tricks,"
she says while her hands are busy playing with five fabric balls.

"Beginners should practice with two balls of the same size. First,
throw one ball into the air and watch it closely, not too high or too
low so you are able to focus on the ball.

When the first ball is already up, continue by throwing the second ball."

After living in Vietnam for a year and a half, Donovan and her group
all come from Hanoi Circus Club, have performed in several places in
Hanoi . Most of the audience members are children, but more and more
teenagers and young adults are coming to the shows. According to
Donovan, the size of the audience changes constantly.

Sometimes people she's never seen before pass by to watch the group perform.

"We do not have many toys to bring to the park, so we've asked our
Vietnamese friends living in the Old Quarter to make more balls for us.
The staffs are made from

bamboo, and the clubs are made from rattan, which makes them very strong and stiff", added Donovan.

Evans, the group's leader, as well as an English teacher at the
Australian Centre for Education and Training, is capable of playing with
all the toys and said that patience is

necessary to study circus.

"You can juggle as many balls as you want, as long as you prastice
everyday. It really depends on how much you try," he said.

Like Evans, others members in the group have a main career, but they still serve audiences without pay.

One of Evans's student, Bui Thi Hong Nhung, from the Hanoi University
of Agriculture, said, "I have never tried to learn these skills before. I
only saw performances of animals and people in the Hanoi central
circus. Ali is a good teacher and a brilliant artist. This could be my
new hobby."

Another member from France, Franny, attracts children with her poi performance.

"Poi is a performance art in which one or more balls are suspended
from a certain length of flexible material, usually a plaited cord, and
swung in circular patterns by the

artist," said the poi artist.

The group plans to perform more skills in Hanoi 's Thong Nhat Park so that more children can come and watch.

"We just want to meet people and have fun. Money is not of certain to us," said Donovan./.

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Son shocks former world chess champion

International Grand Master (IGM) Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son sent shockwaves
through the chess world at the Cap D'Agde Rapid Chess Tournament in
France after beating former world champion Russian Anatoly Karpov in
his fifth match on Oct. 26.

The win took Son to third place in Group A, which should help him secure a quarter-final berth.

In an earlier game, Son drew with Bu Xiangzhi, one of his main rivals at the Asian Games in China next month.

"It's the first ever time a Vietnamese player has beaten the 12-time
world champion," said an official from Vietnam Chess Federation, Truong
Giang.

"However, the winning move was just a moment of
inspiration for Son, 20, in his battle against the 59-year-old former
world champion," he said.

He added that any player could lose a game during speed play with just one move.

Six years ago, Son became the second youngest IGM in world chess history at the age of 14 years and nine months.

The 20-year-old started to draw attention in 2000 when he won the World U-10s Chess Championship in Spain .

Meanwhile, Son's teammate, Le Quang Liem overcame the host country's
Gharamian Tigran in his fourth game before drawing with Ukraine 's
Vasily Ivanchuk. Liem scored 5.5 points that puts him second in
Group A. The event has drawn 16 participants divided into two groups.
The top four from each will qualify for the quarter-finals. The
tournament will finish on Oct. 30./.

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Germany's '54 World Cup win could be drug-tainted - study

Hungary’s Galloping Major, the great Ferenc Puskas (left), lashes a shot at goal during the 1954 World Cup final. West Germany’s Werner Liebrich, who had injured Puskas with a fierce tackle when the two teams met in the group stage, attempts to block it. Puskas scored the game’s opening goal, in the sixth minute, but the unruffled and unfancied Germans came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 and take their first World Cup title. The game would later become known in Germany as ‘The Miracle of Bern’; the Mighty Magyars, epitomised by Puskas, were considered almost unbeatable

West Germany's 1954 World Cup-winning team, feted as the men who helped put a nation back on its feet after World War Two, may have been boosted by a secret doping program, according to a new university study.

Germany upstaged red-hot favorites Hungary 3-2 in the final in Switzerland in a victory that became known as the "Miracle of Berne", giving the war-weary nation cause at last for cheer.

"There are several strong indications that point to the injection of (methamphetamine) pervitin in some Germany players and not vitamin C as it was claimed," sports historian and author Erik Eggers, who conducted the study as part of a team at Humboldt University in Berlin, told Reuters on Wednesday.

Pervitin was a known stimulant at the time and had also been distributed to German soldiers in World War Two.

Team officials had said they had injected their players only with vitamin C during the tournament. No drugs tests were conducted at the time.

Eggers has been studying this case for some years and his report forms part of a wider project called 'Doping in Germany', launched by the country's sports authorities to investigate its doping past.

"Pervitin was at that time widely used in many sports and amphetamines were said to be also used by South America players," Eggers said.

"What is suspicious is that these injections to German players were distributed secretly and the only reason they became known was because those who got injected contracted jaundice."

Hungary had demolished the Germans 8-3 in the tournament's group stage, making West Germany's final win all the more surprising.

"The most important indication, though, is that vitamin C is not injected. This is very unusual. They could have just eaten an orange instead."

German football federation (DFB) officials could not be immediately reached for a comment.

German Olympic Sports Union (DOSB), the country's umbrella sports organization which launched the Doping in Germany project with other sports authorities, told Reuters they were aware of Eggers' study.

"Keep in mind these are indications and not proof," a DOSB official told Reuters.

Many Germans view the 1954 win as the springboard of the country's remarkable soccer success in the World Cups -- they have won three and been runners-up four times -- and a key moment of renewed optimism in post-War Germany.

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Muscleman to defend world title

Defending champion Pham Van Mach has left for India to defend his world bodybuilding title on October 30-31 in Varanasi.

Mach who competes in the men's 55kg category will face tough competition this year from much improved rivals.

His biggest opponent, Iranian Ehsan Khajavi, beat Mach to the gold medal in August's Asian Championships while in 2009, Mach easily overcame him to triumph at the world championships in the UAE.

However he said he would strive to retain his title.

The world tournament has lured more than 600 participants from 85 countries and territories.

They will take part in qualifiers on Saturday and successful contestants will go on to compete in the final on the following day.

VN rank third in student ping pong

Le Tien Dat and Nguyen Huu Duc won the only gold for Viet Nam at the Asian Table Tennis Student Championships at Hai Duong Gymnasium.

Their victory took Viet Nam to third in the medal tally behind China, who topped the table with five golds and five silvers, and Hong Kong.

It's the first time Viet Nam has hosted the student tournament, which drew 300 athletes from eight countries and territories.

Football tourney tickets go on sale

Tickets for an international football tournament, the VFF SONHA Cup, will go on sale at outlets in Ha Noi on Sunday, the organising committee has announced.

The tickets, priced between VND150,000-80,000 ($7.5-$4), will also be available at www.aleale.com.

The annual tournament has drawn four Vietnamese teams, South Korea's U-23s, Singapore and North Korea, who will battle it out in a round-robin format.

Viet Nam meet South Korea in the opening game at My Dinh National Stadium on November 2.

Colleges vie for football cup

HCM City's National University defeated Da Nang's Architecture College 3-1 in the opening match of the National Football Student Championships at Chi Lang Stadium yesterday.

The event has attracted 16 teams, who will be competing in four groups with the two qualifying for the quarter-finals.

The winners will walk away with a VND50 million (US$2,500) cash-prize. — VNS

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Uncle Ho’s poems translated into Mongolian

Poems from the “Prison Diary” written by the late President Ho Chi Minh
have been translated into Mongolian by President of the Mongolia-Vietnam
Friendship Association (MVFA) Doctor Sonomish Dashtsevel.

Dr.
Dashtsevel, 67, has spent nearly 10 years on the project with the hope
that it would help introduce President Ho Chi Minh’s patriotism,
simplicity and greatness to younger generations of Mongolians.

“When reading the Prison Diary, I felt closer to Uncle Ho’s personality.
The poems demonstrate his determination, patriotism and love for his
people,” said Dr. Dashtsevel.

He has spent considerable
time studying the collection’s translated versions in Russian, English
and French languages and made great efforts to preserve the spirit and
philosophy of the poems, besides the rhyme and meaning of the words.

As MVFA President, Dr. Dashtsevel has served as a bridge linking the
two countries through friendship groups and the economic and trade
cooperation of businesses.

The Mongolian Doctor, a former
student of the Literature Department, Hanoi University , has a
boundless love for the late Vietnamese president and his poems.

He has been married to a Vietnamese lady and his regular trips to
Vietnam aim not only to visit his wife’s hometown but also to find out
more about the culture and people of Vietnam./.

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UK ambassador plays last soccer match

Mark Kent (red jersey) plays his last soccer match in Hanoi in his 3-year tenure in Vietnam as UK ambassador

Photo: Tuoi Tre

Last weekend Mark Kent and his son Alexandre played a soccer match with a bunch of youngsters in Hanoi, their last in Vietnam before the British ambassador returns home at the end of his tenure.

Mark had chosen to play the sport to relax during his three years in Hanoi and his soccer friends gave father and son a sendoff before the match.

“I only play 15-20 minutes in each half,” he said. He is now 44 years old.

Mark and Alexandre took turns to play as a striker.

“Lam ra lam, choi ra choi” (Work hard, play hard), the ambassador said in fluent Vietnamese.

After the match, the team went out to drink draught beer on the streets. In the UK, Mark will still play soccer with his son during weekends but will miss the Hanoi draught beer.

During his stay in the country since December 2007 he became famous for his Vietnamese blog to connect with the local online community and deepen the understanding between two countries.

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