Thursday, December 30, 2010

Top ten events in culture, sports and tourism in 2010

Top ten events in culture, sports and tourism in 2010


The Ministry of Culture, Sports and
Tourism officially announced ten outstanding cultural, sports and
tourism activities in 2010 in Hanoi on Dec. 30. They are:


1.
Cultural and fine arts activities mark major celebrations, including the
80th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the
national commemoration of the Hung Kings and the Hung King Temple
Festival, the 35th anniversary of the liberation of the south and
national reunification, President Ho Chi Minh’s 120th birthday, the 65th
anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day (Sept. 2) and the
80th anniversary of the Vietnam National United Front.


2.
Cultural, sports and tourism activities mark the grand celebration of
the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi, including the biggest-ever
parade held at Ba Dinh Square on October 10, the opening of the
Culture-Tourism Village of Vietnamese ethnic groups, an exhibition on
Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements and Thang Long-Hanoi, the “Thang
Long-Hanoi craft villages and streets” festival, the sport competitions
and the Vietnamese film days for 1,000 years of Thang Long-Hanoi.


3.
Vietnam’s heritages have been recognised by UNESCO, including the Thang
Long Imperial Citadel recognised as a world cultural heritage site, the
Saint Giong Festival in Phu Dong and Soc Temples as an Intangible
Cultural Heritage of Humanity and the 82 doctoral stone steles at the
Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first university, recognised as a world
documentary heritage.


4. Cultural activities were held to
promote Vietnam’s land and people abroad, including the National Day at
the 2010 Shanghai EXPO and the Vietnam Culture Week in Cuba, Mexico,
Germany, Belgium, Cambodia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Russia, China
and India.


5. International cultural and sport events were held for
the first time in Vietnam, including the International Photo Exhibition,
International Film Festival, International Piano Contest, Miss Earth
and the Thang Long-Hanoi International Football Cup to celebrate the
capital city’s millennium birthday.


6. Director and People’s Artist
Dang Nhat Minh was honoured by the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences for his contributions to the Vietnam’s cinematography.


7. Sports festivals at all levels and the seventh national sports festival were held.


8.
The Vietnamese sport delegation bagged 33 medals including those at
five Olympics sport events for the first time at the 16th Asian Games
(ASIAD 16); and the Vietnamese disabled athletes secured 17 medals,
placing 11th out of 42 delegations at the first Asian Para Games.


9. Vietnam’s tourism sector welcomed five millionth foreign visitor.


10.
Tourism promotion campaign in 2010 “Vietnam-Your destination”
contributed to attract foreign tourists to Vietnam and promoting
domestic tourism. The campaign helped Vietnam welcome over five million
foreign arrivals, 28 million local visitors and grossed an estimated
revenue of 100 trillion VND./.

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Malaysia claim first title at regional football

Despite suffering a 2-1 loss to Indonesia on Wednesday, Malaysia still won their first title at Southeast Asian football championship with a 4-2 win in total after two legs.

Goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat saved an early penalty and Safee Sali netted his fifth goal of the tournament to take Malaysia to the final victory.

Trailing 3-0 from the first leg in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, Indonesia staged in the game more aggressively in a bid to cut the deficit.

Mohammad Nasuha pulled back a goal with 18 minutes remaining and Muhammad Ridwan scored with a deflected effort two minutes from time to give Indonesia the win.

Malaysian Ashari Samsuddin launched the ball forward to Safee, who outpaced the Indonesian defense before lashing the ball into the top left corner of the net for his tournament-leading fifth goal.

The crowd, which included Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, had filled every seat in the 85,000-capacity stadium nearly two hours before kick-off, hoping to roar their team on to the quick start that they needed to turn the tie around after their decisive loss in the first leg.

The Indonesian continued to press but could not manage another breakthrough until the 88th minute when Ridwan's shot from the edge of the box took a deflection off a Malaysian defender on its way past Khairul.

Bambang had a chance to net a third for the Indonesians in stoppage time but his free-kick was well saved by Khairul as the Malaysians easily hung on to claim the title.

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Malaysia win their first ASEAN Cup

Mohd Safee Sali of Malaysia (right) scores one goal in the AFF Suzuki Cup second leg final match in Jakarta. Malaysia win 4-2 on aggregate while Safee became the best score of the tournament with fifth goal. — AFP/VNA Photo

Mohd Safee Sali of Malaysia (right) scores one goal in the AFF Suzuki Cup second leg final match in Jakarta. Malaysia win 4-2 on aggregate while Safee became the best score of the tournament with fifth goal. — AFP/VNA Photo

HA NOI — Malaysia beat Indonesia 4-2 on aggregate to win the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup for the first time in the country's history yesterday in Jakarta, Indonesia.

A loss of 1-2 to the hosts in the final's second leg match could not stop Malaysia from opening a new chapter in the history of the regional football tournament which up until now had been dominated by three-time winners Thailand and Singapore.

Mohd Safee Sali opened the scoring for Malaysia nine minutes after the break. Until then Indonesia had made things difficult for their opponents, attacking aggressively with a view to levelling the three-goal deficit they faced after the first leg match.

The talented player who scored twice in the semi-final against Viet Nam got his goal after he received a long-range pass and shot truly into the net.

The goal made him the top striker of the tournament with five goals to his name.

Indonesia, with their President watching on, found their equaliser in the 71th minute when defender Mohammad Nasuha scored from near the edge of the box.

His team doubled their tally 17 minutes later when Muhammad Ridwan scored his third goal at the tournament. His strong shot deflected off a Malaysian player before entering the net.

Malaysia are surprise winners of the tournament. At the previous championship two years ago they were ousted in the qualifying round.

This time they were placed in the ‘group of death' together with Thailand and Indonesia and after their humiliating 1-5 loss to hosts Indonesia in the group stage, no one gave them a chance.

The team only made it through to the knockout stage after Thailand, the most powerful team in Southeast Asia, were eliminated from the championship.

However, after that they had a complete reversal of form. First there was a great 2-0 victory over defending champion Viet Nam in the semi-final and then a 3-0 victory over Indonesia in the final's first leg on Sunday.

It has been be a very successful year for Malaysia with two important titles going to them in the last twelve months. Last December Malaysia defeated Viet Nam 1-0 to claim the Southeast Asian Games Cup.

Yesterdays' match did not help Indonesia's coach Alfred Riedl shake off his ‘Mr Silver' moniker. Once again, he pocketed a silver medal, just as he has done on every single occasion he has taken a team to a tournament final. The previous occasions were when he worked with Viet Nam several years back. — VNS

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Wednesday, December 29, 2010

RoK hands over restored music instruments

RoK hands over restored music instruments

The National Institute of Traditional Art Performance of the Republic
of Korea (RoK) on Dec. 29 handed over a set of Bien Chung (brass
bells) and Bien Khanh (stone gongs) to the Hue Imperial Relics
Preservation Centre (HIRPC).


This is the result of
the cooperation between HIRPC and the RoK, under which the RoK institute
helps to restore Bien Chung and Bien Khanh, percussion instruments of
Nha Nhac (Royal Court Music), as the techniques for making them have
been lost in Vietnam since early the 20th century. However, the
instruments are sill preserved in the RoK.


According to HIRPC Director Phung Phu, Bien Chung and Bien Khanh
percussion instruments were used in Hue royal orchestra under the Le
dynasty (1427-1788) and Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945).


The instruments will be given to the Hue Royal Traditional Arts Theatre
to be used on the occasions of traditional rituals during Hue
festivals.


Park il Hun, Director of the RoK
institute, expressed his hope that through the cooperation the world
will know more about the two countries’ traditional music./.

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Domestic title winners ready for National Super Cup battle

Safe pair of hands: Ha Noi T&T's national team goalie Duong Hong Son will be a key player for the capital city team when they meet Song Lam Nghe An in the National Super Cup next Sunday. — VNS File Photo

Safe pair of hands: Ha Noi T&T's national team goalie Duong Hong Son will be a key player for the capital city team when they meet Song Lam Nghe An in the National Super Cup next Sunday. — VNS File Photo

HA NOI — Defending V-League champions Ha Noi T&T are ready for a tough season opener against Song Lam Nghe An in the Super Cup at the Hang Day Stadium next Sunday.

The Hanoian team, who won the premier league in June, will play their long-term rivals and National Cup winners Nghe An in a widely anticipated match before hosting Hoa Phat Ha Noi in the opening game of the national championships on January 22.

T&T boast a string of stars including goalie Duong Hong Son, the 2008 player of the year, and captain Brazilian Cristiano Roland as well as maestro Le Hong Minh and Brazil's Cauce Benicio along with attacking midfielder Cao Sy Cuong.

Top striker Le Cong Vinh has yet to recover from a knee injury, but the team welcomes the services of newly-signed left winger Thach Bao Khanh from Thanh Hoa and striker Iuril from Ukraine.

"We have kept our key players who helped the club clinch the first trophy for a Hanoian team in 12 years. I expect Vinh to be back in action soon," said the club chairman, Nguyen Quoc Hoi.

Team coach Phan Thanh Hung has been watching the 24-year-old Iuril at the on-going Hoa Phat Football tournament before he is due to sign a contract next month.

However, Nghe An are not likely to go down without a fight and are planning on giving Ha Noi T&T a run for their money having just finished an intensive month of pre-season training.

They pose a serious attacking threat with the combination of Raiko Vidovic, Abdulrazak Ekpoki and Mitrovic Dalibor up front.

Nghe An go into the game full of confidence after defeating two-time V-League champions Hoang Anh Gia Lai 1-0 in the National Cup final in August.

They also have the added incentive of winning the Super Cup for a fourth time.

Super Cup glory

The Super Cup winners will receive a VND150 million (US$7,000) cash prize, with the runners-up pocketing VND70 million ($3,300).

Former The Cong, or the Army team, won the first Super Cup in 1999. Nghe An took home the cup in 2000, 2001, and 2002. They were finally beaten by Hoang Anh-Gia Lai, who held the title for the next two years.

Binh Duong also grabbed the title twice.

This is the 12th year that the event will be organised by the Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper and the Viet Nam Football Federation. The 584 Group is the cup's sponsors. — VNS

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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Swimmers excel, records fall

Going swimmingly: Da Nang-born swimmer Hoang Quy Phuoc set two new records at the National Sport Games, helping his team to second place in the swimming. — VNA/VNS Photo

Going swimmingly: Da Nang-born swimmer Hoang Quy Phuoc set two new records at the National Sport Games, helping his team to second place in the swimming. — VNA/VNS Photo

HA NOI — The sixth National Sport Games saw 13 national swimming records set on Sunday on the second day of competition in the central city of Da Nang.

Among the record breakers was teenager Hoang Quy Phuoc, who smashed his own men's 100m record set at the National Swimming Championship last month by nearly two seconds with a time of 50.92sec. Phuoc was also part of the record breaking 4x200m freestyle team.

"These records will motivate me to try my best in training and compete for better results in the future," Phuoc said, with a smile.

Olympian Nguyen Huu Viet also broke his own record in the men's 50m breaststroke, with a time of 28.39sec, over half a second faster than the one he set three months ago.

Other records were set in the men's 200m breaststroke and 400m medley events.

On the women's side, Duong Thi Thom of Quang Ninh Province broke the 200m breaststroke record with a time of 2.21:22. Earlier, Quang Binh Province's Pham Thi Hue triumphed in the 50m breaststroke setting a new record of 32.46. HCM City-born Nguyen Thi Kim Tuyen, who was the youngest Vietnamese swimmer to compete at Guangzhou's Asian Games, marked her presence with a gold medal and a record in the 200m medley.

HCM City are leading the swimming medal tally with three gold, one silver and two bronze medals. Da Nang are in second position, having won two golds, two silvers and one bronze. Quang Binh are third with one gold, one silver and one bronze. — VNS

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Student wins online short film festival

Student wins online short film festival

Thinking of You by Vietnamese-American Vu Quang Huy has won the Golden
Heart prize for best film at YxineFF, Vietnam's first online short film
festival.


The chemical biology student from the University of California (UC) also
received prizes for best director and best cinematography at a ceremony
held at HCM City's BHD Cinema Star on Dec. 26.


American student of the UC, Christy Yang won the prize for best actor.


Huy's film, produced in 2009, is a vignette about a quirky flower-shop girl and the elusive "object" of her desire.


He is polishing the script for a movie version of the film he hopes to make in the next two years.


The five-minute version also won the Audience Award at Hidden Genius, a
short film competition sponsored by the Vietnamese-American Arts and
Letters Association.


It has been screened at various festivals like the Vietnamese International Film Festival and San Diego Film Festival.


At the YxineFF, animated film The Journey Unknown by Do Dang Thuong of
HCM City grabbed the best script and best film editing prizes.


The 4-minute-40-second film depicts the journey of an unnamed,
faceless character that jumps out of a book's page through the book that
takes it through heaven, destruction, urbanisation, and war.


Thuong said he actually created the character and background from
paper before resorting to stop motion, an animation technique.


The film is the 23-year-old's first production and was screened at the
Future Shorts Festival, which is organised by the global short film
community, held in Vietnam last year.


The organisers
of YxineFF, the Sai Gon Media Company and local film aficionados, gave
away the Red Heart prize for best film chosen by audiences to L.O.V.E by
Vu Ngoc Phuong, an overseas Vietnamese from the Philippines.


Up in the Tree, directed by Bui Quoc Thang of Hanoi, won the New Heart prize for the film with creative and new ideas.


All the award-wining films can be watched at the festival's website at www.yxineff.com.


The festival, which was launched in May, aims to broaden the
independent film-making community in Vietnam and offer local film-makers
an opportunity to promote their works worldwide.


It
showed 20 films in the Competition category for 10-minute films, 21
films in the Panorama category for 30-minute shorts made in the last
three years, and 12 films made by young directors in the In Focus
category./.

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