Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Meireles spoils Torres Chelsea debut with 1-0 win

Portuguese footballer Trindade Meireles refused to revel in revenge over Fernando Torres as Liverpool spoiled the Chelsea striker's debut with a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge Sunday.

Torres ignored Dalglish's pleas to remain at Anfield as he handed in a transfer request in a successful attempt to force through a British record 50 million pound transfer last week.

The Spaniard believes Liverpool are a club in transition and he jumped at the chance to join Chelsea because he sees the Blues as serious contenders for silverware.

As a Anfield legend who has won every major trophy during his time as a player and manager on Merseyside, Dalglish was inevitably frustrated to see Torres lose faith with Liverpool.

The Reds boss could easily have gloried in the way his tactical gameplan frustrated Torres, leading to the striker's 66th-minute substition following a lacklustre display on Sunday.

But instead Dalglish insisted his team were just focused on continuing their recent resurgence rather than stopping Torres.

"The players approached it professionally. I don't think it was any incentive, whatever someone else wants to do with their life is entirely their choice," Dalglish said.

"I came here to get three points, whether Carlo Ancelotti was playing up front or anyone else doesn't matter.

"He (Torres) had one shot on target when Jamie Carragher did a fantastic block tackle but I'm not here to talk any somebody else's players.

"I've always said the most important people to me are the people at Liverpool Football Club. We've got four clean-sheets in a row and 12 points, so I think anyone who is a Liverpool fan is very happy at the moment."

Just 10 days ago, Liverpool's future looked gloomy as Torres agitated for a move before the transfer deadline. But suddenly things are looking up for Dalglish and company.

Wins over Stoke and Chelsea have lifted Liverpool to within six points of the top four and new signings Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll, drafted in to replace Torres, have yet to start for the Reds.

Dalglish is confident Liverpool fans, who taunted Torres mercilessly throughout the match, have every reason to be optimistic after 18 months of turmoil at Anfield.

"We had a busy Monday and it has been a great week. The players were fantastic in their determination to win this match," Dalglish said.

"We have signed two fantastic players in Suarez and Carroll and we are looking forward to seeing them play if they can get in the team!

"Sixth is a lot healthier than 12th when I started. That is a great credit to the players."

Liverpool's recent upsurge in fortunes has done Dalglish's chances of turning his short-term job into a more permanent one but the Scot was quick to play down such talk.

"I'm only doing what I said I would come in and do, which is help," he said.

"I'll never stand in the way of progress at this football club. I have never had a conversation with the owners beyond the conversation I had when I came in.

"That's where we stand at the moment and until there is more to discuss - that is where we are."

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Japanese fall in love with Vietnamese village

When volunteering for the Japanese International Cooperation Agency
(JICA), two Japanese girls fell in love with the ancient unique
architecture in Duong Lam village.


Yamaguchi Yoriko and Inoue
Aiko work as technical advisors for preserving and restoring ancient
architectural works in Duong Lam village, which is Vietnam ’s
national relics.


After living with the villagers for nearly two
years, Yoriko feels the Vietnamese spirit from the village’s banyan
trees, wharf and old houses and has fallen in love with this land.


Meanwhile,
Aiko has turned into a country girl, following the farmers to the
fields to harvest rice and corn. She is also always ready to work as a
tourist guide and an interpreter and even prepare meals for guests.


As they are so close to the villagers, they show the Duong Lam villagers how to balance tourism, preservation and development.


According
to Aiko, Duong Lam’s attraction is not only in the beauty of its
ancient houses, but also because it has preserved the atmosphere and
feel of a Vietnamese village.


Ha Nguyen Huyen, the owner of a
160-year-old house and the first local person to open his house to
visitors, said volunteers like Yoriko and Aiko have helped Duong Lam
villagers to know the value of their houses and their home village.


Moreover,
JICA-funded projects have helped people in Duong Lam to develop tourism
on a sustainable basis and improve their living conditions.


Located
60km far from Hanoi city centre, Duong Lam village is the only
place to have an undamaged collection of an ancient Vietnamese village.


The
village has nearly 1,000 traditional houses. Of them, about 30 are over
200 years old and a few of them were built over 400 years ago./.

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Old fan-collecting hobby of Hanoi-lovers

Old fan-collecting hobby of Hanoi-lovers

A busy life in Hanoi cannot dilute the elegant hobbies of Hanoians,
and among these is the hobby of collecting old fans.


A 40-year-old collector, Do Ngoc Long, alias “old fan-lover” is
well-known in Hanoi ’s old fan-collecting circles. His small house in
the Hoang Hoa Tham Street is full of many models of fan.


He said he does not remember exactly how many fans he has altogether
after 20 years of collecting. At present, he has more than 800 fans.


Long likes to collect the Marelli fans – an Italian
model of the 19 th century. It is a very durable fan with a unique and
multiform design.


Not only does he own a huge number
of old fans, Long also has a wide knowledge of types of fan and is an
expert in repairing them. He is able to talk about six models of Marelli
fans with more than 130 different designs.


He said
his wife and children are also very interested in collecting and
admiring at fans like him and in the future, Long intends to open a
private museum to introduce Marelli fans to the public.


It is impossible to refer to old fan-collectors in Hanoi , without
talking about Tran Cong Phuc in the Ta Hien Street and Le Tan in the
Hang Bo Street .


Almost all old fans that they
own are the models of Marelli, Émi ( Holland ) and Éon, Calor
(French). These appeared in Hanoi from a very early time.


According to Phuc, the collector circles are being hunted for two
models of two-wing ceiling fan and ceiling fan with decanter-shaped
wings, which were only used by Hanoi Department of Electricity and the
State Bank of Vietnam .


In the recent years, Phuc
and Tan gathered and restored some of these rare models of ceiling fan
but most of them were bought by foreign visitors.


Phuc said that he desired to retain examples of all fans as evidence of life in Hanoi in the past./.

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Sunday, February 6, 2011

Wolves stun Man Utd on day of Premiership drama

LONDON  – Manchester United crashed to their first defeat of the season in a shock 2-1 loss at bottom club Wolves after a day of drama and record goal-scoring across the Premier League.


League leaders United, who had started to entertain dreams of emulating Arsenal and Preston North End as the only clubs to go through a whole season unbeaten, saw their run end abruptly at Molineux.


A superb individual goal by winger Nani had fired United ahead on three minutes but Wolves equalised with a fine header by fullback George Elokobi.


Five minutes before half-time Kevin Doyle was deemed to have got the final touch on a Nenad Milijas free-kick to put Mick McCarthy's side 2-1 up.


Despite furious late pressure from Sir Alex Ferguson's side, Wolves held on to record a victory which gives the rest of United's title rivals hope.


"We are disappointed obviously. It's been a long run for us. The players have done us all proud but today in the second half we didn't really get going," Ferguson told ESPN afterwards. Related article: Defeated Man United targets derby recovery


"We are not looking at the people below us, we are looking at ourselves.


"It was an opportunity for us to continue the great run we are on. The consistency we have shown in the last two months has been terrific so this was a great disappointment."


Ferguson believes next weekend's high-octane derby will give Manchester United the perfect incentive to bounce back.


The Scot insists Saturday's game against Manchester City at Old Trafford could not have come at a better time.


"It's a terrific game to try to recover from a defeat. It's a massive game. It's something to look forward to," said the United boss.


"Unfortunately, we have internationals in midweek. To my mind that is crazy, but we have to get on with it.


The result reduced United's lead over second-placed Arsenal to four points with both sides having played 25 games each. Wolves however remain bottom, behind West Ham on goals scored.


The Gunners would have narrowed the deficit even further had they not squandered a 4-0 lead in an extraordinary game against Newcastle at St James Park which finished 4-4. Related article: Arsenal's Wenger fears scars from Newcastle match


Arsenal looked to be cruising after goals from Robin Van Persie (2), Theo Walcott and Johan Djourou put them 4-0 up after 26 minutes.


However the sending off of Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby gave Newcastle a way back into the game and the Magpies produced a stunning fightback to draw courtesy of two Joey Barton penalties, a Leon Best strike and a rasping volley from Cheik Tiote on 87 minutes.


A total of 41 goals were scored across Saturday's eight games, shattering the previous record of 36 scored in a single day of the Premier League.


Third-placed Manchester City swept to a comfortable win over West Bromwich Albion at Eastlands, birthday boy Carlos Tevez netting a first-half hat-trick in a 3-0 victory.


Tevez's treble included two from the penalty spot as the Argentinian took his goals tally for the season to 18.


In a dramatic match at White Hart Lane, Niko Kranjcar struck a 90th-minute winner for Tottenham in a 2-1 victory over Bolton.


Rafael Van der Vaart put Spurs ahead from the penalty spot on six minutes, and looked to have doubled his tally moments later when he buried a second spot-kick only for the kick to be retaken for encroachment. Van der Vaart shot the same way but his effort went wide.


Bolton looked to have done enough to earn a share of the points courtesy of a Daniel Sturridge equaliser but Kranjcar's strike settled it for Spurs.


Elsewhere, Fulham twice came from behind to grab a share of the points in a 2-2 draw away to Aston Villa.


An own-goal from John Pantsil gave Villa the lead on 13 minutes before Fulham hit back through Andrew Johnson on 52 minutes. Kyle Walker put Villa 2-1 up but Fulham's US international midfielder Clint Dempsey equalised.


At Goodison Park, Louis Saha struck four goals as Everton came from behind to score a dramatic 5-3 win over Blackpool.


The Toffees twice took the lead through Saha only for the Seasiders to level through Alex Baptiste and Jason Puncheon.


Charlie Adam put Blackpool 3-2 up but Saha grabbed his third on 76 minutes before Jermaine Beckford struck a superb volley 10 minutes from time to make it 4-3. Saha then grabbed his fourth to complete the scoring.


At the DW Stadium, relegation-threatened Wigan scored a vital 4-3 victory over Blackburn in a see-saw battle.


Jason Roberts fired Blackburn into the lead before the struggling Latics drew level through James McCarthy.


Hugo Rodallega and McCarthy's second put Wigan 3-1 up, and although Blackburn pulled one back through Chris Samba, Ben Watson restored the home side's two-goal cushion from the penalty spot.


Yet David Dunn ensured a tense finale with a spot-kick on 81 minutes for Rovers as the goals continued but Wigan held on.


In the early kick-off, Robert Huth scored two goals in the final 10 minutes as Stoke City came from behind to defeat Sunderland 3-2.


German defender Huth struck the winning goal in injury time after earlier equalising on 83

minutes to cancel out an Asamoah Gyan strike that had given Sunderland a 2-1 lead.


Sunderland had taken the lead through Kieran Richardson after two minutes before Stoke's new loan signing John Carew hit back on 32 minutes.

.

 

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Inter, Roma clash to stay in Serie A title hunt

ROME – Champions Inter Milan and Roma face a crucial clash at the San Siro this weekend as both sides try to stay in the scudetto hunt.


Inter pipped Roma to the title by two points last year as they finished as the top two for the fourth time in five years -- with Inter winning the championship every time.


But this time around both have been left lagging in leaders AC Milan's wake and defeat in Sunday's game could prove terminal for either side's trophy hopes.


With just 15 games left, this would be a bad time to start losing touch with the teams above but Roma club captain Francesco Totti insists there is still a long way to go.


Asked about his own lack of goals this season -- he has scored just three times in 19 league games -- Totti claimed he would soon click into gear.


"There's still a long way to go in the championship and my goals will come," he said.

"It's a vital match, if we get a result on Sunday we'll be able to remain hot on AC Milan's heels, even though right now we're nine points back with a game in hand."


Milan have stumbled several times since the turn of the year but both Roma and third-placed Inter have failed to take full advantage, themselves slipping up when there was the opporunity to close the gap.


However, things are going a lot better for both of them than for Italy's most successful side, Juventus.


Following the disaster of last season when Juve finished seventh and went through two coaches, they spent big in the summer and hired Luigi Delneri to revive the club's fortunes.


Things started out well enough this season but they have completely lost their way since the turn of the year.


Milan travel to Genoa looking to maintain the five-point lead at the top they extended in midweek despite a 0-0 draw at home to Lazio.


Napoli failed to capitalise as they produced a listless display in losing 2-0 at Chievo.

However, they return home to host struggling Cesena on Sunday while Lazio entertain


Chievo.


Fixtures (1400 GMT unless stated):


Sunday


Bologna v Catania (1130), Brescia v Bari, Genoa v AC Milan, Lazio v Chievo, Lecce v Palermo, Napoli v Cesena, Parma v Fiorentina, Inter Milan v Roma (1945)

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Saturday, February 5, 2011

Hanoi through eyes of French photographer

If he had more time, Nicolas Cornet, a French photo-journalist would
have talked more about Hanoi both in French and Vietnamese. However,
he prefers to use his photos to tell his stories.


Cornet said he has closely followed the changes in people and Hanoi
through his own photo journalism. That is why when visiting an
exhibition showcasing Cornet’s photos of Hanoi at the French Culture
Centre L’Espace in late 2010, many people who were born and grew up in
the city suddenly recognised scenes they had taken for granted for a
long time.


Hanoi in his photos is not merely a
reminiscence, but is always moving. Viewers can see the city through
photos portraying people’s daily lives, high-rise buildings or ancient,
moss covered pagodas.


“His photos are unexpectedly
lively,” a common comment made by many visitors. For them, Cornet’s
photos are beautiful, not only in terms of lay-out and colour, but also
of containing the city’s flavours such as steamed glutinous rice and
green tea that are served on the city’s pavement kiosks.


After three years of collecting images and ideas, Cornet has published
a pictorial book about Hanoi to celebrate the city’s 1,000 th
anniversary.


Since 1987, Nicolas Cornet has spent a
couple of months each year returning to Vietnam and feels it is his
“home country”.


Besides working for many of Europe
’s well-known daily newspapers and magazines such as L’Espresso, Mare,
Le Republica, Figaro Magazine, Le Monde, Ulysse, Geo, Grands Reportages
and Nouvel Observateur, Cornet has given lectures on photography and
press photography. He has already hosted a series of personal
exhibitions in France , Germany , Switzerland and Vietnam. /.

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Restoring portraits of ancient Vietnamese

A group of scientists has tried to restore the faces of ancient
Vietnamese people who lived thousand years ago, revealing interesting
stories about their lives.


Eight years ago, people discovered
human skulls and skeletons dating back to the Dong Son age – 2,100 years
ago – in a tomb in Dong Xa, Kim Dong district, Hung Yen province.


With
a desire to discover more about the life of ancient Vietnamese people,
Dr. Nguyen Viet, Director of the Southeast Asia Prehistory Centre and
his colleagues reconstructed the face of a 17 to 18-year-old girl living
in Dong Son age, from the skull they found.


To do that the
scientists had to X-ray 100 people in Hung Yen province to check, adjust
and find out fundamental parameters of the figure of ancient people in
Dong Xa.


After this step, scientists continued to
restore the faces of three more women and a man, of whom the oldest was
about 40-45 years old. The scientists rebuilt not only the shape, but
also facial appearances.


Viet’s research on 60 Dong Son age
skeletons unearthed in Dong Xa showed that the average height of women
at that time was about 1.40m-1.50m and men, between 1.45m-1.65m.


For
long-term research, Dr. Viet built a place to store 70 skeletons of
ancient Vietnamese people, including the remains of those of Hoa Binh
culture dated tens of thousands of years ago, at Pham Huy Thong museum
in Quang Ninh province.


Scientists of the Southeast Asia
Prehistory Centre also worked with foreign counterparts to study and
detect common diseases of ancient Vietnamese people as well as the
reasons for their deaths.

They also studied samples of collected clothes, finding that the clothes were made from flax fibre.


Dr. Viet said that he plans to open the first museum of wax models of
ancient Vietnamese people and cooperate with US experts to restore the
faces and figures of these people using 3D technology./.

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