Category: Sports

Buenos Aires: Gastón Fiorda, an expert on Southeast Asian affairs at the National Radio of Argentina, has expressed his good impressions on the land and people of Vietnam in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency.

Vietnamese people showed the undaunted spirit during their past struggle for national liberation, and diligence in national construction and development, said Fiorda who recently spent three months in Vietnam for his doctoral research.

The expert highlighted cultural practices and rituals in Vietnam, as well as Vietnamese people’s hospitality, which he learned about during his stay in the Southeast Asian nation.

Vietnam has preserved and promoted its historical and cultural values, he said, taking the example of family gatherings held on the death anniversaries of their grandparents and other relatives.

Vietnamese people have also displayed a high sense of responsibility, both citizens’ and social, and their support for and confidence in the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam
(CPV) during the national construction and development, said Fiorda, who is also a writer and a journalist.

Culture plays a crucial role in Vietnam’s national construction and defence and international integration, the expert continued, stressing that cultural traits have helped the country raise its role and position in the international arena.

He also commended the Party’s sound leadership in cultural development, and Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s guidelines in this regard, saying they match the current situation in the country.

Fiorda wrote a book on Vietnam which debuted at the Buenos Aires International Book Fair in 2022, featuring achievements the country has recorded in Doi Moi (Reform) and its rising role and position in the international arena./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vientiane: The Military Music and Dance Theatre coordinated with the Vietnamese Consulate General in Pakse and the Military Command of Champasak province of Laos to organise an art performance in Pakse city on January 8 night to celebrate the 75th founding anniversary of the Lao People’s Army (January 20, 1949 – 2024).

More than 30 artists from the theatre entertained the audience with performance items praising the love for the homeland, traditional ties between the two countries’ armies as well as late Presidents Ho Chi Minh and Kaysone Phomvihane who laid the foundation for the great Vietnam-Laos relationship.

According to the event organisers, the programme did not only help foster the growing special solidarity and friendship between the two armies but also contributed to spreading the image of Vietnam and the significance of the special relationship between Vietnam and Laos to local people./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: Vietnamese Grandmaster Le Tuan Minh has emerged victorious in this year’s first weekly Bullet Brawl arena, an online tournament where titled players competed for a piece of the 1,000 USD prize fund.

First held in July 2023, the event, featuring Chess.com’s top bullet specialists, takes place every Saturday. Adhering to the rules, each player is given a mere 1-minute time limit for each game.

The results spoke volumes as Minh secured 58 wins, 5 draws, and 14 losses, clinching the top spot overall with an impressive 193 points.

Minh’s stellar performance saw him surpass the world’s Number 3 player and last year’s champion Hikaru Nakamura of the US who managed 57 wins, 7 draws, and 16 losses.

Born in 1996, Minh holds the third position among the top Vietnamese players, trailing behind Le Quang Liem and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son. He is renowned within the chess community for achieving remarkable success in rapid and bullet chess tournaments on leading online platforms. In 2022, Minh was crowned a Grandmas
ter, becoming the 13th individual in Vietnam to receive this honour./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

HCM City: The 2024 New Year book street festival will take place on Le Loi street, District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City from February 7-14, reported the municipal Department of Information and Communications on January 9.

The event, covering an expansive area of 11,200 sq.m, will feature more than 20 publishing houses showcasing over 3,000 titles, including Tet greeting poems and articles by President Ho Chi Minh; award-winning creative works centered around the theme “Studying and following the thought, morals and lifestyle of President Ho Chi Minh”, along with books by revolutionary predecessors, Party and State leaders from different periods; spring newspapers and books by press agencies and journalists.

There will be display of materials, photos and works marking the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory and the signing of the Geneva Accords, the 80th founding anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army, and the 120th birth anniversary of Tran Phu; as well as a collection of valuable and rare publication
s.

The festival will also dedicate a space to technology in the book industry, featuring audiobooks, e-books and booths showcasing high-quality titles across diverse genres. A recreational area designated for children will offer visitors a place to unwind.

To kick off the Lunar New Year, hundreds of books will be distributed to visitors for free. Notably, a cashless payment option will be available for the first time, providing added convenience for them./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Paris: 2023 was a successful year for Vietnam’s multilateral external relations and cultural diplomacy at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), according to former Permanent Representative of Vietnam to UNESCO Ambassador Le Thi Hong Van.

Firstly, the year saw the highest number of mutual visits between Vietnam and UNESCO, contributing to deepening bilateral relations, optimising the knowledge and resources from the organisation for the country’s development.

Secondly, 2023 witnessed historical milestones in Vietnam’s multilateral external relations at UNESCO, demonstrating the international community’s confidence and support to Vietnam’s ability of making contributions to and management capacity at global multilateral institutions, said the former ambassador, underlining that for the first time, Vietnam has undertaken positions in five key management mechanisms of UNESCO at the same time, including three Vice Chair positions.

Thirdly, Vietnam won many titles and a l
arge number of Vietnam’s heritages were honoured at UNESCO during the year. With the recognition of Ha Long Bay-Cat Ba Archipelago world natural heritage site, the addition of Da Lat and Hoi An cities to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, and the honoring of the progenitor of Vietnamese traditional medicine, Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac, Vietnam has so far won 65 UNESCO titles. Last year, Vietnam also successfully repatriated the seal ‘Hoang de chi bao’ (Treasure of the Emperor), the imperial seal of the Nguyen Dynasty.

Fourthly, in 2023, Vietnam continued to make important contributions to shaping strategic issues and global policies with the hosting of the first UNESCO international conference on harnessing the values of UNESCO titles for sustainable development in Ninh Binh.

Fifthly, last year also saw the organisation of many important events of Vietnam at UNESCO headquarters, contributing to promoting and spreading cultural values as well as the image of the nation and people of Vietnam among intern
ational friends. The three nights of Vietnamese Heritage at UNESCO highlighted the rich tradition, diverse culture and the depth of Vietnamese culture, sending out the message of a dynamic country in reform and integration with rich tradition and strong national identity, stated Van.

Regarding measures to promote the values of UNESCO titles and heritage for economic development and vice versa, the former Permanent Representative of Vietnam to UNESCO said that the experience of Vietnam and other countries showed that in order to harmonise preservation and development, it is necessary to enhance public awareness of conserving and promoting values of titles, while improving the State management efficiency over the heritage through completing the legal document system, and designing plans for preserving and promoting the titles along with paying greater attention to the role of communities and people.

At the same time, it is necessary to speed up digital transformation in heritage management and exploitation, d
iversifying heritage communications and education methods, strengthening regional, national and international connectivity in protecting and empowering cultural heritage with effective exploitation of economic aspects of the heritage in order to increase their contributions to socio-economic development, stated Van.

In her opinion, at the UNESCO, Vietnam should focus on five major tasks – actively proposing ideas and initiatives and optimising UNESCO’s policies in realising national targets; continuing to make the Vietnam-UNESCO partnership deeper, more substantial and effective; engaging in the building and submitting dossiers of Vietnamese heritage for UNESCO titles to create more resources and encourage sustainable socio-economic development models in localities; continuing to show strong performance in implementing the country’s positions in five key management mechanisms of UNESCO; and pioneering in popularising the image of the nation, people and culture of Vietnam to the world, Van underlined./.

Sou
rce: Vietnam News Agency

Bac Ninh: The International Tennis Federation (ITF) Asia 14 and Under Development Championship 2024 Regional qualifying – South, Southeast and East Asia was kicked off on January 7 in the northern province of Bac Ninh.

The tournament features 28 athletes from seven countries and territories, namely Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Cambodia, Brunei, and Vietnam.

The athletes compete in men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles and women’s doubles. The finals and closing ceremony of the tournament are expected to take place on January 18.

Four teams with the best results will qualify for the championship finals in India from April 8-17./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: Vietnamese marksmen will hunt Olympic places at the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship later this month in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The continental competition which is the Asian zonal Olympic qualification, will see many athletes competing in 18 events for men and 14 for women, along with four for mixed teams. Junior athletes will also have a chance to shine in eight events for both individual and team classes.

There are 16 Olympic tickets available for shooters in 10m air rifle, 50m rifle three positions, 10m air pistol, 25m rapid fire pistol, and 25m air pistol events.

Head coach Park Chung-gun has picked the best 11 athletes to take part in a two-week training course in Jakarta, before beginning the tournament from January 8-18.

Among them Asian Games champion Pham Quang Huy is expected to earn an Olympic ticket with his strong point of men’s 10m air pistol.

The 27-year-old, voted the Best Athlete of 2023, said he had a strong desire to make his Olympic dream come true after missing opportunities at 2
023 competitions.

According to the coaching board, if Huy could maintain his best performance, and with a little luck, he would make it.

Other potential athletes are 2023 Asian Cup bronze medallist Nguyen Thuy Trang, 2023 Asian championship medal holders Phan Xuan Chuyen, Phan Cong Minh and Lai Cong Minh.

After Jakarta, athletes will take part in the world tournament in April in Brazil, the last Olympic qualification.

Currently, Vietnam have earned one place at the Paris Games for Trinh Thi Thu Vinh, who placed fifth at the 2023 world championships’ women’s 10m air pistol.

Vietnamese sport officials in a recent meeting reviewing performance in 2023 and setting targets for 2024 believed that shooting would gain more slots in the new year.

‘When discussing with the coaching board and Park, they confirmed to us the possibility of taking a second official spot,” said Hoang Quoc Vinh of the Sports Authority of Vietnam.

“We all are looking forward to the positive results of the tournament in Indonesia,” said
Vinh, adding that the Vietnamese team not only aims to have more Olympic qualified athletes, but also to take a medal in this arena./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency