Life

Various folk activities will be on show at the first ever Folk Culture in Contemporary Life Festival in Hanoi this weekend. (Illustrative image. Source: hanoimoi.com.vn) Various folk activities will be on show at the first ever Folk Culture in Contemporary Life Festival this weekend at Ly Thai To Park in downtown Hanoi. Pham Thi Lan Anh, an official from the Hanoi Department of Culture and  Sports, said products by traditional handicraft villages around the city will be featured at the event, while various folk art forms will be performed between December 13 and 15 including ca tru (ceremonial singing), hat xam (singing by buskers) and folk dances.UNESCO)’s Network of Creative Cities. VNA … [Read more...] about Folk festival to take place in downtown Hanoi

Vietnamese billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong discusses his past life and ultimate life goals in this last instalment of a three-part interview with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. Vuong is Vietnam’s richest man and chairman of multifaceted conglomerate Vingroup, which operates in the fields of realty development, retail, tourism, and automobile manufacturing, and smartphone development. Click on the links to read the first and second parts of his interview with Tuoi Tre. It has been 17 or 18 years since you first earned fame in Vietnam.  Still, nay wonder: Who is Pham Nhat Vuong? A citizen [smile]. When I first started my career in Vietnam there was a rumor that I was a Mafia member coming back home from Russia. When people saw that I had no visual signs of being stabbed or anything like that, they started spreading rumors that I was a drug trafficker. When no one found evidence of drug trafficking, rumors began to circulate about my death. Every year there are several rumors that … [Read more...] about Conversation with Vietnamese billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong – Part 3

The couple left their hotel at around 6 p.m. on Wednesday and visited a place on Dong Khoi Street before heading for Cuc Gach restaurant on Dang Tat Street. Obama walks out of Cuc Gach restaurant after an hour-long dinner. Photo by Ngoc Duong. Barack and Michelle Obama sat on the first floor and ate stir-fried Tonkin jasmine flowers with garlic, stewed pork, spring rolls, and Vietnamese sour soup.   They asked to pay by card after the meal, but the restaurant manager refused to accept money from them. Hai, the manager, said they refused to accept it when he said the meal was on the house. "We explained that all the ingredients are grown on our farm, and so we did not spend much on them. Moreover, we wanted to welcome him as a family guest. He then agreed." He had been told Tuesday afternoon to be ready to "welcome some politicians." The visitors posed for a photo with Hong, a senior cook at the restaurant, before leaving. Obama had arrived in HCMC on Sunday during what was … [Read more...] about Obamas visit Vietnamese restaurant in Saigon

"The number of people, mainly adults but including children, reported trafficked from Vietnam to Scotland continues to rise," Detective Superintendent Filippo Capaldi, head of the Scotland police’s national human trafficking unit, said. "Many of these people will have come to Scotland, and the U.K., under false promises of a better life, only to find themselves victims of exploitation by criminal gangs." This year 397 referrals have been received by the unit, half about Vietnamese victims, 90 of them ostensibly minors. It represents a 20 percent increase from last year. The victims of trafficking or smuggling usually do not contact the police directly but come to their attention in other ways. "One of them is to be reported to the police by either members of the public or other agencies," Brenda Irons-Roberts, a communications officer in the police department, said. She declined to discuss details about individuals with whom the police are dealing since they are potential victims … [Read more...] about Scotland sets up anti-child trafficking unit as number of Vietnamese victims rises

This is a kindergarten in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 2, and it looks like the architecture team has a taste for Lego and building blocks. Trees are grown around the school, on the roof and inside each classroom. The building is designed in a way to ensure privacy and quietness for people inside. The building covers a floor area of more than 400 square meters (478 square yards), and it is built almost entirely with bricks. All rooms are connected with each other, and with an outdoor staircase. “We want to create an environment to encourage creativity. The building does not aim at inspiring the kids only but teachers as well, as they are the ones who take care of the kids all day,” said Dam Vu, chief architect of the project. Inside a classroom. Photos by Oki Hiroyuki … [Read more...] about Everything is awesome at this Lego-shaped kindergarten in Saigon