Vietnam attends cultural festival in Bangkok — TalkVietnam

Vietnam attends cultural festival in Bangkok — TalkVietnam
Participants included Thai Minister of Culture Sonthaya Khunploem, officials and representatives from ASEAN embassies in Thailand.
Addressing the event, Thai Culture Minister Sonthaya Khunploem noted that his country has made great efforts to raise ASEAN’s image globally and voiced his hope that more exchanges and cooperation activities will be promoted among ASEAN member countries.
Vietnam brought to this year’s event art performances, foods, photographs and documents highlighting its cultural identity and tourist attractions.
The festival will run until August 12.

Less common foreign languages now attract more learners | Look At Vietnam

Less common foreign languages now attract more learners

April 28, 2012

LookAtVietnam – Following the movement of learning English, French and
Chinese, Vietnam now witnesses the movement of learning less common foreign
languages, because the language skills could be an advantage for Vietnamese to
look for jobs.

The 10 scholarships for the summer training courses in Thailand offered every
year are the main reason that prompted Nguyen Kim Phuong, a student of the
German language faculty of the Hanoi University, to start learning Thai
language.
Phuong complained that she meets so many difficulties with the learning. The
textbooks used for teaching and learning are just photocopied versions, while
reference books and dictionaries could not be found at libraries and bookstores.
As very few people are learning Thai, Phuong cannot find anyone to consult with
every time when she has problems with the learning.
She said she sometimes feels disappointed with the learning and intends to give
up the hard work.
Vu Hoang Quan, a Spanish Language Faculty’s student of the Hanoi University, is
learning Italian language, because he loves Italian football, Italian culture.
Quan believes that he has aptitude for foreign languages, but he admits that he
usually mistakes Spanish for Italian words.
When learning Italian, Quan also meets a lot of big challenges. Lacking
materials and the environment to practice skills are the two biggest problems.
Having the Latin letter system, but the complexity of Portuguese grammar has
made many young learners puzzled.
Though facing so many difficulties, young people believe that they would have
more opportunities to find good jobs, if they have fluent foreign language
skills. Therefore, a lot of students now rush to enroll in less common foreign
language faculties. Especially, no high requirements have been set up for the
students to the faculties, while the learning of the foreign language has been
encouraged.
The Hanoi University, the biggest foreign language school in Vietnam, enrolls
students for 10 foreign language faculties. Students need to have 21 marks from
the university entrance exams at least to be able to obtain a seat at the
faculties. Meanwhile, the University of Foreign Languages, an arm of the Hanoi
National University, requires 22 marks.
Foreign language schools in Vietnam all have opened their doors widely to the
learners of less common foreign languages. However, local newspapers still have
quoted head hunting companies as saying that the workers who can speak the
foreign languages fluently are seriously lacking in all business fields.
According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism VNAT, by May 2011,
Vietnam had had 5272 international tour guides having practice cards. Of this
amount, only 171 tour guides speaking less common languages, including Spanish,
Thai, Italian, Lao, Bulgarian, Indonesian, Romanian and Hungarian.
Tran Hai Yen, the lecturer of the Portuguese Language Faculty of the Hanoi
University, has affirmed that those, who can speak Portuguese, now have the
chances to find good jobs. The military telecom company Viettel, for example, is
expanding its business to Mozambique, therefore, it needs the staff who can
speak Portuguese.
Viettel regularly asks the school to introduce the Portuguese speakers to the
company. Therefore, the school is considering increasing the number of students
to the faculty by 20 students this year.
Pham Van Kim, MA, from the Hanoi National University, has affirmed that in the
context of the global integration, students would have more opportunities to get
jobs if they have foreign language skills. Kim said that Arab language skills
would be a big advantage for the students who want to work for state agencies
such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security or
Ministry of National Defense.
Source: Tien phong

Live with MJackson, Thailand

Live with the King of Pop

Ngoc Linh and a Thai child singer in front of a poster for Michael Jackson’s Dangerous World Tour Bangkok, in Thailand. Ngoc Linh will never forget the time she performed with Michael Jackson.

As a 13-year-old girl, singer Ngoc Linh won a Pepsi-sponsored singing contest to become one of five Vietnamese teens sent to Thailand for a chance to perform with the King of Pop on his 1993 Dangerous World Tour in Bangkok. After 16 consecutive Asian sellouts, the performance in Bangkok was “Thailand’s most hysterical show business moment,” according to the Bangkok Post. The paper also described the event as “the most spectacular, noisiest and artistic pop show ever seen in Thailand, as Jackson and troupe moon-walked, danced and sang the crowd into a frenzy.” Linh arrived in Thailand before the show and participated in cultural exchange programs with 20 other children from Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand. The first time she saw Jackson, he was driving by and waving to the kids from a Tuk -Tuk (motorized rickshaw). “It was just a few seconds, but that made us very happy,” said Linh. Linh was chosen that day as one of only four kids who would perform alongside Jackson on stage. She and a Thai child were scheduled to perform the first night. In the evening, Linh and the other kids introduced themselves at a press conference. “I was extremely nervous... I felt happy and proud when they asked me many interesting questions and showed me an affection.” Jackson then asked to meet Linh. They shook hands and he asked her about Vietnam and her feelings about the coming show. “It was awesome!” said Linh. But she also said she regrets not keeping a photo of the meeting, though she stayed up all that night thinking about her encounter with the “King.” The big night On the night of the show, Linh was incredibly anxious as she watched Jackson’s performance. He opened the show by “flying” out on stage from the basement. “It was amazing,” said Linh. Jackson then sang 20 songs without a break before announcing the last number, “Heal the World.” Jackson came backstage and held Linh and the Thai singer’s hands. “Let’s start to sing, ok?” he said. And with that, the three of them closed the show with one of Michael Jackson’s most famous songs. ‘Magic day out’ Like Linh, Thai policeman Colonel Taveesak Veeravattanayothin also got a fleeting glimpse of the King of Pop as his official security guard during his stay in the Thai capital. The Bangkok Post called the colonel’s interaction with Jackson his “Magic day out.” The Post recently recounted the colonel’s story and interviewed him about Jackson’s death. “I was in shock just like everybody else at his sudden death. It’s numbing. It isn’t even sinking in yet, but I think the world has not only lost its greatest entertainer but probably also the nicest person,” Bangkok Post quoted Pol Col Taveesak as saying. Linh said the star’s death has made her appreciate what she has. “The more I read about him, the more I feel regretful and sorrowful. I am also grateful for... a chance to share my tale with MJ admirers. Jackson will not die, because his images and songs will live in millions of hearts ever.” No longer a singer, Ngoc Linh is now the personnel manager for fashion brand names like Giordano, Bossini, Snk and Baleno in Vietnam. But she is still remembered as one of the most popular teen singers of her generation. Linh, also known as one half of a duo with teen star Diem Quyen, officially said farewell to singing in 2004 and became an MC for a Ho Chi Minh City Television’s game show for children. The former teen queen, now 30, lives happily with her husband and three-year-old-daughter. She said she’ll never forget her time with Michael Jackson. “I only wish that he can rest in peace and I am pleased to keep the sweet childhood memory of him with me for all my life.” Reported by Da Ly

Scores killed in Thai club fire

At least 54 people have been killed and 100 others wounded in a fire at a nightclub in the Thai capital Bangkok.
Locals and foreigners were celebrating New Year's Eve.
The fire started at the Santika club in the city's Ekkamai district early on Thursday morning, Vallop Janthorn, a metropolitan fire co-ordination official, said.
"The fire is under control and police are investigating to find out the cause," Vallop said.
"At least 54 people are confirmed dead and the toll could rise."
Television stations variously reported the cause of the fire as a firework set off because of the new year celebration and an electrical fault at the club.
Sirens wailed through the night as rescue workers raced to the scene.

RP to buy 600,000 tons of Vietnam rice - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

The Philippine government agreed on Tuesday to buy 600,000 metric tons of rice from Vietnam through a government-to-government deal, bringing to 2.3 million metric tons its total rice imports for 2008.
The Philippines, the world’s biggest rice importer, paid an average of $940 a ton, including freight, for the latest purchase. The rice is expected to be delivered in July, August and September.
“This is sufficient for the 2008 requirement,” Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said in a telephone interview.
In a statement, Yap said the purchase was made in keeping with government plans to go back to the market to further augment its “buffer stocks when the price and other conditions are suitable for us.”
“In this instance, we have been able to secure a good deal with Vietnam and saw this as a good opportunity to expand our stockpile, especially in light of the recent uptick in global rice prices,” he said.
Prices decline
Benchmark Thai rice prices fell to about $795 per ton FOB on Wednesday, continuing a decline from a peak of about $1,080 on April 24 on the back of the Philippine flurry of purchases and export curbs by producing nations.
The trade restrictions, along with higher costs of oil and farm inputs, rising global demand, drought, biofuel production and price speculation, pushed up grain prices to record highs.
The leap in the price of rice, a staple for half the world’s population, fed into a global food crisis that triggered protests around the world and threatened hunger for nearly 1 billion people.
In the Philippines, the rise in the cost of regular milled rice to more than P30 a kilo in April, from about P25-P27 a kilo in March, drove people to queue for state-subsidized rice sold at only P18.25 a kilo.
So far, the Philippines has spent around $1.54 billion importing its rice requirements, mainly from Vietnam and Thailand, for the year.
At its last successful rice tender in April, the Philippines paid an average of $1,136 a ton, up 60 percent from a tender in March.
The Philippines scrapped a tender for 675,000 tons of rice in May, saying it preferred to wait for international prices of the grain to decline as more supply reaches the market.
Market very quiet

more info--->>>RP to buy 600,000 tons of Vietnam rice - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Thai rice prices fall as Vietnam crop climbs

photo by Chuck Kuhn

HANOI/BANGKOK — World benchmark Thai rice prices fell back from near a record high on Wednesday while Vietnam reported a six per cent increase in its main rice crop, further easing fears over supplies of Asia's staple food.
News of a bumper winter-spring harvest and of a big jump in plantings for the summer-autumn crop in Vietnam, typically the world's second-largest exporter behind Thailand, also added to expectations that Hanoi will end a months-long export ban on schedule from July, soothing anxious importers.
On Monday, Cambodia became the first exporter to lift trading curbs, with Prime Minister Hun Sen saying he was confident that after two months of restrictions the country had enough rice for its own needs.
The perception of a looming increase in supplies helped drive Thailand's benchmark 100 per cent B grade white rice down more than 10 per cent to $900-$930 (U.S.) per tonne on Wednesday, off the near record high $1,030-$1,050 a tonne last week, traders said.
Exports bans earlier this year by Cambodia as well as bigger sellers like Vietnam and India had triggered a wave of panic buying by importers who depend on the narrow spot rice market for their supplies, driving prices up nearly threefold since January.
But those buyers now appear more confident.
“Demand is slow as most buyers are waiting to buy at cheaper prices when Vietnam resumes its exports,” one Thai merchant said.
A 141,000 tonne tender from the Philippines, the world's biggest importer, attracted private sector bids of only 500 tonnes on Tuesday, suggesting the record highs of the last two months are over.
However, no major slide is expected was key buyers such as Iran, Iraq, Malaysia and Nigeria are expected to move in and replenish stocks at cheaper levels, traders said.
In its monthly report on Vietnam's southern region for May, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said farmers had so far harvested 11.5 million tonnes of export-quality winter-spring paddy, up 5.8 per cent from last year.
The Agriculture Ministry estimated last month that output from the winter-spring crop would rise just 3.9 per cent.
Hanoi banned the signing of new deals from March to June to ensure sufficient domestic supplies and control double-digit inflation, but Agriculture Minister Cao Duc Phat said last week Vietnam may lift the ban in early July.
Vietnam could set a floor price of at least $800 a tonne when it resumes signing new export contracts, a state-run newspaper reported on Tuesday.
After finishing the winter-spring crop, farmers in the Mekong Delta planted 1.12 million hectares for a summer-autumn crop – 17.7 per cent more than last year – the GSO said, in a bid to cash in on the soaring prices.
Many growers of vegetables, sugarcane and other crops have also switched to rice, officials say.
The Mekong Delta grows three rice crops a year. The highest yielding winter-spring crop is mainly used for exports.
On Wednesday the winter-spring paddy was 6,000-6,200 dong (37.3-38.6 U.S. cents) per kilogram in An Giang, one of the delta's largest rice growing provinces, unchanged from last week, but double its level of a year ago.
In Vietnam, the rise in rice prices has ignited inflation, which accelerated to 25.2 per cent in May from 21.4 per cent in April, its seventh consecutive double-digit reading and one of the highest in Asia.