German textbooks gifted to National Library

HA NOI — The German Embassy granted 50 textbooks to the National Library yesterday.

Textbooks on law, economics, and engineering purchased by the German Foreign Affairs Ministry, have been selected by the Goethe Institute in Ha Noi and the library.

Earlier, the library and the Goethe Institute signed a memorandum of co-operation focused on improving the standards of human resources working in the library and archiving sector.

Embroidery depicts famous poem of Zen master

HA NOI — Veteran artisan Le Van Kinh has completed a set of embroideries depicting a poem by Zen Master Man Giac.

Kinh has spent 10 years to complete the paintings in a variety of languages including Danish, English, French, German, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Lao, Cambodian and Thai.

The artisan, who works in the former imperial capital of Hue, plans another six such embroideries.

Zen Master Man Giac (1052-96), or Ly Truong, was famous for his Buddhism theory and writing skills during the reign of King Ly Nhan Tong.

TV personalities set for Miss Charming Television

HCM CITY — Thirteen women television personalities from around Viet Nam and one from Laos will take part in a traditional-culture and lifestyle contest that begins in HCM City tonight.

At the four-day annual Miss Charming Television organised by HCM City Television (HTV) contestants will be judged on appearance, performance, emceeing skills, and presentation style.

The Vietnamese competitors work for television stations in Ha Noi and HCM City and some provinces, and the Lao contestant, Nhom Mala is from Attapeu Television.

All work as reporters, producers and hosts.

Five will go through to the final to be held on Saturday at the HTV Theatre where they will perform folk songs and dances in their traditional costumes.

The contest will be shown on HTV's channel 9.

Winners of British Council ‘green' contest announced

HA NOI — The winners of the British Council's Green Tips essay contest were announced yesterday, as part of the council's I Am Green campaign to raise environmental awareness.

The contest, launched last month, sought to encourage young people to think about and develop responses to the challenges of climate change, said the organising board. It drew 400 entries from around the country, all written on recycled paper

Two other competitions under the campaign have also wrapped up, including the How Green Is Your City photo contest – which chose ten winners, each of whom will win English courses at British Council and trips from the Exotissimo tour company – and the Green Tip Box competition, which selected eight winners.

Another 28 young people have won a trip to the Cu Chi Wildlife Rescue Centre in another contest on wildlife conservation. — VNS

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Fabric patterns on display in Hanoi

Maritta Nurmi

Photo: Tuoi Tre

An exhibition featuring diverse Oriental and African patterns on cloth fabrics by Finnish artist Maritta Nurmi is taking place at the Art Vietnam Gallery, No 7 Nguyen Khac Nhu, Hanoi.

Nurmi draws different patterns and sends them to India to be printed upon fabrics, from which she makes clothes in her own style.

She has held 14 exhibitions in Vietnam, Thailand, Finland and the US.

“Nurmi is one of the pioneers in introducing an exhibition mixed between fashion and art," commented art director Suzanne Lecht of the Art Vietnam Gallery. "She discovers all materials and shapes, bringing everyday details into a higher level."

Last year, she went to Africa and was amazed by colorful clothes Beninese women wore. Back to Vietnam, she tried to represent their patterns and colors à la her designs.

“Colors, how beautiful and attractive they are,” Maritta, who has lived in Hanoi for the past 13 years, said in Vietnamese.

A late starter, Nurmi graduated from the Turku Academy of Art when she was 40 years old after working in the chemistry industry in Finland for 10 years.

She is now living in Vietnam with her brother.

“Influenced by modern arts, her works still have oriental spirits and femininity. Her bending all laws and creativity is something young Vietnamese should learn,” said Pham Trung, chair of the modern art faculty at the Vietnam University of Art.

Her exhibition opens until January 7 next year.

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Heather Jakeman performs at Purple Jade

Singer Heather Jakeman takes residence at the InterContinental Asiana Saigon Hotel five nights a week - Photo: Courtesy of the InterContinental Asiana Saigon Hotel

Californian singer Heather Jakeman will play every Tuesday to Saturday night from 8 p.m. till late at the signature bar Purple Jade on level 1 of the InterContinental Asiana Saigon in HCMC’s District 1.

After graduating from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, she performed as a singer for the United Services Organizations (USO) and played at many national events on the USO World Tour. Heather also won a Toppers Award for Best Actress for her performance as Audrey in the ACT production of Little Shop of Horrors in Italy.

Heather has performed alongside Wayne Newton, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, Miss America, and Diamond Rio and has entertained crowds across the United States and internationally, including a special invitation to Washington DC to sing for the first lady.

Chill out to her smooth soulful tunes while enjoying the exclusive cocktail drink menu at Purple Jade during happy hour from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m.

InterContinental Asiana Saigon is at the corner of Le Dua Boulevard and Hai Ba Trug Street, District 1, HCMC.

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Dining out at Opera Restaurant

The Opera Terrace at the Park Hyatt Hotel Saigon - Photo: Courtesy of the Park Hyatt Hotel Saigon

Located at the Park Hyatt Hotel Saigon’s lobby level, overlooking the elegant City Opera House, the Opera Restaurant is an ideal dining venue for local and international guests in town.

Open from 6 a.m. until 1 a.m. (last order at 11.30 p.m.), the all-day-dining restaurant serves an Italian-inspired breakfast in the morning, and offers fresh pasta, pizza from a wood-burning oven and other home-made dishes for lunch and dinner. In addition, Opera features a bar featuring the hotel’s signature drinks and a large floor-to-ceiling wine library with more than 1,500 bottles of fine Italian wines from Toscana, Veneto, Sicilia and Umbria.

To make sure all the dishes are authentic, Italian Chef Michele Gulizzi from Palermo, Sicily, gives the culinary direction for this exciting dining venue.

From December 1, the Opera Terrace offers its special free flow of white, red wines and beer with the choice of Nero d’Avola La Mura, Sicilia (Red Wine ), Grillo La Mura, Sicilia (White Wine) and draught Tiger beer. Priced at VND320,000 per person. Available from Monday through Friday, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information and reservations, call 08 3520 2357 or email opera.saiph@hyatt.com.

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Vietnamese-Australian among world’s hottest

Natalie Tran

Photo: Communitychannel

Vietnamese-Australian YouTube sensation Natalie Tran has been ranked 88th in a list of the 100 Most Beautiful Famous Faces chosen by US film website Independent Critics.

With more than 150,000 subscribers to her YouTube channel, the 24-year-old is the most popular YouTube user in Australia and the 37th globally.

She is also the most viewed Australian user of all time with the 118 clips that she has starred in or created in her Communitychannel in the past two years amassing 64 million views.

Nicknamed “Australia's Queen of YouTube,” Tran is studying digital media at the University of NSW.

Tran, who was born Tran Dinh To Han, said she has been approached by companies seeking to sponsor her videos or endorse them but she declined.

South Korean actress Song Hye Kyo and Japan's Nozomi Sasaki, the other two Asians in this year’s list, are ranked 18th and 33rd.

In first place is US model and actress Camilla Belle, while Emma Watson, star of the “Harry Potter” movies, is the runner-up.

Also in the list are Lady Gaga (83), Cheryl Tweedy Cole (77), Megan Fox (64), Jessica Alba (53), Lindsay Lohan (46), and Scarlett Johansson (42).

More than 75 countries have been represented in the list over the years.

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US poet returns to Viet Nam

Happy returns: Bruce Weigl will participate in several literary discussions during his visit to Viet Nam. — File Photo

HA NOI — American War veteran and poet Bruce Weigl is in Viet Nam for the launch of his poetical memoir After the Rain Stopped Pounding.

Weigl will participate in several discussions and literary exchanges during his visit which began on Friday.

Weigl, whose name is familiar in literature about the American War, has published several poetical anthologies, including The Monkey Wars and Song of Napalm which earned him a Pulitzer Prize-nomination in 1988.

Weigl was granted the Lannan Literary Award in Poetry in 2006.

In addition to writing poetry, Weigl worked with editor and translator Thanh T. Nguyen of the Joiner Research Centre to translate poems of liberation soldiers captured during war.

Weigl recited his poems during the Friends poetry programme at the Quang Tri Old Citadel last night.

The venue was among the fiercest battlefields of the American War, and Vietnamese veterans who are members of varied poetry clubs will join the programme.

Weigl today will also exchange views with Song Huong (Perfume River) magazine which publishes creative writing, reviews and cultural research in the central city of Hue.

He also will present his memoir The Circle of Hanh in Ha Noi tomorrow. First published in the US in 2000 , the memoir is his own story about his struggles with drugs and alcohol after the war and his subsequent redemptive return to Viet Nam, where he adopted an eight-year-old girl, Hanh.

The launch of After the Rain Stopped Pounding, which has been translated into Vietnamese by Nguyen Phan Que Mai, will take place at the University of Culture, 418 La Thanh Road, Ha Noi, at 7.30pm on Thursday.

Weigl will talk about trends in American poetry on the night. — VNS

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India tempts more travellers from Viet Nam

HCM CITY — The Indian Consul General Abhay Thakur last week said there was good potential to make more direct flights between Viet Nam and India, and visa facilitation for Vietnamese travellers to the South Asian nation.

Speaking at the presentation Incredible India: Buddhist Destination on, Abhay Thakur, stressed Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's announcement during his visit to Viet Nam in October that the country would grant visas on arrival to nationals of Viet Nam, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines from beginning of next year.

"There are at least 28,000 people travelling between India and Viet Nam every year, or about 540 travellers every week," Thakur said at the opening of the presentation, which was attended by leading tour operators, tourism and hospitality companies.

Thakur said there was a good chance direct flights would be increased to two or three times weekly between the two countries.

"It will make it easier for Vietnamese to travel to India," he said.

Currently, AirAsia, Thai Airways International and Malaysia Airlines fly between Viet Nam and India via their hubs in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

Buddhist train tour

At the presentation, Nalin Shinghal, director of tourism and marketing at the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation, introduced the Mahaparinirvana Buddhist circuit train package in India to attract more Vietnamese to visit India's Buddhist sites, as the country is a major Buddhist pilgrimage destination.

Shinghal said the tour starts in Delhi and takes in major Buddhist sites including Bodh Gaya where Buddha attained enlightenment and Sarnath where Buddha preached his first sermon.

The eight-day tour by train also visits Lumbini in Nepal where Buddha was born and Rajgir where the first Buddhist Council was held after Buddha attained Nirvana.

There will be two train package tours every month until March next year, Shinghal said. — VNS

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