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  France's first competitive bout of chessboxing drew an enthralled crowd to Paris's Cabaret Sauvage. — AFP Photo PARIS — French comic book writer Enki Bilal laps it up as he watches two proponents of his creation combine the cerebral nature of chess with the physicality of boxing in a "sporting" first. Bilal watched spellbound as Paris's Cabaret Sauvage hosted France's first "bout" of competitive chessboxing on Saturday, nearly three decades after he first depicted the concept in his work. A sellout crowd turned up to watch as the competitors alternated brawn and brain, three-minute rounds of boxing giving way to mini-chess bouts across a maximum 11 rounds, the whole thing ending either with a knockout -- or a checkmate. A DJ whips up the audience before the bare-chested protagonists, sweatshirts slung over their shoulders, enter the ring, escorted by their respective entourages. To drown out the noise of the partisan crowd, the "fighters" put headphones on as they … [Read more...] about From comic book to the mat: chessboxing bout thrills French creator

  Though e-books were expected to replace paper books, many readers have lost interest in them. Photo sggp.org.vn HCM CITY  When they debuted, electronic books (e-books) were expected to thrive, but the e-book market in Việt Nam has not been successful for a number of reasons. At a recent conference of publishers, the Publishing, Printing and Distributing Department announced that in the first six months of the year, 17,000 book titles with 250 million copies were published. Of that number, hard-copy versions accounted for 16,000 titles with 239 million copies, while e-books had only 92 titles with one million circulation. Experts are concerned that the e-book market has lost the market to its counterpart. However, as there are many unofficial e-books circulating online, statistics provided by the department might not reflect reality, experts added. Some inconveniences of e-books include … [Read more...] about The decline of the e-book market

  Việt Nam vs Japan in the AFC U-19 Championship qualifying round on Sunday. —  Photo nld.com.vn HCM City — Việt Nam sealed their spot in the AFC U-19 Championship Uzbekistan 2020 Finals after playing to a 0-0 draw with Japan on Sunday. With this draw, Japan also secured a place in the finals as they topped Group J with seven points. While Việt Nam also had seven points, they ranked second because of goal difference. Việt Nam booked a ticket as they are one of the four best runners-up in the qualifying round. Besides Việt Nam, Laos, Yemen and Uzbekistan will join Uzbekistan in the 2020 Finals as the best runners-up. Japan took control of the game and had the first look at goal in the fourth minute but Itsuki Someno angled his header wide of the target. Japan continued to press and created several dangerous situations but they failed to find the net. While Việt Nam had the best chance in the … [Read more...] about Việt Nam tie with Japan to reach finals of AFC U19 champs

A new e-wallet launched in Vietnam on Monday has raised the number of mobile payment service providers in the Southeast Asian country to nearly 30, but only a few key players have managed to assert their presence in the fiercely competitive market. Alibaba-owned online marketplace Lazada debuted its own digital wallet, eM, in Vietnam on the e-commerce firm’s biggest annual sale event on Monday, becoming the newest competitor in the market. According to data by the payment department at the State Bank of Vietnam, Payoo, MoMo, SenPay, Moca, and AirPay were the five largest e-wallets in Vietnam by account balance as of August 2019, making up more than 80 percent of the country’s total market balance. The five e-wallets also account for 95 percent of transaction value in the whole market, the online news site VnExpress reported. Meanwhile, AirPay, MoMo, SenPay, Moca, and VTC Pay lead the number of accumulated issued accounts. Driven by e-commerce Truong Hong Lien, … [Read more...] about ‘Top dogs’ powered by e-commerce share Vietnam’s e-wallet market

With 3.3 million motorbikes bought each year, the fourth largest market in the world for motorbikes continues to grow, with manufacturers launching new models into the Vietnamese market. The Vietnam Association of Motorbike Manufacturers (VAMM) says that 3,386,097 motorbikes were sold in 2018, an increase of 3.5 percent over 2017. In Q1 2019, the total number of products sold by its five members, namely Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, SYM and Piaggio, were 753,934, of which the sale of Honda accounted for 74.6 percent. These figures were released by foreign invested motorbike manufacturers in Vietnam. Other brands also have products sold in the market, from popular brands such as Kymco to better known ones such as Kawasaki. Soon after launching Freego, a scooter model for men in mid-May, in early June, Yamaha Vietnam introduced Latte 125 cc for women. The Italian manufacturer Piaggio introduced Vespa Sprint S and Vespa Primavera. In early June, it once again launched new models – Piaggio … [Read more...] about Vietnam motorbike market remains healthy