Latest news with #HoChiMinh
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE First look at Guy Martin's new show Our Guy in Vietnam as he stumbles across an unexpected US bomb while filming adventure travel series
Guy Martin stumbles across an unexpected US bomb while searching for some explosives in his new adventure series Our Guy in Vietnam. The new programme is set to our our screens on Channel 4 this Sunday (June 1 2025). The show's synopsis reads: 'On the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, Guy Martin gets on his bike to explore Vietnam's past, present and future.' In an exclusive first look clip, obtained by MailOnline, the former motorcycle racer turned documentary maker, 43, keeps his cool after finding a deadly device. Guy says to the camera: 'Yeah what we have found... a BLU24B. 'They call it an antipersonnel cluster bomb. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'The soul goal of that is just to kill people.' While pointing in the distance, he adds: 'There's one here. There's one over there. I found one over there. 'A bomber has come over head this way or that way, 50 odd year ago, dumped a load and that is one of these!' He adds: 'The only way to deal with this is to have a controlled explosion. So fuse in there, bag it up with loads of sandbags... 'Boom!' The star can be seen helping put sand in green bags. The voiceover explains: 'Today they will be exploding two bombs while the detonation cord is laid out to a safe distance of 250 meters away. 'The explosives charged is readied and the rest of the team warn the locals to clear the area.' Guy and one of the team stand from afar and get to flick the switch. They tell him: 'You have to press this button and keep holding it until the red light comes on. 'Then I will count down from 10 to zero. Then at zero you press this button.' Guy makes it clear that he understands and puts his thumb up. After counting down, the star presses the button and the bombs explode. A shocked Guy confesses: 'We weren't expecting that, were we?!' Fans don't have long to wait until the show hits our screens. Guy recently took to Instagram to give an insight into what fans can expect from the series. He wrote on his profile: 'On the 50th Anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, Guy explores the past, present and future of Vietnam, to see how the country is still dealing with the effects of the controversial conflict, and how it is planning a high-tech future. 'In the first episode, Guy charts the history of the war by riding his motorcycle down the famous Ho Chi Minh Trail, visiting a Huey helicopter graveyard at an abandoned American combat base, making his own version of the lethal weapon napalm, and coming face to face with a live cluster bomb left over from the war – which he then helps detonate in a controlled explosion.' Fans rushed to the comments section to share their excitement, with one saying: 'Two of my favorite things. Guy and Vietnam.' 'Banging can't think of a better combo Guy and Nam, what a place love it there.' 'Something actually worth watching on the TV.' Watch Our Guy in Vietnam on Channel 4 at 9:00pm this Sunday (1 June 2025).
Business Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Vietnam's AI ambitions hinge on one US$6.8 billion tech company
[HANOI] Four decades ago, Truong Gia Binh set up a technology company using a single computer in a room loaned by his then-father-in-law, general Vo Nguyen Giap, revered for leading Vietnamese troops in defeating the French and US militaries. That company, FPT, is now Vietnam's biggest listed tech firm. It's central to the government's push to build a technology sector capable of competing with its regional rivals as it seeks to move the nation beyond assembling Nike shoes and Apple devices. FPT has already had some success. Globally, it lists 130 Fortune Global 500 companies, including Airbus, Halliburton and Ford Motor, as clients. It's also partnered with Nvidia to build an artificial intelligence (AI) data centre in Vietnam, another in Japan, and is expanding into semiconductor chip design. But there are significant challenges ahead as it seeks to compete with more established tech companies from the likes of India and Malaysia. FPT must also navigate a new era of tariffs initiated by US President Donald Trump. 'We work day and night,' Binh said. He's confident that, over the long term, the company can maintain an annual revenue growth rate of approximately 20 per cent. Developing a leading-edge technology sector is Vietnam's 'way out of being a low-cost economic hub', said Lam Nguyen, managing director of IDC Indochina. The Communist government sees FPT as a corporate model to help the nation transition beyond its traditional manufacturing base to industries specialising in areas such as AI-related products, which Bain & Co estimates could be a US$990 billion global market by 2027. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up While not directly at risk from new US duties, FPT could experience 'indirect impacts because many of our global customers are affected by these tariffs', the company said. FPT is bracing for possible global economic turbulence, and may 'adjust' its business plan for the challenging 20 per cent revenue growth target this year amid uncertainties, DNSE Securities said on its website, citing FPT chief executive officer Nguyen Van Khoa at the company's April shareholders' meeting. FPT is cutting 30 per cent of costs without hurting its core business, the brokerage said, citing Khoa. It may also need to negotiate a closer relationship with the nation's watchful police. When asked about reports that the Ministry of Public Security, which has been tightening Internet regulations in recent years, seeks to take a majority stake of the company's Internet unit, FPT Telecom, the company said it has 'no additional information on this matter'. Binh holds nearly 7 per cent of FPT, followed by the government, which has a 5.71 per cent stake. 'Followed' Ho Chi Minh Binh's life tracks the history of the winning North Vietnamese forces. In 1954, his family 'followed' revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi in the cause of independence, the FPT chairman said. The clan was so poor he wore clothes handed down from his sisters and watched as explosives from US bombers rained down on the city. 'My youth was about the lack of nearly everything,' said Binh, 69, who met Ho Chi Minh twice. As a teenager, he was handpicked by the government to study in the former Soviet Union. Upon his return, he and 12 others founded the company, originally called Food Processing Technology at the suggestion of a government minister. It's now the seventh-largest publicly traded company in Vietnam, with a market capitalisation of US$6.8 billion. FPT has more than 80,000 employees and operations in 30 countries. In 2024, the company recorded a 19 per cent jump in full-year revenue to 62.9 trillion dong (S$3.1 billion), aided by contributions from its FPT Software unit. From IT solutions for self-driving cars to industrial robots, FPT has diversified its product expertise in its quest for growth. In April, Sumitomo and SBI Holdings announced they were each acquiring a 20 per cent stake in a FPT unit to hasten AI adoption in Japan. FPT's emergence 'is very similar to the growth stories of some of the Indian IT leaders', said HR Binod, a former Infosys executive vice-president and an independent FPT board member. The company, though, faces mounting challenges, from rising global competition to US tariffs. 'On your home turf, you are strong,' said Louis Nguyen, chief executive officer of Ho Chi Minh City-based private equity firm Saigon Asset Management, which previously owned shares in the company. 'When you compete in the global arena, you go against giants.' Navigating growing geopolitical tensions and trade barriers means 'the company likely will need next-generation leadership with international experience', Lam Nguyen said. Overseas flop FPT's first overseas forays to Silicon Valley and Bangalore in the late 1990s were flops, said Chu Thi Thanh Ha, chairwoman of FPT Software. Facing what she described as a 'life-or-death moment', FPT Software gained a foothold in Japan in 2000 with a Nippon Telegraph & Telephone contract. FPT now has some 4,500 employees in Japan and expects that to rise to 5,000 this year, according to the company. FPT expects revenue from its Japan unit to jump to US$1 billion in 2027 from US$500 million in 2024. Domestically, the government looks to FPT in its quest to have three AI centres and at least 100 chip design companies by 2030 in the country, and a semiconductor industry with annual revenue of more than US$100 billion by 2050. 'It's a national hero,' said Vinnie Lauria, Ho Chi Minh City-based co-founder of Golden Gate Ventures. To that end, FPT – whose co-founders initially trained themselves with tech manuals purchased from Hong Kong during the US embargo of Vietnam – says it has trained thousands of technologists at its five universities nationwide. And it has set up 16 elementary to high school campuses where children as young as first grade begin learning programming languages. 'This is the new Vietnam,' Binh said. BLOOMBERG
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Vietnam's AI ambitions hinge on one $8.8 billion tech company
HANOI – Four decades ago, Truong Gia Binh set up a technology company using a single computer in a room loaned by his then-father-in-law, General Vo Nguyen Giap, revered for leading Vietnamese troops in defeating the French and US militaries. That company, FPT Corp., is now Vietnam's biggest listed tech firm. It's central to the government's push to build a technology sector capable of competing with its regional rivals as it seeks to move the nation beyond assembling Nike shoes and Apple devices. FPT has already had some success. Globally, it lists 130 Fortune Global 500 companies, including Airbus, Halliburton and Ford Motor as clients. It's also partnered with Nvidia to build an AI data centre in Vietnam, another in Japan, and is expanding into semiconductor chip design. But there are significant challenges ahead as it seeks to compete with more established tech companies from the likes of India and Malaysia. FPT must also navigate a new era of tariffs initiated by US President Donald Trump. 'We work day and night,' Mr Binh said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. He's confident that, over the long term, the company can maintain an annual revenue growth rate of approximately 20 per cent. Developing a leading-edge technology sector is Vietnam's 'way out of being a low-cost economic hub,' said Lam Nguyen, managing director of IDC Indochina. The Communist government sees FPT as a corporate model to help the nation transition beyond its traditional manufacturing base to industries specialising in areas such as AI-related products. While not directly at risk from new US duties, FPT could experience 'indirect impacts because many of our global customers are affected by these tariffs,'' the company said in an emailed statement. FPT is cutting 30 per cent of costs without hurting its core business, DNSE Securities said on its website, citing FPT chief executive officer Nguyen Van Khoa at the company's April shareholders' meeting. It may also need to negotiate a closer relationship with the nation's watchful police. When asked about reports that the Ministry of Public Security, which has been tightening internet regulations in recent years, seeks to take a majority stake of the company's internet unit, FPT Telecom, the company said it has 'no additional information on this matter.'' Mr Binh holds nearly 7 per cent of FPT, followed by the government, which has a 5.71 per cent stake. 'Followed' Ho Chi Minh Mr Binh's life tracks the history of the winning North Vietnamese forces. In 1954, his family 'followed' revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi in the cause of independence, the FPT chairman said. The clan was so poor he wore clothes handed down from his sisters and watched as explosives from US bombers rained down on the city. 'My youth was about the lack of nearly everything,' said Mr Binh, 69, who met Ho Chi Minh twice. As a teenager, he was handpicked by the government to study in the former Soviet Union. Upon his return, he and 12 others founded the company, originally called Food Processing Technology at the suggestion of a government minister. It's now the seventh-largest publicly traded company in Vietnam, with a market capitalisation of US$6.8 billion (S$8.8 billion). FPT has more than 80,000 employees and operations in 30 countries. In 2024, the company recorded a 19 per cent jump in full-year revenue to 62.85 trillion dong (S$3.1 billion), aided by contributions from its FPT Software unit. From IT solutions for self-driving cars to industrial robots, FPT has diversified its product expertise in its quest for growth. In April, Sumitomo Corp. and SBI Holdings announced they were each acquiring a 20 per cent stake in a FPT unit to hasten AI adoption in Japan. The company, though, faces mounting challenges, from rising global competition to US tariffs. 'On your home turf, you are strong,' said Louis Nguyen, chief executive officer of Ho Chi Minh City-based private equity firm Saigon Asset Management, which previously owned shares in the company. 'When you compete in the global arena, you go against giants.' FPT Software gained a foothold in Japan in 2000 with a Nippon Telegraph & Telephone contract. FPT now has some 4,500 employees in Japan and expects that to rise to 5,000 this year, according to the company. FPT expects revenue from its Japan unit to jump to US$1 billion in 2027 from US$500 million in 2024. Domestically, the government looks to FPT in its quest to have three AI centres and at least 100 chip design companies by 2030 in the country, and a semiconductor industry with annual revenue of more than US$100 billion by 2050. 'It's a national hero,' said Vinnie Lauria, Ho Chi Minh City-based co-founder of Golden Gate Ventures. To that end, FPT – whose co-founders initially trained themselves with tech manuals purchased from Hong Kong during the US embargo of Vietnam – says it has trained thousands of technologists at its five universities nationwide. And it has set up 16 elementary to high school campuses where children as young as first grade begin learning programming languages. BLOOMBERG Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Fox News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
'Duck Dynasty' star Phil Robertson dead at 79
All times eastern Vietnam: Footsteps of My Father Legends & Lies: The Patriots Legends & Lies: The Patriots Legends & Lies: The Patriots FOX News Radio Live Channel Coverage
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
From Agent Orange to 'Hanoi Jane,' traces of the Vietnam war remain
Vietnamese people are celebrating the unification of their country after the Vietnam war that left people and land alike deeply scarred - and divided. Some veterans and activists from the United States joined the parties, celebrations and parades, and spoke of their ongoing sense of guilt at their involvement. Bill from Florida was a peace activist back then and was imprisoned in his home country for it, he says. "It was very important to me to be here in Vietnam for the anniversary to honour the people of this country," he adds, tears coming to his eyes. The complex war, fought in bloody jungle battles, began shortly after Vietnam became independent from France, a Colonial power until 1954. After the mid-1960s, the US became heavily involved, supporting South Vietnamese troops in their attempt to prevent the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. Vietnamese people, looking back at the conflict, call it "The American War." The North Vietnamese fought as the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam – or "Vietcong" - backed by the former Soviet Union and led by Ho Chi Minh, affectionately known as "Uncle Ho." He is still revered in much of Vietnam today. And Saigon's official name became Ho Chi Minh City after the war. When the US withdrew in 1973, it had suffered the first major military defeat in its history and lost 58,000 soldiers. Deadly weapons - no match for the Vietnamese Despite the use of horrific weapons such as the incendiary agent napalm and Agent Orange – a highly toxic defoliant – the GIs ultimately had no chance against the sophisticated guerrilla tactics of the Viet Cong. The victorious communists remain in power and keep alive the memory of the war, estimated to have cost the lives of 2 to 5 million Vietnamese people, also for tourists. Directly behind the entrance to the impressive War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, visitors see fighter jets and tanks and also Hui, 56, who lost both arms and one leg and is blind in one eye. "I was eight years old when I stepped on a mine from the war times in the Central Highlands," he says. Unable to work, he sells books in front of the museum and tells tourists his life story, over and over again. Inside, a room is dedicated to the US chemical weapon Agent Orange, showing photos of generations of Vietnamese people and documenting their torment and later suffering from tumours and deformation, causing many visitors to burst into tears. World famous photo Other photos have become burned into the collective memory - like the one in 1972 of a little girl who tore her burning clothes off after a napalm attack. Phan Thi Kim Phuc, known as the "Napalm Girl," still suffers from severe burns. The photo, credited to AP photographer Nick Ut, who was 21 at the time, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 - though who actually took the harrowing picture is in dispute. A documentary released this year raised doubts about the photographer, suggesting that it was more likely that a freelance AP employee captured the scene. He is said to have received $20 for the picture. The World Press Photo Foundation has suspended the author attribution for the iconic photograph. Not under dispute is that Ut drove the injured girl to a hospital in Saigon, where she received treatment for months - and they are still in touch. "Fifty years on from that fateful day, the pair are still in regular contact – and using their story to spread a message of peace," US broadcaster CNN reported in 2022. The Viet Cong tunnels Two hours' drive from Ho Chi Minh City are the Cu Chi tunnels, a legendary tunnel system extending more than 200 kilometres that contributed significantly to the Viet Cong's victory over US troops. Now a tourist attraction, the claustrophobic tunnels were far more than underground secret passages. People lived on three levels that housed accommodation, kitchens, schools, infirmaries and command centres. The tunnels were home not only to male Vietcong fighters, but also to many women and children who were also fighting against the enemy, as can be seen in the film "Dia Dao" ("Tunnel: Sun in the Dark") by director Bui Thac Chuyen. It is an epic released to mark the 50th anniversary and is breaking box office records in Vietnam. Meanwhile two hotels in Vietnam show you history up close. During the war, the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi in the northern capital Hanoi not only accommodated many reporters and embassies, but also prominent US peace activists such as actress Jane Fonda. She caused a scandal in 1972 when she had her picture taken sitting astride a Vietcong fighter's cannon in North Vietnam, earning her the name "Hanoi Jane." Like folk singer Joan Baez, the Hollywood star sought shelter in the hotel's bunker during a bombing raid, as the hotel's historian Nguyen Thanh Tung recounts. Meanwhile at the Continental, visitors can stay in the room where British author Graham Greene once wrote his famous Vietnam novel "The Quiet American." The hotel also features prominently in the 2002 film of the same name starring Michael Caine. Vietnam has its own large café chain: Cong Caphe, with a trademark khaki-green exterior and waiters clad in Vietcong uniforms. "With our outfits we want to honour the soldiers that fought for our country in the past," says employee Duc Anh Lee. Behind the tables are tools from the war while the walls are adorned with camouflage helmets. For young Vietnamese people sipping hip coffee creations, this backdrop is part of daily life. The war is still omnipresent in Vietnam, told by its communist victors.
