(KPL) Lao Judo players won two gold medals more at the 24th SEA Games on 11 December.

Mayouly Phanouvong and Phonevane Si-amphone defeated Thai rivals, and Vietnamese’s in Ju-No Kata double’s women with the top 275.5 points, while Viengvilay Chansy and Chindavong Sivanvilay won the hearts of juries with their best performance in Nage-No Kata double’s men.

Lao athletes also won nine bronze medals including two from petanque, four from boxing, two from Mouay Lao and one from rugby on 11 December.
To 11 December Laos ranks the 8th in top-ten ASEAN Games chart wining four gold medals, one silver and 22 bronze medals.

KPL

Mr Vilasith Savath or Sith, 22, was announced as the first winner of the Mr Clear 2007 contest at Romeo nightclub in Vientiane on Sunday.

The event was held by the Unilever Thai Trading Ltd, a distributor of Clinic Clear Shampoo which held this event to select presenters and advertising models.

“I did not think I would win as there were so many smart-looking guys on the stage with me, but I just did my best,” Mr Sith said....more info >>

Vilasith, originally from Luang Prabang province, received a prize of 2.5 million kip, the Clinic Clear trophy 2007, a Clinic Clear gift set, and will become a promoter for the company for one year.



The runner up, Mr Santi Luangkhot or Dono, 17, was voted the Sexiest Man and received prizes worth 1.5million kip plus a Clinic Clear gift set.

The third place prize for the Most Active Man went to Mr Inthanousin Sivilaisak or Ai, 18, who received 1 million kip and a Clinic Clear gift set.



The Most Charming Guy was Mr Phongsathon Vongthavon or Billy, 20, while the Healthiest Man was Mr Vixayaphone Phoneseua or Gig, 22, and the Best Sportsman was Mr Phouttakon Bouttaveht or Ae, 25, each of whom received 600,000 kip and a Clinic Clear gift set.

The Manager of Clinic Clear Thailand, Ms Alounny Atsavalerthsak said, “The contest, entitled Mr Clear 2007 , represents the first time that we have held such a competition in Laos . The idea was to choose well-presented young men to appear in newspapers, magazines and on billboards advertising our products here.”




The organiser opened applications last month, over 50 people participated and six contestants were chosen to compete on Sunday.

The event opened with a showcase of breakdancing skills by dancers from the Lao Bangfai Breakdancing Club and was followed by a fashion show where six young men modeled sportswear and casual clothes.

During the evening there were many games, with the winners receiving company products as prizes.

The event also featured a mini-concert by artists from Indee Records including Modern Dance, Princess and LOG, who entertained the audience before the announcement of the winner.

The votes that decided the winner were 50 percent from the judging panel and 50 percent from the audience.

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By PHOONSAB THEVONGSA
September 04, 2007
Vientianetimes

A Singaporean student who believes that Asean schools should offer safe sex education as part of their teaching curriculum has won first place in the Young Speakers Contest in Vientiane .

According to an announcement of the judging committee of the contest, released on Tuesday at the Farewell Dinner for the Participants of the 9 th Educational Forum and Young Speakers Contest at the Cosmo Hotel in Vientiane , Ms Crystella Prathap, a Singaporean university student, took first place in the competition, receiving a cash prize of US$ 1,000.

Ms Prathap is a young student who strongly expressed her opinion that safe sex education would be the best way to reduce numbers of people in the region infected with HIV/AIDS.

She explained that when people know the way to prevent the disease, they apply that knowledge and avoid becoming infected with incurable diseases, according to a member of judging committee, the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Letters, Associate Prof. Dr Buasavanh Keovilay, one of the judges.

The judge said the first winner argued that Asian students should never be shy about talk about HIV/AIDS prevention....read more >>

“I asked the winner to talk about the fact that some people in Asean nations consider HIV/AIDS prevention a taboo issue in society. Does she think the introduction of such curriculum would encourage young people to have more love affairs?” she recalled.

The winner responded well, saying that since it was impossible to prevent young people from engaging in love affairs, the only way to is to tell them how to protect themselves, according to Dr Buasavanh.

“She answered that the curriculum will not encourage students to have love affairs but will tell them how to protect themselves from infection with HIV/AIDS,” she added, quoting the winner's answer.

The second and third places in the annual contest went to Filipino university student Mr Kikko Angelo Ramos, who received an award of US$500 and Singaporean university student Ms Ling Pei Shan, who received US$250.

The topic of the contest was “One Asean at the Heart of Dynamic Asia”. In the second round, contestants were given a different topic. Each had some time to prepare their presentation before they spoke in front of the judging committee.

Dr Buasavanh said that the Singaporean and Philippine contestants were advantaged among the students from other Asean nations because as they speak English as their official language, while students from other nations speak English as a foreign language.

“These students do not only speak English well but they also come up with critical thinking and vision,” she said.

Dr Buasavanh said that the Lao contestant was selected from among the best students in the English Department of the Faculty of Letters, but was shy about presenting her ideas in public and did not have a str ong vision.

She said Lao students needed to learn a lot about how to speak in public and how to present logical reasons to convince the public about what they believed in.

A member of the contest's organising committee, Dr Alongkone Saignaleuth said the National University of Laos had been a competitor in the contest since it began in 1997. A Lao student took second place in the contest two years ago in the Philippines , he said.

By Ekaphone Phouthonesy