- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
Vietnamese dad spends thousands converting van into wooden tank for son
A Vietnamese father has spent hundreds of hours and invested thousands converting an old van into a wooden tank for his son -- an unusual hobby in a country once ravaged by war.
Every weekend, Truong Van Dao trundles what was once a 16-seat minibus around his neighbourhood in Bac Ninh province, east of capital Hanoi, with his three-year-old son sat proudly in the turret.
The wooden vehicle, based on a French EBR105 model and complete with a 2.8-metre-long replica gun, cost $11,000 to convert.
"My son and me find it more fun riding the tank, which has nothing to do with weapons nor war," Dao told AFP.
"I only considered it as a normal car, renovated it into a tank to make it more interesting," the 31-year-old carpenter added.
It took Dao and two colleagues three months to turn the unused van into the tank.
He retained the main engine and the minibus floor, but rearranged inside to make space for the gears.
While the ornate wooden covering wasn't a problem for the carpenter, ensuring all eight wheels moved simultaneously was.
"The most difficult part was how to make the four subordinate wheels run," he said.
As a result, Dao and his son won't be breaking any speed records.
The top speed is a sedate 25 kilometres (16 miles) per hour -- any faster and the cable connecting the wheels will disconnect and they'll be stuck.
The vehicles have been firmly associated with the historical moment when communist tanks crashed the entrance of Saigon's Independence Palace in 1975.
It ended a bloody period for Vietnam, with the country having endured conflicts with France, the United States and China.
Vietnamese fighting the Americans were given tanks by allies Russia and China.
But now tanks are more associated with children's toys, as they play with plastic versions every weekend in Hanoi.
"If all tanks in this world were the same as my tank, there would be no harm, just fun," Dao said proudly.
P.Mira--PC