IQBAL - User contributions [en]

Popular 13-foot python

2018-07-06T01:33:00Z

DallasHemphill0:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A popular python snake named Monty that came to the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky in 1981 has been euthanized. The 13-foot, 38-year-old Burmese python died Tuesday at the zoo. Zookeepers say they [http://www.becomegorgeous.com/topics/decided decided] to have the python euthanized because it had not been eating well, was losing weight and was diagnosed with lymphoma. Bill McMahan, supervisor of the HerpAquarium where Monty lives, says the python was a [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] great ambassador for his species and had made appearances on local TV stations with its handlers. Pythons are [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] constrictors, so they have no fangs and are typically fed [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] poultry, rodents and rabbits. They are native to southern China, Burma, Indochina, Thailand and the Malay Archipelago. Advertisement

Tuesday March 15

2018-06-19T08:39:44Z

DallasHemphill0:

Today is Tuesday, March 15, the 75th day of 2016. There are 291 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date: 44 B.C. - Roman dictator Julius Caesar is assassinated by a group of Roman senators including Cassius and his friend Brutus. Caesar had been forewarned of the 'Ides of March.' 1493 - Christopher Columbus returns to Spain, concluding his first voyage to the Western Hemisphere. 1603 - Samuel de Champlain, French navigator and explorer, sails for the New World. 1776 - U.S. Congress resolves that authority of British Crown should be suppressed. 1848 - Hungarian intellectuals stage bloodless revolution in Budapest against Austro-Hungarian empire. It is put down by Russian troops the next year. 1874 - France assumes protectorate over central Indochina region of Annam, which breaks off vassalage to China. 1875 - The Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York City, John McCloskey, is named the first American cardinal by Pope Pius IX. 1894 - France and Germany agree on boundaries between French Congo and Cameroon. 1903 - British conquest of northern Nigeria is complete. 1913 - U.S. President Woodrow [http://Www.Groundreport.com/?s=Wilson%20holds Wilson holds] the first open presidential news conference. 1916 - U.S. force of 12,000 soldiers under Gen. John Pershing is ordered to Mexico to capture revolutionary leader Pancho Villa. 1917 - Czar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates after humiliating defeat by the Germans. The Russian state and military begin to dissolve. 1919 - The American Legion is founded in Paris. 1937 - The world's first blood bank is established at Chicago's Cook County Hospital by Dr. Bernard Fantus. It is a breakthrough for [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] surgical procedures and emergency treatments. 1938 - Nazi Germany seizes Czechoslovakia with little resistance, after having annexed the Sudetenland, with its fortifications, the previous year. 1989 - Soviet Union's President Mikhail S. Gorbachev calls for rapid measures to ease chronic food shortages. 1991 - Serbian President Borisav Jovic resigns after the collective presidency fails to declare a nationwide state of emergency. 1992 - A second earthquake in a short time strikes eastern Turkey, killing an estimated 800 people. 1993 - Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin offers, after a meeting with U.S. President Bill Clinton, to surrender part of the Golan Heights to Syria. 1999 - Rosemary Nelson, a Northern Ireland attorney who represented Catholic clients in several high-profile cases, is killed by a car bomb. The outlawed anti-Catholic group Red Hand Defenders claims responsibility. 2003 - Rebels led by ousted army chief General Francois Bozize capture the Central African Republic's capital, Bangui, and the international airport while President Ange-Felix Patasse was out of the country. Bozize declared himself president. 2005 - A French court convicts six men in an alleged plot to send a suicide bomber into the U.S. Embassy in Paris, wrapping up a trial that shed light on the spread of Islamic radicals in Europe. 2006 - A Spanish boat recovers the bodies of 24 people believed to be African migrants floating in waters off the coast of Mauritania, hundreds of miles (kilometers) south of the Canary Islands. 2012 - Dozens of Iranian banks are blocked from doing business with much of the world as the West tightens the financial screws on a country it wants to prevent from developing nuclear weapons. 2014 - Malaysia's leader says the jetliner from his country missing for more than a week was deliberately diverted and continued flying for more than six hours after severing contact with the ground. 2015 - Philippine troops capture the leader of a Muslim rebel group in the south who had been linked to bombings and a beheading and accused of protecting two terror suspects wanted [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html du lịch Bắc Kinh 5 ngày 4 đêm từ Hà Nội] by the United States. Today's Birthdays: Andrew Jackson, U.S. president (1767-1845); Charles de Montalembert, French author (1810-1870); Jules Chevalier, French priest/founder of Sacred Heart Missionaries (1824-1907); Henri Saint Cyr, Swedish equestrian/Olympic gold medalist (1902-1979); Harry James, U.S. bandleader (1916-1983); Judd Hirsch, U.S actor (1935--); Sly Stone, U.S. singer/musician (1943--); will.i.am, U.S. rapper/musician (1975--); Eva Longoria Parker, U.S. actress (1975--). Thought For Today: Sometimes it's worse to win a fight than to lose - Billie Holiday, American singer (1915-1959). Advertisement

Beyond the baguette: France s food legacy in Vietnam

2018-06-18T21:25:02Z

DallasHemphill0:

It has been more than six decades since the end of French colonial rule in Vietnam, but when President Francois Hollande arrives this week he'll struggle to avoid a quintessential legacy of his country's rule: the baguette. Smeared with pate and loaded with fresh coriander and cucumber, or just enjoyed with a pat of fresh butter, "banh mi" are a delicious symbol of Vietnam's lasting links with its former occupiers. "The French were very proud of banh mi. I think French cuisine has had a lot of influence on Vietnamese cuisine," baker Nguyen Ngoc Hoan told AFP from his busy boulangerie in Hanoi's French Quarter. 'Banh mi' are displayed for sale on a sidewalk in central Hanoi �Hoang Dinh Nam (AFP) Hoan started baking banh mi -- which refers to plain bread or the popular "petit pain" loaded with meat, vegetables or fried egg -- in 1987 and five years later got a stint at the bakery in the storied Metropole hotel, built by the French at the turn [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] of the 20th century. The sandwich has become a foodie favourite in hipster enclaves around the globe, sold from food trucks and sipped with craft beer in both its classic form and a flurry of new varieties. Hoan's father was also a baker but discouraged his son from following in his floured footsteps. "The baking profession chose me, it was not my decision," Hoan said, speaking in front of a wall of ovens as his workers tirelessly knead dough nearby. He started his career baking what he called Vietnamese bread -- airy on the inside, crusty on the outside -- but after training with a French baker in Shanghai decided to switch to the denser French-style. Now, he churns out thousands of warm baguettes daily, along with croissants, creme caramel and homemade pate. - 'Petit pain' - French bread was first made in Vietnam to feed hungry soldiers in Indochina, France's empire which spanned much of Southeast Asia from 1858 to its crushing defeat in the Dien Bien Phu battle in Vietnam in 1954. But the French became known for more than food, gaining a brutal reputation for crushing anti-imperialist movements and putting Vietnamese laborers to work in gruelling conditions on rubber plantations, while heavily taxing citizens during periods of drought and famine. Most French who came to Vietnam weren't interested in low-level jobs like baking. To fill the gap, Chinese and Vietnamese worked in boulangeries -- often hidden away in the back so customers wouldn't know who was baking their bread. "By 1910, little baguettes or 'petit pain' were sold in the street to (Vietnamese) people who were on their way to work," according to Erica Peters, food historian and author of "Appetites and Aspirations in Vietnam". In the years that followed, meat, vegetables or fish appeared in the bread [http://www.google.de/search?q=--%20precursors -- precursors] to the modern-day banh mi sold all over Hanoi, a city rife with French colonial architecture, bistros and cafes. Other culinary influences leaked in too. Local cooks used meat scraps and unused bones from French butchers to create pho -- the national dish of beef or chicken noodle soup, according to Peters. Coffee and creme caramel are some of the other French culinary leftovers. The [http://Www.Thefreedictionary.com/ubiquity ubiquity] of those influences will not be lost on President Hollande, who arrives late Monday for talks with Vietnam's leadership and French businessmen. - Hybrid cuisine - Today, Vietnam's commercial capital Ho Chi Minh City is dotted with chic cafes serving croque monsieur and macarons at Paris prices. But the $1 banh mi still rules Hanoi's street food scene. It is so engrained in Vietnam's culinary culture that few draw its lineage back to France. "I don't know and don't care whether it's French, I just serve it like this," said Nguyen Thi Duc Hanh, sitting in front of her shop as the lunchtime rush begins. She sells hundreds per day and keeps her menu simple: banh mi served with pate and a fried egg, beef steak or her very own version of "boeuf au vin" made with local spices. One of her regulars, Nguyen Van Binh, said he has been eating banh mi for 50 years, and unlike Hanh, thinks of it as a hybrid dish. "Banh mi came from France but it was changed and adapted to suit Vietnamese tastes," said Binh, before digging into his fried egg and pate served with a crusty roll. A street vendor sits in front of 'Hoan Boulangerie' shop in Hanoi �Hoang Dinh Nam (AFP) An employee prepares to bake croissants at 'Hoan Boulangerie' in Hanoi �Hoang Dinh Nam (AFP) Local Vietnamese cooks used meat scraps and unused bones from French butchers to create pho - the national dish of beef or chicken [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] noodle soup �Hoang Dinh Nam (AFP/File) An employee prepares a 'banh mi' for sale at 'Banh Mi Phuc' restaurant in Hanoi �Hoang Dinh Nam (AFP) Advertisement

Bombed and looted ancient Cambodian city poised for rebirth

2018-06-18T18:05:50Z

DallasHemphill0:

Sambor Prei Kuk, which means 'the temple in the richness of the forest', boasts nearly 300 brick temples and heaps of ruins across a 25 square kilometre (nine square mile) compound It has survived centuries of monsoon rains, a US bombing campaign and rampant looting. Now the ancient temple city of Sambor Prei Kuk in Cambodia is finally ready for a renaissance -- and is teasing tourists to its forest-cocooned ruins. Cloistered by trees and linked by winding dirt trails, the site has played second [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] fiddle to its much bigger cousin to the west -- Angkor Wat -- Cambodia's top tourist destination. But in July it gained a listing by the UNESCO World Heritage, promising a tourist bonanza that could breathe new life into a once-thriving 6th and [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] 7th century metropolis. "We have already seen more and more local and foreign tourists flocking to visit our site," said Hang Than, an official who manages the compound, as he strolled towards one of several temples spectacularly wrapped in tree roots. For now the tourist infrastructure is basic. The ancient city in central Kampong Thom province lies down a pot-holed road where a few food hawkers cluster beneath umbrellas in the dusty parking lot. Several tour guides lounge around a small booth servicing a growing fleet of tour buses that arrive, for now, mainly on weekends. "We are very happy and we were so surprised that this site has been listed," said 45-year-old Mao Sambath, who has been making the hour-long motorcycle ride to sell a spread of tropical fruits to backpackers and Chinese tour groups. "Today we have even more vendors than yesterday." - Trees and looters - Sambor Prei Kuk, which means "the temple in the richness of the forest", boasts nearly 300 [http://Hararonline.com/?s=brick%20temples brick temples] and heaps of ruins across a 25 square kilometre (nine square mile) compound. The temples of Sambor Prei Kuk were rediscovered by French scholars in the 1880s and it took decades to pare back tree roots and lumps of earth that had consumed the monuments over the centuries The city, some 200 kilometres (120 miles) north of Phnom Penh, was once the seat of the Chenla kingdom that flourished in the 6th and 7th centuries before the height of the Khmer Empire that raised the mega-city of Angkor. The temples were rediscovered by French scholars in the 1880s when Cambodia was part of France's Indochina empire. It took decades to pare back tree roots and lumps of earth that had consumed the monuments over the centuries. "At first they only found 16 temples, but then they started to clean the sites," explained Hang Than, an archaeologist by training. But the excavation halted as Cambodia fell into war, with a hailstorm [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html du lịch Bắc Kinh 5 ngày 4 đêm từ Hà Nội] of US bombs hitting the area during the Vietnam War in the 1970s, leaving behind hundreds of craters. Destruction continued under Cambodia's ruthless Khmer Rouge regime, whose soldiers still held the area into the 1980s as looters ransacked heirlooms from the site. After the violence subsided in the late 1990s, restoration efforts were rebooted. With help of Japanese partners, conservationists spent decades hacking back trees and stabilising the structures. The painstaking work was rewarded with the UNESCO listing, which carries fresh funds to preserve the temples and manage the impact of tourism. "It was very different when I first started to work in this area," said Lay Alex, a baby-faced 24-year-old who began leading tours a decade ago. "I don't think seven guides is going to be enough anymore," he said with a smile. Advertisement

User:DallasHemphill0

2018-06-14T18:58:49Z

DallasHemphill0: Created page with "I am Dallas and was born on 23 February 1971. My hobbies are Radio-Controlled Car Racing and Dancing. Feel free to surf to my website [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du..."

I am Dallas and was born on 23 February 1971. My hobbies are Radio-Controlled Car Racing and Dancing. Feel free to surf to my website [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội]