IQBAL - User contributions [en]

Sunday March 6

2018-07-06T08:22:41Z

JocelynHerrick9:

Today is Sunday, March 6, the 66th day of 2016. There are 300 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date: 1834 - The city of York in Upper Canada is incorporated as Toronto. 1836 - Alamo mission in San Antonio, Texas, falls to Mexican army after 13-day siege in which Davy Crockett and 186 other defenders die. 1853 - Verdi's opera "La Traviata" premieres in Venice, Italy 1857 - In its Dred Scott decision, the U.S. Supreme Court holds that Scott, a slave, could not sue for his freedom in a federal court. 1922 - United States prohibits export of arms to China. 1936 - The British Supermarine Spitfire MKI takes to the air. 1945 - German city of Cologne falls to U.S. First Army in World War II. 1946 - France recognizes Vietnam as free state within Indochina Federation. 1953 - G.M. Malenkov succeeds the late Joseph Stalin as Premier of Soviet Union. 1957 - Two former British colonies of Gold Coast and Togoland form independent West African nation of Ghana; Israeli troops hand over Gaza Strip to U.N. force. 1962 - United States pledges to defend Thailand against direct Communist aggression without waiting for action by Southeast Asia Treaty Organization. 1965 - U.S. Defense Department announces that 3,500 Marines are being sent to South Vietnam - the first U.S. ground combat troops committed to fighting against Communist guerrillas. 1970 - Alexander Dubcek, former Czech Communist Party boss, is suspended from party. 1975 - Arab terrorist raid on a Tel [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] Aviv hotel leaves 14 dead. 1988 - Thousands of Tibetans demanding independence set fires throughout their capital city of Lhasa. 1991 - Iraqi troops appear to have crushed a [http://Data.gov.uk/data/search?q=rebellion rebellion] in Basra and are reported to be moving on other southern cities in revolt. 1994 - Somali warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid rejects a peace agreement reached by 12 other faction leaders in Cairo. 1995 - The dollar plummets to 92.70 yen, its lowest level against the yen anywhere in the world since modern exchange rates were established in the late 1940s. 1999 - Ta Mok, the last leader of the murderous Khmer Rouge, is captured by the Cambodian army and flown to the capital for trial. 2003 - An Algerian passenger jet crashes in the Sahara Desert shortly after takeoff, killing 116 people. 2006 - Several cats test positive for the deadly strain of bird flu in Austria and Poland reports its first outbreak of the disease, as the World Health Organization calls bird flu a greater global challenge than any previous infectious disease. 2008 - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega announces that he is breaking relations with Colombia because of his opposition to the Colombian raid on a guerrilla base in Ecuador. 2010 - Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls the official version of the Sept. 11, 2011 attacks a "big lie" used by the U.S. as an excuse for battling terror. 2011 - The two opposition parties that triumphed in Ireland's election, conservative Fine Gael and left-wing Labour, agree to form the country's next coalition government after compromising on repair of the debt-battered economy. 2012 - The United States, Europe and other world powers announce that bargaining will begin again with Iran over its fiercely disputed nuclear efforts. 2013 - Syria's accelerating [http://www.bbc.Co.uk/search/?q=humanitarian%20crisis humanitarian crisis] hits a grim milestone: the number of U.N.-registered refugees [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] tops 1 million, half of them children. 2014 - U.S. President Barack Obama orders the West's first sanctions in response to Russia's military takeover of Crimea, EU more cautious. 2015 - An investigation into what prosecutors call [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] the biggest corruption scandal ever uncovered in Brazil wins Supreme Court approval to expand to dozens of top politicians for alleged ties to a kickback scheme at the state-run energy company, Petrobras. Today's Birthdays: Michelangelo, Italian renaissance artist (1475-1564); Cyrano de Bergerac, French author-duellist (1620-1655); Elizabeth Barrett Browning, English poet (1806-1861); Ed McMahon, U.S. host/announcer (1923--2009); Lorin Maazel, French-born conductor of the NY Philharmonic (1930--2014); Rob Reiner, U.S. director/actor (1947--); Shaquille O'Neal, U.S. basketball player (1972--); Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombian novelist (1927--). Thought For Today: Le sens commun n'est pas si commun (Common sense is not so common.) - Voltaire, French author and philosopher (1694-1778). Advertisement

Railway to ruin: Hanoi train factory fades from glory

2018-06-18T14:08:05Z

JocelynHerrick9:

The Gia Lam train factory in Hanoi was the first in the then-French territory established to bolster the expanding rail network of the time Built by the French to fix trains for their fast-developing Vietnamese colony, the Gia Lam factory later churned out weapons to fuel the country's independence fight, and then survived the onslaught of American bombers during the war. But the storied Hanoi plant is now in decline, a victim of the rising consumer power of Vietnam's middle classes as passengers turn from trains to planes. The storied Hanoi plant is now in decline, a victim of the rising consumer power of Vietnam's middle classes as passengers turn from trains [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html du lịch Bắc Kinh] to planes "In the past, I was proud to work here because this factory was the biggest in Indochina," repairman Au Duy Hien told AFP. Opened in 1905, Gia Lam was the first train factory in the then-French territory, which spanned modern-day Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Mechanics used the base to first fix [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] and then assemble the engines and carriages that served the region's rapid push toward industrialisation. The factory was taken over by the Vietnamese in the 1940s, expanding production to make bazookas and grenades for revolutionaries fighting the colonial rulers who were finally thrown out in 1954 The factory was taken over by the Vietnamese in the 1940s, expanding production to make bazookas and grenades for revolutionaries fighting the colonial rulers who were finally thrown out in 1954. And then it continued to make weapons during the Vietnam War -- even as it was bombed by US planes targeting Communist-backed revolutionaries in northern Vietnam. - Running out of steam - Output at the factory is down more than 90 percent since its 1990s heyday and it is now mostly used to repair old trains, with little demand for new carriages on the country's vast but outdated rail network But today, output is down more than 90 percent since its 1990s heyday. It is now mostly used to repair old trains, with little demand for new carriages on the country's vast but outdated rail network. The industry is struggling to keep pace with the lure of low-cost air travel. For many, the choice between a clanging, slow-moving train or a quick -- and cheap -- plane is a no-brainer. In 2015, 31 million people travelled by air, more than double the number in 2010, according to official statistics. Train use remained steady at 11 million for the year. Today, some companies are seeking to revive the colonial romance of rail travel, offering first-class trips, wood-lined cabins with restaurant car. The air travel [https://www.academia.edu/people/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=industry industry] in Vietnam has taken off in recent years, aided by the launch of low-cost airlines offering cheap tickets. In 2015, [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html du lịch Bắc Kinh 5 ngày 4 đêm] 31 million Vietnamese took to the skies, more than double the number who flew in 2010 "If rail transportation isn't developed, then the railway industry cannot be revived," union boss Nguyen Anh Tuan told AFP. Some lawmakers recently called for private investment into the state-controlled sector, and the country's parliament is currently considering revising the law. But unless the industry sees a major upturn in fortunes, Gia Lam employees fear it will soon run out of steam. Advertisement

User:JocelynHerrick9

2018-06-18T14:07:54Z

JocelynHerrick9: Created page with "Im Jocelyn and was born on 24 November 1972. My hobbies are Crocheting and Running. Here is my homepage - [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem...."

Im Jocelyn and was born on 24 November 1972. My hobbies are Crocheting and Running. Here is my homepage - [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html du lịch Bắc Kinh]