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Vietnam seeks support for maritime freedom

2018-07-06T00:36:25Z

LeopoldoMccaffre:

France and other countries should help to keep the peace in the disputed South China Sea, Vietnam's president told AFP Wednesday, as unease grows over China's increasingly muscular approach in the key waterway. China claims most of the sea where it has built up reefs capable of hosting military equipment, sparking ire from competing claimants, including Vietnam, and raising fears of potential armed conflict. Speaking to AFP ahead of a visit by French leader Francois Hollande next month, Vietnam's President Tran Dai Quang said he hopes France and others will help to diffuse regional tensions in the waterway, which it calls the East Sea. Vietnamese president Tran Dai Quang speaks during an interview with AFP at the presidential palace in Hanoi on August 24, 2016 �Hoang Dinh Nam (AFP) "We highly welcome the cooperation from France and other nations in the process of maintaining peace and stability in the region and the world and on the East Sea," he said, speaking from the presidential palace, the former residence of the Indochina governor during French colonial rule. Hanoi and Beijing have traded diplomatic barbs over disputed island chains and waters in the South China Sea and in 2014 China moved a controversial oil rig into [http://www.Blogher.com/search/apachesolr_search/contested contested] territory, prompting riots in Vietnam. The strategic waterway, also claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan, is rich in energy reserves, fishery resources and is a busy shipping route. [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] Quang's comments come after French Defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in June he would ask European countries to conduct coordinated patrols in the South China Sea. France and the United States have sent naval ships to the sea in recent months and have vowed to send more, angering Beijing. The Vietnamese president, whose role is mostly ceremonial, said Hollande's visit would help to boost military ties between the former colonial foes, as [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] Hanoi has rapidly increased its defence budget in the last decade. "Several directions for cooperation will be strengthened and opened, like... ensuring security, safety and freedom of maritime and aviation," Quang said in a statement to AFP after the interview. He added that Vietnam wants more unity in the regional 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which has failed to forge a unified front against Beijing's militarisation in the sea. "We have been active together with countries in the ASEAN community to increase unity, considering this an important structure to contribute to maintaining regional peace," he said. Last month Manila won its case against Beijing [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] at a UN-backed tribunal in the Hague which rejected China's claims to most of the sea. Beijing boycotted the hearing, and has refused to recognise the ruling, and ASEAN has sidestepped the issue, failing to comment directly on it at a meeting of ministers last month. Diplomats say Beijing has deftly courted Laos and Cambodia to split the bloc and blunt unified criticism. France and Vietnam signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2013, which included boosted defence cooperation. Filipino and Vietnamese protesters display anti-China placards during a call on China to respect their rights in the disputed South China Sea, in front of the Chinese consular office in Manila on August 6, 2016 �Ted Aljibe (AFP/File) Advertisement

Ha Long Bay...Junk boat

2018-06-26T02:08:36Z

LeopoldoMccaffre:

We signed up for the [http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/search/Halong%20Bay Halong Bay] boat trip with our guest house, A Dong Hotel in [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] the old quarter of Hanoi, the guys here are very helpful and with a little bit of persuassion they did us a good deal, we got a 2 day and 1 night trip on the boat for $28. The guys picked us up no problem and took us off, we got tp the port and there were hundreds of junk boats taking people out on trips, eventually we got onto ours. Remember to take your passport with you or they wont let you stay on the boat over night. Apparently the harbour police caught some terrorists 6 months ago smuggling weapons and drugs aboard one of the boats, so the police made it mandatory to know who is on which boat at what time. The crew were nice enough, we stopped shortly after de-berthing and had some lunch, then set off into the bay itself. We were told by the guide that there are over three thousand islands in the area, however [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] only one thousand nine hundred odd are in the actual conservation area. The whole area is a vastness of natural beauty, we have barely seen anything as nice, apart from the water it is slightly murky, not very good for snorkling! Our cabin was on the small size but you dont get a lot when you go for the extra budget option do you! the water in the shower worked when it felt like it and when it did it was only a dribble, Katie though didnt care she was just made up to be sleeping on a junk boat in the middle of Halong Bay, thats why i love her you see. That day we stopped off at Sung Sot caves and spent over an hour walking through the caves and taking in the sights, there are a lot of stalagmites and stalagtites. The guides try to show you all these pictures in the rocks and shadows but they are hardly true and you could probably make better ones up yourselves, the "romeo and juliet" one is a real corker! After the caves we once again boarded the boat and set off for the fishing village, on the way we stopped at another cave you could visit by hiring a small boat, we decided it wasnt worth it and just stayed on the boat chatting to some couples. The weather was gorgeous 40 plus easy and we were making the most of it all of us on the sun deck! We arrived at the fishing village and got to stop at one of the shops there that house the live fish in specially constructed rafts, the boats crew brought our dinner from here for dinner later! After this we dropped some people off at Cat Ba island that were staying the night at the hotel on the island instead of the boat (apparently its cheaper). We carried on cruising around the bay all afternoon and in the evening we settled in a small bay where we had dinner and everyone just chatted and socialised. The next day we were awoken at 06:30 to be informed it was time for us to go KAYAKING! what the hell!!! so we dragged our sorry asses out of bed and paddled around the cove and checking out caves and stuff. We ended up really enjoying it even tho we could barely open our eyes! After that we did nothing, we dropped off more people on the island and picked up some more then took a leisurely cruise back to the main dock at Halong city. So Katie and I just took advantage of the once again gorgeous weather and bronzed up to the max! Katie & Scott Source: Travelblog

Today in History 6 3

2018-06-25T23:09:08Z

LeopoldoMccaffre:

Highlights in history on this date: 1788 - A party led by Lieutenant Philip Gidley King lands on Norfolk Island to establish a British settlement. 1836 - Alamo mission in San Antonio, Texas, falls to Mexican army after 13-day siege in which Davy Crockett and 186 other defenders die. 1857 - The US Supreme Court rules that escaped slave Dred Scott cannot sue for his freedom because as a slave he is property, not a citizen. 1888 - Death of Louisa May Alcott, US author of Little Women, aged 56. 1899 - Felix Hoffman patents his formula for acetylsalicylic acid, which he calls aspirin. 1900 - Death of Gottfried Daimler, German motor engineer who made the first motorcycle. 1930 - Pre-packaged frozen food produced by the company set up by Clarence Birdseye goes on sale for the first time in the US. 1944 - US heavy bombers stage the first American raid on Berlin during World War II. 1945 - German city Cologne falls to US First Army in World War II. 1946 - France recognises Vietnam as free state within Indochina Federation. 1951 [http://www.travelpod.com/s/-%20Death - Death] of Ivor Novello, Welsh composer and playwright. 1953 - Georgy 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. 1965 - US Defence Department announces that 3500 Marines are being sent to South Vietnam, the first US ground combat troops committed to fighting against Communist guerrillas. 1967 - Svetlana Alliluyeva, daughter of former Soviet leader Josef Stalin, requests asylum at the US embassy in New Delhi. 1973 - Death of US author and 1938 Nobel Literature prize winner, Pearl Buck, who wrote The Good Earth. 1983 - Donald Maclean, a British diplomat who became a Soviet spy, dies in Moscow. 1987 - A British ferry, the Herald Of Free Enterprise, capsizes off the Belgian port Zeebrugge, drowning 193 people. 1991 - George Carey becomes Archbishop of Canterbury and leader of the world's 70 million Anglicans. 1992 - A computer virus called Michelangelo strikes thousands of personal computers around the world. 1995 - The US dollar plummets to 92.70 yen, its lowest level against the Japanese currency anywhere since modern exchange rates were established in the late 1940s. 1997 - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II launches the first official royal web site. 2003 - An Algerian passenger jet crashes in the Sahara Desert shortly after takeoff, killing 116 people. 2009 - North Korea threatens South Korea passenger planes amid rising tensions on Korean Peninsula, prompting some other airlines to re-route flights. 2012 - The US, Europe and other world powers announce that bargaining will begin again with Iran over its fiercely disputed nuclear efforts amid rising talk of war. 2015 - Lawyers for Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan visit the convicted drug traffickers on Nusakambangan, the Indonesian prison island where they are to be executed. 2017 - Nepalese authorities say Australian man [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html du lịch Bắc Kinh] Matthew Jones has died of apparent altitude sickness near the Mt Everest base camp. Today's [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] Birthdays: Michelangelo, Italian renaissance artist (1475-1564); Elizabeth Barrett Browning, English poet (1806-1861); Valentina Tereshkova, Russian cosmonaut and first woman in space (1937-); Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, New Zealand opera singer (1944-); Mary Wilson, US singer of The Supremes fame (1944-); David Gilmour, British musician (1946-); Steve Vizard, Australian businessman and TV personality (1956-); Shaquille O'Neal, US basketball player (1972-). 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

User:LeopoldoMccaffre

2018-06-21T14:20:10Z

LeopoldoMccaffre: Created page with "My name is Leopoldo and I am studying Continuing Education and Summer Sessions and Athletics and Physical Education at Bellariva / Italy. My web page [http://www.vtr.or..."

My name is Leopoldo and I am studying Continuing Education and Summer Sessions and Athletics and Physical Education at Bellariva / Italy. My web page [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội]