IQBAL - User contributions [en]

The Archers´ star Timothy Bentinck humbled´ by MBE

2018-06-18T08:56:56Z

ShielaLindsay19:

The Archers� star Timothy Bentinck has said he was [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] �astonished and humbled� to be made an MBE. The actor, known for voicing the character of David Archer in the BBC Radio 4 drama, thanked those who have �supported me through [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] the ups and downs of surviving� in his profession. The 65-year-old, who was born on a sheep station in Tasmania, has played David in The Archers since 1982. Timothy Bentinck as David Archer (BBC/PA) He also has TV credits to his name and makes regular appearance in the theatre. Bentinck started doing voiceovers as a child and has even lent his voice to the �Mind the gap� [http://De.pons.com/�bersetzung?q=announcement&l=deen&in=&lf=en announcement] on London Underground�s Piccadilly line. He said in a statement: �I am astonished and humbled by this award. �It is not something I ever expected and I can only thank [http://scp-knowledge.org/?s=profusely profusely] those unknown people who proposed me, also my family and friends who have supported me through the ups and [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] downs of surviving as an actor.� Bentinck is made an MBE in the Queen�s Birthday Honours for services to drama. Advertisement

Beyond the baguette: France s food legacy in Vietnam

2018-06-14T10:20:43Z

ShielaLindsay19:

It has been more than six decades since the end of French colonial rule in Vietnam, but when [http://Www.empowher.com/search/site/President%20Francois President Francois] Hollande arrives this week he'll struggle to avoid a quintessential legacy [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] 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 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. [http://pixabay.com/en/new-zealand-waterfall-nature-Hoan%27s%20father/ Hoan's father] [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] 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 [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html du lịch Bắc Kinh] 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 -- 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 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 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

Vietnam seeks support for maritime freedom

2018-06-14T01:20:47Z

ShielaLindsay19:

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 [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html du lịch Bắc Kinh] 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 [http://www.bbc.co.uk/search/?q=French%20colonial 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 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. 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 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 [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] 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 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 [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] 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

User:ShielaLindsay19

2018-06-14T01:20:41Z

ShielaLindsay19: Created page with "I am Shiela from Bad Waldsee doing my final year engineering in History. I did my schooling, secured 87% and hope to find someone with same interests in Knapping. Here..."

I am Shiela from Bad Waldsee doing my final year engineering in History. I did my schooling, secured 87% and hope to find someone with same interests in Knapping. Here is my web blog [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html du lịch Bắc Kinh]