IQBAL - User contributions [en]

Thursday April 21

2018-06-21T00:13:59Z

ZTOFrancis:

Today is Thursday, April 21, the 112th day of 2014. There are 255 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date: 1526 - Babur, an Uzbek prince, defeats Sultan Ibrahim Lodi at the Battle of Panipat north of Delhi, leading to Mughal rule over India. 1572 - Britain and France sign defensive treaty. 1649 - The Maryland assembly passes the Maryland Toleration Act, which provides for freedom of worship for all Christians. 1789 - John Adams is sworn in as the first U.S. vice president. 1856 - Australia adopts eight-hour working day. 1898 - United States recognizes independence of Cuba. 1918 - German air ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen, known as the Red Baron, is shot down and killed over the Western Front during a dogfight with Capt. Arthur Roy Brown of Canada. 1928 - France's Aristide Briand submits his draft treaty for outlawing war. It is later signed as the Kellogg-Briand Pact by most of the world's countries. 1947 - Crown Prince Frederik is acclaimed King Frederik IX of Denmark by thousands of Danes on [https://Slashdot.org/index2.pl?fhfilter=parliament%20square parliament square]. 1954 - United States flies French battalion to Indochina to defend Dien Bien Phu, which is overrun by Vietnamese forces three weeks later. 1956 - Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yemen sign military alliance at Jedda. 1960 - Brazil moves its capital from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia, a modern city built from scratch on the central high plains. 1967 - Army officers led by Col. Georgios Papadopoulos seize power in Greece. The junta rules the country for seven years. 1972 - Two U.S. Apollo 16 astronauts spend seven hours exploring highlands of the Moon. 1975 - South Vietnam's President Nguyen van Thieu resigns, denounces United States as untrustworthy, and names successor to seek negotiations with Communist forces sweeping across country. 1977 - Pakistan's [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto assumes emergency powers and imposes martial law on three major cities in crackdown on opponents trying to force his resignation; the musical "Annie" opens on Broadway. 1980 - Rosie Ruiz is the first woman to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon, but she is disqualified when officials discover she jumped into the race about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the finish. 1986 - Soldiers attack rebel camp in Philippines, and 41 people are killed; a vault in Chicago's Lexington Hotel linked to Al Capone is opened during a live TV special hosted by Geraldo Rivera. Except for a few bottles and a sign, the vault is empty. 1987 - Suspected Tamil Tiger separatists explode powerful bomb at height of rush hour near main bus station in Colombo, Sri Lanka, killing as many as 150 people. 1989 - Thousands of students, shouting for democracy and human rights, march from campuses to converge on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. 1990 - Moscow expands its energy embargo of Lithuania to include shipments of food, metal and industrial parts, in effort to get the republic to revoke declaration of independence. 1991 - Soviet hard-liners launch a petition drive for a Parliament session to impose a national state of emergency and take President Mikhail Gorbachev to task over worsening ethnic and economic troubles. 1993 - The Supreme Court in La Paz, Bolivia, sentences former dictator Luis Garcia Meza to 30 years in jail without parole for murder, theft, fraud and violating the constitution. 1994 - Bosnian Serb artillery bombards the Muslim enclave of Gorazde in the heaviest assault of a three-week offensive. 1995 - Iran lines up with Egypt and Syria to try to link the future of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to a dismantling of Israel's reported nuclear arsenal. 1996 - Rebels in a military complex in Monrovia, Liberia, release more foreigners while African peacekeeping troops fan out in the capital to police a truce. 1997 - The first Chinese Army soldiers march into Hong Kong in preparation for the handover of the British colony to China on July 1. 1998 - South Korea drops efforts to get compensation from Japan for women held as sex slaves during World War II, and says it will pay surviving women. 2001 - Leaders at the 34-nation Americas summit debate whether to criticize Haitian elections that restored President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power last year and mired the hemisphere's poorest and most unstable nation in another political morass. 2002 - Bombings in the southern Philippines, where Muslim rebel groups are fighting for a separate homeland, kill 14 people and wound 55 others. 2005 - A blast kills at least 51 people as it rips through an explosives manufacturing plant at a mine in the heart of Zambia's copper belt. 2006 - Haitians vote in a legislative election billed as the final step in the often-delayed process to bring back democracy to the poorest nation in the Americas. 2007 - Thousands of Bhutanese practice for democracy in mock elections, lining up at polling stations to select dummy political parties in the latest step toward shedding nearly 100 years of absolute monarchy in the secluded Himalayan country. 2008 - Pakistan orders the release of pro-Taliban leader Sufi Muhammad from six years in custody in return for an agreement from his group to renounce violence. Muhammad had sent thousands to battle the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. 2009 - European researchers say they not only found the smallest planet ever, Gliese 5810 e, but also realize that a neighboring planet discovered earlier, Gliese 581 d, was in the prime habital zone for potential life. 2010 - An explosion rocks a BP offshore oil drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and eventually leading to the biggest oil spill in U.S. history. 2011 - Japan seals off a wide area around a radiation-spewing nuclear power plant to [http://lerablog.org/?s=prevent%20tens prevent tens] of thousands of residents from sneaking back to the homes they quickly evacuated, some with little more than a credit card and the clothes on their backs. 2012 - An infusion of hundreds of billions of dollars will give the International Monetary Fund a badly needed boost to tackle Europe's prolonged debt crisis. But global finance officials send a strong message that struggling governments must speed reforms. 2013 - Serbia's ruling parties pledge to support a landmark agreement to normalize relations with former province Kosovo that could end years of tensions and put both states on a path to [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] European Union membership. Today's Birthdays: Charlotte Bronte, English novelist (1816-1855); Anthony Quinn, Mexican-born actor (1915-2001); Queen Elizabeth II of England (1926--); Elaine May, U.S. entertainer-writer (1932--); Omotoso Kole, Nigerian writer (1943--); Iggy Pop, English punk singer (1947--); Patti LuPone, U.S. actress/singer (1949--); James McAvoy, [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html du lịch Bắc Kinh] actor (1979--); Michael Franti, U.S. singer/rapper (1966--). Thought For Today: I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it - Stephen Leacock, Canadian economist and humorist (1869-1944). Advertisement

Inner Journey Expeditions promotes big saving tours in Indochina

2018-06-18T14:26:46Z

ZTOFrancis:

Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City Convenient Landing Packages Inner Journey Expeditions offers a convenient landing package for travellers looking for an easy arrival into Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam including hotel, daily breakfast, return airport transfers and one month single entry visa on arrival service. Director, Angela Kent, says �this is an ideal travel package for holiday travellers who want to explore this vibrant city on their own or business travellers looking for an affordable, all-in-one package staying at centrally located hotels in District 1�. A four-day Ho Chi Minh City Stay starts from AUD$216 person, twin share staying in 3-star hotel, deluxe room. Travellers can upgrade to the luxury five-star option and pay AUD$396 per person, twin share. These prices are valid for travel between 01 July and 30 September 2010. Travel to Vietnam with a group of five friends and get BIG SAVINGS Travel with a group of five friends or more and Vietnam travel specialist, Inner Journey Expeditions will discount the tour price by 10% when you book and travel in Vietnam before 30 September 2010. Inner Journey Expeditions arranges private tours ideal for a group of friends or family wanting to share their holiday [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] that suits their own time frame and style of travel. The group has their own private transport and driver, local guide, hotels, sightseeing and most meals. With a private tour, the group can sightsee as much as they want, or choose more free time to relax and experience Vietnam independently. � Laos a New Yoga [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] Destination Travel specialist, Inner Journey Expeditions launches the first ever Yoga Retreat in Laos held in UNESCO World Heritage town, Luang Prabang on 3rd November 2010. The retreat runs over 10 days and combines yoga, meditation, philosophy with Lao culture including textile weaving course, trekking to minority villages, elephant rides and a cooking class. Yoga classes are led by an experienced teacher from Byron Bay, Australia, a popular �mecca� for yoga. Inner Journey Expeditions Director, Angela Kent says �Laos is the newest destination to offer Yoga tours and retreats. Holding a retreat in Laos makes perfect sense as the Lao culture is grounded in Buddhism which is reflected in some of the teaching of Yoga.� Participants do not have to have years of yoga practice, but a small amount of experience would be beneficial to make the most of this amazing experience. Cambodia Temples and Buddhist Monastery Tour Inner Journey Expeditions offers a unique six day Cambodia Temples and Monastery tour that combines an introduction to Buddhism and monastic life with the must see Temples of Angkor for travellers looking for a spiritual and educational experience. Travellers meet with local monks and learn about Buddhist philosophy, they wake up in a monastery to the sounds of drums and are introduced to meditation practice and daily life. According to Director Angela Kent, �Spiritual and educational tourism is a fast growing niche in the travel industry. Some travellers are looking for more than just the major attractions and urban activities, they want to scratch below the surface of the country they are visiting and learn about the culture and traditions from an experiential level�. [http://Www.traveldescribe.com/?s=Departing Departing] from Siem Reap, prices start from AUD$735 per person and includes 3 nights in Siem Reap, 1 night in a Buddhist Monastery, 1 night on a home stay on a floating village on the Tonle Sap lake, 2 day Angkor Temple pass, Buddhism and meditation course, sightseeing, local guide, most meals and transfers. More information, contact: Angela Kent, Director PO [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] Box 2467, Parap, Darwin, N.T. Australia Phone: +61 400 806 039 URL: website Angela Kent on info@ije.com.au

Japan s tiny refugee community urges Tokyo to open doors wider

2018-06-18T12:27:10Z

ZTOFrancis:

By Kiyoshi Takenaka YOKOHAMA, Japan, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Hitoshi Kino, a bespectacled clerical employee at a university near Tokyo, doesn't stand out. Only a slight Vietnamese accent betrays his past, as he speaks in Japanese about being stranded on a rickety boat in waters off his war-torn homeland in 1980, starving with 32 others and left by pirates with nothing but his underpants. Kino, who was then Ky Tu Duong, is one of more than 11,000 refugees that Japan took in over the three decades to 2005 in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, under a little-remembered open-door policy which has never been repeated on such a scale. Now, Kino and other "boat people" who have resettled in Japan believe Tokyo should again open its doors and let in some of today's asylum seekers, including those from Syria, not just for those in distress but for Japan's sake as well "Japan should open up a little to them to align itself with the international community," Kino, who became a Japanese citizen in mid-1980s, said over Chinese dumplings and stir-fry at a restaurant near his home west of Tokyo. "It could be just 100, or 50. But it would be better than doing nothing." Japan took just 11 of 5,000 asylum-seekers last year, or 0.2 percent, the lowest acceptance rate in the club of rich nations, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. In contrast, France took 22 percent and Germany 42 percent. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] has offered nearly $2 billion to help other nations manage the flood of refugees from Syria's civil war, but his government has virtually shut the door on those [https://Www.Academia.edu/people/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=fleeing%20Europe%27s fleeing Europe's] worst migrant crisis since World War Two. This month's attacks in Paris, in which 130 people were killed in mass shootings and suicide bombings blamed on Islamic State, could make any public discussion of accepting refugees into Japan even more difficult. The government's reluctance to accept refugees shows that opening up to immigration is still politically unpalatable, despite an alarming shrinkage in the country's population. After the 2011 nuclear disaster caused by earthquake and tsunami, "foreigners scrambled to leave Japan. But few of us former refugees fled", Kino said. "Japan helped us and took care of us. We would not desert such a country." Indochina refugees speak not only of gratitude toward their adopted country but also of difficulties they have faced trying to fit into society, which prides itself on its homogeneous culture. Foreigners make up only 2 percent of the population. On the job, some Japanese "assume we don't understand things easily and we are not smart", said Hoai Takahashi, another refugee from Vietnam who changed his name from Hoang Drong Hoai. "They even say things like 'This job should not be left to these people,' in our very presence." Banri Kawai, formerly Nguyen Van Ry, works at a facility in eastern Japan that houses five former Vietnamese refugees with mental illness. He said they had been bullied by their Japanese seniors at work. "They lost sleep and developed mental conditions," he said after attending Sunday service with Takahashi at a Catholic church north of Tokyo. Chrisna Ito, who arrived in Japan at the age of 15, says she was rebuked at a factory dorm for using the communal bath before others had finished. She assumed they thought she was dirty because her skin was darker than that of a typical Japanese. Ito, a 43-year-old nursery school worker who was Cheth Chan Chrisna before fleeing Cambodia, had to start working at the rubber factory to support her family after six months of language and other adjustment training. It was only after she married and had children - now in high school and college - that she fulfilled her aspiration to go to junior high and [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html du lịch Bắc Kinh] high school. Asked how she feels about the government support she received, Ito reflected for a moment. "I am grateful. But at the same time, I cannot help wondering if Japan could have done a little better." (Additional reporting by Thomas Wilson; Editing by William Mallard and Mark Bendeich) Advertisement

From rehab to royal honour: Tom Hardy is made a CBE

2018-06-14T17:14:02Z

ZTOFrancis:

Tom Hardy, who receives a CBE for services to drama, made his name on the big screen with a series of hard man roles. The 40-year-old actor is known for Inception, Mad [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] Max: Fury Road, Bronson and The Revenant. But he also made an unlikely face on CBeebies, reading a bedtime [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html du lịch Bắc Kinh 5 ngày 4 đêm] story on the pre-school channel, where he was a hit with mothers. Tom Hardy on CBeebies (BBC) The privately-educated star has spoken about how he went off the rails and suffered from alcohol addiction in his youth. Hardy checked himself into rehab in 2003 and has been clean ever since. �I went in thinking I�d do it for a little bit until I can go out and drink and people forgive me. But I did my 28 days, and after listening to people who had been through similar circumstances I realised I did have a problem,� he previously told the Daily Mirror. Charlotte Riley and Tom Hardy arrive for the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle (Chris Jackson/PA) Hardy, an [https://Www.academia.edu/people/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=ambassador ambassador] for The Prince�s Trust, said: �I love what I do, but it�s driven by a fear of not being able to do it. [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] � Hardy and actress Charlotte Riley are thought to have tied the knot in 2014 and the couple have a child together. The actor also has a son from a previous relationship. Hardy and Riley starred together in Peaky Blinders and met on the set of an adaptation of Wuthering Heights. Last year, Hardy penned an emotional tribute to his �best friend� and dog Woody, following the pet�s death aged six. The actor is made a CBE in the Queen�s [http://statigr.am/tag/Birthday%20Honours Birthday Honours]. Advertisement

Richard Blystone correspondent at AP later CNN dies at 81

2018-06-13T21:33:10Z

ZTOFrancis:

Richard M. Blystone, a longtime Associated Press correspondent who covered the Vietnam War and went on to become one of the first journalists at the CNN network even before it went on air, died Tuesday in London. He was 81. His sister, Louise Reilly, said her brother died in a hospital of cardiac failure, following a stroke. Blystone began his career with AP in Atlanta in 1965, covering the civil rights struggle, and later worked at the news cooperative's New York headquarters before moving to the AP's Saigon bureau in 1970 at the height of the Vietnam War. [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html du lịch Bắc Kinh] He covered major combat action and, in 1973, became AP's Chief of Bureau in Bangkok, Thailand. In this Feb. 5, 1979, photo, Associated Press foreign correspondent Richard Blystone poses for a photo in the AP's London bureau. Blystone, a veteran AP correspondent who reported from Vietnam and was one of the first journalists at CNN, has died in London at 81. His sister, Louise Reilly, said her brother died Tuesday, April 17, 2018, of cardiac failure after a stroke. (AP Photo/Peter Kemp) Michael Putzel, a former Saigon colleague of Blystone, recalls that "his dry humor and running cartoon strip about AP life kept the Saigon bureau entertained." While in Bangkok, Blystone uncovered and reported the story of 54 barefoot, ragged children held as slave [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] laborers in a garment factory. A police raid followed, freeing the children. Blystone remained involved in coverage of strife in Indochina, and in a story from [http://www.Tumblr.com/tagged/Phnom%20Penh Phnom Penh] before the takeover by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge, he described how the wives and children of Cambodian soldiers missing in action "live in squalor and desperation . high in Phnom Penh's sports stadium." After the fall of Cambodia to the Khmer Rouge, he flew in a small chartered plane to the bomb-cratered Phnom Penh airport to pluck a Cambodian AP newsman - Chaay-Born Lay - and his wife and two children to safety. They were pulled into the aircraft as it rolled along the runway for takeoff. AP's Chief U.N. Correspondent Edith M. Lederer called him "one of the smartest, sharpest war correspondents I met and worked with at AP in Vietnam - a veteran who knew the U.S. military." "He had a wonderful irreverent streak and didn't suffer fools, but he cared deeply about the victims of war and telling their stories to the world. He was a stickler for accuracy, a master wordsmith, a wonderful friend and an original member of the Chinese Eating Club I started when we both lived in London," Lederer added. In 1977 and 1978, he was an Edward R. Murrow Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York and then moved to the AP's London bureau until he joined CNN in June 1980, three weeks before the then-fledgling news network went on the air. He went on to cover many wars and conflicts for CNN from its earliest day and became a senior correspondent for Europe, Africa and the Middle East. At CNN, Blystone covered some of the world's biggest hotspots. He reported on the Iran-Iraq war, civil war in Lebanon, the collapse of communism in the former Soviet Union and its [http://www.hometalk.com/search/posts?filter=satellite satellite] nations, famine in Africa, U.S. interventions in Somalia and Haiti, the Gulf conflict, Northern Ireland and NATO's bombing of Kosovo. But as a change of pace from politics, war, violence and famine, Blystone also produced wry and droll reports on quirky events such as the traditional gathering of the Royal Swans near London. His 1999 CNN series "An Iron Curtain Odyssey", chronicling a 3,000-mile (4,800-kilometer) trip down the political fault line that once divided the world, followed a decade after his first report of the same title was filmed as the Iron Curtain was coming down. Journalist Steve Hurst, who worked with Blystone at both AP and CNN, said "Blystone was the best writer I ever worked with. He was an even better man, and I and all who knew him have suffered a great loss." Blystone retired from CNN in 2001, returning briefly for assignments in Kuwait and Iraq in 2003. In retirement he freelanced, produced documentaries and taught journalism for a semester in Botswana. He lived part of the year in London [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] and part in Maine. A native of Elmira, New York, Blystone was a graduate of Amherst College who served a stint in the U.S. Navy as an officer assigned to an anti-submarine patrol squadron flying out of Brunswick, Maine. He began his journalism career with brief stints at the Elmira Star-Gazette and the Scandinavian Times, in Copenhagen. He was the son of the late Eugene Blystone and the former Bernice Mary Robinson. Besides his sister, he is survived by his wife of 54 years, the former Helle Pechter, three children and one grandchild. ___ Claude Erbsen, a former AP vice president and director of world services, reported from New York. In this undated photo, Richard Blystone, Associated Press foreign correspondent in Vietnam and later Bangkok, talks on the phone in AP's Saigon bureau in Saigon, later renamed to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Blystone, a veteran AP correspondent who reported from Vietnam and was one of the first journalists at CNN, has died in London at 81. His sister, Louise Reilly, said her brother died Tuesday, April 17, 2018, of cardiac failure after a stroke. (AP Photo/Neal Ulevich) Advertisement

User:ZTOFrancis

2018-06-13T21:33:06Z

ZTOFrancis: Created page with "I'm Francis (21) from Lauwe, Belgium. I'm learning Danish literature at a local high school and I'm just about to graduate. I have a part time job in a the office. <..."

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