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HanoiVietnam-Made from recycled military truck or aircraft tyres, Vietnam's hand-made rubber sandals, the famously rugged footwear of the Viet Cong, have travelled vast distances over the decades.

In the bustling capital Hanoi, all kinds of shoes are on sale: from $1,000 Gucci heels to $2 plastic slippers.

But for those seeking a nod to yesteryear, the hard-soled rubber sandals -- evocative of the communist state's resourcefulness under fire -- are available at markets and small stores alike.

 

- Uncle Ho's sandals -

 

Dao Van Quang paid $8 for a standard pair at a shop outside a Hanoi museum devoted to the country's revolutionary leader -- and dedicated rubber sandal wearer -- Ho Chi Minh.

"I wore rubber sandals when I was at school, in the 1980s," the 47-year-old from central Quang Nam province told AFP.

"They are of historical value, easy to wear and look nice."

At the museum, the well-worn pair belonging to the former North Vietnam president known affectionately as "Uncle Ho" are displayed in a glass box with his Chinese-style uniform.

Ho's sandals have even been lauded in national songs praising his simple lifestyle.

"These sandals helped Uncle travel a long way, and with them, he overcame difficulties to build the country," the lyrics of one song say.

The Vietnamese first began making rubber sandals in the late 1940s, during the First Indochina War against the French, using tyres from an ambushed army truck.

They found the sandals were cheap to make and survived well in wet, muddy and hilly conditions, as soldiers marched through thick jungle.

Later, during the Vietnam War, the simple but sturdy footwear became a symbol of the communist Viet Cong forces' ingenuity in their fight against the United States' military might.

Even in peacetime, the design remains popular for sustainability reasons, said Nguyen Duc Truong, who has spent his life crafting the shoes.

"I think there is still much potential for rubber sandals," the 58-year-old said.

 

- Rising popularity -

 

Vietnam is one of the world's top four countries for shoe manufacturing and its factories produce pairs for major brands such as Nike and Adidas.

The footwear export industry generated nearly $12 billion in the first half of this year, according to government figures.

While the humble rubber sandal does not quite generate the same revenue, it is high on heritage value and its popularity as a casual shoe is rising.

Vua Dep Lop, which started as a small business and became Vietnam's rubber sandal leader, sells the footwear for around $10 a pair.

At its workshop in Hanoi, shoemakers use sharp knives and chisels to craft the sandals from huge tyres that are almost the same height as the workers.

While the traditional black models are bestsellers, a colourful modern twist is helping the sandal appeal to a younger demographic.

Nguyen Tien Cuong took over the business from his father-in-law in 2011, and has sold more than half a million pairs of rubber sandals since then.

"We tried to make them softer and more fashionable. After changing the style and format, we started having more customers," he said.

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© Agence France-Presse

ViennaAustria-A group of octogenarian Austrians are celebrating after their hipster beers have become the toast of Vienna's old folks' homes.

Every morning, a group of about eight men and women gather in their Viennese retirement home to brew 150 bottles, but the beers have been so successful they are having trouble keeping up with demand.

"We meet up, talk about it (the beer), make jokes about it, and this way another day goes by -- a nice day," 87-year-old Rupert Jaksch told AFP.

"I like it very much because it is slightly sweet."

"I like to keep busy, it doesn't matter with what," said 88-year-old Ingeborg Zeller as she put on the labels. 

Although none of the pensioners have ever done any brewing before, the beers have been a hit, selling out in the cafeterias of 30 retirement homes across the Austrian capital.

Care workers at the Atzgersdorf home on the outskirts of Vienna help the residents with the brewing.

The beers are based on a Viennese recipe from 1841 and use only Austrian ingredients, said Christoph Gruber, who runs the project for the home's owners, Kuratorium Wiener Pensionisten-Wohnhaeuser (KWP).

Ironically, the beer project was set up to help residents maintain their motor skills and keep them fit mentally.

And the residents and the fans of their beers can drink to that...

 \\

Licking its lips imperiously, a ginger cat mops up every last morsel of food from its curly whiskers, clearly undaunted by its supper's rather unusual base ingredient—silkworm pupae.

The 15 feline residents of the Mao Thai Thai cat cafe in Taiwan are among volunteer taste testers sampling a new cat  developed by silkworm experts.

As well as making use of what was previously just a byproduct of silk production, the scientists say the food eliminates harmful intestinal bacteria—with the added bonus of reducing the odour of the cats' own byproducts.

"They have more energy and less smelly faeces, which is more than I expected," says the cafe's manager Rosa Su.

The food comes in various normal-sounding flavours—tuna and milkfish, beef and chicken—but the main protein component of the pink gloop is insect.

That doesn't seem to bother Su's cats, who clamour around her, impatient for their dinner.

The research team says much of the feedback from other owners involved in the trial has been positive too.

More than just fabric

At the century-old Miaoli Agricultural Research and Extension Station, where the food was created, hundreds of caterpillars wriggle around in trays as they munch on mulberry leaves.

The facility houses 136 different silkworm varieties from all over the world.

The pupa is the intermediate stage in their lifecycles, when they form cocoons to transition from larva to adult.

"When we see silkworms, we think of silk fabrics," researcher Liao Chiu-hsun tells AFP as she carefully slices the top off a silk cocoon to extract a squirming brown grub.

"But these highly domesticated insects have a lot more to offer."

The pupae are already rich in protein, fat and minerals, but the Miaoli team has also developed a technique to boost their content of immune proteins that kill harmful bacteria inside the host.

Stressing the silkworms and making them think they are in danger means they produce more of these proteins in the cocoon, after which they are harvested and turned into cat food.

Lucrative gloop

This innovative use of what was previously mainly a  could also be a potential lifeline for Taiwan's last remaining silkworm farmers.

They once numbered in the hundreds, but nowadays only two are still in business.

Hsu Wei-chun, 30, a third-generation farmer, says it is no longer economically feasible to cultivate the insects for fabric alone.

Mulberry leaves are already used to make tea, for example, and cocoons can be used in cosmetics.

"Our competitiveness comes from the ability to use everything," Hsu explains. "We make use of every portion to keep costs down."

The pet food market in Taiwan presents a lucrative opportunity—animal ownership is on the rise, and the economy around it is valued at more than US$1 billion.

A can of the  cat food sells for NT$68 (US$2.43), a little more than average canned wet food.

"Even though it's a bit more expensive... I feel the acceptance level for sustainable and eco-friendly canned (pet) food is quite high in Taiwan," says Lee Wei-ting, department head of Cultural Creativity and Digital Marketing at National United University.

And pet stores in Korea, Japan, Thailand and the United States have already expressed interest in the product as well.

The CEO of the company that started mass producing the new food a month ago says the response has been overwhelming.

"I feel pet owners nowadays are more focused on ingredients," says Eva Liu.

"We used crowdfunding in the beginning as a pre-sale. On the first day, within 24 hours we reached our preliminary goal."

 

LOS ANGELES - An escaped cow that went for a stroll along a California highway brought traffic to a halt, as drivers joined police in trying to capture the creature.

Live footage broadcast by one local TV station showed cars attempting to corral the brown bovine as it sauntered up an exit on the freeway northwest of Pasadena.

Motorists appeared at one point to have the fugitive penned, but when one of them got out of the car, the cow doubled back, and trotted onto the interstate.

Other footage from rival broadcasters showed the animal hoofing its way through a nearby strip mall after leaving the freeway, climbing a flight of stairs and even avoiding a waiting lasso.

Los Angeles' CBS affiliate reported that a police officer on a motorcycle then accompanied the cow for a short distance until it wandered to a local farm.

There, farmworkers -- presumably with more cow experience than city drivers and motorcycle cops -- managed to recapture the animal, the station said on its website.

 

 

 

KARUIZAWA, Japan – On Japan’s bullet trains, dogs usually have to travel in a carrier, but they could stretch their paws and enjoy the scenery on a special pet-friendly express.

At Ueno station in Tokyo, 21 furry passengers boarded the sleek shinkansen train for a one-hour ride to the resort town of Karuizawa with their owners.

“We’re having fun,” Yukari Seino, 48, told AFP, petting her seven-month-old chihuahua named Chobi, perched comfortably on her lap.

“We travel a lot together, but in the past I’ve felt bad about keeping my dog in a cage,” she said, adding that the journey had been stress-free so far.

Other four-legged day trippers on board the first ever “doggy holiday” service run by Japan Railways included Pomeranians, a terrier and a pointy-eared, cheerful-looking Shiba Inu.

“It’s like we’re at home. I’m happy we can ride the train without worrying,” said 39-year-old Yoko Okubo, who joined the trip with her corgi.

Pets are allowed on the shinkansen but they must be kept inside a holder, and their total weight including the cage must not exceed 10 kilograms (22 pounds).

A whole carriage was dedicated to the pooches on Saturday’s tour, a pilot project organised by railway company JR East and its subsidiary JR East Start Up.

They are keen to organise more regular pet-friendly excursions in the future, Start Up official Shino Furukawa told AFP.

“We’ve received requests from customers who want to have a relaxing time with their dogs on the train,” she said.

“We want to create an environment where people can live in harmony with their pets, who are part of the family. This is a big step towards making pet-friendly public transport a reality.”

Japanese trains are famous for being spotlessly clean, and one of the biggest challenges was to maintain the impeccable standards on board, she said.

Staff put plastic covers on all the seats and brought four air purifiers into the carriage, which will be spruced up after the trip to remove all dog hair.

 

 

 
 

In Taichung, Taiwan, Jerry Huang can be seen walking his pet goldfish in the park. After seeing people take snakes, lizards, and even spiders for walks, Huang wondered if aquatic creatures could “explore other worlds” as well. That’s why he invented a goldfish stroller: a goldfish tank with wheels, which consists of a large, water-filled acrylic cylinder for the fish, with a battery-powered filtration and an oxygen system mounted on a purpose-built cart. Huang is confident his goldfish enjoy their new adventures.

 

Paris (AFP) – Summer is here, which means the silly season is in full swing in Europe.

 

As daredevils from around the world try to outrun half-tonne bulls in the Spanish city of Pamplona we look at some of the other weird and wonderful festivals coming up.

Tomato riot

On August 31, huge crowds of tourists and locals are expected to hurl tomatoes at each other during the annual "Tomatina" festival in Bunol, eastern Spain.

Usually involving some 160 tonnes of ripe tomatoes, it has been billed "the world's biggest food fight".

It has become a major draw for tourists from as far away as Japan and the United States.

World air guitar championships

Some 20 hopefuls from around the world will strut the stage in fancy dress strumming furiously on an imaginary guitar, in Oulu not far from the Arctic circle in Finland, from August 24-26.


Rob "Donald Trump" Palmer, Thailand's choice to compete at this year's World Air Guitar Championships in Finland
Among this year's contestants will be Rob Palmer, who will represent Thailand with his pouting impression of former US president Donald Trump playing Green Day's "American Idiot".

According to the competition's ideology wars would end, climate change stop and all bad things disappear if everyone in the world played air guitar.

Bog snorkelling bonanza

On August 28, 150 of the world's top bogsnorkellers will don masks, snorkels, flippers and sometimes fancy dress to swim two lengths of a 55-metre murky peat bog outside Llanwrtyd Wells in mid Wales as quickly as possible.

A competitor at the World Bog Snorkling Championships in Wales swims with a toilet on his back at the 2016 event
A competitor at the World Bog Snorkling Championships in Wales swims with a toilet on his back at the 2016 event 
More than three decades after its inception the event attracts competitors from Sweden, Germany, the Czech Republic and Australia, according to Visitwales.com.

Lonely Planet has described it as one of the world's top 50 "must do" experiences. The time to beat is current champion Neil Rutter's record of 1 minute 18.23 seconds.

Pig imitation festival

France's annual pig imitation festival gets under way in the Pyrenees village of Trie-sur-Baise on August 14.

The national champion is the person who delivers the best series of grunts, squeaks, squeals and oinks, illustrating the high points in a pig's existence.

The event also involves piglet racing and black pudding-eating competitions.

Garlic and basil fair

 

Since the Middle Ages garlic and basil producers and aficionados have flocked to the central French city of Tours on St Anne's Day, July 26.

Some 250 traders will this year tout mounds of braided bulbs of white, pink and purple garlic and pots of assorted varieties of basil -- from lemon to cinnamon, purple and Thai -- in one of the gastronomic city's oldest neighbourhoods.

 

Track and field stars are hoping a maiden world championships on US soil will shine the light on athletes in a country where athletics is dwarfed by the big money sports of American football, basketball and baseball.

The irony for many American athletes is that they are generally far better known in Europe, where many spend large chunks of their season travelling on a circuit that takes in some of the most iconic track stadiums in front of some of the sport's most avid fans.

But hope burns that the July 15-23 world champs in Eugene, Oregon, the birthplace of US sporting goods giant Nike, will shift the spotlight.

"Most of the time walking around (in the US) nobody knows who track athletes are," lamented Sandi Morris, an American pole vaulter who has won multiple medals on the global stage.

"You can walk up to a random stranger in the street and ask them who Allyson Felix is and no, they would have no idea."

Morris, speaking to reporters in Eugene on Wednesday, was referring to her US teammate who has a record world haul of 18 career medals and 11 Olympic podium finishes, including seven gold.

Armand "Mondo" Duplantis might compete for Sweden, but the world pole vault record holder was born and raised in the United States.

"The whole of the United States probably I can be a little bit more annonymous," he said from his US base in Indianapolis where he admitted to being well known.

"Being in Sweden and in the United States and seeing the difference in the the way I live in both is quite different."

 

- Just reality -

 

Wider anonymity, Duplantis added, was "just the reality of the situation".

"They have so many big sports here in baseball, football and basketball and that doesn't leave so much room for that many more and I guess track and field is more perceived as an Olympic sport.

"The Olympics are very huge in the United States and if you're able to win the Olympics or even go to the Olympics, it's a very big deal, the biggest thing you can do as a track and field athlete in the United States."

Morris admitted that athletics "for some reason had taken a back seat", but was in her opinion slowly changing.

"Part because of social media and our own ability to broadcast our experience and educate Americans about the fact there's a professional track circuit, you can make a living doing this," the two-time world indoor champion said.

"I mean you'd just laugh at the questions, 'You make a living pole-vaulting? No! What do you do for a living?!'"

Duplantis argued that "having the world championships in the United States this year to try and bring them and not just Olympics into the mainstream can be a really good thing for track and field".

Morris echoed his sentiments, saying it was a "huge opportunity".

"We just have to keep the positivity and keep sharing our sport to as many Americans as possible.

"Most Americans only know one thing about track and field and it's the Olympics.

"It's about educating them and bringing the world championships into the forefront and putting it on television and just getting it in front of the American crowd in general... we're introducing new fans to the sport."

lp/rcw

© Agence France-Presse

 

 Riyadh (AFP) – When President Joe Biden arrives in Saudi Arabia, the first clues about his visit will be visible on the airport tarmac, where US leaders have received markedly different welcomes.
 
 Following Biden's oft-cited comment about making Saudi a "pariah", here is a look at how the Saudis have greeted some of his predecessors during the ups and downs of a stormy bilateral relationship.

A kiss for George W.

George W. Bush waited until the last year of his term to visit the kingdom, then came twice in the span of four months, pressing for more oil output as energy prices skyrocketed.


King Abdullah greeted Bush warmly at the airport in May 2008, showing no signs of the tensions that had roiled their 2002 meeting at Bush's Texas ranch –- when Abdullah, then crown prince, threatened to storm out over disagreements about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

After Bush and his wife Laura descended from Air Force One, Abdullah kissed the president on both cheeks, in a traditional Arab greeting, and a military brass band played the American national anthem.

But the Saudi leadership refused to give ground on oil. Much like today, Saudi officials said they did not believe there was a supply shortage and that market fundamentals were "sound".

Obama's downgrade

President Barack Obama first came to Riyadh in 2009, less than five months after being sworn in, for a quick stop ahead of a much-hyped speech in Cairo intended to rehabilitate Washington's image in the Muslim world after the Bush years.

The visit was partly symbolic. Obama, following the customary cheek-kissing and anthem-playing, was publicly seeking the advice of Saudi Arabia -- home to the holiest sites in Islam -- before reorienting American engagement with the region.


But Obama was also trying to coordinate a strategy to address Iran's nuclear programme and looking to advance normalisation between Arab countries and Israel, said Dan Shapiro, then-senior director on the National Security Council.

On the latter question, "Abdullah was not receptive, and he made clear that he was not prepared to make any significant moves in that direction", said Shapiro, now with the Atlantic Council think tank.

US-Saudi ties grew chilly under Obama as the 2015 deal to curb Iran's nuclear programme took shape.

For a visit in 2016, towards the end of Obama's term, King Salman –- who took power the previous year after Abdullah's death –- sent the governor of Riyadh to meet him on the tarmac, and Obama's arrival was not broadcast on state television.

Trump-era glow

That greeting was a far cry from the effusive reception given to President Donald Trump, who chose Saudi Arabia for his first foreign trip the following year.

Saudi rulers lavished the Trump family with gifts, a sword dance and a fly-past of air force jets.

But the stop will forever be remembered for the viral photo of Trump, King Salman and Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi with their hands on a translucent white globe at the opening of a Riyadh-based centre to combat extremist ideology.

The men kept their hands on the orb for nearly two full minutes, sending the internet into overdrive with parodies and memes.


"The welcome for Trump is likely to stand as the most overwhelming ever," said Bruce Riedel, author of the 2017 book "Kings and Presidents" examining US-Saudi ties.

The relationship suffered later in the Trump term, especially following what the Saudis perceived as Trump's tepid response to attacks on Saudi oil facilities in 2019 claimed by Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen.

But Riedel said Saudi leaders remain "close" to key figures from the Trump era, notably his son-in-law Jared Kushner.

A hug for Biden?

Unlike during the Obama era, it would be unsurprising if Biden, 79, is welcomed at the airport by King Salman, 86, who spent much of the pandemic in relative isolation and has already been hospitalised twice this year.

The White House has said Biden will meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the context of a larger discussion with King Salman's leadership team, but Riedel said there was a possibility the crown prince will also "be the welcome committee".

"The Saudis are determined that the visit is a validation of the crown prince. They control the venue," he said.

Riyadh dismisses the notion that Saudi leaders need a legitimacy boost from Biden, but the president can nonetheless expect to be received warmly, said Mohammed Alyahya, senior fellow at the Washington-based Hudson Institute.

"The Saudis realise that America is in a very confused time. Sometimes you hear irrational things that don't make sense. But there are larger, more important interests at play than focusing on something like that," Alyahya said.

"When your friends are being incoherent, sometimes you give them a hug."

 Staten Island (United States) (AFP) – Baseball is America's national pastime, but in New York, a cricket club is celebrating 150 years not out thanks to the city's large immigrant communities.

Staten Island Cricket Club (SICC) is the oldest continuously active cricket club in the United States, with matches played there every year since it was founded in 1872 by British armed forces officers and Wall Street traders.

Along the way, it has hosted some of the game's greats, including Don Bradman, Geoffrey Boycott and Garry Sobers.

"There's plenty to be proud of in a non-cricket-playing country to have a club that has withstood the test of time. It's not been easy," says 92-year-old president Clarence Modeste.


A scoreboard is displayed during a match at the Staten Island Cricket Club in New York City.

SICC has survived two world wars, the loss of a clubhouse to fire and the Covid-19 pandemic. It has also navigated rudimentary facilities and indifference from local officials.

Before each match at the club's home ground of Walker Park, city-run since the 1930s, players nail down a canvas matting wicket and hammer in stumps.

Grass several inches high in the field forces batters to lift the ball rather than hit the groundstrokes that many of the club's 80-odd members learned to play as youngsters.

"You can't hit a lovely cover drive. It won't go anywhere," laments 66-year-old Charu Choudhari, who nonetheless travels two hours from his home on Long Island to play.


Staten Island Cricket Club has played at Walker Park for more than 100 years 

A footpath marks the boundary while shots that hit the leaves of a large tree are deemed a six. Bowling is only allowed from one end due to homeowners worried about well-struck balls hitting their property.

"This is the sort of handicap one faces," says Modeste, who hopes to persuade the parks department to erect netting 40 feet (12 meters) high so both ends can be used.

When Trinidad and Tobago-born Modeste joined SICC in 1961, some 90 percent of members were white -- mostly British, with some Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans.

Today, the overwhelming majority are people of color from cricket-loving countries in South Asia such as India and Sri Lanka, and the Caribbean.


Staten Island Cricket Club players prepare the wicket before their home matches at Walker Park in New York City.

For many, the club is a connection to home.

"It means everything to me. Whenever I play cricket, I remember always my country," says 50-year-old Sunil Nayyar, who moved to the United States from New Delhi 30 years ago.

T20 World Cup

The club has one or two American-born players, like Staten Island native Billy Teague, who joined recently. The 60-year-old wishes he'd known about cricket when he was growing up.


New York City has America's liveliest cricket scene with around 100 matches every weekend, like this one on Staten Island on June 11, 2022 
"I thought it was no different than croquet. It just seemed like a weird, strange game and now I'm in love with it," he says.

Cricket was popular in the United States in the 1800s but declined as bat-and-ball cousin baseball soared in popularity, partly because it was quicker.

Today, there are just 200,000 cricketers in America, according to governing body USA Cricket, representing less than one percent of the population.

Officials hope interest will be spurred when the United States hosts matches in the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

SSIC has a youth program for players aged five to 18, and Modeste believes cricket will only grow in America when it is introduced into schools.

"As long as cricket is replenished mainly with migrants rather than with homegrown stock, I think it will be extremely difficult to find the success that many of us have dreamt of for the game," he says.


A general view shows the Staten Island cricket club during a match on July 11, 2022 with the Manhattan skyline in the background 
New York City boasts the country's liveliest scene, with an estimated 100 matches taking place every weekend during warmer months.

SICC is at the heart of it. As well as competing in domestic leagues, the club welcomes sides from abroad and conducts its own tours overseas.

Batting great Bradman was part of an Australian team that played at Walker Park in 1932 while Sobers led an international XI there in 1988.


Staten Island Cricket Club players lay down a matting wicket before a match on June 11, 2022 
This weekend, SICC will celebrate its sesquicentennial year with a plaque unveiling and a match against a Philadelphia team.

Modeste attributes the club's longevity to stable beginnings and international recognition.

"The club is known around the world and we continue to make sure that happens," he says.

The Foreign Post is the newspaper of the International Community in the Philippines, published for foreign residents, Internationally-oriented Filipinos, and visitors to the country. It is written and edited to inform, to entertain, occasionally to educate, to provide a forum for international thinkers.

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