France -- Activities promoting Vietnamese culture were held in Languidic city which was co-hosted by Languidic City Hall along with Art Space Association and Vietnam Bretagne Sud Association included a series of events to introduce Vietnamese culture in French schools Performances included pieces on Vietnamese traditional and contemporary art and the puppet play 'The Legend of Bánh Chưng and Bánh Dày' at the City Library The event is part of the international cultural exchange and community project Toucher Arts organised by the Art Space association with the participation of 33 members who are 13-17-year-old students from Việt Nam, Canada Attending the programme were Laurent Duval and nearly 1,000 French people interested in Vietnamese culture living in Languidic and neighbouring cities such as Lorient French people in Morbihan province had the opportunity to participate in many activities to learn and explore Vietnamese culture in a diverse and colourful way including listening to Vietnamese fairy tales retold t the central library of Languidic city.  With the desire to convey the beauty of the Vietnamese language and Vietnam's cultural traditions to international friends Toucher Arts project members chose a familiar story about the Tet holiday 'The Legend of Bánh Chưng and Bánh Dày'  combined with the form of puppet theatre so that all ages could participate French children and their families were also excited to answer questions about Vietnamese culture to receive gifts and to discover Vietnamese traditions and customs creating and drawing the puppet theatre stage storytelling and workshop instruction were completed by Vietnamese-origin young students of Toucher Arts project from all over the world It took the entire team three months to prepare for this project before coming to France Director of the Languidic music school and library said: “The show is greatly presented The young audience watched the show attentively and were extremely excited." With the theme of Vietnamese customs and traditions Vietnamese in France and French friends in áo dài took part in the parade to introduce traditions in Vietnamese culture such as Mid-Autumn Festival and the Lunar New Year They recreated many unique images such as giving lucky money envelopes The parade is also organised on a large scale and receives the support of the community of French people who live in the surrounding areas a concert titled 'Vietnamese Colours' took place to introduce to French audiences at the festival to the beauty of Vietnamese music and art.  Participating in the event was the traditional martial arts club Minh Long Mordelles from the city of Mordelles with a performance called 'One round of Vietnam' combining martial arts and art and performers from the Vietnamese Cultural Centre in Paris with traditional bamboo musical instruments. Designer Ella Phan also presented an áo dài collection called 'The flow' inspired by different historical periods Folk dance and contemporary dance performances by Vietnamese students and French children helped introduce Vietnamese music to international friends in a youthful and unique way The Festival is not only an opportunity to introduce Vietnamese culture but is also considered an important event connecting the Vietnamese community living in all five continents to gather in France to promote their homeland's culture to international friends In addition to the French community that loves Vietnam and overseas Vietnamese living in many neighboring cities such Nantes and Rennes there was the participation of 33 Vietnamese and Vietnamese students aged from 13 to 17 years old Australia and Japan.Mayor of Languidic Laurent Duval said: “I find this to be an extremely interesting and unique event as you have gathered dozens of young Vietnamese people from all over the world to come here and participate in the organisation "I am very happy to welcome Vietnamese culture to the Breton region and also look forward to having the opportunity to share Breton culture with the Vietnamese people one day.” VNS had the opportunity to explore and learn about the 2nd Vietnam Festival which was held at the locality at the end of June The event was part of the Toucher Arts community project promoting international cultural exchange found by the ART SPACE Association with the participation of 33 members including Vietnamese students and students of Vietnamese origin aged 13-17 from Vietnam Toucher Arts project members chose a familiar story about the Tet holiday “Su tich banh chung banh day” (The Legend of Banh Chung and Banh Day) combined with the form of puppet theater for their presentation French children and their families were so excited to answer questions about Vietnamese culture to receive gifts and gain a deeper knowledge of Vietnam's traditional customs and workshop instruction were implemented by young people of Vietnamese origin in the Toucher Arts project The performances of folk and contemporary dance by Vietnamese students and French children introduced Vietnamese music to international friends The Vietnam Festival is not only an opportunity to introduce Vietnamese culture and people but is also regarded as a significant event that connects the Vietnamese community living throughout the world President of ART SPACE Association and Head of the Organization Board said that it took several months to prepare for Vietnam Festival with the participation and support of many volunteers and collaborators from around the world including French volunteers from the Morbihan region artists from the Vietnam Cultural Center in Paris and martial arts instructors from the Minh Long club in the Mordelles City the event received significant support from the French residents at each location where it took place Members of the Toucher Arts project were honored with a certificate from the Mayor of Languidic City to recognize their contributions to promoting Vietnamese culture in France and bringing great value to the French community The Vietnam Festival is the last destination of the cultural promotion journey for the 2024 project ART SPACE Association successfully organized Vietnam Weeks in Nantes collaborating with major partners such as the Vietnam Cultural Center in France and the International Relations Department of Saint Herblain City In the cultural promotion activities in France in 2024 it is estimated that ART SPACE events approach nearly 10,000 French people Laurent Duval enthusiastically said that he had a wonderful evening to enjoy Vietnamese music He affirmed that the Vietnam Festival is an extremely interesting event for gathering Vietnamese young people from around the world to participate in organizing the program Students in the Languidic City of Bretagne region were very happy to welcome Vietnamese youth The Vietnam Festival was first organized in 2023 in the Larmor-Plage city of France's Morbihan ART SPACE plans to organize this annual event in various cities across France Besides promoting the beauty of Vietnamese culture ART SPACE hopes to receive support and response from the international community to assist in volunteer work at orphanages and facilities for disabled people in Vietnam Ministry of Information and Communications Receive our weekly Newsletterand set tailored daily news alerts Mechanically robust and electrically conductive materials pave the way for a wide range of future applications Transport/​Aerospace, Industrial part of the Belgian headquartered Procotex Group has completed the commissioning of a fully automated mass production plant for recycled carbon fibres in Languidic This follows the acquisition of the short carbon fibre business of the UK’s ELG in 2021 The 16,500-square-metre plant has a nameplate capacity of 4,000 tons of high-quality recycled carbon products and a separate adjacent site is focused on increasing the production capacity for recycled aramid fibres With its exceptional strength-to-weight ratio carbon fibre has found a variety of applications sports equipment and renewable energy sectors Traditional carbon fibre manufacturing processes are energy-intensive and generate a considerable amount of waste the disposal of carbon-fibre composites often leads to landfilling or incineration As industries strive to align with sustainability goals a growing demand for sustainable carbon fibre products has led to a critical need for more efficient and environmentally friendly ways of producing and recycling carbon fibre materials Apply Carbon’s new plant is currently producing close to 2,000 of recycled carbon fibre annually with the goal of achieveing 4,000 tons once fully utilised It currently holds a stock of approximately 3,000 metric tons of raw materials to ensure high product quality The production area for recycled para-aramid fibres has an annual production capacity exceeding 700 metric tons of milled and granulated aramid products to help meet the rapidly increasing demand for abrasion-resistant polymer compounds used in friction and wear applications and for aramid pulp used in low-wear and dust-free brake pads The company’s investment has also been geared towards achieving new standards in terms of both manufacturing and energy efficiency “Virtually all production processes – from the milling of raw materials to the granulation cutting and packaging of finished products – have been automated to ensure cost-effectiveness and batch-to-batch reproducibility,” says CEO Hervé Cayuela Latest-generation heat pumps are used to power the advanced drying ovens a SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system has been implemented to minimise energy use across the entire plant and the installation of 1 MW of solar power capacity will ensure that more than half of the factory’s energy demand will be covered by renewable energy we have achieved a milestone in the mass-conversion of carbon fibre waste into affordable high-quality reusable products,” adds commercial director Bruno Douchy “Our differentiated portfolio of lightweight mechanically robust and electrically conductive materials is paving the way for a wide range of key future applications.” Apply Carbon has seen its revenues from recycled carbon fibres double over the past five years This growth is not expected to diminish in the foreseeable future as new applications in electronics (antistatic packaging) the automotive sector (electromagnetic interference shielding) 3D printing (metal replacement) and hydrogen (fuel cells) further catalyse demand will enable the recycling of post-consumer ‘end-of-life’ carbon feedstock in addition to the current post-industrial carbon waste https://en.procotex.com Prospecting for gold could begin in four communes in Brittany in the coming months after a Canadian mining company asked for an ‘exclusive research permit’ to dig in the area All have received multiple visits and a permit request from Canadian mining company which is itself owned by Aurania Resources Limited has managed mining exploration across nearly 20 countries for 39 years He targets gold and rare metals such as lithium “We never expected to receive an application for a mining permit one day,” he said.  Explaining his interest in these areas of Brittany Dr Barron said: “I think there were gold resources in ancient Gaul that we've lost track of.” His company met with the mayors of the communes in November in a bid to explain the steps that it would take to search the ground and last November applied for a permis exclusif de recherche (PER This is necessary for any exploration to take place with representatives from all town councils The mayor of Nostang said: “We were told that this is a research permit to allow drones which could eventually lead to more extensive drilling over a hundred metres square or so.” The commune authorities are now considering the French mining code as this requires "various steps such as public consultation and environmental issues” to be considered “before any resources are exploited” “Because [any mining] is likely to generate major environmental problems.” The state will have the final say on whether the mining can take place Dr Barron is definitely hopeful of finding some treasures in the land.  In a video interview with a mining specialist he has already shared a 3.5kg rock containing 1kg of gold which was found in Languidic in 1875 by road workers repairing a road using rocks This went on display at the Natural History Museum in Paris in November I was very intrigued by it,” said Dr Barron He also shared another piece from a similar area and time He added that his extensive research in French archives has led him to believe that Julius Caesar’s Gallic wars - between the years 58 and 52 BC - suggest that there is gold in ‘ancient Gaul’.  “Julius Caesar went to war against many Gallic nations and came back very rich," said Dr Barron "We're going to work with the French authorities and I hope we'll find a lot more than what I have in my hand [here with this rock]." The gold prospector is also keen to look for other materials in other countries “These are minerals that we're going to look for in Russia President Macron has launched a major plan for electric batteries so we're going to need lithium and rare metals,” he said we’ve filed for the mineral rights over this area Brittany has its own share of gold prospectors who is considered to be an expert in the Kervignac area He has found more than 2kg of gold in his searches over a 10-year period “There's a gold triangle in central Brittany around Pontivy, Loudéac and Mûr de Bretagne," he told France 3 “But this is what we call ‘alluvial’ gold.” ‘Alluvial’ means the gold was formed by streams and is rarely pure gold Mr Le Queré also said that the area has gold that is found in quartz ‘veins’ which results from “major geological upheavals,” he said.  “I know that there is a large quartz line that runs under Languidic and the Blavet," he says Rare metals are becoming more and more necessary for the manufacture of electronics and the price of gold has soared by more than 500% in 20 years The sale of gold is highly regulated in France We give tips to make the most of the booming market Haul of gold bars and royal coins was not declared to customs officials is set to be reinvested in a new hotel-restaurant as part of plans to ‘re-dynamise’ the town centre Jason Lemon is a Senior Politics Editor at Newsweek based in Brooklyn, New York politics and international affairs. He joined Newsweek in 2018 and had previously worked as an editor at a Middle Eastern media startup called StepFeed He also worked a year as a contributor to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and has bylines in The Christian Science Monitor Al Fanar Media and A Magazine. He is a graduate of the American University of Beirut in Lebanon and Andrews University in Michigan You can get in touch with Jason by emailing j.lemon@newsweek.com either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content Police in India plans to have a Pakistani pigeon x-rayed due to suspicions it may have carried coded messages or a tiny spying device across the border The pigeon landed near a security post close to the India-Pakistan border, The Times of India reported on Monday as border officers feared it could have been sent as a spy or to deliver messages explained that the bird had been handed over to his forces and that he would ensure that an x-ray is conducted militants and drug smugglers routinely use pigeons to send messages across the Punjab border Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune reported that Indian officials often suspect pigeons fly across the border on nefarious missions Indian security officers claimed they had caught a "spy pigeon" sent from Pakistan the bird reportedly escaped back across the border due to negligence police encountered a pigeon they reported carried a secret message written in Urdu police actually clipped the wings of pigeon to prevent it from escaping That unfortunate bird also allegedly carried a secret note Back in 2015, a similar instance occurred as well, the BBC reported the bird was discovered two miles from the border carrying an Urdu message and a Pakistani phone number Although the idea of birds carrying secret messages may seem a bit bizarre in the age of text messages and social media, pigeons were commonly used to transmit information for centuries. The birds were even used regularly in World War II. One pigeon was even credited with saving the lives of a British bomber crew the bomber crashed into the North Sea about 100 miles from the base the men faced the cold reality of freezing to death in the frigid waters they managed to send off their secret weapon – a carrier pigeon Although the exhausted bird wasn't carrying a message and didn't make it all the way home Calculating using the time difference between the plane crash and the arrival of the bird a rescue team managed to find the downed aircraft and save the crew A veterinary charity even rewarded the bird for its bravery Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsletters in your inbox See all France, a nation of farmers who trace their traditions back to medieval times, cultivates the soil with pride. Photographer Jonathan Alpeyrie set out to tell the stories of farmers struggling under what they see as restrictive rules from Brussels and a flagging global economy This combination has led to a psychological rift with a new world order which farmers say values profit over quality. Their sense of desperation leads not just to revolt but to a wave of suicides in farming communities. Hundreds of French farmers take their own lives each year often leaving a family without its breadwinner Languidic didn’t dream of becoming a farmer He got a master’s degree in law and taught economics in Brittany until he began to find higher education too institutionalized Returning to university to focus on agriculture he worked on dairy farms until he came across a listing for a farm in a local paper in early 2012 It was hard work and by August 2013 his business partner called it quits Languidic was unable to find a replacement Young people who want to become farmers are increasingly rare They prefer to work in cities where they can earn more 32 cows on Languidic’s farm died of heart disease Languidic and his wife found themselves unable to keep up with mounting bills The bank called to tell him the farm would move into foreclosure and froze his bank account and credit cards “I’m going to kill myself,” he told his wife more than once over the next few weeks tied a noose and threw it over a high beam in the barn he found himself unable to go through with it Languidic decided to share his thoughts and despair with family and friends They assured him that his work was important and running the farm costs €300,000 a year while her husband traveled to Canada to start his own career They borrowed money to buy a farm on 60 hectares and transformed it into a dairy farm with Charolaise cows Their Gouda cheese production helped save the business when milk prices dropped and money got tight Albert died of a heart attack last September and went into the field to check on my cows,” she recalls She has given herself a year to see if she can keep afloat financially She is heartbroken at the prospect of leaving the farm where she has worked for 30 years 25 percent of locals now vote for the National Front but says there is no longer any “respect for the work that we are doing.” In 10 years Roze went into the farming business because his parents were farmers My mother made me help her as soon as he died I became a man like that.” As a teenager in Malestroit he wanted to follow his friends to university They were hit hard by the 2009 milk crisis he was diagnosed with cancer — a battle he managed to win He says the cancer was likely brought on by his exposure to pesticides: He started working with pesticides the whole world seemed to be against him: He was heavily in debt “The expression on his face was very strange His eyes were wide open as well as his mouth I will have this image in my head all my life The following year it was very hard for me Noel thinks his cousin killed himself partly because of increased regulation on the industry His father forced him to go into the family business came to Allier 30 years ago as travailleurs agricoles and operate a dairy farm with 180 milk-producing cows Their main challenge is constant control from the PAC (politique agricole commune) and they live in fear of having to pay penalties for breaching rules They deal with authorities at least three times a year Grad also takes issue with EU standardization regarding cheese made of raw milk — regulating it would seriously undermine the French identity The EU does not understand farmers’ concerns or take into account the conditions that affect production in different regions And cows that eat less grass will produce less But farmers are all affected by the same regulations so they realize what it means to be a farmer,” Grad says Many French farmers have tried to build large farms with over 1,000 cows — a number still dwarfed by Germany where farms tend to have closer to 3,000 cows There have been suicides in the Allier region A farmer in the village next to hers recently killed himself under pressure from debt and chronic illness Alloin’s biggest challenge is the Russian embargo: Polish farmers no longer sell to Russia and have turned where Alloin once did most of her business She also notices great frustration with Brussels “We are not allowed to cultivate our land the way we used to,” Alloin says she would have to ask permission from the EU — which would be unlikely to grant it farmers could produce the crop of their choice “Brussels always fix everything so nothing changes.” Over-regulation “will kill us in the end,” she says She spends more and more time on paperwork and the French consumption of meat has dropped 2 percent in a year as we do not know if we are going to survive.” leaving the EU is not an option either: “If we exit the EU He tried to commit suicide during the milk crisis in 2009 “Many people think that we do not treat our animals right It is important for the farmer to develop a good relationship with his animals Raffray tries to feed his cows only high quality food he had felt harassed by regulation in Brussels “You don’t have the freedom that the peasants once had You have to ask for everything.” The farmer is at the mercy of the local authorities Raffray’s suicide attempt brought him closer to his family: “It is our families that allow us to continue to move forward otherwise even more [farmers] would kill themselves.” Raffray manages to pay himself €600 every month to live and take care of his children He is currently trying to help pay for a car for his son either the politicians change and start helping farmers “If the transatlantic treaty [TTIP] goes through most of the agriculture sector will be destroyed Company will transfer ELG’s machinery and carbon fibre stocks from the UK to the Plouay site Transport/​Aerospace, Sustainable part of Belgium’s Procotex Corporation is to expand its production of recycled carbon fibres and integrated the recent acquisition of the short carbon fibre business of ELG UK at its plant in Plouay The company’s 15,600 square-metre facility was built in 2014 with 90,000 square-metres of expansion space which will now be utilised in helping to address the growing market for recycled carbon fibres the expansion of the Plouay site has created tremendous economic growth and opportunities for Apply Carbon,” said Bruno Douchy The production site at Languidic in France and the transfer of the machinery and carbon fibre stocks of ELG UK will gradually be integrated into the Plouay site Apply Carbon is a leader in the production of sustainable technical fibres such as carbon and is providing solutions for many key markets including compounding Procotex ranks number one in the industry of carbon fibre recycling following the takeover of the assets of the short fibre business of ELG UK soft post-industrial carbon waste is sourced from the major producers or processers of carbon fibre and then converted into a wide range of recycled products including milled An appropriate surface treatment applied during the manufacturing process ensures full compatibility with the matrix polymer in the final compound – polypropylene Procotex Corporation aims to be a provider of sustainable carbon fibre products that offer customers and their partners adequate performance levels at an attractive total cost of ownership both standard products as well as tailor-made solutions can be offered and the company is pursuing a development roadmap that is centred around three key aspects – product performance “The expansion of the facility in Plouay and the integration of the machines stocks and business of ELG UK will complete the next strategic step in our remaining the leading sustainable carbon fibre supplier across diverse applications materials and product lines,” said Hervé Cayuela “A full range of pyrolysed and non-pyrolysed milled and granulated recycled fibres will be available.” www.procotex.com www.procotex.com Cecence secures £500,000 investment for rail expansion Swiss composite manufacturer signs new deal to deliver first Seabubble direct to your inbox.Be the first to know.