World
First panda cub born in France makes public debut
Saint-Aignan (France), Jan 13 (IANS) Five-month-old Yuan Meng, the first giant panda cub born in France, made its public debut on Saturday at the Beauval Zoo here in central France.
The male baby panda, born on August 4, appeared alongside its mother Huan Huan behind a glass wall in their lavish home adorned with Chinese lanterns and rockeries, amid cheers, Xinhua news agency reported.
The name “Yuan Meng”, meaning “the realisation of a dream” in Chinese, was given to the baby panda in December at a ceremony attended by its “Godmother”, France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron.
A large group of fans were attracted to the zoo to get a first glimpse of the panda cub. Hundreds of people were seen queuing at the entrance around 9 a.m., an hour before the zoo opened.
Delphine Delord, chief of communication at the zoo, took the opportunity to brief the first visitors on the challenging reproduction process of pandas, and the protection of the endangered animals.
“We have been trying artificial insemination for years, and the birth of Yuan Meng was a success in the protection of pandas,” Delord said.
Yuan Meng has grown from only 142 grams at birth to 11 kg over the past months, and is doing very well physically, she added.
Two Chinese zookeepers are currently staying in Beauval to train their French colleagues on how to take care of the baby panda.
The parents of Yuan Meng, Huan Huan and Yuan Zi, arrived in France in January 2012 on a 10-year loan from China.
Since the couple’s arrival, the number of visitors to the Beauval Zoo has doubled, and is expected to have reached 1.5 million in 2017, Delord told Xinhua.
“With the debut of Yuan Meng, we expect more visitors in 2018,” she said.
There are fewer than 2,000 pandas living in the wild, while around 400 live in captivity, according to China’s State Forestry Administration.
–IANS
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National
Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok
Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.