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GMA Network
27-06-2025
- GMA Network
Sa Pa, Vietnam might be the soul-reset young professionals need
When you're used to fast-paced weekends in overfamiliar places, Sa Pa offers something surprisingly different: a sense of stillness, but never boredom. Nestled in the northern highlands of Vietnam, this destination blends peace, purpose, and exploration in one unforgettable stop. We traveled there last June, and stepping into Sa Pa was like walking into a storybook. The air was crisp, the hills were lined with mist-covered terraces, and the landscape seemed to stretch forever. Situated in Lao Cai Province, Sa Pa pairs natural wonder with a deep-rooted cultural history. It's an ideal destination for professionals looking to unplug from screens and reconnect through nature, local encounters, and scenic treks. Even the trip to get there felt like part of the adventure. From Hanoi, we boarded a sleeper bus with fully reclining beds and built-in electric massages. Shoes stay off once you're inside, and the driver hands out plastic foot covers. During the two rest stops along the five-hour journey, you can use the free slippers so there's no need to fumble with footwear. Everything was efficient, and once we arrived, a shuttle was already waiting to bring us to our hotel. From there, getting around was easy: the streets were walkable, the locals warm, and the pace of life slow enough to actually enjoy the moment. As you settle in, you might notice something interesting about the town's name. The correct Vietnamese spelling is 'Sa Pa' with a space, though many signs show it as 'Sapa.' Don't worry—locals understand both, and you'll see the name used interchangeably all over town. Culture below, clouds above: The two worlds waiting in Sa Pa There's a stillness to Sa Pa that grows on you. At the heart of town stands a weathered French colonial church, set against a dramatic mountain backdrop. Surrounding it are cozy restaurants and laid-back shops where you can sample everything from steaming bowls of pho to European comfort dishes. The food is fresh and balanced; perfect for vegans or anyone who enjoys a healthy mix of meat, greens, and herbs. While wandering, we even bumped into fellow Filipinos, some swapping language tips with locals, like thank you and salamat. To our surprise, many vendors already knew the word. It was a small but heartwarming sign of how cultures continue to connect. Just a short walk away lies Cat Cat Village, home to the Black Hmong people. The path winds through traditional wooden homes where you can see locals dyeing indigo fabric by hand and crafting their signature textiles. There's also a cultural show that brings the village's stories to life through dance and performance. Trying on the tribe's traditional attire is encouraged, and the experience is refreshingly genuine rather than staged. But what truly leaves a mark is the journey up Fansipan—the tallest mountain in Vietnam, often called the 'Roof of Indochina.' This adventure is part of Sun World Fansipan Legend, a mountaintop resort that blends modern travel with traditional soul. It kicks off at the Hotel de la Coupole, followed by a scenic funicular ride through hills and tunnels. Then comes the main event: the Fansipan cable car, one of the longest and highest in the world. Suspended above forests and clouds, the 15-minute ascent delivers quiet, breathtaking views. At the summit, the atmosphere shifts. Mist hangs low as you climb stone steps past temples, pagodas, and enormous Buddha statues. Prayer flags flutter quietly, and the air feels still and reverent. Whether you visit between March and June or during the cooler months of September to November, the journey stays unforgettable. Even in the fog, the mountain has a way of reaching something deeper in you. Thrills in the heights, meaning in the moments Craving a jolt of adrenaline to go with your mountain escape? Sa Pa delivers that, too. At Rong May Glass Bridge, also called the Cloud Dragon, you'll find yourself walking across a see-through platform suspended high above a valley of trees. The bridge isn't the only heart-pounding feature. There's also a zipline, a glass elevator, a sky bike, and a narrow hanging bridge that mirrors the sky bike's lofty path. It's the kind of high-altitude rush that makes your hands clammy even before you step out. Right after, we stumbled upon the Ban Mong Alpine Coaster, Sa Pa's sleekest ride. You control the speed as the sled zips past pine trees and panoramic hillsides. It's smooth, thrilling, and addicting enough that we had to go for a second round. But beyond the attractions, it's the people who make the experience stick. While Sa Pa's tourism scene is growing fast, the locals remain an essential part of it. Many open their homes as guest stays, guide visitors through rice fields, or help share the stories of their communities. The hospitality feels genuine—it's not just about showing tourists around, but about letting them in. Make the climb before everyone else does In Sa Pa, adventure doesn't come at the cost of connection. You'll find both high-speed thrills and quiet cultural moments, all in one journey. For young professionals worn down by screens and schedules, this mountain town offers more than a quick fix, it offers perspective. Not just a place to unwind, but a place to feel something. Go now, while the trails still feel wild and your curiosity still leads the way. Sa Pa won't stay a secret forever, but it's still magic while it lasts. About the author: Neil Gregori Garen finds quiet moments on the map and writes them for you to feel, too.
Techday NZ
13-06-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
Sun World partners with Semarchy to streamline global data management
Semarchy has entered into a partnership with Sun World to enhance the global fruit breeder's data management and customer relationship management capabilities. Sun World, a company specialising in fruit breeding and licensing, selected Semarchy to address longstanding challenges associated with inconsistent and scattered data across its international operations. According to Sun World, these issues have made it difficult to effectively track key fruit variety attribute details and ensure adherence to customer agreements, ultimately hindering its ability to support growth strategies. Operational improvements The agreement aims to consolidate and standardise Sun World's master data from various sites around the world, focusing initially on creating a centralised system for customer information. The integration will eventually extend to encompass other core domains, such as product varieties, location, and financial data, to increase efficiency and oversight across business units. "Developing new platforms, cleaning, and enhancing our data, and building a robust data governance model to meet evolving business requirements are essential for Sun World's growth. Selecting technologies that facilitate adaptation in a complex and constantly changing world is crucial. Next, we aim to leverage the Semarchy Data Platform and expertise to seamlessly integrate our CRM, commercial, and product development identifiers, providing a comprehensive 360-degree view of our customers and products," said Deepak Rama, Senior Director of Systems and Applications at Sun World. Sun World's objective is to unify its diverse datasets so that decision-making, compliance tracking, and customer service can be better supported by reliable and consistent data. The company expects that accurate reporting for yield forecasting, revenue management, compliance, and assessments of specific product attributes will become more streamlined as the project progresses. Data management objectives In connection with the partnership, Semarchy is providing a master data management solution designed to address these operational and strategic goals. By introducing a single source of truth for critical business data, Sun World expects to mitigate compliance risks and improve enterprise-level visibility and control. Ben Werth, Chief Executive Officer at Semarchy, stated, "The data transformation Sun World is piloting is a prime example of how unified, quality data can provide value across a global organisation. We're proud to be a trusted partner in their journey, supporting their growth strategy with our innovative data management solutions." The adoption of Semarchy's platform is also expected to yield tangible benefits such as lower costs through simplified data integration, as well as enhanced data quality that ensures the accuracy, consistency, and timeliness of information critical for business operations. Future scope Sun World intends for the platform to underpin not only current operations but also future requirements, particularly as it increases investment in artificial intelligence and more complex data-driven business capabilities. The initial focus on customer data is viewed as an entry point to a broader digital transformation, with further integrations of commercial, product, and financial datasets planned for subsequent stages. The partnership is part of an ongoing trend where businesses are recognising data as a fundamental asset, investing in better data readiness and management to support adaptation within changing market environments and to remain competitive in the global agricultural sector.
Technical.ly
27-05-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
This Week in Jobs: Pour yourself some Java and check out these 20 tech career opportunities
This week, we're returning, once again, to the year 1995. It was May 27, 30 years ago to the day, and Sun Microsystems released a programming language called Oak, running a demo of interactive content in Netscape Navigator at SunWorld '95. Due to a trademark issue, it wouldn't be known as Oak for long. Its new name? Java. Java, with its 'Write Once, Run Anywhere' philosophy, changed both software development and web browsers — Java applets, tiny programs that enhanced web pages beyond what simple HTML could do, enabled things like animations, interactive charts, and file processing. Java was quickly adopted by enterprise and became one of the largest software languages, driving ecosystems, banking systems and Android apps. Today, 15 years after Sun Microsystems was acquired by Oracle, Java is still the dominant language for enterprise backend applications. If you're searching for a job at a financial institution or large corporation, you likely have Java certification. Whatever your coding language of choice, let's get to the job listings. The News is getting a new reporter: Meet Baltimore County's Maria Eberhart. Experts debate how to handle AI's role in US-China relations at Johns Hopkins University forum. Pittsburgh Public Schools weigh adoption of a $2 million deal with a Philly startup to upgrade its cafeteria logistics. How machine learning can help prevent burnout in healthcare workers. . Client Spotlight Certara has a truly global footprint, and is a leader in biosimulation, model-informed drug development and clinical trial data standardization and workflow automation. The company has proven a draw for technologists who prefer autonomy and thrive on the challenge of doing application development in a highly specialized scientific domain. The Jobs Greater Philly The City of Philadelphia is hiring an Information Technology Support Coordinator. Drexel University has a job listing for a Web Support Specialist. Software company Certara is seeking a Senior Software Engineer. Dental technology company Kleer and Membersy needs an Integration Engineer. MetaTechnical in Narberth is hiring an IT Support Technician. DC + Baltimore Startup investor Techstars is looking for an Investment Manager in DC. Coworking space Spark Baltimore is seeking a Community Manager. Enoch Pratt Free Library has an opening for a Digital Equity Coordinator who will be a member of the Department of Innovation and Technology. Brooksource needs a Business Analyst. DataAnnotation is looking for Data Engineers to help train AI models. Pittsburgh Allegheny County is hiring an Information Systems Specialist. Professional services firm KPMG has a listing for Marketing Cloud Technical Lead. Bridgeway in Coraopolis is seeking an IT Service and Support Specialist. Westco needs a hybrid IT Technology Lead. GE Vernova is hiring for . The End Those are the jobs — get yourself to a cup of joe and apply.
The Guardian
01-04-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Guardian
Crispy Dreams and Cotton Candy: why are there so many new kinds of grape?
When I first tried a Cotton Candy™ grape, I did a double take. Did someone swap out my fruit for fairy floss? The burst of sugary sweetness was so unexpected, it felt like I should have been picking at it from a stick, not plucking it from a bunch. This wasn't nature playing tricks – it was the result of careful breeding. A steady stream of new grape varieties are popping up in Australian supermarkets and green grocers. 'More than 15 new varieties have been available in Melbourne markets this season alone,' says Thanh Truong, Fruit Nerd and author of Don't Buy Fruit and Veg Without Me. Crispy Dreams™, Coolgrape™ and Ruby Rush® may sound like strains from a California dispensary but these fanciful brand names represent a new approach to table grapes, driven by international breeding programs. Quirky trademarked or registered names are all part of the plan, says Terryn Miller from the Australian Table Grape Association. 'The breeders refer to the characteristics of the grape – so there are a lot of varieties with the words 'crisp', 'crunchy', 'sweet', 'candy', or 'pop',' she says. References to colour – 'golden', 'sunrise', 'sapphire' – and seasonal timing are also popular. While varieties such as Thompson Seedless have been staples for decades in Australia, in the past 20 years the industry has transformed. Truong says modern grape breeding prioritises different elements depending on the grape. '[It] is not just about sweetness, nor is it just about flavour,' he says. 'It's about texture, intensity of flavours such as sweetness, sourness and aromas, and a balance of those flavours.' Truong says the Sweet Globe™, for example, is crisp from skin to core. Whereas Cotton Candy™ grapes have been bred to maximise sweetness and aroma. 'New flavoured grapes have been designed to have characteristics that we love in fruits,' he says. 'Compared to normal grapes, they are curated for a specific taste and, in my opinion, are a better eating experience almost every time.' Just because these newer grapes are sweeter, it doesn't necessarily mean they are less healthy. Sugar levels are only 10% to 20% higher, which Truong says is relatively minor, adding: 'Everything should always be eaten in balance, even awesome fruits.' So why are there suddenly so many new varieties right now? Nick Dry of Foundation Viticulture says table grapes aren't just competing with each other; they're battling apples, strawberries and every other fruit for a spot in the shopping basket. 'Everybody is looking for an edge.' Most of the newer varieties come from major international breeding companies, such as US-based SunWorld, which holds more than 200 table grape patents, and Bloom Fresh, which holds the licence for Cotton Candy™ grapes. These companies develop new cultivars through selective crossbreeding, Dry says. The 'holy grail' of these programs, for breeders and growers, is having an early-season red and white, a medium-season red and white, and a late-season red and white, and ideally the late-season red and white you can cool-store long enough to then slide into the supermarket for as long as possible, he says. Developing a new grape variety can take more than a decade and up to 15 years before it reaches supermarket shelves, factoring in time required for breeding, testing and quarantine procedures. Miller says Australian growers have been adapting their practices to suit these new cultivars. 'That might mean altering the canopy management, bunch manipulation, irrigation and/or nutritional programs.' Dry says some newer varieties 'are naturally sized and structured', which means they require fewer inputs, such as growth hormones, 'to get to an ideal size'. These changes can reduce costs for farmers. While patented grapes reduce some costs, they increase others. It is 'a big money business', as Dry puts it. Only licensed growers can cultivate specific breeds, Truong says, and growers must pay a royalty fee to sell them – whether it's a one-off fee per vine or a fee per kilogram sold. Breeding companies vigorously defend their trademarks, including pursuing legal action against unlicensed growers. Traditional varieties, in contrast, are free to grow. This means premium grapes come at a premium price. At Coles, for instance, Cotton Candy™ grapes are $11 per kilo, while seedless white paper grapes are $5.70 per kilo. At Woolworths, Candy Hearts™ grapes are $17.50 per kilo versus $13.75 for the same weight of red seedless grapes. Dry points out that the branding of these varieties plays a role in pricing. 'You're not just getting a red table grape – you're getting Sweet Sapphire®.' Although there are more than 100 grape varieties grown in Australia, the country isn't developing its own new varieties. 'It's a very specialised field,' Truong says. Nevertheless, '[breeders] have convinced growers in Australia that paying royalties for these new varieties is worth it, as growers can be better compensated because there is more demand for these far more, in my opinion, superior tasting grapes', Truong says. By his estimation, customers agree – 'Who would want to eat one kilogram of bland grapes when you can have 100 grams of fantastic grapes?' 'Try it,' Truong says. 'And, if you like it, you'll see how much science, labour and growers' tears have gone into growing new varieties.'
Associated Press
19-03-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Ba Den Mountain will be the host of large-scale events for Vesak 2025
BA DEN MOUNTAIN, VIETNAM - Media OutReach Newswire - 19 March 2025 - Ba Den Mountain in Tay Ninh, Vietnam will become the destination for thousands of delegates to light candles and pray for global peace as part of the United Nations Day of Vesak 2025. Many meaningful activities will take place during this most significant Buddhist celebration worldwide. The candlelight prayer ceremony for world peace will be held on May 8 at Ba Den Mountain. Photo courtesy of Sun World Ba Den Mountain. During the second meeting of the International Council for the Day of Vesak (ICDV) and the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha on February 26, important preparations for Vesak 2025 were discussed. The meeting was chaired by Most Venerable Thích Thiện Nhơn - President of the VBS Executive Council, Head of the Organising Committee and Most Venerable Phra Brahmapundit, President of ICDV. Delegates agreed on various aspects of the UN Vesak 2025 programme, scheduled to take place from May 6 to 8, along with side events featuring international delegates. According to the plan, the first day will welcome leaders of Buddhist sanghas from different countries. The second day will feature a series of group seminars on five key subtopics, engaging scholars, particularly young researchers. On the third day, the closing ceremony will be held in the morning. In the afternoon, delegates and venerable monks will travel to Ba Den Mountain in Tay Ninh. At the summit of Ba Den Mountain, a solemn candlelight prayer ceremony for world peace will be held, with the participation of over 2,000 Vesak delegates from 80 countries and territories. This event is considered a profoundly meaningful activity aligned with the theme of Vesak 2025 'Unity and Inclusivity for Human Dignity: Buddhist Insights for World Peace and Sustainable Development.' Most Venerable Phra Brahmapundit said that this year's programme encompasses various contents, with 'peace' being one of the most prominent. It can be understood as peace of mind, a fundamental foundation for social stability, global harmony and the finding of peace in nature and the environment. 'With Ba Den Mountain, I can feel the essence of 'peace' through the Buddhist spirit and the presence of the Maitreya Bodhisattva statue, a symbol of joy and serenity. This sacred mountain allows one to immerse in nature, share tranquillity with others and spread the spirit and message of world peace in practice,' Most Venerable Phra Brahmapundit shared. The President of ICDV also highlighted that this is not merely an abstract idea but a concrete example of how we can live in peace while developing the economy, without destroying the environment or causing harm to others. This is why a sacred spiritual destination filled with positive energy like Ba Den Mountain will serve as a place where individuals can seek healing and tranquillity. As part of the second discussion meeting on Vesak 2025, representatives from the Ba Den Mountain tourist area reported on preparations for the candlelight prayer ceremony for world peace. 'Hosting the Vesak 2025 delegation for the world peace candlelight prayer ceremony is a tremendous honour for the Ba Den Mountain tourist area. On May 8, we will also hold special ceremonies to welcome the delegation during this grand Buddhist event, including a bodhi tree planting ceremony and the enshrinement of Buddha relics for Buddhists and the public to pay homage,' Nguyen Lam Nhi Thuy, Deputy General Director of Sun Group in the Southern region, said. Paying homage to the Buddha's relics during the Vesak festival is one of the most spiritually significant rituals, allowing Buddhist followers and the public to receive the Buddha's blessings. Ba Den Mountain is one of the few places in Vietnam that preserves the Buddha's relics, which were bestowed by the World Fellowship of Buddhists at Bodh Gaya, India, in 2014. The sacred relics of the Buddha will be reverently enshrined at Ba Den Mountain for Buddhist followers and visitors to pay homage during the Vesak Grand Celebration. Photo courtesy of Sun World Ba Den Mountain. As part of the Vesak 2025 celebrations, the Vietnamese government has also considered approving the VBS to organise a procession of the Buddha's relics from India and receive the heart relic of Bodhisattva Thich Quang Duc for enshrinement. Scheduled from May 6 to 8, the UN Day of Vesak 2025 is one of the most significant international cultural events, honouring humanistic values and global peace. Vietnam is expected to welcome about 2,000 delegates from 80 countries and territories, including UN officials, heads of state, supreme Buddhist leaders, presidents of Buddhist organisations and numerous scholars and intellectuals worldwide. Hashtag: #SunWorldBaDenMountain
