Helen of Bosnia

Helen (/Јелена; 1345 – after 18 March 1399), also known by the name Gruba (Груба), ruled the Kingdom of Bosnia from September 1395 until late April or early May 1398. She was queen consort as the wife of King Dabiša, and was chosen by the "stanak" to rule after his death. Whether she was a regent who ruled during an interregnum or a queen regnant is disputed, but in any case the real power was held by magnates of the kingdom. Her rule ended with the election of King Ostoja. She remains the only female head of state in the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Family.
Nothing is known for certain about Helen's origin. She was most likely a member of the Nikolić noble family from Zachlumia.
A charter dated 17 July 1392 is the earliest extant source naming Helen as queen and wife of Dabiša, who had succeeded Tvrtko I in March 1391, and places her at Dabiša's side in Lušci. As queen consort, Helen endorsed her husband's acts, and he emphasized in his charters that he had consulted with his wife. Queen Helen's family gained significant influence in state affairs during her husband's reign, as well as the right to collect the tribute of Ston from the Republic of Ragusa in 1393. The royal couple had a daughter named Stana, whose daughter Vladava married the nobleman Juraj Radivojević during Dabiša's lifetime.
Rise.
In 1394, Helen agreed to Dabiša's decision to designate King Sigismund of Hungary as his heir. When Dabiša died on 8 September the following year, however, the leading noblemen – Grand Duke Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić, Prince Pavao Radinović, Duke Sandalj Hranić and Juraj Radivojević – refused to honor the agreement Dabiša had made with Sigismund. Sigismund raised an army and marched to nearby Syrmia with the aim to claim the Bosnian throne, but the noblemen convoked a "stanak" and elected Helen as Dabiša's successor. Not willing to engage the united nobility in war, Sigismund withdrew; the death of his wife Mary, heir of Hungary and cousin of Dabiša, made his position too precarious to attack Bosnia, as did the defeat by the Ottomans at the Battle of Nikopolis.
Historians have debated Queen Helen's role. Krunoslav Draganović emphasised in 1942 that she was a queen regnant rather than a regent. Sima Ćirković refuted this in 1964 and argued that the period of Helen's rule was actually an interregnum, a compromise meant to appease both Sigismund, who wanted to assert his rights to the throne but was unable to at the time, and the noblemen of Bosnia, who wanted to avoid honoring their pledge to Sigismund. Sigismund consented to Helen's assumption of power, and was asked by Ragusan officials to intercede with the Queen on their behalf. Ragusa eventually accepted that Helen would not confirm the charters granted by Bosnian monarchs to the Republic, apparently because she was not entitled to do so.
Rule.
After the Battle of Nicopolis annihilated much of the Hungarian army, a pretender to the Bosnian throne staked his claim against Queen Helen. One of the nobleman supporting King Ladislaus of Naples's claim to Hungary, from the Slavonian town of Požega, started calling himself King of Bosnia. By mid-December 1395, Helen had successfully consolidated her grasp on the throne, and the pretender was killed by Sigismund's supporters in 1396, never having seriously threatened the Queen. Helen's rule stands out as the period during which Bosnian support for Ladislaus briefly waned.
Whatever Queen Helen's official role was meant to be, she functioned as a mere puppet of the nobility. All her surviving charters specifically note that they had been approved by the major noblemen. In a surviving charter, Queen Helen names "Duke Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić, Prince Pavle Radenović, Duke Sandalj Hranić, and "Tepčija" Batalo" as the magnates whom she consulted. The emancipation of Bosnian nobility reached a peak during Helen's reign. Having become virtually autonomous, her vassals engaged in internal warfare which weakened the Kingdom and precluded its participation in regional politics.
The Ottoman Turks under Bayazid I were becoming a much greater threat during Helen's rule than during the reigns of Dabiša and Tvrtko I, helped by their decisive victory over the Serbian lord Vuk Branković, whose land had stood between Helen's and Bayazid's. The Ottoman army that arrived in Bosnia in January 1398, led by Bayazid's sons and the subjugated Serbian lord Stefan Lazarević, was larger than those defeated by Helen's predecessors in 1388 and 1392. The plundering expedition failed completely, however, due to a severe winter and deep snow in which many of Bayazid's soldiers perished.
Deposition and aftermath.
The Ottoman defeat did not mean Helen's triumph; by March 1398, Bosnia was beset by an internal strife. It seems that Helen's family, the Nikolić, attempted to take further advantage of their royal relations and free themselves from subordinacy to the House of Kosača to become immediate vassals of the monarch. This may have been the reason for an uprising against Helen. She maintained a great deal of support in April, when Ragusa paid its tribute to her. The last to remain on her side were the Radivojević noble family, including Helen's grandson-in-law Juraj. By 10 May, however, her husband's kinsman Ostoja was enthroned as the new King of Bosnia. The deposition was opposed by her brothers and nephews. They were thus forced to take refuge in Ragusa, but Helen remained in Bosnia, where she was treated with honor due to a queen dowager.
During King Ostoja's reign, Helen resumed the name Gruba (likely her "folk name", as opposed to one from the calendar of saints) and retained the title of queen, but without the official royal style ("by the Grace of God Queen of Rascia, Bosnia, etc"). Gruba is last mentioned in a letter sent by Ragusan authorities on 18 March 1399. She may have died of an epidemic that plagued Zachlumia at that time.


Guyana National Service

The Guyana National Service was a public service organization, including a paramilitary element, formed in Guyana in 1971 and disbanded in 2000, amidst some controversy.
Function.
The service was created following recommendations by United Nations consultant Robert F. Landor, to address youth unemployment and modeled after the National Service of Tanzania. "Prime Minister Burnham authorized the formation of the Guyana National Service in 1974 as a 1,500-person paramilitary force. He envisioned it as a way to mobilize the youth of Guyana. GNS recruits ranged from ages eight to twenty-five." Guyanese youths who joined, mostly aged 15–20, were sent to three months of military training, followed by agricultural training.
Opinion.
Some people argued that it was a thinly veiled military arm directly under the president, with the leadership of the organization coming from Guyana's police and defense forces. It also became compulsory for graduating from the University of Guyana.
The organization reduced the numbers of The Scout Association of Guyana, which it competed with for the recruitment of youth. Over the course of its existence over 20,000 people were part of the Guyana National Service.
Others viewed the GNS as patriotic; seeing and helping to develop Guyana's hinterland while learning life skills to give youth a "sense of value, a sense of worthwhileness". In bringing together Guyanese from all backgrounds, it served to create unity among the stratified society.
Legacy.
A notable member was researcher Karen de Souza, who began working as a volunteer in the Guyana National Service in 1975, learning electrical skills and giving reading courses to illiterates.
Worldwide ex-GNS reunions were held in 2012 and 2015.


Hugh John Macdonald

Sir Hugh John Macdonald, (March 13, 1850 – March 29, 1929) was the only surviving son of the first Prime Minister of Canada, Sir John A. Macdonald. He too was a politician, serving as a member of the House of Commons of Canada and a federal cabinet minister, and briefly as the eighth Premier of Manitoba.
Early life.
Macdonald was born in Kingston, Canada West (now Ontario) to Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald and his first wife Isabella Clark Macdonald (1809–1857). After Isabella died leaving Macdonald a widower with a seven-year-old son, Hugh John Macdonald would be principally raised by his paternal aunt and her husband. In 1869, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto and then studied law in Toronto and Ottawa. He was called to the Bar in 1872, and became a member of his father's firm. Grieved by the death of his first wife, Macdonald moved to Winnipeg in 1882 and set up his own law practice.
Military service.
Macdonald enrolled in The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada on 13 October 1868 as a Rifleman. He spent the summer of 1866 with the 14th Battalion Volunteer Militia Rifles near Cornwall, in anticipation of a Fenian invasion. He rose to the rank of Sergeant before being commissioned as an Ensign on 22 April 1870. Macdonald then joined the expedition of Colonel Garnet Joseph Wolseley and made the trek to the Red River settlement in Manitoba. The Wolseley Expedition was formed to put down Louis Riel's Red River Rebellion. After taking part in the bloodless capture of Upper Fort Garry (after Riel's departure) he returned to Toronto, but would take part in putting down Riel's second rebellion. He retired from the QOR on 26 April 1882 and moved to Winnipeg. During the North-West rebellion in 1885, Macdonald served as a lieutenant in the 90th (Winnipeg) Battalion of Rifles, a unit which he helped to organize. He later fought at Fish Creek in Saskatchewan.
Marriage.
In 1876, Hugh John married Jean Murray King, a Roman Catholic. Their daughter, Isabella Mary "Daisy" Macdonald, was born in 1877. Jean King Macdonald later died in 1881 as a result of fragile health due to Daisy's birth.
In 1883, he married Gertrude Agnes VanKoughnet. She was the daughter of a close friend and political ally of his father, Salter Jehosaphat VanKoughnet (1833–1888) QC, of Toronto, a brother of Philip Michael Matthew Scott VanKoughnet. Gertrude's mother, Agnes, was a daughter of Senator Benjamin Seymour, of Port Hope, Ontario, and the sister of Emily Seymour who was married to Lt. Colonel Arthur Trefusis Heneage Williams. They had a son, John Alexander "Jack" Macdonald (1884–1905).
Politics.
Macdonald was elected to the House of Commons in the 1891 federal election, representing Winnipeg City for the Conservative Party. He was sworn into parliament at the side of his father, to the applause of members from both sides. After the older Macdonald died later in the year, however, Hugh John showed little enthusiasm for life in Ottawa. Despite efforts by John Abbott and John S.D. Thompson to keep him in federal politics, he resigned his seat in 1893 and returned to Winnipeg.
In 1896, Prime Minister Charles Tupper convinced him to return to Ottawa and serve as Minister of the Interior and Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs. This occurred at a time when the Conservative Party was suffering from internal divisions, and was due to face the public in a general election. Tupper probably hoped that the Macdonald name would win back some wayward voters.
The 1896 election was won by Wilfrid Laurier's Liberals, and while Macdonald was again elected for Winnipeg City (narrowly defeating former provincial minister Joseph Martin), his election was declared void in early 1897. He once again returned to Winnipeg, and did not contest the subsequent by-election.
In March 1897, Macdonald was approached to take the leadership of Manitoba's Conservative Party. The party had suffered severe losses to Thomas Greenway's Liberals in the elections of 1888, 1892 and 1896, and had lacked direction since the death of former Premier John Norquay in 1889. By 1897, however, there was a recognition that the provincial situation was susceptible to change. Greenway's second and third majorities were based almost entirely on popular support for his education reforms; with the education issue resolved in 1896, the Conservatives had a viable chance to form government. Macdonald accepted the leadership position, and (though without seat in the legislature) spent the next two years touring the province in anticipation of the next election.
Premiership.
The Conservative Party of Manitoba became a legally recognized entity in 1899, and drew up its first election platform shortly thereafter. This was a progressive document by the standards of its age, calling for an independent board of education, new agricultural and technical colleges, a Workmen's Compensation Act, prohibition, and the nationalization of railways. On a less progressive note, the party also tapped into popular resentment toward new Eastern European immigrants. Both of these factors contributed to an upset victory in the 1899 provincial election, with Conservatives taking 22 seats out of 40. Macdonald narrowly defeated incumbent Liberal John D. Cameron in Winnipeg South, and was sworn in as Premier on January 10, 1900. He also took the position of Municipal Commissioner.
His term in office was brief. Macdonald succeeded in passing a prohibition bill (known as the "Macdonald Act"), but was again prevailed upon to run for the federal Conservatives in the 1900 federal election. It is possible that he intended to replace Charles Tupper as national party leader.
Macdonald resigned as Premier on October 29, 1900, and challenged Minister of the Interior Clifford Sifton in the riding of Brandon. Sifton was the most powerful cabinet minister in western Canada, but the Conservatives believed that Hugh John's personal popularity would be enough to defeat him. They were mistaken. Despite a spirited challenge, Sifton won the election with 5,011 votes to Macdonald's 4,342.
Macdonald abandoned electoral politics after this loss, and returned to his law practice. He continued to be involved in the Conservative Party organization within Manitoba, serving as President of the Manitoba Conservative Association from 1905 to 1908. He was appointed Police Magistrate for Winnipeg in 1911, and was made a Knight Bachelor in June 1913. There were rumours that he would return to lead the Conservative Party in 1915, but this did not come to pass.
Macdonald was Winnipeg's Magistrate during the Winnipeg General Strike in 1919. Immigrants arrested during the strike appeared before him and he ordered them sent to an internment camp at Kapuskasing from where they were eventually deported without the right to formal hearings.
Macdonald's last home in downtown Winnipeg, called Dalnavert, is now a museum. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1990.


Foreign Births Register

The Foreign Births Register () is an official register of foreign births with Irish citizenship that is kept by the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin. A Foreign Births Entry Book is also maintained in every Irish diplomatic mission and consular office, the contents of which are from time to time transcribed into the Foreign Births Register.
The system of citizenship registration was established by the "Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956". A person born outside Ireland to an Irish-citizen parent who was also born outside Ireland may acquire Irish citizenship by registering onto the Foreign Births Register or a Foreign Births Entry Book. Such people become Irish citizens from the date of registration, or for those registered on or before 30 June 1986, from their date of birth, or 17 July 1956 if they were born before that date. Once a person is on the foreign births registration certificate, any children they have who are born after this registration date are entitled to Irish citizenship by also registering on the Foreign Births Register (children born outside Ireland to Irish-citizen parents born outside Ireland do not become Irish citizens automatically). Thus, the Irish citizenship of future generations born abroad can be preserved as long as the youngest generation registers onto the Foreign Births Register before having any children.
Once entered, a certified copy of the entry is issued, which takes the form of an A4 certificate bearing the signature of a senior consular official and the stamp of authenticity from the authority responsible for having made the entry e.g. Irish diplomatic mission. This certificate is printed on specially produced security paper incorporating a UV reactive Harp watermark and may be used as proof of Irish citizenship when applying for a passport without any further proof of citizenship being required. A statutory fee is charged for access to this facility which varies depending on the issuing authority. If the application is made in Dublin at the Department of Foreign Affairs, the current fee is €278 if over 18 and €153 if under. Fees outside Ireland vary from embassy to embassy, but is generally an equivalent to €278 in the local currency.
Applications for Foreign Birth Registration can take up to 12-18 months to process from the date of receipt of a complete application with all the required supporting documentation.


Group Exemption Letter

A Group Exemption Letter or (GEL) is a special letter that is issued by the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS). A GEL pertains to organizations that have been recognized by the IRS as tax exempt organizations.
Many organizations in the United States maintain a GEL and obtaining one can be of benefit to an organization.
Overview.
According to the IRS, a Group Exemption Letter is a ruling or determination letter that is issued to a central organization recognizing, on a group basis, the exemption from Federal income tax under of subordinate organizations on whose behalf the central organization has applied for recognition of exemption.
To obtain a GEL, the central organization must have first applied for and received its own 501(c)(3) Exemption Determination Letter recognizing its 501(c)(3) Tax Exemption status. Once the central organization has received its determination letter and has at least one subordinate wishing to operate under its exemption, then it is time to file for the GEL.
Each year, the central organization submits a list of subordinate organizations to be included in the next year's GEL.
Benefits.
By obtaining a Group Exemption Letter, the central organization is able to pass along, to its subordinates, its tax exemption status, thus, making the subordinate organizations eligible to be claimed as a 501(c)(3) organization under the same status as the central organization. If the central organization is recognized as a 501(c)(3), then all the subordinates are also considered 501(c)(3), as long as they follow the required guidelines set by the central organization.
By being included in the Group Exemption Letter, the subordinates do not have to file an application for exemption, and can accept donations that are tax-deductible under the law. A major benefit is that a subordinate does not have to pay the fees to obtain an exemption letter.


Ebenezer Denny

Ebenezer Denny (March 11, 1761July 21, 1822) was a soldier during the American Revolutionary War whose journal is one of the most frequently quoted accounts of the surrender of the British at the siege of Yorktown. Denny later served as the first Mayor of Pittsburgh, from 1816 to 1817.
Early life.
Denny was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, then moved to Virginia with his family on March 11, 1761, the eldest son of William and Agnes Parker Denny. At the age of 13 he was entrusted to carry dispatches across the Allegheny Mountains by the commandant at Fort Pitt. He crossed alone often; to conceal his presence he hid in the woods at night. At one point he was chased into Fort Loudon by the Indians. He then entered into employment for his father's shop in Carlisle. Upon learning that a letter of the marque, a privateer ship, was to sail from Philadelphia for the West Indies, he shipped as a volunteer. He was promoted to command the quarterdeck for his gallantry in numerous sea fights.
Revolutionary War.
As he was readying to sail on his second voyage he received a commission as ensign in the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment of the Continental Army in 1778. On August 4, 1780, he was transferred to the 7th Pennsylvania Regiment, and on May 23, 1781, he was promoted to lieutenant in the 4th Pennsylvania Regiment.
This transpired during 1781 as the Continental Army marched south to face Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, at which time the end of the long war for independence drew close. Near Williamsburg, Virginia, the regiment had a successful encounter against British forces, the partisan Simcoe. Denny in his famous military journal states, "Here for the first time saw wounded men; the sight sickened me."
As the Continental Army closed around the British stronghold at Yorktown, Lt. Denny described the scene, "Army encamped on the banks of the James River; part of the French fleet in full view."
Denny remained in the Continental Army until it was disbanded on November 3, 1783. Earlier that year, he became an Original Member of the Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati.
Northwest Indian War.
Denny rejoined the army as a lieutenant in the First American Regiment in August 1784, and was active in the Northwest Indian War. He participated in the 1790 Harmar Campaign and served as aide-de-camp to Major-General Arthur St. Clair at St. Clair's Defeat. Denny kept a journal, which is considered an important primary document of the two campaigns. Following the battle, Lt. Denny wrote that the native nations were "an enemy brought up from infancy to war, and perhaps superior to an equal number of the best men that could be taken against them." He travelled to Philadelphia to deliver the official report of the loss to Secretary of War Henry Knox. Denny also compiled a dictionary of Delaware and Shawnee words. He was promoted to captain on December 29, 1789 and resigned from the U.S. Army in May 1792. Later, Denny was commissioned a major in the Pennsylvania, Militia. Following a mission to report on the condition of Fort Le Boeuf in 1794, Major Denny resigned his commission and settled near Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh.
Unlike in other states, communities in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania could not attain city status until after spending a number of years as a borough with a government run by burgesses, a form of city council. Partly because of this, Denny instead started his political career in county government serving Pittsburgh.
In 1797, Denny was elected Allegheny County Commissioner. He eventually sought even higher office and ran successfully as Treasurer for the entire county in 1803 and 1808.
Being a Revolutionary War hero, and major patriot force for the frontier front of the War of 1812, Denny ran successfully to become the first mayor of the city of Pittsburgh on 19 July 1816.
His term in office saw much progress in the infrastructure of the young city, improving roads and wharves. Citing failing health he retired from public life and the mayor's office on January 14, 1817. He died 21 July 1822, and is interred at Allegheny Cemetery in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh.
Family.
Ebenezer Denny married Nancy Wilkins and had children. His son, Harmar Denny, went on to establish a political career of his own: a member of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from 1824 to 1829, as well as being elected to the Twenty-first Congress through the Twenty-fourth Congress serving from 15 December 1829, to 3 March 1837.
His second great-grandson, Harmar D. Denny Jr., served in the 82nd Congress in the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 29th congressional district.
Honors.
One of the first resolutions of the Pittsburgh City Council was that of honoring the patriotic and public service of Ebenezer Denny on learning of his early retirement due to health concerns in 1817. Denny Street, in the city's Lawrenceville neighborhood, was named in his honor.


PICC Property and Casualty

PICC Property and Casualty Company Limited (PICC P&C) is the largest non-life insurance company in mainland China incorporated in 2003. It was one of the three main subsidiaries of the People's Insurance Company of China.
PICC P&C is principally engaged in the provision of property and casualty insurance products. It operates its insurance business through motor vehicle, commercial property, cargo, liability, accidental injury and health, agriculture, homeowners and credit.
Equity investments.
PICC Property and Casualty acquired 19.99% stake of Hua Xia Bank from Deutsche Bank and other investors in 2015, subject to regulator approval.
PICC Property and Casualty also owned 8.615% stake of sister company PICC Life.


List of children of prime ministers of the United Kingdom

This is a list of children and grandchildren of prime ministers of Great Britain and the United Kingdom.
Children and grandchildren of the Prime Ministers.
Sir Robert Walpole (created Earl of Orford).
1. Robert Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford
2. Lady Katherine Walpole

3. Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford – Whig MP for 27 years

4. Mary Cholmondeley, Countess of Cholmondeley
5. Sir Edward Walpole – MP in UK for 38 years and in Ireland for 23 years
6. Lady Maria Churchill
Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington.
The Earl of Wilmington was unmarried and childless.
The earldom became extinct on his death.
Henry Pelham.
1. Catherine Pelham-Clinton, Countess of Lincoln
2. Frances Pelham

3. Grace Watson, Lady Sondes
4. Mary Pelham
Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle.
The Duke of Newcastle was married but childless.
Dukedom of Newcastle-under-Lyne was inherited by his nephew The Rt. Hon. Henry Pelham-Clinton, 9th Earl of Lincoln.
William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire.
1. William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire – served as Lord High Treasurer of Ireland
2. Dorothy Bentinck, Duchess of Portland
3. Lord Richard Cavendish – MP for 8 years

4. George Cavendish, 1st Earl of Burlington – MP for 55 years
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute.
1. Mary Lowther, Countess of Lonsdale

2. John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute – Tory MP for 10 years
3. Anne Percy, Duchess of Northumberland

4. James Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie – MP for 29 years
5. Jane Macartney, Countess Macartney

6. Lady Augusta Corbet

7. Frederick Stuart

8. Col. Sir Charles Stuart – MP for 23 years
9. William Stuart – served as Archbishop of Armagh
10. Caroline Dawson, Countess of Portarlington
11. Lady Louisa Stuart
George Grenville.
1. Richard Grenville

2. George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham – MP for 5 years
3. Charlotte Williams-Wynn
4. Thomas Grenville – MP for 30 years

5. Elizabeth Proby, Countess of Carysfort
6. William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville – served as Tory MP for 8 years and (Whig) Prime Minister

7. Catherine Neville
8. Hester Fortescue, Countess Fortescue
Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham.
The Marquess of Rockingham was married but childless.
The marquessate became extinct on his death.
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham.
1. Hester Stanhope, Viscountess Mahon
2. General John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham

3. Lady Harriet Eliot
4. William Pitt – served as Tory MP for 24 years and Prime Minister

5. James Pitt
Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton.
1. Lady Georgiana Smyth
2. George FitzRoy, 4th Duke of Grafton – Whig MP for 29 years
3. General Lord Charles FitzRoy – MP for 25 years
4. Lord Henry FitzRoy
5. Lord Frederick FitzRoy

6. Lady Augusta Tavel
7. Frances Spencer, Lady Churchill
8. Admiral Lord William FitzRoy – MP for 6 years
9. Lord John FitzRoy – Whig MP for 12 years

10. Lady Charlotte FitzRoy

11. Lady Elizabeth FitzRoy

12. Lady Isabella Blachford
Frederick North, Lord North (later 2nd Earl of Guilford).
1. George North, 3rd Earl of Guilford – MP for 14 years
2. Catherine North

3. Francis North, 4th Earl of Guilford

4. Lady Charlotte Lindsay

5. Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford – MP for 2 years

6. Anne Holroyd, Countess of Sheffield
William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne (created Marquess of Lansdowne).
1. John Petty, 2nd Marquess of Lansdowne – MP for 16 years

2. Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne – served as Whig MP for 7 years, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Lords
3. Lady Louisa Fitzmaurice
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland.
1. William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland – MP for 18 years
2. Lt.-Gen. Lord William Bentinck – served as MP for 23 years and Governor-General of India

3. Lady Charlotte Greville
4. Lady Mary Cavendish-Bentinck

5. Lt.-Col. Lord Charles Bentinck – MP for 5 years
6. Maj.-Gen. Lord Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck
William Pitt (the Younger).
William Pitt was unmarried and childless.
Henry Addington (created Viscount Sidmouth).
1. Frances Pellew
2. Charles Addington

3. Charlotte Currie

4. Henrietta Wall

5. Henry Addington

6. William Addington, 2nd Viscount Sidmouth
William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville.
The Lord Grenville was married but childless.
The barony became extinct on his death.
Spencer Perceval.
1. Jane Perceval

2. Frances Perceval

3. Maria Perceval

4. Spencer Perceval – MP for 7 years
5. Charles Perceval

6. Frederick Perceval
7. Henry Perceval
8. Dudley Perceval
9. Isabella Walpole
10. John Thomas Perceval
11. Louisa Perceval

12. Frederica Perceval

13. Ernest Perceval
Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool.
The Earl of Liverpool was twice married but childless.
The earldom was inherited by his half-brother The Hon. Charles Jenkinson.
George Canning.
1. George Canning

2. William Canning

3. Harriet de Burgh, Marchioness of Clanricarde
4. Charles Canning, 1st Earl Canning – served as Conservative MP for 7 months and Governor-General and Viceroy of India
F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich (created Earl of Ripon).
1. Eleanor Robinson

2. George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon – served as MP for 7 years, Viceroy and Governor-General of India and Leader of the House of Lords
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.
1. Lt.-Gen. Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington – Conservative MP for 18 years

2. Maj.-Gen. Lord Charles Wellesley – Conservative MP for 13 years
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey.
1. illegitimate: Eliza Ellice
2. stillborn daughter

3. Louisa Lambton, Countess of Durham
4. Lady Elizabeth Bulteel
5. Lady Caroline Barrington
6. Lady Georgiana Grey

7. Henry Grey, 3rd Earl Grey – served as Liberal MP for 18 years and Secretary of State for War and the Colonies

8. General Sir Charles Grey – MP for 5 years
9. Admiral Sir Frederick Grey

10. Mary Wood, Viscountess Halifax
11. William Grey

12. Admiral George Grey
13. Thomas Grey

14. John Grey
15. Sir Francis Grey

16. Henry Cavendish Grey

17. William George Grey
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne.
1. George Lamb

2. unnamed daughter
Both Viscount Melbourne's children predeceased him and he had no grandchildren.
The viscountcy was inherited by his brother The Rt. Hon. Frederick Lamb, 1st Baron Beauvale.
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet.
1. Julia Child Villiers, Countess (of the Island) of Jersey
2. Sir Robert Peel, 3rd Baronet – MP for 32 years
3. Sir Frederick Peel – Liberal MP for 14 years

4. Capt. Sir William Peel

5. Capt. John Peel

6. Arthur Peel, 1st Viscount Peel – served as MP for 30 years and Speaker of the House of Commons
7. Eliza Stonor
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell.
1. Lady Georgiana Peel
2. Lady Victoria Villiers
3. John Russell, Viscount Amberley – Liberal MP for 2 years
4. George Russell

5. Francis Russell
6. Lady Mary Russell
Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby.
1. Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby – served as Conservative MP for 21 years and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs

2. Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby – served as Conservative MP for 21 years and Governor General of Canada
3. Lady Emma Chetwynd-Talbot
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen.
1. Lady Jane Hamilton-Gordon

2. Lady Charlotte Hamilton-Gordon

3. Lady Alice Hamilton-Gordon

4. unnamed son (Lord Haddo)

5. George Hamilton-Gordon, 5th Earl of Aberdeen – Liberal MP for 6 years
6. General Sir Alexander Hamilton-Gordon – Liberal MP for 10 years
7. Lady Frances Hamilton-Gordon

8. Douglas Hamilton-Gordon
9. Arthur Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Baron Stanmore – served as Liberal MP for 3 years and held many colonial governorships
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston.
The Viscount Palmerston was married but hadn't got any legitimate children.
The viscountcy became extinct on his death.
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield.
The Earl of Beaconsfield was married but childless.
The earldom became extinct on his death.
William Ewart Gladstone.
1. William Henry Gladstone – Liberal MP for 20 years
2. Agnes Wickham
3. Stephen Gladstone
4. Catherine Gladstone

5. Mary Drew
6. Helen Gladstone

7. Henry Gladstone, 1st Baron Gladstone of Hawarden

8. Herbert Gladstone, 1st Viscount Gladstone – served as Liberal MP for 30 years, Home Secretary and Governor-General of South Africa
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury.
1. Beatrix Palmer, Countess of Selborne
2. Lady Gwendolen Cecil

3. James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury – served as Conservative MP for 17 years and Leader of the House of Lords
4. Lord William Cecil – served as Bishop of Exeter
5. Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood – Conservative MP for 16 years

6. Lady Fanny Cecil

7. Col. Lord Edward Cecil
8. Hugh Cecil, 1st Baron Quickswood – Conservative MP 38 years
Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery.
1. Lady Sybil Grant
2. Margaret Crewe-Milnes, Marchioness of Crewe
3. Harry Primrose, 6th Earl of Rosebery – Liberal MP for 4 years
4. Capt. Neil Primrose – Liberal MP for 7 years
Arthur Balfour (created Earl of Balfour).
The Earl of Balfour was unmarried and childless.
The earldom was inherited by his brother The Rt. Hon. Gerald Balfour.
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman.
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman was married but childless.
H. H. Asquith (created Earl of Oxford and Asquith).
1. Raymond Asquith
2. Herbert Asquith
3. Brig.-Gen. Arthur Asquith
4. Violet Bonham Carter, Baroness Asquith of Yarnbury
5. Cyril Asquith, Baron Asquith of Bishopstone
6. Elizabeth, Princess Bibesco
7. Anthony Asquith
David Lloyd George (created Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor).
1. Richard Lloyd George, 2nd Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor
2. Mair Lloyd George

3. Lady Olwen Carey Evans
4. Gwilym Lloyd George, 1st Viscount Tenby – served as Liberal MP for 29 years and Home Secretary
5. Lady Megan Lloyd George – MP for 31 years (Liberal and Labour)

6. illegitimate: Jennifer Longford
Bonar Law.
1. Isabel Sykes
2. Catherine Archibald, Lady Archibald

3. Capt. James Law

4. Charles Law

5. Cmdr. Harrington Law

6. Richard Law, 1st Baron Coleraine – Conservative MP for 23 years
Stanley Baldwin (created Earl Baldwin of Bewdley).
1. Lady Diana Kemp-Welch

2. Lady Leonora Howard
3. Lady Margaret Huntington-Whiteley
4. Maj. Oliver Baldwin, 2nd Earl Baldwin of Bewdley – Labour MP for 4 years

5. Lady Esther Baldwin

6. Arthur Baldwin, 3rd Earl Baldwin of Bewdley
Ramsay MacDonald.
1. Alister MacDonald

2. Malcolm MacDonald – served as Labour MP for 15 years and Governor-General of Kenya

3. Ishbel MacDonald

4. David MacDonald

5. Joan MacDonald

6. Shelia MacDonald
Neville Chamberlain.
1. Dorothy Lloyd
2. Francis Chamberlain
Sir Winston Churchill.
1. Diana Churchill
2. Maj. Randolph Churchill – Conservative MP for 5 years
3. Sarah Touchet-Jesson, Lady Audley

4. Marigold Churchill

5. Mary Soames, Lady Soames
Clement Attlee (created Earl Attlee).
1. Lady Janet Shipton
2. Lady Felicity Harwood
3. Martin Attlee, 2nd Earl Attlee
4. Lady Alison Davis
Sir Anthony Eden (created Earl of Avon).
1. Simon Eden

2. Robert Eden

3. Nicholas Eden, 2nd Earl of Avon
Harold Macmillan (created Earl of Stockton).
1. Maurice Macmillan, Viscount Macmillan of Ovenden – served as Conservative MP for 27 years and Chief Secretary to the Treasury
2. Lady Caroline Faber
3. Lady Catherine Amery
4. Sarah Heath
Sir Alec Douglas-Home (disclaimed 14th Earl of Home; created Baron Home of the Hirsel for life).
1. Lady Caroline Douglas-Home

2. Lady Meriel Darby
3. Lady Diana Murray
4. David Douglas-Home, 15th Earl of Home
Harold Wilson (created Baron Wilson of Rievaulx for life).
1. Robin Wilson
2. Giles Wilson
Edward Heath (later knighted).
Sir Edward Heath was unmarried and childless.
James Callaghan (created Baron Callaghan of Cardiff for life).
1. Margaret Jay, Baroness Jay of Paddington – served as Leader of the House of Lords
2. Julia Hubbard
3. Michael Callaghan
Margaret Thatcher (created Baroness Thatcher for life).
1. Carol Thatcher

2. Sir Mark Thatcher, 2nd Baronet
John Major (later knighted).
1. Elizabeth Salter

2. James Major
Tony Blair.
1. Euan Blair

2. Nicholas Blair
3. Kathryn Blair

4. Leo Blair
Gordon Brown.
1. Jennifer Brown

2. John Brown

3. James Brown
David Cameron.
1. Ivan Cameron

2. Nancy Cameron

3. Arthur Cameron

4. Florence Cameron
Theresa May.
Theresa May is married but childless.
Boris Johnson.
1. Lara Johnson

2. Milo Johnson

3. Cassia Johnson

4. Theodore Johnson

5. Wilfred Johnson


Richard Cecil Cook

Richard Cecil Cook (2 March 1902 – 29 July 1977), known as Cecil Cook was an Australian judge and a member of the Industrial Commission of New South Wales.
Early life.
Always known by his second given name, Cecil Cook was born in Marrickville, New South Wales, one of nine children of Sir Joseph Cook, a politician and Prime Minister of Australia from 1913 to 1914, and Dame Mary Cook. He attended Newington College (1912–1920) and the University of Sydney, where he graduated with a LL.B. in 1924.
Legal career.
After graduating Cook worked as a solicitor until 1928 and then read for the Bar. He was a barrister-at-law until 1954.
Judicial career.
Cook was appointed as an additional member Industrial Commission of New South Wales in 1954 and as a judge of the commission on 13 May 1955. He served as a judge until his retirement on 1 March 1972.
Wool trade report.
In the 1950s, Cook was appointed by the Attorney General under the monopolies act to inquire into the wool trade.


Eurasia Foundation Central Asia

Eurasia Foundation Central Asia is a publicly funded, privately managed grant maker and program implementer working to mobilize public and private resources with the goal of strengthening the ability of organizations and communities in Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to represent their social and economic interests and to participate in civil society.
A public-private partnership, EFCA is managed by an international board of trustees and is supported by the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as governments, foundations, corporations, intergovernmental organizations, universities, and individuals.
Local projects.
The Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia implemented the “Reforming Legal Aid For the Vulnerable in Kazakhstan” project funded by the European Union. The project helped enhance the protection of individual rights of vulnerable people, in particular in the wider criminal and civil justice systems, through improving access to government funded legal aid. The budget of the project was 280,072 EUR.


Taxation in Bermuda

Bermuda is considered a tax haven; however, Bermuda does levy a number of taxes, such as a payroll tax on employers and land taxes. There is no corporate income tax in Bermuda, and a company is considered a tax resident of Bermuda if it is incorporated in the country. Bermuda has not entered into any double tax agreements.
Payroll tax.
Payroll tax is payable by employers and self-employed persons at progressive rates on total remuneration paid, up to a maximum of $900,000 of remuneration per annum per person. Under certain circumstances, employers may deduct a 6% withholding amount from an employee's salary.
Payroll tax payable is based on the size of an employer's annual payroll and the income of individual employees. Revenue from payroll tax in 2015/16 was $353 million.
Customs duties.
Customs duties in Bermuda are levied on almost all goods arriving in the island. Import tax is quite heavy in Bermuda. Almost everything in Bermuda is imported including food. Consequently, prices are high in Bermuda and the cost of living in Bermuda is far higher than many other countries, and is a major source of government revenue. In 2015/16 fiscal year, government revenues were $935 million, of which custom duties were $198 million.
Land tax.
A land tax is payable on land owned or rented. Non-Bermudians can buy only top-end properties and at a price far higher than what a Bermudian would pay, and usually cost in millions.
The tax amount is based on an annual rental value (ARV) of the property and has 6 bands or tiers. In the lowest band which is up to an ARV of $11,000, the land tax is 0.8%. For the highest band, of ARV over $120,000, the land tax is 47%. Revenue from land tax in 2015/16 was $63 million.
Licence fees.
Companies incorporated in Bermuda are either local companies or exempted companies. Local companies must be at least 60% owned by Bermudians and directors must be Bermudians. Exempted companies can be entirely owned by non-Bermudians and are exempt from exchange controls. Bermuda companies do not pay tax on income or capital gains, and there is no branch profits tax in Bermuda.
All companies pay an annual company fee, based on share capital levels. For exempted companies the fees vary between $1,995 and $31,120; and for local companies the fees are lower.
Where an exempted company manages a unit trust scheme, the fee is $2,905 in respect of each unit trust scheme managed by the company.
Exempted companies that wish to establish a place of business in Bermuda require a permit and are subject to the annual company fee indicated above. Where the company's principal business is raising money from the public by the issue of bonds or other securities or insurance business or open-ended mutual fund business, the fee is $4,125.
Revenue from fees from exempted companies in 2015/16 was $61 million.
Stamp duty.
Stamp duty in Bermuda is applicable on legal instruments, such as property deeds, affidavit of property, agreement, bonds, etc. The rate of stamp duty varies for various instruments. Revenue from stamp duties in 2015/16 was $24 million.


Missouri River Runner

The Missouri River Runner is a passenger train route operated by Amtrak running between Gateway Transportation Center in St. Louis and Kansas City Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. Four trains operate daily (two round trips) on this route: 311 and 313 westbound, and 314 and 316 eastbound.
History.
The Missouri River Runner route was previously served by the "Missouri Mules" (known as the "Kansas City Mule" westbound and the "St. Louis Mule" eastbound) and the "Ann Rutledge" under the "Missouri Service" brand. The "Missouri Service," in turn, ran along the former main line of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. Several of MoPac's St. Louis-Kansas City trains continued onward to Omaha and Denver. Missouri Pacific was acquired by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1983.
When Amtrak took over nationwide passenger service in 1971, the route became the western leg of the "National Limited," which originated in New York. This was the first passenger train on the route to originate at a point east of the Mississippi River. It was the successor of the famed "Spirit of St. Louis," which was extended to Kansas City after Amtrak's formation and renamed later in 1971.
When the "National Limited" was canceled in 1979, the only train serving the St. Louis-Kansas City corridor was the Chicago-Kansas City "Ann Rutledge." Missouri officials pressed for the introduction of the "Mules" in order to maintain and improve service between St. Louis and Kansas City. Over the ensuing years of state subsidy, additional station stops were established at Washington, Hermann, Lee's Summit and Independence.
The "Ann Rutledge" had previously been part of both the "Missouri Service" and "Illinois Service," but had its eastern terminus cut back to St. Louis in 2006. This gave the St. Louis-Kansas City route two daily round trips on a schedule similar to the last pre-Amtrak MoPac service. The Chicago-St. Louis "State House" connected once per day with the "Ann Rutledge" to continue through service from Chicago to Kansas City.
In 1984, Amtrak's Jefferson City depot and ticket office was moved from the former MoPac station to a renovated historic building east of the depot but closer to the Missouri State Capitol. It was hoped the relocated station would allow tourists and others easier access to the state government buildings. Jefferson City is not on an interstate highway; the nearest airport is in Columbia. The revived station stop at Hermann was instituted in similar fashion to encourage use of Amtrak for access the city's popular German festivals.
In 2008, Amtrak and MoDOT decided to merge the "Mules" and "Ann Rutledge" into a single route. The name of the new route was announced in January 2009 as part of the "Name The Train" contest held by the Missouri Department of Transportation. The winning name was submitted by Keith Kohler of Glendale, Missouri; it reflects the fact that the route largely parallels the Missouri River. The other finalists were "Missouri Rail Blazer, ShowMeMO, Truman Service" and "River Cities Corridor." The service is financed primarily through funds made available by the Missouri Department of Transportation.
In November 2009, Amtrak and Union Pacific completed an $8.1 million passing loop near California, Missouri, designed to improve performance along the route. It was funded by the state of Missouri and the Federal Railroad Administration and has been credited with helping to improve Amtrak's on-time performance. Due to these improvements, on-time performance has increased from less than 70% to 95%.
During fiscal year 2015, the service carried a total of 178,915 passengers, a 5.5% decrease from FY 2014's total of 189,402 passengers. The trains had a total revenue of $5,108,200 during FY 2015, a decrease of 4.4% from FY 2014's total of $5,341,229.
As of October 1, 2013, Amtrak cannot use its federal operating grant to share the cost of the Missouri River Runner route, because the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 does not allow cost-sharing on any route shorter than . By 2020, the State of Missouri owed Amtrak $6.5 million in unpaid bills in addition to that year's contract amount for continued service.
One daily "Runner" round trip connects with the Chicago-St. Louis "Lincoln Service," successor of the "State House."
Equipment used.
The "Missouri River Runner" consists of the following:


Mohammad Ali Mousavi Jazayeri

Ayatollah Sayyid Mohammad-Ali Mousavi Jazayeri () (born 1941) is an Iranian Twelver Shi'a cleric, who has been appointed as the representative of Wali-Faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist) in Khuzestan province by the order of Sayyid Ruhollah Khomeini who was the previous supreme leader of Iran.
He was born in Shushtar (Khuzestan province). He descends from Seyyed Nematollah Jazayeri as a prominent Shia scholar. Muhammad Ali Mousavi Jazayeri has studied in seminaries of Qum, Iran under Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Mohammad Ali Araki; and also in seminaries of Najaf, Iraq under Grand Ayatollah Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei.
Meanwhile, Ayatollah Mousavi Jazayeri is considered as (the permanent) Imam al-Jom'ah of Ahwaz beside other (temporary) Imams of Jom'ah of Ahwaz, including:
Works.
Among his (most important) scholarly works are as follows:


Prijezda II, Ban of Bosnia

Prijezda II (Born 1242) was a Bosnian Ban in 1287–1290 alone, but later together with his brother Stephen I Kotroman as a vassal of the Hungarian Kingdom.
He was one of the sons of Ban Prijezda I. After his father's withdrawal from power in 1287, he split Bosnia with his brother, Stephen I Kotroman, taking control over western Bosnia. He died in 1290 and his lands were transferred to his brother Kotroman, who became the sole ruler of Bosnia proper.


Shtefanesht (Hasidic dynasty)

Shtefanesht () was a Hasidic dynasty named for the town of Ștefănești, Romania. It was one of the branches of the Ruzhiner dynasty, together with Bohush, Boyan, Chortkov, Husiatyn, and Sadigura. The dynasty lasted from 1851 to 1933 and had only two Rebbes: Rabbi Menachem Nochum Friedman, a son of the Ruzhiner Rebbe, and Rabbi Avrohom Mattisyohu Friedman, the only son of Rabbi Menachem Nochum. During the latter’s reign, Ștefănești became one of the most important Hasidic centers in Eastern Europe.
Rabbinic leadership.
Rabbi Menachem Nochum Friedman, First Shtefaneshter Rebbe.
Following the death of Rabbi Yisrael Friedman of Ruzhin on 9 October 1850, his six sons established their own courts in different towns. His fourth son, Rabbi Menachem Nochum Friedman (1823–1869), moved to the town of Ștefănești in Romania.
Unlike the Jews of Poland and Galicia who were well-versed in Torah study and included many Torah scholars in their midst, the Jews of Romania were simple and uneducated peasants. The Shtefaneshter Rebbes therefore engaged their flock by generously dispensing blessings and openly displaying their powers as "baalei mofsim" (miracle-workers). While the Shtefaneshter Rebbes were well-versed in Kabbalah, they did not say divrei Torah in public. Their private "avodas Hashem" (Divine service) was fervent and intense.
Like his father, the Ruzhiner, the first Shtefaneshter Rebbe was a regal figure. Dr. Menachem Mendel Brayer, father of the Boyaner Rebbe, saw the Rebbe during his youth in Ștefănești; according to Brayer, the Rebbe was characterized by "the light jest, the smile, the delicacy, the good cheer, the ability to penetrate without piercing and the ability to touch one point without touching the boundary. Like his father before him, he liked to tell stories of action, but did not have his father's gift for symbolic abstraction". The Rebbe built a palatial house with a large garden in Ștefănești and conducted himself like a king, including the riding of horses. After his death in 1869, the first Shtefaneshter Rebbe was buried in Iași. The area of the former graveyard was later replaced by a public park, and there is no memorial to the first Rebbe.
Rabbi Avrohom Mattisyohu Friedman, Second Shtefaneshter Rebbe.
Rabbi Menachem Nochum's only son and successor, Rabbi Avrohom Mattisyohu, was born on the eighth day of Hanukkah 1847 in Sadigura. At his brit milah, his grandfather, the Ruzhiner Rebbe, gave him the second name Mattisyohu after Mattathias Maccabee the High Priest. In 1862 he married the daughter of Reb Yitzchok Reich of Reisha, but they divorced after 11 years without children. He then remarried his cousin Sarah Zipporah, a daughter of Reb Yosef Mansohn of Berdychiv, who had been widowed by her husband Reb Aharon Schorr of Berdychiv. Rabbi Avrohom Mattisyohu adopted her three children; they did not have children of their own.
Rabbi Avrohom Mattisyohu was 21 years old when his father, Rabbi Menachem Nochum, died in 1869. After much pleading and the approval of his uncle, Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Friedman, the first Rebbe of Sadigura, Rabbi Avrohom Mattisyahu agreed to fill his father's position, a role he held for 64 years.
The second Stefaneshter Rebbe was considered to be one of the hidden tzaddikim of his generation. Many stories were told about the miracles he effected.
On one occasion a Hasid came to the Rebbe, crying that his daughter had fallen ill with typhus and was in a desperate condition. Her hours were numbered and only a miracle could save her. The Rebbe gave the Hasid his personal spoon which he used every morning to eat breakfast, and a piece of his bread, and told the Hasid to feed the bread to his daughter with the spoon. Although the girl couldn't swallow and hadn't eaten anything in days, she readily consumed the Rebbe’s "shirayim" [leftovers from a Rebbe's meal] and a few days later she was back to herself and lived to a ripe old age. The spoon, handed down from generation to generation, is until today a family heirloom.
His influence over Romanian Jewry was immense and his following numbered in the thousands. He was revered by Jews and Christians alike. On his annual visit to Bucharest, all the shops were closed in his honor and tens of thousands of people came out to welcome him. The presence of his court turned Ștefănești into one of the most important Hasidic centers in Eastern Europe. He never spoke at his "tish", but "created an atmosphere of profound meditation and awe" by his presence alone.
Three of the ten synagogues in the town were located in the Rebbe's courtyard. The Rebbe also looked after the welfare of many devout Hasidim who cut themselves off from the outside world in order to pursue their Divine service. Among those who stayed for months or even years in his court were Rabbi Chaim Zanvl Abramowitz, the Ribnitzer Rebbe, and Rabbi Eliezer Zusia Portugal, the first Skulener Rebbe.
The second Shtefaneshter Rebbe died on July 15, 1933 (21 Tammuz 5693). His funeral, held in the town of Iaşi, attracted 50,000 mourners. As he was never blessed with offspring, he had invited his sister's son, Rabbi Menachem Nochum of Itskani, to Ștefănești in order to succeed him. However, Rabbi Menachem Nochum died a month before the Rebbe did. The grave of the second Shtefaneshter Rebbe became a hallowed pilgrimage site for Jews and Christians alike, attracting thousands of visitors on his yahrtzeit and the depositing of thousands of prayer notes written in Hebrew, Yiddish, and Romanian in his "ohel".
In 1968 Dr. Joseph Brayer, former av beis din (head of the rabbinical court) of Shtefanesht and as of 2006 rabbi in the Tiferet Avraham Matitiahu Synagogue in The Bronx, New York, initiated a plan to reinter the Rebbe's remains in Israel. The body was exhumed under the direction of Dr. Moses Rosen, Chief Rabbi of Romania, and reinterred in the Ruzhin plot in the Nahalat Yitzhak Cemetery in Giv'atayim, Israel. This new gravesite also became a shrine for people in need of blessings and salvation, with thousands of visitors each year on the Rebbe's yahrtzeit. Back in Romania, Orthodox Christian peasants continued to light candles and leave prayer notes in the Rebbe’s empty "ohel" in the hope that the Rebbe would still intercede on their behalf.
Shtefanesht yeshiva.
After the second Shtefaneshter Rebbe's death, a yeshiva named Beis Avrohom was established in the courtyard of the Rebbe's house in his memory. Its rosh yeshiva (dean) was Rabbi Joseph Brayer. By 1936, nearly 60 students were learning there. The curriculum included both Talmudic studies and state gymnasium learning; students were tested on the latter twice yearly by the government boards of Botoșani and Iași. The yeshiva disbanded in June 1941 when the Romanian authorities evicted the town’s Jews.
Toras Emes Institute.
In 1993 the Torah Emes Institute was founded in Bnei Brak by Rabbi Avraham Yaakov Solomon to preserve the legacy of the Shtefanesht dynasty.


Directorate of Operations (CIA)

The Directorate of Operations (DO), less formally called the Clandestine Service, is one of the smallest components of the US Central Intelligence Agency. It was known as the "Directorate of Plans" from 1951 to 1973; as the "Directorate of Operations" from 1973 to 2005; and as the "National Clandestine Service" (NCS) from 2005 to 2015.
The DO "serves as the clandestine arm of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the national authority for the coordination, de-confliction, and evaluation of clandestine operations across the Intelligence Community of the United States". , the Deputy Director for Operations' identity was not officially disclosed.
History.
Predecessors.
The Directorate of Plans was originally conceived to solve organizational rivalry between the Office of Special Operations (OSO) and the Office of Policy Coordination (OPC). There was operational overlap between the two CIA departments, even though OSO was focused on intelligence collection whereas OPC was more focused on covert action. Director of Central Intelligence Walter Bedell Smith attempted to ameliorate the situation by appointing Allen Dulles on January 4, 1951, to the new position of Deputy Director for Plans (DDP) where he would supervise the two entities. According to Anne Karalekas, a staffer of the Church Committee who wrote a history of the CIA, that was merely a cosmetic change, and it was only on August 1, 1952 that OPC and OSO were properly merged to form the Directorate of Plans (DDP). The Directorate of Plans used the abbreviation of its chief. According to John Prados, the name was intended to disguise the true function of the Directorate.
The Directorate was the CIA branch that conducted covert operations and recruited foreign agents. DDP consisted of, among other subdivisions, a unit for political and economic covert action (the Covert Action Staff), for paramilitary covert action (the Special Operations unit), for counterintelligence, and for several geographic desks responsible for the collection of foreign intelligence. On March 1, 1973, DDP became the Directorate of Operations and the director became known as the Deputy Director for Operations (DDO).
The Directorate also housed special groups for conducting counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism, for tracking nuclear proliferation, and other tasks.
Approval of clandestine and covert operations.
Approval of clandestine and covert operations came from a variety of committees, although in the early days of quasi-autonomous offices and the early DDP, there was more internal authority to approve operations. After its creation in the Truman administration, the CIA was, initially, the financial manager for OPC and OSO, authorized to handle "unvouchered funds" by National Security Council document 4-A of December 1947, the launching of peacetime covert action operations. NSC 4-A made the Director of Central Intelligence responsible for psychological warfare, establishing at the same time the principle that covert action was an exclusively Executive Branch function.
Early autonomy of OPC.
Initially, the supervision by committee allowed the OPC to exercise
<poem>early use of its new covert action mandate dissatisfied officials at the Departments of State and Defense. The Department of State, believing this role too important to be left to the CIA alone and concerned that the military might create a new rival covert action office in the Pentagon, pressed to reopen the issue of where responsibility for covert action activities should reside. Consequently, on June 18, 1948, a new NSC directive, NSC 10/2, superseded NSC 4-A.
NSC 10/2 directed the CIA to conduct "covert" rather than merely "psychological" operations, defining them as all activities "which are conducted or sponsored by this Government against hostile foreign states or groups or in support of friendly foreign states or groups but which are so planned and executed that any US Government responsibility for them is not evident to unauthorized persons and that if uncovered the US Government can plausibly disclaim any responsibility for them".</poem>
NSC 10/2 defined the scope of these operations as:
propaganda; economic warfare; preventive direct action, including sabotage, demolition and evacuation measures; subversion against hostile states, including assistance to underground resistance movements, guerrillas and refugee liberations groups, and support of indigenous anti-Communist elements in threatened countries of the free world. Such operations should not include armed conflict by recognized military forces, espionage, counter-espionage, and cover and deception for military operations.<ref name="NSC10/2"></ref>
Guerrilla warfare was outside this statement of scope, but such operations came under partial CIA control with NSC 10/5 of October 1951. See "Psychological Strategy Board" below. To implement covert actions under NSC 10/2, the OPC was created on September 1, 1948. Its initial structure had it taking guidance from the State Department in peacetime and from the military in wartime, initially had direct access to the State Department and to the military without having to proceed through the CIA's administrative hierarchy, provided the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) was informed of all important projects and decisions. In 1950 this arrangement was modified to ensure that policy guidance came to OPC through the DCI. During the Korean War, the OPC grew quickly. Wartime commitments and other missions soon made covert action the most expensive and bureaucratically prominent of the CIA's activities.
Concerned about this situation, DCI Walter Bedell Smith in early 1951 asked the NSC for enhanced policy guidance and a ruling on the proper "scope and magnitude" of CIA operations. The White House responded with two initiatives. In April 1951 President Truman created the Psychological Strategy Board (PSB) under the NSC to coordinate government-wide psychological warfare strategy.
Putting special operations under a "psychological" organization paralleled the military's development of U.S. Army Special Forces, which was created by a Pentagon unit called the Psychological Warfare Division. "NSC 10/5, issued in October 1951, reaffirmed the covert action mandate given in NSC 10/2 and expanded CIA's authority over guerrilla warfare" The incoming Eisenhower administration soon abolished the PSB, but the expansion of the CIA's covert action writ in NSC 10/5 helped ensure that covert action would remain a major function of the Agency.
As the Truman administration ended, CIA was near the peak of its independence and authority in the field of covert action. Although CIA continued to seek and receive advice on specific projects ...no group or officer outside of the DCI and the President himself had authority to order, approve, manage, or curtail operations.
Increasing control by CIA management.
After Smith, who was Eisenhower's World War II Chief of Staff, consolidated the CIA, the OPC and the OSO in 1952, the Eisenhower administration began narrowing the CIA's latitude in 1954. In accordance with a series of National Security Council directives, the Director of Central Intelligence's responsibility for the conduct of covert operations was further clarified. President Eisenhower approved NSC 5412 on March 15, 1954, reaffirming the CIA's responsibility for conducting covert actions abroad". A series of committees, containing representatives from State, Defense, the CIA, and sometimes the White House or NSC, reviewed operations. Over time and reorganizations, these committees were called the Operations Coordinating Board (OCB), NSC 5412/2 Special Group or simply Special Group, Special Group (Augmented), 303 Committee, and Special Group (Counterinsurgency).
National Clandestine Service.
In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001, a report by the Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities before and after the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001, conducted by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the report released by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, identified serious shortcomings in the Intelligence Community's HUMINT capabilities, ranging from the lack of qualified linguists to the lack of Community-wide information sharing. These efforts resulted in the passage of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act in 2004, which created the position of the Director of National Intelligence and tasked the CIA's Director with developing a "strategy for improving the human intelligence and other capabilities of the Agency."
In 2004, Senator Pat Roberts, the Senate Intelligence Committee's Chairman, drafted the 9/11 National Security Protection Act in which he proposed that the Directorate of Operations be removed from the CIA and established as an independent agency known as the National Clandestine Service. The NCS' creation was also recommended by the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction. The Commission's investigation found that HUMINT capabilities had been severely degraded since the end of the Cold War and were ill-suited for targeting non-state actors such as terrorist organizations. The Commission also noted that HUMINT operations were poorly coordinated between the various federal entities who conducted them and encouraged the development of better methods of validating human sources, in light of the revelations about the source known as Curveball.
Beginning its study of the Intelligence Community in 1995, a non-governmental group including former National Security Agency Director William E. Odom, former Defense Intelligence Agency Director Harry E. Soyster, former DIA Director and Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper, and former General Counsel for the CIA and the NSA Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker, issued a report, first in 1997 and in an updated form in 2002, which recommended the NCS' creation.
The CIA announced the NCS' creation in a press release on October 13, 2005. Contrary to Senator Roberts' proposal, the NCS would be a component of the CIA, rather than an independent executive branch agency.
Organization.
The NCS is structured under its Director as follows:
A major headquarters element was the Counterintelligence Staff, most powerful when led by James Jesus Angleton. It was the principal U.S. organization responsible for vetting potential new Clandestine HUMINT assets, and for U.S. offensive counterespionage and deception.
Various groups provide support services, such as cover documentation and disguise. A technical services unit, sometimes in the clandestine division and occasionally in the Directorate of Science and Technology, contained both espionage equipment development and sometimes questionable research, such as the MKULTRA mind control program.
Special Activities Center.
Under an assortment of names, such as Special Activities Center, there is a paramilitary function that may enter and prepare an area of operations before U.S. Special Operation Forces enter in a more overt military role. This may or may not include psychological operations, especially black propaganda; paramilitary and psychological functions have split and joined under various historical reorganizations.
Administrated by the DO, the paramilitary operations officers from the Special Operations Group are maintained in the Special Activities Center. They are highly skilled in weaponry; covert transport of personnel and material by air, sea, and land; guerrilla warfare; the use of explosives; assassination and sabotage; and escape and evasion techniques. They are prepared to respond quickly to myriad possible needs, from parachute drops and communications support to assistance with counter-narcotics operations and defector infiltration. SAC maintains a symbiotic relationship with the Joint Special Operations Command, and is largely run by former JSOC members.
SAC/SOG is a special operations force, along with the military's five special mission units:
For special operations missions and its other responsibilities, the Special Operations staff attempts to recruit people with the requisite specialized skills, although geographic desks remain the principal units involved in the recruitment of personnel in so-called denied areas (such as Libya, Iran, Iraq, et cetera). Special operations also provide special air, ground, maritime and training support for the Agency's intelligence gathering operations.
DO officers.
The DO consists of four career categories of officers:
Below are brief descriptions of the four principal categories and where applicable the sub-categories of Clandestine Service Officers.
Officers in this career track will directly support and drive complex worldwide NCS operations to develop actionable intelligence against the highest priority threats to U.S. national security.
Qualified candidates can expect to focus on intelligence operations and activities for U.S. policymakers in hazardous and austere overseas environments.
The NCS' primary action arm is the Special Activities Center, which conducts direct action-like raids, ambushes, sabotage, assassinations, unconventional warfare (e.g. training and leading guerrillas), and deniable psychological operations, the latter also known as "covert influence". While special reconnaissance may be either a military or intelligence operation, these usually are executed by SAD officers in denied areas. Paramilitary Operations Officers are chosen mainly from the ranks of U.S. special operations forces. SAD operatives are the most specialized because they combine the best special operations and clandestine intelligence capabilities in one individual. They operate in any environment (sea, air, or ground), with limited to no support. They originate in the SAD's Special Operations Group (SOG), considered one of the most elite special operations units in the world.
Program and Plans Officers devise, oversee and carry out a variety of particularly unique, complex and long-term clandestine operational activities primarily of a non-paramilitary nature, but often in support of paramilitary programs. Language Officers 'Perform a critical and dynamic function within the NCS, the Language Officer applies advanced foreign language skills, experience, and expertise to provide high-quality translation, interpretation, and language-related support for a variety of NCS clandestine operations.""
Covert action.
A covert action is defined as "an activity or activities of the United States government to influence political, economic, or military conditions abroad, where it is intended that the role of the United States Government will not be apparent or acknowledged publicly". A covert operation differs from a clandestine operation in that emphasis is placed on concealment of the identity of the sponsor rather than on concealment of the operation.
Covert operations include paramilitary and psychological activities. See Psychological Operations (United States) for a more general discussion of U.S. psychological operations, including those operations for which the CIA is responsible and those that belong to other agencies.
Executive Order 12333 bans assassinations by persons employed by or acting on behalf of the United States government.
Clandestine HUMINT collection.
A number of statutes, executive orders, and directives assign the task of conducting HUMINT operations to the CIA:
Techniques for the clandestine collection of HUMINT are collectively known as tradecraft. A discussion of many of these techniques can be found at Clandestine HUMINT operational techniques.
Very few statutes and publicly available regulations deal specifically with clandestine HUMINT techniques. One such statute forbids the use of journalists as agents unless the President makes the written determination to waive this restriction based on the "overriding national security interest of the United States". In the Intelligence Authorization Act for the Fiscal Year 2002, Congress instructed the CIA's Director to rescind what Congress viewed as overly restrictive guidelines regarding the recruitment of foreign assets who had a record of human rights violations.
Camp Peary (also referred to as "The Farm"), near Williamsburg, Virginia, is purportedly a CIA training facility for clandestine operatives.
Clandestine technical collection.
The Agency also may be responsible for developing communications systems appropriate for clandestine operations. In 1962, the Central Intelligence Agency, Deputy Directorate for Research (now the Deputy Directorate for Science and Technology), formally took on ELINT and COMINT responsibilities.
Sometimes in cooperation with technical personnel at other agencies such as the NSA when the collection discipline is SIGINT, or the DIA when the techniques come MASINT, or other appropriate agencies such as the Department of Energy for nuclear information, the CIA may work to place technical collection equipment in denied territory. They have also cooperated in placing such equipment into U.S. embassies. Emplacing and servicing such equipment is another form of clandestine operation, of which the adversary should not be aware. These include:
See MASINT from clandestinely placed sensors. The CIA took on a more distinct MASINT responsibility in 1987. The National Security Archive commented, "In 1987, Deputy Director for Science and Technology Evan Hineman established... a new Office for Special Projects. concerned not with satellites, but with emplaced sensors – sensors that could be placed in a fixed location to collect signals intelligence or measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) about a specific target. Such sensors had been used to monitor Chinese missile tests, Soviet laser activity, military movements, and foreign nuclear programs. The office was established to bring together scientists from the DS&T’s Office of SIGINT Operations, who designed such systems, with operators from the Directorate of Operations, who were responsible for transporting the devices to their clandestine locations and installing them."
Overt HUMINT.
In addition they may produce HUMINT from overt sources, such as voluntary interviews with travelers, businesspeople, etc. Some of the latter may be considered open source intelligence OSINT and be performed by other agencies, just as reports from diplomats are another form of HUMINT that flows into the State Department.
At times, this function may be assigned to the CIA, because its counter-intelligence staff has biographical indexes that let them check the background of foreign citizens offering information. For example, there may be a name check on a business or scientific contact who meets either with CIA representatives or staff of the National Open Source Enterprise.
Controversy.
The Directorate has been subject to harsh criticism in the media, and due to its covert and independent nature did not, or could not, effectively respond. Its capabilities had been in decline since the public outcry resulting from the Church Committee's revelations of the DO's highly questionable activities. Furthermore, the DO fought frequent "turf" battles amongst the Executive Branch bureaucracies, most prominently with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Defense and State Departments. These factors became key reasons for the NCS's inception.
Former NCS Director Jose Rodriguez was criticized for his role in the 2005 CIA interrogation tapes destruction.


John Damer

Hon. John Damer (25 June 1744 – 15 August 1776) was a British Whig politician.
Family.
John was the first of three sons of Joseph Damer, 1st Earl of Dorchester by the Lady Caroline Sackville daughter of Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset and of Elizabeth Colyear his wife daughter of Lieutenant-General Walter Philip Colyear brother to David Colyear, 1st Earl of Portmore. His younger brothers were the Hon. Lionel Damer and the George Damer, 2nd Earl of Dorchester.
Education.
Damer was educated at Eton (1755–61) and Trinity College, Cambridge (1762).
Marriage.
He married Anne Seymour-Conway, daughter of Field Marshal Rt. Hon. Henry Seymour Conway and Lady Caroline Campbell, on 14 June 1767. She separated from him seven years later.
Political career.
Damer was the Member of Parliament for Gatton 1768–1774.
Death.
Damer got heavily into debt and his father refused to help him financially. He shot himself on 15 August 1776 at the Bedford Arms, Covent Garden.


Institute of Banking Personnel Selection

The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) is a central government owned bank personnel recruitment agency under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Finance , Government of India that was started with an aim to encourage the recruitment and placement of young undergraduates and postgraduates in central government owned banks in India. It also provides standardised systems for assessment and result processing services to organisations.
History.
After nationalisation of banks in India in 1969, Indian banks needed to expand their branch network across the country so that they were more accessible to their customers. This required more staff but recruitment through methods such as advertising were unsatisfactory. Thus, the banks asked the National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM) to design a selection testing process through which they could hire proficient candidates. And as a result, a small unit named Personnel Selection Services (PSS) was established to handle these types of projects. A few years later, in 1984, PSS was converted into IBPS.
IBPS currently functions as an autonomous body that is mainly engaged in conducting competitive exams for recruitment to clerical and officers' posts in the banking sector.
Earlier, candidates had to write multiple exams conducted by each bank for their vacancies. But from 2012, the Recruitment process has been changed. Now IBPS conducts four different recruitment processes namely CRP PO/MT, CRP RRBs, CRP Clerical, CRP Specialist Officers under which various exams take place every year for banking sector recruitment. The exams conducted by IBPS are as follows:
Governance.
IBPS is governed by a board that includes nominees from government organisations such as the Reserve Bank of India, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, Indian Institute of Technology Mumbai, Indian Institute of Banking and Finance, National Institute of Bank Management, Indian Banks' Association and the government owned banks.
Services.
IBPS offers its services to banks in the government and private sectors, regional rural banks, and foreign banks. It also serves other financial institutions, including co-operative banks, insurance companies, academic institutions, and both private- and state-owned companies.
The services are:


Versement transport

In France, the versement transport (abbreviated VT) is a hypothecated urban regional payroll tax levied on the total gross salaries of all employees of companies of more than 11 employees, originally intended to raise capital for investment in local public transport infrastructure, but more and more used to cover its operating expenses. The tax is levied on the employer, not the employee directly. The money is directed to the (AOT, "Urban Regional Transport Authority"), the local government authority responsible for organising public transport.
In 2010, for example, this tax financed nearly 40% of the operational cost for the public transport network in Ile-de-France through the (STIF), the AOT for the Île-de-France, which includes Paris. The STIF distributed the money between the Régie autonome des transports parisiens (RATP, the metropolitan transport authority), the Société nationale des chemins de fer français (SNCF, the state railway operator) and the Optile group (private companies that operate bus lines in the suburbs).
Expansion.
First established in the Paris region, in 1973 the VT was extended to all urban regions of over people. In 1974 this was extended to those whose population exceeded , in 1982, to those over (by the "Administration Territoriale de la République" law) and in 1999 to those over (the , more commonly known as the Chevènement law). The money is directed to the local autorité organisatrice de transport urbain. Between 1975 and 1982, the minimum population being fixed at may have played a decisive part in the creation of AOTs encompassing several smaller communes, and in the extension of (PTUs, "Urban Transport limits", i.e. essentially the edges of fare zones).
Rates.
General.
The VT rate is variable depending on the size of the population in the PTU. Since 2011, it is limited to 0.9% for PTUs with fewer than inhabitants.
Deductions.
Employers who grow to exceed the threshold of 11 employees are exempt from paying transport tax for three years and receive a discount of 75% the fourth year, 50% the fifth year and 25% in year six.
Usage.
In the 1970s, this tax was used to modernise the public transport networks.
External links.
Source: legifrance.gouv.fr


Berthold (patriarch of Aquileia)

Berthold (c. 1180 – 23 May 1251) was the count of Andechs (as Berthold V) from 1204, the archbishop of Kalocsa from 1206 until 1218, and from 1218 the patriarch of Aquileia until his death.
He was a younger son of the Bavarian count Berthold IV of Andechs, who was elevated to a duke of Merania by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1183. His mother was Agnes of Rochlitz, a member of the Saxon Wettin dynasty. Among his siblings were Duke Otto I of Merania, French queen Agnes, Hungarian queen Gertrude, and Saint Hedwig of Silesia.
Berthold, chosen for an ecclesiastical career, became provost at the cathedral chapter of the Archdiocese of Bamberg in 1203. He followed his sister Gertrude to the Hungarian court under King Andrew II, who in 1206 had his brother-in-law elected Archbishop of Kalocsa. However, the appointment was not acknowledged by Pope Innocent III in 1212, until Berthold had applied himself to intense study in the Diocese of Vicenza. Nevertheless, King Andrew also made him Ban of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia, and even Voivode of Transylvania and the king's deputy in 1212. His undue preference at the instigation of his sister disgusted the Hungarian magnates. In 1213, while the king was on a campaign to Galicia–Volhynia, they dared a raid into a queen's hunting camp and murdered Getrude and several of her liensmen, while Berthold narrowly escaped his life with Leopold VI of Austria.
On 10 February 1218 Pope Honorius III appointed him Patriarch of Aquileia. In 1238 Berthold moved the capital of the ecclesiastical state from Cividale to Udine, where he gave orders to erect a cathedral. He secured his position being a loyal supporter of the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick II against the Italian cities of the Lombard League. However, in the fierce conflict between the emperor and Pope Gregory IX, his loyalty earned him a papal excommunication in 1239, which nevertheless was revoked two years later upon the intercession by King Andrew II of Hungary. In his later years, Betroldo tried to arbitrate between Emperor and Pope, though ultimately to no avail.
With Berthold's death, his line of the counts of Andechs became extinct. He was also the last in a long line of German Patriarchs of Aquileia. His successor Gregorio di Montelongo had led a Guelph coalition against Emperor Frederick II.


Hari Singh

Maharaja Sir Hari Singh (23 September 1895 – 26 April 1961) was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in the British Raj and later India.
Early life.
Hari Singh was born on 23 September 1895 at the palace of Amar Mahal, Jammu, the only surviving son of Raja Amar Singh Jamwal, the brother of Maharaja Pratap Singh, then the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir in a Dogra Rajput family. Since the Maharaja had no issue, Hari Singh was heir to the throne of Jammu and Kashmir.
In 1903, Hari Singh served as a page of honour to Lord Curzon at the grand Delhi Durbar. At the age of thirteen, he was sent to Mayo College in Ajmer. A year later, in 1909, his father died, and the British took a keen interest in his education and appointed Major H. K. Brar as his guardian. After Mayo College, Hari Singh went to the British-run Imperial Cadet Corps at Dehradun for military training.
Maharaja Pratap Singh appointed him as the commander-in-chief of the State Forces in 1915.
Personal life.
The "youthful escapades" of Hari Singh included paying £300,000 for blackmail by a prostitute in Paris in 1921. That issue had resulted in a court case in London in 1924 during which the India Office tried to keep his name out of proceedings by arranging for him to be referred to as "Mr A."
Singh was known as a lavish spender of money. The funeral of his uncle and former ruler Pratap Singh is believed to have expended much gold and jewellery in the funeral pyre.
Singh married four times as his first three wives failed to give birth to his heirs. Each of them died within a few years of childlessness allowing Hari Singh to immediately take a new bride. With his last wife, Tara Devi Sahiba of Kangra, he had a son, Karan Singh.
Reign.
Following the death of his uncle Pratap Singh in 1925, Hari Singh ascended the throne of Jammu and Kashmir. He made primary education compulsory in the state, introduced laws prohibiting child marriage, and opened places of worship to the low castes.
The Seal of Maharaja Hari Singh had a Crown at the top. A "katar" or ceremonial dagger sat below the crown. Two soldiers held the flags. An image of the sun was between them, that symbolised his Rajput lineage from Lord Surya, the Hindu Sun God.
1931 Kashmir agitation & Kashmir Martyrs' Day. Hari Singh was believed to have been hostile towards the Indian National Congress, in part because of the close friendship between Kashmiri political activist and socialist Sheikh Abdullah and the Congress leader Jawaharlal Nehru. He also opposed the Muslim League and its members' communalist outlook, as represented by their two-nation theory.
Partition and accession.
In 1947, after India gained independence from British rule, Jammu and Kashmir could have joined India, joined Pakistan, or remained independent. Hari Singh originally manoeuvred to maintain his independence by playing off both India and Pakistan. There was a widespread belief that rulers of the princely states, in deciding to accede to India or Pakistan, should respect the wishes of the population, but few rulers took any steps to consult on such decisions. Pashtun tribesmen from Pakistan then invaded Kashmir and defeated Hari Singh's forces. Hari Singh appealed to India for help. Although the Indian Prime Minister Nehru was ready to send troops, the Governor-General of India, Lord Mountbatten of Burma, advised the Maharaja to accede to India before India could send its troops. Hence, considering the emergency situation, the Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession on 26 October 1947, joining the whole of his princely state (including Jammu, Kashmir, Northern Areas, Ladakh, Trans-Karakoram Tract and Aksai Chin) to the Dominion of India. These events triggered the first Indo-Pakistan War.
Pressure from Nehru and Sardar Patel eventually compelled Hari Singh to appoint his son and heir, Yuvraj (Crown Prince) Karan Singh, as Prince Regent of Jammu and Kashmir in 1949, although he remained the titular Maharaja of the state until 1952, when the monarchy was abolished by Nehru's government. He was also forced to appoint the popular Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdullah as the prime minister of Kashmir. He had a contentious relationship with both Nehru and Abdullah. Karan Singh was appointed 'Sadr-e-Riyasat' ('Head of State') in 1952 and Governor of the State in 1964. Abdullah would later be dismissed from his position as prime minister of Kashmir and jailed by Karan Singh.
Nehru and Abdullah conspired to banish Singh from Jammu and Kashmir and forced him to live in exile in Bombay. Singh spent his final days in Bombay. He died on 26 April 1961, after fourteen years of his banishment. As per his will, his ashes were brought to Jammu and spread all over Jammu and Kashmir and immersed in the Tawi River at Jammu.
Family.
He was married four times. With his fourth wife, Maharani Tara Devi (1910–1967), he had one son, Yuvraj (crown prince) Karan Singh.
External links.
[[Category:Dethroned monarchs]]
[[Category:Rajput rulers]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order]]
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1961 deaths]]
[[Category:Maharajas of Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Indian Hindus]]
[[Category:Indian knights]]
[[Category:Hindu monarchs]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian royalty]]


Ban Kulin

Kulin (d. November 1204) was the Ban of Bosnia from 1180 to 1204, first as a vassal of the Byzantine Empire and then of the Kingdom of Hungary, although his state was de facto independent. He was one of Bosnia's most prominent and notable historic rulers and had a great effect on the development of early Bosnian history. One of his most noteworthy diplomatic achievements is widely considered to have been the signing of the Charter of Ban Kulin, which encouraged trade and established peaceful relations between Dubrovnik and his realm of Bosnia. His son, Stjepan Kulinić succeeded him as Bosnian Ban. Kulin founded the House of Kulinić.
Early life.
Kulin's sister was married to Miroslav of Hum, the brother of Serbian Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja (r. 1166–1196). Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos (1143–1180) was at that time the overlord of Bosnia. In 1180, when Komnenos died, Stefan Nemanja and Kulin asserted independence of Serbia and Bosnia, respectively.
Reign.
His rule is often remembered as being emblematic of Bosnia's golden age, and he is a common hero of Bosnian national folk tales. Under him, the "Bosnian Age of Peace and Prosperity" would come to exist. Bosnia was completely autonomous and mostly at peace during his rule.
War against Byzantium.
In 1183, he led his troops with the forces of the Kingdom of Hungary under King Béla and the Serbs under Stefan Nemanja, who had just launched an attack on the Byzantine Empire. The cause of the war was Hungary's non-recognition of the new emperor, Andronikos Komnenos. The united forces met little resistance in the eastern Serbian lands - the Byzantine squadrons were fighting among themselves as the local Byzantine commanders Alexios Brannes supported the new Emperor, while Andronikos Lapardes opposed him - and deserted the Imperial Army, going onto adventures on his own. Without difficulties, the Byzantines were pushed out of the Morava Valley and the allied forces breached all the way to Sofia, raiding Belgrade, Braničevo, Ravno, Niš and Sofia itself.
Bogomils.
In 1199, Serbian prince Vukan Nemanjić informed the Pope, Innocent, of heresy in Bosnia. Vukan claimed that Kulin, a heretic, had welcomed the heretics whom Bernard of Split had banished, and treated them as Christians. In 1200, the Pope wrote a letter to Kulin's suzerain, the Hungarian King Emeric, warning him that “no small number of Patarenes” had gone from Split and Trogir to Ban Kulin where they were warmly welcomed, and told him to “Go and ascertain the truth of these reports and if Kulin is unwilling to recant, drive him from your lands and confiscate his property.” Kulin replied to the Pope that he did not regard the immigrants as heretics, but as Catholics, and that he was sending a few of them to Rome for examination, and also invited that a Papal representative be sent to investigate. Unconvinced, the Pope sent his legates to Bosnia to interrogate Kulin and his subjects about religion and life, and if indeed heretical, correct the situation through a prepared constitution. The Pope wrote to Bernard in 1202 that "a multitude of people in Bosnia are suspected of the damnable heresy of the Cathars." The two legates sent by the Pope went through the country of Bosnia and interrogated the clergy.
Bilino Polje abjuration.
Not only did Casamaris listen to his informants’ answers, but where they were in error, he would have taught them correct doctrine, in line with Innocent's directive. John must have convinced himself that he had fulfilled Innocent's command to correct the krstjani, because the “Confessio” (Abjuration) signed at Bilino Polje by seven priors of the Krstjani church on 8 April 1203, makes no mention of errors. The same document was brought to Budapest, 30 April by Casamaris and Kulin and two abbots, where it was examined by the Hungarian King and the high clergy. Kulin's son
On the surface, the “Confessio” concerned church organization and practices. The monks renounced their schism with Rome and agreed to accept Rome as the mother church. They promised to erect chapels with altars and crucifixes, where they would have priests who would say Mass and dispense Holy Communion at least seven times a year on the main feast days.
The priests would also hear confession and give penances. The monks promised to chant the hours, night and day, and to read the Old Testament as well as the New. They would follow the Church's schedule of fasts, as well as their own regimen. They also agreed to stop calling themselves krstjani—which had been their exclusive privilege—lest they cause pain to other Christians. They would wear special, uncolored robes, closed and reaching the ankles. In addition they were to have graveyards next to the church, where they would bury their brethren and any visitors who happened to die there.
Women members of the order were to have special quarters away from the men and to eat separately; nor could they be seen talking alone with a monk, lest they cause scandal. The abbots also agreed not to offer lodging to manicheans or other heretics. Finally, upon the death of the head of their order (magister), the abbots, after consultation with their fellow monks, would submit their choice to the Pope for his approval. As for the Bosnian Catholic diocese itself, John advised Innocent that they needed to break the hold
of the Slavonic bishop who had ruled the Bosnian church up to then, and to appoint three or four Latin bishops, since Bosnia was a large country (“ten days’ walk”).
After the “Confessio” was approved by King Emmerich, John de Casamaris, in a letter to Innocent, refers to “the former Patarenes.”(23) Obviously, he thought that he had converted the krstjani, but he was wrong.
Partly due to Rome's complacency (caused by Casamaris's feelings of success) and the Pope's failure to appoint Latin bishops, as John had suggested, the heretical movement grew stronger over the next few decades, uniting with remnants of the old native Catholic
church. Together they formed a national, heretical church which survived crusades and threats of crusades until the mid-fifteenth century, when it gradually vanished in the face of the Ottoman takeover.
Charter of Ban Kulin.
The Charter of Ban Kulin was a trade agreement between Bosnia and the Republic of Ragusa that effectively regulated Ragusan trade rights in Bosnia written on 29 August 1189. It is one of the oldest written state documents in the Balkans and is among the oldest historical documents written in Bosančica. The charter is of great significance in national pride and historical heritage.
Death.
After the death of Ban Kulin in 1204, the Bosnian throne was succeeded by his son Stjepan Kulinić (often referred to in English as Stephen Kulinić).
Marriage and children.
Kulin married Vojislava, with whom he had two sons:
Legacy and folklore.
As a founder of first de facto independent Bosnian state, Kulin was and still is highly regarded among Bosnians. Even today Kulin's era is regarded as one of the most prosperous historical eras, not just for Bosnian medieval state and its feudal lords, but for the common people as well, whose lasting memory of those times is kept in Bosnian folklore, like an old folk proverb with significant meaning: "Od kulina Bana i dobrijeh dana" ("").<br>
Accordingly, in today's Bosnia and Herzegovina, many streets and town squares, as well as cultural institutions, and non-governmental organizations, bear Kulin's name, while numerous culturally significant events, manifestation, festivals and anniversaries are held in celebration of his life and deeds.