North from Thursday

North from Thursday is a 1960 novel from Australian author Jon Cleary. It is set in New Guinea and concerns the eruption of a volcano, forcing a group of survivors to flee across the country. The story is based on the 1951 eruption of Mount Lamington.
Cleary was motivated to write the novel because he was interested in exploring the concept of Australia as a colonial power and researched the book by visiting New Guinea with his wife. He went on a patrol in the Highlands.
Reception.
The novel was not a big seller in Australia but did well in other countries. It was optioned for the movies but a film version proved too expensive to raise finance.
Adaptation.
The novel was serialised in the "Sydney Morning Herald" and was adapted for radio in 1963.


Territorial dispute

A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of land between two or more political entities.
Context and definitions.
Territorial disputes are often related to the possession of natural resources such as rivers, fertile farmland, mineral or petroleum resources although the disputes can also be driven by culture, religion, and ethnic nationalism. Territorial disputes often result from vague and unclear language in a treaty that set up the original boundary.
Territorial disputes are a major cause of wars and terrorism, as states often try to assert their sovereignty over a territory through invasion, and non-state entities try to influence the actions of politicians through terrorism. International law does not support the use of force by one state to annex the territory of another state. The UN Charter states, "All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations."
In some cases in which the boundary is not demarcated, such as the Taiwan Strait, and Kashmir, the parties involved define a line of control, which serves as the "de facto" international border.
Basis in international law.
Territorial disputes have significant meaning in the international society, both by their relation to the fundamental right of states, sovereignty and also because they are important for international peace. International law has significant relations with territorial disputes because territorial disputes tackles the basis of international law; the state territory. International law is based on the persons of international law, which requires a defined territory, as mentioned in the 1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States.
Article 1 of the Montevideo Convention declares that
"a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) capacity to enter into relations with other States"
Also, B. T. Sumner's article mentions, "In international law and relations, ownership of territory is significant because sovereignty over land defines what constitutes a state."
Therefore, the breach of a country's borders or territorial disputes pose a threat to a state's very sovereignty and the right as a person of international law. In addition, territorial disputes are sometimes brought to the International Court of Justice, as was the case in Costa Rica and Nicaragua (2005). Territorial disputes cannot be separated from international law, whose basis is on the law of state borders, and their potential settlement also relies on international law and the Court.


Border

Borders are political (and geographic) boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Borders are established through agreements between political or social entities that control those areas; the creation of these agreements is called boundary delimitation.
Some borders—such as most state's internal administrative border, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and completely unguarded. Most external borders are partially or fully controlled, and may be crossed legally only at designated border checkpoints and border zones may be controlled.
Borders may even foster the setting up of buffer zones. A difference has also been established in academic scholarship between border and frontier, the latter denoting a state of mind rather than state boundaries.
History.
In the pre-modern world, the term "border" was vague and could refer to either side of the boundary, thus it was necessary to specify part of it with "borderline" or "borderland". During the medieval period the government's control frequently diminished the further people got from the capital, therefore borderland (especially impassable terrain) attracted many outlaws, there the outlaws often found sympathizers.
In the past, many borders were not clearly defined lines; instead there were often intervening areas often claimed and fought over by both sides, sometimes called marchlands. Special cases in modern times were the Saudi Arabian–Iraqi neutral zone from 1922 to 1991 and the Saudi–Kuwaiti neutral zone from 1922 until 1970. In modern times, marchlands have been replaced by clearly defined and demarcated borders. For the purposes of border control, airports and seaports are also classed as borders. Most countries have some form of border control to regulate or limit the movement of people, animals, and goods into and out of the country. Under international law, each country is generally permitted to legislate the conditions that have to be met in order to cross its borders, and to prevent people from crossing its borders in violation of those laws.
Some borders require presentation of legal paperwork like passports and visas, or other identity documents, for persons to cross borders. To stay or work within a country's borders aliens (foreign persons) may need special immigration documents or permits; but possession of such documents does not guarantee that the person should be allowed to cross the border.
Moving goods across a border often requires the payment of excise tax, often collected by customs officials. Animals (and occasionally humans) moving across borders may need to go into quarantine to prevent the spread of exotic infectious diseases. Most countries prohibit carrying illegal drugs or endangered animals across their borders. Moving goods, animals, or people illegally across a border, without declaring them or seeking permission, or deliberately evading official inspection, constitutes smuggling. Controls on car liability insurance validity and other formalities may also take place.
In places where smuggling, migration, and infiltration are a problem, many countries fortify borders with fences and barriers, and institute formal border control procedures. These can extend inland, as in the United States where the U.S. Customs and Border Protection service has jurisdiction to operate up to 100 miles from any land or sea boundary. On the other hand, some borders are merely signposted. This is common in countries within the European Schengen Area and on rural sections of the Canada–United States border. Borders may even be completely unmarked, typically in remote or forested regions; such borders are often described as "porous". Migration within territorial borders, and outside of them, represented an old and established pattern of movement in African countries, in seeking work and food, and to maintain ties with kin who had moved across the previously porous borders of their homelands. When the colonial frontiers were drawn, Western countries attempted to obtain a monopoly on the recruitment of labor in many African countries, which altered the practical and institutional context in which the old migration patterns had been followed, and some might argue, are still followed today. The frontiers were particularly porous for the physical movement of migrants, and people living in borderlands easily maintained transnational cultural and social networks.
A border may have been:
In addition, a border may be a "de facto" military ceasefire line.
Classification.
Political borders.
Political borders are imposed on the world through human agency. That means that although a political border may follow a river or mountain range, such a feature does not automatically define the political border, even though it may be a major physical barrier to crossing.
Political borders are often classified by whether or not they follow conspicuous physical features on the earth.
Natural borders.
Natural borders are geographical features that present natural obstacles to communication and transport. Existing political borders are often a formalization of such historical, natural obstacles.
Some geographical features that often constitute natural borders are:
Throughout history, technological advances have reduced the costs of transport and communication across the natural borders. That has reduced the significance of natural borders over time. As a result, political borders that have been formalized more recently, such as those in Africa or Americas, typically conform less to natural borders than very old borders, such as those in Europe or Asia, do.
Landscape borders.
A landscape border is a mixture of political and natural borders. One example is the defensive forest created by China's Song Dynasty in the eleventh century. Such a border is political in the sense that it is human-demarcated, usually through a treaty. However, a landscape border is not demarcated by fences and walls but instead landscape features such as forests, mountains, and water bodies. It is different from a natural border, however, in the sense that the border landscape is not natural but human-engineered. Such a landscape usually differs from the borderland's natural geography and its building requires tremendous human labor and financial investment.
Geometric borders.
Geometric boundaries are formed by straight lines (such as lines of latitude or longitude), or occasionally arcs (Pennsylvania/Delaware), regardless of the physical and cultural features of the area. Such political boundaries are often found around the states that developed out of colonial holdings, such as in North America, Africa and the Middle East. The Canada–United States border follows the 49th parallel for roughly from Lake of the Woods (Ontario and Minnesota) west to the Pacific Ocean.
Fiat borders.
A generalization of the idea of geometric borders is the idea of fiat boundaries by which is meant any sort of boundary that does not track an underlying "bona fide" physical discontinuity ("fiat", latin for “let it be done”, a decision). Fiat boundaries are typically the product of human demarcation, such as in demarcating electoral districts or postal districts.
Relic borders.
A relic border is a former boundary, which may no longer be a legal boundary at all. However, the former presence of the boundary can still be seen in the landscape. For instance, the boundary between East and West Germany is no longer an international boundary, but it can still be seen because of historical markers on the landscape, and it is still a cultural and economic division in Germany. Other examples include the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam (defunct since 1975) and the border between North and South Yemen (defunct since 1990). Occasionally a relic border is reconstituted in some form, for example the border between British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland ceased to exist when the two colonies merged to form the independent state of Somalia in 1960, however when the former British Somaliland declared independence in 1991 it claimed the former British-Italian line as its eastern border.
Lines of Control.
A line of control (LoC) refers to a militarized buffer border between two or more nations that has yet to achieve permanent border status. LoC borders are typically under military control and are not recognized as an official international border. Formally known as a cease-fire line, an LoC was first created with the Simla Agreement between India and Pakistan. Similar to a cease-fire line, an LoC is typically the result of war, military stalemates and unresolved land ownership conflict.
Maritime borders.
A maritime border is a division enclosing an area in the ocean where a nation has exclusive rights over the mineral and biological resources, encompassing maritime features, limits and zones. Maritime borders represent the jurisdictional borders of a maritime nation and are recognized by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Maritime borders exist in the context of territorial waters, contiguous zones, and exclusive economic zones; however, the terminology does not encompass lake or river boundaries, which are considered within the context of land boundaries.
Some maritime borders have remained indeterminate despite efforts to clarify them. This is explained by an array of factors, some of which illustrate regional problems.
Airspace borders.
Airspace is the atmosphere located within a country’s controlled international and maritime borders. All sovereign countries hold the right to regulate and protect air space under the international law of Air sovereignty. The horizontal boundaries of airspace are similar to the policies of "high seas" in maritime law. Airspace extends 12 nautical miles from the coast of a country and it holds responsibility for protecting its own airspace unless under NATO peacetime protection. With international agreement a country can assume the responsibility of protecting or controlling the atmosphere over International Airspaces such as the Pacific Ocean. The vertical boundaries of airspace are not officially set or regulated internationally. However, there is a general agreement of vertical airspace ending at the point of the Kármán line. The Kármán line is a peak point at the altitude of 62 mi (100 km) above the earths surface, setting a boundary between the earths atmosphere and outer space governed by space law. Airspace regulations are set by nations and local governments within an airspace, regulations of airspace differ by country and location.
Frontier.
The frontier is a border that is open-ended to one side, identifying an expanding borderland to one side.
This type of border can be fairly abstract and has been identified as a particular state of mind for human activity. As such frontiers have been applied to borderlands identifying and claiming them as terra nullius.
Types of border regulation.
Open borders.
An open border is the deregulation and or lack of regulation on the movement of persons between nations and jurisdictions, this does not apply to trade or movement between privately owned land areas. Most nations have open borders for travel within their nation of travel, though more authoritarian states may limit the freedom of internal movement of its citizens, as for example in the former USSR. However, only a handful of nations have deregulated open borders with other nations, an example of this being European countries under the Schengen Agreement or the open Belarus-Russia border. Open borders used to be very common amongst all nations, however this became less common after the First World War, which led to the regulation of open borders, making them less common and no longer feasible for most industrialized nations.
Regulated borders.
Regulated borders have varying degrees of control on the movement of persons and trade between nations and jurisdictions. Most Industrialized nations have regulations on entry and require one or more of the following procedures: visa check, passport check or customs checks. Most regulated borders have regulations on immigration, types of wildlife and plants, and illegal objects such as drugs or weapons. Overall border regulations are placed by national and local governments and can vary depending on nation and current political or economic conditions. Some of the most regulated borders in the world include: Australia, the United States, Israel, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates. These nations have government-controlled border agencies and organizations that enforce border regulation policies on and within their borders.
Demilitarized zones.
A demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border separating two or more nations, groups or militaries that have agreed to prohibit the use of military activity or force within the border's bounds. A DMZ can act as a war boundary, ceasefire line, wildlife preserve, or a "de facto" international border. An example of a demilitarized international border is the 38th parallel between North and South Korea. Other notable DMZ zones include Antarctica and outer space (consisting of all space 100 miles away from the earth's surface), both are preserved for world research and exploration. The prohibition of control by nations can make a DMZ unexposed to human influence and thus developed into a natural border or wildlife preserve, such as on the Korean Demilitarized Zone, the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone, and the Green Line in Cyprus.
Border economics.
The presence of borders often fosters certain economic features or anomalies. Wherever two jurisdictions come into contact, special economic opportunities arise for border trade. Smuggling provides a classic case; contrariwise, a border region may flourish on the provision of excise or of import–export services — legal or quasi-legal, corrupt or legitimate. Different regulations on either side of a border may encourage services to position themselves at or near that border: thus the provision of pornography, of prostitution, of alcohol, fireworks, and/or of narcotics may cluster around borders, city limits, county lines, ports and airports. In a more planned and official context, Special Economic Zones (SEZs) often tend to cluster near borders or ports.
Even if the goods are not perceived to be undesirable, states will still seek to document and regulate the cross-border trade in order to collect tariffs and benefit from foreign currency exchange revenues. Thus, there is the concept unofficial trade in goods otherwise legal; for example, the cross-border trade in livestock by pastoralists in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia sells an estimated $250 to $300 million of livestock to Somalia, Kenya and Djibouti every year unofficially, over 100 times the official estimate.
Human economic traffic across borders (apart from kidnapping) may involve mass commuting between workplaces and residential settlements. The removal of internal barriers to commerce, as in France after the French Revolution or in Europe since the 1940s, de-emphasizes border-based economic activity and fosters free trade. Euroregions are similar official structures built around commuting across boundary.
Politics.
Political borders have a variety of meanings for those whom they affect. Many borders in the world have checkpoints where border control agents inspect persons and/or goods crossing the boundary.
In much of Europe, controls on persons were abolished by the 1985 Schengen Agreement and subsequent European Union legislation. Since the Treaty of Amsterdam, the competence to pass laws on crossing internal and external borders within the European Union and the associated Schengen Area states (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein) lies exclusively within the jurisdiction of the European Union, except where states have used a specific right to opt out (United Kingdom and Ireland, which maintain the Common Travel Area amongst themselves).
The United States has notably increased measures taken in border control on the Canada–United States border and the United States–Mexico border during its War on Terrorism (See Shantz 2010). One American writer has said that the US-Mexico border is probably "the world's longest boundary between a First World and Third World country".
Historic borders such as the Great Wall of China, the Maginot Line, and Hadrian's Wall have played a great many roles and been marked in different ways. While the stone walls, the Great Wall of China and the Roman Hadrian's Wall in Britain had military functions, the entirety of the Roman borders were very porous, which encouraged Roman economic activity with neighbors. On the other hand, a border like the Maginot Line was entirely military and was meant to prevent any access in what was to be World War II to France by its neighbor, Germany; Germany ended up going around the Maginot Line through Belgium just as it had done in World War I.
Border conflict.
Border conflicts or the potential of such are the reason why many borders feature fortifications and zoning like no man's lands, demilitarized zones, demarcation lines and buffer zones.
Legal regimes.
Today's international borders are shaped and regulated by international agreements, cooperation and institutions like the United Nations facilitating this internationalism. One example of recurring negotiations of borders are water borders.
Border construction and crossings.
Borders have sometimes been significantly shaped by physical border constructions and openings. From border crossings, over border markers to border barriers these constructions fulfill many different functions. Such as also providing crossover.
Crossings and transition.
Even the most fortified borders reserve specific places to allow crossing. The many forms of borders have different ways of enabling and controlling passage.
Movement and permeability.
Borders can have an significant impact on and function for movement. It can enable and stop movement, across as well as along borders.
The permeability of borders depends on its construction, availability of crossings, regulation and types or scope of activity. The permeability can vary, borders can be barriers for humans, but also for animal migration or types of pollution.
Overlap and cooperation.
Borders facilitate or block hybrids like border overlap and cooperation beyond mere encounter and exchange.
Cross-border regions.
Macro-regional integration initiatives, such as the European Union and NAFTA, have spurred the establishment of cross-border regions. These are initiatives driven by local or regional authorities, aimed at dealing with local border-transcending problems such as transport and environmental degradation. Many cross-border regions are also active in encouraging intercultural communication and dialogue as well as cross-border economic development strategies. In Europe, the European Union provides financial support to cross-border regions via its Interreg programme. The Council of Europe has issued the Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co-operation, providing a legal framework for cross-border co-operation even though it is in practice rarely used by Euroregions.
Border studies.
There has been a renaissance in the study of borders starting with the end of the 1990s, partially from the creation of a counter-narrative to the discourse about the world becoming a borderless and deterritorialized place, which has accompanied theories about globalization. Examples of recent initiatives are the Border Regions in Transition network of scholars, the International Boundaries Research Unit at the University of Durham, the Association for Borderlands Studies based in North America, the African Borderlands Research Network (ABORNE) and the founding of smaller border research centres at Nijmegen and Queen's University Belfast.
Border art.
Border art as a conceptual artistic practice, however, opens up the possibility for artists to explore similar concerns of identity and national origin(s) but whose location is not specific to the U.S-México border. A border can be a division, dividing groups of people and families. Borders can include but are not limited to language, culture, social and economic class, religion, and national identity. In addition to a division, a border can also conceive a borderland area that can create a cohesive community separate from the mainstream cultures and identities portrayed in the communities away from the borders, such as the Tijuana-San Diego border between Mexico and the United States.
Border art can be defined as an art that is created in reference to any number of physical or imagined boundaries. This art can but is not limited to social, political, physical, emotional and/or nationalist issues. Border art is not confined to one particular medium. Border art/artists often address the forced politicization of human bodies and physical land and the arbitrary, yet incredibly harmful, separations that are created by these borders and boundaries. These artists are often "border crossers" themselves. They may cross borders of traditional art-making (through performance, video, or a combination of mediums). They may at once be artists and activists, existing in multiple social roles at once. Many border artists defy easy classifications in their artistic practice and work.
Images gallery.
The following pictures show in how many different ways international and regional borders can be closed off, monitored, at least marked as such, or simply unremarkable.


Sihanouk Trail

The Sihanouk Trail was a logistical supply system in Cambodia used by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and its Viet Cong (VC) guerillas during the Vietnam War (1960–1975). Between 1966 and 1970, this system operated in the same manner and served the same purposes as the much better known Ho Chi Minh Trail (the Truong Son Road to the North Vietnamese) which ran through the southeastern portion of the Kingdom of Laos. The name is of American derivation, since the North Vietnamese considered the system integral to the supply route mentioned above. U.S. attempts to interdict this system began in 1969.
Sihanoukville connection (1966–1968).
Prince Norodom Sihanouk had ruled Cambodia since he had wrested independence from the French on 9 November 1953. He had accomplished this task by political maneuvering between both the left and the right to achieve what no other ruler or political group in Indochina had managed, a relatively bloodless transition to independence. During the next ten years, while the conflicts in neighboring Laos and South Vietnam heated up, Sihanouk managed to sustain his delicate domestic political balance while at the same time maintaining his nation's neutrality (guaranteed by the 1954 Geneva Conference that ended the First Indochina War).
This was no small accomplishment considering that Cambodia was wedged between its perennial enemies: Thailand to the west and the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) to the east, both of whom were increasingly supported by the United States.
Sihanouk came to believe that communist triumph in Southeast Asia was inevitable and that Cambodia's military was incapable of defeating the North Vietnamese, even with U.S. support. If Cambodia (and his rule) was to survive, he would have to make a bargain with the devil. On 10 April 1965 he broke off diplomatic relations with the U.S. and swung politically to the left. This move was not without reason. To gain foreign support, both economic and political, Sihanouk turned to the People's Republic of China. One of the terms of the agreement between Sihanouk and Premier Zhou Enlai was that Cambodia would allow the use of its eastern border by the North Vietnamese in their effort to reunify the two Vietnams.
In the earliest days of the Vietnam War, North Vietnam supplied the VC in the South by two methods. The first was to extend the Ho Chi Minh Trail southward into the tri-border region of Laos/Cambodia/South Vietnam. The Trail, a labyrinth of paths, roads, river transportation systems and way-stations, was constantly being expanded and improved. It served as a logistical jugular vein, for both men and material, for the North Vietnamese war effort against South Vietnam. The second method was to transport supplies by sea. Estimates of this seaborne traffic ran as high as 70 percent. It was carried out due to the higher volume of material that could be transported by sea, as opposed to the overland route.
After direct American intervention in 1965, the increased presence of U.S. naval vessels in coastal waters under Operation Market Time nullified the seaborne route into South Vietnam. Following on the agreement between Sihanouk and the Chinese, an arrangement was also struck between the prince and the North Vietnamese government. In October military supplies were shipped directly from North Vietnam on communist-flagged (especially of the Eastern bloc) ships to the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville, where that nation's neutrality guaranteed their delivery. The supplies were unloaded and then transferred to trucks which transported them to the frontier zones that served as PAVN/VC base areas. These base areas also served as sanctuaries for PAVN/VC troops, who simply crossed the border from South Vietnam and then rested, reinforced, and refitted for their next campaign in safety. None of this could have been accomplished without the acquiescence of Sihanouk.
During 1965 the PAVN had already begun construction of new supply routes to connect the segments of the Ho Chi Minh Trail that ran through southern Laos and into Cambodia. The following year, U.S. intelligence discovered that a new road (Route 110), coming up from Cambodia, was now linked to those in Laos. The discovery of Route 110 was the origin of the term "Sihanouk Trail", but it quickly came to encompass the entire Cambodian logistical system. The new PAVN overland logistical effort, and its seaborne corollary was now directed by PAVN "Unit K-20", located in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. "K-20" worked under the guise of a commercial company owned by local ethnic Vietnamese.
Although the U.S. command in Saigon and the politicians in Washington became increasingly aware of this arrangement during 1966–1967, they declined to overtly interfere due to the political ramifications of conducting military operations against a neutral country and the wishes of Sihanouk. Washington still had hopes of reopening a dialog with Sihanouk and refrained from any actions that might alienate him further.
Covert operations, however, were another matter. One result of the increasing PAVN road building effort in Cambodia was that the U.S. also upped the ante against the trail system in Laos by launching the first B-52 Stratofortress strike against the logistical system on 12 December 1965. In April 1967 the U.S. headquarters in Saigon finally received authorization to launch "Daniel Boone", an intelligence gathering operation that conducted by the secretive Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group or SOG.
The reconnaissance teams that "hopped the fence" into Cambodia were under strict orders not to engage in combat and to covertly collect intelligence on the base areas and PAVN activities. The result of this effort was Project "Vesuvius", in which the American command collated the gathered intelligence on PAVN/VC violations of Cambodian neutrality and presented it to Sihanouk in hopes of altering his position. It was all to no avail.
By 1968 the Americans were well aware of the scope and scale of the Cambodian logistical effort, but still remained reluctant to overtly violate Cambodia's neutrality since the U.S. still hoped to persuade Sihanouk to come on board against the communists. It was also conscious that any overt action might escalate the conflict into the international arena, possibly directly involving the Soviets and/or Chinese.
Operation Menu (1969–1970).
With the election of President Richard M. Nixon in 1968 and the announcement of the new American policy of Vietnamization in 1969, America's relations with Cambodia began to change. The goal of the U.S. was now to buy time for their South Vietnamese allies (and to cover their own withdrawal). On 11 May 1969 Sihanouk welcomed a return to full diplomatic relations with the U.S. On 18 March Nixon, already anticipating this development, ordered the bombing of the Cambodian sanctuaries by B-52s. On that date 48 bombers, under secret orders from the president, crossed into Cambodian airspace and delivered their payloads in Operation "Breakfast". During the next 14 months this operation was followed by "Lunch", "Snack", "Dinner", "Dessert", and "Supper" as American bombers flew 3,630 sorties and expended 100,000 tons of ordnance on the Base Areas in what came to be called Operation Menu. During this time frame, the entire program was held as a closely guarded secret from Congress, the American people, and amazingly, from the Air Force itself.
Prince Sihanouk was surprisingly acquiescent about the whole affair. He was under pressure from the U.S. to reopen diplomatic ties and to act militarily against the sanctuaries; from the North Vietnamese, who now received 80 percent of their supplies for their southernmost operations through Sihanoukville; and from the fledgling Chinese-supported Khmer Rouge (approximately 4,000 men). Sihanouk felt that this was a propitious moment to swing back to the right. By the summer he created a right-wing Government of National Salvation under General Lon Nol and he suspended North Vietnamese arms shipments through his ports.
It was however, too late. By December, the political balancing act that the prince had conducted for two decades, collapsed around him. In March 1970 Sihanouk lost control of the government. Contrary to expectations, the American bombing effort had not pulverized the base areas and had only tended to drive PAVN/VC deeper into the Cambodian countryside. This series of events began to pose questions for Hanoi. The North Vietnamese had been willing to maintain the status quo in Cambodia as long as their supply lines and sanctuaries were secure. But with the expansion of the war across the border they might have to take further steps to maintain their position.
Coup and incursion (1970).
On 18 March 1970, taking advantage of a visit by Sihanouk to Moscow and Beijing, the prince was deposed by the National Assembly, who promptly announced the creation of the Khmer Republic. The real power, however, fell into the hands of Lon Nol. The general promptly issued an ultimatum to the North Vietnamese, ordering them out of the country, but the only real result was that the Cambodian Army led a bloody pogrom against ethnic Vietnamese in the eastern provinces.
Sihanouk, furious with the course of events, quickly assumed leadership, in absentia, of the National United Front of Kampuchea (FUNK), a government in exile that was quickly recognized and supported by the North Vietnamese, the VC, the Laotian Pathet Lao, and the Khmer Rouge. In the wake of the removal of Sihanouk, the Lon Nol government turned over captured documents to the U.S. disclosing the full extent of his participation in the infiltration effort. Between December 1966 and April 1969, "Unit K-20" had facilitated the infiltration of 29,000 tons of cargo into Cambodia. With his acquiescence, the unit had purchased 55,000 tons of rice annually from the government and another 100,000 tons directly from Cambodian farmers.
Under Lon Nol (and with American assistance), the Cambodian Army was enlarged and reorganized into the Forces Armees Nationales Khmeres (FANK) and then launched into offensives against PAVN. Hanoi responded by launching "Campaign X", an operation to widen the buffer zones around its lines of communication. John Shaw, in his "The Cambodian Campaign" refers to "Campaign X" only in the context of military actions in South Vietnam. It is symptomatic of many American sources (as it was to the American leadership at the time) that Cambodia was only relevant insofar as it affected the conflict in South Vietnam. Using economy of force, as few as 10,000 PAVN troops routed FANK forces in western and northeastern Cambodia, taking or threatening 16 of the country's 19 provincial capitals and interdicting, for various periods, all road and rail links to the capital. They also kept a wary eye on U.S. and South Vietnamese forces, which they fully expected would take advantage of the situation.
President Nixon was more than willing to seize the advantage offered by the ousting of Sihanouk and the opportunity to strike the border sanctuaries as a means of buying time for both the U.S. and South Vietnam. On 29 April, the first bombings of Operation Patio took place. Like "Menu", these tactical airstrikes were held in close secrecy. Although they were initially an anti-infiltration measure, they quickly expanded as targets deeper in Cambodia became the norm. The program was quickly superseded by Operation Freedom Deal, the overt support of FANK troops by B-52 and tactical airstrikes by American and South Vietnamese aircraft.
On 29 April a South Vietnamese armored task force crossed the Cambodian border into the area known as the Parrot's Beak, northwest of Saigon. The following day a multi-division U.S./South Vietnamese force rolled over the border and into the area known as the Fishhook, north of Saigon and opposite Bình Long Province. With the exception of heavy fighting at Snuol, PAVN/VC resistance was light since most of the North Vietnamese had been withdrawn from the border regions for operations against FANK. In quick succession, all of the border sanctuaries were struck, to one degree or another, by U.S. or South Vietnamese forces.
Washington and the American command in Saigon considered the operation a great success, both as a test of the new American policy of Vietnamization and in setting back any PAVN/VC offensives planned against the Saigon area during the next year. The logistical haul overrun and captured by the allied forces in the base areas was indeed impressive. 20,000 individual and 2,500 crew-served weapons; 7,000 tons of rice; 1,800 tons of munitions; 140,000 rockets and artillery shells; 435 vehicles; 29 tons of communications equipment; 55 tons of medical supplies; and 199,552 anti-aircraft rounds. The incursion was, however, limited in its scale and scope. Nixon had limited the depth of penetration by U.S. forces to 35 kilometers and placed a 30 June deadline for the withdrawal of American troops to South Vietnam.
Many observers were more circumspect. As early as October 1969 (and possibly anticipating the loss of their Cambodian routes) PAVN had begun what was "probably their largest and most intense logistical effort of the whole war" by constructing and expanding their routes into northwestern Cambodia. The CIA estimated that the replacement of the supplies lost during the incursion would only take 75 days to achieve. As far as the long-term repercussions, there were three, all detrimental to the American cause: the loss of American political support by the Nixon administration, which would eventually lead to the fall of South Vietnam in 1975; the beginning of outright support of the Khmer Rouge by the North Vietnamese (who despised and distrusted their Chinese-supported comrades); and the spreading of general war throughout Southeast Asia.
(1971–1975).
As had occurred at the end of the 1968 Tet Offensive, the North Vietnamese logistical network was improved and expanded in the wake of the incursion. Due to the loss of its Cambodian port access, Hanoi established the "470th Transportation Group" to control and coordinate its Cambodian supply operations. PAVN had already begun this expansion in 1968 by building a new "Liberation Route" from Laos into Cambodia.
The new route turned west from Muong May, at the southern end of Laos, and paralleled the Kong River into Cambodia. Eventually, this network extended past Siem Prang and reached the Mekong River near Stung Treng. The next step was the seizure of the town of Kratié, in east-central Cambodia, on 5 May. The 470th cleared the population out of the Mekong River town and turned it into its administrative headquarters. PAVN base areas to the east were fed by Kratié while men and supplies headed for the Mekong Delta region of South Vietnam were now circled westward, around Phnom Penh, through the foothills of the Cardamom Mountains and then east again to cross the border.
On 20 August 1971, Lon Nol (now president) launched Operation Chenla II in an effort to open communications between Phnom Penh and the nation's second largest city, Kompong Thom. The two cities had been isolated from another for more than a year by the Khmer Rouge. FANK was initially successful, but the Khmer Rouge backed by the PAVN launched a counteroffensive and annihilated the government forces. By the end of the year the government was facing approximately 40,000 Khmer Rouge, who had taken on most of the ground fighting against the government.
By 1972 FANK was decimated, the road and rail networks were smashed, and inflation was rampant. The rice harvest plunged from 3.8 million tons in 1969 to 493,000 tons in 1973. Popular support for the war against the North Vietnamese and the insurgents had completely evaporated. The Americans, negotiating with the North Vietnamese, had proposed an Indochina-wide cease fire as part of the final settlement of the conflict in South Vietnam. By that time, however, Hanoi could make no commitment on behalf of its Cambodian allies.
On 28 January 1973, the day the Paris Peace Accords took effect, Lon Nol announced a unilateral cease-fire, which the Khmer Rouge promptly ignored, claiming that it was "a deception engineered by the U.S. imperialists and their allies." In April, Phnom Penh itself was saved from capture only by a massive bombing effort conducted by U.S. aircraft.
This was the end of U.S. air support, the last American aircraft departing Cambodian airspace on 15 August. From the beginning of Operation "Breakfast" the U.S. Air Force had dropped 539,129 tons of ordnance on Cambodia, 257,465 tons of which had been dropped during the last six months of the operation. During 1974, Cambodia continued to collapse. More than half of the population had become refugees and malnutrition and disease stalked a nation that had once been the best fed in Southeast Asia.
On New Year's Day 1975 the Khmer Rouge launched their final offensive against the Khmer Republic. Neither the agony of the Cambodian people nor the resignation of Lon Nol could halt or slow the Khmer Rouge advance. By 17 April, Phnom Penh had fallen and in the new Year Zero, the Khmer Rouge, under the leadership of Pol Pot, began its mass murder and auto-genocide.


Topolje, Osijek-Baranja County

Topolje is a settlement in the region of Baranja, Croatia. Administratively, it is located in the Draž municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County. Its population is 473 people.


Mazhom

Mazhom is a village located in district Budgam of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It has a railway station Mazhom railway station, which along with being in proximity (3 km) with Magam, the biggest financial hub of the district, has a crucial role in the economy communication in the area. Also there is railway flyover there on gulmarag road.
Mazhom village is next to Kawoosa Khalisa town. Mazhama is situated on the both right and left side of gulmarg highway.
Schools in the Mazhom village are Hanfia English Medium school (one of the best school regarding education and infrastructure) and Government High school. A well facilitated dispensary is also present in this village. Jamia masjid is located on the right side of highway and lonepora masjid is located on the other side of highway.


Ormideia

Ormideia ( []), sometimes also spelled "Ormidhia", is a village in Larnaca District in south-eastern Cyprus. It is one of the four exclaves surrounded by the Eastern Sovereign Base Area of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, a British Overseas Territory administered as a Sovereign Base Area. The others are the village of Xylotymvou and Dhekelia Power Station. It is administered by the Republic of Cyprus. Its population in 2011 was 4,189.
Archaeological objects found in the village are displayed at various museums. A stele with the "syllabic funerary inscription "Panroses"" is on display at the Larnaca District Archaeological Museum.


632 Armenia earthquake

The 632 Armenia earthquake reportedly affected the region of Armenia (Armenian Highlands).
The primary source for this earthquake is the chronicle of Michael the Syrian (12th century), which only offers a brief narrative on the subject. According to it, a "tremor" (earthquake) destroyed many places in Armenia. It does not specifically name these places.
Michael the Syrian dates this earthquake to 632, but the exact date is unknown. The chronology of Michael's narrative is considered unreliable, and it is possible that he misdated this earthquake.


All Parties Hurriyat Conference

All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), or Tehreek e Hurriyat (), is an alliance of 26 political, social and religious organizations formed on 9 March 1993, as a united political front to raise the cause of Kashmiri separatism in the Kashmir conflict. Mehmood Ahmed Saghar was the first convener of the APHC-PAK chapter when the alliance was established in 1993. The alliance has historically been viewed positively by Pakistan as it contests the claim of the Indian government over the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is its chairman and in 2009 Mehmood Ahmed Saghar was unanimously elected as convener of APHC in Pakistan, and Ghulam Muhammad Safi was elected as its convener in Pakistan in January 2010.
History.
All Parties Hurriyat Conference was founded on 7 August 2004. On its first foundation day, more than 100,000 people gathered at Hyderpora, Srinagar, showing solidarity and commitment to its objectives and goals. In August 2006, instead of a public convention, Tehreek-e-Hurriyat's Central Council decided to organize a convention of members, candidates for membership and basic members.
The basic objective before the founders of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat is to earn Allah's pleasure through unambiguous service to the basic principles of Islam (Faith), Azadi (Freedom), and Itihad-e-milat (Fraternity).
Ideology and role.
According to the Hurriyat Conference, Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory and India's control of it is not justified. It supports the Pakistani claim that Kashmir is the "unfinished agenda of Partition" and needs to be solved "as per the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir."
The APHC perceives itself to be the sole representative of the Kashmiri people.
The organisation's primary role has been to project an image of counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and to mobilise public opinion against Indian security forces. The alliance has consistently followed up local allegations of security force excesses, and in several documented cases, real allegations about human violation by Indian security forces. For instance, the Haigam firing incident of 16 February 2001, was an assault on a peaceful gathering whereas, but later claimed in news reports and official clarifications, the army contingent fired upon the mob only when they were blocked and prevented from moving.
The APHC has also an observer's status in the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC). OIC has invited Mirwaiz Umar Farooq for its June 2005 Foreign Ministers Conference in Yemen.
Split.
There are currently two factions of the Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani. The Mirwaiz-led group, also referred to as the "moderate faction" along with non-Hurriyat leaders like Yasin Malik undertook, between 2–16 June 2005, the first formal visit of Kashmiri separatists to Pakistani Kashmir and subsequently, though unsanctioned by Indian authorities, to Pakistan.
Internal fissures within the Hurriyat Conference culminated in a formal split on 7 September 2003, with at least 12 of its 26 constituents "removing" the then Chairman Maulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari "replacing" him with Masarat Alam as its interim chief. The dissenters reportedly met at the residence of hardliner and pro-Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and decided to depose Ansari and "suspend" the seven-member executive committee, the highest decision-making forum of the APHC. A five-member committee was formed to review the Hurriyat Constitution and suggest amendments to reverse what the dissenters perceived as "autocratic" decisions taken by the executive committee.
Since then, Geelani has formed his own faction of the Hurriyat called the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir. On 12 October 2004, he was elected unanimously as its chairman for a period of three years. A 25-member strong "Majlis-e-Shoora" (advisory council) to assist and advise the chairman was also announced on the same day. A statement released by the faction said 21 members were elected to the "shoora" and the chairman was authorised to nominate four members. It also said all 14 districts of the State were duly represented in the "shoora," the highest decision-making body of the organisation. The Geelani reportedly has 16 constituents.
The Hurriyat Conference again split in 2014. The moderate Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq faced the split after four senior leaders raised a banner of revolt against the chairman and other members of the conglomerate.
Democratic Freedom Party president Shabir Ahmad Shah, National Front chairman Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Mahaz-e-Azadi chief Mohammad Azam Inqlabi and Islamic Political Party Mohommad Yousuf Naqash were up in arms against Mirwaiz after he dashed off a letter to the convener in Pakistan administered Kashmir, Mohommad Yousuf Naseem, asking him not to entertain the leaders who have left the conglomerate on their own.
The leader Shabir Shah and his lieutenant Nayeem Khan along with Shia leader Agha Hassan joined Hurriyat Conference (G) led by Syed Ali Geelani.
Views on right to self-determination.
All JKLF factions support the right to self-determination as per UN Security Council Resolution 47. Hurriyat, led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Shabir Shah, Nayeem Khan & Azam Inquilabi, demand the right to self-determination as per UN Security Council Resolution 47.
Members of the Executive Council of the original APHC were:
Criticism and controversies.
Family members living abroad.
Hurriyat leaders have been criticised for inciting young people to violent agitation while their family members live relatively well-off lives in other parts of India and abroad. These include Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Asiya Andrabi. Syed Ali Shah Geelani's eldest son Nayeem Geelani and his wife were medical practitioners in Rawalpindi, Pakistan until 2010. Geelani's second son, Zahoor Geelani, along with his family lives in New Delhi. Izhaar Geelani, grandson of Geelani, is a crew member of a private airliner in India, while his daughter Farhat Geelani is a teacher in Jeddah; her husband is an engineer there. Asiya Andrabi's eldest son Muhammad bin Qasim, lives with her sister in Malaysia. Most of Asiya's relatives have moved to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, England, and Malaysia. One nephew, Zulqarnain, is a captain in the Pakistan Army and her second nephew, Irtiyaz-un-Nabi, is an aeronautical engineer and lecturer at the International Islamic University, Islamabad. Asiya Andrabi was criticized by Dr. Darakshan Andrabi the president of her party, the Socialistic Democratic Party of Jammu and Kashmir.
Relations with Pakistani ISI.
Sheikh Mustafa Kamal, a senior leader of the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference and son of Sheikh Abdullah criticised Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani for working on "dictations" given by Pakistan. He accused Geelani of being "a double agent" on "the payroll of Pakistan's ISI".
Kamal said "Geelani has tried to 'ignite and incite' people by 'hollow slogans and destructive emotionalism', whenever even a Pakistani clerk comes to India and summons this ex-lawmaker(Geelani), he rushes to Delhi to take dictation about how to ensure that uncertainty prevails in the state."
Pakistan also openly supported Geelani and Hurriyat, and representatives have had several meetings with Hurriyat leaders. A three-member delegation from the Pakistan High Commission led by Abdul Basit met Geelani at his Malviya Nagar residence in March 2015. Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit assured Geelani of complete support conveying that the country's stand on Kashmir remains unchanged despite the regime change in New Delhi. Basit also invited Geelani for a Pakistan Day function on 23 March. The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, ritually invites pro-separatist leadership of Jammu and Kashmir for the function every year.
Paid riots.
That's a fact that Geelani and his Hurriyat are staging fake protests by paying money to local unemployed youth. According to stone pelters who were arrested, each stone pelter is paid Rs 400($6–7) every Friday.
Police said the money is being raised locally by Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani's followers. Most of the money comes from fruit markets and saw mills, Pakistan-based LeT terrorists also participate in stone peltings, the police said.
Elections boycott.
Geelani and Hurriyat appealed to the people of Kashmir to boycott the 2014 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly elections completely, arguing that: "India has been holding elections in the Valley using the power of gun and so such an exercise is not legitimate." But despite repeated boycott appeals, the 2014 assembly election recorded record voter turnout of more than 65% which was the highest in 25 years of history and higher than normal voting percentages in other states of India.
After record voting percentage in Kashmir, Hurriyat and its leaders have been heavily criticised by mainstream media for misleading the people of Kashmir and for not representing their true sentiments.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said of the high election voter turnout: "Separatist militants are frustrated because they are feeling that despite the use of guns and bombs and killing people, democracy is still alive in this state. I want to congratulate those voters of J&K who have voted in large numbers and made democracy victorious irrespective of the outcome."
Member of the European Parliament Kosma Zlotowski welcomed the smooth conduct of the State Legislative Elections in the Jammu and Kashmir. Zlotowski's office in its message said that: "The high voter turnout figure proves that democracy is firmly rooted in India. The EU would like to congratulate India and its democratic system for conduct of fair elections, unmarred by violence, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir [...] The European Parliament also takes cognizance of the fact that a large number of Kashmiri voters turned out despite calls for the boycott of elections by certain separatist forces."
Current members.
Current members All Parties Hurriyat Conference include:
Hurriyat Conference has three factions: Hurriyat led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Hurriyat led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Hurriyat led by Shabir Shah, Azam Inquilabi & Nayeem Khan. Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front is not part of these factions.


Political divisions of Russia

Russia is divided into several types and levels of subdivisions.
Federal subjects.
Since 18 March 2014, the Russian Federation consisted of eighty-five federal subjects that are constituent members of the Federation. However, two of these federal subjects—the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol—are internationally recognized as part of Ukraine. All federal subjects are of equal federal rights in the sense that they have equal representation—two delegates each—in the Federation Council (upper house of the Federal Assembly). They do, however, differ in the degree of autonomy they enjoy.
There are 6 types of federal subjects—22 republics, 9 krais, 46 oblasts, 3 federal cities, 1 autonomous oblast, and 4 autonomous okrugs.
Autonomous okrugs are the only ones that have a peculiar status of being federal subjects in their own right, yet at the same time they are considered to be administrative divisions of other federal subjects (with Chukotka Autonomous Okrug being the only exception).
2014 Annexation of Crimea.
On 18 March 2014, as a part of the annexation of Crimea and following the establishment of the Republic of Crimea (an independent entity recognized only by Russia), a treaty was signed between Russia and the Republic of Crimea incorporating the Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol as the constituent members of the Russian Federation. According to the Treaty, the Republic of Crimea is accepted as a federal subject with the status of a republic while the City of Sevastopol has received federal city status. Neither the Republic of Crimea nor the city of Sevastopol are politically recognized as parts of Russia by international law and most countries.
Administrative divisions.
Prior to the adoption of the 1993 Constitution of Russia, the administrative-territorial structure of Russia was regulated by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR of 17 August 1982 "On the Procedures of Dealing with the Matters of the Administrative-Territorial Structure of the RSFSR". The 1993 Constitution, however, did not identify the matters of the administrative-territorial divisions as the responsibility of the federal government nor as the joint responsibility of the federal government and the subjects. This was interpreted by the governments of the federal subjects as a sign that the matters of the administrative-territorial divisions became solely the responsibility of the federal subjects. As a result, the modern administrative-territorial structures of the federal subjects vary significantly from one federal subject to another. While the implementation details may be considerably different, in general, however, the following types of high-level administrative divisions are recognized:
Autonomous okrugs and okrugs are intermediary units of administrative divisions, which include some of the federal subject's districts and cities/towns/urban-type settlements of federal subject significance.
Typical lower-level administrative divisions include:
Municipal divisions.
In the course of the Russian municipal reform of 2004–2005, all federal subjects of Russia were to streamline the structures of local self-government, which is guaranteed by the Constitution of Russia. The reform mandated that each federal subject was to have a unified structure of the municipal government bodies by 1 January 2005, and a law enforcing the reform provisions went in effect on 1 January 2006. According to the law, the units of the municipal division (called "municipal formations") are as follows:
Territories not included as a part of municipal formations are known as "inter-settlement territories".
The Federal Law was amended on 27 May 2014 to include new types of municipal divisions:
In June 2014, Chelyabinsky Urban Okrug became the first urban okrug to implement intra-urban divisions.
Federal legislation introduced on May 1, 2019, added an additional territorial unit:
Other types of subdivisions.
Federal districts.
All of the federal subjects are grouped into eight federal districts, each administered by an envoy appointed by the President of Russia. Federal districts' envoys serve as liaisons between the federal subjects and the federal government and are primarily responsible for overseeing the compliance of the federal subjects with the federal laws.
Economic regions.
For economic and statistical purposes the federal subjects are grouped into twelve economic regions. Economic regions and their parts sharing common economic trends are in turn grouped into economic zones and macrozones.
Military districts.
In order for the Armed Forces to provide an efficient management of military units, their training, and other operational activities, the federal subjects are grouped into five military districts. Each military district operates under the command of the district headquarters, headed by the district commander, and is subordinated to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.


Action Cadienne

Action Cadienne (literally "Cajun Action"), founded in April 1996, is a non-profit organization in the United States whose purpose is to preserve, promote and defend the French language, francophonie and the Acadian or Cadien (Cajun) culture within the state of Louisiana.
Manifesto.
"We believe strongly that our identity as well as our heritage, is fundamentally linked to the French language, and our primary mission is to promote the language itself, and to gain recognition of the linguistic rights of the Cadien people. The French language has been, and continues to be, an essential element of Louisiana culture in spite of its oppression during the last fifty years."
French immersion.
Action Cadienne advocates state funded French immersion courses, especially within the Parishes of Acadiana where Cajuns predominate.
"French immersion is the only truly effective means of teaching the language. Immersion programs are not only cost effective, but have proven to be good education: French immersion students have scored in the top 20% on battery exams in general subjects in English! The benefits to the culture generally, and to the tourist economy in particular, are too obvious to enumerate. Suffice it to say that a new generation of Cadien children speaking the language of their ancestors is the hope of the Cadien people and a resource which the people of Louisiana cannot afford to lose."
References.
See Action Cadienne website


Karelians

Karelians (, Finnish: , , ) are an ethnic group who are indigenous to the Northern European historical region of Karelia, which is today split between Finland and Russia. Karelians living in Russian Karelia are considered a distinct ethnic group closely related to Finnish Karelians, who are considered a subset of Finns. This distinction historically arose from Karelia having been fought over and eventually split between Sweden and Novgorod, resulting Karelians being under different cultural spheres.
In Russia, Karelians mostly live in the Republic of Karelia where they are the designated ethnic group and in other adjacent north-western parts of the country. They traditionally speak the Karelian language and are Eastern Orthodox Christians. There are also significant Karelian enclaves in the Tver and Novgorod oblasts, as some Karelians migrated to those areas after the Russo-Swedish War of 1656-1658.
In Finland, Finnish Karelians traditionally live in the regions of Savonia and Northern and Southern Karelia. As Finland had to cede parts of Karelia to the Soviet Union in World War II, evacuated Finnish Karelians settled also elsewhere in Finland. They traditionally speak Karelian. However owing to Karelian not being recognized as its own language by the Finnish government until recently, most Karelians had no choice but to learn Finnish and now speak mostly Finnish Karelian dialect.
History.
The first written mention of Karelia and Karelians occurs in Scandinavian sources. Several old Scandinavian sagas and chronicles refer to Karelia, sometimes as Karjalabotn, Kirjalabotnar or Kirjaland, which means that Karelians and Karelia were known to the Vikings as early as the 7th century. Another mention of Karelians in Scandinavian sources is "The Chronicle of Erik". Part of the Chronicle mentions a Karelian raid to the then notable Swedish town of Sigtuna in 1187 and its subsequent pillage. This mention of Karelian raids on Sweden in the chronicle is given as the main reason to found Stockholm, the current capital of Sweden.
The first mention of Karelians in ancient Russian chronicles dates to 1143 when the Novgorod chronicle mentions that Karelians raided neighbouring Tavastia (Häme). Ancient Russian chronicles referred to ancient Karelians as Koryela. Until the end of the 13th century, Karelians enjoyed a period of relative independence and self-government. However, as Karelians came in contact with Novgorod some of them started to take part in the Novgorodian internal and external politics. Russian chronicles mention a joint raid of Novgorod and Karelians on Tavastia in 1191. In the 13th century, the Karelian relationship with Novgorod underwent significant changes, from partnership and alliance to gradual dominance by the latter.
In 1227, an attempt was made to convert Karelians to Eastern Orthodoxy. In 1253, Karelians aided Novgorod in its wars with Estonians. In 1269 AD, the Duke of Novgorod prepared a raid against Karelians, but he abandoned his plans as he was advised against it by his councilors. In 1278, Novgorod made war against Karelians and, according to the chronicle, put Karelian lands "to sword and fire", which significantly reduced Karelian military power.
While Novgorod unsuccessfully tried to subdue Karelians, Sweden achieved its goals over the neighbouring Finnish tribes. The Swedes raided Karelian lands, began to convert the local population to Roman Catholicism and attempted to ensure their complete dominance with the foundation of castles, in 1293 at Vyborg and in 1295 at Kexholm (Käkisalmi in Finnish, Koryela in Russian chronicles), on the sites of ancient Karelian settlements. However, Novgorod managed to repel the Swedish attack by capturing and burning down Kexholm Castle. After this, Sweden and Novgorod engaged in the long conflict for rule over the Karelians and their lands.
In 1314, Karelians rose up against efforts made to convert them to Christianity, according to the Novgorod chronicle. The first rebellion started against Russian Orthodoxy with Käkisalmi captured and the killing of all Christians there. Then the rebellion spread over all Karelian lands, which sufficiently weakened Novgorodian influence.
In 1323 AD, Karelians suffered a forceful sundering as Sweden and Novgorod divided Karelian lands and their inhabitants by signing a peace agreement. The agreement transferred governance of all western Karelian lands to Swedish sovereignty, while eastern Karelian lands fell under Novgorodian rule. This sundering started a long process of separation of Karelians into two different halves, with the main difference being religion, as western Karelians became first Roman Catholic and later Lutheran, while eastern Karelians were converted to Eastern Orthodoxy.
Subsequent wars had Karelians fighting on both sides of the conflict and often against each other. Meanwhile, Karelians on the Novgorodian and later Russian side of the border continued to settle northward towards the White Sea. By the late 14th century, Russian Karelians established control over White Karelia and came in conflict with the Norwegians on the peninsula of Kola.
As the struggle for power in the region continued over the next centuries the borderline between Sweden and Russia moved several times with most of the changes happening in Northern Karelia and Kainuu. However, in 1617, the history of Karelians underwent a significant change as Russia ceded to Sweden, along with other territories, the eastern part of the Karelian Isthmus, Ladoga Karelia and modern-day North Karelia. This meant that the majority of Karelians were again living in one country, yet it did not bring peace to the Karelian people. As Sweden commenced the process of conversion of population of the ceded territories to Lutheran Protestantism, resistance appeared among Old-Believer Orthodox Karelians and neighbouring Orthodox Izhorians.
By the mid 17th century, the tension between the Lutheran Swedish government and Orthodox Karelians led to yet another conflict between Sweden and Russia. From 1656 to 1658, Russian armed forces waged war on Karelian territories and tried to recapture them with the aid of some of the sympathizing local Orthodox population, but after two years of fighting both sides came to a stand-still.
Many of the Karelians who remained Orthodox by 1658 AD were unwilling to remain in Sweden and convert to Lutheranism, which triggered a mass migration of many Orthodox Karelians from these areas into other parts of Russia, some going to the region of Tver and forming the Tver Karelians minority, while others moved to the region of Valdai in the Novgorod region and yet others to White Karelia by the White Sea.
As some of the lands in the eastern Karelian Isthmus and Ladoga Karelia became partially depopulated Sweden decided to move settlers from Savonia to those Karelian lands which resulted in a mixture of local Karelians with Savonians in some areas. However, as Savonians themselves are of Karelian origin, this migration mostly affected local Karelians religiously (as the majority of the population became Lutheran) and to some extent linguistically, but it did not bring major changes to the ethnic map of Karelia.
The next change happened in 1721 as Russia won the great northern war against Sweden (1700–21), which forced Sweden to cede the entire Karelian Isthmus and Ladoga Karelia to Russia, with its now mostly Lutheran population. Although there were attempts to convert the local population to Orthodoxy these did not meet with any success.
After Russia conquered the entire Finnish territories in yet another Russo-Swedish war in 1808–09, it was decided to join the Karelian Isthmus and Ladoga Karelia to the newly formed Grand Duchy of Finland in 1812, which brought all western Karelians into the same state with Finns, while eastern Karelians remained under independent Russian administration. Although Karelians ended up in the same country the religious difference between eastern and western Karelians remained a dividing factor, which somewhat affected the linguistics but even until the beginning of the 20th century both groups could understand each other. Yet eastern Karelians managed to preserve traditions and folklore better than western Karelians.
As the Grand Duchy of Finland was formed, its inhabitants struggled to properly identify themselves ethnically, some being Finnish, some Swedish and some Karelian. As the Fennoman movement started and the new Finnish nation commenced its forming and shaping process, attempts were made to restore the lost Finnish identity. The process of "finnisation" of Finland started. As part of that process during the 19th century, Finnish folklorists including Elias Lönnrot traveled to different parts of Eastern Karelia to gather folklore and epic poetry. The Orthodox Karelians in North Karelia and Russia were now seen as close brethren or even a sub-group of the Finns. The ideology of "Karelianism" inspired Finnish artists and researchers, who believed that the Orthodox Karelians had retained elements of an archaic, original Finnish culture which had disappeared from Finland. This led to numerous confusions with some claiming that western and eastern Karelians were different nations.
As Finland gained its independence in 1917 the process of "finnisation" continued, but now even eastern Karelians were viewed as part of the Finnish nation. From 1918 to 1922, Finland made several attempts to expand into Eastern Karelia with some support by local Karelians. Several thousands of eastern Karelians migrated to Finland by 1922 from different parts of Eastern Karelia.
After the Winter War, Finland had to cede the Karelian Isthmus and Ladoga Karelia to the USSR. As the local Karelian population was unwilling to end up under Soviet rule, over 400,000 people were evacuated across Finland's new border from the territories that were to be ceded. After the Continuation War (1941–1944), in which Finland temporarily held most of Eastern Karelia, several thousands of Karelians chose to migrate west as Finnish forces retreated. The Karelians who migrated to Finland in the 20th century were initially Karelian speakers, but due to minor lingual differences and in order to assimilate into the local communities soon adopted the Finnish language after the war. Some of the evacuees later immigrated, mainly to Sweden, Australia and North America.
Russian Karelians, living in the Republic of Karelia, are nowadays rapidly being absorbed into the Russian population. This process began several decades ago. For example, it has been estimated that even between the 1959 and 1970 Soviet censuses, nearly 30 percent of those who were enumerated as Karelian by self-identification in 1959 changed their self-identification to Russian 11 years later.
Language.
The Karelian language is closely related to the Finnish language. There are the dialects of what can be classified of Karelian language
Ludic in the easternmost part of Karelian republic is currently considered as language of its own.
In Finland, the dialects of Finnish that are or have been spoken in Finnish Karelia in the 19th and 20th century are:
In addition to that, dialects of Karelian language are also spoken in different locations in the current area of Finland and elsewhere after WWII and in some villages near the Russian border in Kainuu region the northern dialect of Karelian language has been spoken continuously until now.
Religion.
The majority of Russian Karelians are Eastern Orthodox Christians. The majority of Finnish Karelians are Lutherans. Karelian shamanism is still practiced by some Karelians. Folk-beliefts have also been widely incorporated into Christianity by Orthodox Karelians. Karelian tales, along with some Finnish ones, have been collected to form Kalevala.
Demographics.
Significant enclaves of Karelians exist in the Tver oblast of Russia, resettled after Russia's defeat in 1617 against Sweden — in order to escape the peril of forced conversion to Lutheranism in Swedish Karelia. The Russians also promised tax deductions if the Orthodox Karelians migrated there. Olonets (Aunus) is the only city in Russia where the Karelians form a majority (60% of the population).
Karelians have been declining in numbers in modern times significantly due to a number of factors. These include low birthrates (characteristic of the region in general) and especially Russification, due to the predominance of Russian language and culture.
In 1926, according to the census, Karelians only accounted for 37.4% of the population in the Soviet Karelian Republic (which at that time did not yet include territories that would later be taken from Finland and added, most of which had mostly Karelian inhabitants), or 0.1 million Karelians. Russians, meanwhile, numbered 153,967 in Karelia, or 57.2% of the population.
By 2002, there were only 65,651 Karelians in the Republic of Karelia (65.1% of the number in 1926, including the Karelian regions taken from Finland which were not counted in 1926), and Karelians made up only 9.2% of the population in their homeland. Russians, meanwhile, were 76.6% of the population in Karelia. This trend continues to this day, and may cause the disappearance of Karelians as a distinct group, as has already happened in Finland.


Natisone

The Natisone (; ; ) is a river in Slovenia and Italy. It flows for some time as a border river between Slovenia and Italy, continues in Slovenia and then crosses the border and continues in Eastern Friuli, in northeastern Italy. It is the main tributary of the Torre and a sub-affluent of the Isonzo. It has the pluvio-nival regime and belongs to the Adriatic Sea Basin.
The Natisone is formed at above sea level on the border between Friuli and Slovenia by the confluence of two streams: the "Rio Bianco" () and the "Rio Nero" () which spring from the Punta di Montemaggiore and Gabrovec mountains. Before the confluence with the Torre, it passes through the communes of Pulfero and Cividale del Friuli.


Watergam

Watergam Rafiabad, is a town located in Baramulla district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is north-west of Srinagar, and from the city of Baramulla. It is located on the banks of Nallah Hamal running parallel to the Baramulla-Rafiabad-Kupwara National Highway NH-701.
Watergam Rafiabad is the first and only town in Rafiabad Sopore constituency also having status of Constituency Headquarter of Rafiabad Assembly segment, have been brought into the ambit of Urban area by the exhaust efforts of Mohammad Mudasir Mir, (Mumtaz).
History.
The town of Watergam has a very rich history. Syed Kirman the famous Muslim preacher chose Watergam as the centre of his mission and he is buried here on the hilltop. Giving due credit to its centrality and rich history, J&K Govt. gave Watergam a Tehsil Status which caters to the needs of about 22 villages. The villages from Alsafa colony, Ladoora up to village Pazalpora and Babagund fall under the jurisdiction of this Tehsil.
Geography.
Watergam town is called the "Heart of Rafiabad" constituency. It is equidistant to the three nearby towns, Baramulla, Sopore and Handwara. It has a well-established market in Rafiabad. It has a municipal committee to look into different needs of the town. The municipal limits of Watergam extend from Gundkarim Khan in the west up to Behrampora in the east, Rehmatabad (Thagund), Gundmulraj and Chanapora are also part of the Municipal limits.
Demographics.
The Watergam city is divided into 13 wards for which elections are held every 5 years. The Watergam Municipal Committee has a population of 7,015 of which 3,939 are males while 3,076 are females as per report released by Census India 2011.
The population of children with the age of 0-6 is 727 which is 10.36% of the total population of Watergam (MC). In Watergam Municipal Committee, Female Sex Ratio is of 781 against state average of 889. Moreover, Child Sex Ratio in Watergam is around 1095 compared to Jammu and Kashmir state average of 862. The literacy rate of Watergam city is 74.60% higher than the state average of 67.16%. In Watergam, Male literacy is around 86.08% while the female literacy rate is 59.31%.
Watergam Municipal Committee has total administration over 932 houses to which it supplies basic amenities like water and sewerage. It is also authorized to build roads within Municipal Committee limits and impose taxes on properties coming under its jurisdiction.
Famous Personalities.
Watergam town has been very fertile throughout. It has produced some great personalities of the J&k State, the notable among them being Late Khwaja Khazir Mohd. Malla
and Mr. Gh. Mustafa Malla alias ′Mus Lala′. Ghulam Mustafa Malla is the founder of Asia's second-largest Fruit Mandi Sopore which has been now named as Mustafa Memorial Fruit Mandi Sopore in his honour. This fruit mandi is the commercial hub of the Kashmir valley as the main sector of the economy of Kashmir is based on the horticulture with apples being the main produce. Apples from different parts of valley reach here and then they are transported to different parts of the country. In recent times Mohammad Mudasir Mir alias Mumtaz has contributed a lot in the development of the town. Trauma Hospital, Police Station, Administrative Block, Revenue Complex, Municipality, NTPHC, TSo, Ayush Hospital Watergam, Block Sericulture Office have been sanctioned to the town only because of his untiring and relentless efforts.Another noted personality from this village is "Prof. Riyaz Ahmad Rather" HOD Physics department Baramulla Degree college". He has been one of the greatest contributors in field of physics for whole of Baramulla district and his students are serving at noble positions across the valley.
Some famous scholars are also rendering their services at Kashmir University, SKUAST & various other institutes.
Education.
In-Town Watergam Paradise Public High School is the oldest school in Watergam. It is the pioneer school not only for Watergam but for the whole of Rafiabad which has produced the brightest and best minds of the valley. It was founded by Mr Ab. Majeed Lone. Other notable schools include Govt. Girls High School, Holy Faith Public School, KGBV Watergam, Girls Hostel Cum Residency School Iqbal Educational Institute.
Economy.
Horticulture is the primary source of the economy with apples as one of the major crops.


White Mulde

The White Mulde () is the right headstream of the Zwickauer Mulde in the Vogtland region of Saxony, Germany.
Course.
The White Mulde rises north of Kottenheide, a village in the borough of Schöneck, at an elevation of . Its source is in the pond of "Oberer Muldeteich". The White Mulde runs in a northerly direction, through the "Unterer Muldeteich" and discharges after about 3 km into the Muldenberg Reservoir. There it unites with the Red Mulde to form the Zwickauer Mulde.


Subdivisions of Nigeria

Nigeria is a federation of thirty-six states and one Federal Capital Territory, which are divided into 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in total.


Comoro Islands

The Comoro Islands or Comoros (Shikomori "Komori"; , "Juzur al-Qomor"; ) form an archipelago of volcanic islands situated off the southeastern coast of Africa, to the east of Mozambique and northwest of Madagascar. The islands are politically divided between the Union of the Comoros (pop. 850,688) and two territories of France: the department of Mayotte (pop. 270,372) and the uninhabited Glorioso Islands, a part of the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean, the 5th district of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.
Geography.
The Comoro Islands are located in the Mozambique Channel to the north-west of Madagascar and facing Mozambique. These volcanic islands, covering a total area of 2034 km2, are as follows:
The Glorioso Islands, comprising "Grande Glorieuse", "Île du Lys" and eight little rock islets, were administratively attached to the archipelago before 1975, and, geologically speaking, form a part of the archipelago.
Notable reefs that are part of the archipelago are as follows:
History.
The Comoros may have been settled as early as the 6th century; among the peoples who crossed the sea to populate the islands are Bantu-speaking peoples, Austronesian (including Malagasy), Arabs, Somalis, Portuguese, French, and Indians. Islam probably arrived during the 10th century. The Comoros islands formed, with Zanzibar, Pemba, Lamu, and the coastal towns of Kenya and Tanzania, a united and prosperous region of Swahili culture, trading in local goods which were exported to the African coast, Madagascar, the Middle East and India. In that period, political power was in the hands of local rulers. During their explorations of the Comoros region, the Portuguese made landfall on the Islands of the Moon, in 1505; "kamar" is Arabic for "moon".
During the colonial period, French settlers established plantations, initially producing sugar, then, in the twentieth century, perfume plants and spices such as ylang ylang, vanilla and cloves as well as copra. In 1946, the Comoros became a French overseas territory.
In 1974, France organized a referendum for self-determination in the archipelago in which the population except in Mayotte voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence. Following the unilateral declaration of independence in 1975, France maintained sovereignty over Mayotte. The three remaining islands formed the Etat Comorian, which later became the "Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoro Islands" and is today the Union of the Comoros.
In 1997, demands for increased autonomy on the islands of Ndzuani (Anjouan) and Mwali (Moheli) led to the breakup of the Federal Islamic Republic. In 2001, the government reformed as the "Union of the Comoros" under a new constitution which gave each of the three islands more autonomy than had been enjoyed previously. In 2008, President of Anjouan refused to hold free elections. He was forced to flee following military intervention by troops of the Comorian Union and the African Union. The island country continues its present form of confederal government albeit with minor changes approved in referendums in 2009 and 2018.
Mayotte, which had voted to retain French suzerainty in the 1975 referendum, expressed a wish to accede to the status of a "département d'outre-mer" (DOM) (Overseas Department) following another referendum held on the island on the 29 March 2009. Mayotte officially became France's 101st department on 31 March 2011.
Geology.
The Comoro Archipelago consists of volcanic islands. These volcanic islands, together with the high mountains in the north of Madagascar, were formed in the Tertiary and Quaternary periods. The island of Mayotte is the oldest one still above sea level and underwent three volcanic phases between 15 million and 500,000 years ago. The ages progressively decrease from east to west. Grande Comore is the youngest island and is still volcanically active. Karthala, a shield volcano occupying some two thirds of the island, rises to 2361 meters. The summit caldera is quite large, being approximately 3 x 4 km (1.9 x 2.5 miles) in size at the rim (2007).
Climate.
The Comoro Archipelago enjoys a tropical maritime climate, characterized by slight daytime temperature variations throughout the year of around at sea level and by abundant precipitation: a year. The average temperature of the sea water is .
There are two seasons in the Comoros: the hot and humid season flowing in from the north-west from November to April and the dry season from May to October. The climate on Mayotte is, nevertheless, noticeably warmer and drier. The climate is also characterized by important local variations in temperature and precipitation according to altitude, relief and the degree of exposure to the elements. Annual precipitation therefore varies in the region of and the absolute minimum of is reached on the summit of Karthala.
The hot, dry season is caused by a vast low pressure area which extends over a large part of the Indian Ocean and Central Africa. This low pressure favours gusty winds and cyclones. The last cyclone was "Gafilo" which passed close to the Comoros on 5 March 2004 causing great material damage. During the hot and humid season it can rain as much as in twenty-four hours.
The dry season is calmer. The low pressure moves towards the continent of Asia (this is the monsoon, the wind blowing from the south-east) and an anticyclone forms below the Comoros. This still does not prevent the islands from having a few gusts of wind, but their intensity is a lot less than during the hot season.
The two winds that bring the two different seasons are called the Kashkasi (in November) and the Kusi.
Flora and fauna.
The maki of Mayotte, a type of lemur found on this island, is protected by French law, and by local tradition; it is believed to have been introduced from Madagascar. Several mammals are endemic to the islands. A species of bat discovered by David Livingstone in 1863, previously abundant, has now been reduced to a population of about 1200 specimens, restricted to Anjouan and Moheli. A British preservation group sent an expedition to the Comoros in 1992, with the object of transporting some specimens to Great Britain, in order to form a reproducing colony.
Twenty-two species of birds are endemic to the archipelago, and seventeen of them only live on territories controlled by the Union; especially notable examples of these are the Karthala scops-owl, the Anjouan scops-owl and Humblot's flycatcher.
Partly as a result of international pressure during the 1990s, the government of the Union has begun to take greater care of the environment. Measures have been taken not only to preserve the rare fauna, but also to check the destruction of the environment, especially on Anjouan, which is densely populated. More precisely, in order to minimize the felling of trees for fuel, kerosene has been subsidized, and efforts are underway to replace the lost forest cover caused by the distillation of Ylang-ylang for perfume. The Fund for the Support of Community Development, sponsored by the International Development Association (IDA, a subsidiary of the World Bank) and the Comorian government, is applying itself to improving the water supply on the islands.
Fauna.
Like other islands in the region, these islands possess numerous endemic species; here are some of the most notable species:
No large African animals (elephants, giraffes, lions, crocodiles, zebras or antelopes) are found on the Comoros, despite the islands being relatively close to the mainland.
Flora.
On the Comoros there are numerous tropical ecosystems that are primarily dependent on the altitude. There you can find many kinds of tropical plants, large numbers of which are endemic. Like most islands, the diversity of the local flora suffers from two pressures, on the one hand the reduction of available space caused by the reduction of biotopes due to the invasion of humans in what used to be the wildest areas and on the other hand the invasion of exotic plant species such as guava trees. The flora has only been poorly studied, France has however been made attempts on Mayotte to fill in the gaps. Efforts to preserve species are still not enough to save the richest zones, and disturbances of biotopes are expected to take place for many years to come.
Politics.
The Comoro Archipelago is divided between:
The United Nations General Assembly continued to condemn the French presence in Mayotte until 1994. France, however, used its power of veto in the UN to prevent the Security Council from passing a resolution condemning France.
The African Union judged the French presence on Mayotte to be illegal.
Mayotte became a French Department on 31 March 2011.
The Comoros underwent a political crisis that started off in 1997 with the separatism on Anjouan.
The political authorities on the island had turned the population of the island against the central government, advocating at first reunification with France, and later a greater autonomy bordering on independence.
Since 2006, the Ex-President of the Union of the Comoros Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, who is originally from the island of Anjouan, has been in open conflict with the authorities of Anjouan, a conflict which ended in a military landing of the National Army of Development in order to re-establish the authority of the Union on the island.


Opole cuisine

Opole cuisine is an umbrella term for all dishes with a specific regional identity belonging to the region of Opole. It is a subtype of Polish and German cuisine with many similarities to and signs of the influence of neighbouring cuisines.


Antilles

The Antilles (; ) is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east.
The Antillean islands are divided into two smaller groupings: the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles. The Greater Antilles includes the larger islands of the Cayman Islands, Cuba, Hispaniola (subdivided into the nations of the Dominican Republic and Haiti), Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. The Lesser Antilles contains the northerly Leeward Islands and the southeasterly Windward Islands as well as the Leeward Antilles just north of Venezuela. The Lucayan Archipelago (consisting of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands), though a part of the West Indies, is generally not included among the Antillean islands.
Geographically, the Antillean islands are generally considered a subregion of North America. Culturally speaking, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico – and sometimes the whole of the Antilles – are included in Latin America, although some sources use the phrase "Latin America and the Caribbean" instead (see Latin America, "In Contemporary Usage"). In terms of geology, the Greater Antilles are made up of continental rock, as distinct from the Lesser Antilles, which are mostly young volcanic or coral islands.
Background.
The word "Antilles" originated in the period before the European colonization of the Americas, "Antilia" being one of those mysterious lands which figured on the medieval charts, sometimes as an archipelago, sometimes as continuous land of greater or lesser extent, its location fluctuating in mid-ocean between the Canary Islands and India.
After the 1492 arrival of Christopher Columbus's expedition in what was later called the West Indies, the European powers realized that the dispersed lands constituted an extensive archipelago inhabiting the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. The Antilles were called multiple names before their current name became the norm. Early Spanish visitors called them the "Windward Islands" (today having a narrower definition). They were also called the "Forward Islands" by 18th-century British. Thereafter, the term "Antilles" was commonly assigned to the formation, and "Sea of the Antilles" became a common alternative name for the Caribbean Sea in various European languages.
Demographics.
The Antilles were described in 1778 by Thomas Kitchin as once being called the "Caribbee Isles" in homage to the Carib people who were the islands' first inhabitants.


Hokersar

The Hokersar is a wetland conservation area in Zainakote near Srinagar in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It lies in the Kashmir Valley, northwest of Srinagar. The Hokersar, which spreads over , is a designated bird sanctuary.
Geography.
The Hokersar wetland, which is the largest bird reserve in the Kashmir Valley, is situated in the Jehlum River basin. It is the northernmost part of the Doodhganga catchment, at an altitude of above sea level. The reserve is fed by the two perennial inlet streams; Doodhganaga from the east and Sukhnag from the west. It includes a lake and a marshy area with an average depth of . In the spring, the water level rises to as much as due to runoff from snowmelt in the Pir Panjal mountain range. The wetland also acts as an absorption basin for floodwaters.
Flora and fauna.
The Hokersar wetland consists of three zones with varied flora. The northeastern zone contains various dense macrophytes while "Trapa natans" and "Phragmites australis" are found predominantly in the central zone, which is a large expanse of water. The southern zone is a silted portion and acts as pasture land.
The Hokersar wetland is a designated bird sanctuary. It serves as an important staging ground for medium and long distance migratory shorebirds, geese, cranes, ducks and other species that breed in the northern latitudes of Siberia and Central Asia. The Valley of Kashmir as a whole is strategically located south of the Pamirs and at the western extremity of the Himalayan range. The waterbirds fly to Kashmir Valley via the Central Asian Flyway. They begin to arrive in September–October and leave by May. Over 500,000 waterbirds were recorded in the Hokersar Wetland in 2000–01. There were seven globally threatened species among the 45 waterbird species and 66 wetland-associated bird species reported in the reserve. Northern pintail, mallard, gadwall, northern shoveller, Eurasian wigeon and common teal are the most common waterfowl, found in large numbers during the winter. Eurasian coot, red-crested pochard, greylag goose, common pochard, garganey, and ruddy shelduck are among the other species of waterbirds also found in the reserve.
Conservation.
The Hokersar wetland was first designated as a conservation reserve under the "Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1978". Hokersar, Haigam and Shallabug are protected areas within the Jhelum basin and have also been declared as bird sanctuaries by the government of Jammu & Kashmir. In 2005, the reserve was recognised as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention as Hokera Wetland. It falls under India's National Wetlands Conservation Programme and is also included in the network of Important Bird Areas.
Threats.
Threats to the Hokersar wetland include human activities and encroachments. The wetland has been reduced from in 1969 to in 2008. Over time, many areas of the wetland have been converted into paddy cultivations. Discharge of the domestic waste into the wetland, primarily through the inlet streams, has led to excessive weed growth and eutrophication, both of which pose a great threat to the reserve's flora.


Chenab Valley

The Chenab Valley, also known as the Chenab Region, is the river valley of the Chenab River flowing through the Kishtwar, Doda, and Ramban districts of Jammu Division in Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Location.
Erstwhile Doda known as Chenab Valley lies between the middle and outer Himalayan range in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is divided into three districts: Doda, Ramban, and Kishtwar and 1 sub-division of Reasi are also believed to be a part of this sub-region. The valley touches the Anantnag district of J&K to the north, the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, and Kathua district to the South, the Udhampur district to the southwest, and Salal Reasi Subdivision to the West, with Doda in its middle.
Geography.
Chenab Valley has mostly hilly terrain. The Chenab River flows through all the districts of Chenab Valley including Doda district, Kishtwar District, Ramban District & Reasi district. The area is an active seismic zone.
History.
The demography of Chenab valley which is referred to erstwhile Doda district is complex as compared to its neighbouring districts primarily because of the wide diversity in its population. In the past, Doda was largely inhabited by Sarazi population before people started settling here from Kashmir and other adjoining areas. The reasons for kashmiri population settling here in the past in 17th and 18th century is matter of ambiguity between historians. However Sumantra Bose says it was repression by feudal class that drew people to the district of Doda, Ramban and Kishtwar.
The Chenab valley consists of areas drawn from the ancient principalities of Kishtwar and Bhadarwah, both of which became part of a district by the name of Udhampur in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.
People.
Kashmiris form majority in Chenab Valley but Gujjars, Paharis & Bhaderwahis have also significant population. Chenab Valley is rich in cultural heritage and ethical values, but also has age-old traditions of secularism and tolerance. Though this place has also faced rising insurgency. During the rise of insurgency in Kashmir in the early 1990s; this place was second most affected place in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The main occupations of the people of the valley are farming and cattle rearing.
Languages.
Chenab Valley is home to a variety of ethnic groups. Among the languages spoken in Chenab Valley are the following: Kashmiri and its dialects Kishtwari, Rambani and Pogali is the most widely spoken language in the region. Other languages include Gojri, Pahari language, Bhaderwahi, Dogri & Ladakhi.