Aphrodite gas field

Aphrodite gas field is an offshore gas field off the southern coast of Cyprus located at the exploratory drilling block 12 in the country's maritime Exclusive Economic Zone. and bordering the Yishai gas field, located in Israeli territorial waters. Located west of Israel's Leviathan gas field, block 12 is believed to hold of natural gas. In 2014, the reserve estimate for the quantity of natural gas held by Aphrodite was raised by 12% due to new data received from the Yishai prospect as reported by Delek Drilling to the Israel Securities Authority. The cost of the field's development was estimated to range from $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion.
Noble Energy received the concession to explore block 12 in October 2008. In August 2011, Noble entered into a production-sharing agreement with the Cypriot government regarding the block's commercial development. Sources in Cyprus indicated in mid-September that Noble had commenced exploratory drilling of the block. The drilling, which took 116 days to complete, resulted in the finding of gas in high-quality Miocene sand intervals at the Aphrodite field.
In 2015, Noble Energy, Delek Drilling, and Avner Oil Exploration filed a Declaration of Commerciality of the field to be followed by a development and production plan. Noble Energy sold a 35% stake of Block 12, which includes Aphrodite, to BG for $165 million.
Aphrodite-Yishai Dispute.
The Aphrodite gas field has been the subject of a dispute between Cyprus and Israel since a part of the field, known as Yishai, stretches into Israel's maritime zone and gas being pumped from Aphrodite could reduce the amount of gas available on the Israeli side. Some estimates state that up to 10% of the total reservoir could be Israeli, making up to 10 BCM of gas worth nearly $1.5 billion at stake. In May 2018, Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz attended a meeting in Cyprus with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said that the dispute could be settled within six months, but that if an understanding would not be reached, a professional arbiter would be asked to examine the findings from both sides and decide on the proper division.
In July 2018, development moved forward despite the dispute, which involved how to divide revenues between the Aphrodite and Yishai fields as well as OECD or EU rules should be used. The Aphrodite partners submitted a plan to the government of Cyprus to develop the field, to sell the gas to Cypriot users, and to export it to Egypt.
In November 2019, Delek Drilling, Noble Energy, and Shell signed a 25-year concession agreement with Cyprus for the exploitation of Aphrodite. In response, Israeli Energy Ministry Director General Udi Adiri sent a letter to the partner companies on November 24, 2019 saying that development must not begin until an agreement was reached between the governments of Israel and Cyprus. Cypriot Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis responded to the letter by saying that the development of Aphrodite would continue as planned, that a procedure for a “special agreement” over unitization of the block was in progress and would be followed, and that there was no link between Aphrodite development and the procedure for the special agreement. Cyprus awarded a development license to the partners, who are to drill appraisal wells and conduct front-end engineering and design (FEED) work over the following two years, with a final investment decision anticipated for 2022. A commercial agreement is being sought to export up to 800 MMcf/d to Egypt via a pipeline that will be constructed as a separate project in which the gas from Aphrodite would be processed at the Shell-operate Idku facility and re-exported as LNG by 2025.
In March 2021, Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz met with Cypriot Energy Minister Natasa Pilides in Nicosia. The ministers agreed that the companies operating on the Cypriot side of the Aphrodite reservoir will start negotiations with the companies operating on the Israeli side (Yishai) in order to agree upon how the Israeli companies will be compensated for their share in the reservoir. They said that if the companies do not reach an agreement within 180 days, the dispute will be referred to an international expert who will try to resolve the issue within another 180 days. The agreement between the companies would in any case be subject to the approval of the respective governments. The two states also stipulated that they retain the rights to the gas reservoirs in their territory in compliance with international law as well as with their previous agreement.


Konevets

Konevets (; or "Kononsaari") is an approximately 8.5-km² island famous as the site of the Konevsky Monastery. It is located off the southwestern shore of Lake Ladoga near the village of Vladimirovka. The island is part of the Priozersky District of Leningrad Oblast. The nearest town is Priozersk, which is located 40 km away from the island. The island of Valaam is 60 km away and Saint Petersburg is 170 km away by boat. There is a ferry link from Vladimirovka that makes the 6.5-km trip in 40–50 minutes.
Geography and environment.
The island is 6.5 km long and generally slightly less than 2 km wide. At its widest point near the monastery on the south end of the island, where it is approximately 3 km wide. The island is completely covered in sandy soil. The majority of the shore is covered in fine sand beaches. Topographically, the island is mostly level. The terrain of sandy heath slopes gently up from the shoreline towards the interior of the island, where two cliffs, Svyataya and Zmeinaya, rise up out of the ground to 34 m and 29 m above sea level respectively. The steep cliffs are the result of erosion when the water level in Lake Ladoga was slightly less than 20 m above the current sea level, thus reaching the base of these cliffs, thousands of years before the Neva emerged. The majority of the island is uninhabited, and covered by coniferous trees. The average annual temperature is 3.5 °C. The island experiences a short summer season, from mid June to the latter half of August. July is the warmest month on the island. Winters can be quite harsh, and it is possible to walk to the island across the ice then.
History.
There is no certain information about the island’s earliest stages. According to sources discussing the establishment of the monastery on the island, there was a rock named Kon-kamen or Horse Rock where the Karelians went to perform sacrifices. The rock is located approximately 1 km north-northeast of the monastery at the base of the west slope of Svyataya. The rock is a rounded granite slab that is 9 m long, 6 m wide, approximately 4 m high and 750 tonnes that resembles the head of a horse. An Orthodox chapel has been built on top of it. The Russian name for the island, and thus the current Finnish name, are derived from the name of the rock or perhaps the assumed original Karelian name Hevossaari ("Horse Island").
The island’s Orthodox Monastery of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was founded by Arseny of Novgorod in 1393. The Swedes captured the island and destroyed the monastery in 1577 and 1610. Sweden lost control of the island as a result of their being beaten by Peter I of Russia in the Great Northern War. The current buildings are mainly from the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The island did not suffer any damage in the Russian revolution, as it had become part of Independent Finland in 1917.
In 1940, during the Second World War, the monks moved to the interior of Finland and joined the monks at the Orthodox Monastery of New Valamo. The island was ceded to the Soviet Union and the monastery fell into disrepair. From 1944 to 1990, the island was used by the military and thus closed to the public. In 1991, visitors were allowed back on the island and repairs and renovations to the monastery commenced. Approximately 20 monks now live on the island, which has become a popular place of pilgrimage.


County Londonderry

 County Londonderry (Ulster-Scots: "Coontie Lunnonderrie"), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. Before the partition of Ireland, it was one of the counties of the Kingdom of Ireland from 1613 onward and then of the United Kingdom after the Acts of Union 1800. Adjoining the north-west shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,074 km2 (801 sq mi) and today has a population of about 247,132.
Since 1972, the counties in Northern Ireland, including Londonderry, have no longer been used by the state as part of the local administration. Following further reforms in 2015, the area is now governed under three different districts; Derry and Strabane, Causeway Coast and Glens and Mid-Ulster. Despite no longer being used for local government and administrative purposes, it is sometimes used in a cultural context in All-Ireland sporting and cultural events (i.e. Derry GAA).
Since 1981, it has become one of four counties in Northern Ireland that has a Catholic majority (55.56% according to the 2001 Census), with 57% of the Catholic population residing within the territory of Derry City Council. The county flower is the Purple Saxifrage.
Name.
The place name "Derry" is an anglicisation of the old Irish "Daire" (Modern Irish "Doire"), meaning "oak-grove" or "oak-wood".
As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form "Londonderry" generally preferred by unionists and "Derry" by nationalists. Unlike with the city however, there has never been a County Derry. County Londonderry was formed mostly from the old County Coleraine (see below). British authorities use the name "Londonderry", while "Derry" is used by the Republic of Ireland.
History.
Pre-historic.
Mountsandel located near Coleraine in County Londonderry is "perhaps the oldest recorded settlement within Ireland".
County Coleraine and the Plantation of Ulster.
At an early period, what became the county of Coleraine was inhabited by the O'Cahans, who were tributary to the O'Neills. Towards the close of the reign of Elizabeth I their territory was seized by England, with the purpose of checking the power of the O'Neills, and was made the county of Coleraine, named after the regional capital.
A short description of County Coleraine is given in Harris's "Hibernica", and also in Captain Pynnar's "Survey of the Escheated Counties of Ulster, Anno 1618":
On 2 March 1613, James I granted a charter to The Honourable The Irish Society to undertake the plantation of a new county. This county was named Londonderry, a combination of London (in reference to the Livery Companies of the Irish Society) and Derry (then name of the city). This charter declared that the "City of Londonderry" and everything contained within the new county:
This new county would comprise the then County Coleraine—which consisted of the baronies of Tirkeeran, Coleraine, and Keenaght—and at the behest of The Irish Society the following additional territory was added: all but the south-west corner of the barony of Loughinsholin, then a part of County Tyrone, as it had sufficient wood for construction; the North East Liberties of Coleraine, which was part of County Antrim and the City of Londonderry and its Liberties, which were in County Donegal, so that they could control both banks of the River Foyle and River Bann.
The Irish Society was made up of the twelve main livery companies of London, which themselves were composed of various guilds. Whilst The Irish Society as a whole was given possession of the city of Londonderry and Coleraine, the individual companies were each granted an estimated throughout the county. These companies and the sites of their headquarters were:
19th century.
As a result of the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, the city was detached from the county for administrative purposes, becoming a separate county borough from 1899. The county town of County Londonderry, and seat of the Londonderry County Council until its abolition in 1973, was therefore moved to the town of Coleraine.
Geography and places of interest.
The highest point in the county is the summit of Sawel Mountain () on the border with County Tyrone. Sawel is part of the Sperrin Mountains, which dominate the southern part of the county. To the east and west, the land falls into the valleys of the Bann and Foyle rivers respectively; in the south-east, the county touches the shore of Lough Neagh, which is the largest lake in Ireland; the north of the county is distinguished by the steep cliffs, dune systems, and remarkable beaches of the Atlantic coast.
The county is home to a number of important buildings and landscapes, including the well-preserved 17th-century city walls of Derry; the National Trust–owned Plantation estate at Springhill; Mussenden Temple on the Atlantic coast; the dikes, artificial coastlines and the bird sanctuaries on the eastern shore of Lough Foyle; and the visitor centre at Bellaghy Bawn, close to the childhood home of Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney. In the centre of the county are the old-growth deciduous forests at Banagher and Ness Wood, where the Burntollet River flows over the highest waterfalls in Northern Ireland.
Administration.
The county was administered by Londonderry County Council from 1899 until the abolition of county councils in Northern Ireland in 1973. They were replaced by district councils. These councils were: Londonderry City Council (renamed Derry City Council in 1984), Limavady Borough Council, and Magherafelt District Council, most of Coleraine Borough Council, and part of Cookstown District Council. After a reduction in the number of councils in Northern Ireland in 2011, County Londonderry is divided into three cross-county councils: Causeway Coast and Glens, Derry and Strabane, and Mid-Ulster District.
Transport.
Translink provides a Northern Ireland Railways service in the county, linking Londonderry Waterside railway station to Coleraine railway station (with a branch to on the Coleraine–Portrush railway line) and onwards into County Antrim to Belfast Central and Belfast Great Victoria Street on the Belfast-Derry railway line.
There is also the Foyle Valley Railway, a museum in Derry with some rolling stock from both the County Donegal Railway and the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway, and is located on the site of the former Londonderry Foyle Road railway station. The Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway continued as a private bus company based in the city but operating predominantly in County Donegal until it closed in 2014. Bus services are now provided by Ulsterbus.
Education.
Government-funded education up to secondary school level is administered by the Education Authority (EA), sponsored by the Department of Education. The EA is divided into sub-regions:
For Catholic grant-maintained schools administration is by the Derry Diocesan Education Office.
Two major centres of the University of Ulster are in the county, including its headquarters at Coleraine and the Magee Campus in Derry.
Sport.
In Gaelic games, the GAA county of Derry is more or less coterminous with the former administrative county of Londonderry, although teams from the neighbouring counties of Tyrone, Donegal and Antrim have occasionally played in Derry competitions, and vice versa. The Derry teams wear the colours red and white. There are many club teams competing in up to five leagues and three championships. The county team has won one All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (in 1993) and five National League titles. Hurling is also widely played but is not as popular as football. However, the county team is generally regarded as one of the top hurling sides in Ulster and in 2006 won the Nicky Rackard Cup – the third tier hurling competition in Ireland.
In association football, the NIFL Premiership, which operates as the top division, has two teams in the county: Coleraine F.C. and Institute F.C., with Limavady United F.C., Moyola Park F.C., Portstewart F.C. and Tobermore United F.C. competing in the NIFL Championship, which operates as levels two and three. Derry City F.C. play in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland after leaving the Northern Ireland structures in 1985, having resigned from the Irish Football League at the height of the Troubles because of not being allowed play their home games at the Brandywell due to security concerns from other clubs.
The Northern Ireland Milk Cup was established in 1983 and is regarded as one of the most prestigious youth football tournaments in Europe and the world. The competition is based at Coleraine and involves several other towns and villages in the county – Limavady, Portstewart and Castlerock – and in neighbouring County Antrim – Ballymoney, Portrush, Ballymena and Broughshane. The event, held in the last week of July, has attracted teams from 56 countries around the world including Europe, the US, Africa, the Far East, South America, the Middle East, Australia, Russia, New Zealand and Canada. Some of the biggest teams in the world have entered including Premiership giants Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur as well as top European teams such as Feyenoord, F.C. Porto, FC Barcelona, Benfica, Bayern Munich and Dynamo Kiev.
In rugby union, the county is represented at senior level by Rainey Old Boys Rugby Club, Magherafelt who compete in the Ulster Senior League and All Ireland Division Three. Limavady R.F.C, City of Derry Rugby Club, Londonderry Y.M.C.A and Coleraine Rugby Club all compete in Ulster Qualifying League One.
Cricket is particularly popular in the north-west of Ireland, with 11 of the 20 senior clubs in the North West Cricket Union located in County Londonderry: Limavady, Eglinton, Glendermott, Brigade, Killymallaght, Ardmore, Coleraine, Bonds Glen, Drummond, Creevedonnell and The Nedd.
In rowing, Richard Archibald from Coleraine along with his Irish teammates qualified for the Beijing 2008 Olympics by finishing second in the lightweight fours final in Poznań, thus qualifying for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Another Coleraine rower Alan Campbell is a World Cup gold medallist in the single sculls in 2006.
Media.
The county currently has four main radio stations:


Plava Laguna

Plava Laguna is a Serbo-Croatian phrase meaning "blue lagoon". It is also the name of a tourist group based in Poreč in Istria, Croatia.
Notes.
The Bay of Poreč is a favorite holiday place of French film director Luc Besson, whose box-office hit "The Fifth Element" features a character named "Plavalaguna" (also a reference to star Milla Jovovich's first film "Return to the Blue Lagoon".


Keris Valley

The Keris Valley (Balti:, also spelled Kiris) is a village of Ghanche District Beside the Shyok River lying 39.3 km from Skardu in the east. The valley is at the confluence of the Indus River, and the Shingo River which passes through Kharmang after originating in the Kargil region across the Line of Control.


Ore Mountains/Vogtland Nature Park

The Ore Mountains/Vogtland Nature Park () extends across the upper slopes of the Vogtland and Ore Mountains in southeastern Germany along its international border with Czech Republic. It is the longest nature park in Germany with a total length of 120 km. Its management organisation is the "Zweckverband Naturpark Erzgebirge/Vogtland". It includes the following conservation areas:
Landscape.
The nature park has a total area of approximately 1,495 km² and is located between the White Elster river in the Vogtland region and the Freiberger Mulde river in the Eastern Ore Mountains. It lies at an elevation of about 500 metres above sea level (NN) rising to 1,215 metres at the summit of the Fichtelberg, and includes all the important conservation areas, forests and natural monuments in the vicinity of the Elstergebirge and Ore Mountains ridge, that is in the upper reaches of the Western and Eastern Ore Mountains. It covers the southern part of the county of Vogtlandkreis as well as the counties of Erzgebirgskreis and Mittelsachsen, which forms the eastern boundary of the park. It is between 20 and 50 kilometres from the towns and cities of Plauen, Zwickau, Chemnitz, Freiberg and Dresden, and is easily accessible both to private as well as public transport over a very dense road network or by bicycle too. In winter, winter sports take place across the whole area. There are about 5,000 kilometres of signed footpaths within the park. The area is densely populated in places (approximately 327,000 residents in 92 towns and municipalities) and tourism is very well developed. Its land usage by area is as follows: 9% settlements, 30% agriculture and 61% forests. For its geographic and environmental aspects see the articles on the respective regions at: Vogtland, Ore Mountains, Western Ore Mountains and Eastern Ore Mountains. The holiday route known as the Silver Road ("Silberstraße") runs through a large part of the park.


Batina

Batina () is a port village on the right bank of the Danube in Baranja, Croatia. Its elevation is 105 m. Administratively, it is located in the Draž municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County.
Geography.
Batina is located on the D212 state road connecting the village to the city of Osijek. In 1974 the road bridge over the Danube was built. It is a state border crossing.
History.
The village is known as the site of World War II Battle of Batina which took place from 11 to 29 November 1944. It was a battle between the units of the Red Army and the People's Liberation Army against the Wehrmacht and their allies. Today, a memorial site commemorates the battle which was one of the bloodiest World War II battles on Yugoslav soil.


List of cities in the Punjab region by population

The following is a list of the largest cities in the Punjab region by population located in modern divisions which were part of the British Punjab Province as at 1947 when the modern countries of India and Pakistan were created. Accordingly, the Punjab is a geographical region in South Asia now divided politically by Pakistan and India and is also administratively divided into provinces, states, and territories within both countries. This list deals with the areas within city administrative boundaries (city propers), urban areas, and metropolitan areas.


Draa River

The Draa (, ; also spelled Dra or Drâa, in older sources mostly Darha or Dara) is Morocco's longest river, at . It is formed by the confluence of the Dadès River and Imini River. It flows from the High Atlas mountains, initially south-eastward to Tagounite, and from Tagounite mostly westwards to its mouth in the Atlantic Ocean somewhat north of Tan-Tan. In 1971, the (El) Mansour Eddahabi dam was constructed to service the regional capital of Ouarzazate and to regulate the flow of the Draa. Most of the year the part of the Draa after Tagounite falls dry.
The water from the Draa is used to irrigate palm groves and small farms along the river. The inhabitants of the Draa are called in Arabic "Drawa", in Shilha "Idrawiyn", the most famous Drawi (singular of Drawa) undoubtedly being Sultan Mohammed ash-Sheikh (1490–1557). Outside of the Draa region this name is mostly used to refer to the dark skinned people of Draa, which make up the largest portion of its inhabitants.
In the first half of the 20th century, the lowest course of the Draa marked the boundary between the French protectorate of Morocco and the area under Spanish rule.
About 225,000 people live in the valley of the Draa, which measures . The valley corresponds with the province of Zagora, created in 1997, in the Souss-Massa-Drâa region. In the province there are 23 villages and two towns: Zagora and Agdz. The village of Tamegroute, near Zagora, is well known for its Zawiya.
The valley contains the Fezouata formations, which are Burgess shale-type deposits dating to the Lower Ordovician, filling an important preservational window between the common Cambrian lagerstätten and the Late Ordovician Soom shale. In the fossilized fauna were numerous organisms previously thought to have died out after the mid-Cambrian.
History.
Prehistory.
The pre-history of the valley of the Draa goes back thousands of years, as is evidenced by the many rock art engravings or petroglyphs in its surroundings and most of all by the find of the Venus of Tan-Tan. This statue is possibly the oldest human figurine ever found. It dates back more than three hundred thousand years.
From all main periods of the prehistory of the Sahara rock-engravings and rock-paintings have been found. Foum Chenna (Tinzouline), Aït Ouaazik (Asguine Tarna, Tazzarine), and Tiouririne e Tisguinine (Zagora) are amongst the best known sites in the Draa region. At lghir N'tidri between Tagounite and Mhamid al-Ghizlane there is the necropolis of Foum Larjam. The necropolis is the largest of North Africa and consists of several kilometers of tumuli and dates back to prehistoric times. It is one of the few sites where not just rock-drawings but also rock-paintings were found.
See also: List of Stone Age art, Art of the Upper Paleolithic, Saharan rock art, Rock art of Figuig, Rock art of south Oran (Algeria), Tadrart Acacus, Rock art, Petroglyph, Neolithic
Before 1054.
The original inhabitants of the Draa river valley were the Haratin, who are also called "drawi" in Morocco, during the Roman conquest of Mauretania, the Godala Berber tribe fled to the south and enslaved the indigenous Haratin.
The first reference to the Draa River in historical times comes from Hanno, a navigator from Carthage (living around 550 B.C.), who set out for a mission to establish a colony on the west coast of Africa. The Punic text of the record of this journey (known as the Periplus) was engraved in the Temple of Chronos (Baal Hammon) at Carthage. There is only one Greek version, dating perhaps to the 3rd century B.C. These are the opening words of the Periplus:
"The Voyage of Hanno, King of the Carthaginians, to the Libyan regions of the earth, beyond the Pillars of Heracles..."
Having visited the Carthaginian colonies of the Atlas in Morocco, Hanno proceeded southward:
"Leaving this place we arrived at the great river Lixos which comes from Libya. On the banks nomads, the Lixites, were feeding their flocks. We stayed for some time with these people and made friends with them. Upstream from them lived the unfriendly Ethiopians whose land is full of wild beasts and broken up by high mountains where they say the Lixos flows from. They also say that about these mountains dwell the strange-looking Troglodytes. The Lixites claim that they can run faster than horses. Taking Lixite interpreters with us we sailed alongside the desert in a southerly direction for two days, then towards the rising sun for one more day. We then found at the far end of an inlet a little island five stades in circumference. We named it Cerne (Some scholars identify Kerne with the Island of Herne (23°50’N) on the coast of the Sahara) and left settlers there. judging by our journey we reckoned that it must be opposite Carthage, since we had to sail the same distance from Carthage to the Pillars of Hercules as from the Pillars of Hercules to Cerne."
It is generally agreed, the Lixos can be identified as the Draa (28°45’N). The Draa is the largest river in the area, and marks the southernmost limit of cultivable land. This well corresponds to Hanno's account. Certainly the area of Herne was known to the Carthaginians because they would hardly have sent a colony to an unknown place.
The Draa River was also well known to the ancient Romans. It figures on the first world map in history made by Ptolemy (90-168 AD).
When in 680 Uqba ibn Nafi the governor of Ifriqiya came to Morocco with his Arab army, and fought the Masmuda a tribe of the Atlas Mountains, they consequently fled to the Draa river valley; Ukba pursued them and inflicted a crushing defeat on them there. Ukba continued his conquest to the Atlantic Ocean, but on his return march to Kayrawan he was defeated and killed. Thereafter part of the Draa river valley was inhabited by the (Sanhaja) tribe of the Masufa. Their city in this region was called Tiyumetin (modern day Tagounite). From this time until today also the presence of Jewish groups in the Draa valley is attested. Beni Sbih and Beni Hayoune are the villages that remain of that past.
Almoravids.
Four centuries later in 1053/54 the Almoravids began their advance on central Morocco. Their very first campaign was on the valley of the Draa river. The power in the valley had been, like in the city of Sijilmasa, for some 50 years in the hands of the Maghrawa (a branch of the Zenata). Here and elsewhere in Morocco this domination was resented. After the Almoravids had conquered the Draa and Sijilmasa they went on to conquer Adaghwast at the southern end of the trans-Sahara route. Yusuf ibn Tashfin took command of North Morocco, while Abu Bakr ibn Umar was leader in the Sahara, Tafilalt and the Draa. Today the remains of an Almoravid fortress can still be seen on the top of the Zagora hill. There are still groups in the Draa valley that claim descendancy from the Almoravids: the groups of Mrabtine linked to the Arib and the Msouffa, part of the confederation of the Ait Atta. This integration in the empire of the Almoravids was also the first integration of the Draa valley into the whole of Morocco.
Many times, however, the Draa valley was the cradle of revolution and dissent. In 1255 the Beni Ḥassān (the Maqil Arabs) invaded the valley. The Maqil were quickly used by the ruling Berber dynasties. In the country-side however they were deeply disruptive, bringing ruin to many sedentary farmers. The domination of the Maqil in the south lasted to the middle of the 14th century, when a large part of them moved further north and many Berber inhabitants came back. Others like the Roha, Oulad Yahia and Ouled Malek (still a part of the population), which arrived later in the Draa valley, stayed there and continued the fight for the rule of the region. In the 15th century some struggle between Arabs and Berber continued.
Saadi.
At this time, the region was the home of many important religious figures and zawiyas. The Draa became part of the marabout movement against the Portuguese who had captured many towns at the Atlantic coast. The Draa made an important comeback in the history of Morocco with the rise of the dynasty of the Saadi or Bani Zaydan as their original name was. Its cradle was in the Draa valley in Tagmadert, the current district of Fezouata between Zagora and Tamegroute. Although there is still a village called Timidert today, some historians think Tagmadert was situated at today's Amezrou, a village next to Zagora. Thanks to the Saadi Dynasty the Draa played an important role in the history of Morocco and the Sahara during the 16th century. In the middle of that century the Saadi Dynasty was at the height of its power. In that time the need for gold was increasing and the sultan Ahmad al-Mansur decided to undertake the conquest of the Sudan in 1590. According to some sources, this conquest had its cause in the events of 1545 when under the reign of Mohammed ash-Sheikh the palm orchards of the Ktawa in the Draa were captured by the Tuareg Oulmiden who were sent by Ishaq I, king of the Sudan.
The campaign for the conquest of the Sudan started in the Ktawa, in the Draa valley. It was in 1591 that the troops gathered and took in food for the passage across the desert. After the military operations the trans-Sahara trade with the Sudan seems to have intensified. In the palm gardens of M'hamid between ksar Bounou and ksar Talha, the ruins of qsar "El Alouj" are still to be found. This was the old "customs office" where the gold powder arrived from the Sudan. There the gold coins were struck to be sent to Marrakech. With the decline of the Saadi dynasty, especially after the death of Ahmad al-Mansur in 1603, the Draa fell back into anarchy.
Alaouites.
During the 17th century the Alaouite dynasty succeeds in establishing its authority in the valley. They conquer the Draa in 1642 where they, like their predecessors, construct numerous ksour. They rule by military force and it is no longer from Tagmadert that they reign the country, but from d'Aghlan, some 20 km North of Zagora. Amezrou, however becomes the seat of the governor. Later in the 17th century Mawlay Ismail Ibn Sharif sends his son to stay in Beni Zouli and also in the zawiya Nasiriyya of Tamegroute in 1675/76. A military expedition sent by Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif to suppress a rebellion in Mhamid Ghuzlan was led by an Englishman called Thomas Pellow who spent 23 years in Morocco. Pellow wrote a book with an account of his experiences.
In the two next centuries the Draa remains the object of fights between warring (nomadic) tribes. Unfortunately sources have paid too little attention to the sedentary population to give a complete picture of its history and evolution. The officers of the colonising French were almost exclusively interested in the neighbouring resisting warrior tribe of the Ait Atta and neglected the Ktawa of the Draa. It is probable, however, that during these last centuries the nomad tribes in the Draa valley have integrated with the sedentary. Blood ties (real or imaginary) in which the determining factor whether one belonged to this or that tribe or sub-tribe make place for the determining factor of the qsour where one lives. Alliances are made between particular qsour and nomad groups which offer protection. At the end of the 18th century the power in the Ktawa is divided between three chiefs of three groups: the caid Mohamed in the qsour Beni Hayoun, sheik El Maati in the Beni Sbih and sheik Aamaou in the upper part of the valley. Around 1800 the security of these qsour was threatened by Arab nomads like the Ghenama and the Beni Mohammed and the protection of the Ait Atta was invoked. The price the sedentary groups paid for the protection was a part of their land. This method was custom at many places throughout the valley. Certain qsour however remained independent under the protection of their local chiefs or zawiyas (e.g. qsour Mezguita). Much of the history of the Draa valley is characterised by the warfare between different tribes and most of all by the crimes these tribes committed against the local Drawa population.
20th century.
With the coming of the Glaoua at the beginning of the 20th century the domination of many of the ksour by the nomads (like Ait Atta) was brought to an end. Later in the 1930s the French colonisation slowly, but completely, ended the nomad influence, and social structures were radically changed. The jemaa was moved to Tagounite, the new administrative centre, and after a few years the region enjoyed a new kind of autonomy.
Kasbahs.
The valley of the Draa is especially famous for its kasbahs. The most famous kasbahs in the region are (north to south):
Agriculture.
The Draa valley is famous as the date basket of Morocco. It grows more than 18 varieties. Fruit trees and vegetables are the main crops but henna is also a well known product of the region. The agriculture is very labour-intensive because it takes place on terraced fields. Seguias (small canals) transport the water from the river to the fields. Like some other ancient Berber oases in North Africa (Siwa, Kufra, Ouargla) the Draa valley was known for its qatarra, a sophisticated system of underground irrigation canals.
Language.
Two languages are spoken in the area: a local variety of Colloquial Arabic which is closely related to Hassaniya, and Shilha or Tashelhiyt, a Berber language.
Oases.
The Upper Draa River valley, about long, consists of six stretches of oases/palm groves from north to south:
The width of the "green zone" is on average but varies from to .
Because of the terrain the agriculture is very labour-intensive. Dates are the main product, but also cereals, vegetables and henna are cultivated.
Ksurs.
Ksour in the Mezguita
Ksour in Tinzouline
Ksour in Ternata
Ksour in the Fezouata
In the Ktaoua/Ktwawa (the southern stretch of the valley between the Azagha and the Bounou dam near Tagounite) there are 55 villages, mostly consisting of "ksour" (plural of "ksar)". These villages are:
Source : Recensement général du Maroc, 1994
Exploration.
The Draa has attracted the attention of a number of notable explorers including Frenchman Charles de Foucauld who travelled throughout Morocco disguised as a Jewish merchant in the 1800s, Jeffrey Tayler who wrote a book about his experiences and most recently Scottish Adventurer, Alice Morrison, who became the first woman to walk the entire length of the Draa in 2019.


Virginias

The Virginias (sometimes also known as the two Virginias) is a region in the United States comprising the states of Virginia and West Virginia. If they were a single state (as they were until the Civil War), the Virginias would have a combined population of 9,854,018 as of the 2010 national census. This would give Virginia the 9th largest population of any US state, with less than 20,000 less than number 8, Michigan. The total area of the two states is about 175,000 square kilometers (67,000 square miles).
Vexit.
Vexit is a proposed measure for Second Amendment sanctuary counties in Virginia to secede and join the neighboring, more conservative West Virginia over the issue of gun legislation.


Lianjiang County

Lianjiang (; BUC: Lièng-gŏng) is a county on the eastern coast in Fuzhou prefecture-level city, the provincial capital of Fujian Province, China. Most of the county is administered by the People's Republic of China (PRC), while a number of outlying islands, collectively referred to as the Matsu Islands, are administered as Lienchiang County (same Chinese character name in traditional Chinese characters and referred to using Wade–Giles romanization) by the Republic of China (ROC) (now based in Taiwan) ever since their return to ROC control after Japanese occupation in World War II.
History.
Lianjiang, in 282, during the Jin Dynasty, was Wenma, named after a shipyard there, Wensha Ship-hamlet (溫麻船屯). It was incorporated into Min Prefecture (閩縣) in 607, during the Sui Dynasty.
Wenma was changed to the present name and made its own county in 623, during the Tang Dynasty, when Baisha (白沙) or Fusha (伏沙) of Aojiang was the capital of Lianjiang County. The capital was changed to Fengcheng as today in 742.
After the Republic of China was established, Lianjiang switched back and forth numerous times between two special regions:
In 1949, the county was split in two due to the Chinese Civil War, as it remains today.
In March 4, 1964, a Chinese Nationalist commando raid on the Communist Party of China headquarters of the county captured and returned a commune file to Taipei.
Beginning on 1 July 1983, the PRC side reverted control to Fuzhou Municipality. In the late 1980s, people living in Lianjiang County began a massive emigration wave to western countries like the United Kingdom and the United States.
Geography.
Gaodeng Island in Lienchiang County (the Matsu Islands), ROC (Taiwan), is located away from the Beijiao Peninsula () in Lianjiang County, China (PRC).
Administrative divisions.
The PRC (China) administers 16 towns and 6 townships:
Towns (镇, "zhen"):
Townships (乡, "xiang"):
These townships are divided into 266 villages.
Culture.
Residents of Lianjiang – both on the Mainland and Matsu – speak the Lianjiang dialect, a subdialect of the Fuzhou dialect, a branch of Eastern Min. The dialect is also known as "Bàng-uâ" (平話).
Language.
The Lianjiang dialect is a subdialect of Fuzhou dialect (the most prestigious dialect of Min Dong or Eastern Min). The Lianjiang dialect is mutually intelligible with Fuzhou dialect. It differs from Fuzhou dialect in its tonal sandhi pattern and vowel sandhi system. Small lexical differences also exist on object names, e.g. waxmelon is called "卷瓜" in Fuzhou but "冬瓜" in Lianjiang.
Generally speaking, the tonal sandhi system of Lianjiang is more conservative than that of Fuzhou, in that the Lianjiang tonal sandhi is still largely controlled by the Middle Chinese tonal registers, while the Fuzhou tonal sandhi shows more deviation and irregularity.
Lianjiang vowel sandhi is more complicated than that of Fuzhou. Both Lianjiang and Fuzhou have systematic vowel variations between citation forms and non-final forms of the same morpheme, e.g. "地" /tei/ "land" – "地主" /ti-tsuo/ "landlord". However, not all morphemes have such variations. Only the morphemes with low-starting tones show such variation. The morphemes with high-starting tones instead only have the more close variant, e.g. "迟" /ti/ "late"- "迟早" /ti tsia/ "early or late". However, some cognates are produced with different vowels in Lianjiang and Fuzhou, e.g. "江 river" is produced as /kyeŋ/ in Lianjiang, but /kouŋ/ in Fuzhou. Also, the rimes in Lianjiang are generally more close and front than that in Fuzhou, which is especially salient in the open vowels, e.g. "下 down" is [ɑ] in Fuzhou, but [a] in Lianjiang.
Surrounded by mountains, Lianjiang used to be a relatively isolated from the inland part of China for centuries. This explains why the Lianjiang phonological system is relatively more conservative. However, with the construction of the high-speed railway system and the improvement of tunnel system, northern migrants are flooding into Lianjiang in the past decade, which may bring language contact into perspective. Just like in Fuzhou, most young or middle-aged Lianjiang speakers speak Mandarin Chinese fluently, but usually with a local accent influenced by the local dialect. However, due to the misleading language policy (Not speaking Mandarin Chinese is taken as "immoral".) and disadvantageous status of the dialect, both Fuzhou and Lianjiang dialects are losing speakers in the youngest generation. More and more young people and children are only receptive bilinguals in Lianjiang.
Economy.
Food products:
Transportation.
Luochang Expressway runs through the county's section of National Highway 104 in . navigable river length.
Guantou and Kemen (可門) are the largest seaports in Lianjiang with national access.
Tourism.
There are hot springs in Gui'an (貴安) and Tanghui (湯尾) of Pandu. There is a Dragon King Palace-Temple (龍宮廟) in the Xiaocang She Ethnic Township.


Balghar

Balghar () is a village in Ghanche, Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan گانگچھے،گلگت بلتستان، پاکستان on the banks of the Shyok River. The Shyok River meets the Indus River at Keris کریس, about 30 kilometers west of Balghar. Balghar includes 15 large and small neighbourhoods (mahallahs): Gond Balghar, Chan Gond Balghar, Chopya, Rotaka, Ongbo, Marmoung Balghar, Loda Balghar, Khanka Grwong Balghar, Khodakha Balghar, Gareippa Balghar, Krawathang Balghar, Khashu Balghar, Gamba Bordas Balghar, Yompowa Balghar, and Xooq Balghar. House Valley is to the east, Karis Valley to the west, Shiger Valley to the north, and Daghoni/Balghar are located to the south.
Balghar valley is 50 kilometers northwest of the district headquarters of Ghanche, and 110 kilometers from Skardu city. Balghar valley is at an elevation of 2,635 meters above sea level and falls in a single cropping zone. The main occupation in the area is agriculture.
Location.
The Shyok meets the Indus river at Keris about 30 kilometres west of Balghar. The Thallay stream divides Balghar into two parts. The larger part is referred to as Chogo Balghar, and consists of 15 large and small mahallahs; the smaller is called Choo Fuog, consisting of 5 mahallahs. The population of Balghar بلغار is about 20,000.
Balghar is a summer tourist destination. Balghar Ranga is situated in the Gond neighbourhood. It consists of a wide plain. The Sooq and Gond neighbourhoods are in the north and Gamba Burdas are in the south near Thalay valley.
History.
The Balghar Polo Ground is the oldest polo ground in this region.
Religion.
Most Balghar valley residents follow Islam. 77% belong to the Sofia Noorbakhshia sect, 20% to the Ahl al-Hadith and the remaining 3% of the population belong to other sects of Shia Islam, such as "Fiqa Jaffariya".
Occupations.
Balghar plays an important role in the Pakistan Army, with many soldiers from the area dying in the 1999 Kargil War. Abdul Qadir Shaheed retrieved Tamgha-e-Jurat in that war. It was said that he was eligible for the Nishan-e-Haider, which is Pakistan's highest military award. Mumtaz Hussain Balghari Shaheed was killed in the war against terrorists on 10 January 2010. Ghazi Muhammad Ali saved a highly targeted post during the war.
Education.
An awareness of the importance of education has been prevalent in Balghar for hundreds of years. From that era, most of them became an Islamic school. After 1945 the few parents sent their children to school. They were 10–14 in number from village Khashu Balghar, Xooq Balghar, and Chogo Balghar. One of them became successful to get his goal. Behind his success was his mother. His mother was not educated but encouraged and helped him to get an education. And he was Syed Muhammad Shah from Chogo Balghar. Then he struggled to spread education in Balghar. Initially, there was no school. And because of his struggle new educational institutions are founded rapidly.
Nowadays there are the following institutions:


Vietnam Liberation Order

The Liberation Order Badge is a military badge given during the Vietnam War by North Vietnam.


Novoselytsia

Novoselytsia ( ; ; ) is a city in Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast (province) of Ukraine. It stands at the northern tip of Bessarabia region, on its border with Bukovina. It hosts the administration of Novoselytsia urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population:
History.
From 1775 to 1918, Bukovina was an administrative division of the Habsburg Monarchy, and a province of Austria-Hungary (Austrian half). After World War I, Bucovina became part of Romania. In 1940, the northern half of Bucovina was annexed by the Soviet Union.
From 1774 to 1877, Novoselytsia was at the tripoint between the Austrian Empire (Duchy of Bukovina), Principality of Moldavia (later Romania), and the Russian Empire (Bessarabia Governorate). The larger part of the settlement belonged to the Russian Empire and the smaller to the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. After the secondary customs office in Boiany was closed in 1866, Novoselytsia was the only border point between Russian Bessarabia and Austrian Bukovina. With the inauguration of the train connection between the Russian and the Austrian province in 1893, Novoselytsia was also the fourth train junction between the two Empires.
In January 1989 the population was 8384 people.
In January 2013 the population was 7774 people.
Until 18 July 2020, Novoselytsia served as an administrative center of Novoselytsia Raion. The raion was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Chernivtsi Oblast to three. The area of Novoselytsia Raion was split between Chernivtsi and Dnistrovskyi Raions, with Novoselytsia being transferred to Chernivtsi Raion.


Artibonite River

The Artibonite River (Spanish: " Río Artibonito"; Haitian Creole: "Latibonit") is the longest river in Haiti, and the longest on the island of Hispaniola. It is also the second-longest river in the Caribbean, behind the Cauto River in Cuba. Forming part of the international border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the river's sources are in the Cordillera Central in the Dominican Republic (68 km); however, most of its length lies in Haiti (253 km).
Etymology.
The name is derived from the Taíno name of the river, "Hatibonico".
Course.
The source of the Artibonite is to the northeast of Río Limpio, in the Cordillera Central, Dominican Republic. The mouth of the Artibonite is in Haiti, south of La Grand Saline. It flows into the Gulf of Gonâve.
The river is the border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti for several kilometres, from the town of Pedro Santana to the point where it is joined by the River Macasía, and then turns west into Haiti.
Its watershed has an area of 9,013 km² (2,614 km² in the Dominican Republic, 6,399 km² in Haiti). Its discharge (volume of water which passes through a section of the river per unit of time) is 16.6 cubic metres per second at Pedro Santana.
Tributaries.
The Artibonite has several tributaries, most of them in Haiti. The most important tributaries are the Libón and Macasía in the Dominican Republic, and the Rivière de Fer à Cheval in Haiti.
Environment.
Deforestation and pollution has negatively affected the quality and amount of water in the Artibonite in the Dominican Republic, and even moreso in Haiti. Very little fish remain in the river. American crocodiles ("Crocodylus acutus") once inhabited the Artibonite and other rivers of Hispaniola, but now they are found only in the large lakes of the island (Lago Enriquillo and Etang Saumâtre).
Uses.
The water of the river is used for irrigation in Haiti, but not in the Dominican Republic, because it flows here through high mountains. The river is used for irrigation, and the Peligre Hydroelectric Dam situated on it produces Haiti's supply of hydroelectricity.
Health.
In October 2010, following a fatal cholera outbreak (the first in generations) in the Haitian headwaters of the river, locals were alerted that drinking untreated water from this river may spread the disease.


Ireng River

The Ireng River (or Maú River) forms part of Guyana's western border with Brazil. It flows through the valleys of the Pakaraima Mountains for most of its length. It is the only major river in Guyana which flows from North to South. It is one of the northernmost tributaries of the Amazon river system.
The sources of the river are in the Monte Roraima National Park, created in 1989.
The larger part of the Ireng River basin forms the frontier between Brazil and Guyana. Ireng's main tributaries are the Uailan and Canã rivers on the Brazilian side and the Cacó, Dacã and Socobi rivers on the Guyanese side. All of these rivers merge with the upper and middle sections of the Ireng. Their courses are through breathtaking formations of sedimentary rocks formed by tectonic movements in ancient times. The Ireng River's waters are dark, bearing a striking resemblance to that of Rio Negro near Manaus, in Brazilian state of Amazonas.
It is considered to be the most picturesque of Guyana's many rivers. Orinduik Falls and Takagka Falls are located on the Ireng River.
Biodiversity in the Ireng.
The Ireng River region is home to such reptile species as the Antilles leaf-toed gecko ("Hemidactylus palaichthus") and rainbow whiptail ("Cnemidophorus lemniscatus"); amphibians such as the sapo dorado ("Bufo guttatus") and "Leptodactylus bolivianus"; birds including the Muscovy duck ("Cairina moschata"), black vulture ("Coragyps atratus"), crested caracara ("Caracara plancus"), double-striped thick-knee ("Burhinus bistriatus") and numerous others; mammals include the South American tapir ("Tapirus terrestris"), jaguar ("Panthera onca") and the red-rumped agouti ("Dasyprocta leporina").


Talab Tillo

Talab Tillo is a suburban area of Jammu City in theunion territory of Jammu and Kashmir and is situated in Jammu Province. It derived its name from a Saint named 'Tilloo' and from a "Talab" which was situated here. "Talab" is a Hindi word which means "Pond" in English. Earlier it was used to be called as 'Tillo Talab' but now with the passage of time the name is changed to 'Talab Tillo'. Residents of the area are fluent in Hindi, Kashmiri Dogri and Urdu. It consists of other Minor areas -
1) Udheywala
2) Anand Nagar
3) Talab Tillo Chowk
4) Golepully
5) Pacca Gharat


Piran Coastal Galleries

Piran Coastal Galleries (, ) is a public institution, encompassing a group of six contemporary art galleries. Three galleries are located in Piran, two of them in Koper, and one in Venice. The institution is the center of contemporary art in Slovenian Littoral, one of the four most influential art galleries in Slovenia, and the only one having an outpost abroad, in Venice. They present Slovenian as well as international contemporary artists, keep a rich art museum collection, publish art books and catalogues of exhibitions, and manage a library of modern art. The institution produces over one third of the countries entire gallery program.
Financing.
The galleries spend approximately 750,000 euros annually. Four fifths of the sum are contributed by the state, which in 2010 was 5% of the state money earmarked for galleries. 106,000 euros were contributed by the Municipality of Piran, and 21,000 euros by the City Municipality of Koper. Starting from 2012, Koper has stopped financing the institution.
History and program.
The institution was established in 1974, and opened its doors to the public in 1976. Approximately one half of its program is created in Koper, and one half in Piran. Each year, it organises art events, such as:
Gallery locations.
The institution encompasses the following galleries:
In Piran:
In Koper:
In Venice:


Senkivka (border checkpoint)

Senkivka () is a land three-way border crossing between Ukraine with Russia and Belarus on the Ukrainian side, just north of village of Senkivka, Chernihiv Raion, Chernihiv Oblast.
It is a Ukrainian side of Novye Yurkovichi–Senkivka–Vesyalowka border tripoint.
Overview.
The checkpoint/crossing is situated on a . Across the border on the Russian side is a border checkpoint Novye Yurkovichi located near Novye Yurkovichi (Bryansk Oblast), on the Belarusian side is a border checkpoint Vesyalowka.
The type of crossing is automobile, status - international. The types of transportation for automobile crossings are passenger and freight.
The port of entry is part of the Senkivka customs post of Chernihiv customs.
Points of interest.
In 1975 here was erected a stele "monument of Friendship (Three Sisters)" (, monument Druzhby ("Tri sestry"); ) where in June every year take place several festivities among the people from the Republic of Belarus, Ukraine, and the Russian Federation. The monument is located about north of the checkpoint.
On 9 November 2012 at Senkivka was installed the first border post of the State Border of Ukraine with the Russian Federation. The first border post of the State Border of Ukraine with Belarus was installed on 13 November 2014.
In 2014 the access to the festivals through Vesyalowka and Novye Yurkovichi were closed for Ukrainian visitors.


Partition of Jin

The Partition of Jin (), the watershed between the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, refers to the division of the State of Jin between rival families into the three states of Han, Zhao and Wei. As a result, the three states were often referred to as the "Three Jins" ().
Because the process took several decades, there is some debate between scholars as to the year which best marks the true partition of Jin. state the most common dates picked by historians are 481, 475, 468, and 403 BCE. The last date, according to Sima Guang marks the conferring of Marquessates by King Weilie of Zhou on Wei Si, ruler of the State of Wei; Zhao Ji, ruler of the State of Zhao, and Han Qian, ruler of the State of Han.
In 386 BCE, the states of Han, Wei and Zhao deposed Duke Jing of Jin and divided the last remaining Jin territory between themselves, which marked the end of the Jin state.
Background.
Succession issues were constant in Jin as far back as seventh century BCE. Even when, for example, King Xi of Zhou used his royal clout to give legitimacy to Wu of Quwo as the rightful duke of Jin in 678 BCE, succession issues continued to arise.
At the same time that the Jin duke was conquering new lands, a process of "subinfeudation" or "rear vassalage" occurred in the early and middle parts of the Spring and Autumn period, wherein aristocratic title and territory were awarded to vassals loyal to Jin, rather than to the Zhou royalty. However, Jin was unique among the major states in a major respect; whereas other states often enfeoffed the cadet branches of the ruling house, Jin had a policy of exiling or disempowering its own cadet houses. Instead, powerful ministerial families arose which were given fiefs like cadet houses in other states. For example, the house of Zhao descended from Zhao Cui, while the house of Wei descended from Wei Chou, both of whom were retainers of Duke Wen of Jin; the house of Han in turn descended from Han Wan, who was an uncle of Duke Wu of Jin.
Over time, while other powerful states (like Chu) were centralizing power through a rising bureaucracy, Jin continued to have a feudal power structure with aristocratic families ruling even individual counties. Over the course of a few generations, the major aristocratic families gained enough power to undermine the ruling duke's authority. During most of the seventh and sixth centuries BCE, Jin was composed of an assortment of semi-independent city-states fighting each other and the Jin Duke as much as they fought other states. In one extreme case, Viscount Xian of Xi, a retainer of Duke Jing of Jin, attempted to invade the state of Qi with only the troops under his command.
Growing aristocracy.
The House of Zhao (趙/赵) gained in prominence after Duke Wen placed them in charge of newly conquered lands. such that, in 607 BCE, they deposed a duke that attempted to curb their political power. The Xian clan (先) was eliminated in 596 BCE. Duke Li of Jin encouraged the Luan clan (栾) to lead a military coalition that squashed the rising power of the Xi clan (郤). Subsequently, in 573, Luan supporters had Duke Li murdered and placed a puppet on the throne and the clan was then itself eliminated by 550, making the Zhi, Zhao, and Han (韩) clans the most powerful at about this time. Soon after, the Wei clan (魏) also grew in power.
In the leadup to the civil war, the dominant clans were the Zhao, Wei, Han, Fan (范), Zhi (智) and Zhonghang (中行) who were collectively called the "Six Titled Retainers" (). These six aristocratic families dominated Jin in the late Spring and Autumn period, basically using the ruling duke as a figurehead until Jin was split into three separate states.
Civil war.
After the 546 BCE truce agreement between Jin and Chu (itself prompted in part by Jin's internal difficulties), conflicts between aristocrats and with the Duke escalated and a civil war (497-453 BCE) commenced.
In 514 BCE, Yangshe clan and Qi clan's force was destroyed by the conspiracy of Zhao, Han, Wei, Zhi, Zhonghang and Fan clan. During the time of Duke Ding of Jin (511-475), the Fan and Zhonghang clans were in turn eliminated, leaving only the Zhi, Zhao, Han, and Wei clans remaining. By about 450s BCE, the Zhi clan was the most dominant and began demanding territory from the other clans.
Zhao's internal conflicts.
In 497 BCE, Handan Wu of Handan's Zhao and Jianzi of Jinyang's Zhao became enemies with each other over 500 hundred soldiers' ownership. Jianzi of Zhao insisted that Handan should transfer the 500 soldiers to Jinyang. After consulting with his clansmen, Handan Wu (or Zhao Wu of Handan) refused his cousin Jianzi. Jianzi summoned Wu and imprisoned him for his trespass against the main branch of Zhao clan. Later, Wu was executed by Jianzi.
The clan conflicts within the Zhao clan escalated to a higher level after the execution of Handan Wu. Wenzi of Zhonghang, whose nephew was executed, was enraged. Zhaozi of Fan, who intermarried with Zhonghang clan, was also concerned with Zhao's imprudence on the matter of Handan's execution. When Handan Ji and Shebing started their rebellion against Jinyang's Zhao, Zhonghang and Fan clan intervened and supported the demands of Handan clan.
In August, 497 BCE, Zhonghang, Fan and Handan attacked Zhao's force and defeated him. Zhonghang and Fan's triumphs caused other vassal clans of the Duke of Jin to worry. Jianzi of Han, Xiangzi of Wei and Wenzi of Zhi invaded Zhonghang and Fan's fief under the name of Duke Ding of Jin. Wenzi of Zhonghang and Zhaozi of Fan eventually lost their struggle against Han, Zhao, Wei and Zhi. Their attempt of attacking the united force with the Jin duke inside was disastrous. After the battle, Zhonghang and Fan fled to Chao Ge while Jianzi of Zhao returned to the state of Jin.
The Handan conflict led to the decline of Zhonghang and Fan clan which prepared the way for the formation of Han, Zhao and Wei's hegemony in Jin's court.
Fan clan's resistance in Chao Ge was supported by Zhou dynasty, Qi, Lu, Wey and Zheng. Jianzi of Zhao waged numerous battles with the aim of eliminating Fan clan. In 471 BCE, Handan clan was eliminated by Jianzi. In 470 BCE, Zhaozi of Fan lost all his lands and fled to the state of Qi.
The Battle of Jinyang.
Acting on his own accord, the Jin Minister Zhi Xiangzi () used the Zhi clan's place in the Jin court to intimidate and demand territory from ministers Han Kangzi () of the Han clan and Wei Huanzi of the Wei clan. After Zhao Xiangzi () of the Zhao clan rejected Zhi Xiangzi's demands in 455 BCE, Zhi Xiangzi attacked the Zhao clan while compelling the Han and Wei clans to send troops.
Zhao Xiangzi retreated to the Jin city of Jinyang in 455 BCE, and the united forces laid siege for two years while also diverting water supplies away from the city. Faced with a critical situation, Zhao Xiangzi sent an envoy who persuaded the Han and Wei clans to change sides. They arrived and diverted a huge stream of water that split Zhi Xiangzi's camp in two, then captured and killed Zhi Xiangzi. In 453 BCE, the Zhao, Han, and Wei clans annihilated the Zhi clan.
As their respective powers were so balanced, none of the three remaining aristocratic families felt they could feasibly gain an upper hand over the others. So, in 403 BCE, they divided the state's lands among themselves into the "three Jins" of Wei, Han, and Zhao. All three states quickly formed strong bureaucracies, thereby weakening the potential for any aristocratic families from encroaching on their power. This same year, King Weilie of Zhou proclaimed Jin, Wei, Han, and Zhao as equals.
Remaining Jin lands.
Duke Ai of Jin died in 434 BCE and was succeeded by Duke You of Jin. The Han, Zhao and Wei clans divided up surplus Jin territory amongst themselves, leaving only Jiang County and Quwo County (both in modern-day Shanxi Province) for Duke You of Jin.
Because Zhao Xiangzi was the younger son who forced his way to the inheritance, he decided to name his elder brother Zhao Bolu () and his descendants as heir, with Bolu's grandson Zhao Xianzi () eventually becoming heir apparent. However, after Zhao Xiangzi died, his son Zhao Huanzi () banished Zhao Xianzi and appointed himself ruler of the Zhao estates and paramount minister of Jin. Zhao Huanzi himself died a year later, whereupon the Zhao clan and vassals killed all of his sons and invited Zhao Xianzi back. Later on, Zhao Xianzi's son Marquess Lie of Zhao succeeded as ruler.
In 349 BCE, the Han and Zhao states divided the remaining Jin territory between themselves, thus marked the end of the state of State of Jin.


Landkreis Stolp

The Landkreis Stolp (Stolp [rural] district; 1648 to 1898: "Kreis Stolp") was a Brandenburg-Prussian district in Farther Pomerania formed in 1648 from the "Landvogtei Stolp" (Stolp land advocacy). It weathered the alterations of the Farther Pomeranian district borders in 1724 unchanged. In 1815, with the introduction of government regions, Stolp District became part of the new Köslin Region in the enlarged Province of Pomerania in Prussia, part of the German Federation (1815-1866), North German Confederation (1867-1871) and the united Germany of 1871.
In 1876 the district ceded a number of exclaves to neighbouring districts and received enclaves within its district area from the Rummelsburg and Schlawe districts. In 1898 the city of Stolp was disentangled from the district, becoming an urban district of its own and a new enclave amidst the rural district. However, Stolp rural district maintained its district offices in that town. On 1 January 1945 the rural district comprised 193 municipalities around the city of Stolp (renamed in Polish as "Slupsk" in 1945). With the Soviet conquest of Farther Pomerania in March 1945 the district ceased to exist.
Demographics.
In 1905, the district had a population of 76,478, of which 75,875 (99.21%) spoke German, 547 (0.72%) spoke Polish (Kashubian), 12 (0.02%) were bilingual and the remainder spoke other languages.


Salvia karabachensis

Salvia karabachensis is a species of sage, endemic to the Caucasus region. Like several other sage species, it is considered a medicinal plant. The species' specific epithet, "karabachensis" is derived from the Karabakh region.


Jincheng, Kinmen

Jincheng Township () is an urban township on the southwestern corner of the island of Kinmen (Quemoy). It is the county seat of Kinmen County, Fujian Province, Republic of China (Taiwan). In March 2012, it was named one of the "Top 10 Small Tourist Towns" by the Tourism Bureau.
History.
Jincheng also served as the capital of Republic of China's Fujian Province from 1949 to 1956. From 1956 to 1996, the capital of Fujian Province was relocated to Xindian, Taipei County, Taiwan Province. In 1996, the capital was moved back to Jincheng.
Administrative divisions.
Jincheng is divided into eight urban villages:


Vorukh

Vorukh (Russian and Tajik: Ворух; ) is a jamoat in northern Tajikistan. It is an exclave surrounded by Kyrgyzstan that forms part of the city of Isfara in Sughd Region. , the jamoat had a total population of 30,506.
History and territorial conflicts.
Vorukh is the name of a village and one of two exclaves of Tajikistan within the Batken Province of Kyrgyzstan. There are three Tajik enclaves (including the Sarvan exclave surrounded by Uzbekistan), which were products of several border adjustments during the Stalin regime of the 1920s to 1950s.
Due to the inherent territorial restrictions of the exclave, violent conflicts over land ownership, access to pasture, and shared water resources have become more common, as logistical complications within this densely populated and impoverished region have also given rise to economic concern.
The location of the border of the enclave is disputed by the Tajik and Kyrgyz governments. In April 2013 an argument between Vorukh residents and Kyrgyz labourers escalated into a fight, ultimately involving several hundred people, when Vorukh residents objected to the building of a new road that would bypass the enclave. In May 2013 Kyrgyzstan and Tajik officials met to address the ongoing tensions. In April and May 2021 the region once again brought tensions betrween the two countries - at least 31 people were killed in an ongoing fighting.
Climate.
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as dry-summer continental (Dsa).


Rychtal Region

The Rychtal Region, known in German as Reichthaler Ländchen is the north-eastern part of the former Silesian district of Namslau located around the town of Rychtal (Reichthal), which was ceded by Germany to Poland after World War I.
Settlements.
The following towns and villages belonged to the Reichthaler Ländchen:
History.
The region was part of Regierungsbezirk Breslau in the Prussian Province of Silesia, in the German Empire until the end of World War I. After the war, the newly restored Polish state claimed the districts of Namslau and Oppeln. In the Treaty of Versailles, Poland was given the eastern part of the Namslau district.
As part of the Upper Silesia plebiscite, a referendum took place in the Namslau voting area. The voting area comprised the south-eastern part of the Namslau district, and included the communities of Bachwitz (Polish: Wieloleka), Dammer, Erbenfeld, Erdmannsdorf, Friedrichsberg, Hennersdorf, Johannesdorf, Noldau, Ordenstal, Sophiental, Steinersdorf, Sterzendorf and Wallendorf. Around 97.6% of votes were in favor of this area remaining with Germany. The border was set with this result in mind.
The Reichthaler Ländchen with 11 towns, about 85 km2 and about 4,600 inhabitants was attached to Poland in 1921 without a referendum. A privately organized survey of the population resulted in a clear vote in favor of remaining with Germany. In the absence of international monitoring, this opinion poll did not meet the requirements of a plebiscite and was not taken into account when drawing the boundary.
The region became part of Germany from 1939 to 1945 during World War II. After the war, it was restored to Poland and is now part of the Kępno County in the Greater Poland Voivodeship.


Thagas

Thagas (Balti and ()) is a village in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan located 32 km away from Khaplu in east. It is on the bank of the Saltoro River just before it joins the Shyok River. Thagas is the administrative headquarters of Mashabrum subdivision of Ghanche District.
History and tradition.
Thagas is on the way from the centres of Baltistan, such as Skardu and Khaplu, to the Saltoro Pass, which was a traditional trade route to Kashgar. A mosque traditionally attributed to Shah-e-Hamadan is found at Thagas, which is said to have built by him while on his way to Kashgar.


Subdivisions of Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is divided into thirteen regions, forty-five provinces, and 351 departments.
Since 2012, every department includes now a single commune (municipality) covering all urbanized areas in the department and representing its population for local elections (by village, or by urban sector within cities and towns). Two very populated departments (Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso) are also further subdivided into arrondissements, which split their capital city (and also cover all surrounding villages): their urban commune have a specific status.
The thirteen regions are:


Farther Pomerania

Farther Pomerania, Further Pomerania, or Eastern Pomerania (), is the part of Pomerania which comprised the eastern part of the Duchy and later Province of Pomerania. It stretched roughly from the Oder River in the West to Pomerelia in the East. Since 1945, Farther Pomerania has been part of Poland; the bulk of former Farther Pomerania is within the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, while its easternmost parts are within the Pomeranian Voivodeship. The Polish term "Pomorze Zachodnie" ("Western Pomerania"), in modern Polish usage, is a synonym to the West Pomeranian Voivodship; in Polish historical usage it applied to all areas west of Pomerelia (i.e. whole narrow Pomerania).
Farther Pomerania emerged as a subdivision of the Duchy of Pomerania in the partition of 1532, then known as "Pomerania-Stettin" and already including the historical regions Principality of Cammin, County of Naugard, Land of Słupsk-Sławno, and the Lauenburg and Bütow Land. After the Brandenburg-Swedish partition of Pomerania, Farther Pomerania became the Brandenburg-Prussian Province of Pomerania (1653–1815). After the reorganization of the Prussian Province of Pomerania in 1815, Farther Pomerania was administered as Regierungsbezirk Köslin (Koszalin). In 1938, Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia was merged in.
After Germany's defeat in World War II, the region became part of Poland. The population of the area, being German-speaking by large majority, was completely expelled for new Polish citizens, some of whom themselves expellees to take their place.
Before 1999, the Szczecin Voivodeship (1945–1998) and its spin-offs Koszalin Voivodeship (1950–1998) and Słupsk Voivodeship (1975–1998) roughly resembled the area of former Farther Pomerania. The Szczecin and Koszalin Voivodeships were merged in 1999 and now constitute the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, while Słupsk Voivodeship was merged into the Pomeranian Voivodeship.
Terminology.
The German prefix "Hinter-" (cf. hinterland) denotes a location more distant from the speaker, and is the equivalent of "Farther" in English and Ulterior/Trans- in Latin (with the corresponding antonyms in German, English and Latin being "Vor-", "Hither" and Citerior/Cis-, respectively).
The toponym Pomerania comes from Slavic po more, which means Land at the Sea.
Initially, Farther Pomerania referred to the areas beyond (i.e. lying east of) Pomerania-Wolgast, and the name eventually became adopted for areas east of Stettin by the 16th century. When the 1648 Peace of Westphalia and the Treaty of Stettin (1653) divided the Duchy of Pomerania into its Western, Swedish and Eastern Brandenburgian parts, "Farther Pomerania" was used for the latter - in opposition to Swedish "Hither Pomerania" ("Vorpommern") now including Stettin (Szczecin) and a strip of land east of the Oder River. As this Swedish-Prussian border shifted west several times afterwards, the Oder River was considered the western edge of Farther Pomerania. To the Southeast and East, Farther Pomerania has no distinct border to the Pomerelian region, as the administrative borders between the duchy and later province of Pomerania and its neighbors varied significant over time.
In the post-1945 era, Farther Pomerania was affected by the Polish-German border shift. Before, it happened to be the Eastern part of German Pomerania ("Pommern", consisting of Hither and Farther Pomerania), yet thereafter it became the Western part of Polish Pomerania ("Pomorze", consisting of Farther Pomerania and Pomerelia). As Polish "Pomorze" has also been in use for Pomerelia, Farther Pomerania is termed "Western Pomerania" in Poland and roughly represented in today's West Pomeranian Voivodeship, including Szczecin "(Stettin)" and Wolin "(Wollin)". However, this term is not being adopted by the Germans, as the German part of Pomerania (Hither Pomerania) is considered to be Western Pomerania, so "Farther Pomerania" is still in use.
Towns.
Major towns of Farther Pomerania include:


Terek (river)

The Terek (; , , ; , ; , "Terk"; , ; , ) is a major river in the Northern Caucasus. It originates in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region of Georgia and flows through North Caucasus region of Russia into the Caspian Sea. It rises near the juncture of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and the Khokh Range, to the southwest of Mount Kazbek, winding north in a white torrent between the town of Stepantsminda and the village of Gergeti toward the Russian region North Ossetia and the city of Vladikavkaz. It turns east to flow through Chechnya and Dagestan before dividing into two branches which empty into the Caspian Sea. Below the city of Kizlyar it forms a swampy river delta around wide. The river is a key natural asset in the region, providing irrigation and hydroelectric power in its upper reaches.
The main cities on the Terek include Vladikavkaz, Mozdok, and Kizlyar. Several minor hydroelectric power stations dam the Terek: Dzau electrostation (in Vladikavkaz), Bekanskaya and Pavlodolskaya.
The construction of the Dariali Hydropower Plant with a planned installed capacity of 108 MW started in 2011 on the territory of Kazbegi municipality near the Russia–Georgia border.
Leo Tolstoy's novel "The Cossacks" is set on the Terek and amongst its Cossacks.
Tributaries.
The Terek drains most of the northeast Caucasus east into the Caspian just as its sister, the Kuban, drains the northwest Caucasus west into the Black Sea. Its major tributaries are the following. In the west a fan of rivers flows east and northeast into the Terek. These are the east-flowing Malka, the Baksan, the Chegem and the Cherek with its two branches. These three join the Malka just before it reaches the Terek. The Liashen, Urukh, Duradur and Duradon flow northeast, the Ardon and its tributary, the Fiagdon flow north and the Gizeldon drains the north slope of Mount Kazbek and reaches the Terek near the mouth of the Ardon. Then there is the north-flowing part of the Terek with the Darial Pass. The great northwest bend of the Terek is cut off by the northeast-flowing Sunzha which catches most of the north-flowing rivers. These are the north-flowing upper Sunzha, the Assa, the Argun and Khukhulau. East of these are the Aksay and the Aktash which formerly dried up in the lowlands between the Sulak and the Terek. In the east the Sulak drains most of interior Dagestan and turns east to the Caspian before it reaches the Terek.
Human history.
The capital of Khazaria, Samandar, may have stood on the banks of the river Terek.
The Terek river was the site of the final defeat of the army of Hulagu, khan of the Ilkhanate, at the hands of the army of Berke, khan of the Golden Horde, led by Berke's nephew, Nogai Khan, in the first civil war of the Mongol Empire, the Berke–Hulagu war of 1262. Also on the river Timur defeated Tokhtamysh in 1395.
The Terek Cossack Host (1577–1832 and 1860– ) had its base in the Terek basin. During the Russian conquest of the Caucasus it was part of the North Caucasus Line.
During World War II, German forces at the end of August 1942 reached the Terek near Mozdok – the farthest extent of German conquests in the Soviet Union – but aside from a small bridgehead were unable to forge further toward the oil fields of Baku, Hitler's objective. The Germans penetrated the left bank of the Terek reaching Vladikavkaz suburbs and West Gizel, near the now built weather station.


Limpopo River

The Limpopo River rises in South Africa, and flows generally eastwards through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mountainous vicinity and named the area after their leader. The river is approximately long, with a drainage basin in size. The mean discharge measured over a year is 170 m3/s (6,200 cu ft/s) at its mouth. The Limpopo is the second largest river in Africa that drains to the Indian Ocean, after the Zambezi River.
The first European to sight the river was Vasco da Gama, who anchored off its mouth in 1498 and named it Espirito Santo River. Its lower course was explored by St Vincent Whitshed Erskine in 1868–69, and Captain J F Elton travelled down its middle course in 1870.
The drainage area of Limpopo River has decreased over geological time. Up to Late Pliocene or Pleistocene times, the upper course of the Zambezi River drained into the Limpopo River. The change of the drainage divide is the result of epeirogenic movement that uplifted the surface north of present-day Limpopo River, diverting waters into Zambezi River.
Course.
The river flows in a great arc, first zigzagging north and then north-east, then turning east and finally south-east. It serves as a border for about , separating South Africa to the southeast from Botswana to the northwest and Zimbabwe to the north. Two of its tributaries, the Marico River and the Crocodile River join, at which point the name changes to Limpopo River. There are several rapids as the river falls off Southern Africa's inland escarpment.
The Notwane River is a major tributary of the Limpopo, rising on the edge of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana and flowing in a north-easterly direction. The main tributary of the Limpopo, the Olifants River (Elephant River), contributes around 1,233 million m3 of water per year. Other major tributaries include the Shashe River, Mzingwane River, Crocodile River, Mwenezi River and Luvuvhu River.
In the north-eastern corner of South Africa the river borders the Kruger National Park.
The port town of Xai-Xai, Mozambique is on the river near the mouth. Below the Olifants, the river is permanently navigable to the sea, though a sandbar prevents access by large ships except at high tide.
Basin characteristics.
The waters of the Limpopo flow sluggishly, with considerable silt content. Rudyard Kipling's characterization of the river as the "great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees," where the "Bi-Coloured Python Rock-Snake" dwells in the "Just So Stories" is apt. Rainfall is seasonal and unreliable: in dry years, the upper parts of the river flow for 40 days or less. The upper part of the drainage basin, in the Kalahari Desert, is arid but conditions become less arid further downriver. The next reaches drain the Waterberg Massif, a biome of semi-deciduous forest and low-density human population. The fertile lowlands support a denser population, and about 14 million people live in the Limpopo basin. Flooding during the rainy season is an occasional problem in the lower reaches. During February 2000 heavy rainfalls due to a cyclone caused the catastrophic 2000 Mozambique flood.
The highest concentration of hippopotamus in the Limpopo River is found between the Mokolo and the Mogalakwena Rivers.
There is a lot of mining activity in the Limpopo River basin with about 1,900 functioning mines, not counting about 1,700 abandoned mines.
History.
Vasco da Gama, on his first expedition, was probably among the first Europeans to sight the river, when he anchored off the mouth in 1498. However, there has been human habitation in the region since time immemorial — sites in the Makapans Valley near Mokopane contain Australopithecus fossils from 3.5 million years ago. St Vincent Whitshed Erskine, later Surveyor General for South Africa, traveled to the mouth of the river in 1868-69.
A Zambezi shark ("Carcharhinus leucas") was caught hundreds of kilometres upriver at the confluence of the Limpopo and Luvuvhu Rivers in July 1950. Zambezi sharks tolerate fresh water and can travel far up the Limpopo.
In 2013, approximately 15,000 Nile crocodiles were accidentally released into the river from flood gates at the nearby Rakwena Crocodile Farm.