Diomede Islands

The Diomede Islands (; , "ostrová Diomída"), also known in Russia as Gvozdev Islands (, "ostrová Gvozdjeva"), consist of two rocky, mesa-like islands:
The Diomede Islands are located in the middle of the Bering Strait between mainland Alaska and Siberia, which borders the Chukchi Sea to the north and the Bering Sea to the south. Fairway Rock, to the southeast, is generally not considered part of the Diomede Islands. Because they are separated by the International Date Line, Big Diomede is almost a day ahead of Little Diomede, but not completely; due to locally defined time zones, Big Diomede is only 21 hours ahead of Little Diomede (20 in summer). Because of this, the islands are sometimes called Tomorrow Island (Big Diomede) and Yesterday Island (Little Diomede).
Etymology.
The islands are named for the Greek Saint Diomedes; Danish-Russian navigator Vitus Bering sighted the Diomede Islands on August 16 (O.S., August 27 N.S.), 1728, the day on which the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of the saint.
Location.
The islands are separated by an international border, which defines the International Date Line in that area, about from each island, at 168°58'37"W. At their closest points, the two islands are about apart. The small habitation on Little Diomede Island is centered on the west side of the island at the village of Diomede.
Big Diomede Island is the easternmost point of Russia.
The Diomede Islands are often mentioned as likely intermediate stops for the hypothetical bridge or tunnel (Bering Strait crossing) spanning the Bering Strait.
During winter, an ice bridge usually spans the distance between these two islands; therefore during such times it is theoretically possible (although not legal, since travel between the two islands is forbidden) to walk between the United States and Russia.
History.
The first European to reach the Bering Strait was the Russian explorer Semyon Dezhnev in 1648. He reported two islands whose natives had bone lip ornaments, but it is not certain that these were the Diomedes. Danish navigator Vitus Bering re-discovered the Diomede Islands while leading a Russian expedition on 16 August (O.S., 26 August N.S.) 1728, the day when the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of the martyr St. Diomede (hence, the name of the islands). In 1732, a Russian geodesist, Mikhail Gvozdev, determined longitude and latitude for the two islands.
The text of the 1867 treaty between the United States and Russia which finalized the Alaska purchase uses the islands to designate the boundary between the two nations: The border separates "equidistantly Krusenstern Island, or Ignaluk, from Ratmanov Island, or Nunarbuk, and heads northward infinitely until it disappears completely in the Arctic Ocean."
During the Cold War, that gap constituted the border between the United States and the Soviet Union, and became known as the "Ice Curtain". In 1987, however, Lynne Cox swam from one island to the other, and was congratulated by both Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan for her feat.
In summer 1995, British television actor and documentary presenter Michael Palin started his counterclockwise circumnavigation of the Pacific Rim, encompassing 18 different countries, on Little Diomede Island, as part of the BBC series "Full Circle". He intended to set foot on it again at the end of his eight-month trek, but was unable to do so because of rough seas.
Big Diomede Island was traditionally the easternmost landmass before the International Date Line, and the first landmass to ring in a new year, if using local solar time. When using official time, however, a large area in eastern Russia and New Zealand also share the same time zone. New Zealand also has Daylight Saving time in effect during late December, but Russia does not (see time in New Zealand and time in Russia). This became moot in 1995, however, when the International Date Line was moved to the east of Kiribati and that country's easternmost time zone (GMT+14) is now the world's earliest.
The Soviet government relocated the indigenous population of Big Diomede Island to mainland Russia, and the island is now inhabited only by military units. Little Diomede had an Inupiat population of 170, which had declined to 115 at the 2010 Census, entirely in the village site on the west side of the island, though the island as a whole comprises the City of Diomede. This village has a school, a post office and a store. Some residents are famous for their ivory carving. When weather permits, commercial air contact is maintained with the island as part of the US Government Essential Air Service Program.


Geography of Korea

Korea comprises the Korean Peninsula (the mainland) and 3,960 nearby islands. The peninsula is located in Northeast Asia, between China and Japan. To the northwest, the Amnok River (Yalu River) separates Korea from China and to the northeast, the Duman River (Tumen River) separates Korea from China and Russia. The Yellow Sea lies to the west, the East China Sea and Korea Strait to the south, and the Sea of Japan (East Sea) to the east. Notable islands include Jeju Island (Jejudo), Ulleung Island (Ulleungdo), and the Liancourt Rocks.
At 223,179 km2, the area of Korea is similar to the area of the United Kingdom (244,100 km2) or the U.S. state of Minnesota (225,171 km2). Excluding the islands, the area of the Korean Peninsula is 220,847 km2. The peninsula measures approx. 1,100 km from north to south and 300 km from east to west.
The southern and western parts of the peninsula have well-developed plains, while the eastern and northern parts are mountainous. The highest mountain in Korea, Mount Paektu or Paektusan (), stands on the border with China. The southern extension of Mount Paektu, a highland called Gaema Heights, was mainly raised during the Cenozoic orogeny and partly covered by volcanic matter. To the south of Gaema Gowon (the Gaema Plateau), successive high mountains are located along the eastern coast of the peninsula. This mountain range is named Baekdudaegan. Some significant mountains include Mount Sobaek or Sobaeksan (), Mount Kumgang or Kumgangsan (), Mount Seorak or Seoraksan (), Mount Taebaek or Taebaeksan (), and Mount Jiri or Jirisan (). There are several lower, secondary mountain ranges whose direction is almost perpendicular to that of Baekdudaegan. They developed along the tectonic line of Mesozoic orogeny and their directions are basically northwest.
Unlike most ancient mountains on the mainland, many important islands in Korea were formed by volcanic activity in the Cenozoic orogeny. Jeju Island, situated off the southern coast, is a large volcanic island whose main mountain, Mount Halla or Hallasan (), is the highest in South Korea. Ulleung Island is a volcanic island in the Sea of Japan whose composition is more felsic than Jeju-do. The volcanic islands tend to be younger, the more westward.
Because the mountainous region is mostly on the eastern part of the peninsula, the main rivers tend to flow westwards. Two exceptions are the southward-flowing Nakdong River (Nakdonggang) and Seomjin River (Seomjingang). Important rivers running westward include the Amnok River, the Chongchon River (Chongchongang), the Taedong River (Taedonggang), the Han River (Hangang), the Geum River (Geumgang), and the Yeongsan River (Yeongsangang). These rivers have vast flood plains and provide an ideal environment for wet-rice cultivation.
The southern and southwestern coastlines of Korea form a well-developed ria coastline, known as "Dadohae-jin" in Korean. This convoluted coastline results in mild seas, and this calm environment allows for safe navigation, fishing, and seaweed farming. In addition to the complex coastline, the western coast of the Korean Peninsula has an extremely high tidal amplitude (at Incheon, around the middle of the western coast, it can get as high as ). Vast tidal flats have been developing on the south and west coastlines.
Physical geography.
Mountains cover 70 percent of Korea and arable plains are generally small and fall between the successive mountain ranges. The peninsula becomes more mountainous towards the north and the east, with the highest mountains (including Baekdu Mountain which stands at ) found in the north.
The peninsula has of coastline, and the south and west coasts are particularly irregular. Most of the 3,579 islands off the peninsula are found along the south and the west coasts.
Climate.
The climate of Korea differs dramatically from north to south. The southern regions experience a relatively warm and wet climate similar to that of Japan, affected by warm ocean waters including the East Korea Warm Current. The northern regions experience a colder and to some extent more inland climate, in common with Manchuria. For example, the annual precipitation of the Yalu River valley () is less than half of that on the south coast (). Likewise, there is a difference in January temperature between the peninsula's southern and northern tips.
The entire peninsula, however, is affected by similar climactic patterns, including the East Asian Monsoon in midsummer and frequent typhoons in autumn. The majority of rainfall takes place during the summer months, with nearly half during the monsoon alone. Winters are cold, with January temperatures typically below freezing outside of Jeju Island. Winter precipitation is minimal, with little snow accumulation outside of mountainous areas.
Biology.
Surveys of Korean flora have identified more than 3,000 species on the peninsula, of which more than 500 are endemic. The peninsula's floristic provinces are commonly divided between warm-temperate, temperate, and cold-temperate zones. The warm-temperate zone prevails over the southern coast and islands, including Jeju-do. It is largely typified by broad-leaved evergreens.
The temperate zone covers the great majority of the peninsula, away from the southern coast and high mountains. It is dominated by the Korean pine and various broad-leaved deciduous trees. Cold-temperate vegetation is found along the peninsula's northern fringe and in the high mountains, including the upper reaches of Hallasan on Jeju. Evergreens in this area include larch and juniper. Much of this vegetation is shared with Manchuria.
According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, Korea consists of several ecoregions. The Southern Korea evergreen forests occupy the southernmost portion of the peninsula, as well as the island of Jeju. The Central Korean deciduous forests occupy the more temperate central portion of the peninsula. Manchurian mixed forests occupy the northern lowlands and low hills of the peninsula, and extend north into Manchuria as far as the Amur River on the Russia-China border. The Changbai Mountains mixed forests include the higher elevation mountain region along the North Korea-China border, where forests are dominated by conifers, with alpine meadows and rock slopes on the highest peaks.
Geology.
The terrain of Korea is rumpled, covered with low mountains. Most rocks are of Precambrian origin, although isolated pockets of Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic rock can also be found.
There are no active volcanoes on the peninsula. However, Baekdu Mountain in the north and Hallasan in the south have crater lakes, indicating that they were active not long ago. Furthermore, hot springs indicative of low-level volcanic activity are widespread throughout the peninsula. Roughly two earthquakes are recorded per year, but few have any major impact.


Bahra (river)

Bahra is a river of the Czech Republic and of Saxony, Germany. Its source is in the eastern Ore Mountains, on the Czech border. It flows into the Gottleuba, a tributary of the Elbe.


Mataje River

The Mataje River is a South American river belonging to the Pacific slope and that for approximately half of its route is the border between Colombia and Ecuador.
The river flows into the bay of Ancón de Sardinas, point where the maritime border between Colombia and Ecuador begins.


Epirus

Epirus () is a geographical and historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay of Vlorë and the Acroceraunian Mountains in the north to the Ambracian Gulf and the ruined Roman city of Nicopolis in the south. It is currently divided between the region of Epirus in northwestern Greece and the counties of Gjirokastër, Vlorë, and Berat in southern Albania. The largest city in Epirus is Ioannina, seat of the region of Epirus, with Gjirokastër the largest city in the Albanian part of Epirus.
A rugged and mountainous region, Epirus was the north-west area of ancient Greece. It was inhabited by the Greek tribes of the Chaonians, Molossians, and Thesprotians. It was home to the sanctuary of Dodona, the oldest oracle in ancient Greece, and the second most prestigious after Delphi. Unified into a single state in 370 BC by the Aeacidae dynasty, Epirus achieved fame during the reign of Pyrrhus of Epirus who fought the Roman Republic in a series of campaigns. Epirus subsequently became part of the Roman Republic along with the rest of Greece in 146 BC, which was followed by the Roman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire.
Following the fall of Constantinople to the Fourth Crusade, Epirus became the center of the Despotate of Epirus, one of the successor states to the Byzantine Empire. Conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, Epirus became semi-independent during the rule of Ali Pasha in the early 19th century, but the Ottomans re-asserted their control in 1821. Following the Balkan Wars and World War I, southern Epirus became part of Greece, while northern Epirus became part of Albania.
Name and etymology.
The name "Epirus" is derived from the (), meaning "mainland" or "terra firma". It is thought to come from an Indo-European root "*apero-" 'coast', and was applied to the mainland of north-west Greece opposite Corfu and the Ionian islands. The local name was struck on the coinage of the unified Epirote commonwealth: "ΑΠΕΙΡΩΤΑΝ" (, , i.e. "of the Epirotes", see image right). The Albanian name for the region, which derives from the Greek, is "Epiri".
Boundaries and definitions.
The historical region of Epirus is generally regarded as extending from the northern end of the Ceraunian mountains (modern Llogara in Albania), located just south of the Bay of Aulon (modern Vlorë), to the Ambracian Gulf (or Gulf of Arta) in Greece. The northern boundary of ancient Epirus is alternatively given as the mouth of the Aoös (or Vjosë) river, immediately to the north of the Bay of Vlorë. Epirus's eastern boundary is defined by the Pindus Mountains, that form the spine of mainland Greece and separate Epirus from Macedonia and Thessaly. To the west, Epirus faces the Ionian Sea. The island of Corfu is situated off the Epirote coast but is not regarded as part of Epirus.
The definition of Epirus has changed over time, such that modern administrative boundaries do not correspond to the boundaries of ancient Epirus. The region of Epirus in Greece only comprises a fraction of classical Epirus and does not include its easternmost portions, which lie in Thessaly. In Albania, where the concept of Epirus is never used in an official context, the counties of Gjirokastër, Vlorë, and Berat extend well beyond the northern and northeastern boundaries of classical Epirus.
Geography and ecology.
Epirus is a predominantly rugged and mountainous region. It is largely made up of the Pindus Mountains, a series of parallel limestone ridges that are a continuation of the Dinaric Alps. The Pindus mountains form the spine of mainland Greece and separate Epirus from Macedonia and Thessaly to the east. The ridges of the Pindus are parallel to the sea and generally so steep that the valleys between them are mostly suitable for pasture rather than large-scale agriculture. Altitude increases as one moves east, away from the coast, reaching a maximum of 2,637 m at Mount Smolikas, the highest point in Epirus. Other important ranges include Tymfi (2,496 m at Mount Gamila), Lygkos (2,249 m), to the west and east of Smolikas respectively, Gramos (2,523 m) in the northeast, Tzoumerka (2,356 m) in the southeast, Tomaros (1,976 m) in the southwest, Mitsikeli near Ioannina (1,810 m), Mourgana (1,806 m) and Nemercke/Aeoropos (2,485 m) on the border between Greece and Albania, and the Ceraunian Mountains (2,000 m) near Himara in Albania. Most of Epirus lies on the windward side of the Pindus, and the prevailing winds from the Ionian Sea make the region the rainiest in mainland Greece.
Significant lowlands are to be found only near the coast, in the southwest near Arta and Preveza, in the Acheron plain between Paramythia and Fanari, between Igoumenitsa and Sagiada, and also near Saranda. The Zagori area is a scenic upland plateau surrounded by mountain on all sides.
The main river flowing through Epirus is the Vjosë ("Aoös" in Greek), which flows in a northwesterly direction from the Pindus mountains in Greece to its mouth north of the Bay of Vlorë in Albania. Other important rivers include the Acheron river, famous for its religious significance in ancient Greece and site of the Necromanteion, the Arachthos river, crossed by the historic Bridge of Arta, the Louros, the Thyamis or Kalamas, and the Voidomatis, a tributary of the Vjosë flowing through the Vikos Gorge. The Vikos Gorge, one of the deepest in the world, forms the centerpiece of the Vikos–Aoös National Park, known for its scenic beauty. The only significant lake in Epirus is Lake Pamvotis, on whose shores lies the city of Ioannina, the region's largest and traditionally most important city.
The climate of Epirus is Mediterranean along the coast and Alpine in the interior. Epirus is heavily forested, mainly by coniferous species. The fauna in Epirus is especially rich and features species such as bears, wolves, foxes, deer and lynxes.
History.
Early history.
Epirus has been occupied since at least Neolithic times by seafarers along the coast and by hunters and shepherds in the interior who brought with them the Greek language. These people buried their leaders in large tumuli containing shaft graves, similar to the Mycenaean tombs, indicating an ancestral link between Epirus and the Mycenaean civilization. A number of Mycenaean remains have been found in Epirus, especially at the most important ancient religious sites in the region, the Necromanteion (Oracle of the Dead) on the Acheron river, and the Oracle of Zeus at Dodona.
In the Middle Bronze Age, Epirus was inhabited by the same nomadic Hellenic tribes that went on to settle in the rest of Greece. Aristotle considered the region around Dodona to have been part of Hellas and the region where the Hellenes originated. According to Bulgarian linguist Vladimir I. Georgiev, Epirus was part of the Proto-Greek linguistic area during the Late Neolithic period. By the early 1st millennium BC, all fourteen Epirote tribes including the Chaonians in northwestern Epirus, the Molossians in the centre and the Thesprotians in the south, were speakers of a strong west Greek dialect.
Epirus in the Classical and Hellenistic periods.
Geographically on the edge of the Greek world, Epirus remained for the most part outside the limelight of Greek history until relatively late, much like the neighbouring Greek regions of Macedonia, Aetolia, and Acarnania, with which Epirus had political, cultural, linguistic and economic connections. Unlike most other Greeks of this time, who lived in or around city-states, the inhabitants of Epirus lived in small villages and their way of life was foreign to that of the poleis of southern Greece. Their region lay on the periphery of the Greek world and was far from peaceful; for many centuries, it remained a frontier area contested with the Illyrian peoples to the north. However, Epirus had a far greater religious significance than might have been expected given its geographical remoteness, due to the presence of the shrine and oracle at Dodona – regarded as second only to the more famous oracle at Delphi.
The Epirotes, speakers of a Northwest Greek dialect, different from the Dorian of the Greek colonies on the Ionian islands, and bearers of mostly Greek names, as evidenced by epigraphy, seem to have been regarded with some disdain by some classical writers. The 5th-century BC Athenian historian Thucydides describes them as "barbarians" in his "History of the Peloponnesian War", as does Strabo in his "Geography". Other writers, such as Herodotus, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Pausanias, and Eutropius, describe them as Greeks. Similarly, Epirote tribes/states are included in the Argive and Epidaurian lists of the Greek Thearodokoi (hosts of sacred envoys). Plutarch mentions an interesting element of Epirote folklore regarding Achilles: In his biography of King Pyrrhus, he claims that Achilles "had a divine status in Epirus and in the local dialect he was called Aspetos" (meaning "unspeakable", "unspeakably great", in Homeric Greek).
Beginning in 370 BC, the Molossian Aeacidae dynasty built a centralized state in Epirus and began expanding their power at the expense of rival tribes. The Aeacids allied themselves with the increasingly powerful kingdom of Macedon, in part against the common threat of Illyrian raids, and in 359 BC the Molossian princess Olympias, niece of Arybbas of Epirus, married King Philip II of Macedon. She was to become the mother of Alexander the Great.
On the death of Arybbas, Alexander of Epirus succeeded to the throne and the title King of Epirus in 334 BC. He invaded Italy, but was killed in battle by a Lucanian in the Battle of Pandosia against several Italic tribes 331 BC. Aeacides of Epirus, who succeeded Alexander, espoused the cause of Olympias against Cassander, but was dethroned in 313 BC. His son Pyrrhus came to throne in 295 BC, and for six years fought against the Romans and Carthaginians in southern Italy and Sicily. The high cost of his victories against the Romans gave Epirus a new, but brief, importance, as well as a lasting contribution to the Greek language with the concept of a "Pyrrhic victory". Pyrrhus nonetheless brought great prosperity to Epirus, building the great theater of Dodona and a new suburb at Ambracia (now modern Arta), which he made his capital.
The Aeacid dynasty ended in 232 BC, but Epirus remained a substantial power, unified under the auspices of the Epirote League as a federal state with its own parliament, or "synedrion". However, it was faced with the growing threat of the expansionist Roman Republic, which fought a series of wars against Macedon. The League steered an uneasy neutral course in the first two Macedonian Wars but split in the Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC), with the Molossians siding with the Macedonians and the Chaonians and Thesprotians siding with Rome. The outcome was disastrous for Epirus; Molossia fell to Rome in 167 BC and 150,000 of its inhabitants were enslaved.
Roman and Byzantine rule.
Epirus as a Roman province.
The region of Epirus was placed under the senatorial province of Achaea in 27 BC, with the exception of its northernmost part, which remained part of the province of Macedonia. Under Emperor Trajan, sometime between 103 and 114 AD, Epirus became a separate province, under a "procurator Augusti". The new province extended from the Gulf of Aulon (Vlorë) and the Acroceraunian Mountains in the north to the lower course of the Acheloos River in the south, and included the northern Ionian Islands of Corfu, Lefkada, Ithaca, Cephallonia, and Zakynthos.
Late Antiquity.
Probably during the provincial reorganization by Diocletian (r. 284–305), the western portion of the province of Macedonia along the Adriatic coast was split off into the province of New Epirus (). Although this territory was not traditionally part of Epirus proper as defined by the ancient geographers, and was historically inhabited predominantly by Illyrian tribes, the name reflects the fact that under Roman rule, the area had been subject to increasing Hellenization and settlement by Epirote tribes from the south.
The two Epirote provinces became part of the Diocese of Moesia, until it was divided in ca. 369 into the dioceses of Macedonia and Dacia, when they became part of the former. In the 4th century, Epirus was still a stronghold of paganism, and was aided by Emperor Julian (r. 361–363) and his praetorian prefect Claudius Mamertinus through reduction in taxes and the rebuilding of the provincial capital, Nicopolis. According to Jordanes, in 380 the Visigoths raided the area. With the division of the Empire on the death of Theodosius I in 395, Epirus became part of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire. In 395–397, the Visigoths under Alaric plundered Greece. They remained in Epirus for a few years, until 401, and again in 406–407, during Alaric's alliance with the Western Roman generalissimo Stilicho in order to wrest the Eastern Illyricum from the Eastern Empire.
The "Synecdemus" of Hierocles, composed in ca. 527/8 AD but probably reflecting the situation in the first half of the 5th century, reports 11 cities for Old Epirus (, ): the capital Nicopolis, Dodona, Euroea, Hadrianopolis, Appon, Phoenice, Anchiasmos, Buthrotum, Photike, Corfu Island, and Ithaca Island. New Epirus, with capital at Dyrrhachium, comprised 9 cities. From 467 on, the Ionian Islands and the coasts of Epirus became subject to raids by the Vandals, who had taken over the North African provinces and established their own kingdom centred on Carthage. The Vandals notably seized Nicopolis in 474 as a bargaining chip in their negotiations with Emperor Zeno, and plundered Zakynthos, killing many of its inhabitants and ferrying off others into slavery. Epirus Nova became a battleground in the rebellions of the Ostrogoths after 479. In 517, a raid of the Getae or Antae reached Greece, including Epirus Vetus. The claim of Procopius of Caesarea in his "Secret History", that under Justinian I (r. 527–565) the entirety of the Balkan provinces was raided by barbarians every year, is considered rhetorical hyperbole by modern scholars; only a single Slavic raid to the environs of Dyrrhachium, in 548/9, has been documented. Procopius further reports that in 551, in an attempt to interdict the Byzantines' lines of communication with Italy during the Gothic War, the Ostrogoth king Totila sent his fleet to raid the shores of Epirus. In response to these raids, and to repair the damage done by two destructive earthquakes in 522, Justinian initiated a wide-ranging programme of reconstruction and re-fortification: Hadrianopolis was rebuilt, albeit in reduced extent, and renamed Justinianopolis, while Euroea was moved further inland (traditionally identified with the founding of Ioannina), while Procopius claims that no less than 36 smaller fortresses in Epirus Vetus—most of them not identifiable today—were either rebuilt or built anew.
Epirus from the Slavic invasions until 1204.
In the late 6th century, much of Greece, including Epirus, fell under the control of the Avars and their Slavic allies. This is placed by the "Chronicle of Monemvasia" in the year 587, and is further corroborated by evidence that several sees were abandoned by their bishops by 591. Thus in the bishop, clergy and people of Euroea fled their city, carrying with them the relics of their patron saint, St. Donatus, to Cassiope in Corfu.
Of the various Slavic tribes, only the Baiounitai, first attested , are known by name, giving their name to their region of settlement: "Vagenetia". Based on the density of the Slavic toponyms in Epirus, the Slavs must have settled in the region, although the extent of this settlement is unclear. Slavic toponyms occur mainly in the mountainous areas of the interior and the coasts of the Gulf of Corinth, indicative of the fact that this was the avenue used by most of the Slavs who crossed the Gulf into the Peloponnese. With the exception of some few toponyms on Corfu, the Ionian Islands seem to not have been affected by Slavic settlement. The linguistic analysis of the toponyms reveals that they date mostly to the early wave of Slavic settlement at the turn of the 6th/7th centuries. Due to scarcity of textual evidence, it is unclear how much the area was affected by the second wave of Slavic migration, which began in the middle of the 8th century due to Bulgar pressure in the northern Balkans.
As in eastern Greece, the restoration of Byzantine rule seems to have proceeded from the islands, chiefly Cephallonia, which was certainly under firm Imperial control in , when Philippicus Bardanes was banished there. The gradual restoration of Imperial rule is evidenced further from the participation of local bishops in councils in Constantinople: whereas only the bishop of Dyrrhachium participated in the Ecumenical Councils of 680/1 and 692, a century later the bishops of Dyrrhachium, Nicopolis, Corfu, Cephallonia, and Zakynthos are attested in the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. In about the middle of the 8th century, the Theme of Cephallenia was established, but at least initially it was more oriented towards restoring Byzantine control over the Ionian and Adriatic seas, combating Saracen piracy, and securing communications with the remaining Byzantine possessions in Italy, rather than any systematic effort at subduing the Epirote mainland. Nevertheless, following the onset of the Muslim conquest of Sicily in 827, the Ionian became particularly exposed to Arab raids.
The 9th century saw great progress in the restoration of Imperial control in the mainland, as evidenced by the participation of the bishops of Ioannina, Naupaktos, Hadrianopolis, and Vagenetia (evidently by now organized as a "Sklavinia" under imperial rule) in the Ecumenical Councils of 869/70 and 879/80. The Byzantine recovery resulted in an influx of Greeks from southern Italy and Asia Minor into the Greek interior, while remaining Slavs were Christianized and Hellenized. The eventual success of the Hellenization campaign also suggests a continuity of the original Greek population, and that the Slavs had settled among many Greeks, in contrast to areas further north, in what is now Bulgaria and the former Yugoslavia, as those areas could not be Hellenized when they were recovered by the Byzantines in the early 11th century. Following the great naval victory of admiral Nasar in 880, and the beginning of the Byzantine offensive against the Arabs in southern Italy in the 880s, the security situation improved and the Theme of Nicopolis was established, most likely after 886. As the ancient capital of Epirus had been laid waste by the Slavs, the capital of the new theme became Naupaktos further south. The extent of the new province is unclear, but probably matched the extent of the Metropolis of Naupaktos, established at about the same time, encompassing the sees of Vonditsa, Aetos, Acheloos, Rogoi, Ioannina, Hadrianopolis, Photike, and Buthrotum. Vagenetia notably no longer appears as a bishopric. As the authors of the "Tabula Imperii Byzantini" comment, it appears that "the Byzantine administration had brought the strongly Slavic-settled areas in the mainland somewhat under its control, and a certain Re-Hellenization had set in". Further north, the region around Dyrrhachium existed as the homonymous theme possibly as early as the 9th century.
During the early 10th century, the themes of Cephallenia and Nicopolis appear mostly as bases for expeditions against southern Italy and Sicily, while Mardaites from both themes are listed in the large but unsuccessful expedition of 949 against the Emirate of Crete. In , the Theme of Nicopolis was raided by the Bulgarians, who even occupied some parts until driven out or subjugated by the Byzantines years later. Only the extreme north of Epirus seems to have remained consistently under Bulgarian rule in the period, but under Tsar Samuel, who moved the centre of Bulgarian power south and west to Ohrid, probably all of Epirus down to the Ambracian Gulf came under Bulgarian rule. This is evidenced from the fact that the territories that were under Bulgarian rule formed part of the autocephalous Archbishopric of Ohrid after the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria by Emperor Basil II in 1018: thus in Epirus the sees of Chimara, Hadrianopolis, Bela, Buthrotum, Ioannina, Kozyle, and Rogoi passed under the jurisdiction of Ohrid, while the Metropolitan of Naupaktos retained only the sees of Bonditza, Aetos, and Acheloos. Basil II also established new, smaller themes in the region: Koloneia, and Dryinopolis (Hadrianopolis).
The region joined the uprising of Petar Delyan in 1040, and suffered in the First Norman invasion of the Balkans: Dyrrhachium was occupied by the Normans in 1081–1084, Arta was unsuccessfully besieged, and Ioannina was captured by Robert Guiscard. An Aromanian presence in Epirus is first mentioned in the late 11th century, while Jewish communities are attested throughout the medieval period in Arta and Ioannina.
Epirus between 1204 and the Ottoman conquest.
When Constantinople fell to the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the "partitio Romaniae" assigned Epirus to Venice, but the Venetians were largely unable to effectively establish their authority, except over Dyrrhachium (the "Duchy of Durazzo"). The Greek noble Michael Komnenos Doukas, who had married the daughter of a local magnate, took advantage of this, and within a few years consolidated his control over most of Epirus, first as a Venetian vassal and eventually as an independent ruler. By the time of his death in 1214/5, Michael had established a strong state, the Despotate of Epirus, with the former theme of Nicopolis at its core and Arta as its capital. Epirus, and the city of Ioannina in particular, became a haven for Greek refugees from the Latin Empire of Constantinople for the next half-century.
The Despotate of Epirus ruled over Epirus and western Greece as far south as Naupaktos and the Gulf of Corinth, much of Albania (including Dyrrhachium), Thessaly, and the western portion of Macedonia, extending its rule briefly over central Macedonia and most of Thrace following the aggressive expansionism of Theodore Komnenos Doukas, who established the Empire of Thessalonica in 1224. During this time, the definition of Epirus came to encompass the entire coastal region from the Ambracian Gulf to Dyrrhachium, and the hinterland to the west up to the highest peaks of the Pindus mountain range. Some of the most important cities in Epirus, such as Gjirokastër (Argyrokastron), were founded during this period. The oldest reference to Albanians in Epirus is from a Venetian document dating to 1210, which states that "the continent facing the island of Corfu is inhabited by Albanians", although a pre-14th century Albanian migration cannot be confirmed. In 1337, Epirus was once again brought under the rule of the restored Byzantine Empire.
In 1348, taking advantage of the civil war between the Byzantine emperors John V Palaiologos and John VI Kantakouzenos, the Serbian king Stefan Uroš IV Dušan conquered Epirus, with a number of Albanian mercenaries assisting him. The Byzantine authorities in Constantinople soon re-established a measure of control by making the Despotate of Epirus a vassal state, but meanwhile Albanian clans invaded and seized most of the region. The Albanian Losha and Zenevisi clans founded two short-lived principalities, centered in Arta (1358–1416) and Gjirokastër (1386–1411) respectively. Only the city of Ioannina remained under Greek control during this time. Although Albanian clans gained control of most of the region by 1366/7, their continued division into rival clans meant that they could not establish a single central authority.
Ioannina became a center of Greek resistance to the Albanian clans. The Greeks of Ioannina offered power to three foreign rulers during this time, beginning with Thomas II Preljubović (1367–1384), followed by Esau de' Buondelmonti (1385–1411), and finally Carlo I Tocco (1411–1429). The latter finally succeeded in ending the rule of the Albanian clans and unifying Epirus under his rule. Nevertheless, internal dissension eased the Ottoman conquest, which began with the capture of Ioannina in 1430 and continued with Arta in 1449, Angelokastro in 1460, Riniasa Castle and its environs (in what is now Preveza) in 1463, and finally Vonitsa in 1479. With the exception of several coastal Venetian possessions, this was also the end of Latin rule in mainland Greece.
Ottoman rule.
Epirus was ruled by the Ottomans for almost 500 years. Ottoman rule in Epirus proved particularly damaging; the region was subjected to deforestation and excessive cultivation, which damaged the soil and drove many Epirotes to emigrate so as to escape the region's pervasive poverty. Nonetheless, the Ottomans did not enjoy total control of Epirus. The Himara and Zagori regions managed to successfully resist Ottoman rule and maintained a degree of independence throughout this period. The Ottomans expelled the Venetians from almost the whole area in the late 15th century.
Between the 16th and 19th centuries, the city of Ioannina attained great prosperity and became a major center of the modern Greek Enlightenment. Numerous schools were founded, such as the Balaneios, Maroutsaia, Kaplaneios, and Zosimaia, teaching subjects such as literature, philosophy, mathematics and physical sciences. In the 18th century, as the power of the Ottoman Empire declined, Epirus became a "de facto" independent region under the despotic rule of Ali Pasha of Tepelena, a Muslim Albanian brigand who rose to become the provincial governor of Ioannina in 1788. At the height of his power, he controlled all of Epirus, and much of the Peloponnese, central Greece, and parts of western Macedonia Ali Pasha's campaign to subjugate the confederation of the settlements of Souli met with fierce resistance by the Souliot warriors of the mountainous area. After numerous failed attempts to defeat the Souliotes, his troops succeeded in conquering the area in 1803. On the other hand, Ali, who used Greek as official language, witnessed an increase of Greek cultural activity with the establishment of several educational institutions.
When the Greek War of Independence broke out, the inhabitants of Epirus contributed greatly. Two of the founding members of the Filiki Eteria (the secret society of the Greek revolutionaries), Nikolaos Skoufas and Athanasios Tsakalov, came from the Arta area and the city of Ioannina, respectively. Greece's first constitutional prime minister (1844–1847), Ioannis Kolettis, was a native of the village of Syrrako in Epirus and was a former personal physician to Ali Pasha. Ali Pasha tried to use the war as an opportunity to make himself a fully independent ruler, but was assassinated by Ottoman agents in 1822. When Greece became independent in 1830, however, Epirus remained under Ottoman rule. In 1854, during the Crimean War, a major local rebellion broke out. Although the newly found Greek state tried tacitly to support it, the rebellion was suppressed by Ottoman forces after a few months. Another failed rebellion by local Greeks broke out in 1878. During this period, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople managed to shut down the few Albanian schools, considering teaching in Albanian a factor that would diminish its influence and lead to the creation of separate Albanian church, while publications in Albanian were banned by the Ottoman Empire. In the late 19th century, the Kingdom of Italy opened various schools in the regions of Ioannina and Preveza in order to influence the local population. These schools began to attract students from the Greek language schools, but were ultimately closed after intervention and harassment by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Throughout, the late period of Ottoman rule (from the 18th century) Greek and Aromanian population of the region suffered from Albanians raiders, that sporadically continued after Ali Pasha's death, until 1912–1913.
20th-century Epirus.
While the Treaty of Berlin (1878) awarded large parts of Epirus to Greece, opposition by the Ottomans and the League of Prizren resulted in only the region of Arta being ceded to Greece in 1881. It was only following the First Balkan War of 1912–1913 and the Treaty of London that the rest of southern Epirus, including Ioannina, was incorporated into Greece. Greece had also seized northern Epirus during the Balkan Wars, but the Treaty of Bucharest, which concluded the Second Balkan War, assigned Northern Epirus to Albania.
This outcome was unpopular among local Greeks, as a substantial Greek population existed on the Albanian side of the border. Among Greeks, northern Epirus was henceforth regarded as "terra irredenta". Local Greeks in northern Epirus revolted, declared their independence and proclaimed the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus in February 1914. After fierce guerrilla fighting, they managed to gain full autonomy under the terms of the Protocol of Corfu, signed by Albanian and Northern Epirote representatives and approved by the Great Powers. The signing of the Protocol ensured that the region would have its own administration, recognized the rights of the local Greeks and provided self-government under nominal Albanian sovereignty. The Republic, however, was short-lived, as when World War I broke out, Albania collapsed, and northern Epirus was alternately controlled by Greece, Italy and France at various intervals. Although short-lived, this state managed to leave behind a number of historical records of its existence, including its own postage stamps; see Postage stamps and postal history of Epirus.
Although the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 awarded Northern Epirus to Greece, developments such as the Greek defeat in the Greco-Turkish War and, crucially, Italian lobbying in favor of Albania meant that Greece would not keep Northern Epirus. In 1924, the area was again ceded to Albania.
In 1939, Italy occupied Albania, and in 1940 invaded Greece. The Italians were driven back into Albania, however, and Greek forces again took control of northern Epirus. The conflict marked the first tactical victory of the Allies in World War II. Benito Mussolini himself supervised the massive counter-attack of his divisions in spring 1941, only to be decisively defeated again by the poorly equipped, but determined, Greeks. Nazi Germany then intervened in April 1941 to avert an embarrassing, wholesale Italian defeat. The German military performed rapid military maneuvers through Yugoslavia and forced the encircled Greek forces of the Epirus front to surrender.
The whole of Epirus was then placed under Italian occupation until 1943, when the Germans took over following the Italian surrender to the Allies. Due to the extensive activity of the anti-Nazi Greek resistance (mainly under EDES), the Germans carried out large scaled anti-partisan sweeps, making wide use of Nazi-collaborationist bands of Cham Albanians, who committed numerous atrocities against the civilian population.
To deal with the situation, the Allied Military Mission in the Axis-occupied Greece (under Colonel C. M. Woodhouse), gave EDES partisans direct orders to counter-attack and chase out of their villages those units that used them as bases and local strongholds. Helped by Allied war material transferred from the recently liberated southern Italy, EDES forces succeeded and as a result several thousands of Muslim Cham Albanians fled the area and took refuge in nearby Albania.
With the liberation of Greece and the start of the first round of the Greek Civil War at the end of 1944, the highlands of Epirus became a major theater of guerrilla warfare between the leftist Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) and the right-wing National Republican Greek League (EDES). In subsequent years (1945–1949), the mountains of Epirus also became the scene of some of the fiercest fighting of the second and bloodier round of the Greek Civil War. The final episode of the war took place on Mount Grammos in 1949, ending with the defeat of the Communists. Peace returned to the region in 1949, although because of official Albanian active involvement in the civil war on the side of the communists, the formal state of war between Greece and Albania remained in effect until 1987. Another reason for the continuation of the state of war until 1987 was that during the entire period of Communist rule in Albania, the Greek population of Northern Epirus experienced forced Albanisation. Although a Greek minority was recognized by the Hoxha regime, this recognition only applied to an "official minority zone" consisting of 99 villages, leaving out important areas of Greek settlement, such as Himara. People outside the official minority zone received no education in the Greek language, which was prohibited in public. The Hoxha regime also diluted the ethnic demographics of the region by relocating Greeks living there and settling in their stead Albanians from other parts of the country. Relations began to improve in the 1980s with Greece's abandonment of any territorial claims over Northern Epirus and the lifting of the official state of war between the two countries.
The collapse of the communist regime in Albania in 1990–1991 triggered a massive migration of Albanian citizens to Greece, which included many members of the Greek minority. Since the end of the Cold War, many Greeks in Northern Epirus are re-discovering their Greek heritage thanks to the opening of Greek schools in the region, while Cham Albanians have called for compensation for their lost property. In the post-Cold War era, relations have continued to improve though tensions remain over the availability of education in the Greek language outside the official minority zone, the minority's property rights, and occasional violent incidents targeting members of the Greek minority.
Economy.
A rugged topography, poor soils, and fragmented landholdings have kept agricultural production low and have resulted in a low population density. Animal husbandry is the main industry and corn the chief crop. Oranges and olives are grown in the western lowlands, while tobacco is grown around Ioannina. Epirus has few natural resources and industries, and the population has been depleted by migration. The population is centered around Ioannina, which has the largest number of industrial establishments.
Transportation.
Epirus has historically been a remote and isolated region due to its location between the Pindus mountains and the sea. In antiquity, the Roman Via Egnatia passed through Epirus Nova, which linked Byzantium and Thessalonica to Dyrrachium on the Adriatic Sea. The modern Egnatia Odos highway, which links Ioannina to the Greek province of Macedonia and terminating at Igoumenitsa, is the only highway through the Pindus mountains and has served to greatly reduce the region's isolation from the east, while the Ionia Odos highway, connecting Epirus with Western Greece, helped reducing the region's isolation from the south. Also, the Aktio-Preveza Undersea Tunnel connects the southernmost tip of Epirus, near Preveza, with Aetolia-Acarnania in western Greece. Ferry services from Igoumenitsa to the Ionian islands and Italy exist. The only airport in Epirus is the Ioannina National Airport, while the Aktion National Airport is located just south of Preveza in Aetolia-Acarnania. There are no railroads in Epirus.


Subdivisions of Sudan

Sudan is divided into fifteen states ("wilayat", sing. "wilayah") which in turn are subdivided into 86 districts. Before the secession of South Sudan on July 9, 2011, Sudan was the largest country in Africa and had 25 states.


County Down

County Down one of the six counties of Northern Ireland , It covers an area of 2,448 km2 (945 sq mi) and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the north, the Irish Sea to the east, County Armagh to the west, and County Louth across Carlingford Lough to the southwest.
In the east of the county is Strangford Lough and the Ards Peninsula. The largest town is Bangor, on the northeast coast. Three other large towns and cities are on its border: Newry lies on the western border with County Armagh, while Lisburn and Belfast lie on the northern border with County Antrim. Down contains both the southernmost point of Northern Ireland (Cranfield Point) and the easternmost point of Ireland (Burr Point).
It was one of two counties of Northern Ireland to have a Protestant majority at the 2001 census. The other Protestant majority County is County Antrim to the North.
In March 2018, "The Sunday Times" published its list of Best Places to Live in Britain, including five in Northern Ireland. The list included three in County Down: Holywood, Newcastle, and Strangford.
Toponymy.
County Down takes its name from "dún", the Irish word for dun or fort, which is a common root in Gaelic place names (such as Dundee, Dunfermline and Dumbarton in Scotland and Donegal and Dundalk in Ireland). The fort in question was in the historic town of Downpatrick, originally known as "Dún Lethglaise" ("fort of the green side" or "fort of the two broken fetters").
History.
During the 2nd century the region was home to the Voluntii tribe, according to Ptolemy. From the 400s-1177 County Down formed a central part of the kingdom of Ulaid. Ulaid was a frequent target of viking raids in the eighth and ninth centuries,however fierce local resistance prevented the Norse from setting up permanent settlements in the region. In 1001 a fleet led by Sigtrygg Silkbeard raided much of the region in retribution for the Ulaiden's refusal to offer him sanctuary from Brian Boru the previous year.
The region was invaded by the Normans in 1177. From the 1180s-1600s the region would see waves of English and Scottish immigration. The county was privately planted during the Plantation period. During the Williamite War in Ireland (1689–1691) the county was a centre of Protestant rebellion against the rule of the Catholic James II. After forming a scratch force the Protestants were defeated by the Irish Army at the Break of Dromore and forced to retreat, leading to the whole of Down falling under Jacobite control. Later the same year Marshal Schomberg's large Williamite expedition arrived in Belfast Lough and captured Bangor. After laying siege to Carrickfergus Schomberg marched south to Dundalk Camp, clearing County Down and much of the rest of East Ulster of Jacobite troops.
Geography.
Down contains two significant peninsulas: Ards Peninsula and Lecale peninsula.
The county has a coastline along Belfast Lough to the north and Carlingford Lough to the south (both of which have access to the sea). Strangford Lough lies between the Ards Peninsula and the mainland. Down also contains part of the shore of Lough Neagh. Smaller loughs include Lough Island Reavy.
The River Lagan forms most of the border with County Antrim. The River Bann also flows through the southwestern areas of the county. Other rivers include the Clanrye and Quoile.
There are several islands off the Down coast: Mew Island, Light House Island and the Copeland Islands, all of which lie to the north of the Ards Peninsula. Gunn Island lies off the Lecale coast. In addition, there are a large number of small islands in Strangford Lough.
County Down is where, in the words of the song by Percy French, "The mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea", and the area around the granite Mourne Mountains continues to be known for its scenery. Slieve Donard, at , is the highest peak in the Mournes, in Northern Ireland and in the province of Ulster. Another important peak is Slieve Croob, at , the source of the River Lagan.
Subdivisions.
Baronies
Parishes
Townlands
Administration.
The county was administered by Down County Council from 1899 until the abolition of county councils in Northern Ireland in 1973. County Down is now served by the following local government districts:
Transportation.
Railways.
Former railways within the county include the Great Northern Railway of Ireland and Belfast and County Down Railway both of which were formed in the 19th century and were closed (or amalgamated) in the 1950s. The Downpatrick and County Down Railway operates a short section of the former Belfast and County Down line as a heritage railway between Downpatrick and Inch Abbey.
Northern Ireland Railways operates the area's modern rail network.
Sport.
Association football.
In association football, the NIFL Premiership, which operates as the top division, has three teams in the county: Newry City F. C., Ards F.C. and Warrenpoint Town F.C., with Banbridge Town F.C., Bangor F.C. and Lisburn Distillery F.C. competing in the NIFL Championship, which operates as levels two and three.
Gaelic games.
The Down County Board administers Gaelic games in the county. Down is the most successful team north of the border in terms of All-Ireland Senior Football Championships won with five (1960, 1961, 1968, 1991 and 1994) in total. In terms of Ulster, they share that accolade with Cavan who also have 5 titles. They currently have four minor All-Ireland titles, twelve Ulster titles and one under 21 all Ireland title (1979).
Golf.
County Down is also home to the No.1-ranked golf course outside of the US, according to "Today's Golfer", Royal County Down, which is situated in Newcastle.
Currently ranked No.1 golfer in the world, Rory McIlroy originates from Holywood, situated in the north of the county.
In popular culture.
"Star of the County Down" is a popular Irish ballad.
The county is named in the lyrics of the song "Around the World", from the film "Around the World in 80 Days", which was an American top ten hit for Bing Crosby and UK top ten hit for Ronnie Hilton, both in 1957, although it was Mantovani's instrumental version which was actually used in the film. Rihanna's video "We Found Love" was filmed there in 2011, causing complaints when the singer removed her clothes to reveal a bikini.
The Ulster singer Van Morrison has made reference to the County Down in the lyrics to several songs including "Northern Muse (Solid Ground)", "Mystic of the East" and the nostalgic "Coney Island", which names several places and landmarks in the county. Van Morrison also covered "Star of the County Down" with The Chieftains as a part of their collaboration album "Irish Heartbeat".
C.S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia, was inspired by the Mourne Mountains. There is a Narnia trail in Kilbroney Park, in Rostrevor.
Sam Hanna Bell based his novel of Ulster rural life, "December Bride" (1951) in the Ards peninsula. A film version of the novel, also called "December Bride", was produced in 1990 and released in November 1991.
Several areas of County Down served as filming locations for the HBO series Game of Thrones including Castle Ward (Winterfell), Inch Abby (Riverlands), and Tollymore Forest Park.


Pigeon Bay

Pigeon Bay is a body of water that lies between Minnesota, United States and Ontario, Canada and is part of Lake Superior. The international boundary between the two countries lies in the middle of the bay. The name of "Pigeon" Bay was most likely from the prevalence of the passenger pigeon which was common in the US/Canada border region.
Grand Portage State Park is on the Minnesota side of the bay, and Pigeon River is on the Ontario side of the bay.


Xisha District

Xisha District is the municipal district of Sansha, Hainan. It administers the islands and reefs of the disputed Paracel Islands and its sea areas, and is responsible for the islands and reefs and sea areas of the Zhongsha Islands. The People's Government of Xisha District is stationed in Yongxing Island (Yongxing Town Management Area).


Kakapora railway station

Kakapora railway station is a railway station in the Northern Railway zone of Indian Railways. It is one of the four stations in Pulwama district, others being Awantipora railway station, Pampore railway station and Panzgam railway station respectively.
Location.
The station is situated in notified area of Kakapora in Pulwama district about 20 km south of Srinagar.
History.
The station has been built as part of the Jammu–Baramulla line megaproject, aiming to link the Kashmir Valley with Jammu Tawi the rest of the Indian railway network. The Leg 2 section of this network is incomplete. It is expected to be completed by 2017.
Design.
Like every other station in this mega project, this station also features Kashmiri wood architecture, with an intended ambience of a royal court which is designed to complement the local surroundings to the station. Station signage is predominantly in Urdu, English and Hindi.


Middle Pomerania

The term Middle or Central Pomerania can refer to two distinct areas, depending on whether it is used as a translation of the corresponding German or Polish terms Mittelpommern (also Mittelpommerscher Keil) or Pomorze Środkowe, respectively.
Mittelpommern, Mittelpommerscher Keil.
Mittelpommern in historical usage denotes the central parts of the former Duchy, later Province of Pomerania, located approximately between the rivers Peene and Rega, including the towns Trzebiatów, Resko and Nowogard.
Mittelpommerscher Keil (Middle Pomeranian Wedge) is a term used in ethnolinguistics, which carries a narrower meaning; it corresponds to the south-central part of Mittelpommern, roughly between the rivers Zarow and Ihna (Ina). This area differed from the rest of the duchy or province by the dialect of the inhabitants, who spoke the Central Pomeranian variety closely related to Märkisch-Brandenburgisch, as well as in the town law of the cities, which was Magdeburg Law (vs Lübeck Law in the other parts). Since World War II the Oder-Neisse line divides this area, reducing the German part to the former Uecker-Randow district, as well as to the Amt Gartz (Oder) in the Uckermark district.
Pomorze Środkowe.
Pomorze Środkowe in modern usage are terms coined in Poland for the area of the former Koszalin Voivodeship (1950-1975), spanning roughly from the river Parsęta ("Persante") to the river Łeba, which was split in 1975 with the remains since 1999 merged into the West Pomeranian, Pomeranian and Greater Poland voivodeships. In 2003, a movement presented to the Polish Sejm parliament a petition for the recreation of the Koszalin voivodeship as the Central Pomeranian Voivodeship, signed by 135,000 people.


Maroni (river)

The Maroni or Marowijne (, , Sranan Tongo: "Marwina-Liba") is a river in South America that forms the border between French Guiana and Suriname.
Course.
The Maroni runs through the Guianan moist forests ecoregion.
It originates in the Tumuk Humak Mountains and forms the (disputed) border between France (region of French Guiana) and Suriname. In its upper reaches, it is also known as the Lawa, and close to its source it is known as the Litani. The total length of Litani, Lawa and Maroni is .
There are two nature preserves located in the estuary region on the Surinamese side of the river, near the village of Galibi. They provide protection for the birds and the leatherback sea turtles that hatch there.
Territorial dispute.
In 1860, the question was posed from the French side, which of the two tributary rivers was the headwater, and thus the border. A joint French-Dutch commission was appointed to review the issue. The Dutch side of the commission consisted of J.H. Baron van Heerdt tot Eversberg, J.F.A. Cateau van Rosevelt and August Kappler. Luits Vidal, Ronmy, Boudet and Dr. Rech composed the French side. In 1861 measurements were taken, which produced the following result: the Lawa had a discharge of 35,960 m3/minute at a width of 436 m; the Tapanahony had a discharge of 20,291 m3/minute at a width of 285  m. Thus, the Lawa River was the headwater of the Maroni River.
There were no problems with this decision until 1885. However, the discovery of gold in the area between the Lawa and the Tapanahony created a new border conflict. On 29 November 1888, France and the Netherlands reached an agreement that the conflict should be subject to arbitration. Czar Alexander III of Russia, acting as the arbitrator, decided that the Lawa was the headwater of the Maroni, and thus should be considered the border.
However, this decision created another issue as to which river is the source of the Lawa. The Netherlands considered the Marowini (the eastern tributary river) to be the source of the Lawa; the French considered the Litani, located further to the west, to be the source of the Lawa. This issue has still not been resolved.
The "Litani" originates in the Tumuk Humak Mountains at approximately ° N 55° W; along its path it is fed by "Koele Koelebreek", the "Lokereek", the "Mapaonikreek" and the "Oelemari River".
The "Marowini" also has its source in the Tumuk Humak Mountains, at approximately 2° N, 54° W; it also absorbs the "Koelebreek", among others.
Numbers.
The Maroni basin is 68,700 km2; above the island "Langatabbetje" (110 km away from the mouth of the river) this area is 63,700 km2. Between 1952 and 1973, the average discharge near "Langatabbetje" was about 1,700 m3/second. The minimum was 95 m3/second, the maximum 6,550 m3/second. The estuary is approximately 90 km long; the average tidal range in the estuary is 2 m; in the dry season, the salt reaches about 40 km upstream to the town of Albina.
The estimated potential hydro power for Suriname is between 1150 and 1250 megawatts.
Exploration.
The Maroni is the most extensively studied of all the rivers in Suriname. In the 16th century, there were already ships exploring the estuary, by Lawrence Keymis, Thomas Masham, Antonio de Berrio and Adriaen Cabeliau and in the 17th century, by Harcourt, Fisher and De Vries. In the 18th century more extensive excursions took place, by Mentell, Patris, Le Blond and Heneman and in the 19th century by Zegelaar, Jules Crevaux, Coudreau, Ten Kate, Joost and others.
Of importance in the 20th century were the Gonini and Tapanahony expeditions, and the Tumuk Humak and Southern Border Expeditions. From these arose the research of the "Geologisch Mijnbouwkundige Dienst" (GMD) and the "Centraal Bureau voor Luchtkartering" (CBL).


Politics of Fujian

The Politics of Fujian Province in the People's Republic of China is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China.
The Governor of Fujian () is the highest-ranking official in the People's Government of Fujian. However, in the province's dual party-government governing system, the Governor has less power than the Fujian Communist Party of China Provincial Committee Secretary (), colloquially termed the "Fujian Party Secretary".


Hazratbal

Hazratbal or Dargah, is the notified area in Downtown Srinagar situated about from city center. The early settlements in the area occurred on the banks of Dal Lake and majority of population of area are Hangis (fishermen). The area became famous after the construction of Hazratbal Shrine where hundreds of thousands of people visit every year because many relics related to the Islamic prophet Muhammad are believed to be there.
The word "Hazrat" in Urdu gives indication of "respect" and "bal" in Kasmiri means "place". Thus the word "Hazratbal" means the place which is highly respected among the people. Due to the presence of Dal Lake and its house boats in vicinity, the area became the famous tourist spot in the city. The economy of the people living here greatly depends on tourism. Also the grave of Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah is situated in the area. The postal code of the area is 190006.
Divisions.
The areas which come under the constituency of Hazratbal are as under:
Education.
There are three institutions in the area.
Due to this reason it is considered as higher education centre in Kashmir Valley. Students from different parts of the state study Art, Humanities, Science, Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Engineering in these institutions.


Joseph William Torrey

Col. Joseph William Torrey, Rajah of Ambong and Marudu, (April 22, 1828 in Bath, Maine; – June 22, 1885 in Boston) was an American merchant, president of the American Trading Company of Borneo and co-founder of the American colony "Ellena" (in present-day Kimanis) together with Thomas Bradley Harris on the island of Borneo. He was known as "Yankee Rajah" and served as a U.S. vice-consul to Siam.
Early life.
Torrey was born on April 22, 1828 in the American small town of Bath in Maine. He was the son of Joseph Gendall Torrey and Emily Houghton. His father practiced the craft of a printer and was also the founder of the Maine Gazette, which is the town first newspaper. In 1834, the family moved to Roxbury, a district of Boston. Torrey graduated from the Boston High School under Rev. Dr. Leach. At first, he also learned the printing business and worked for several years in the company of his father, which brought him into contact with the satirical magazine, "Carpet Bag" by Benjamin Penhallow Shillaber. Torrey served in several companies and was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston. However, the authenticity of his military grade "Colonel" is questioned.
Further career.
In 1853, he left Boston and went to Melbourne, Australia, where he worked as a clerk at Caldwell, Train & Co., Commission Merchants and Steam Packet Agents. He was also a member of Torrey & Foodrich and Company, Discharging Clerks. In addition to his work, he began studying law; although it was not known if he received an academic degree in law. In Melbourne, he joined the Masonic lodge and later became the Grand Master. On September 22, 1854, during his time in Australia, he married his first wife, Eliza Lydia Ewer in Victoria. The couple had two children, Emiline Eliza (born in 1856) and Cordelia Grace (born in 1858). One year after the birth of their second children, Eliza however died young after battling with a short illness at the age of 27 years. Torrey returned with his two children to Roxbury in 1860, where they grew up with their grandparents.
In 1860, Torrey moved to British Hong Kong, where he became the editor of The China Mail, the first British daily newspaper in Hong Kong. He later took over the publication of the Hong Kong Times. In 1862, he joined Montgomery & Parker as a ship broker and commissioner. In 1863, Torrey married again. His second wife, the first fifteen-year-old Charlotte Ann "Lemon" Mills, bore him a son Joseph Gendall (born on September 16, 1864) and a daughter named Elena Charlotte (born in 1867). He later bought his own ship from the ship broker company, which he baptized as "Ellen" - probably named after his newest youngest daughter.
Foundation of the Ellena Colony.
In August 1865, the American consul in Brunei, Charles Lee Moses concluded a 10-year lease with the Sultan Abdul Momin and his successor, Pengiran Temenggung who guaranteed land rights in various areas in the north of Borneo. Looking for a quick profit, the consul immediately sought buyers for his concessions following the signing of the lease. Moses bid raised the interest among his countrymen including Torrey himself and Thomas Bradley Harris. Blessed with exuberant reports of a land rich in gold, diamonds, precious stones, spices and treasures waiting to be delivered to the markets of Hong Kong and China, they bought the concessions of Moses in September 1865.
In October 1865, Torrey and Harris, together with Chinese lenders Lee Assing and Pong Ampong under the American Trading Company of Borneo decided to build a colony in the area of today's Kimanis. Taking note of the fact that the acquisition of the concession of Moses was also recognized by the Sultan of Brunei, Torrey made a new concession letter drawn up on November 24, 1865 at the Brunei Palace provided with the seals of the Sultan and three of his ministers. The document confirms his concession acquisition which is not only guaranteed for Torrey to be the ruler of life and death, but the Sultan even gave him the title of "Rajah of Ambong and Marudu".
In December 1865, Torrey with 12 Americans and 60 Chinese founded the colony of "Ellena" and appointed himself as the governor, and Harris as vice-governor. His plans to make Ellena attractive to further settlers by cultivating sugarcane, tobacco and rice failed soon after. This was mainly caused by the unfortunate choice of the position of Ellenas; in the mouth of the sluggish Kimanis River which favored the outbreak of malaria and other diseases. The colony also lacked a solid financial base which meant that Torrey was forced to temporarily leave his own colony to his deputy, Harris to look for investors in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
While Torrey desperately tried to raise additional funds in Hong Kong for his colony in Borneo, his friend Harris died of malaria on May 22, 1866. Torrey buried his business partner on the top of a nearby hill in his colony area in Borneo, now known as Governor's Hill. Torrey made the following inscription to his tombstone:
As early as 1866, the American colony was abandoned because of a lack of capital, a lack of labor, riots among the workers and serious diseases. The end of Ellena left Torrey penniless. Driven on the one hand by the predominantly Chinese investors, unlike Charles Lee Moses who was still waiting for the payment of the purchase price, he tried to continue selling his rights profitably. However, only nine years later, just before the ten-year term expired, Torrey succeeded in selling all rights to Baron von Overbeck from Germany in January 1876 in Hong Kong. The purchase price of $15,000 was linked to the condition that within nine months it was necessary to obtain an extension of the concessions from the ruler of Brunei.
Diplomatic service.
From 1877 to 1880, Torrey was a vice-consul at the U.S. Consulate in Siam (present-day Thailand). In his capacity as a vice-consul, he also belonged to the American delegation who accompanied ex-President Ulysses S. Grant during his visit to meet Chulalongkorn, the king of Siam. It seems, however, that Torrey presence was not well-liked by all, as he could not arrange with his superior. After his resignation as vice-consul, he remained a member of the American Legation in Bangkok.
Later life and death.
Torrey returned to America in 1883. A few days before his death, the news from the King of Siam reached him, telling that he should be appointed as the king's chief adviser. Before he decided whether to take office or not, Torrey died suddenly on June 22, 1885, at his home on Wabon Street in Roxbury. Although he already died, he still recognized by the government for representing his lost kingdom as his body was dressed in the uniform of a high oriental dignitary for three days before his black coffin of walnut wood was taken to the St. James Episcopal Church. A large crown of flowers in the colors of the flag of Ellenas-yellow and red-formed the central view, a half-moon with thirteen stripes on a blue background, and thirteen stars which testified the American origin of the rajah. He was buried at the Torrey Family Cemetery of the Forest Hills Cemetery.
Miscellaneous.
Torrey, "the only American Rajah" also got his entry on the title page of the January issue of Ripley's Believe It or Not! in the year of 1950.


Oti River

The Oti River or Pendjari River is an international river in West Africa. It rises in Benin, forms the border between Benin and Burkina Faso, flows through Togo, and joins the Volta River in Ghana.
Geography.
The Oti River is about long. Its headwaters are in Benin and Burkina Faso, it flows through Benin and Togo and joins the Volta River in Ghana. Tributaries on the left bank in Togo originate from the Togo Mountains to the south. One of its eastern tributaries is the Kara River, the confluence being on the Ghana–Togo border, where another tributary joins from the south, the Koumongou River. The mouth of the Oti was formerly on the Volta River, but it now flows into Lake Volta reservoir in Ghana.
The river crosses the northern part of Togo in a savannah-clad valley some wide. Along the margins of the river is gallery forest which floods periodically. The dry season here lasts from about November until April, with the hot dry Harmattan wind blowing from the north. At this time of the year the river's flow is minimal. Both the Oti and the Koumongou have floodplains, some wide respectively. These flood extensively during the wet season, but during the dry season they become dry, dusty plains, with the occasional pond or lake in a depression. Cattle graze on the floodplains during the dry season. There is also some small scale growing of crops, and the hunting of game takes place there.
International borders.
The river forms part of the international borders between Ghana, Burkina Faso, Togo, and Benin.
Parks.
The Oti River flows through Pendjari National Park in Benin and the Oti-Kéran National Park in Togo.


Breakaway state


Perejil Island

Perejil Island (, Berber: "Tura" or "Toṛa", ), also known as Parsley Island, is a small, uninhabited rocky islet located off the coast of Morocco, just from the mainland coast. Its sovereignty is disputed between Spain and Morocco. It was the subject of an armed incident between the two countries in 2002.
Name.
The name "Isla de Perejil" literally means "Parsley Island" in Spanish. Its original Berber name is Tura, meaning "empty". Moroccan and international media often mistakenly use the name "Laila" () due to a confusion resulting from it being referred to as "la isla" ("the island") pronounced in Spanish with Andalusian accent, rendering "lah ihla" or "laíla". It is sometimes referred to in Arabic as "Jazirat al-Ma'danus" (), which is a translation of "Parsley Island".
In Moroccan historical references, it is only known as "Tura". In his speech to the Moroccan people commemorating the "Throne Day" on 30 July 2002, the King of Morocco used the name "Tura" exclusively, when he mentioned the armed incident with Spain over the island.
Geography.
The island lies off the coast of Morocco, from the border of the territory of the Spanish city of Ceuta, to Ceuta itself and from mainland Spain. The island is about in size, with an area of 15 ha or . It has a maximum height of above sea level.
History.
In 1415, Portugal, along with the conquest of Ceuta, took possession of the nearby islet from the Marinid Sultanate, a predecessor to the current state of Morocco. In 1580, Portugal came under the sovereignty of Philip I of Portugal, who was also King of Spain, creating an Iberian Union under one king, without unifying the countries. When the Union split in 1640, Ceuta remained under Spanish sovereignty.
The islet's sovereignty is disputed by Morocco and Spain. Local Moroccan shepherds used it for grazing of livestock, but the vast majority of Spaniards and Moroccans had not heard of the islet until 11 July 2002, when a group of Moroccan soldiers set up a base on the islet. The Moroccan government said that they set foot on the island in order to monitor illegal immigration, a justification the Spanish government rejected as there had been little co-operation on the matter at the time (a repeated source of complaint from Spain). After protests from the Spanish government, led by Prime Minister José María Aznar, Morocco replaced the soldiers with cadets from the Moroccan Navy, who then installed a fixed base on the island. This further angered the Spanish government and both countries restated their claims to the islet. Almost all European Union member states fully supported Spain's objections, with the exception of France and Portugal, whose government issued a statement regretting the incident. Morocco's claims had official support from the Arab League, except for Algeria, which restated its recognition of Spanish sovereignty over the exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.
On the morning of 18 July 2002 Spain launched Operation Romeo-Sierra, a military attempt to take over the island. The operation was successful and within hours the Spanish had taken control of the island and custody of the Moroccan naval cadets, who had not resisted the Spanish commando attack force, Grupo de Operaciones Especiales III. The operation was launched in conjunction with the Spanish Navy and Spanish Air Force. The Spanish transferred the captured Moroccans by helicopter to the headquarters of the Guardia Civil in Ceuta, who then transported the cadets to the Moroccan border. Over the course of the same day, the Spanish Legion replaced the commandos and remained on the island until Morocco, after mediation by the United States, led by Colin Powell, agreed to return to the status quo ante which existed prior to the Moroccan occupation of the island. The islet is now deserted.
Sovereignty.
Perejil Island has no permanent human population. Goats are pastured there, and the Moroccan government expressed worries that smugglers and terrorists, in addition to illegal immigrants, were using the island. The island is well monitored from both sides in order to maintain the status quo that leaves it deserted and virtually a no man's land.
Morocco had demanded the return of the Spanish cities Ceuta and Melilla along with several small rocks and islets off the coast of Morocco. The crisis over Perejil Island was seen by the Spanish government as a way for Morocco to test the waters in regard to Spain's will to defend Ceuta and Melilla.
Migration.
In June 2014, Spain requested that the Moroccan forces enter the island to expel sub-Saharan migrants.
Popular culture.
The international incident is recounted in a 2016 film, "La Isla", which is largely based on the facts of the dispute.


Administrative divisions of Sweden

There are several series of subdivisions of Sweden.


Subdivisions of Ethiopia

Ethiopia is administratively divided into regional states and chartered cities, zones, "woreda" (districts) and "kebele" (wards).
Regions and chartered cities.
The 10 regional states or "kililoch" are based on ethno-linguistic territoriality:
Additionally there are two chartered cities:
Zones.
The 10 regions are further subdivided into 68 zones.
Woreda.
Woreda or districts are smaller subdivisions.
Kebele.
Kebele are municipalities. They are the smallest administrative division.
Former provinces.
Between 1942 and 1991, Ethiopia was divided into 13 provinces. Other provinces existed before 1942.


Barah Valley

The Barah Valley () is a village in Gilgit Baltistan. Barah Valley is 100 km from Skardu in the east. The valley is located on the bank of Shyok river in the Khaplu, (Ghanche District) of Baltistan.
Ethnography.
The people are Balti and mostly belong to the Noorbakshia and Sunni sects of Islam.


Showdown (Flynn novel)

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Showdown is a romantic adventure novel written by famous Tasmanian-born actor Errol Flynn (1909–1959). It was first published in 1946 by Invincible Press (Australia) and subsequently in the UK in 1952 and in paperback in 1961. Flynn draws on his experiences working in and around New Guinea when young to provide the background. Accounts of his sailing in New Guinea waters appear in his autobiographies, "Beam Ends" (1937) and "My Wicked, Wicked Ways" (1959).
The novel is dedicated to German-American artist John Decker, who painted Flynn's portrait, translated in the same year to Spanish as "Un drama en los Mares del Sur" (Renacimiento, 1946).
Background.
The novel was originally called "One Man in His Time" and then "Charlie Bow Tie Proceeds".
While writing it he was also reported to be working on another book, a novel about the nephew of Montezuma fighting the Conquistadores, called "Cuautenos".


Subdivisions of Saudi Arabia

The Subdivisions of Saudi Arabia, officially the Organization of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as provided by the Regions' System, issued on 27 Sha'baan 1412 AH by Royal Order A/92, amended by Royal Order No. A/21 on 30 Rabi' al-Awal 1414 AH, divided the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia into 13 emirates (provinces/regions); the 13 provinces further divided into 118 governorates, classified category (A) or category (B); the 118 governorates divided into a number of centers, category (A) and category (B), taking into consideration the housing, geographical, security, transport, environment and historic conditions of each region.
Provinces.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is divided into 13 emirates ( ) or regions/provinces (), each governed by a governor or "emir" (), known as the Provincial Governor, to differentiate them from the governors of governorates. These are:
Governorates.
The 13 emirates are further divided into 118 governorates ( ), each governed by a Governor (). Of these, 13 are capital governorates ( ) governed by a Mayor ().


Storozhynets

Storozhynets (, ; ; ) is a small city located in Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine, north of the border with Romania. It hosts the administration of Storozhynets urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. It is located approximately south-west of the oblast capital, Chernivtsi. Population:
Storozhynets is located in the historic region of Bukovina, which has been governed by Moldavia (before 1774), the Austrian empire (1774–1918), Romania (1918–1940 and 1941–1944), the USSR (1940–1941 and 1944–1991) and Ukraine (since 1991).
Other names.
Other names for the city include:
History.
Storozhynets was a part of the Principality of Moldavia and was first mentioned in 1448. The first inhabitants were a settlement of loggers.
In 1774 Austria added the Duchy of Bukovina to its territories. It was marked with great changes as Austrians and Germans arrived en masse. There were schools with German, Romanian, and Ukrainian as their languages of instruction.
Since the second half of the 19th century, a rapid population growth began with the arrival of Jews to the city, as well as Hungarian and Romanian businessmen, legal and banking officials most of whom were Jews. In 1854 Storozhynets received the status of city. By the end of the 19th century and early 20th century, the city was populated mainly by Jews.
In 1903 in Storozhinets opened a private school. On May 21, 1904 Storozhynets became a county. Trade, industry, agriculture, science, education and culture have developed a rapid pace.
But after World War I, its territory ended with a new status as Northern Bukovina became part of the Kingdom of Romania. In 1921, Romanian became the official language, and Ukrainian language was not used any more in the administration.
In 1940, 28 June, Northern Bukovina was occupied by the Soviet troops. After the start of the war against the Soviet Union, in 1941 Northern Bucovina was reintegrated into the Kingdom of Romania.
Between 1941 - 1943 a great part of the Jewish population was killed or deported to concentration camps in Transnistria.
Until 18 July 2020, Storozhynets served as an administrative center of Storozhynets 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 Storozhynets Raion was merged into Chernivtsi Raion.
Demographics.
1930 Romanian Census.
Total 8,695


Kaul festival

Kaul (or Pesta Kaul) is a Melanau annual "cleansing" when traditionally, uninvited spirits and other bad influences were escorted out of the village by a flotilla of boats, and ceremonial offerings of food, cigarettes and betel nut were set on the Seraheng (decorated pole) at the river mouth.
The word "kaul" means "coming together" in Melanau language.
The Beginning of Kaul.
Originating from the animistic beliefs traditionally held by the Melanau people, Kaul is held annually in Bulan Pengejin (The month of the Spirits) of the Melanau Calendar, which is usually in the end of April, as a purification and thanks giving to appease the spirits of the sea called Ipok. It coincides with the end of the Northeast monsoon, once a time of hardship when the sea was too rough to fish and the villages often suffered from flooding.
Traditionally, Villages would be palei or taboo for days before Kaul. No one was allowed to leave or enter, and people underwent purification ceremonies during Kaul. The celebration of Kaul concluded with a communal picnic at the river mouth, followed by a return to the village and again three days of prescribed restrictions.
The Serahéng.
The festival would start with offerings of traditional food in a special offering basket or "serahéng" which would be placed on the beach at a chosen site near the river mouth. If there were leftovers it would also be left near the seraheng site.
The Celebration of Kaul.
The Father of the Kaul (Bapa Kaul) would sing them mantras to that effect to start the Kaul(KAWUL). Then they would celebrate them in a grand feast where all the people would bring with them food and drink to eat at a huge picnic by the river mouth and the beaches. They would build huge swings or 'tibou' for them to play with the spirits. They would also send offerings in the form of 'seraheng', an arrangement created with the leaves of the sago palm, the staple food of the Melanau. They would play all sorts of games on the beach during for the whole day. They would leave whatever food that is left on the beaches and the river mouth for the spirits to feast upon at the end of the day when the festival is done for the day. It is taboo to bring the food back as it is for them who have guarded them and provided for them all their lives. otherwise, they would be cursed.
The Spiritual Meaning of Kaul.
Kaul - celebrated in the Melanau month of Pengejin to thank the Ipok (spirits/guardians) for a bountiful year past and a prayer for a good year ahead. The Melanaus belief is animistic and they believe that the world is protected and guarded by the various spirits, such as Ipok Guun (the guardian of the jungle), Ipok Talun (forest), Ipok Sungai (rivers), Ipok Pangai (wind) and Ipok Daat (sea). During this time, they would honour them for what they were given for the year and ask them for their good will for the coming year. They would sing their praises and thank them for the harvest given to them in the past and pray that they would grant them protection and give them a bountiful harvest in the year to come.
In up-river Melanau towns such as Dalat and Medong, there are also all kinds of water sports including traditional canoe races with as many paddler as can fit into the boat and, in more modern times in the richer towns, power boat races. All the while they are accompanied by a larger boat containing a traditional gong orchestra.
Kaul as the Melanau New Year.
Bulan "Pengejin" (The month of the Spirits) is the first month of the Melanau Calendar (Bulan Melanau), which coincides with the end of the northeast monsoon season between March and April of the Gregorian calendar. For many societies the month January signifies a renewal of life. Hence the Spirit of celebration for the regeneration while discarding the old and worn out. On the contrary, the month January coincides with the eleventh month of melanau calendar called Bulan Pemalei (The month of Taboo.) This Month is to remind the tragic killing of a great shaman ("a bebayuh") in ancient times. Hence all activities such as Marriage, fishing, planting or any activities of livelihood are not allowed during this month. It is regarded as a month of ill fortune. Therefore, New Year’s Day on 1 January is actually celebrated on the Melanau month of ill fortune. The Melanau however celebrate their New Year on Bulan Pengejin (The month of the Spirits) which coincides with the month of March. Kaul Festival is also celebrated to welcome the New Year.
The Tibow.
The Tibow is a death-defying 20-foot high swing, in which youths dive from a high bamboo scaffolding and catch a swinging rope as it reaches the height of its arc. First one, then two and eventually eight young men hang in a clump from the giant swing as it soars above the beach. Pesta Kaul is a colorful festival with a flotilla of highly decorated boats, beach games and Melanau food. Traditionally, during the monsoon, the river mouths were closed.


Juguang Tower

The Juguang Tower () is a tower in Jincheng Township, Kinmen County, Fujian Province, Republic of China (Taiwan).
History.
The construction of the tower started in 1952 and was completed in the fall of 1953.
Architecture.
The tower ground covers an area of 6,612 m2. The tower was built with a traditional Chinese style with two cannons at the front of the tower, symbolizing the turbulent history of Kinmen. The architect who designed the tower is Sheng Xuie-hai (). It is a three-story building with a cultural gallery inside it displaying documents and materials about the history and current status of Kinmen.


Darda, Croatia

Darda is a village and a municipality just north of Osijek, Croatia. It is located across the Drava river in Baranja. The population of the village is 5,323, with a total of 6,908 people in the municipality (2011 census).
Name.
In Hungarian the town is known as "Dárda", in German as "Lanzenau", and in Serbian Cyrillic as Дарда. In Hungarian, a "dárda" (spear, lance) is made by ramming a dagger () into a long handle or pole. It was a military weapon used by the cavaliers and the infantry in the old times.
History.
It was first mentioned in 1280 as "Turda", later in 1282 as "Tharda", "Thorda", in 1290, 1299 as "Thorda", in 1332-1335 as "Turida", "Torda", later as (Kis-) és (Nagy-) Dárda, Dárda. During the Hungarian administration (13th-16th century), the area was part of the Baranya county. In the 16th-17th century, area was part of the Ottoman Empire and administratively belonged to the Sanjak of Mohaç. Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi in 1663 described Darda as an important market place with a strong fortress with towers. According to Çelebi, fortified part of the settlement had 50 houses and one mosque, while part of the settlement outside of the walls had one han and ten shops.
Since the end of the 17th century, area was part of the Habsburg Monarchy and administratively belonged to the Baranya county, which was part of the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary. Darda was administratively included into the municipality of Baranyavár (Branjin Vrh) and in 1850 offices of local administration of this municipality were moved to Darda. In the end of the 18th century, Darda was a multi-ethnic settlement, mainly populated by Croats and Germans. In 1910, population included Germans, Croats and Hungarians.
Since 1918, Darda part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamed to Yugoslavia). From 1918 to 1922, it was part of the Novi Sad county, from 1922 to 1929 part of the Bačka Oblast, and from 1929 to 1941 part of the Danube Banovina. In 1941 it was occupied and re-annexed by Hungary and was administratively re-included into Baranya county. It was returned to Yugoslav control in 1944 and was administratively part of Vojvodina until 1945, when it was transferred to the People's Republic of Croatia.
During the Croatian War of Independence (1991–1995), Darda was incorporated, along with some other towns, into the unrecognized breakaway Republic of Serbian Krajina. It was returned to Croatian control after the war, following the short period of UN administration (1996–1998).
Darda is underdeveloped municipality which is statistically classified as the First Category Area of Special State Concern by the Government of Croatia.
Geography.
The municipality of Darda includes following settlements:
Demographics.
Largest ethnic groups in the municipality are (census 2001):


List of placenames in the Province of Pomerania

The name "Pomerania" comes from Slavic po more, which means Land at the Sea.
These lists are based on the information found in "Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis für das Deutsche Reich auf Grund der Volkszählung 1939" and "Ortsnamenverzeichnis der Ortschaften jenseits von Oder und Neiße"
For a list of towns in the former Province of Pomerania, see
These lists include: name; county (Landkreis) in 1910; Regierungsbezirk (government region) in 1910; county (Landkreis) before 1945; county (Landkreis) before 1994; county (Landkreis) after 1994; town since (year); population in 1910; population in 2006; Polish name and administration if east of the Oder-Neisse line.
For all other municipalities, see
or
The lists include: name; Kreis (county, before 1945); Gemeinde (German municipality) today; Amt (German district) today; Landkreis (German county) today; Polish name today (if east of the Oder-Neisse line); Gmina (Polish municipality, if east of the Oder-Neisse line) today; Powiat (Polish county, if east of the Oder-Neisse line) today.


National Front (Belgium)

The National Democratie () is a francophone Belgian far-right political party. The party advocated a strong unitary Belgian nationalism, strongly opposed immigration, and reached out to Flemish voters.
The party's acting leader is Marco Santi.
In the 2003 federal election, it won one seat in the Chamber of Representatives, with 2% of the vote. It also had two seats in the Senate. A 2006 poll showed that it had the backing of about 9.4% of the Walloon voters. Despite this poll it won in the 10 June 2007 federal elections, 1 out of 150 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 1 out of 40 seats in the Senate.
Development.
The DN was established by Daniel Féret, a former member of Jeune Europe who subsequently was active with the populist . The party clashed with the Party of New Forces (PFN) from its foundation as Féret sought to distance his group from the far-right but despite his efforts a number of extremist activists soon joined the DN. The party's ideology soon became one of ultra-nationalism, xenophobia, racism and anti-Flemish sentiment, combined with a strong support for neo-liberal economics. They also look to their French namesake and followed many of their ideas, although the interest was not reciprocated as Jean-Marie Le Pen generally looked elsewhere in Belgium for allies, that is also the reason why the changed their name into National Democratie. In 1989 a number of PFN members switched to the FN due to internal difficulties in their party and as a result the FN again shifted policy, abandoning its earlier pro-NATO stance in favour opposition to both the USA and the Soviet Union.
After electing some local councillors in 1988 and 1989 the FN made a surprise breakthrough at the 1991 election by getting a member elected to parliament. The election caused a furore in Belgium and the other parties declared a Cordon sanitaire around the party. In response the FN adopted a more anti-establishment and anti-politics attitude, which struck a chord with some voters, resulting in the party sending a member to the European parliament in 1994 and returning two members of parliament in 1995.
Despite these successes the DN was in a state of turmoil due to personality clashes and internal ideological differences, precipitating a long court case between two factions, both claiming use of the FN name. With most of their elected representatives leaving the party, the FN appeared moribund until in 1997 "Agir", a far-right party with support in Liège, merged into them following internal difficulties of their own. With the influx of new members they were able to regroup for the 1999 elections, gaining a new member of the Senate and three members of the regional parliament.
Brussels Appeals Court conviction.
The party's original leader, Daniel Féret, was sentenced to 250 hours of community service on April 18, 2006, for the incitement of hatred, discrimination and segregation in the party's flyers and website. He is also barred from running for political office for 10 years. The webmaster of the National Front site was also convicted, and barred for 7 years. Their convictions were upheld by a superior court in October 2006.
2006 elections.
In Wallonia, members of the National Front could not run using the party name during the 2006 municipal elections, because the party failed to use the correct electoral procedure. In Brussels, the National Front ran under its acronym: FN.


Administrative divisions of Turkey

Turkey has a unitary structure in terms of administration and this aspect is one of the most important factors shaping the Turkish public administration. When three powers (executive, legislative and judiciary) are taken into account as the main functions of the state, local administrations have little power. Turkey is a highly centralized unitary system, and the provinces are subordinated to the centre. Local administrations were established to provide services in place and the government is represented by the governors and city governors. Besides the governors and the city governors, other senior public officials are also appointed by the central government rather than appointed by mayors or elected by constituents.
Within this unitary framework, Turkey is subdivided into 81 provinces for administrative purposes. Each province is divided into districts, for a total of 973 districts. Turkey is also subdivided into 7 regions and 21 subregions for geographic, demographic and economic purposes; this does not refer to an administrative division.
The largely centralized structure of decision-making in Ankara is often considered an impediment to good governance, and causes resentment in particular in ethnic minority regions. Steps towards decentralization since 2004 have proved to be a highly controversial topic in Turkey. Turkey is obligated under the European Charter of Local Self-Government to decentralize its administrative structure. A decentralization program for Turkey is an ongoing discussion in the country's academics, politics and the broader public.
Turkey is subdivided in a hierarchical manner to subdivisions;