title: The Andrews Sisters

paragraphs: The Andrews Sisters were an American singing group in the 1930s, the 1940s and the 1950s. They were from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their names were LaVerne (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), Maxene (January 3, 1916 – October 21, 1995) and Patty Andrews (February 16, 1918 – January 30, 2013). They broke up in 1967 after the death of LaVerne, but their music is still played over certain radio stations in the United States. The Andrews Sisters were notable for their song "The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy". That song was covered and recorded by multiple singers over the years.

paragraphs: The Andrews sisters were born in Minnesota, to a Greek father and Norwegian mother. They grew up in Minneapolis.

paragraphs: Maxene was married to Jack Kapp from 1941 until his death in 1949. They had two adopted children. Andrews died on October 21, 1995 in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, from a heart attack, aged 79.

paragraphs: LaVerne was married to Louis A. Roger from 1948 until her death in 1967. Andrews died on May 8, 1967 in Brentwood, California from cancer, aged 56.

paragraphs: Patty was married to Martin Melcher from 1947 until they divorced in 1950. Then she was married to Melvin W. Weschler from 1951 until his death in 2010. Patty was the last survivor of the group. She died on January 30, 2013 in her home in Northridge, California from natural causes, aged 94.


title: Intellectual disability

paragraphs: Intellectual disability is also called mental retardation, intellectual developmental disability, or general learning disability. It is an illness of the brain. Intellectual disability often starts when someone is very young.

paragraphs: To have an intellectual disability, a person must:

paragraphs: There are two major types of intellectual disability.

paragraphs: The first is "syndromic intellectual disability". This means that the person has a syndrome that causes intellectual disability, as well as medical issues and other problems. Down syndrome and fetal alcohol syndrome are two examples of syndromic intellectual disabilities.

paragraphs: The second is "non-syndromic intellectual disability". This means that the intellectual disability is not a part of a syndrome.

paragraphs: There are three levels of intellectual disability, based on how severe a person's disability is:

paragraphs: Mild intellectual disability may not be noticed until a child starts school. Moderate and severe intellectual disability can be seen before a child starts school.

paragraphs: People with syndromic intellectual disabilities may have a "typical look." For example, the picture on the right shows facial features that many people with fetal alcohol syndrome have. People with non-syndromic intellectual disability do not look any different than a person without a disability. The symptoms of intellectual disability are all behavioral.

paragraphs: People with intellectual disability may have some or all of these:

paragraphs: Most children with intellectual disabilities can learn. However, they usually will not learn things as fast as other children. They may need to be taught things in a certain way in order to learn them and remember them.

paragraphs: Intellectual disability is different from dementia. In dementia, people forget things, and they lose skills they once had. People with an intellectual disability never learn those skills.

paragraphs: Often, nobody can determine what caused a child's intellectual disability. This happens in between one-third and one-half of all cases of intellectual disability.

paragraphs: The top three most common causes of intellectual disability are Down syndrome, Velocardiofacial syndrome, and Fetal alcohol syndrome.

paragraphs: Genetic disorders are caused by problems with a child's genes. Children are born with these disorders.

paragraphs: Substances called teratogens can prevent a fetus from developing normally. If a teratogen enters a woman's body while she is pregnant, it can cause developmental problems, like intellectual disabilities.

paragraphs: Examples of teratogens that can cause intellectual disabilities include:

paragraphs: For example, if a child does not get enough oxygen during birth, it can hurt the brain and lead to intellectual disability later.

paragraphs: Some childhood illnesses, like measles and whooping cough, can cause intellectual disability if not treated properly. So can infections that affect the brain, like meningitis and viral encephalitis.

paragraphs: Brain injuries can cause intellectual disability at any age.

paragraphs: A severe lack of nutrition can lead to intellectual disability over time.

paragraphs: Iodine deficiency (not having enough iodine in the body) can lead to several medical issues, including intellectual disability. The most common way to prevent this is by adding iodine to salt. This is a much more common problem in developing countries.

paragraphs: In the DSM, there are three requirements a person has to meet in order to be diagnosed with an intellectual disability.

paragraphs: First, the person must have a low intelligence quotient (IQ). IQ is measured with an IQ test.

paragraphs: If the person has an IQ of below 70, they "may" have an intellectual disability. However, they must still meet the other two requirements to be diagnosed with an intellectual disability.

paragraphs: Second, to qualify for an intellectual disability, a person must have trouble in more than one area of normal daily activities. These activities are often called "adaptive behaviors" or "activities of daily living (ADLs)." Some examples of adaptive behavior are:

paragraphs: To see if a child is having trouble with these, a doctor will talk to people who know the child, and will watch the child's behavior.

paragraphs: The final requirement is that the symptoms of intellectual disability have to begin in childhood or adolescence. If the issues do not start at a young age, they are probably caused by a different illness of the brain.

paragraphs: There is currently no cure for intellectual disability. Those affected can learn to cope and do many things, if they get enough support and are taught well. There are many places around the world for someone with intellectual disability to get help. These places can take care of people with intellectual disabilities, as well as help them find jobs, find a house of their own, or help them take care of their children.

paragraphs: There are some different ways for people with intellectual disability and those around them to learn how to help the person with the disability. One kind is psychosocial treatment. This is meant for very young children. Psychosocial treatment helps them learn basic skills and increase learning over their lifetime. Another kind is behavioral treatment. This is meant to help young people, but can be used for adults as well. Behavior treatment helps teach language skills as well as social skills like sharing or following instructions. A third kind of help is cognitive-behavioral treatment. This is a combination of the previous two treatments. Cognitive-behavioral therapy helps children with intellectual disability both learn skills and learn how to plan ahead. Another type of help a person with intellectual disability can get is family-oriented help. Family-oriented help focuses on teaching family members how to help the person in their family with intellectual disability.

paragraphs: Many people with an intellectual disability have other health problems, for which they will be given specific drugs. As an example, autistic children with developmental delay may use anti-psychotics or mood stabilizers to help with behavior. Giving drugs to intellectually disabled people needs to be monitored; side-effects often occur, and are wrongly diagnosed as problems with behavior or as psychiatric problems.

paragraphs: People have had intellectual disability throughout history. People with intellectual disability have had a lot of trouble in the past. The oldest idea of where intellectual disability came from was in ancient Greece. Hippocrates thought that intellectual disability was caused by an issue with the four humors. For several hundred years in Europe, churches took care of people with intellectual disabilities. In the 17th century, Thomas Willis suggested that intellectual disability was a disease caused by issues with the structure of the brain. In the 18th and 19th centuries, people with intellectual disabilities were put in asylums. The asylums would give them basics like food and shelter, but were not always good to the people in them. In the early 20th century, people with intellectual disability were made to not be able to have children and could not marry. It was thought that this would reduce the amount of intellectual disabilities in the future. This is not done anymore because it does not follow the idea of human rights.

paragraphs: In the 1950s, a group called the Civitans started to help people with intellectual disability. In the '70s, many people wanted to remove the stigma around people with intellectual disability. Now, people with intellectual disability are treated as people with something to be fixed instead of less than “normal” people. There are also fewer people with intellectual disability being sent to asylums.

paragraphs: Words that were used to describe people with an intellectual disability have changed a lot. The most common words used today are “special”, “challenged”, "learning disabled" and “developmentally delayed”. Some previous words to describe people with intellectual disability are “cretin”, “idiot”, “imbecile”, “moron”, and “retarded”, all of which are now regarded as highly insulting.

paragraphs: People with intellectual disability are often treated badly by people without disabilities. They are often not allowed to make choices about their own lives and are not considered a full part of society. Their abusers are often people who are supposed to care for them. 39-83% of women with intellectual disability will be sexually abused before they are 18 years old.

paragraphs: The dignity and human rights of people with intellectual disability are protected by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as well as other disabilities and equally like other persons without disabilities.


title: Selenium tetrachloride

paragraphs: Selenium tetrachloride, also selenious chloride, selenous chloride, or selenium(IV) chloride, is a chemical compound. Its chemical formula is SeCl. It contains selenium in its +4 oxidation state. It also contains chloride ions.

paragraphs: Selenium tetrachloride is a yellow or white solid. It evaporates easily. It reacts with water to make hydrochloric acid and selenous acid. It reacts with selenium dioxide to make selenium oxychloride, a mixture of selenium dioxide and selenium tetrachloride bonded together.

paragraphs: It is made by heating a mixture of selenium and chlorine. The selenium tetrachloride escapes as a gas. This can be used to purify selenium. Impure selenium can be placed in the flask, reacted with chlorine. Only selenium tetrachloride escapes. This is reduced to selenium again, making pure selenium.

paragraphs: It is used to purify selenium. It is used to make other selenium compounds.


title: Selenium disulfide

paragraphs: Selenium disulfide, also known as selenious disulfide, selenous disulfide, or selenium(IV) disulfide is a chemical compound. Its formula should be SeS. It contains selenium in its +4 oxidation state. It also contains sulfide ions.

paragraphs: Selenium sulfide is a poorly known chemical compound. Sometimes it has more selenium, sometimes it has more sulfur. It is an orange solid.

paragraphs: Selenium sulfide can be made by heating selenium and sulfur.

paragraphs: It is used to kill fungi that make dandruff in hair. It can also be used to treat fungal (from fungi) skin infections.


title: Gaius Cassius Longinus

paragraphs: Gaius Cassius Longinus (before 85 BC – October 42 BC) was a Roman Senator, a leader of the plot to kill Julius Caesar, and the brother in-law of Brutus.

paragraphs: Little is known of Gaius Cassius's early life. He studied philosophy at Rhodes and became fluent in Greek. He was married to Tertulla, who was a half-sister of his co-conspirator, Brutus. They had one son.

paragraphs: Cassius's first office was as quaestor under Marcus Licinius Crassus in 53 BC, and he proved a good military leader. He travelled with Crassus to the province of Syria, and attempted to dissuade him from attacking Parthia, suggesting that they secure a base at the Euphrates.

paragraphs: Crassus ignored Cassius and led the army into the Battle of Carrhae, during which he also ignored Cassius' plans for strengthening the Roman line. The result was the most famous Roman rout since the Second Punic War.

paragraphs: Cassius managed to save the remnants of the army with the help of Crassus' legate Gaius Octavius. Crassus was killed, but Cassius managed to escape with 500 cavalry and meet up with the surviving legionaries.

paragraphs: For two years afterwards, Cassius governed the province of Syria as Proquaestor, defending the border against Parthian incursions until the new proconsul arrived. The last incursion resulted in the death of the Parthian commander Osaces, and split the Parthian troops. Cicero, then governor of Cilicia, sent Cassius a note of congratulations for the victory.

paragraphs: Cassius returned to Rome two years later. The outbreak of the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great saved Cassius from being brought to trial by his enemies for extortion in Syria. Cassius was elected Tribune of the Plebs in 49 BC, and threw in his lot with Pompey, fleeing Italy as Caesar crossed the Rubicon. He met Pompey in Greece, and was made commander of his fleet.

paragraphs: In 48 BC, Cassius sailed his ships to Sicilia where he attacked and burned a large part of Caesar's navy. He then proceeded to harass ships off the Italian coast. News of Pompey's defeat at the Battle of Pharsalus caused Cassius to head for the Hellespont. Cassius was overtaken by Caesar en route, and was forced to surrender unconditionally.

paragraphs: Caesar made Cassius a legate, employing him in the North Africa, but Cassius refused to join in the fight against Cato and Scipio in Africa, choosing instead to retire to Rome.

paragraphs: Cassius spent the next two years without office, and apparently tightened his friendship with Cicero. In 44 BC he became "praetor peregrinus" with the promise of the Syrian province for the ensuing year. The appointment of his junior, Brutus, as "praetor urbanus" deeply offended him.

paragraphs: Although Cassius was "the moving spirit" in the plot against Caesar, winning over the chief assassins, Brutus became their leader. On the Ides of March, 44 BC, Cassius urged on his fellow liberators and struck Caesar in the face. He and his fellow conspirators referred to themselves as the "Liberators" "(Liberatores)".

paragraphs: Although they succeeded in assassinating Caesar, the celebration was short-lived. Mark Antony seized power and turned the public against them. In letters written during 44 BC, Cicero frequently complains that Rome was still subjected to tyranny, because the "Liberators" had failed to kill Antony. According to some accounts, Cassius had wanted to kill Antony at the same time as Caesar, but was dissuaded by Brutus.

paragraphs: Cassius's reputation in the East made it easy to amass an army from other governors in the area. By this point the Senate had split with Antony and cast its lot with Cassius, making him as governor of Syria. Cassius was now secure enough to march on Egypt, but on the formation of the triumvirate, Brutus requested his assistance. Cassius quickly joined Brutus in Smyrna with most of his army, leaving his nephew behind to govern Syria.

paragraphs: The conspirators decided to attack the triumviri’s allies in Asia. Cassius set upon and sacked Rhodes, while Brutus did the same to Lycia. They regrouped the following year in Sardis, where their armies proclaimed them 'emperor'. They crossed the Hellespont, marched through Thrace, and encamped near Philippi in Macedon.

paragraphs: Octavian (later known as Augustus) and Mark Antony soon arrived. Cassius planned to starve them out, by using his superior position in the country. However, they were forced into a pair of battles by Antony, in the Battle of Philippi. Brutus was successful against Octavian, and took his camp. Cassius, however, was defeated and overrun by Antony. Cassius, unaware of Brutus' victory, committed suicide. He was mourned by Brutus as "the Last of the Romans". Brutus, like Octavian, was not an experienced military commander and, ten days later, Antony completed the victory. Brutus also committed suicide.

paragraphs: "Among that select band of philosophers who have managed to change the world," writes David Sedley, "it would be hard to find a pair with a higher public profile than Brutus and Cassius — brothers-in-law, fellow-assassins, and Shakespearian heroes," adding that "it may not even be widely known that they "were" philosophers".

paragraphs: Cassius converted to the school of thought founded by Epicurus. Arnaldo Momigliano called Cassius' conversion a "conspicuous date in the history of Roman Epicureanism," a choice made not to enjoy the pleasures of the Garden, but to provide a philosophical justification for assassinating a tyrant.

paragraphs: The inconsistencies between traditional Epicureanism and an active approach to securing freedom could not be resolved, and during the Empire, the philosophy of political opposition tended to be Stoic. This circumstance, Momigliano argues, helps explain why historians of the Imperial era found Cassius more difficult to understand than Brutus, and less admirable.

paragraphs: In Dante's "Inferno", Cassius is one of three people deemed sinful enough to be chewed in one of the three mouths of Satan, in the very center of Hell, for all eternity, as a punishment for killing Julius Caesar. The other two are Brutus, his fellow conspirator, and Judas Iscariot, the Biblical betrayer of Jesus Christ. (Canto XXXIV) In Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar" he is depicted as a ruthless manipulator. Caesar says of him, "Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much: such men are dangerous". (I. ii. 190-195)


title: Braided river

paragraphs: A braided river is a network of small channels separated by islands that are often not fixed. They can be found in places where the river carries a lot of sediment, or when it slows down and spreads out, like in a river delta.

paragraphs: Large braided river systems are found in only a few places around the world:

paragraphs: All these regions contain young mountains that face quick erosion.

paragraphs: Europe contains two braided rivers: the Narew, in Poland and Belarus, and the Tagliamento in northeastern Italy.


title: Marcus Junius Brutus

paragraphs: Marcus Junius Brutus (early June 85 BC – late October 42 BC), usually referred to as Brutus, was a politician of the late Roman Republic. He is best known for his leading role in the assassination of Julius Caesar.

paragraphs: Brutus' father was killed by Pompey the Great after he had taken part in the rebellion of Lepidus. His mother was the half-sister of Cato the Younger, and later became Julius Caesar's mistress. Some sources refer to the possibility of Caesar being his real father. His uncle adopted him in about 59 BC.

paragraphs: Brutus held his uncle in high regard. His political career began when he became an assistant to Cato, during his governorship of Cyprus. During this time, Brutus enriched himself by lending money at high rates of interest. He returned to Rome a rich man, where he married Claudia Pulchra. From his first appearance in the Senate, Brutus aligned with the Optimates. This was the conservative faction against the First Triumvirate of Marcus Licinius Crassus, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus and Gaius Julius Caesar.

paragraphs: When civil war broke out in 49 BC between Pompey and Caesar, Brutus followed his old enemy and present leader of the Optimates, Pompey. When the Battle of Pharsalus began, Caesar ordered his officers to take him prisoner if he gave himself up voluntarily, and if he persisted in fighting against capture, to let him alone and do him no violence.

paragraphs: After the disaster of the Battle of Pharsalus, Brutus wrote to Caesar with apologies and Caesar immediately forgave him. Caesar then accepted him into his inner circle and made him governor of Gaul when he left for Africa in pursuit of Cato and Scipio. In 45 BC, Caesar nominated Brutus to serve as urban praetor for the following year.

paragraphs: Also, in June 45 BC, Brutus divorced his wife and married his first cousin, Porcia Catonis, Cato's daughter. According to Cicero the marriage caused a semi-scandal as Brutus failed to state a valid reason for his divorce from Claudia, except that he wished to marry Porcia. The marriage also caused a rift between Brutus and his mother, who resented the affection Brutus had for Porcia.

paragraphs: Around this time, many senators began to fear Caesar's growing power after his appointment as Dictator for life. Brutus was persuaded into joining the conspiracy against Caesar. Eventually, Brutus decided to take action against Caesar. His wife was the only woman who knew about the plot.

paragraphs: The conspirators planned to kill Caesar on the Ides of March (March 15) that same year. On that day, Caesar was delayed going to the Senate because his wife tried to convince him not to go. The conspirators feared the plot had been found out. Brutus persisted, however, waiting for Caesar at the Senate, and allegedly still chose to remain even when a messenger brought him news that would otherwise have caused him to leave. When Caesar finally did come to the Senate, they attacked him. The conspirators attacked in such numbers that they even wounded one another. Brutus is said to have been wounded in the hand.

paragraphs: After the assassination, the Senate passed an amnesty on the assassins. This amnesty was proposed by Caesar's friend and co-consul Mark Antony. Nonetheless, uproar among the people caused Brutus and the conspirators to leave Rome. Brutus settled in Crete from 44 to 42 BC.

paragraphs: In 43 BC, after Octavian received his consulship from the Senate, one of his first actions was to have the people that had assassinated Julius Caesar declared murderers and enemies of the state. Cicero, angry at Octavian, wrote a letter to Brutus explaining that the forces of Octavian and Mark Antony were divided. Antony had laid siege to the province of Gaul, where he wanted the governorship. In response to this siege, Octavian rallied his troops and fought a series of battles in which Antony was defeated. Upon hearing that neither Antonius nor Octavian had an army big enough to defend Rome, Brutus rallied his troops, which totalled about 17 legions.

paragraphs: When Octavian heard that Brutus was on his way to Rome, he made peace with Antony. Their armies, which together totaled about 19 legions, marched to meet Brutus and Cassius. The two sides met in two engagements known as the Battle of Philippi. The first was fought on 3 October 42 BC, in which Brutus defeated Octavian's forces. Cassius was defeated by Antony, and committed suicide, because he thought Brutus had also failed.

paragraphs: The second engagement was fought on 23 October 42 BC and ended in Brutus' defeat. After the defeat, he fled into the nearby hills with only about four legions. Knowing his army had been defeated and that he would be captured, Brutus committed suicide.

paragraphs: Antony, as a show of respect, ordered Brutus' body to be wrapped in his most expensive purple mantle, which was later stolen. Antony had the thief executed. Brutus was cremated, and his ashes were sent to his mother.

paragraphs: The well-known phrase "Et tu, Brute?" ("And you, Brutus?") is famous as Caesar's last utterance in Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar". The reason for the remark was that Caesar had thought him a friend.


title: Khaled Hosseini

paragraphs: Khaled Hosseini is an writer who was born in Afghanistan but came to the United States when he was fifteen years old. He is best known for his first novel, "The Kite Runner", which was first published in 2003. His second novel was published in 2007. In 2013 "And the Mountains Echoed" was published.


title: Mohsin Hamid

paragraphs: Mohsin Hamid is a writer from Pakistan. He wrote some famous novels like "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" and "Moth Smoke".


title: Police Camera Action!

paragraphs: Police Camera Action! is a documentary television show presented by Gethin Jones and previously presented by Adrian Simpson and Alastair Stewart. Its format is imposing sanctions on criminals who commit offences while filming them on camera in a documentary/reality TV fashion. It aired from 1994 to 2010. It is based and mainly aired in the United Kingdom.


title: Panchayati raj

paragraphs: The pachayati raj is a political system of decentralisation. It is mostly used in South Asia, in the countries India, Pakistan and Nepal. The idea behind it is to give power to local people.


title: Indian rupee

paragraphs: The Indian rupee () (sign: ; code: INR) is the official currency of the Republic of India. The currency is issued and controlled by the Reserve Bank of India. During the past 15 years, the value has ranged from $1 USD = 35–65 INR or 1 euro = 44–69 INR (see below: "Convertibility").

paragraphs: The modern rupee is sub-divided into 100 "paise" (singular "paisa"). The coins have values and of 5, 10, 20, 25 and 50 paise, as well as 1, 2, 5 and 10 rupees. The bank notes are available in values of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 2000 rupees.

paragraphs: The Indian rupee symbol () is an amalgam of both the Devanagari consonant "र" (Ra) and the Latin letter "R" without the vertical bar. The design was presented to the public by the government of India on 15 July 2010.

paragraphs: The current abbreviation "INR" started in July 2010. Until then, the abbreviation "Rs" (or "Re") was used.

paragraphs: The word "rupee" originates from the Sanskrit word रौप्य(raupya) meaning "silver" or "made of silver". Many Indian languages use this root word, for example, రూపాయి (rūpāyi) in Telugu, ரூபாய் (rūbāi) in Tamil, रुपया (rupayā) in Hindi, રૂપિયો (rupiyo) in Gujarati, ರೂಪಾಯಿ (rūpāyi) in Kannada and Tulu, രൂപ (rūpā) in Malayalam and रुपये (rupaye) in Marathi.

paragraphs: However, in West Bengal, Tripura, Mizoram, Odisha, and Assam, the Indian rupee is officially known by names derived from the Sanskrit word टङ्क (Tanka) which means money. The rupee is called টাকা (Taka) in Bengali, টকা (tôka) in Assamese and ଟଙ୍କା (Tanka) in Odia and is written as such on Indian banknotes.

paragraphs: On March 5, 2009, the Government of India announced a contest to create a symbol for the rupee. During the 2010 Union budget of India, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee mentioned that the proposed symbol would reflect and capture the Indian ethos and culture. Five symbols were shortlisted, and the Cabinet selected the definitive symbol created by D. Udaya Kumar on July 15, 2010. The symbol is derived from a combination of the Devanagari letter ‘र’ and English letter ‘R’. The parallel lines at the top (with white space between them) make an allusion to the tricolor and also depict an equality sign which symbolizes the nation's desire to reduce economic disparity. The Indian government has plans to adopt the symbol within six months in the country and globally within 18 to 24 months. Before the adoption of the symbol, the most commonly used symbols for the rupee were Rs, Re or if the text was in an Indian language, then an appropriate abbreviation in that language.

paragraphs: In Indian English, values at or above a hundred thousand Indian rupees are counted in terms of lakhs (one lakh = hundred thousand) and crores (one crore = ten million). For example, the amount 3,25,84,729.25 is read as three crores, twenty-five lakhs, eighty-four thousand, seven hundred and twenty-nine rupees and twenty-five paise. The use of million or billion, as is standard in American or British English, is not very common.

paragraphs: India was one of the earliest issuers of coins (circa 6th century BC). The first "rupee" is believed to have been introduced by Sher Shah Suri (1486–1545), based on a ratio of 40 copper pieces (paisa) per rupee. Among the earliest issues of paper rupees were those by the "Bank of Hindustan" (1770–1832), the "General Bank of Bengal and Bihar" (1773–75, established by Warren Hastings) and the "Bengal Bank" (1784–91), amongst others. Until 1815, the Madras Presidency also issued a currency based on the fanam, with 12 fanams equal to the rupee.

paragraphs: Historically, the rupee, derived from the Sanskrit word raupya, which means "silver", was a silver coin. This had severe consequences in the nineteenth century, when the strongest economies in the world were on the gold standard. The discovery of vast quantities of silver in the U.S. and various European colonies resulted in a decline in the relative value of silver to gold. Suddenly the standard currency of India could not buy as much from the outside world. This event was known as "the fall of the rupee".

paragraphs: India was not affected by the imperial order-in-council of 1825 that attempted to introduce the British sterling coinage to the British colonies. British India at that time was controlled by the British East India Company. The silver rupee continued as the currency of India throughout the entire period of the British Raj and beyond. In 1835, British India set itself firmly upon a mono-metallic silver standard based on the rupee. His decision was influenced by a letter, written in the year 1805, by Lord Liverpool that extolled the virtues of mono-metallism.

paragraphs: Following the Indian Mutiny in 1857, the British government took direct control of British India. Since 1851, gold sovereigns were being produced in large numbers at the Royal Mint branch in Sydney, New South Wales. In the year 1864 in an attempt to make the British gold sovereign become the 'imperial coin', the treasuries in Bombay and Calcutta were instructed to receive gold sovereigns. These gold sovereigns however never left the vaults. As was realized in the previous decade in Canada and the next year in Hong Kong, existing habits are not easy to replace. And just as the British government had finally given up any hopes of replacing the rupee in India with the pound sterling, they simultaneously realized, and for the same reasons, that they could not easily replace the silver dollar in the Straits Settlements with the Indian rupee, as had been the desire of the British East India Company.

paragraphs: Since the great silver crisis of 1873, a growing number of nations had been adopting the gold standard. In 1898, following the recommendations of the Indian Currency Committee, British India officially adopted the gold exchange standard by pegging the rupee to the British pound sterling at a fixed value of 1 shilling 4 pence (i.e., 15 rupees = 1 pound). In 1920, the actual silver value of the rupee was increased in value to 2 shillings (10 rupees = 1 pound). In British East Africa at this time, the decision was made to replace the rupee with a florin. No such opportunity was, however, taken in British India.

paragraphs: In 1927, the peg was once more reduced, this time to 18 pence (13⅓ rupees = 1 pound). This peg was maintained until 1966, when the rupee was devalued and pegged to the U.S. dollar at a rate of 7.5 rupees = 1 dollar (at the time, the rupee became equal to 11.4 British pence). This peg lasted until the U.S. dollar devalued in 1971.

paragraphs: The Indian rupee replaced the Danish Indian rupee in 1845, the French Indian rupee in 1954 and the Portuguese Indian escudo in 1961. Following independence in 1947, the Indian rupee replaced all the currencies of the previously autonomous states. Some of these states had issued rupees equal to those issued by the British (such as the Travancore rupee). Other currencies included the Hyderabad rupee and the Kutch kori. The nominal values during British rule (and the first decade of independence) were:

paragraphs: In 1957, decimalisation occurred, and the rupee was divided into 100 "naye paise" (Hindi for "new paise"). In 1964, the initial "naye" was dropped. Many still refer to 25, 50 and 75 paise as 4, 8 and 12 annas, respectively, not unlike the usage of "bit" in American English for ⅛ dollar.

paragraphs: In East Africa, Arabia, and Mesopotamia, the Rupee and its related coins were current at various times. The usage of the Rupee in East Africa extended from Somalia in the north, to as far south as Natal. In Mozambique, the British India rupees were overstamped. In Kenya, the British East Africa Company minted the rupee and its fractions as well as pice. The rise in the price of silver, immediately after the First World War, caused the rupee to rise in value to two shillings sterling. In 1920 in British East Africa, the opportunity was then taken to introduce a new florin coin, hence bringing the currency into line with sterling. Shortly after that, the Florin was split into two East African shillings. This assimilation to sterling did not however happen in British India itself. In Somalia the Italian colonial authority minted 'rupia' to exactly the same standard, and called the pice 'besa'.

paragraphs: The Straits Settlements were originally an outlier of the British East India Company. The Spanish dollar had already taken hold in the Straits Settlements by the time the British arrived in the nineteenth century, however, the East India Company tried to introduce the rupee in its place. These attempts were resisted by the locals, and by 1867 when the British government took over direct control of the Straits Settlements from the East India Company, attempts to introduce the rupee were finally abandoned.

paragraphs: With Partition, the Pakistani rupee came into existence, initially using Indian coins and Indian currency notes simply overstamped with "Pakistan". In previous times, the Indian rupee was an official currency of other countries, including Aden, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the Trucial States, Kenya, Tanganyika, Uganda, the Seychelles, and Mauritius.

paragraphs: The Indian government introduced the Gulf rupee, also known as the Persian Gulf rupee (XPGR), as a replacement for the Indian rupee for circulation exclusively outside the country with the Reserve Bank of India [Amendment] Act, 1 May 1959. This creation of a separate currency was an attempt to reduce the strain put on India's foreign reserves by gold smuggling. After India devalued the rupee on 6 June 1966, those countries still using it – Oman, Qatar, and the Trucial States (which became the United Arab Emirates in 1971) – replaced the Gulf rupee with their own currencies. Kuwait and Bahrain had already done so in 1961 and 1965 respectively.

paragraphs: The Bhutanese ngultrum is pegged at par with the Indian rupee, and both currencies are accepted in Bhutan. The Indian rupee is also accepted in towns in Nepal which lie near the border with India. However, the Indian Rupee denominations of 500 and 1000 are banned in Nepal.

paragraphs: Officially, the Indian rupee has a market-set exchange rate. However, the RBI trades actively in the USD/INR currency market to impact effective exchange rates. Thus, the currency regime in place for the Indian rupee with respect to the US dollar is a "de facto" controlled exchange rate. This is sometimes called a "managed" float. Other rates such as the EUR/INR and INR/JPY have volatilities that are typical of floating exchange rates. It should be noted, however, that unlike China, successive administrations (through RBI, the central bank) have not followed a policy of "pegging" the INR to a specific foreign currency at a particular exchange rate. RBI intervention in currency markets is solely to deliver low "volatility" in the exchange rates, and not to take a "view" on the rate or direction of the Indian rupee in relation to other currencies.

paragraphs: Also affecting convertibility is a series of customs regulations restricting the import and export of rupees. Legally, foreign nationals are forbidden from importing or exporting rupees, while Indian nationals can import and export only up to 5000 rupees at a time, and the possession of 500 and 1000 rupee notes in Nepal is prohibited.

paragraphs: RBI also exercises a system of capital controls in addition to the intervention (through active trading) in the currency markets. On the current account, there are no currency conversion restrictions hindering buying or selling foreign exchange (though trade barriers do exist). On the capital account, foreign institutional investors have convertibility to bring money in and out of the country and buy securities (subject to certain quantitative restrictions). Local firms are able to take capital out of the country in order to expand globally. But local households are restricted in their ability to do global diversification. However, owing to an enormous expansion of the current account and the capital account, India is increasingly moving towards "de facto" full convertibility.

paragraphs: There is some confusion regarding the interchange of the currency with gold, but the system that India follows is that money cannot be exchanged for gold, in any circumstances or any situation. Money cannot be changed into gold by the RBI. This is because it will become difficult to handle it. India follows the same gold-interchange principle as Great Britain and America.


title: ISO 4217

paragraphs: ISO 4217 is the international standard describing three-letter codes (also known as the currency code) to define the names of currencies, as established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The ISO 4217 code list is the common way in banking and business, all over the world, for defining different currencies. In many countries, the codes for the more common currencies are so well-known, by the general public, that exchange rates written in newspapers or posted in banks use only those codes to define the different currencies, instead of translated currency names or currency symbols. ISO 4217 codes are used on airline tickets and international train tickets to remove any uncertainty about the price.

paragraphs: The first two letters of the code are the two letters of ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes (which are also used as the basis for national top-level domains on the Internet). The third letter is usually the initial of the currency itself. So Japan's currency code is JPY, "JP" for Japan and "Y" for yen. This eliminates the problem caused by the names "dollar, franc" and "pound" being used in dozens of different countries, each having significantly differing values. Also, if a currency is revalued, the currency code's last letter is changed to distinguish it from the old currency. In some cases, the third letter is the initial for "new" in that country's language, to distinguish it from an older currency that was revalued; the code sometimes outlasts the usage of the term "new" itself (for example, the code for the Mexican peso is MXN). Other changes can be seen, however; the Russian ruble, for example, changed from RUR to RUB, where the B comes from the third letter in the word "ruble".

paragraphs: There is also a three-digit code number assigned to each currency, in the same manner as there is also a three-digit code number assigned to each country as part of ISO 3166. This numeric code is usually the same as the ISO 3166-1 numeric code. For example, USD (United States dollar) has code 840 which is also the numeric code for the US (United States).

paragraphs: The standard also defines the relationship between the major currency unit and any minor currency unit. Often, the minor currency unit has a value that is 1/100 of the major unit, but 1/1000 is also common. Some currencies do not have any minor currency unit at all. In others, the major currency unit has so little value that the minor unit is no longer generally used (e.g. the Japanese "sen", 1/100th of a yen). This is indicated in the standard by the currency exponent. For example, USD has exponent 2, while JPY has exponent 0. Mauritania does not use a decimal division of units, setting 1 ouguiya (UM) = 5 khoums, and Madagascar has 1 ariary = 5 iraimbilanja.

paragraphs: ISO 4217 includes codes not only for currencies, but also for precious metals (gold, silver, palladium and platinum; by definition expressed per one troy ounce, as compared to "1 USD") and certain other entities used in international finance, e.g. Special Drawing Rights. There are also special codes allocated for testing purposes (XTS), and to indicate no currency transactions (XXX). These codes all begin with the letter "X". The precious metals use "X" plus the metal's chemical symbol; silver, for example, is XAG. ISO 3166 never assigns country codes beginning with "X", these codes being assigned for privately customized use only (reserved, never for official codes)—for instance, the ISO 3166-based NATO country codes (STANAG 1059, 9 edition) use "X" codes for imaginary exercise countries ranging from XXB for "Brownland" to XXR for "Redland", as well as for major commands such as XXE for SHAPE or XXS for SACLANT. Consequently, ISO 4217 can use "X" codes for non-country-specific currencies without risk of clashing with future country codes.

paragraphs: Supranational currencies, such as the East Caribbean dollar, the CFP franc, the CFA franc BEAC and the CFA franc BCEAO are normally also represented by codes beginning with an "X". The euro is represented by the code EUR (EU is included in the ISO 3166-1 reserved codes list to represent the European Union). The predecessor to the euro, the European Currency Unit (ECU), had the code XEU.

paragraphs: In 1973, the ISO Technical Committee 68 decided to develop codes for the representation of currencies and funds for use in any application of trade, commerce or banking. At the 17th session (February 1978) of the related UN/ECE Group of Experts agreed that the three-letter alphabetic codes for International Standard ISO 4217, "Codes for the representation of currencies and funds", would be suitable for use in international trade.

paragraphs: Over time, new currencies are created and old currencies are discontinued. Frequently, these changes are due to new governments (through war or a new constitution), treaties between countries standardizing on a currency, or revaluation of the currency due to excessive inflation. As a result, the list of codes must be updated from time to time. The ISO 4217 maintenance agency (MA), SIX Interbank Clearing, is responsible for maintaining the list of codes.

paragraphs: The following is a list of active codes of official ISO 4217 currency names.

paragraphs: The following is a list of active, unofficial codes that emulate the ISO 4217 format.

paragraphs: The US dollar actually has three codes assigned: USD, USS (same day) and USN (next day). According to UN/CEFACT recommendation 9, paragraphs 8-9 ECE/TRADE/203, 1996, available online:

paragraphs: A number of territories are not included in ISO 4217, because their currencies are: (a) not "per se" an independent currency but a variant of another currency, (b) a legal tender only issued as commemorative banknotes and/or coinage, or (c) a currency of an unrecognized or partially recognized state. These currencies are:

paragraphs: The following non-ISO codes are, however, sometimes used commercially:

paragraphs: A number of currencies were official ISO 4217 currency codes and currency names until their replacement by the euro or other currencies.

paragraphs: Note that the currency names used below may not match the currency names used in the ISO standard itself, but the codes do match.


title: Calcium nitride

paragraphs: Calcium nitride is a chemical compound. Its chemical formula is CaN. It contains calcium and nitride ions.

paragraphs: It is a red-brown solid. It reacts with water to make calcium hydroxide and ammonia. It reacts with hydrogen to make calcium hydride and calcium amide.

paragraphs: It is made by burning calcium in nitrogen. It is also made when calcium burns in air.

paragraphs: It can be used as a source of the reactive nitride ion.


title: Uthman ibn Affan

paragraphs: Uthman ibn Affan () was the third ruler of the Muslim Empire and one of the four righteous caliphs of Sunni Islam. Uthman belonged to a noble family of Ummayyah, branch of the Quraish in Makkah. Uthman was one of the very few who was literate. When he became older, he started a business in cloth, which made him very rich.

paragraphs: He was born in about the year 583 and was ruler for 12 years. During his time as ruler he conquered Khurasan and the regions of the west of the Arabian Peninsula. He also united the Muslim upon one uniform version of the Quran. He was well known for marrying two of Muhammad's daughters, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum, both at different times. For this, he became known as "Dhu al-Nurayn", the "Possessor of Two Lights". He participated in both immigrations, first to Ethiopia and then to Medina.

paragraphs: He was attacked while in his house, although he did not defend himself out of fear of further trouble. He was killed while reading the Qur'an by Sudaan ibn Hamran on Friday, June 17, 656. He died aged 72-73 years.


title: Calcium permanganate

paragraphs: Calcium permanganate is a chemical compound. Its chemical formula is Ca(MnO). It contains calcium and permanganate ions.

paragraphs: Calcium permanganate is a dark purple solid. It is a powerful oxidizing agent. It is similar to potassium permanganate. It can catch some organic chemicals like alcohol on fire. It can cause an explosion when mixed with sulfuric acid. This is because manganese(VII) oxide.

paragraphs: It can be made by calcium oxide with manganese(IV) oxide and calcium nitrate.

paragraphs: It might whiten teeth. It can be used as an oxidizing agent, although potassium permanganate is more common.


title: Calcium nitrate

paragraphs: Calcium nitrate, also known as Norwegian saltpeter, is a chemical compound. Its chemical formula is Ca(NO). It contains calcium and nitrate ions.

paragraphs: Calcium nitrate is a colorless solid. It is an oxidizing agent. It absorbs water from the air. It decomposes to make nitrogen dioxide and calcium oxide when heated.

paragraphs: Calcium nitrate is made by reacting calcium hydroxide or calcium carbonate with nitric acid. It is made when nitric acid reacts with calcium phosphate. It can be made by reacting ammonium nitrate and calcium hydroxide.

paragraphs: Calcium nitrate is used in fertilizers to add nitrogen to the soil. It can be complexed with urea to make a different nitrogen fertilizer.


title: Bray Wyatt

paragraphs: Windham Lawrence Rotunda (born May 23, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently wrestling in WWE under the ring name Bray Wyatt. He was known as the leader of a stable with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan known as The Wyatt Family. Daniel Bryan was also a member for a short time before turning against the stable.

paragraphs: He first wrestled in WWE from 2009 to 2011 where he competed under the name Husky Harris and was a part of the stable, The Nexus. He competed on the 2nd season of WWE NXT but was eliminated 5th. Rotunda stayed in WWE's developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), and made his debut as Bray Wyatt in FCW in April 2012. He stayed in FCW through its name change to NXT Wrestling (now WWE NXT), and returned to the main WWE roster in July 2013. The Wyatt Family quickly became some of the company's biggest heels ("bad guys").


title: Terrestrial locomotion

paragraphs: Terrestrial locomotion has evolved as animals adapted from aquatic to terrestrial places. Movement on land makes different problems than that on water, with less friction instead being the effects of gravity.

paragraphs: There are three basic forms of movement found among land animals:

paragraphs: Movement on legs is the most common form of land movement. It is the simple form of movement of two big groups with many members, the vertebrates and the arthropods.

paragraphs: There are a number of land and amphibious limbless vertebrates and invertebrates. These animals, due to lack of legs, use their bodies to move. These movements are sometimes called to as "slithering" or "crawling".

paragraphs: Although animals have never have wheels for locomotion, some animals will move by rolling their whole body.

paragraphs: The fastest terrestrial animal is the cheetah, which can get speeds of about 104 km/h (64 mph).


title: Strong acid

paragraphs: In chemistry, a strong acid is an acid which ionizes (splits) completely in a solution of water. It always loses a proton (A H) when put in water. A weak acid does not always lose a proton, though; It can lose its proton, but not all the time. They also have a very low pH, usually between 1 and 3. Many strong acids have a negative pKa value, which means they are very strong.

paragraphs: The six common strong acids are: (Acronym:CBSPIN)


title: Hamilton, New Zealand

paragraphs: Hamilton is New Zealand's fourth largest city. It has a population of 140,700 people. It is the largest inland city in New Zealand. It has an area of . The mayor is Andrew King.


title: Liu Xiaobo

paragraphs: Liu Xiaobo (28 December 1955 – 13 July 2017) was a Chinese intellectual, writer, human rights activist and a political prisoner in China.

paragraphs: He has been President of the Independent Chinese PEN Center since 2003. On 8 December 2008, police stopped Liu and held him because of his work with Charter 08. He was not actually arrested until 23 June 2009. The government accused him of encouraging people to turn against the state. He had a trial on 23 December 2009. On 25 December 2009, the court decided he must go to prison for eleven years. The court also took away his political rights for two years.

paragraphs: He won the Nobel Peace Prize on 8 October 2010, for "his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China." This was during the fourth time Liu was in prison.

paragraphs: He is the first Chinese person to win a Nobel Prize while living in China. He is also the third person to win the Nobel Peace Prize while in prison or detention. The others were Germany's Carl von Ossietzky in 1935 and Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi in 1991.

paragraphs: On 26 June 2017, he was granted medical parole after being diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. He died a few weeks later on 13 July 2017.

paragraphs: Liu was born in 1955 in Changchun, Jilin to an intellectual family. His father took him to the Inner Mongolia from 1969 to 1973 during the Down to the Countryside Movement. He worked in a village in Jilin province when he was 19 years old. He worked at a construction company after that.

paragraphs: In 1976, he studied at Jilin University and got a B.A. degree in literature in 1982. He earned an M.A. degree in 1984 from Beijing Normal University. Liu joined the faculty at Beijing Normal University after he graduated. He also received a Ph.D. degree there in 1988.

paragraphs: In the 1980s, his most important essays, "Critique on Choices - Dialogue with Le Zehou" and "Aesthetics and Human Freedom"' earned him fame in the academic field. The essay criticised a prominent Chinese thinker Li Zehou's philosophy.

paragraphs: Between 1988 and 1989, he was a visiting scholar at several universities outside of China, including Columbia University, the University of Oslo and the University of Hawaii.

paragraphs: During the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests he was in the United States but decided to go back to China to join the movement. He was later named as one of the "Four Junzis of Tiananman Square" by many Hong Kong- and Taiwan-based Chinese media.

paragraphs: Liu Xiaobo works to increase human rights. He has asked the Chinese government to be more open and honest about its actions. The Chinese government has brought him to police stations, arrested him, and sent him to prison many times for his peaceful political activities. The first time was for his actions in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Organizations outside China have noticed Liu's human rights work and given him awards. In 2004, Reporters Without Borders honored Liu's human rights work, awarding him the Fondation de France Prize as a defender of press freedom.

paragraphs: In January 1991, Liu Xiaobo was convicted of "counter-revolutionary propaganda and incitement." However, the government did not give him any punishment as a criminal. In October 1996, he was ordered to serve three years of labour for "disturbing public order" by criticizing the Communist Party of China. In 2007, police took Liu for a short time and asked him about articles he had written. The articles were posted on websites hosted outside China.

paragraphs: Liu Xiaobo actively participated in the writing of Charter 08. Then, along with more than three hundred Chinese citizens, he signed "Charter 08". This was a manifesto, or statement of beliefs and principles. It was released on the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (10 December 2008). They wrote it in the style of the Czechoslovak Charter 77 calling for greater freedom of expression, human rights, and free elections. As of May 2009, the Charter has collected over 8,600 signatures from Chinese of various walks of life.

paragraphs: Police took Liu Xiaobo away from his home late in the evening of 8 December 2008. This was two days before the official release of the Charter. Police also took away Zhang Zuhua at that time. He is another scholar who signed Charter 08. According to Zhang, the two men were taken by police because they thought Liu and Zhang were trying to get more people to sign the Charter. While Liu was kept alone in solitary confinement, he was not allowed to meet with his lawyer or family. He was allowed to eat lunch with his wife, Liu Xia, and two policemen on New Year's Day 2009. On 23 June 2009, an officer of the government in Beijing (the procuratorate) approved Liu Xiaobo's arrest on charges of "suspicion of inciting subversion of state power." This is a crime under Article 105 of the Law of the People's Republic of China. The Beijing Public Security Bureau (PSB) said in a press release that Liu had incited the subversion of state power and the overturn of the socialist system through methods such as spreading rumors and slander, using almost the exact words of Article 105. The Beijing PSB also said that Liu had "fully confessed."

paragraphs: On 1 December 2009, Beijing police transferred Liu's case to the procuratorate for investigation and processing; on 10 December, the procuratorate formally indicted Liu on charges of "inciting subversion of state power" and sent his lawyers, Shang Baojun and Ding Xikui, the indictment document. He was tried at Beijing No. 1 Intermediate Court on 23 December 2009. His wife was not permitted to watch the trial, but his brother-in-law was there. Diplomats from more than 12 countries – including the U.S., Britain, Canada, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand – were not allowed in the court. They could not watch the trial. Some diplomats stood outside the court during the whole trial. Gregory May, political officer at the U.S. Embassy, and Nicholas Weeks, first secretary of the Swedish Embassy were among the diplomats who waited outside.

paragraphs: On 25 December, Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to eleven years' imprisonment and two years' deprivation of political rights by the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate Court on charges of "inciting subversion of state power." According to Liu's family and counsel, he plans to fight this and ask for a new trial. The court said that Charter 08 was part of the evidence supporting his conviction.

paragraphs: In an article published in the "South China Morning Post", Liu argued that the government had broken the rules of China's constitution and of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by convicting him and sending him to prison. He said that he had not spread rumors or said very bad things about other people. The government had made up many things when accusing him of subversion. He had not lied, nor had he hurt the reputations of other people. He had only spoken his point of view and values.

paragraphs: Many individuals, states, and organizations around the world asked the Chinese government to release Liu. The Chinese government said no and told people outside China not to become involved.

paragraphs: On 11 December 2008, the United States Department of State called for Liu's release.

paragraphs: On 22 December 2008, an organization of scholars, writers, lawyers, and human rights workers wrote an open letter to ask the government to let Liu out of prison. On 21 January 2009, 300 international writers, including Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, Ha Jin and Jung Chang, called for Liu's release in a statement put out through PEN. In March 2009 Liu Xiaobo was awarded with the Homo Homini Award by the One World Film Festival, organized by the People in Need foundation, for promoting freedom of speech, democratic principles and human rights.

paragraphs: In December 2009, the European Union and United States both officially asked the Chinese government to release of Liu Xiaobo without any special rules or conditions.

paragraphs: Before the court decision, China said that other nations should "respect China's judicial sovereignty and to not do things that will interfere in China's internal affairs."

paragraphs: Responding to the result in court, United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Navanethem Pillay expressed concern political rights in China becoming worse. German Chancellor Angela Merkel strongly criticized the verdict, stating "despite the great progress in other areas in the expression of views, I regret that the Chinese government still massively restricts press freedom." Canada and Switzerland also condemned the verdict. Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou called on Beijing to "tolerate dissent". On 6 January 2010, former Czech president Václav Havel joined with other communist-era dissidents at the Chinese embassy in Prague to present a petition calling for Liu's release. On 22 January 2010, European Association for Chinese Studies sent an open letter to Hu Jintao on behalf of over 800 scholars from 36 countries calling for Liu's release.

paragraphs: On 18 January 2010, Liu was named by many people as a nominee (possible winner) of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. These included Václav Havel, the 14th Dalai Lama, André Glucksmann, Vartan Gregorian, and Desmond Tutu. China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu said that awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu would be "totally wrong". Geir Lundestad, a secretary of the Nobel Committee, stated the award would not be influenced by Beijing's opposition. On 25 September 2010, "The New York Times" reported that a petition in support of the Nobel nomination was being circulated in China.

paragraphs: In September 2010 Václav Havel, Dana Němcová, and Václav Malý published an open letter in "The International Herald Tribune" calling for the award to be given to Liu. All three had been leaders of Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution. Soon after, people began signing a petition.

paragraphs: Freedom Now is a non-governmental organization and works as a lawyer for Liu Xiaobo outside China. On 6 October 2010, they publicly released a letter from 30 U.S. Members of Congress to President Barack Obama (the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize winner). This letter strongly asked President Obama to talk directly to Chinese President Hu Jintao at the G-20 Summit in November 2010. They wanted Obama to talk about Liu Xiaobo and another political prisoner named Gao Zhisheng .

paragraphs: On 8 October 2010 the Nobel Committee awarded Liu the Prize "for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China". The Norwegian Nobel Committee president Thorbjørn Jagland said the choice of Liu as the recipient of the prize had become clear early on in the process. The Chinese foreign ministry had already warned the Nobel committee not to give Liu the prize. They said that it would be against Nobel principles.

paragraphs: All news about the announcement of the award was immediately censored in China. Foreign news broadcasters including CNN and the BBC were immediately blocked after mentioning the award in China. Web searches for Liu Xiabo were immediately deleted and no information can be searched about him in China. The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement that said, "The Nobel Peace Prize is meant to award individuals who promote international harmony and friendship, peace and disarmament. Liu Xiaobo is a criminal who has been sentenced by Chinese judicial departments for violating Chinese law. Awarding the peace to Liu runs completely counter to the principle of the award and is also a desecration of the Peace Prize." The state-run Xinhua News Agency later carried a report saying that awarding Liu Xiaobo the prize “defiles” (亵渎) Alfred Nobel's purpose of creating this prize and "may harm China-Norway relations". The spokesperson added that Liu had broken Chinese law and his "actions run contrary to the purpose of the Nobel Peace Prize."

paragraphs: Many world leaders congratulated Liu for the award. These included Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, The British Foreign Secretary William Hague, US President Barack Obama, and The Dalai Lama.

paragraphs: The Chinese Foreign Ministry called the Norwegian ambassador to the People's Republic of China to the ministry on 8 October 2010. The Chinese gave the ambassador an official complaint against awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo. The Norwegian foreign minister replied that the Chinese government complaint was not needed because the group of people who decide the Nobel Prize is independent from the Norwegian government. However, the Norwegian Nobel Committee that gives the peace prize is appointed by the Norwegian parliament.

paragraphs: He is married to Liu Xia, who lives in the couple's apartment in Beijing.

paragraphs: In May 2017, Liu was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. On 10 July 2017, Liu was listed in critical condition in hospital in Shenyang.

paragraphs: Liu died at a hospital in Shenyang, Liaoning, China on 13 July 2017 of multiple organ failure as a set of complications of the disease at the age of 61.


title: Beijing Normal University

paragraphs: Beijing Normal University is a public university in China, located in Beijing. It is one of the most highly ranked universities in China, and focuses on teaching humanities and sciences. It was first opened in 1902, which makes it one of the oldest universities in China. Its nickname is Beishida.

paragraphs: Originally, it was called a "normal school" because it was only a school for teachers, and all teacher schools were named the same way. It was attached to the Imperial University of Peking. Later, it became a university on its own, teaching subjects other than education, but kept its name the same.


title: University of Oslo

paragraphs: The University of Oslo (, ) is the oldest and largest university in Norway. It is in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.

paragraphs: The university began in 1811 as The Royal Frederick University (in Norwegian "Det Kongelige Frederiks Universitet" and in Latin "Universitas Regia Fredericiana"). The university was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin, and originally named after King Frederick of Denmark and Norway. In 1939 it changed to the name it has now.

paragraphs: The university has faculties of (Lutheran) Theology, Law, Medicine, Humanities, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Dentistry, Social Sciences, and Education. The Faculty of Law is still located at the old campus on Karl Johans gate, near the National Theatre, the Royal Palace, and the Parliament. Most of the other faculties are at a modern campus area called Blindern. The Faculty of Medicine is split between several university hospitals in the Oslo area.

paragraphs: In 2019, the university had 30,505 students and employed 6,595 people.


title: Central Region, Singapore

paragraphs: The Central Region of Singapore is also known as the south of Singapore. It is a place where most commercial buildings are in. The Istana is also found in this area.

paragraphs: When Sir Stamford Raffles first arrived in Singapore in 1819, he signed a treaty with Tengku Abdul Rahman (the local Sultan) and Tengku Hussein (the Temmengong which became Sultan since he was the elder brother). The Sultan and Temmengong were paid money for allowing the British to set up a port in Singapore.

paragraphs: The British were given the southern part of Singapore to develop. Therefore, it was also recognised as the Central Region of Singapore, or also called Central Business District.

paragraphs: The Central Region of Singapore starts from the harbour all the way to Bishan as the north, Queenstown as the west and Marine Parade as the east. In total, it takes up 13,150 hectares of land area.

paragraphs: The Southern Islands are also part of the Central Region of Singapore.


title: Tuas

paragraphs: Tuas is a region in the far west of the island of Singapore. It is not reachable by the Mass rapid transit (MRT) of Singapore. The nearest MRT station is Joo Koon.

paragraphs: Tuas is mainly an industrial estate like Jurong and the Tuas checkpoint (called the Tuas Second Link) is found there.


title: Orchard Road

paragraphs: Orchard Road is a street in Singapore that has many shopping centres. It is in the south of Singapore.

paragraphs: Orchard Road got its name from the nutmeg, pepper and fruit orchards that used to grow on both sides of the street. It only started to develop in the twentieth century.

paragraphs: Flash floods occurred at the road junction with Scotts Road on 16 June 2010 after 100mm of rain fell from 8 am to 11 am that morning, it is the worst flood at the junction since 1984. Shopping malls along Orchard Road like Lucky Plaza and Liat Towers were affected by the flood. The flood had caused some shopping mall and underground car parks to be under the water. Rescuers had to pull out about 70 passengers from cars and buses, as flooding closed down Orchard Road, which is lined with high-end shopping malls and tourist attractions. No one was hurt.

paragraphs: Orchard Road has the Istana at the southern end of the road, which is the official house for the President of Singapore.

paragraphs: The first shop was Tangs which was founded in 1932 and got its shop at Orchard Road in the 1950s. Orchard Road also has many well-known restaurants, coffee chains, cafés, nightclubs and hotels.

paragraphs: There are three major MRT stations around Orchard Road. They are Orchard, Somerset and Dhoby Ghaut stations. These three stations are important placces for commuters, locals, students and tourists who travel to the Orchard Road shopping and business district. However, due to the construction of ION Orchard, the entrance of the Orchard entrance has been moved underground below the upcoming mall.

paragraphs: There are many bus services provided by SBS Transit and SMRT that go to Orchard Road. The major bus stops along Orchard Road are at:

paragraphs: Visitors can also travel to Orchard Road via taxi. There are taxi stands at Forum The Shopping Mall, all hotels, Lucky Plaza, Wisma Atria, Ngee Ann City, The Paragon, The Heeren Shops, Centrepoint Shopping Centre, next to Specialists' Shopping Centre and Plaza Singapura.

paragraphs: Visitors accessing Orchard Road by road usually enter from the west via Napier Road, before exiting Orchard Road at Bras Basah Road. Coming from the north, vehicles can enter via Bukit Timah Road and Scotts Road which leads into Orchard Road. From the south, vehicles can enter through Orchard Boulevard and Paterson Road.


title: NewsBank

paragraphs: NewsBank, Inc. is a worldwide information provider worldwide. It is a database of published documents. These documents include such items as newspapers, magazines, business journals, obituaries, and government documents. The documents are available online by the Internet. The service is available through many public libraries, colleges and universities, and government and military libraries.

paragraphs: NewsBank has content from more than 2,000 newspaper titles. NewsBank's Readex division offers digital editions of American historical collections to colleges and universities. Collections of historical and modern documents, publications and records to are available to Genealogists to research family histories.


title: Bonnie Wright

paragraphs: Bonnie Francesca Wright (born 17 February 1991) is an English actress. She is most known for playing "Ginny Weasley" in Harry Potter movies.

paragraphs: In 2012, Wright will start shooting her first leading role. It is a British nineteenth century period movie "In Want of a Wife". She will star opposite Emily Watson.

paragraphs: Wright graduated from London's University of the Arts: London College of Communication. She is the owner of her own production company called Bon Bon Lumiere.


title: William Calley

paragraphs: William Laws Calley (William Laws Calley, Jr.) (born June 8, 1943) is a convicted American war criminal.

paragraphs: He was held responsible and found guilty for the killings of the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War. Of the 26 officers and soldiers first charged for their part in the My Lai Massacre or the cover-up, only Calley was convicted. He was sentenced to a life term, but was put on house arrest instead. William Calley only spent three years on house arrest then was released.


title: Weak acid

paragraphs: A weak acid is an acid chemical which does not dissociate (split into ions) completely in water solution. This means it does not give all its hydrogen ions into the water. Weak acids typically have a pH between 3 and 6.

paragraphs: Acetic acid (CHCOOH) and oxalic acid (HCO) are examples of weak acids. If an acid is represented by HA, then there is a balance between molecules which are split (ionised), and molecules which are not:

paragraphs: The relative strength of an acid can be expressed using K, the acid ionization constant. In general, the larger a K, the stronger the acid, while a smaller K indicates a relatively weaker acid. Weak acids will have a K value of less than 1, while strong acids will have a K value greater than 1.


paragraphs: Created on December 15, 1791, the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that establishes the right of citizens to possess firearms for lawful purposes. It says, "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

paragraphs: When America was being colonized by European countries, firearms were very important to colonists. When Europeans came to America, they brought with them the idea of land ownership by an individual. They received this right from their king through land grants. This was completely foreign to Native Americans who considered a particular territory belonged to the tribe. Colonists defended their claims against Native Americans and other Europeans whose kings may have granted them the same lands. They also needed firearms for hunting. In many towns and villages, men were required to own firearms for the defense of the community. Most colonists coming to America in the 17th century had no experience as soldiers. The British kept few soldiers in the colonies, and colonists soon found they needed to establish militias.

paragraphs: Colonies had militia laws that required every able-bodied white man to be available for militia duty and to provide his own arms. In 1774 and 1775, the British government, which now had a larger presence, attempted to disarm American colonists. This caused the colonists to form private militias, independent of any control by the governors appointed by the British government. The Minutemen who fought the British Army at the Battles of Lexington and Concord were an independent militia.

paragraphs: After the American Revolutionary War, the framers of the Constitution, like most Americans of the time, distrusted standing (permanent) armies and trusted militias. After the Revolutionary War, Americans trusted state militias to defend the country. The Articles of Confederation, the new nation's first constitution, called for each state to maintain a well-armed militia. Congress could call up the militias to defend the country against any foreign power. However, Congress could only form a standing army if nine of the thirteen states approved. This was one of the weaknesses that led to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and a new constitution.

paragraphs: In the 18th century, the word "army" meant mercenaries. Americans distrusted standing armies and were afraid they could be used to take over the country. People still remembered Oliver Cromwell and his military dictatorship in England.

paragraphs: Virginia was one of the first colonies to adopt a state constitution. They included the words: "a well regulated Militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defence of a free State." Other states followed with similar wording in their own constitutions. Pennsylvania declared: "the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and the state; and as standing armies in the time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; And that the military should be kept under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power."

paragraphs: In 1781 the Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation. This recognized that the thirteen original states had the power to govern themselves. They acted collectively to have a congress, but did not provide any money to run it. There was no president and no court system. This confederation of states proved to be a very poor form of central government.

paragraphs: The Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from May 25 to September 17, 1787. The purpose of the Convention was to revise the Articles of Confederation. But it became clear that many of its members, including James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, wanted to create a new government rather than fix the existing one. The delegates elected George Washington to preside over the Convention. They eventually agreed on agreed on Madison's Virginia Plan and began to make changes. The result was the Constitution of the United States and the present form of government.

paragraphs: The constitution debate at Philadelphia caused two groups to form: the Federalists and the Anti-federalists. The federalists wanted a strong central government. The anti-federalists wanted the state governments to have more power. The vote on the new Constitution was passed on a promise by federalists to support a Bill of Rights to be added to the Constitution.

paragraphs: Originally, Congress suggested 12 amendments to the states. However, the states only ratified ten. The Bill of Rights, as the first 10 amendments came to be called, originally applied to the national government rather than to states. Many states already had their own Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights was ratified and went into effect in 1791.

paragraphs: The Second Amendment was a result of several proposals being combined and simplified into just 27 words. This simplification has caused many debates over gun ownership and individual rights. Historians, judges and others have repeatedly looked for the intended meaning by the 18th century writers of this amendment. Different interpretations of the Second Amendment still cause public debates about firearm regulations and gun control.

paragraphs: In 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard a case called "Heller v. District of Columbia". At the time, it was illegal for regular Americans to have a gun in Washington, D.C. To decide whether this was against the Second Amendment, the court looked very closely at capitalization and punctuation in the Amendment to try to figure out exactly what the framers meant.

paragraphs: Judge Laurence H. Silberman wrote the Court's decision. It made the ban on guns by the District of Columbia invalid. The decision was based on the second comma (after the word "state") as proof that the Second Amendment allows individuals the right to carry a gun. This is in addition to state's rights to maintain militias.

paragraphs: The Second Amendment ratified by the States and approved by the Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, said:

paragraphs: The version passed by Congress and signed by President George Washington (but never ratified by the States) said:

paragraphs: On June 25, 2008, the Supreme Court agreed with the Court of Appeals' decision. (In the Supreme Court, the case was called "District of Columbia v. Heller".)


title: Cuscus

paragraphs: A Cuscus is a marsupial from Papua New Guinea. It has a pouch on its front where its baby begins to grow and develop in. The cuscus has thick white fur and a long tail, with a slightly pink tip. It uses its tail to help it climb through the trees.


title: Couscous

paragraphs: Couscous is a kind of food, originally from the Berbers of North Africa. It has two related meanings:

paragraphs: Couscous is not cooked, but rather steamed over hot water. Couscous is served as a side-dish, or as a main dish. The stew must have plenty of liquid, or else a separate

paragraphs: bowl of sauce must be provided. This is because the couscous grain is rather dry, and absorbs plenty of liquid. It is a definite fault to serve a couscous dish with too little liquid.

paragraphs: Spices such as ras el hanout and harissa are used for seasoning. Couscous can also be served cold. In this case, may be the base of a salad, with seafood, or it is used to make taboulé, a kind of Palestinian salad. Couscous can also be used for sweets, by adding milk, raisins or almonds.

paragraphs: It is the official food of Morocco. The dish is extremely popular in other areas like southern France, Sicilia, Brazil and the Middle East.

paragraphs: In Brazil, couscous is a typical dish from the Northeast of the country, which is part of the three meals of the day. Being commonly prepared with starch, wheat flour, corn, rice or cassava. In Southeast, it is consumed with butter, eggs or meat. In North, it is more common for couscous to be eaten for breakfast, made with coconut milk and accompanied by tapioca. In general, all types of side dishes are accepted in the country. Other examples of foods eaten with couscous are fish, shrimp, and chicken.

paragraphs: The couscous that is sold in most Western supermarkets has been pre-steamed and dried; the package directions are usually to add 1.5 measures of "boiling" water or stock and butter to each measure of couscous and to cover tightly for five minutes. The couscous swells and within a few minutes it is ready to fluff with a fork and serve. Pre-steamed couscous takes less time to prepare than regular couscous.


title: 2010 Copiapó mining accident

paragraphs: The 2010 Copiapó mining accident was a mining accident that happened on August 5, 2010, when the copper-gold mine of San José, near Copiapó, Chile, collapsed. It left 33 miners trapped around 700 meters under the ground.

paragraphs: The Mine of San José (Mina San José) is about north of Copiapó, in the Region of Atacama. The miners were trapped at about deep and about from the entrance of the mine. The mine has had accidents in the past, including one death. A report from the Chilean Government from July 2010, said that the owners of the mine did not "reinforce the roof." The lack of reinforcement "led to an earlier collapse of the roof". There has been controversy over why the mine was not closed down earlier.

paragraphs: Some people, including lawyers representing the mining company, think that the owners of the mine will declare bankruptcy after the miners are rescued.

paragraphs: On October 13, 2010, Florencio Ávalos reached the surface. He was the first miner to be rescued.


title: Qualitative analysis

paragraphs: Qualitative analysis is a field of analytical chemistry. It uses chemical reactions to find out what an unknown chemical substance is. Qualitative chemistry is used in many jobs. It is very useful for testing for drugs and poisons.

paragraphs: Many reactions are used in qualitative chemistry. For example, fire can be used to learn what metals are in the compound. The scientist would know what metal was in an unknown compound by the color of the flame.

paragraphs: Qualitative chemistry is in contrast with Quantitative chemistry. "Qualitative" refers to what is present, while "quantitative" refers to how much is present.


title: Cherkasy

paragraphs: Cherkasy (, transliterated: "Čerkasy") is a city in central Ukraine. It is the capital of the Cherkasy Oblast (province), as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Cherkasky Raion (district) within the oblast.

paragraphs: The city is cultural, educational and industrial center of Cherkasy Oblast and Central Economical Region of Ukraine. Cherkasy is famous since 13th century and played a great role in history of Ukraine. Cherkasy was the center of Cossacks, citizens took part in Khmelnychchyna and Koliyivschyna (cossacks and peasants rebellions).

paragraphs: The city is on the right bank of Dnieper River (specifically at the Kremenchuk Reservoir), about south of the nation's capital, Kiev. The city is divided into 2 parts (raions) - Sosnivskiy (with Orshanets village) and Pridniprovskiy. The current population of Cherkasy is 285,526 (as of 2010).


title: Dnieper

paragraphs: The Dnieper River is one of the major rivers in Europe. It flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea. It is fourth largest by length in Europe. Its total length is . is in Russia, is in Belarus, and is in Ukraine. Its basin covers . is in Ukraine. In antiquity, it was known to the Greeks as the Borysthenes.

paragraphs: The river is part of the Quagga mussel's native range.


title: Synod of Hippo

paragraphs: The Synod of Hippo was the synod of 393 that was held in Hippo Regius in northern Africa during the early Christian Church. Other synods were held in 394, 397, 401 and 426.

paragraphs: Some were attended by St. Augustine. The synod of 393 is best known for two things. First, for the first time a council of bishops listed and agreed a canon of Sacred Scripture that is the same as the modern Orthodox and Roman Catholic canon. The canon was later agreed at the Council of Carthage.


title: State Electoral District

paragraphs: State Electoral District means an electorate in the Lower House or Legislative Assembly of Australian states and territories. Most state electoral districts (except Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania, which have multi-member electorates using a proportional voting method) send a single member to a state or territory's parliament using the preferential method of voting. The size of a state electoral district depends on the Electoral Acts in the state and vary in size between them. At present, there are 407 state electoral districts in Australia.

paragraphs: State electoral districts do not apply to the Upper House, or Legislative Council, in the states which have one (New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia). In New South Wales and South Australia, MLCs represent the entire state, in Tasmania they represent single-member districts, and in Victoria and Western Australia they represent a region formed by grouping electoral districts together.

paragraphs: There are three electorates for the Legislative Assembly, two with five members each, and one with seven members, making up seventeen members in total.

paragraphs: There are currently 93 electoral districts in New South Wales.

paragraphs: There are 25 single-member electoral divisions in the Northern Territory, and 13 former divisions.

paragraphs: There are 89 electoral districts in Queensland, for the Legislative Assembly of Queensland.

paragraphs: There are 47 single-member electoral districts in South Australia, for the South Australian House of Assembly.

paragraphs: There are 5 electoral divisions in Tasmania.

paragraphs: There are 88 electoral districts in Victoria, for the Victorian Legislative Assembly.

paragraphs: There are 59 single-member electoral districts in Western Australia for the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. 42 are in the Perth metropolitan area and 17 are in the rest of the state.


title: Elephant gun

paragraphs: An elephant gun is a large caliber gun, which could be (but does not have to be) a rifle. Elephant guns were first made to be used by big-game hunters who were hunting elephants and other large animals.

paragraphs: As people from Europe began exploring Africa in the early 1800s, guns were made to handle the very large animals that people saw. This was for people to protect themselves, to shoot animals for food, and later, and most commonly, sport. The first guns were the simple shotgun designs already used for birds. They were loaded with solid balls of lead that could shoot large animals. Because they did not kill large animals very easily (some writers said that it could take up to 35 shots to kill one elephant), elephant guns were soon made into larger caliber black powder smoothbores. The caliber was still measured in bore or gauge - or the guns were named by how much the projectiles (what was shot out of the guns) weighed in ounces. The projectiles were lead round balls or short slugs shaped like cones. Sometimes, antimony was put in them to make them harder.

paragraphs: These very large and heavy firearms were the first to be known as the elephant guns of the black powder era (1850–1890). They were not only used to kill elephants. They were also used to kill dangerous animals such as the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus and the cape buffalo. Because black powder and lead cannot go faster than about - the only way to make the projectiles go deeper into the animals' skins was to make a larger gun. Although they were very powerful, the short slugs (a type of projectile), which did not go very fast, still had problems going fully into their targets. This was especially hard for the toughest shot of all - going through the bone when an elephant's head was shot around the brain area.

paragraphs: Nitro Express elephant guns were first made around 1895. They used smokeless powder, which was new at the time. With smaller metal-cased bullets with sizes from .400 to .620 and speeds around , they had a much better trajectory and penetration over the black powder guns. In a few years the big bore guns disappeared from the gamefields. Early 20th century rifles came out in single shot, bolt action, and double rifle ways and were used until ivory hunting died off in the mid 20th century. Then the guns switched roles to tools for game wardens and as backup firearms for professional hunters guiding international hunters.

paragraphs: The American gun market made several famous dangerous gun cartridges around this time, such as the .458 Winchester Magnum, .378 Weatherby Magnum and .460 Weatherby Magnum. Many of these were 'wildcatted' (to modify an existing case and rifle to fire a different caliber bullet). The rest of the old Nitro express calibers faded to obscurity until people starting safari hunting in the 1970s and 1980s. Then elephant guns like the .416 Weatherby Magnum and the .416 Remington Magnum were made again. The .700 Nitro Express (made in the 1980's and 1990's) and the new brass manufacturers made even more powerful elephant guns such as the .585 Nyati by Ross Seyfried, .577 Tyrannosaur by Colonel Art Alphin and .585 Gehringer by Karl Gehringer to be made by wildcatters. The .600 Overkill made by Rob Garnick shows the biggest power that could come from a standard hunting action. Other wildcats based on the heavy machine gun .50 BMG and similar anti-materiel rounds have been devised which are much more powerful, though they are not generally useful hunting arms because they are heavier than .

paragraphs: All elephant guns have one idea in common: to have enough stopping power to prevent harm to the hunter in the case of charging game. The necessities for the gun are not only very high power (any big gun could do that), but that it can be carried for long periods, shot from any position, and be well balanced enough to track on rapidly moving animals. It is really no more than a very big hunting rifle with the same use as any hunting rifle.

paragraphs: During World War I, both the British and Germans used elephant guns taken from their African colonies when they tried to break the stalemate in the trenches. The British used elephant guns against the German tactic of having their snipers advance towards Allied lines under the cover of a large, 6-10 millimeter (0.24-0.4 inch) thick steel plate. Ordinary infantry rifles didn't do anything to the plate, but elephant guns were able to punch through it. Likewise, the Germans used a mass-produced anti-tank rifle, the Mauser 1918 TuF Gewehr, to knock out lightly armored British tanks.

paragraphs: During the North African Campaign in 1941, the Italians in East Africa fought against the British. The Commander - The Duke of Aosta - gave his personal collection of elephant guns to his Italian soldiers to shoot armored cars because they didn't have enough anti-tank guns.

paragraphs: The Finnish 20 mm antitank gun Lahti L-39 had the nickname "Norsupyssy" (Elephant Gun) during the Winter War because of its stopping power. It is not a true elephant gun, though, since it was not made for elephant hunting but as a military weapon.


title: Charter 08

paragraphs: Charter 08 is a manifesto (a public declaration of your beliefs) initially signed by over 350 Chinese intellectuals and human rights activists to promote political reform and democratization in the People's Republic of China. It was published on 10 December 2008, the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, using a similar name and style from the anti-Soviet Charter 77 issued by dissidents in Czechoslovakia. Since its release, more than 8,100 people inside and outside of China have signed the charter.

paragraphs: One of the authors of Charter '08, Liu Xiaobo, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010. He died of liver cancer in July 2017 while under medical leave during his prison sentence.


title: Sedan, Ardennes

paragraphs: Sedan is a town and commune in France, a part of the Ardennes department in northern France.

paragraphs: The old centre is on land within a curve of the Meuse River. It is about 10 km (6 miles) from Belgium, and about 200 km (120 miles) from Paris.

paragraphs: Sedan was built in 1424. In the sixteenth century Sedan was a safe place for Protestants escaping from the Wars of Religion.

paragraphs: Until 1651, the Principality of Sedan belonged to the La Tour d'Auvergne family. It was independent. The most famous member of the family, Marshal Turenne, was born at Sedan on 11 September 1611. With help from the Holy Roman Empire, Sedan defeated France at the Battle of La Marfée. Immediately after that it was surrounded, and its prince, Frederic, surrendered to France. Only a year after that, it became part of France in return for sparing Frederic's life after he was in a plot against France.

paragraphs: During the Franco-Prussian War, on 2 September 1870 the French emperor Napoleon III was taken prisoner with 100,000 of his soldiers at the Battle of Sedan.

paragraphs: Because of this major victory, which also made the "Second Reich" of Germany possible, 2 September was declared "Sedan Day" ("Sedantag") and a national German holiday in 1871. It remained a holiday until 1919.

paragraphs: In World War II the German army invaded neutral Belgium and crossed the Meuse River in Sedan. This allowed them to get past the French fortification system, called the Maginot Line.

paragraphs: Sedan Castle may be the biggest of its kind in Europe with a total area of 30,000 square metres on seven levels. Building started in 1424 and the castle's defences were improved over the years. It is the only part left of the huge fortifications that there were in Sedan and around Sedan.

paragraphs: Sedan was a centre of cloth production, which was started under Cardinal Mazarin. It supported the town until the late nineteenth century.


title: KNVB Cup

paragraphs: The KNVB Cup () is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1899. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside of the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup. The tournament consists of all teams from the top two leagues of Dutch football (the Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie), as well as the top four teams from each of the six third tier of Dutch football (Hoofdklasse), while the remaining teams are drawn from the fourth tier (Eerste Klasse). The finals of the tournament usually takes place in De Kuip, and has been held there every season since 1988. The winners of the cup compete against the winners of the Eredivisie for the Johan Cruijff Shield, which is the first game of the following season.

paragraphs: The competition was created during a board meeting of the Dutch National Football Association, in the Hague, on 19 January 1898. The tournament began the following season, 1898–1899. The first final was played on 9 May 1899 between RAP Amsterdam and HVV Den Haag. In 1946, the trophy was changed to one made out of silver, which was very rare in after World War II.

paragraphs: Like many national cup competitions, the name of the tournament has changed with sponsorship. From 1995, the competition went from being the KNVB Cup Tournament to being known as the Amstel Cup after the then sponsor Amstel. On 16 August 2005, the name was changed to the Gatorade Cup after the drinks company Gatorade. In 2006, the name returned to being the KNVB Cup Tournament with Gatorade remaining as the principal sponsor.

paragraphs: Up until 1998, the winner of the cup entered into the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, but with the abandonment of that tournament, the winner now goes into the UEFA Europa League. If the winning team has won the Eredivisie and thus entry into the UEFA Champions League, then the beaten KNVB Cup finalist will take the place in the UEFA Europa League.

paragraphs: In 1998, both teams in the KNVB final, Ajax and PSV, had won places into the Champions League. So a game was played between the beaten semi-finalists, SC Heerenveen and FC Twente, to determine who would take the Cup Winners' Cup place.


title: Tadeus Reichstein

paragraphs: Tadeusz Reichstein (20 July 1897 1 August 1996) was a Polish-born Swiss chemist, botanist and Nobel laureate.

paragraphs: Reichstein was born into a Jewish family at Włocławek, Congress Poland, and spent his early childhood at Kiev, where his father was an engineer. He began his education at boarding-school in Jena, Germany.

paragraphs: In 1933, working in Zürich, Switzerland, Reichstein made vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in what is now called the Reichstein process.

paragraphs: Reichstein, E.C. Kendall and P.S. Hench were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1950 for their discovery of cortisone.

paragraphs: He died in Basel, Switzerland. The main industrial process for the artificial creation of Vitamin C still bears his name. Reichstein was the longest-lived Nobel laureate at the time of his death, but was beaten in 2008 by Rita Levi-Montalcini.


title: Manú National Park

paragraphs: Manú National Park is a biosphere reserve in Peru.

paragraphs: Before becoming an area protected by the Peruvian government, the Manú National Park was conserved because it was inaccessible; that is, people could not get to it. The park is fairly inaccessible by road to this day. In 1977, UNESCO recognised it as a Biosphere Reserve and in 1987, it was named a World Heritage Site.

paragraphs: It is the largest National Park in Peru, covering an area of 15,328 km². The Biosphere Reserve includes an additional 2,570 km², and a further 914 km² are included in a "Cultural Zone" (which also given protection), bringing the total area up to 18,811 km².

paragraphs: The park protects several ecological zones ranging from as low as 150 metres above sea level in parts of the Amazon Basin, to Puna grassland at altitudes of 4200 metres. Because of this topographical range, it has one of highest levels of biodiversity of any park in the world.

paragraphs: Overall, more than 15,000 species of plants are found in Manú, and up to 250 varieties of trees have been found in a single hectare.

paragraphs: The reserve is visited by birdwatchers from all over the world, as it is home to over 1000 species of birds. This is over 10% of all living bird species, and more than the number of bird species found in the entirety of North America.

paragraphs: The Park has one of the most varied collections of land vertebrates ever found in Latin American tropical forests.


title: Plane Stupid

paragraphs: Plane Stupid is a non-violent environmentalist group in the United Kingdom. It is against making airports bigger.

paragraphs: Plane Stupid was started in 2005 by Joss Garman, Richard George and Graham Thompson.


title: Nissan Pathfinder

paragraphs: The Nissan Pathfinder is a midsize crossover SUV made by Nissan Motor Company. Its competitor was originally the Toyota 4Runner. It has been around since 1986 and has been changed since then. The most recent change was in 2010. There were three generations of the vehicle. The fourth generation is a midsize crossover SUV that allows seating for seven. It won the AutoPacific Best in Class Vehicle Satisfaction Award.