test-ja-en

Our 4-month-old mice used to have diabetes, but now they don't," he added.
Dr. Efo Kornyeye, a professor at Dalhousie University's Faculty of Medicine in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and chair of the Canadian Diabetes Association's Clinical and Scientific Advisory Committee, stressed that the study was in its early stages.
As with other experts, he was sceptical about whether type 1 diabetes could ever be cured, pointing out that these findings are of no use to people who already have type 1 diabetes.
Sara Danius, Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy's Nobel Committee for Literature, announced on Monday that the committee had given up trying to contact Bob Dylan about his winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016.
Danias said, "I'm not doing anything now. I've called his close associates, I've sent emails, I've gotten very friendly responses, that's enough for now."
Jamie Siminoff, the CEO of Ring, has previously said that he was inspired to start the business after not being able to hear the doorbell from his garage.
He made a doorbell that rings over Wi-Fi.
Mr. Siminoff said sales had skyrocketed after he appeared on Shark Tank in 2013, only to be rejected by the show's panel of investors.
In late 2017, Siminoff appeared on the television shopping channel QVC.
Ring has also settled a lawsuit against rival security company ADT.
Experimental vaccines appear to be effective against Ebola, but there are no proven drugs to treat existing infections.
One of the antibody cocktails, called ZMapp, was at one time touted as a potential game-changer in this field, but it did not live up to expectations in formal studies.
In the PALM trial, ZMapp was used as a benchmark against which to compare three other treatments.
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) wrote a letter in support of the absolute necessity of the Olympic Family to create a safe environment for all athletes.
We agree with the USOC's statement that we believe athletes, clubs and sport are better served by pursuing meaningful change from within the organization.
The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee said it would cooperate with an independent investigation to determine why abuse wasn't reported sooner and what changes are necessary to prevent it from happening again.
USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee have the same goal: to provide athletes with a safe and positive environment in which to pursue their dreams, whether that be in gymnastics or any other sport.
Throughout the 1960s, Brezhnev served as an advisor to John F. Kennedy and later to Lyndon B. Johnson.
He advised Carter on foreign policy during the 1976 presidential election and served as national security adviser from 1977 to 1981 under Henry Kissinger.
As NSA, Brzezinski advised Carter on the 1978 Camp David Accords, normalization of relations with China in the late 1970s, the Iranian Revolution and hostage crisis of 1979, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.
The film, starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, was nominated in all major categories.
Gosling and Stone were both nominated for Best Actor and Actress in a Leading Role.
It was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Best Art Direction, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Screenplay.
Two songs from the film, "The Fools Who Dream" and "City of Stars," were nominated for Best Original Song, while Lion's Gate Studios received the most nominations of any studio with 26.
Donald Trump, the US president, announced late on Sunday that US troops were withdrawing from Syria.
The announcement came after a phone call between Trump and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey.
Turkey will also take over the detention of IS fighters, the statement said, adding that European countries had refused to take back their nationals.
Not only does it confirm that at least some dinosaurs had feathers, but it also reveals details of their colouration and three-dimensional arrangement that are rarely if ever seen in fossils.
Scientists say the animal's feathers were reddish-brown on the outside and a warm reddish-brown on the inside.
The findings also shed new light on the evolution of bird feathers.
Although dinosaur feathers do not have rachis, the well-developed shaft, they do have other features of feathers, such as downy and small filamentous barbs, so researchers speculate that the rachis may have evolved later than these other features.
Because of the structure of the feathers, it was suggested that they were not used for flight, but for temperature regulation and visual effect. Although the specimen was a young dinosaur, the feathers suggested that they were not juvenile feathers, but adult feathers.
Although the specimen is a young dinosaur's tail, the feathers suggest that it is not the fluffy down of a chick, but the adult plumage.
Yesterday morning, a car bomb exploded at a police headquarters in Gaziantep, killing two police officers and wounding more than 20 people.
Nineteen of the victims were police officers, according to the governor's office.
Police said they suspected the extremist group ISIL of carrying out the attack.
They discovered that the Sun and all the stars in the solar system are governed by the same basic principles. The activity of all the stars is driven only by their luminosity and their rotation, and nothing else.
The number of Rossby waves associated with the plasma flow is determined by the combination of luminosity and rotation.
The fewer Rossby waves, the slower the star's magnetic field reversal.
During his travels, Iwazaki was plagued by a number of problems.
They've been robbed by pirates, bitten by rabies-infected dogs in Tibet, chased out of a wedding in Nepal, and arrested in India.
If it complies with the 802.11n standard, it can communicate on either 2.4Ghz or 5.0Ghz frequencies.
This allows the base station to support downward compatibility with 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g.
Wi-Fi 802.11n is much faster than the previous standard, 802.11g, which has a theoretical maximum throughput of 600 Mbit/s.
A married man with two grown children, Duval was not much of a presence in Miller's life.
Asked for a comment, Miller said, "I couldn't hear a damn thing because of the way the microphones work in the hearing."
Hu Jintao, the country's president, said that China would work to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 40 to 45 percent from the 2005 level by 2020.
Hu did not specify by how much, but said the cuts would be based on China's economic output.
Hu Jintao, the country's president, called on developing countries to "avoid the old practice of polluting first and dealing with the consequences afterwards."
However, he added: 'But we must not be made to feel we have to take on more than we can reasonably be expected to do.'
The Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights published its report today at 12 noon GMT.
The warning comes as Iraq is on the brink of sliding back into sectarian violence and anarchy, with no one able to prevent the spiral of violence and reprisals.
The report begins by lamenting the lack of consensus within the United States about public debate and Middle East policy.
The report is highly critical of nearly every aspect of current U.S. policy on Iraq and urges an immediate course correction.
Among the 78 recommendations, the first is that Iraq should launch a new diplomatic push this year to secure its borders and re-establish relations with neighboring countries to counter "hostile interference."
Last night, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, a current senator and former president, announced her plans to run for the presidency at a rally in La Plata, about 50 km (31 miles) from Buenos Aires.
Mrs Kirchner announced her intention to run for the presidency at a rally in the Teatro Colon, where in 2005 she announced her plans to run for the Senate as a candidate for Buenos Aires Province.
The debate was spurred by the controversy over funding for hurricane recovery and reconstruction in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which some fiscal conservatives have dubbed the "Bush's New Orleans Policy."
The liberal criticism of Washington's reconstruction efforts has focused on the contracts it has awarded to U.S. nongovernmental organizations.
More than 4 million people went to Rome to attend the funeral.
The number of attendees was so high that not everyone could fit into St. Peter's Square for the funeral.
Throughout Rome, large television screens were set up so that people could watch the ceremony.
Similar statues were erected in many other Italian cities and in many other parts of the world (especially in Poland).
Historians have criticized the FBI's past policy of focusing resources on solving easier cases, especially car thefts, in order to increase the FBI's success rate.
Congress began funding the obscenity law in 2005, and the FBI required 10 agents to investigate adult pornography.
Robin Uttappa scored 70 runs off 41 balls with 11 fours and 2 sixes.
Middle-order batsmen Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid combined well to take India to 100.
But India lost seven wickets for 36 runs after losing their captain, Wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha.
President Bush arrived in Singapore on the 16th and began his week-long tour of Asia.
He arrived in Singapore to be greeted by Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng and later met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to discuss trade and terrorism issues.
A week after the midterm elections, Bush was on stage talking about expanding trade in Asia.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper agreed to send the government's "Clean Air Act" to all-party committees for review before a second reading in the House of Commons after a 25-minute meeting with NDP Leader Jack Layton on Tuesday.
Mr Rees-Mogg told the prime minister that the Tories wanted a "complete re-write" of the party's green agenda.
The Tasmanian and federal governments have been criticised by the state government and some federal MPs for intervention to raise funds for the Mersey Community Hospital in Devonport, which they say is a pre-election stunt ahead of the November state election.
However, Prime Minister John Howard says the legislation was only introduced to protect hospital facilities in Tasmania from being downgraded by the Tasmanian Government.
According to the latest report, the tide gauge readings indicated a tsunami had been triggered. Several clear tsunami waves had been recorded in the vicinity of Palu and Donggala.
There were no reports of major damage or injuries in Tonga, though power was knocked out in some areas and Tonga's government said it had received a tsunami warning from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii.
Fourteen schools along the coastline or close to it remained closed Wednesday, even though the alert had been downgraded.
U.S. President George W. Bush welcomed the announcement.
Gordon Johndrow, a spokesman for Mr. Bush, said the North Korean pledge was "a significant step forward in achieving the goal of the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula."
Jerry, the tenth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season has formed today.
As of now, the National Hurricane Center says there is no immediate threat of landfall.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimated that a levee that had been breached earlier could overtop again with 6 inches of rainfall.
In the Ninth Ward, which was devastated by a 20-foot wall of water when Hurricane Katrina hit, many areas are now flooded up to waist deep because of overflowing levees.
Water is overtopping the levee in a 100-foot-wide area.
In an interview with Wikinews last month, Commons bureaucrat Adam Carr expressed dissatisfaction with the deletion.
He basically lied to us from the start, first by making it seem like it was a legal reason, and then by pretending to listen to us and then deleting the artwork."
The community's frustration has led to the current push to draft a policy on sexual content on sites that host millions of open-license media.
Most of the content was theoretical, but the programs written were simulations of observations made by the telescope in the Sagittarius galaxy.
This effect would have been caused by the gravitational pull of the dark matter between the Milky Way and the galactic halo.
As the moon's gravity pulls on the oceans, it causes the tides to rise and fall. The Milky Way also exerts a gravitational pull on the oceans, causing the tides to rise and fall.
Scientists concluded that dark matter interacts with other dark matter in a way that is similar to the way ordinary matter interacts with other ordinary matter.
According to this theory, most of the dark matter surrounding galaxies is in the form of a "halo" that envelops the galaxy and is made up of many small particles.
According to TV reports, white smoke is rising from the plant.
Authorities have warned residents near the plant to stay outdoors and not to turn on air conditioning or drink water from the tap.
Japan's nuclear regulator says it has detected levels of radioactive cesium and iodine inside the plant.
Officials believe this is because a container filled with uranium fuel rods has ruptured, causing the fuel rods to leak.
Dr. Tony Moll has discovered a strain of extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.
In an interview he said of the new variant, "It is a very contagious variant and one that we really need to watch."
Dr. Moll believes that some of the patients may have been infected within the hospital, and at least two of them were hospital staff.
One infected person can infect 10 to 15 close contacts one year later.
However, the proportion of XDR-TB cases among all TB patients remains low, while South Africa has 330,000 TB patients, 6,000 of whom are infected with XDR-TB.
The 1,000-pound satellite, traveling at about 17,500 miles per hour when it disintegrated, was about 491 miles above Earth.
Scientists say the impact was so violent that it created a massive explosion.
Scientists are currently working to determine the size of the impact and how the Earth was affected.
The U.S. Strategic Command, which is based at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska and reports to the U.S. Defense Department, is tracking the debris.
The results of the plot analysis will be posted on the public site.
A Pennsylvania pediatrician has been charged with aggravated murder in the death of his mother, whose body was found in the trunk of a car on Wednesday, Ohio officials said.
Dr. Marlene Barauskas, 29, was found dead on the side of the road near Blue Ash, Ohio, about 15 miles northwest of Cincinnati, wearing only a T-shirt and underwear, clearly intoxicated.
She then led police to the black Oldsmobile Intrigue, which was parked about 500 feet away.
His body was found wrapped in a blood-stained blanket on a bench there.
Police said the body had been there for about a day.
The first cases were reported in mid-July.
The disease is transmitted by pigs and then passed on to humans via mosquitoes.
The government has taken steps such as deployment of pig catchers in affected areas, distribution of thousands of mosquito nets and spraying of larvicides to contain the outbreak.
Millions of doses of meningitis vaccine have also been promised by the government and will be sent to health facilities next year.
This year's plan was to deliver vaccines to the areas that were historically the most affected, but it was delayed because of funding shortfalls and lower priorities compared to other diseases.
Born in Sweden in 1956, Svane moved to Sweden in 1959 and started working at the Swedish Post Office three years later, where he became a master engraver.
He has produced more than 1,000 stamps for 28 different countries, including Sweden.
His work is highly regarded for its quality and detail, and he is considered to be one of the few "celebrities" of stamp collecting, with collectors who specialise in his work only.
His 1,000th stamp was a wonderful "Kings of Sweden's Achievements" issued by David Cracker Erenstråle in 2000.
He has designed banknotes for dozens of countries, including Canada's new $5 and $10 notes, which feature portraits of Prime Ministers William Lyon Mackenzie King and Lester B. Pearson.
Gibson was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
The truck driver, 64, was not hurt.
The vehicle itself was removed from the scene at about 12:00 BST on the same day.
A man who works in a garage near the crash site said, "I heard all the kids screaming and crying."
Everyone made it out safely.
Issues on the agenda for Bali include preserving the world's remaining forests and sharing technology with developing countries to help them grow in a way that is low-polluting.
The U.N. also hopes to make a final decision on a fund to help developing countries cope with the effects of global warming.
The funding could be used to build homes that are more resistant to flooding, better water management and more diverse crops.
Fluke wrote about feeling pressure to not speak out about women's health issues.
She came to that conclusion after receiving many positive comments and encouragement from both men and women who believe that condoms are medically necessary.
After the injured man was taken away, about 40 other inmates remained in the courtyard, refusing to return to their cells.
Negotiators are trying to work out an agreement, but it's not clear what the inmates are demanding.
Between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m. MDT, inmates set fire to a courtyard.
Officers wearing riot gear then entered the jail to push back the inmates with pepper spray.
Firefighters were able to put out the fire by 11:35 a.m.
Since the dam was built in 1963, the seasonal floods that used to carry sediment throughout the river have been stopped.
This sediment was crucial to the formation of the dunes and beaches that are crucial habitat for wildlife.
As a result, two native species are already extinct and another two (Humpback Chub) are on the brink of extinction.
While the rise in water levels is only a few feet above flood stage, officials expect it to be high enough to return the eroded sand dunes downstream to their original state.
No tsunami warning was issued, according to Jakarta's geophysics agency, because the quake's magnitude was below 6.5, the threshold for issuing a warning.
Although there was no tsunami threat, residents were panicked and began to flee their homes and workplaces.
While Winfrey did tear up at the end of the interview, she made sure to tell viewers she would be back.
It's not goodbye, it's see you later, it's the beginning of the next chapter."
Final results from Namibia's presidential and parliamentary elections show incumbent Hage Geingob has won a landslide victory.
The South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) also won a majority of seats in parliament.
Troops and Afghan forces have been deployed to secure the area and other coalition aircraft have been sent to provide support.
The crash is believed to have been caused by enemy fire.
Bad weather and rugged terrain have hampered the search for the crash site.
Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the World Health Organization (WHO) have said it is the worst epidemic to hit the country.
A spokesperson for Doctors Without Borders, Richard Weir, said, "Angola is now facing its worst cholera outbreak ever, with the situation set to get much worse."
The match kicked off at 10am and the early morning mist and drizzle soon cleared to become a glorious day for seven-a-side rugby.
South Africa, the top-ranked team in the tournament, got off to a hot start with a 26-0 win over Zambia, the fifth-ranked team in the tournament.
South Africa looked short of stomach for the fight against the Southern Hemisphere's rivals, but they did enough as the tournament progressed.
Their well-disciplined defense, ball-handling skills, and great teamwork were outstanding, and it was clear that this team was the winner.
Employees of the Amsterdam Municipality and the Anne Frank Museum have warned that the tree is infested with fungus and is in danger of collapsing at any moment, creating a public health hazard.
It was scheduled to be cut down on Tuesday, but was saved by a last-minute injunction sought by the court.
There are seven entrances to the cave, which are all between 100 and 250 metres (328 and 820 feet) in diameter, and are known as the "Seven Sisters".
When you look at the infrared image, you can see that the temperature difference between day and night makes it more likely to be a cave.
During the day they are cooler than their surroundings and at night they are warmer.
These heat waves are often less stable than those found in caves on Earth, but they do share the property of being able to dig holes deep underground," said Glenn Cushing of Northern Arizona University's U.S. Geological Survey Cosmochemistry Laboratory in Flagstaff, Ariz.
In France, voting is traditionally done using outdated equipment. Voters are isolated in booths and fill out pre-printed ballots which are then deposited in a box.
Voters then go to a booth to put their ballot in an envelope, which is then deposited in a ballot box and signed on a voter rolls.
French electoral law, on the other hand, is much more precisely codified.
Ever since 1988, the ballot boxes have to be transparent, so that voters and observers can see that there are no envelopes in the ballot box when voting begins, and that no envelopes are added to the ballot box except those cast by legitimate voters.
Candidates can appoint observers to oversee any part of the process, and in the afternoon, ballots will be counted under the watchful eye of volunteers following a specific procedure.
The ASUS Eee PC was launched ahead of the rest of the world in terms of both cost and functionality, and was the talk of the 2007 Taipei IT Month.
However, with ASUS winning the 2007 Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Award from the Taiwanese Executive Yuan, the market for notebooks will fundamentally diversify and change.
The station's website describes the show as "an old-fashioned radio theatre that plays the weirdest, most nerdy music you've ever heard!"
At first, the show was only available on TogiNet Radio, an internet radio station specializing in talk radio, and this is a long-running show.
At the end of 2015, Toginet established AstroNet Radio as a subsidiary.
The show originally featured a cast of local amateur actors from the East Texas area.
With no police on the streets of Bishkek, looting was reported to have gone on throughout the night.
Gangs roamed the streets and looted shops in the "lawless" city, one observer said.
Some residents of Bishkek accused the southern protesters of trespassing.
South Africa have pulled off the unthinkable by beating the All Blacks in a Rugby Union three-nation tournament in Johannesburg.
A final score of 21-20 ended All Blacks' 15-match winning streak.
Springbrook's five-game losing streak is over.
It was the last match of the season for Allblacks, who had already won the trophy two weeks earlier.
The series finale is next week at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, when Springboks take on Australia.
A minor earthquake hit western Montana at 10:08 a.m. Monday.
The U.S. Geological Survey and its National Earthquake Information Center had no immediate reports of damage.
The epicenter of the quake was located about 20 km (15 miles) northeast of Dilon and about 65 km (40 miles) southwest of Buet.
A highly pathogenic bird flu strain, H5N1, has been confirmed in dead wild geese found in a wetland near Lyon, in eastern France, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said on Monday.
France is the seventh country in the European Union to be hit by the virus, after Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Greece and Italy.
There have been no confirmed cases of avian influenza in Croatia or Denmark.
Chambers alleged that "God has caused the deaths, destruction, and terror of millions of people around the world."
Chambers' assertion that the suit is "frivolous" and "anyone can sue anyone for anything" in the U.S.
The story, used in a French opera by Camille Saint-Saëns, is about an artist ruined by drugs and love for a Japanese woman.
As a result, performers are smoking marijuana on stage, and the theater is inviting the audience to participate.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota rounded out the top six.
After the results were in, Gingrich heaped praise on Santorum but used harsh words for Romney, citing a negative ad in Iowa that Gingrich said was run by Romney's team in the state.
Perry said that he would "take a hard look at running for re-election" and later announced that he would run in the South Carolina Republican Party presidential primary on January 21, 2012.
Mr Backman, who won the Ames' mock election in August, has decided to end his election campaign.
The photographer was taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center where he later died.
His age was reported to be in his 20s. In a statement, Justin Bieber said, "I was not there nor was I involved in the accident. I pray for the families and loved ones who are affected by this tragedy."
According to celebrity news website TMZ, the photographer had parked his car on the opposite side of Sepulveda Boulevard, in order to get a picture of the police checkpoint, and had been told twice by a California Highway Patrol officer to move his car back to the side of the road.
The driver of the car that struck the photographer's scooter is unlikely to face criminal charges, police said.
There were only 18 medals to be won on a day, so many countries were left empty-handed.
Specifically, yesterday's Super-G saw Anna Jochemsen of the Netherlands finish in 9th in the women's standing class, and Kata Sarlinen of Finland finish in 10th in the same event.
Australia's Mitchell Gourley finished 11th in the men's Super-G standings, while Czech Ondrej Jelinek was 16th in the men's Super-G.
Early Valesquez of Mexico finished 15th in the men's sitting super-G and Adam Hall of New Zealand was ninth in the men's standing super-G.
Poland's visually impaired skier Michal Krzeszczynski and his guide Anna Ogarzynska took 13th place in the super-G. Park Jung-sook of South Korea finished 24th in the men's sitting super-G.
Cholera broke out in Haiti in 2010 after the country was hit by a devastating earthquake, and the UN peacekeeping troops have been accused of sparking the outbreak.
According to the suit, the U.N. camp's wastewater was not properly disinfected, allowing bacteria to flow into the Artibonite River, Haiti's largest.
Since the 19th century, Haiti had not faced any problems related to this disease until the army arrived.
The Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti has conducted its own investigation, which suggests that Nepalese UN peacekeepers may have inadvertently introduced the disease to Haiti.
Daniel Lantier, a disease specialist with the UN's World Health Organization (WHO), said the epidemic was probably due to the peacekeeping force.
Hamilton acknowledged that the patient was admitted to Howard University Hospital in stable condition.
The patient was going to Nigeria, where there have been a few cases of Ebola.
The hospital is following protocols by isolating the patient to prevent the spread of infection to others.
Before The Simpsons, Simpson had worked on a number of shows in a variety of capacities.
In the 1980s he was a regular on shows such as Taxi, Cheers, and The Tracey Ullman Show.
In 1989 he worked with Brookes and Grainge on the creation of Simpson's, overseeing the recruitment of the show's original writing team.
Although he left the show in 1993, he continued to be credited as a co-executive producer and received tens of millions of dollars per season.
China's state news agency Xinhua reported earlier that the plane had been hijacked.
It then landed in Kandahar, Afghanistan, according to later reports, after receiving a bomb threat.
Earlier reports said the plane had diverted to Afghanistan after being denied an emergency landing in Urumqi.
Aircraft crashes are rare in Iran, where the military and civilian air fleets are aging and under-maintained.
International sanctions have prevented the country from purchasing new aircraft.
Earlier this week, a police helicopter crashed, killing three people and injuring another three.
Last month, Iran suffered one of its worst air disasters in recent years when a passenger plane crashed on a flight from Tehran to the Armenian capital, Yerevan, killing all 168 on board.
In the same month, another passenger plane crashed while overshooting the runway at Mashhad Airport, killing 17.
Aerosmith canceled a concert on their current tour.
The rock band was scheduled to tour the U.S. and Canada until September 16.
The tour was cancelled when lead singer Steven Tyler fell off the stage during a performance on August 5.
The Malaysian then lost the first set when he was broken while serving for the set at 5-4.
In the second set, Del Potro got off to a good start but he was soon pegged back to 6-6 and once again he had to play a tie-break.
Potro was receiving treatment for a shoulder injury at the time, but somehow managed to play through it.
The program started at 8:30 a.m. local time (1500 UTC).
Celebrity singers from across the country paid their tributes at the feet of Shree Shyam by singing bhajans (devotional songs).
The night began with a performance by singer Sanju Sharma, followed by Jai Shankar Chaudhary and Raksha Singh, who performed Chappan Bhog. Raja Kandelwal was the special guest.
Later, Rakka Singh took the lead and sang a Bajan.
A total of 108 chappan bhog (56 varieties of food offered to the deity in Hinduism) were offered to Baba Shyam.
Rakka Singh performed Chappan Bog Bajan with singer Raju Kandelwal.
In a keynote address at the Tokyo Game Show on Thursday, Nintendo Co. President Satoru Iwata unveiled the design for the company's new game console, the "Nintendo Revolution."
The controller, which looks a bit like a TV remote, communicates with two sensors placed near a home TV to measure the position of the device in three-dimensional space.
The player moves the controller in the air to control actions and movements in the video game.
Carlos Sainz Jr. dropped out of the race early on when he was unable to control his car.
Team-mate Fernando Alonso had been leading for much of the race but suffered a right-front tyre blowout while exiting the pits.
Michael Schumacher was then forced out of the race when his suspension broke after a series of crashes while running behind Alonso.
She's very cute, and she can sing quite well," he said, according to a transcript of the press conference.
Every time I did a rehearsal, I felt this overwhelming sense of awe.
About three minutes after launch, a camera aboard the ship showed multiple pieces of debris separating from the fuel tank.
However, it is not believed to have caused any damage to the shuttle.
NASA Shuttle Program Manager for Launch Integration, N. Wayne Hale Jr., said, "Once we get past this uncomfortable time, we'll see this foam come down."
Within 5 minutes a gust of wind picked up to 70km/h and it started to rain heavily, then hail the size of golf balls started to fall from the sky and panic ensued as people ran for their lives screaming and diving for cover.
I got separated from my sister and her friend, but there were two disabled people in wheelchairs, and people pushing wheelchairs, jumping over them," Almudena Versace said.
NHK also reported that the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata prefecture was operating normally.
Hokuriku Electric Power reported that there were no impacts from the earthquake and that the 1 and 2 reactors at Shiga Nuclear Power Plant had been shut down.
Around 9,400 homes in the area were reported to be without water and around 100 without power.
Some roads and railways were damaged in the disaster area, and the Noto Airport in Ishikawa Prefecture was closed.
A bomb exploded outside the governor's inauguration ceremony.
Within the next two hours, three more bombs exploded near government offices.
Some reports say the official death toll stands at eight, with another 30 people treated for injuries, but the final toll is not yet known.
Both cyanide and melamine were found in the urine samples of the pets that died after eating the contaminated pet food.
According to researchers at the university, the two compounds can form a crystal that blocks the function of the kidneys.
Researchers observed the formation of crystals in cat urine when melamine and cyanuric acid were added.
The crystals were found to be composed of the same compounds when compared by infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to crystals found in the pet's urine.
I don't know if you're aware of this, but most of the goods coming into the country from Central America were duty-free.
However, 80% of our goods were taxed by Central American countries.
I didn't think it made sense, and it was unfair.
What I want to say is that we want you to treat us the way you want to be treated.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill that makes it illegal to sell or rent violent video games to minors.
The bill would require violent video games sold in California to be labeled with an "18" rating and would levy a $1,000 fine for each infraction (selling to a minor).
Kier Starmer, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) today announced that Harun and Price have both been charged.
Mr Hoon is standing down, to be replaced by Ed Davey as business secretary, and Norman Lamb as employment relations minister.
Hoon and Price are due to appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on February 16.
The victims were identified as Nicholas O'Donnell, 25, and Zachary Caddock, 21, the driver.
Edgar Begiristain suffered a broken arm and a broken jaw, while Christopher Schnieder required facial reconstructive surgery.
His skull was fractured and he suffered a concussion and was temporarily blinded in one eye, with a titanium plate inserted in his forehead to fix his shattered skull.
Schneider testified via video link from a U.S. Air Force base in his home state.
After the Wednesday event, Carpenter had two individual races in the championships.
Her first race was the slalom, but she retired in the first run (Did Not Finish, DNF). Thirty-six of the 116 competitors had the same result.
In the second race of the day, the Giant Slalom, she finished in tenth in the women's Super-G group with a total time of 4:41.30, 2:11.60 behind the Austrian Claudia Roesch in first, and 1:09.02 behind the Hungarian Gyongyi Daniel in ninth.
A quartet of skiers made it through to the second run in the women's giant slalom, where 45 of the 117 starters made it through to the second run.
The Madhya Pradesh Police has recovered the stolen laptop and mobile phone.
Deputy Inspector General DK Arya said, "We have arrested the five men who raped the Swiss woman and recovered her mobile phone and laptop."
The names of the accused are Baba Kanjhar, Buta Kanjhar, Lampro Kanjhar, Gaza Kanjhar and Vishnu Kanjhar.
The accused appeared before the court with his face covered, police chief Chandrashekhar Solanki told reporters.
Three people were inside the home at the time of the crash, but no injuries were reported.
However, the driver suffered a head injury.
The road was closed for some time while paramedics worked to free the driver from the wreckage of his red Audi TT.
He was initially admitted to James Paget Hospital in Great Yarmouth.
He was later transferred to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.
He has since appeared before Edinburgh Sheriff Court charged with his son's murder.
She has been remanded in custody until her trial, but there is a risk that witnesses' testimony could be tainted as her image has been widely disseminated.
While this is common practice in other parts of the UK, the Scottish legal system is different and the courts consider the publication of photographs to be potentially prejudicial.
Prof Pamela Ferguson, of Dundee University, said "journalists are treading on dangerous ground" by publishing photographs of suspects.
The Crown Prosecution Service, which is responsible for prosecuting the case, said it would not be making any further comment until the defendant has appeared in court.
According to leaked information, the document refers to border disputes, with the Palestinians seeking a return to the borders that existed before the 1967 Middle East war.
Other issues being discussed include the future of Jerusalem, which is considered sacred by both sides, and the Jordan Valley.
Israel says it is seeking a 10-year extension to the arrangement, while the Palestinians have agreed to a five-year extension.
The supplemental nuisance wildlife removal trials are monitored and assessed for effectiveness, so the volunteer shooters who participated in the trials were under the watchful eye of the rangers.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the NSW Sporting Shooters Association (SSA) have partnered to recruit qualified volunteers for the NSW Sporting Shooters Association's hunting program.
Mick O'Flynn, acting park superintendent for the National Park Service and Conservancy, said the four shooters selected for the initial round of firing had received overall safety and training instruction.
Yesterday, Martelly was sworn in as the head of the new nine-member Provisional Electoral Council (CEP).
This will be the fifth CEP for Martel in four years.
Last month, the Presidential Council recommended that the former European Commissioner resign as part of measures to prepare the country for new elections.
The commission was set up in response to widespread pro-regime protests that began in October.
These protests, sometimes violent, have been ongoing since 2011 after planned elections were not held.
About 60 incidents of overheating iPods have been reported, resulting in six fires and four minor burn injuries.
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said 27 such incidents have been reported.
Last week, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced that Apple had reported an additional 34 incidents of overheating, which it described as "not serious."
The department said in a statement that it was "deeply disappointed" that Apple had delayed its report.
The quake hit at 7:19 a.m. local time (9:19 p.m. ET Friday)
According to the Northern Mariana Islands Emergency Management Office (EMO), there have been no national reports of damage.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there were no tsunami warnings in effect.
A former Philippine police officer has hijacked a bus in the capital, Manila, and taken tourists from Hong Kong hostage.
Rolando Mendoza fired at tourists with an M16 rifle.
Several hostages were rescued, but at least six people have been confirmed dead.
Six hostages, including children and elderly people, were freed early and Filipino photojournalists were also freed.
Photographers posed as elderly women to get close to Mendoza. He was shot dead.
Riggs followed in his father's footsteps by pursuing a career in medicine.
He trained as a midwife and started work at the National Women's Hospital in Auckland in 1959.
While working at the hospital, Riggs began researching premature births in her spare time.
His research showed that giving hormones to women made their babies' lungs mature earlier.
State investigators on Wednesday recovered two flight recorders from the "black box" of the crashed plane, Xinhua news agency reported.
Other wrestlers also paid their respects to Luna.
Tommy Dreamer said, "Luna was the original Queen of Extreme. She was my first manager. Luna passed away the night of a double moon. It was a very unique night, just like her. She was a very strong woman."
Dustin "Goldust" Rhodes commented, "Luna was as crazy as I am... maybe more so... I loved her, I miss her, I want her to be in heaven if there is one."
A poll of 1,400 people conducted ahead of the 2010 federal election found eight per cent more people were against Australia becoming a republic compared with 2008.
In the lead-up to the 2010 federal election, then Prime Minister Julia Gillard argued that Australia should become a republic once the reign of Queen Elizabeth II ended.
A poll of 1,010 people found that 34 per cent were in favour of Australia becoming a republic with Elizabeth II as head of state.
The poll showed 29 percent of Australians thought the country should become a republic, while 31 percent said it should not.
The Olympic gold medallist was due to compete in the 100m and 200m freestyle as well as the 4x100m medley relay at the Commonwealth Games, but has been withdrawn due to a suspected health issue.
The painkillers he needed were banned at the tournament, so he couldn't take them.
Curtis Cooper, a professor of mathematics and computer science at Central Missouri State University, discovered the largest known prime number on January 25.
The discovery was announced on Tuesday after being verified by several individuals using different hardware and software.
Comets may have brought about the formation of proteins and carried organic material to support life, and may have been the source of Earth's water.
Scientists want to know how the planets formed, in particular how Earth formed, from the collisions of comets a long time ago.
The 53-year-old governor, who took office early this year and signed a bill into law last month legalizing same-sex marriage.
He called the rumors "political gossip and nonsense."
He is expected to run for president in 2016.
The NextGen system, the FAA says, will allow planes to fly shorter routes and save millions of gallons of fuel and reduce carbon emissions each year.
It uses a satellite-based technology rather than a ground-based radar, allowing controllers to see more accurately where a plane is and to provide more accurate information to pilots.
There are no special transportation facilities and the overground trains do not stop at Wembley and there are no car parks or Park and Ride facilities.
There were fears that the match could be played in front of a closed-doors crowd because of a lack of transportation.
A new species of bird has been discovered in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, according to a study published in the journal Science on Thursday.
A team of researchers from Princeton University in the United States and Uppsala University in Sweden have reported that this new species has evolved in just two generations, but it was thought to take much longer because it is a hybrid of two finch species, the Galapagos finch and the large ground finch.
Gold is a soft, malleable metal that can be worked into any shape. It can also be hammered into thin sheets.
It can be pulled into a wire-like state, twisted or braided, or stretched or extruded into a plate-like state.
It can be stretched thin enough to be applied to other metals, even thin enough to be used as "colored paper" for hand-drawn illustrations known as "coloring books".
This is called the pH of a substance. You can make a pH indicator with cabbage juice.
Vinegar reacts with chemicals to change color, depending on whether it's acidic or alkaline (basic).
The pH level is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in a solution.
A proton is a positively charged particle (since the hydrogen atom has one proton and one electron).
I take two pinches of the powder and rub it between my palms, wetting my hands with clean water.
The moisture in your hands reacts with the outer layer, giving you a weird feeling and forming a kind of shell.
Cities such as Harappa and Mohenjo-daro had sewage systems and most houses had flush toilets.
Aqueducts have been found in the houses of Minoan cities at Knossos and Phaistos on the island of Crete, and at Santorini.
Ancient Egypt, Persia, and China also had toilets. In Roman times, they were part of the public baths.
When you call someone who is thousands of miles away, the call automatically becomes a satellite call.
Satellites in space can receive these calls and almost instantly reflect them.
Satellites are sent into space on rockets. Scientists use telescopes to look at space because some of the light or colours we can see with our eyes gets bent by the Earth's atmosphere.
To put a satellite or telescope into orbit, first you need a giant rocket at least 100 feet tall.
This wheel has changed the world beyond belief. The greatest achievement of the wheel is that it made transportation much more comfortable and much faster.
Trains, cars, and many other means of transportation were invented there.
Below these are the medium-sized cats, which eat medium-sized prey such as rabbits, hares and deer.
Finally, many small animals such as insects, bats, lizards, and birds are eaten by many small cats, including feral cats.
The secret to its success is the concept of niches, which means that each cat has a unique job to do and doesn't compete with other cats.
Lions are the most social of the cat species and live in a group called a "pride".
A pride consists of one to three male adults and around thirty females and cubs.
Females are usually related to each other and form a matriarchal society with sisters and daughters.
A lion's pride resembles a wolf or dog pack in its behaviour, and the lion (as opposed to other large cats) hunts and kills its prey by running it down.
A well-muscled tiger can outrun, outswim, outdive, outclimb, and outgrapple a reasonably fit human being by as much as ten to one.
A tiger belongs to the same biological group as lions, leopards and jaguars: the family Felidae. Only the four big cats of the family Felidae are able to roar.
A tiger's roar is not a loud scream like a lion's, but more of a deep, intimidating growl.
Ocelots eat a variety of small animals, including monkeys, snakes, armadillos, and birds. Most of the animals that ocelots hunt are much smaller than themselves.
Scientists think Ocellots hunt by smelling the ground for the scent of animals (prey) that have passed by, and then chasing them.
They have excellent night vision and are good at sneaking up on prey. Ocelots blend in with their surroundings and ambush their prey.
When a small group of organisms (fewer individuals) separates from a larger group (for example, by crossing a mountain range or a river, or by moving to a new island where they are unlikely to be able to return easily), they often become aware of their new environment.
The new environment will have different resources and different competitors, so the new group will need different characteristics and adaptations to survive, possibly becoming a powerful competitor.
The original group has not changed at all and is still in need of adaptation.
As the new group begins to adapt to the new environment, over time it will begin to look different from other groups.
Eventually, after thousands or even millions of years, the two populations will become so different that they can no longer be considered to be the same species.
This process is called speciation, which just means the formation of a new species. Speciation is an unavoidable result of evolution and is a very important part of it.
Plants make oxygen that humans breathe in and take in carbon dioxide that humans breathe out.
Plants use photosynthesis to make nutrients from the sun. They also make shade.
We build our houses out of plants, we make our clothes out of plants, a lot of the food we eat is from plants, animals wouldn't be able to survive without plants.
Mosasaurus was a top-level predator in its time, so it had nothing to fear from other mosasaurs or anything else.
It has more than 70 sharp teeth in its long jaw and a different set of teeth in its palate, so once it goes in there's no way out.
Whether or not it had a forked tongue is unknown, but it may have eaten mollusks, crustaceans, and even other mosasaurs.
Also, anything that goes into the water will be attacked, including the Tyrannosaurus, one of the largest dinosaurs.
Most of their food was familiar to us, but the Romans did eat some strange things, such as wild boar, peacocks, snails and a type of rodent called a dormouse.
Another difference is that while the poor and women ate while standing or sitting on the floor, the wealthy men preferred to eat while reclining on couches.
Ancient Roman cuisine did not include ingredients from the Americas or Asia that were introduced to Europe in later centuries.
For example, there were no sweet potatoes, tomatoes, yams, or cocoa beans, and the ancient Romans never tasted turkey.
The Babylonians built a temple for each of their gods, which were called "houses of the gods".
People made sacrifices to the gods, and priests tried to please the gods through rituals and festivals.
Each temple had an open courtyard and an inner sanctuary that only priests were allowed to enter.
As part of a temple, sometimes a ziggurat, a special type of tower in the shape of a pyramid, was built.
The top of the tower was a special sanctuary dedicated to the gods.
Houses were not as important to people who lived in the warm climates of the Middle East.
Most Hebrew families lived outdoors.
Women cooked in the courtyard, and the shops were all booths facing the street. Stone was used in the construction of the houses.
Since there were no large forests in the land of Canaan, wood was a very expensive and precious commodity.
Greenland was an uninhabited land when it was first discovered by the Norse in the 10th century. According to Norse legend, Erik the Red was exiled from Iceland for murder and set sail west to find new land, which he called Greenland.
However, his discovery was not the first to be made by Europeans in the area.
Although all of these countries were "Scandinavian", there were considerable differences in the nationality, kingship, customs, and history of the Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, and Icelanders.
People who have seen the movie "National Treasure" may think that there is a map on the back of the Declaration of Independence that leads to buried treasure.
But that's not true. There's something written on the back, but it's not a treasure map.
The reverse side of the Declaration of Independence is titled "Draft of the Declaration of Independence as Reported by the Committee of Five to the Congress, July 4, 1776" and is written upside down at the bottom of the document.
While it is not known who made it, the large scroll (29.75 inches by 24.5 inches) has been preserved in its rolled state since its initial use.
That's why they're often just added as a label.
While the north of France had been liberated in the D-Day landings and subsequent battles, the south of France was still occupied.
The rulers were the Vichy French, who had signed an armistice with the Germans in 1940 rather than fight them.
On August 15, 1940, the Allies invaded southern France in an operation code-named "Dragoon."
In just 2 weeks, the US and Free French forces liberated southern France and were on their way to Germany.
Civilization is the shared culture of a large group of people who live and work together.
The word "civilization" derives from the Latin adjective civilis, which means "of a citizen," from the Latin noun civis, meaning "citizen" or "city-state," and ultimately from the Latin noun civitas, meaning "city-state" or "community."
A city-state is the precursor to a nation-state. Civilization and culture refer to the passing down of knowledge from generation to generation, the continuation of a cultural heritage, and the fair distribution thereof.
Many out-of-the-mainstream cultures disappear without being recognized as a formal civilization, thus leaving no historical record.
During the War of Independence, the 13 states initially formed a weak central government based on the Articles of Confederation, with the Continental Congress as the sole component.
The legislature had no power to levy taxes, and the country's executive and judicial branches were not established, so all of the legislature's actions had to be approved by the states, which were often reluctant to do so.
They did not have the power to nullify state taxes or tariffs.
The amendment required a two-thirds majority of the states to ratify, and as the states ignored the central government, the delegates often skipped town.
Italy's national football team is the second most successful in the world, having won the FIFA World Cup in 2006.
Popular sports include football, basketball, volleyball, water polo, fencing, rugby, cycling, ice hockey, roller hockey, and Formula 1 motor racing.
Winter sports are popular in the north of the country and it has produced a number of Italian players to play in international and Olympic competitions.
Japan has approximately 7,000 islands, the largest of which is Honshu, which is the seventh largest island in the world.
Japan is an archipelago, so it is often referred to geographically as the "archipelago".
Taiwan's beginnings can be traced back to the 15th century when Portuguese sailors called the island Ilha Formosa, which means "beautiful island".
In 1624, the Dutch East India Company established a base in the southwest of Taiwan and transformed the aborigines' method of producing crops, employing Chinese laborers to work on rice and sugar plantations.
In 1683, the Qing dynasty (1644–1912) invaded and occupied Taiwan, and in 1885 declared Taiwan to be a province of China.
In 1895, after its defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), the Qing government signed the Shimonoseki Treaty, ceding sovereigntity over Taiwan to Japan.
The main three buildings of Machu Picchu are the Inti Watana (Sundial), the Temple of the Sun (the large tower) and the Temple of the Three Windows.
Most of the buildings on the edge of the complex have been rebuilt in their original style to give tourists a better idea of how they used to look.
Machu Picchu was 30% rebuilt in 1976 and is still being restored.
For example, the most common film format for still photography is 35 mm, which was the standard film size at the end of the era of analogue photography.
Still made today, what's more important is that its aspect ratio is the same as the image sensors in digital cameras.
It sounds confusing, but a 35 mm frame is actually 36 mm wide by 24 mm high.
Therefore, the aspect ratio of this format is said to be 3:2.
Many common recording formats (e.g. APS) are close to this aspect ratio.
The "rule of thirds" may be disregarded by some, but it is a simple guideline to maintain the order of a video while creating dynamism.
The most effective position to place the main subject is at the intersection of lines that divide the image into thirds vertically and horizontally (see example).
During this time, the Catholic Church, which had become wealthy and powerful in Europe, began to be scrutinized.
Christianity has linked European countries with different languages and customs for more than a thousand years.
Its universal appeal was such that it influenced everyone from kings to peasants.
One of the major tenets of Christianity is that wealth is meant to be used to reduce the suffering or poverty of others, and church funds are meant to be used for that purpose.
The central authority of the church has been in Rome for over a thousand years, and the concentration of power and finance has led many to question whether the doctrines are being upheld.
Soon after, Britain began a naval blockade of Germany.
The strategy was effective in blocking the flow of crucial military and civilian supplies, but the blockade was deemed illegal under international law by several international agreements over the past two centuries.
Britain laid sea mines in international waters to prevent ships from entering, endangering neutral ships.
Germany had anticipated a similar response from the Allies to their unrestricted submarine warfare.
In the 1920s, the most common beliefs among both citizens and the nation as a whole were isolationism and pacifism.
The horrors and futility of World War I led many nations to seek to avoid such a situation in the future.
In 1884, Tesla moved to New York to work for Edison's company.
He emigrated to the United States almost penniless with a single volume of poems and a letter of recommendation from his former employer, Charles Batchelor, to Thomas Edison.
The ancient Chinese had their own unique way of marking the passage of time, and each distinct phase or dynasty of Chinese history has its own characteristic emperor.
There were also interregnums between dynasties, most notably the three-decade period between the fall of the Han dynasty and the establishment of the Jin dynasty.
During this time, many noblemen fought fierce battles for the right to claim the throne.
The Three Kingdoms was one of the bloodiest periods in ancient China's history, with thousands of soldiers fighting for supremacy at the Daxing Palace in Xi'an.
There were many social and political influences including the adoption of the metre, the move from absolutism to republicanism, patriotism, and the belief that the country was not the property of one ruler but of the people.
After the revolution, jobs became open to all men, and the most motivated won.
This is also true of the military, where rank is no longer based on class but on ability.
The French Revolution inspired many workers in other countries to start revolutions in their own countries.
Muhammad had a keen interest in the problems of everyday life. He often went to a cave called Hira, which was located in a mountain called Nur, for meditation.
The caves, which have survived the ages, vividly depict Muhammad's spiritual epiphany.
The cave is located on a mountain north of Mecca, and is completely isolated from the outside world.
In reality, it is not easy to find a cave even if you know they are there. Once inside a cave, it is a completely enclosed space.
Besides the clear, beautiful sky above and the surrounding mountains, there was nothing else to be seen. From inside the cave, very little of the outside world could be seen and very little of the outside world could be heard.
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing.
The Great Pyramid of Giza is one of several large pyramids built by the ancient Egyptians as tombs for their dead pharaohs.
The Giza Plateau (the Giza Necropolis) is the site of several pyramids (the Great Pyramid of Giza being the largest), many small tombs, a temple, and the Great Sphinx.
The Great Pyramid was built as a massive tomb for Pharaoh Khufu, and many of the smaller pyramids, tombs, and temples surrounding it were built in honor of Khufu's wife or other relatives.
The upper bow mark resembled a V, while the lower bow mark resembled a Hodgkin's needle or a truncated rectangle.
The up-bow begins at the tip of the bow, and the down-bow begins at the frog (the part of the bow you hold in your hand).
The upper bow produces a softer sound, while the lower bow produces a louder, more assertive sound.
You can write freely with a pencil, but remember that there are musical reasons for the bowed slurs. Usually, you should follow the bowed slurs.
On October 6, 1789, a terrified King Louis XVI, Queen Marie Antoinette, and their two young children (11-year-old Marie-Therese and 4-year-old Louis-Charles) were forcibly returned to Paris from the Palace of Versailles by an angry mob of market women.
They rode back to Paris in a carriage, shouting at the king and queen and hurling abuse at the rioters who surrounded them.
A mob of rioters smashed the windows of the king and queen's carriage.
At one point, a rioter brandished the head of a decapitated royal guard in front of the terrified queen.
Filipinos paid for the cost of the war in the Philippines with their lives.
They were forced to pay taxes to the American colonial government to fund most of the expenses, and also to pay interest on bonds sold in Wall Street under the name of the Philippine government.
Naturally, the excess profits wrung out of the Filipinos over the long term would have constituted the basis for the American empire's super-profit.
To understand the Knights Templar, one must understand the context in which their order arose.
This era is known as the High Middle Ages and generally includes the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries (1000s to 1300s).
The Middle Ages are generally considered to be the period between the Early Middle Ages and the Late Middle Ages, which ended in the year 1500.
The term "technological determinism" encompasses a wide range of thought, from the idea that human destiny is shaped by scientific and technological advances, to the notion that technology determines the course of history.
Most interpretations of the Actor-Network Theory share two common premises. The first is that technology itself has far-reaching cultural and political implications beyond its own development, and the second is that technology is not a social construct, but rather something that "influences" society.
For example, the invention of the car could be said to have led to the development of roads.
However, with only a handful of cars on the road, the economics of the national road network are not there, so new production methods are being developed to reduce the cost of the cars.
The increase in the number of car owners has led to an increase in the number of road accidents, which in turn has led to the development of new technologies in the medical field to treat injured bodies.
Romanticism was greatly influenced by the cultural determinism of writers such as Goethe, Fichte, and Schlegel.
In the context of Romanticism, geography shaped the individual, and as time passed, customs and cultures grew out of the geography and intertwined with society, surpassing the laws that were forced upon them.
As Paris is today a center of fashion, so in the Middle Ages Constantinople was a center of fashion.
Its reputation as a centre for luxury clothing began around 400 BCE and lasted until around 1100 CE.
Its status declined in the 12th century, when mainly crusaders brought back silk and spices from the Byzantine markets.
It was at this time that the title of fashion capital moved from Constantinople to Paris.
The Gothic style flourished in the 10th to 11th centuries and in the 14th century.
The original garment was heavily influenced by the Byzantine culture of the East.
However, due to the slower communication routes, European styles may be 25 to 30 years behind.
As the Middle Ages came to an end, Western Europe began to develop its own style distinct from the rest of the world. One of the biggest innovations to come out of the Crusades was the use of buttons to close clothing.
Subsistence farming is farming of a plot of land to provide food for the farmer and his or her family.
Permaculture is a simple system which seeks to maximise yields of food and other resources from ecologically-sustainable, closed-loop systems, often using organic techniques.
Historically, most farmers were subsistence farmers, and this is still the case in many developing countries.
A subculture is a group of people who feel disenfranchised from the mainstream and seek to either create or participate in a culture that allows them to express their uniqueness.
Subcultures can be defined by the age, race, class, location, or gender of their members.
The defining characteristics of subcultures can be language, aesthetics, religion, politics, sexuality, geography, or any combination of these.
Members of subcultures often signal their membership with a distinctive style that includes clothing, mannerisms, and jargon.
One of the most common ways to demonstrate the importance of socialization is to cite the few unfortunate cases of children who were denied socialization by parental abandonment, neglect, or intentional abuse.
These children are sometimes called "feral children" or "wild children". Feral children are sometimes abducted and held captive by adults (often their parents), and in some cases the cause of abandonment is a parent's refusal to care for a child with severe intellectual or physical disabilities.
Wild children may have experienced severe child abuse or trauma before being abandoned or running away.
Some are said to have been raised by animals, while others are said to have survived on their own in the wild.
Wild children who are raised by and grow up with non-human animals behave in much the same way (within the bounds of physical possibility) as the animals they are raised by and grow up with.
Project-based learning makes learning easier and more fun, but scaffolding takes it one step further.
Scuffold is not a method of learning, but a way to support people who are using new computer programs, starting new projects, or having new learning experiences.
There are two types of scaffolding: virtual and real. In other words, the teacher is a type of scaffolding, as are clip art images in Microsoft Office.
Virtual scaffolding is built into the software, so students can ask questions, give instructions, and explain things in a way that's easy for one student to understand.
Children are placed in foster care for a variety of reasons ranging from neglect to abuse to extortion.
All children should be raised, cared for, and educated in a well-rounded environment, but feral children are not.
We know that the foster care system is the safety net for these children.
The foster care system is designed to provide safe homes, loving parenting, consistent education, and reliable medical care.
Under the foster care system, foster parents are required to provide for any and all necessities that the child may have lacked prior to being taken away from their biological family.
The Internet is a medium that combines both elements of mass communication and interpersonal communication.
The distinctive feature of the Internet is that it leads to further dimensions when viewed from the perspectives of utilization and satisfaction.
For example, "learning" and "socializing" are cited as important motives for Internet use (James et al., 1995).
The concepts of "personal involvement" and "continued relationship" were identified as new motivational aspects by Eighmey & McCord (1998) in their study of viewer reactions to websites.
The use of video recordings has led to important discoveries about the meaning of tiny facial movements, or micro-expressions, which last for only fractions of a second.
Specifically, it claims to be able to tell if a person is lying by reading the subtle movements of their face.
Oliver Sacks pointed out in his essay "The President's Speech" that people with brain damage can still appreciate the sincerity of a speech.
He suggests that this ability to interpret human behaviour is not unique to us, but also shared with animals such as dogs.
Research in the twentieth century revealed that there are two pools of genes, one hidden and one expressed.
Sudden mutations introduce new genetic variants, which are then selected out of the pool of variants by the process of natural selection.
Mutation shuffling and crossover is the process by which alleles are recombined and shuffled between chromosomes as they pass from one generation to the next.
It is difficult for primates with a digestive system similar to that of humans to obtain essential amino acids from the plant resources available in the savannah environment.
If left untreated, this can lead to growth restriction, nutritional deficiencies, and ultimately death.
The most easily obtained plant foods were proteins contained in leaves and legumes, but these are difficult to digest in their raw state for primates such as ourselves.
On the other hand, animal foods (bees, ants, eggs) are easily digested and are high-quality protein sources that contain all essential amino acids.
Given that our ancestors solved the "protein problem" the same way that chimpanzees living in today's rainforests do, this is not surprising.
A nap is a short sleep which is taken during the day, usually lasting from 10 to 60 minutes.
This can easily be done by using a relatively quiet alarm clock to wake you completely without disturbing your sleep.
If you find yourself inadvertently turning off your alarm, try placing your clock across the room from your bed so that you have to get out of bed to turn it off.
Other methods based on biorythms include drinking a lot of fluids (especially water and tea with diuretic properties) before going to bed so that you have to get up to pee.
The degree to which people feel peaceful is inversely proportional to the degree to which they are tense physically or mentally.
The less tense you are, the more positive energy you give off. Everyone has the potential to find absolute peace and contentment.
Anyone can be enlightened. The only thing that stands in the way of achieving this goal is one's own fears and negative feelings.
Tibetan Buddhism is a faith based on the teachings of Buddha, but it has expanded to include many techniques from Mahayana Buddhism and yoga from India.
In essence, Tibetan Buddhism is very simple. It consists of Kundalini yoga, meditation, and the path of compassionate love.
Kundalini yoga combines yoga poses, breathing techniques, mantras, mudras, and meditation to awaken the kundalini (the energy at the base of the spine).
The center of Tibetan meditation is deity yoga. Through visualization of various deities, energy channels are purified and chakras activated, leading to a state of enlightenment.
During World War II, Germany was a common enemy, leading to cooperation between the Soviet Union and the United States; after the war, they became rivals as a result of ideological, systemic, and cultural clashes.
Within two years of the end of the war, former allies became enemies and the Cold War began.
It then went on for another forty years, with proxy wars being waged in Africa, Asia, Afghanistan, Cuba, etc.
By September 17, 1939, the Polish defense had already been broken, and the only hope was to withdraw through the Romanian bridgehead and regroup.
However, these plans were almost overnight rendered obsolete by the Soviet Union's invasion of eastern Poland on 17 September 1939, which formed the Belarusian and Ukrainian fronts after more than 800,000 Soviet troops had invaded Poland in violation of the Ribbentrop–Molotov Pact, the Soviet–Polish Non-Aggression Pact, and other international agreements (bilateral and multilateral).
Shipping is the most efficient way to move large quantities of people and goods across the world.
Traditionally, the Navy's job has been to maintain the ability to move troops and supplies while denying the enemy the ability to do the same.
A recent example of this is Operation Overlord during World War II, when the United States attempted to transport troops and supplies across the Atlantic to help liberate Britain.
At the same time, the German Navy was mainly using U-boats to try to stop this convoy.
If the Allies had lost, Germany would probably have invaded and conquered Britain just like they did with the other European countries.
Domestication of sheep began approximately 10,000 years ago, and its center was in the Zagros Mountains of Iran.
Ancient cultures and tribes began keeping sheep for their milk, wool, meat, and skin.
Generally, flocks of sheep were left to graze on hillside or other pastureland, with a shepherd boy to guard the flock. This tradition continues today.
In the 16th century, Britain's roads were already laid with cobblestones.
A cart track was simply a path laid with boards parallel to each other, but a cart pulled by a horse could carry more stuff at a faster rate of speed than the slightly rougher roads of the day.
Sleepers were introduced quite early on to keep the track in place, and then it became apparent that it was more efficient to put a metal point on top of them.
This became common, but iron wheels were a cause of wear to the wooden wheels of carriages.
Eventually, wooden wheels were replaced by iron wheels. In 1767, the first all-iron wheels were introduced.
The first known mode of human locomotion was walking upright, which became possible around 2.0 million years ago with the appearance of Homo erectus ("upright man").
The direct ancestors of humans, the australopithecines, did not have the habit of walking upright for an extended amount of time.
Sahelanthropus may have walked upright 7 million years ago, but the trait of bipedalism has only been confirmed in the fossil record 3.9–4.2 million years ago with the species Australopithecus.
You can start a more eco-friendly lifestyle, join the environmental movement, or become an activist to help reduce future suffering.
In many cases, this is a symptom-based treatment. However, it is not just about seeking a temporary fix; it is about identifying the root cause of the problem and inactivating it.
The world has changed dramatically as a result of the progress of human science and technology, and the problems have been exacerbated by overpopulation and excessive consumption.
The handwritten draft, signed by President John Hancock and Secretary of State Charles Thomson, was sent to John Dunlap, a printer who lived several blocks away, on July 4, 1776.
In one night, 150 to 200 copies were made, and today they are known as "Dunlap Broadsides".
The first public reading of the Declaration of Independence was given by John Nixon on July 8, 1776, in front of Independence Hall.
One was delivered to George Washington on July 6 and read to the army at New York on July 9; the other arrived in London on August 10.
The 25 surviving Dunlap Broadsides are the earliest known copies of the document. The originals, written in longhand, do not survive.
Today, many paleontologists believe that a group of dinosaurs survived, and is the ancestor of the birds we see today.
Because they have feathers and can fly, many people don't think they are dinosaurs.
Birds, however, are still very similar to dinosaurs in many ways.
They have scales and claws on their feet, are egg-laying, and walk on their hind legs like a Tyrannosaurus.
In essence, all computers used today are based on the manipulation of information encoded in binary form.
Binary numbers are expressed in either of the two values (0 or 1) and are called binary numbers or bits when used in computers.
Internal poisoning can take a while to show itself. Vomiting is a common symptom so it can't be immediately diagnosed.
The most obvious sign of internal poisoning is an open container of a drug or toxic household chemical.
Check the label on the poison to see if there is specific first-aid advice for that particular poison.
Entomologists use the term "insect" in a formal sense to refer to this group of organisms.
This name derives from the fact that the bed bug has been a pest that has infested beds since ancient times due to its high adaptability.
Both the Sasigame and Tokojira are sedentary parasites that have adapted to living in the nests or homes of their hosts.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is estimated to affect up to 400,000 people in the U.S., and is a common neurological disease among young and middle-aged adults.
MS is a disease that affects the central nervous system, which includes the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves.
According to research, women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Some couples may decide that parenting is not in their or their child's best interests.
Couples like this can take advantage of the adoption system for their babies.
In an adoption, the biological parents relinquish their parental rights and the child becomes the legal child of another couple.
The main goal of science is to understand how the universe works by using scientific methods. In fact, this method is the guide for most science research.
But that's not all. Experiments are also tests used to disprove one or more of a set of possible hypotheses, and asking questions and observing are also guidelines for scientific research.
Naturalists and philosophers paid attention to classic books, especially the Bible written in Latin.
Accepted were Aristotle's views on all matters scientific, including psychology.
As Greek knowledge declined, Western countries began to realise they were disconnected from the roots of Greek philosophy and science.
Many rhythms observed in physiology and behaviour are determined by the presence of an endogenous circadian clock that is set by a system of biochemical reactions.
A cyclic rhythm is not simply a response to a cyclic stimulus from the outside, but has been recorded in most organisms from bacteria to plants, fungi, and animals.
A pacemaker is a self-contained, battery-operated device that produces electrical impulses similar to those of the heart's natural pacemaker, the sinoatrial (SA) node.
Hershey and Chase's experiment was one of the strongest experiments to suggest that DNA is the genetic material.
Hershey and Chase used viruses (called "phages") to transfer DNA from one bacterium to another.
They carried out two experiments, one in which they marked the DNA of viruses with radioactive lithium, and another in which they marked the proteins of viruses with radioactive sulphur.
Mutations can have different effects depending on the type of mutation, the importance of the mutated gene, and whether the mutated cell is a somatic cell or a germ cell.
Only mutations in reproductive cells can be passed on to offspring, while mutations in other cells can be lethal or cause cancer.
Nature-based tourism is attracting more and more people interested in visiting natural areas to enjoy the scenery, including wildlife.
Examples of local activities include hunting, fishing, photography, bird-watching, park visits and ecological surveys.
For example, going to meet orangutans in Borneo and taking photos and learning about them.
Every morning, commuters pass each other on their way to work in small-town America.
In this dynamic back-and-forth, everyone is connected in some way to a transportation system based on the car.
Science now shows that this massive carbon economy has disrupted one of the stable states of the biosphere that has supported human evolution for the past 2 million years.
Anyone who participates in society relies on some form of transportation. Most of those people are dissatisfied with their transportation options.
In developed countries, you rarely hear complaints about water quality or bridges collapsing.
Why does this keep happening, and why is it so common? Is it just incompetence on the part of the transport authorities, or is there a more fundamental problem?
Traffic flow research is the study of individual drivers and vehicles and how they interact with each other.
Unfortunately, predicting the actions of the driver with 100% certainty is not possible, so studying traffic flow is difficult.
Fortunately, drivers tend to behave in a reasonably consistent manner, so the flow of traffic can be roughly described mathematically.
To more accurately represent traffic, a relationship has been established between (1) flow, (2) density, and (3) speed, which are the three main characteristics of traffic.
These relationships help in the planning, design, and operation of roadway facilities.
Insects were the first animals to evolve flight. Being able to fly has helped them escape predators, find food and mates more efficiently.
Most insects can fold their wings along their bodies.
This allows for a wider range of habitats in which to hide from predators.
Currently, only dragonflies and damselflies can fold their wings.
Thousands of years ago, a scholar named Aristarchus claimed that the solar system revolved around the sun.
His theory was accepted by some, but many were of the opinion that the Sun (and the other planets) orbited the Earth.
It doesn't feel like the earth is moving, so it makes sense to me.
The Amazon is the second-longest river in the world and has the greatest volume of water of any river in the world.
The Amazon is the widest river in the world, and has a width of up to 6 miles (9.7 km) in some places.
Twenty percent of the water that flows into the oceans as runoff comes from the Amazon.
The Amazon has a length of 6,387 km (3,980 miles) and collects water from thousands of small rivers.
Stone-built pyramids continued to be built until the end of the Old Kingdom, but the pyramids of Giza were by far the largest and most sophisticated.
The ancient Egyptians of the New Kingdom were amazed by the monuments of their predecessors, which were over a thousand years old.
The Vatican City State has a population of around 800. It is the smallest independent state in the world, and also the state with the lowest population.
In the Vatican City State, Italian is used in laws and official communications.
Most of the people who work in Vatican City speak Italian, and many religious ceremonies are conducted in Latin.
The citizens of the Vatican City are all Roman Catholics.
Basic chemical elements such as gold, silver and copper have been valued by people since ancient times, and all of them can be found naturally in the form of ores, which can be mined relatively easily with primitive tools.
The philosopher Aristotle believed that everything was made of four elements: earth, water, air, and fire.
This is something close to the four states of matter (solid, liquid, gas, plasma) in order, but his theory also stated that they can form new stuff that you can see in this world.
An alloy is basically a mixture of two or more metals. Think of all the elements on the periodic table.
Elements such as calcium and potassium are metals. Of course, there are other metals such as silver and gold.
Alloys are also classified by the amount of non-metal elements they contain, such as carbon.
Everything in space is made of stuff called matter. Matter is made of tiny particles called atoms.
Atoms are so incredibly small that a trillion of them could fit in the period at the end of this sentence.
Thus, the invention of the lead pencil was a good friend to many people.
Unfortunately, as new styles of writing developed, the role and function of the lead pencil began to decline.
Nowadays, as more and more people type messages into their computer screens, the need for pencil sharpeners has decreased.
I wonder what the keyboard will be like when something newer comes out.
The nuclear bomb works on the principle of needing energy to collect many protons and neutrons into one nucleus.
It's like rolling a heavy truck up a hill. Some of the energy released when the atoms split is emitted as heat.
Some atoms have an unstable nucleus, and these nuclei tend to "decay" into other nuclei.
The moon is made of rock and dust. The outer layer of the moon is called the crust.
The crust is about 70 km (40 miles) thick on the near side and about 100 km (60 miles) thick on the far side.
The bottom of the sea is thin, and the bottom of the mountains is thick.
Because the crust is thin, there are more oceans closer to the poles. It is easier for molten rock to come to the surface.
Content theory focuses on finding things that appeal to people's emotions or motivate them.
These theories suggest that as people mature into adulthood, they internalize specific needs or desires.
These theories look at the motives behind why some people want to do certain things on a regular basis, and the environmental factors that either encourage or discourage them from doing so.
The two content theories are Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory and Herzberg's two-factor theory.
In general, there are two actions that may occur if a manager is promoted to a position where they used to be a peer: either "staying as one of the gang" or "trying to be one of the gang."
Managers of this type dislike making unpopular decisions, disciplinary actions, performance reviews, assigning blame, and determining who is responsible.
The opposite end of that spectrum is the individual who can't see that they have to change themselves when the team has changed.
In the end, it's the manager's job to get the best out of the players he has at his disposal.
This behavior often causes rifts between the leader and the rest of the group.
Virtual teams require the same level of excellence as traditional teams, but with a twist.
Members of a virtual team often function as a physical group's window to the outside world.
Virtual teams may meet across time zones, which can be difficult for local managers to understand, so members of virtual teams often need to be more self-motivated than members of traditional teams.
Another unique element of virtual teams is the existence of "invisible teams" (Larson and LaFasto, 1989, p109).
The "invisible team" is management, the people who set the standards that people are measured against.
Why would an organization want to go through the lengthy process of establishing a learning organization? Innovation is one of the reasons.
When all available resources are effectively utilized across the functional areas of the organization, creativity and innovation can flourish.
As a result, the collaborative process of overcoming the obstacles can lead to a new innovative process that meets the customer's needs.
For an organization to be innovative, leaders must create a culture of innovation, not just knowledge sharing and organizational learning.
In 2006, Angel explained the concept of continuous improvement as a way for organizations to achieve higher performance levels.
Neurobiological data provides physical evidence to support theoretical approaches to the study of cognition, thus narrowing the scope of research and enabling more precise research.
The correlation between brain pathology and behavior is backed by science.
Various types of brain damage, injury, abnormalities, and tumors have long been known to affect behavior and some aspects of mental function.
New technologies have made it possible to see and investigate structures and processes in the brain in ways that were not possible before.
This has allowed us to obtain a great deal of information and materials that can be used to construct a simulation model to help us understand the workings of the human mind.
While AI has a very sci-fi meaning, it has formed a very important field in computer science, processing actions, learning, and intelligent adaptation in machines.
AI research has led to the creation of machines that can perform tasks that require intelligence.
Examples include control, planning, scheduling, answering questions and diagnosing customers, as well as handwriting, speech, facial recognition, etc.
This has become a separate field of study that focuses on solving real-world problems.
While AI systems are now being incorporated into some home computers and video games, they are increasingly being used in the economic, medical, engineering, and military fields.
Much of the school's learning takes place outdoors, with teachers often taking groups of pupils on bus trips to places they would not otherwise get to visit.
Technology is providing a new way of learning by taking students on virtual field trips to museums, aquariums, and beautiful art.
Also, virtually sharing out-of-classroom learning is a great way to reflect on a trip and share experiences with future lessons.
For example, students at Bennettsville Middle School in Bennettsville, South Carolina, create a website every year for their trip to the state capitol, but the old sites are kept online so they can be used as scrapbooks.
A blog can also help improve a student's writing skills. Students who are just starting to blog tend to make a lot of grammatical and spelling errors, but having an audience makes a big difference.
Students are often the most critical readers, so bloggers often try to improve their writing in order to avoid criticism.
Writing a blog also allows students to "become more knowledgeable about the world that surrounds them," which in turn makes them "smarter and more interesting people" (Toto, 2004).
Blogs are tools that encourage collaboration and extend learning beyond the traditional classroom.
Proper use of blogs "improves students' analytical and critical thinking skills. Students are able to define their position in relation to others' writings and express their own opinions on specific issues" (Oravec, 2002).
Ottawa is a bilingual, charming capital of Canada and home to many museums and galleries displaying the country's past and present.
Further south are the Falls of Niagara, and to the north are the wilderness areas of Muskoka.
As a result, Ontario is seen by outsiders as a truly Canadian province.
Northern regions are even more sparsely populated, with some areas being virtually uninhabited wilderness.
Many will be surprised by this population comparison: The number of African-Americans in the U.S. is now greater than the number of Canadians.
The East African islands lie in the Indian Ocean, off the eastern coast of Africa.
Madagascar is the largest island between Africa and Asia and a unique biodiversity hotspot.
Most of the smaller islands are independent countries or French overseas territories, and many have famous luxury beach resorts.
Arabs also brought Islam to the region, which was widely accepted in Comoros and Mayotte.
In the 15th century, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama discovered a sea route from Europe to India that marked the beginning of European influence and colonialism.
It is bordered on the north by Sahel, on the south and west by the Atlantic Ocean.
Women: Women traveling alone should consider saying they're married, whether or not they actually are.
Wearing a ring (not too high) is effective.
Women should be aware that cultural differences can lead to behavior that is considered harassment, and that being followed or grabbed by the arm is far from unusual.
When you turn down a man's advances, do so with a firm but polite tone-of-voice (even if there is a cultural difference, you don't have to be nice about it!).
The modern city of Casablanca was founded in the 10th century BCE by Berber fishermen on the site of the ancient city of Anfa. It later became a strategic port for the Phoenicians, Romans, and Moroccans.
The Portuguese destroyed and rebuilt it, naming it Casabranca, but they eventually left it in 1755 after a devastating earthquake.
The city was rebuilt by the Sultan of Morocco as Dar al-Baydha and named Casablanca by the Spanish traders who set up a trading post there.
Casablanca is one of the worst places in Morocco to shop.
Around the old medina there are plenty of shops selling Moroccan handicrafts such as jewellery, leather goods, pottery and carpets, but all of these are geared towards tourists.
Goma is a tourist city in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, close to Rwanda.
In 2002, Goma was devastated by lava from the Nyiragongo volcano, which destroyed most of the city's streets, especially in the central part.
Goma is quite safe, but if you go outside of Goma, you need to understand the situation on the ground in North Kivu, which continues to be tense.
The city is a base for trekking to Mount Nyragongo, an active volcano that is one of the cheapest places in Africa to see mountain gorillas.
Moving around Goma can be done using bodaboda (motorcycle taxis). Normal (local) rates are around 500 Congolese francs for short distances.
The name "Timbuktu" has come to connote a remote, exotic place that is difficult to get to.
Present-day Timbuktu is a tourist attraction because of its reputation, and it has an airport, but it is a poor town.
It was added to the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1990 to protect it from the threat of desertification.
It was one of the main stops on Henry Louis Gates's PBS special Wonders of the African World.
The city is more Arab than African, and feels very different from any other city in the country.
Kruger National Park (KNP) is located in northeastern South Africa, bordering on Mozambique and Zimbabwe to the north and east, and the Crocodile River to the south.
The park has an area of 19,500 square kilometres (7,500 sq mi) and is divided into fourteen ecological zones, each with different fauna.
This is one of South Africa's main tourist attractions and a jewel in the crown of the South African National Parks (SANParks).
As with all national parks in South Africa, there is a daily conservation fee and an entrance fee to get into the park.
It can be worthwhile to buy a Wildcard. This allows you access to all major parks in South Africa or just South Africa's national parks.
Hong Kong Island is, in fact, part of Hong Kong and is a popular tourist attraction in its own right.
The skyscrapers that line the skyline of Hong Kong have been likened to a bar graph because of the reflection of the water in Victoria Harbour.
To see the best views of Hong Kong, head out of the island and towards the waterfront of Kowloon.
Much of the urban development of Hong Kong Island has been concentrated along the northern shoreline.
This is where the British colonial rulers made their mark, so it's a good place to start if you want to look for evidence of the colonial era.
Sundarbans is the world's largest coastal mangrove forest, spread over 80 km (50 miles) along the coastline of Bangladesh and India.
The Sundarbans are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and some of the forests within India are part of the Sundarbans National Park.
These forests are not just mangroves; they are also the last vestiges of the vast jungles that once spread across the Hindustan plains.
Sundarbans has an area of 3,850 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), of which about a third is waterlogged.
Sundarbans became a wildlife sanctuary in 1966, and today is home to an estimated 400 Royal Bengal tigers and around 30,000 deer.
The buses depart from the district bus station (across the river) throughout the day, but most buses, especially those heading east or to Jekaterinburg/Bumtan, leave between 6:30am and 7:30am.
The commuter buses often fill up, so it is advised to purchase tickets well in advance.
Most areas have Japanese-made Coaster buses, which are comfortable and sturdy mini-buses.
Taxis are a convenient way to get around Palo (150 rupees) and Punaka (200 rupees) and other nearby places.
The Oiapoque Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the Oiapoque River, connecting the cities of Oiapoque in Brazil and Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapoc in French Guiana.
The two towers are 83 metres high and 378 metres long, and the bridge is 3.50 metres wide with two lanes.
The space above the bridge is 15 metres high. It was completed in August 2011 and opened in March 2017.
The full opening of the bridge is scheduled for September 2017, and is expected to coincide with the end of Brazilian customs inspections.
The Guarani were the most important indigenous group in present-day eastern Paraguay, living as semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers and practicing some subsistence farming.
Other groups of indigenous peoples lived in the Chaco, including the Guaicuro and Payaguá.
Paraguay was formed in the 16th century, when Spanish conquerors encountered the Guaraní people.
The Spanish colonial era began in the 16th century and lasted until the 19th century.
Since the founding of Asunción in 1537, Paraguay has retained many of its indigenous characteristics.
Argentina is famous for having the best polo teams and polo players in the world.
The biggest event of the year will take place in December at the Los Canitos Polo Field.
Smaller tournaments and competitions can also be watched here at other times.
For the schedule and tickets for the Polo Tournament, please check with the Asociacion Argentina de Polo.
The official currency of the Falkland Islands is the Falkland Island pound, which is fixed at one pound sterling (GBP).
Exchanges can be made at the only bank on the island located in Stanley (across from FIC West).
The pound sterling is widely used throughout the island, and Stanley's credit cards and US dollars are also widely accepted.
In the outlying islands, you can use British and U.S. currency, but probably not credit cards; check with the owner well in advance of what forms of payment are accepted.
It is not possible to exchange Falkland pound outside of the islands, so it is best to exchange before leaving the islands.
Since Montevideo is in the Southern Hemisphere, winter in the Northern Hemisphere is summer in Montevideo, and summer in the Northern Hemisphere is winter in Montevideo.
Montevideo has a subtropical climate with warm summers and mild winters, with average temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F) in summer.
It's rare for temperatures to get below freezing, but the combination of wind and humidity can make it feel colder than the temperature on your thermometer.
There is no "rainy season" or "dry season" per se, and the amount of rainfall remains fairly constant throughout the year.
While many of the animals in the park are accustomed to human contact, wild animals should never be fed or harassed.
According to park officials, you must be at least 100 yards (91 m) away from bears and wolves and 25 yards (23 m) away from all other wildlife!
Even though they appear docile, bison, moose, elk, bears, and virtually all large animals can be aggressive.
Each year, dozens of tourists are injured by these animals because they approach them too closely; these wild animals are large and potentially dangerous, so keep your distance.
Also, avoid carrying or cooking food with strong smells as this will attract bears and other wild animals, and try to keep your camp as clean as possible.
Apia is the capital of Samoa. The town is located on the island of Upolu and has a population of approximately 40,000.
Apia was founded in the 1850s, and became the official capital of Samoa in 1959.
The harbour was the scene of a famous stand-off in 1889 when seven ships from Germany, the United States and Britain were refused permission to leave.
All of the ships except one British cruiser were sunk, and nearly 200 Americans and Germans were killed.
During the peaceful rally, which was organised by the Mau movement, the prime minister, Tu'i Tamase Lealofi III, was killed.
Oakland has two harbors and many beaches. Popular beaches are spread out over three areas.
North Shore Beach (North Harbour area) is a Pacific Ocean facing beach that stretches from Long Bay to Devonport.
Most of the beaches are safe for swimming, and the Pohutukawa trees provide shade from the summer sun.
Tamaki Drive-Beach is located between Mission Bay and St Heliers Bay in the central suburbs of Auckland.
These are sometimes overcrowded family-friendly beaches with various shops right on the beach. Swimming is safe.
The main local beer is called "Number One" and is not a strong beer, but a refreshing and easy-to-drink beer. Another local beer is called "Manta".
French wine is easy to find, so why not try some New Zealand or Australian wine while you're there.
Tap water is absolutely fine to drink, but if you are worried then bottled water is easily available.
The concept of "flat white" coffee is foreign to Australians. Short blacks are "espressos", cappuccinos are (not milky) cream-filled, and tea is served without milk.
Hot chocolate is a beverage that meets the Belgian standard. Juice drinks are expensive but very tasty.
Trips to the reef are year-round, and injuries caused by the above reasons are rare.
Still, heed all advisories from authorities, and pay close attention to safety warnings.
The hawksbill turtle is found along coasts and in river mouths from October to April, but can be seen at other times.
Sharks do attack humans, but this is very rare. Most sharks are scared of humans and will swim away.
Saltwater crocodiles do not live in the open ocean but mainly inhabit river mouths north of Rockhampton.
It gives travellers a sense of security knowing that a bed is waiting for them when they arrive at their destination.
Many travel agents have contracts with specific hotels, but they may also be able to book other lodgings, such as camp grounds.
In general, travel agents offer breakfast, arrange transportation from the airport to the hotel, or package airfares and hotels together.
Also, if you need time to consider the offer, or to obtain other documentation (such as a visa) to take up the offer, then we can reserve the booking for you.
However, requests for changes or special requests must be made through your travel agent, not directly to the hotel.
Some festivals have decided that most of their attendees will camp on site, and many attendees consider this to be a significant part of the experience.
If you want to experience this in person, you'll need to arrive early to secure a camp site with good acoustics.
Remember that there may be sections that play music late into the night, even when the main stage has finished for the day.
Some festivals offer a dedicated family camping area for families with young children.
In winter, when crossing the Baltic Sea, check the location of the cabins. The cabins most affected by the noise of the ship cutting through the ice are horribly noisy.
The St. Petersburg cruise includes a stay in the city, and cruise passengers are visa-exempt (please check the conditions).
Casinos are usually designed to tempt guests to spend as much time and money as possible. Often there are no windows or clocks, and the exits are not obvious.
Casinos usually have special dining and entertainment options to keep guests happy.
Some venues serve alcoholic beverages. However, alcohol impairs judgement, so good gamblers know that it doesn't matter who serves them.
Those who drive in high latitudes or mountainous areas should consider the possibility of snow, ice, and below-freezing temperatures.
Snowbanks and frozen roads have less traction, so driving like you do on paved roads won't work.
When it snows, it can snow quite a bit in a short time.
Also, snow falling or blowing into the windshield can limit visibility.
Meanwhile, many parts of the country remain blanketed in snow and ice, with travel disrupted for months at a time.
A safari is probably the most popular tourist attraction in Africa, and for many visitors a highlight of their tour.
A safari is an overland journey, usually into remote wilderness areas, for the purpose of observing and photographing wild animals, especially in their natural habitat.
Some animals, such as elephants and deer, have a tendency to approach cars, so they can easily be observed using standard equipment.
Lions, cheetahs and tigers are surprisingly short-sighted, so you'll need to use binoculars to see them well.
A walking safari (also known as a "bush walk" or "hiking safari") is a multi-day trek through a wilderness area.
The Paralympic Games are scheduled to take place between August 24 and September 5, 2021, and will be held in various locations around Japan.
Tokyo will become the only city in Asia to have hosted both a summer and winter Olympics when it stages the 2020 Games.
Those who had booked flights or lodging for 2020 before the postponement may find themselves in an uncomfortable situation.
Cancellation policies vary widely, but as of mid-March, most COVID-19-related cancellation policies were extended to July 2020, the original date of the Olympics.
Tickets for the event will be priced from 2,500 yen to 130,000 yen, with regular tickets costing around 7,000 yen.
If you have wet clothes, ironing them will make them dry faster. Many hotels will lend you an iron and an ironing board if you ask.
If you don't have an iron or don't want to use one, you can also try using a hair dryer.
Be careful not to overheat the dough (it can cause shrinkage or even burning).
There are many ways to treat water to make it safe to drink, including sophisticated methods that can remove specific risks that can make water unsafe to drink.
Some areas will come to a full boil in one minute, while others will take many minutes to come to a full boil.
The effectiveness of filters varies, but if you care, consider buying bottled water in sealed containers from a reputable company.
Travellers may encounter exotic diseases in areas where they are not common in their home country.
Pests can make food inedible, irritate skin, sometimes cause allergic reactions, contaminate food, and transmit diseases.
Viruses and other infectious diseases, as well as dangerous animals, are usually not considered pests.
Duty-free shopping is the opportunity to buy goods tax-free in certain shops.
Travellers visiting countries with high taxes on alcohol or tobacco can often save a significant amount of money by bringing their own.
The stretch between Point Marion and Fairmont is the least-traveled section of the Buffalo-Pittsburgh route, frequently passing through remote wilderness areas.
Those unaccustomed to driving on country roads should beware of the steep grades, narrow lanes, and sharp curves.
The posted speed limit is often significantly lower than the speed limit on adjoining roadways, and is more strictly enforced.
However, oddly enough, cellular service is better here than in many other areas of the county (Waynesboro, etc).
German pies are very tasty, and in Bavaria, they are similar to the pies from the neighboring southern country of Austria, and there are many varieties.
Fruit-filled pastries are common, and apples are used year-round as an ingredient, while summer sees the arrival of cherries and plums.
Many German cakes use nuts such as almonds or hazelnuts. Popular cakes are especially good with strong coffee.
If you want a small, rich, pudding-like dessert, try a Berliner, Pfannkuchen, or Krapfen, depending on where you are.
Curry is a dish whose base is herbs and spices, cooked with meat or vegetables.
Curries are classified either as "dry" or "wet" depending on the amount of water used.
In northern India and Pakistan, yogurt is often used in curries; in southern India and along the coast of the subcontinent coconut milk is often used.
Indonesian cuisine is a collection of cuisines from the more than 17,000 islands of Indonesia, reflecting its ethnic and cultural diversity.
However, when used without further qualification, it can refer to food from the central to eastern parts of Java.
Traditional Javanese cuisine, now popular throughout the archipelago, is characterised by simple flavourings, with peanuts, chilli, sugar (especially Javanese coconut sugar) and various spices being the main ingredients.
The abumi (あぶみ) is the part of the saddle that hangs down on either side to support the rider's feet.
This gives the rider a lot of stability, but there is a concern about safety as the rider's feet can get caught in the pedals.
There is a risk that your foot can get caught in the stirrup when dismounting from the horse, and be dragged along as the horse gallops away. Several safety measures can be taken to minimize this risk.
Firstly, most riders wear boots with a heel and a smooth sole with a fairly narrow heel.
Next, some saddles, especially British-made saddles, have a safety bar, which prevents the rider from being dragged by the reins if he or she falls backward.
Colca Canyon - Known as the Grand Canyon of South America, Colca Canyon is home to some of the continent's most impressive cliffs and rock formations.
Looking down from the top, the view is breathtaking. Climbers from all over the world continue to push the boundaries of what is possible on these walls, establishing new routes.
Downhill skiing and snowboarding are popular sports that involve going down a snow-covered hill while wearing skis or a snowboard.
Skiing is a major activity and many enthusiasts, known as "ski-nuts", plan their holidays around specific skiing destinations.
The concept of skiing is very ancient; a cave painting from 5000 B.C. depicts a skier.
The history of downhill skiing as a sport can be traced back at least to the 17th century, and in 1861 Norwegians established the first recreational ski club in Australia.
Backcountry Skiing: Also known as backcountry skiing, ski touring or ski mountaineering.
Although related to cross-country skiing and mountaineering, they are usually excluded and require sturdier skis and boots for uphill and downhill travel in rugged terrain.
Think of ski trails as hiking trails.
Under ideal conditions, you can go farther on foot than on a bicycle, but off-road running at speed, like cross-country skiing with a heavy backpack, is quite rare.
Europe is a relatively small continent with many independent countries, and in normal circumstances multiple visas and border crossings are required to visit multiple countries.
However, the Schengen area functions as a single country in this regard.
As long as you stay within this zone, you can usually cross the border without having to go through immigration several times.
Similarly, once you have a Schengen visa, you do not need to apply for separate visas for each Schengen country, saving time, expense, and bureaucracy.
There is no universally accepted definition of antiques. Some tax authorities define antiques as items that are over 100 years old.
The definition varies geographically, and in some areas of North America the age restrictions are tighter than they are in Europe.
Crafts are younger than their mass-produced counterparts, but can also be considered antiques.
Herding reindeer is an important means of livelihood for the Sami people, and the culture surrounding this trade is important for many people who pursue other professions.
However, the Sami have traditionally not been reindeer herders, but rather fishers and hunters, so most reindeer were kept as draft animals.
Today, many Sámi work in modern trades, and tourism is an important source of income for many parts of Sápmi.
While the word "Gypsy" is often used by non-Roma to refer to them, it is often considered offensive due to its association with negative stereotypes and misconceptions about Romani people.
If the country you are visiting becomes subject to a travel advisory, it may affect your travel health insurance or trip cancellation insurance.
While advice from foreign governments may or may not be heeded, such advice is invariably aimed at the country's own citizens.
For example, an American living in the Middle East might face a different situation than a European or Arab.
The advice is not a summary of the security situation in any particular country.
Many of the views presented were oversimplified or just plain wrong, compared to the more detailed and accurate information available elsewhere.
Extreme weather is a general term for dangerous weather phenomena that can lead to physical damage, serious social disruption or loss of life.
Extreme weather can be found anywhere in the world, and takes many different forms depending on the geography, topography, and state of the atmosphere.
High winds, hail, excessive rainfall, and wildfires are the result of severe weather phenomena such as thunderstorms, tornadoes, flash flooding, and cyclones.
Regional and seasonal weather phenomena include blizzards, blizzards, hail, sandstorms, etc.
Travellers are advised to be aware of the risk of disruptive weather that can affect travel plans.
Anyone planning to travel to a country where there is a perceived conflict should consider undertaking specialist training.
A search on the Internet for "hostile environment course" would probably bring up the address of a local company.
Courses generally go into much more detail about all of these issues, and often include practical exercises.
Courses usually last between 2 and 5 days, and may include role-playing and first-aid training, as well as instruction in the use of weapons.
While there are few books or magazines devoted to survival in the wild, there are virtually none on the subject of survival in a combat zone.
Travellers who are scheduled to undergo gender reassignment surgery in a foreign country need to make sure they bring along valid documentation that can be used to verify their identity when they return home.
There are many ways in which a government's policy on issuing passports with no gender designation (marked "X") or amending documents to reflect a person's desired name or gender varies.
The willingness of foreign governments to recognize these documents varies widely.
After September 11, 2001, security checkpoints became even more invasive.
Trans people undergoing surgery were shocked to find they would have to pass a scanner to maintain their privacy and dignity.
A rip current is a current of water flowing away from the shore, and can often be found around rock outcrops or other obstacles in the sea bed.
Because of the topography of the ocean floor, tides can concentrate in a few deep spots and form a current that goes out to the open ocean.
Most of the deaths are caused by exhaustion from trying to swim against the current, but it is unlikely that you would be able to swim against the current.
If you can get out of the current, it won't be so hard to swim back.
If you're out of your depth and don't have the swimming ability to get yourself out of trouble, then it's probably best to wait for help.
Re-entry shock can come sooner, last longer, and be more severe than culture shock.
Travelers who easily adapt to new cultures may have trouble adjusting to local cultures.
When you go back to your home country after living in a foreign country, you lose the habits of the culture of your home country to the degree that you adapted to the new culture.
If it's your first trip out of the country, chances are you'll be met with a lot of patience and understanding from the locals. After all, they know you're new to traveling.
People may not expect travelers to ask for patience and understanding when they return.
The Sound and Light Show at the Pyramids is one of the things to do in Cairo that is especially fun for kids.
In the darkness you can see the pyramids, and before the show you can see the pyramids in silence.
Normally, you'll hear the sounds of tourists and vendors here. The story told by the sounds and lights is almost like a children's book.
The Sphinx is both the narrator and the background of the long story.
Images are projected onto the pyramid at night, and the pyramid is lit up.
The South Shetland Islands, discovered in 1819, are claimed by several countries and have the most bases of any archipelago, with 16 in 2020.
The archipelago is located 120 km north of the Peninsula. The largest island is King George Island, where the settlement of Villa Las Estrellas is located.
Other areas include Livingstone Island, Desolation Island, and the magnificent natural harbours created by the drowned calderas of the still-active volcanoes.
Elsworthland is a region south of the peninsula, bordering the Bering Sea.
The mountains of this peninsula have eroded to form a plateau, and then re-eroded to form the 360 km long Elsworth Range, which has been split in two by the Minnesota Glacier.
The Vinson Massif, at 4,892 m the highest mountain in Antarctica, is located in the Sentinel Range of the Transantarctic Mountains.
In remote areas where cellular networks do not reach, satellite phones can be the only option.
Satellite phones are not really a substitute for cell phones because you have to be outdoors with a clear view of the sky to make a call.
The service is often used by pleasure craft, explorers in remote areas requiring data or voice, and other vessels.
Your local phone company should be able to provide you with details on how to connect to this service.
Studying abroad is becoming an increasingly popular option for students looking to make the most of their gap year.
It is particularly popular with graduates who are unsure of what to do next, as it allows them to take a year out of study without jeopardising their chances of gaining a place at university.
In many cases, by going to a gap year course overseas, you will find it easier to get into university when you return home.
Normally, there is a tuition fee to enroll in these educational programs.
Finland is a great country for boating holidays, with thousands of lakes and thousands of islands, many of which are accessible only by boat.
In the islands and lakes, you don't necessarily need a boat.
While the coastal islands and the largest lake are big enough for yachting, smaller boats and kayaks offer a different experience.
Boating is a national pastime in Finland, with one in seven or eight people owning their own boat.
This is similar to Norway, Sweden and New Zealand, but very rare in most other countries (e.g. 1-40 people in the Netherlands).
Most Baltic cruises have a long stay in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Basically, you sleep on the boat at night and over the course of 2-3 days you get to see the historical city.
If you disembark only for shore excursions, you do not need a separate visa (as of 2009).
Some cruises include a stop in Berlin, Germany. As you can see from the map above, Berlin is some distance from the sea, so a shore excursion to see the city sights would be an extra cost.
Flying can be a terrifying experience for people of all ages and walks of life, more so perhaps for those who have never flown before or who have had a traumatic experience on a plane.
It's not shameful, it's a very common fear or dislike that many people have.
Understanding the workings of an aircraft and how it behaves in flight can help overcome a fear of the unknown or of being out of one's depth.
Couriers are often paid a premium for urgent deliveries, and in many cases it is essential that business documents, goods or replacement parts arrive quickly.
Some airlines have their own jets, but at other airlines and for smaller companies there were problems.
Back in the days when air freight was new, it sometimes took days to get cargo off the plane and through customs.
The only way to get it through quickly was to send it as a registered parcel. Airline regulations do not allow bags to be sent if there are no passengers, so that was the next hurdle.
Naturally, you'll have to pay a premium to travel in first or business class (make sure to negotiate with your employer if you're on an expense account).
But they're never cheap. Business class is about four times as much as economy, and first class is about eleven times as much.
In general, it doesn't make sense to search for discounted business- or first-class tickets on direct flights from A to B.
Airlines know that certain groups of passengers are willing to pay a premium in order to have the privilege of getting to their destination faster and more comfortably, so they charge accordingly.
The capital of Moldova is Chișinău. The local language is Romanian, but Russian is widely spoken.
Moldova is a multi-ethnic country which has seen ethnic tensions in the past.
The conflict has resulted in the Transnistria, a breakaway eastern region of Moldova, which has its own government and currency but is not recognized by any UN member state.
Economic links have been re-established between Moldova's two separatist regions despite the failure of political talks.
Moldova's main religion is Orthodox Christianity.
Izmir is Turkey's third-largest city, with a population of around 3.7 million, and the country's second-largest port after Istanbul. It is also a major traffic hub.
Formerly an ancient Greek city, it is now a modern, bustling commercial centre surrounded by mountains and a huge bay.
Wide boulevards, glass-fronted buildings and modern shopping centres are interspersed with traditional red-roofed buildings, 18th-century markets, old mosques, churches and synagogues, more reminiscent of Mediterranean Europe than traditional Turkey.
From Haldarsik, you can see the nearby island of Esturoi, and the village has a rare octagonal church.
Some tombs in the churchyard are decorated with interesting stone carvings of doves.
It's worth spending 30 minutes or so wandering around the village, taking in the sights.
The north of the country is home to the romantic and charming city of Sintra, which has been immortalised in the works of Lord Byron.
A regular Scotterbus 403 runs from Sintra to Cabo da Roca.
Also, visit the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima, one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the world.
Remember that in essence it is a huge group cemetery, and for the vast majority of the world's population it is a cemetery of unknowns.
Many of the men and women who survived that time are still alive, and many of those who were killed or deported were people who were important to us, whether they were Jewish or not.
Show the appropriate level of deference and behave with dignity and decorum. Don't make jokes about the Holocaust or the Nazis, for example.
Be careful not to vandalise famous landmarks by spraying paint or scratching graffiti into them.
Catalan and Spanish are the official languages of Catalonia. About half of Catalans prefer to speak Catalan, most of them are bilingual in Catalan and Spanish, and nearly all of them are able to speak Spanish.
However, because Catalan is legally designated as the primary language, most signs are written only in Catalan.
However, Spanish is still widely used in public transportation.
The regular announcements on the metro are in Catalan only, but in case of delays due to an accident, the automatic system will announce in Spanish, English, French, Arabic, and Japanese.
Parisians are said to be self-centered, arrogant, and rude.
While this is an oversimplification, the best way to make the most of your time in Paris is to "act like a local" and do the things that the locals do. That way, you'll fit in and feel more comfortable.
Parisians may seem rude at first, but once you know the basics of etiquette it's easy to fit in.
The Plitvice Lakes National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising 16 lakes connected by a series of waterfalls in a vast forest (primarily beech, spruce and fir) that is shared with the Alps and the Mediterranean.
Due to the mild climate, there is a wide range of soil types and elevations, resulting in a great diversity of plant life.
The area is also home to a wide variety of animals and birds.
European brown bears, wolves, eagles, owls, long-eared owls, short-eared owls and capercaillies are among the rare species that can be found there, as well as many more common ones.
Women are required to wear skirts that go below the knee and cover the shoulders when they visit the abbey.
Most of the monasteries will have shawls to lend to women who come unprepared, but if you bring your own especially bright one, you will be smiled at by the monks and nuns at the entrance.
Men are also required to wear trousers that cover the knee.
These can be borrowed from the reception desk at the entrance, but some people may find them uncomfortable to wear as they are not washed after each use. They are a one-size-fits-all for men.
The cuisine of Mallorca, like that of other Mediterranean regions, is based on bread, vegetables, meat (particularly pork) and olive oil.
During the summer, a simple dish called "panburi" made with tomatoes, cheese, and chutney on top of bread coated with olive oil is especially popular.
All nouns, just like the pronoun "you" in English, always begin with a capital letter, even in the middle of a sentence.
This is an important way to distinguish some verbs and objects.
It may be slightly more complicated for the writer, to see if verbs or adjectives are being used in a concrete way, but it's easy for the reader.
Italian pronunciation is relatively easy, and most words are pronounced exactly as they are spelled.
The pronunciation changes based on the next vowel, so the main letters to be aware of are c and g.
Also, while caro means "dear", carro means "tank", so the pronunciation of r and rr needs to be distinguished.
Persian is relatively easy to learn and is mostly regular in its grammar.
Therefore, reading an introductory text on Persian grammar will help you learn a lot about Persian grammar and make it easier to understand sentences.
It goes without saying that if you already know one of the Romance languages, you should have an easier time learning Portuguese.
However, those who know a little Spanish may jump to the conclusion that "Portuguese is so similar to Spanish that I don't need to learn it separately."
Before the modern era, most observatories were disused and left as museums or educational sites.
The pollution back then was different in kind from today's problems and because it was happening in towns and school playgrounds it seemed more immediate than present-day problems.
Many of the latest research telescopes are located in remote areas because of the good observing conditions.
The viewing of cherry blossoms, known as hanami, has been a part of Japanese culture since the 8th century.
The concept comes from China, where plum blossoms are popular.
The first hanami party in Japan was hosted by the emperor for himself and members of the court.
Plants are at their most beautiful when they are in their natural environment, so resist the temptation to bring back 'just one'.
If you try to collect "specimens" in a well-kept garden, you will be unceremoniously ejected.
Singapore is generally very safe, very easy to move around in, and you can buy almost anything once you arrive.
However, due to its positioning several degrees north of the equator, it has a (perpetual) tropical climate with both heat and (infrequent) sunshine.
There are also several buses heading north to Hebron, the legendary burial site of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their wives.
Make sure the bus you take is going to Kiryat Arba and Hebron and not just to a Jewish settlement near Kiryat Arba.
A walk along an inland waterway would be a great theme for a day out.
Things to do include visiting castles in the Rhine Valley or a cruise on the Danube between Nuremberg and Regensburg, or a boat trip on the Elbe.
They also mark popular hiking and cycling routes.
Christmas is celebrated as the birthday of Jesus and is one of the most important festivals of Christianity.
Many of the traditions associated with the holiday have been embraced by non-Christians in the United States and around the world.
Traditionally, people would stay awake on Easter eve in order to see the sunrise.
There is, of course, a theological explanation for this tradition, but it could also have something to do with ancient spring and fertility rites.
Traditional churches often hold a Vigil of the Resurrection on the eve of Easter Saturday, which is a celebration of the resurrection of Christ at midnight on Easter.
All of the original animals that came to the Galapagos were either swimming, flying, or floating.
Because of its isolation from the mainland, mammals could not migrate to the Galapagos, so the tortoise became the archipelago's main herbivore.
Humans have introduced many mammals to the Galapagos, including goats, horses, cows, rats, cats, and dogs.
In winter, you can experience the polar night, when the sun never rises above the horizon.
This phenomenon makes the sky almost completely dark for almost 24 hours, so it is a good opportunity to see the aurora.
This area is sparsely populated and has little light pollution, so you can enjoy the stars.
Japanese work culture is more hierarchical and formal than what Westerners are accustomed to.
A suit is standard work wear, and colleagues often address each other by their surname and title.
Workplace harmony is very important, and this is achieved by praising group efforts rather than individual accomplishments.
Many workers have to get approval from a supervisor to do anything, and are often expected to follow the supervisor's instructions without question.