Belgians are people identified with the Kingdom of Belgium, a federal state in Western Europe. As Belgium is a multinational state, this connection may be residential, historical, or cultural rather than ethnic; the majority of Belgians, belong to two distinct ethnic groups or communities native to the country, i.e. its historical regions: Flemings in Flanders, who speak Dutch and Walloons in Wallonia who speak French or Walloon. There is a substantial Belgian diaspora, which has settled in the United States, Canada and Netherlands; the 1830 revolution led to the establishment of an independent country under a provisional government and a national congress. The name "Belgium" was adopted for the country, the word being derived from Gallia Belgica, a Roman province in the northernmost part of Gaul that, before Roman invasion in 100 BC, was inhabited by the Belgae, a mix of Celtic and Germanic peoples; the Latin name was revived in 1790 by the short-lived United Belgian States, created after a revolution against Austrian rule took place in 1789.

Since no adjective equivalent to "Belgian" existed at the time, the French noun "Belgique" was adopted as both noun and adjective. From the sixteenth century, the Low Countries" or "Netherlands", were referred to as'Belgica' in Latin, as was the Dutch Republic. Belgians are a nationality or citizen group, by jus soli known as birthright citizenship, are not a homogeneous ethnic group. Belgians are made up of two main ethnic groups; these sometimes competing ethnic and linguistic priorities are governed by constitutionally designated "regions or communities", depending on the constitutional realm of the topic, a complex and uniquely Belgian political construct. Since many Belgians are at least bilingual, or trilingual, it is common for business and family networks to include members of the various ethnic groups composing Belgium; the Brussels-Capital Region occupies a unique political and cultural position since geographically and linguistically it is a bilingual enclave within the unilingual Flemish Region.

Since the founding of the Kingdom of Belgium in 1830, the city of Brussels has transformed from being entirely Dutch-speaking into a multilingual city with French as the majority language and lingua franca, a process, labelled the Frenchification of Brussels". Since the independence of Belgium in 1830, the constitutional title of the Belgian head of state is the "King of the Belgians" rather than the "King of Belgium". Within Belgium the Flemish, about 60% of the population, form a distinguishable group, set apart by their language and customs. However, when compared to the Netherlands most of these cultural and linguistic boundaries fade, as the Flemish share the same language, similar or identical customs and traditional religion with the Dutch. However, the popular perception of being a single polity varies depending on subject matter and personal background. Flemings will identify themselves as being Dutch and vice versa on a national level. Walloons are a French-speaking people. Walloons are a distinctive community within Belgium, important historical and anthropological criteria bind Walloons to the French people.

More the term refers to the inhabitants of the Walloon Region. They may speak regional languages such as Walloon. Though three-quarters of Belgium's French speakers live in Wallonia, it is important to note that French-speaking residents of Brussels tend not to identify as Walloons; the German-speaking Community of Belgium is one of the three constitutionally recognized federal communities of Belgium. Covering an area of less than 1,000 km2 within the province of Liège in Wallonia, it includes nine of the eleven municipalities of the so-called East Cantons and the local population numbers over 73,000 — less than 1% of the national total. Bordering the Netherlands and Luxembourg, the area has its own parliament and government at Eupen; the German-speaking community is composed of the German-speaking parts of the lands that were annexed in 1920 from Germany. In addition, in contemporary Belgium there are some other German-speaking areas that belonged to Belgium before 1920, but they are not considered part of the German-speaking community in Belgium: Bleiberg-Welkenraat-Baelen in Northeastern province of Liège and Arelerland.

However, in these localities, the German language is endangered due to the adoption of French. Roman Catholicism has traditionally been Belgium's majority religion, with 65% of the Belgians declaring themselves to be Catholics. However, by 2004, nationwide Sunday church attendance was only about 4 to 8%. A 2006 inquiry in Flanders, long considered more religious than the Brussels or Wallonia regions in Belgium, showed 55% of its inhabitants calling themselves religious, while 36% said that they believed that God created the world. Belgium had a population of 10,839,905 people on 1 January 2010, an increase of 601,000 in comparison to 2000 (10,239,085

The London Labour Party mayoral selection of 2004 was the process by which the Labour Party selected its candidate for Mayor of London, to stand in the 2004 mayoral election. Ken Livingstone, the incumbent Mayor of London, was selected to stand after Labour's previous candidate, Nicky Gavron, stood aside. Ken Livingstone had been elected Mayor of London in the 2000 election as an independent, after unsuccessfully seeking the Labour Party nomination; this resulted in his expulsion from the Labour Party. In 2002, Labour selected Nicky Gavron as its Mayoral candidate for the 2004 election. Livingstone had made public his intention to seek a second term as Mayor, leading to fears that the Labour vote could be split once again between Livingstone and Gavron. However, in 2004, Livingstone was readmitted to the Labour Party, after passing a "loyalty test" interview with senior Labour Party officials. Gavron announced. Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London. Affiliates and members had 50% of the votes each in an Electoral College.

2004 London mayoral election London Labour Party website

Speedway in Sweden consists of three domestic leagues, a Speedway Grand Prix and an annual entry into the Speedway World Cup. Sweden has produced five World Champions and the Sweden national speedway team have been World Cup winners on ten occasions. Speedway is one of the most popular motorsports in the country; the Swedish speedway league was founded in 1948 and was inspired by British speedway including adopting British teams nicknames in Swedish versions. As popularity of the sport grew many new clubs were founded all around Sweden and during the 1950s and over 30 different clubs have competed in at least one season in the league system. There are three leagues in Sweden: Elite League National League Division OneSpeedway meetings in Sweden are held between May and September. Swedish teams are known by nicknames rather than club or city names; these nicknames have some sort of local connection. The Elite League was established in 1982 and has ten teams with meetings held on Tuesday evenings.

At the end of each season the top four teams ride in the play-offs in semi-finals and a final and the winner of the final are the Elite League champions. The team finishing bottom are relegated to the National league; the National league has seven teams and before the introduction of the Elite league in 1982 was the top flight speedway league in Sweden. Meetings are held on Thursday evenings; as with the National league, the top four teams at the end of each season compete in the play-offs in semi-finals and a final. The winner of the final are promoted to the National league. Division One is the third tier of Swedish speedway with seven teams. Meetings are held on Thursdays; the team finishing the season in first place can apply for promotion to the National league, subject to having suitable facilities and sufficient finances. No teams are relegated; the Swedish Individual Championship is for Swedish riders only. The riders are selected on the basis of their averages, with four riders being seeded directly to the final round.

Another 36 riders are drawn into two semi-final rounds, with the four lowest ranked riders in each competing in the pre-meeting runoffs. The top nine riders in each semi-final progress to the final, run using a modified Grand Prix format with 20 heats; the winner of the final becomes the Swedish Individual Champion. Riders finishing second and third are awarded bronze medals; the Swedish Junior Individual Championship is for Swedish riders aged 21 years and under. Thirty six riders are drawn into two semi-final arounds with the four lowest-ranked riders in each competing in the pre-meeting runoffs; the top seven riders in each semi-final progress to the final round, with the next two riders qualifying for the pre-meeting runoff. The winner of the final becomes Swedish Junior Individual Champion. Riders finishing second and third are awarded bronze medals respectively. List of speedway teams in Sweden Speedway Grand Prix of Sweden in Eskilstuna Speedway Grand Prix of Scandinavia in Målilla

Ann Street Halt railway station served the centre of Widnes in Cheshire, England. It was located on the southern section of the former St Runcorn Gap Railway. Opened by the London and North Western Railway as a railmotor halt, it became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923; the line passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948, only to be closed by the British Transport Commission three years later. The site is buried under road developments. In 1922 six "Down" trains a day called at Ann Street Halt,'One class only' and'Week Days Only'; the "Up" service was similar. The trains' destinations were St Helens to the north and Ditton Junction to the south, with some travelling beyond to Runcorn or Liverpool Lime Street. In 1951 the service was sparser. Five trains called in each direction, Monday to Friday. On Saturdays three trains called in each direction, all were 3rd Class only. No trains called on Sundays. Bradshaw, Bradshaw's July 1922 Railway Guide, Guild Publishing London Butt, R. V.

J.. The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt and stopping place and present. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. Pixton, The Archive Photographs Series Widnes and St Helens Railways, The Chalford Publishing Company, ISBN 0 7524 0751 1 Smith, Paul; the station is just north of multiple lines north of word "Widnes". An illustrated history of the line via 8D Association

The 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 28th season for the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise, during which they won the National League pennant with a record of 110–42 and their first World Series over the Detroit Tigers. Led by shortstop Honus Wagner and outfielder-manager Fred Clarke, the Pirates scored the most runs in the majors. Wagner led the league in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, runs batted in. Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss opened the Pirates' new ballpark, named Forbes Field, on June 30, 1909; the Pirates' 110 wins remain a team record, a record they set in the last game of the season by beating the Cincinnati Reds 7–4 in muddy conditions on October 5. It is in fact the best regular season win percentage by any World Series winning team. May 28, 1909: Ward Miller and cash were traded by the Pirates to the Cincinnati Reds for Kid Durbin. Note: Pos = Position. = Batting average. = Batting average. The matchup was billed as one between the major leagues' two superstars.

Wagner outplayed Cobb, rookie Babe Adams won all three of his starts, as the Pirates won in seven games. October 8, 1909, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania October 9, 1909, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania October 11, 1909, at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan October 12, 1909, at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan October 13, 1909, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania October 14, 1909, at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan October 16, 1909, at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at Baseball Reference 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates Page at Baseball Almanac

Manufacturers of Soul is an album by soul music vocalist Jackie Wilson and jazz pianist and bandleader Count Basie featuring performances of jazz versions of contemporary R&B/soul hits recorded in 1968 and released on the Brunswick label. AllMusic awarded the album 3 stars. "Funky Broadway" – 2:35 "For Your Precious Love" – 2:40 "In the Midnight Hour" – 2:47 "Ode to Billy Joe" – 4:10 "Chain Gang" – 2:47 "I Was Made to Love Her" – 2:50 "Uptight" – 2:35 "I Never Loved a Woman" – 2:41 "Respect" – 2:20 "Even When You Cry" – 2:42 "My Girl" – 2:48 Jackie Wilson – vocals Count Basie – piano Al Aarons, Oscar Brashear, Gene Coe, Sonny Cohn – trumpet Richard Boone, Steve Galloway, Grover Mitchell – trombone Bill Hughes – bass trombone Bobby Plater, Marshal Royal – alto saxophone Eric Dixon, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis – tenor saxophone Charlie Fowlkes – baritone saxophone Freddie Green – guitar Uncredited – bass Harold Jones – drums Benny Carter – arranger