The Comoros the Union of the Comoros, is an island country in the Indian Ocean located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel off the eastern coast of Africa between northeastern Mozambique, the French region of Mayotte, northwestern Madagascar. The capital and largest city in Comoros is Moroni; the religion of the majority of the population is Sunni Islam. As a member of the Arab League, the Comoros is the only country in the Arab world, in the Southern Hemisphere. At 1,660 km2, excluding the contested island of Mayotte, the Comoros is the fourth-smallest African nation by area; the population, excluding Mayotte, is estimated at 832,322. As a nation formed at a crossroads of different civilisations, the archipelago is noted for its diverse culture and history; the archipelago was first inhabited by Bantu speakers who came from East Africa, supplemented by Arab and Austronesian immigration. The sovereign state is an archipelago consisting of three major islands and numerous smaller islands, all in the volcanic Comoro Islands.

The major islands are known by their French names: northwestern-most Grande Comore, Mohéli, Anjouan. In addition, the country has a claim on a fourth major island, southeastern-most Mayotte, though Mayotte voted against independence from France in 1974, has never been administered by an independent Comoros government, continues to be administered by France. France has vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions that would affirm Comorian sovereignty over the island. In addition, Mayotte became an overseas department and a region of France in 2011 following a referendum passed overwhelmingly, it became part of the French colonial empire in the end of 19th century before becoming independent in 1975. Since declaring independence, the country has experienced more than 20 coups d'état or attempted coups, with various heads of state assassinated. Along with this constant political instability, the population of the Comoros lives with the worst income inequality of any nation, with a Gini coefficient over 60%, while ranking in the worst quartile on the Human Development Index.

As of 2008 about half the population lived below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day. The French insular region of Mayotte, the most prosperous territory in the Mozambique Channel, is the major destination for Comorian illegal immigrants who flee their country; the Comoros is a member state of the Arab League, the African Union, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Indian Ocean Commission. Other countries near the Comoros are the Seychelles to the northeast, its capital is Moroni, on Grande Comore. The Union of the Comoros has three official languages—Comorian and French; the name "Comoros" derives from the Arabic word قمر qamar. The first human inhabitants of the Comoro Islands are thought to have been Austronesian settlers travelling by boat from islands in Southeast Asia; these people arrived no than the sixth century AD, the date of the earliest known archaeological site, found on Nzwani, although settlement beginning as early as the first century has been postulated. The islands of the Comoros were populated by a succession of peoples from the coast of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf, the Malay Archipelago, Madagascar.

Bantu-speaking settlers reached the islands as a part of the greater Bantu expansion that took place in Africa throughout the first millennium. According to pre-Islamic mythology, a jinni dropped a jewel; this became the Karthala volcano. Development of the Comoros is divided into phases; the earliest reliably recorded phase is the Dembeni phase, during which each island maintained a single, central village. From the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries, trade with the island of Madagascar and merchants from the Middle East flourished, smaller villages emerged, existing towns expanded. Many Comorians can trace their genealogies to ancestors from Yemen Hadhramaut, Oman. According to legend, in 632, upon hearing of Islam, islanders are said to have dispatched an emissary, Mtswa-Mwindza, to Mecca—but by the time he arrived there, the Prophet Muhammad had died. Nonetheless, after a stay in Mecca, he returned to Ngazidja and led the gradual conversion of his islanders to Islam. Among the earliest accounts of East Africa, the works of Al-Masudi describe early Islamic trade routes, how the coast and islands were visited by Muslims including Persian and Arab merchants and sailors in search of coral, ivory, tortoiseshell and slaves.

They brought Islam to the people of the Zanj including the Comoros. As the importance of the Comoros grew along the East African coast, both small and large mosques were constructed. Despite its distance from the coast, the Comoros is situated along the Swahili Coast in East Africa, it was a major hub of trade and an important location in a network of trading towns that included Kilwa, in present-day Tanzania, Sofala, in Mozambique, Mombasa in Kenya. After the arrival of the Portuguese in the early 15th century and subsequent collapse of the East African sultanates, the powerful Omani Sultan Saif bin Sultan began to defeat the Dutch and the Portuguese, his successor Said bin Sultan increased Omani Arab influence in the region, moving his administration to nearby Zanzibar, which came under Omani rule. The

Paul Curtis Steelman, a native of Atlantic City, New Jersey, is an American architect, recognized as a designer of global entertainment and gaming architecture based in Las Vegas and Macau. Paul has designed buildings for the mavericks of the gaming industry, including Kirk Kerkorian, Steve Wynn, Sheldon Adelson, Francis Lui, Lawrence Ho, Tan Sri Dato' Lim Kok Thay, Tan Sri Dr Chen Lip Keong, Prince Albert of Monaco, Bob Stupak, Frank Modica, Phil Satre, Derek Stevens and Stanley Ho, his firm, Steelman Partners, designed the $240 million Sands Macau casino resort, notable for going from "blueprint to opening in 600 days", building a reputation for rapid development sometimes referred to as "Sands speed." The project won praise for its "bright, airy design" and sunken stage which "allows everyone in the theater to get a spectacular view of the entertainment." According to Architectural Record, Steelman's firm had total revenue in 2016 of over $48 million and design revenues and in 2016 rated his company as the 91st largest architectural firm.

Steelman was born on September 1955 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He grew up in the small beach community of Longport, New Jersey and graduated from Atlantic City High School in 1973. Paul began working as an architect in his father Edgar's architectural practice before graduating from Clemson University in 1977, he was employed by Wasleski Steelman, the city of Atlantic City, Golden Nugget Atlantic City Corporation and Resorts International, Atlantic City. In 1987 he founded his own firm. Steelman worked on Steve Wynn's Mirage hotel which in 1989 became the first Strip hotel to focus on eating and entertainment in addition to gaming tables. Since he has worked on numerous projects in collaboration with casino developers. In 1987 he founded Paul Steelman LTD, in Las Vegas, Nevada, his design mentors were Henry Conversano. The firm, now called Steelman Partners and operates several other design companies including DSAA, Shop12, Inviro Studios, MARQI, Competition Interactive, Steelman Development, Steelman Aviation, PCEG.

Steelman Partners has offices in Nevada. Paul Steelman and his firm have designed many casino projects around the world that include the following: Sands Macau. Steelman is designing Resorts World Las Vegas. Steelman worked for billionaire Phil Ruffin on designing the a 2,750-room casino called the Montreux, an entertainment property modeled after a Swiss-themed lakefront hotel which includes a 465-foot-tall observation wheel which "scoops riders from the floor above the casino," according to a report in Forbes magazine; the design's interior was a "mix of glass artwork and reflective surfaces," similar to boutique hotels in New York or Los Angeles, according to a report in the Las Vegas Sun. Steelman's firm designed a $6.2 billion tourism development in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in 2010. A reporter commented on his design style: Steelman is wiser than most when it comes to the logistics of moving gamblers through sin dens... Steelman has, over the last 20 years, come up with 70-odd design rules to keep visitors in a gleeful state as they evenly spread their dollars among betting tables, shops and restaurants.

One Steelman design invention was a sleek transformable ballroom inside a casino that can undergo several makeovers within a single day, enabling event organizers to use the space for different purposes, transform it in less than two hours: Hold a fashion show in the morning, a poker tournament in the afternoon and a boxing match at night. The ideal length for any spectacle in a casino is less than 90 minutes. Steelman received a gaming manufacturing and distribution license from the State of Nevada on February 23, 2017 for his subsidiary company, Competition Interactive LLC. Competition Interactive has designed a new skill based slot machine named Running Rich Racing, which will be placed in casinos in 2017. Steelman's firm has employed architects who founded their own architecture firms, such as Gemie Knisely of GK3 and Kim Daoust and Jordan Baña

Line 1 is the oldest line of the Budapest Metro. It is known locally as "the small underground", while the M2, M3 and M4 are called "metró", it is the third oldest underground after the London Underground and the Mersey Railway, the third rapid transit rail line worldwide of any type to use electric traction, the first on the European mainland. It was built from 1894 to 1896. Line 1 runs northeast from the city center on the Pest side under Andrássy út to the Városliget, or City Park. Like Line 3, it does not serve Buda. Line 1 is the oldest of the metro lines in Budapest, having been in constant operation since 1896; the original purpose of the first metro line was to facilitate transport to the Budapest City Park along the elegant Andrássy Avenue without building surface transport affecting the streetscape. The National Assembly accepted the metro plan in 1870 and the Hungarian subsidiary company of the Siemens & Halske AG was commissioned for the construction, starting in 1894, it took 2,000 workers using up-to-date machinery less than two years to complete.

This section was built from the surface. Completed by the deadline, it was inaugurated on May 2, 1896, the year of the millennium, by emperor Franz Joseph. One original car is preserved at the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, United States; the line ran underneath Andrássy Avenue, from Vörösmarty Square to City Park, in a northeast-southwest direction. The original terminus was the Zoo, it had nine underground and two overground. The length of the line was 3.7 km at that time. It was able to carry as many as 35,000 people a day. Between 1970 and 1973 the line underwent an reconstruction of some sections. Deák tér station was relocated to connect with the M2 line with the old station becoming the Underground Museum; the rolling stock was changed to Ganz multiple units. The line’s left-hand traffic was changed into righ-hand traffic; the major change to the line was the extension to Mexikói út, the closure of Állatkert and the conversion of Széchenyi fürdő to an underground station. 1896: Gizella tér - Artézi fürdő 1973: Széchenyi fürdő - Mexikói út Tremont Street Subway, Boston's first underground railway tunnel and the first one built after Budapest's Line 1