1.
Saudi Arabia
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Saudi Arabia is bordered by Jordan and Iraq to the north, Kuwait to the northeast, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to the east, Oman to the southeast and Yemen to the south. It is separated from Israel and Egypt by the Gulf of Aqaba and it is the only nation with both a Red Sea coast and a Persian Gulf coast and most of its terrain consists of arid desert and mountains. The area of modern-day Saudi Arabia formerly consisted of four regions, Hejaz, Najd and parts of Eastern Arabia. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by Ibn Saud and he united the four regions into a single state through a series of conquests beginning in 1902 with the capture of Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family, the House of Saud. Saudi Arabia has since been a monarchy, effectively a hereditary dictatorship governed along Islamic lines. The ultraconservative Wahhabi religious movement within Sunni Islam has been called the predominant feature of Saudi culture, with its global spread largely financed by the oil and gas trade. Saudi Arabia is sometimes called the Land of the Two Holy Mosques in reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, the state has a total population of 28.7 million, of which 20 million are Saudi nationals and 8 million are foreigners. The states official language is Arabic, petroleum was discovered on 3 March 1938 and followed up by several other finds in the Eastern Province. Saudi Arabia has since become the worlds largest oil producer and exporter, controlling the second largest oil reserves. The kingdom is categorized as a World Bank high-income economy with a high Human Development Index and is the only Arab country to be part of the G-20 major economies. However, the economy of Saudi Arabia is the least diversified in the Gulf Cooperation Council, the state has attracted criticism for its treatment of women and use of capital punishment. Saudi Arabia is an autocracy, has the fourth highest military expenditure in the world. Saudi Arabia is considered a regional and middle power, in addition to the GCC, it is an active member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and OPEC. Following the unification of the Hejaz and Nejd kingdoms, the new state was named al-Mamlakah al-ʻArabīyah as-Suʻūdīyah by royal decree on 23 September 1932 by its founder, Abdulaziz Al Saud. Although this is translated as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in English it literally means the Saudi Arab kingdom. Its inclusion expresses the view that the country is the possession of the royal family. Al Saud is an Arabic name formed by adding the word Al, meaning family of or House of, in the case of the Al Saud, this is the father of the dynastys 18th century founder, Muhammad bin Saud. There is evidence that human habitation in the Arabian Peninsula dates back to about 125,000 years ago
2.
Mecca
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Mecca or Makkah is a city in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia that is also capital of the Makkah Region. The city is located 70 km inland from Jeddah in a valley at a height of 277 m above sea level. Its resident population in 2012 was roughly 2 million, although more than triple this number every year during the hajj period held in the twelfth Muslim lunar month of Dhu al-Hijjah. Mecca is home to the Kaaba, by majority description Islams holiest site, Mecca was long ruled by Muhammads descendants, the sharifs, acting either as independent rulers or as vassals to larger polities. It was conquered by Ibn Saud in 1925, during this expansion, Mecca has lost some historical structures and archaeological sites, such as the Ajyad Fortress. Today, more than 15 million Muslims visit Mecca annually, including several million during the few days of the Hajj, as a result, Mecca has become one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the Muslim world, despite the fact that non-Muslims are prohibited from entering the city. The Saudi government adopted Makkah as the spelling in the 1980s. The full official name is Makkah al-Mukarramah or Makkatu l-Mukarramah, which means Mecca the Honored, the ancient or early name for the site of Mecca is Bakkah. An Arabic language word, its etymology, like that of Mecca, is obscure, the form Bakkah is used for the name Mecca in the Quran in 3,96, while the form Mecca is used in 48,24. In South Arabic, the language in use in the portion of the Arabian Peninsula at the time of Muhammad. Other references to Mecca in the Quran call it Umm al-Qurā, another name of Mecca is Tihamah. Arab and Islamic tradition holds that the wilderness of Paran, broadly speaking, is the Tihamah, yaqut al-Hamawi, the 12th century Syrian geographer, wrote that Fārān was an arabized Hebrew word. One of the names of Mecca mentioned in the Torah, Mecca is governed by the Municipality of Mecca, a municipal council of fourteen locally elected members headed by a mayor appointed by the Saudi government. As of May 2015, the mayor of the city was Dr. Osama bin Fadhel Al-Bar, Mecca is the capital of the Makkah Region, which includes neighboring Jeddah. The provincial governor was prince Abdul Majeed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud from 2000 until his death in 2007, on 16 May 2007, prince Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud was appointed as the new governor. The early history of Mecca is still disputed, as there are no unambiguous references to it in ancient literature prior to the rise of Islam. The Roman Empire took control of part of the Hejaz in 106 AD, ruling cities such as Hegra, even though detailed descriptions were established of Western Arabia by Rome, such as by Procopius, there are no references of a pilgrimage and trading outpost such as Mecca. The first direct mention of Mecca in external literature occurs in 741 AD in the Byzantine-Arab Chronicle, claims have been made this could be a reference to the Kaaba in Mecca
3.
Saudi Arabian National Guard
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The Saudi Arabian National Guard is one of the three major branches of the Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The national guard is under the control of the Ministry of the National Guard. The current Minister is Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah, who was appointed to this position by King Abdullah on 27 May 2013. It differs from the regular Saudi army in being forged out of tribal elements loyal to the House of Saud, the Saudi Arabian National Guard has a standing force of 200,000 troops and a tribal militia of some 25,000 troops. It serves both as a force against external attack and as an Internal security force. Its duties include protecting the House of Saud, guarding against military coups, guarding strategic facilities and resources, and providing security for the cities of Mecca and Medina. It reports directly to the king through the Minister of the National Guard and, unlike the army, navy, the Guards command structure and communication network are entirely separate from those of the Ministries of Defense and the Interior. Its personnel are drawn from tribes loyal to the king and the royal family and it has been described as an institution that ties the tribes to the House of Saud. It also draws recruits from official Wahhabi religious establishment, according to journalist John R. Bradley, it is one of the best-trained and well-equipped armies in the world. The force was reorganised and retrained by the Vinnell Corporation in the 1980s. The United States support for the SANG has been delivered both through private contractors and the U. S. armys Office of the Program Manager, the SANG was founded as the successor to the Ikhwan, the tribal army of King Abdulaziz. The Ikhwan had helped King Abdulaziz conquer the Arabian Peninsula and take it from Ottoman Turkey in World War I, however, the Ikhwan committed many excesses and atrocities not just on Turks but on other Arabs as well. The various tribal groups of the Ikhwan also had a tendency to go off and do their own things, the SANG acquired its moniker of the White Army during this period due to its wearing of traditional Arab dress instead of Western-style military uniforms. In 1954, the office of Jihad and Mujahidin was transformed into the modern National Guard, training of the National Guard became the responsibility of the US Vinnell corporation in 1975. These contractors were supervised by a United States military group with the designation Office of the Program Manager—Saudi Arabian National Guard, extensive military infrastructure facilities have been built to ensure the comfort and well-being of national guard units. Other National Guard military cities were located at At-Taif, Dammam, during the 1950s and early 1960s, the regular army and the national guard were both small and of roughly equal strength. The guards mobility over desert terrain was assured by 1,100 Commando V-150 armoured cars, firepower came from 105 mm and 155 mm towed howitzers,106 mm recoilless rifles, and various wheeled BGM-71 TOW platforms. The second component of the guard, made up of tribal battalions under the command of local sheikhs, was organised into four infantry brigades
4.
Grand Mosque seizure
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The Grand Mosque seizure occurred during November and December 1979 when extremist insurgents calling for the overthrow of the House of Saud took over Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The insurgents declared that the Mahdi had arrived in the form of one of their leaders – Mohammed Abdullah al-Qahtani –, for nearly two weeks, Saudi Special Forces assisted by Pakistani and French commandos fought pitched battles to reclaim the compound. The siege ended two weeks after the takeover began and the mosque was cleared, following the attack, the Saudi state implemented a stricter enforcement of Islamic code. The seizure was led by Juhayman al-Otaybi, a member of a family in Najd. He declared his brother-in-law Mohammed Abdullah al-Qahtani to be the Mahdi, or redeemer, who arrives on earth several years before Judgement Day. The date of the attack,20 November 1979, was the first day of the year 1400 according to the Islamic calendar, al-Otaybi was from one of the foremost families of Najd. His grandfather had ridden with Ibn Saud in the decades of the century. He was a preacher, a corporal in the Saudi National Guard. Juhayman had turned against al-Baaz, and began advocating a return to the ways of Islam, among other things. He proclaimed that the ruling Al-Saud dynasty had lost its legitimacy because it was corrupt, al-Otaybi and Qahtani had met while being imprisoned together for sedition, when al-Otaybi claimed to have a vision sent by God telling him that Qahtani was the Mahdi. Their declared goal was to institute a theocracy in preparation for the imminent apocalypse and they differed from the original Ikhwan and other earlier Wahhabi purists in that they were millenarians, they rejected the monarchy and they condemned the Wahhabi ulama. Many of their followers were drawn from students at the Islamic University in Medina. The followers preached their radical message in different mosques in Saudi Arabia without being arrested, the government was reluctant to confront religious extremists. Even after the seizure of the Grand Mosque, a level of forbearance by ulama for the rebels remained. When the government asked for a fatwa allowing armed force in the Grand Mosque, the scholars did not declare al-Otaibi and his followers non-Muslims, despite their violation of the sanctity of the Grand Mosque, but only termed them al-jamaah al-musallahah. The senior scholars also insisted that security forces attack them. Because of donations from followers, the group was well-armed and trained. Some members, like al-Otaybi, were military officials of the National Guard
5.
Great Mosque of Mecca
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The Great Mosque of Mecca, also called the Grand Mosque, is the largest mosque in the world and surrounds Islams holiest place, the Kaaba, in the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Muslims face in the Qibla while performing Salat, the Quran states that Abraham, together with his son Ishmael, raised the foundations of a house that is identified by most commentators as the Kaaba. Allah had shown Abraham the exact site, very near to the Well of Zamzam, after Abraham had built the Kaaba, an angel brought to him the Black Stone, a celestial stone that, according to tradition, had fallen from Heaven on the nearby hill Abu Qubays. According to a saying attributed to Muhammad, the Black Stone had descended from Paradise whiter than milk, the Black Stone is believed to be the only remnant of the original structure made by Abraham. Quran 22,27 Going by the dates attributed to the patriarchs, Ishmael is believed to have been born around 2150 BCE, therefore, Islamic scholars have generally assumed that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham around 2130 BC. The Kaaba is, therefore, believed by Muslims to be more than an older than Solomons Temple in Jerusalem. These dates remain consistent with the Muslim belief that the Kaaba is the first, in Samaritan literature, the Samaritan Book of the Secrets of Moses claims that Ishmael and his eldest son Nebaioth built the Kaaba as well as the city of Mecca. Upon Muhammads victorious return to Mecca in 630, he and his son-in-law, Ali Ibn Abi Talib, broke the idols in and around the Kaaba, similar to what Ibrahim did as stated in and ended its pagan use. This began the Islamic rule over the Kaaba and the building of the Masjid al-Haram around it, the first major renovation to the mosque took place in 692. Before this renovation, which included the outer walls being raised and decoration added to the ceiling. The spread of Islam in the Middle East and the influx of pilgrims required an almost complete rebuilding of the site which included adding more marble, in 1570, Sultan Selim II commissioned the chief architect Mimar Sinan to renovate the mosque. These features are the oldest surviving parts of the building, during heavy rains and flash floods in 1621 and 1629, the walls of the Kaaba and the mosque suffered extensive damage. In 1629, during the reign of Sultan Murad IV, the Kaaba was rebuilt with stones from Mecca, in the renovation of the mosque, a new stone arcade was added, three more minarets were built, and the marble flooring was retiled. This was the state of the mosque for nearly three centuries. The first major renovation under the Saudi kings was done between 1955 and 1973, in this renovation, four more minarets were added, the ceiling was refurnished, and the floor was replaced with artificial stone and marble. The Masa gallery is included in the Masjid via roofing and enclosements, during this renovation many of the historical features built by the Ottomans, particularly the support columns, were demolished. The second Saudi renovations under King Fahd, added a new wing, the new wing, which is also for prayers, is accessed through the King Fahd Gate. This extension was performed between 1982 and 1988, the third Saudi extension saw the building of more minarets, the erecting of a Kings residence overlooking the mosque and more prayer area in and around the mosque itself
6.
Islam
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Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion which professes that there is only one and incomparable God and that Muhammad is the last messenger of God. It is the worlds second-largest religion and the major religion in the world, with over 1.7 billion followers or 23% of the global population. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, and unique, and He has guided mankind through revealed scriptures, natural signs, and a line of prophets sealed by Muhammad. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, viewed by Muslims as the word of God. Muslims believe that Islam is the original, complete and universal version of a faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses. As for the Quran, Muslims consider it to be the unaltered, certain religious rites and customs are observed by the Muslims in their family and social life, while social responsibilities to parents, relatives, and neighbors have also been defined. Besides, the Quran and the sunnah of Muhammad prescribe a comprehensive body of moral guidelines for Muslims to be followed in their personal, social, political, Islam began in the early 7th century. Originating in Mecca, it spread in the Arabian Peninsula. The expansion of the Muslim world involved various caliphates and empires, traders, most Muslims are of one of two denominations, Sunni or Shia. Islam is the dominant religion in the Middle East, North Africa, sizable Muslim communities are also found in Horn of Africa, Europe, China, Russia, Mainland Southeast Asia, Philippines, Northern Borneo, Caucasus and the Americas. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world, Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, submission, safeness and peace. In a religious context it means voluntary submission to God, Islām is the verbal noun of Form IV of the root, and means submission or surrender. Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the verb form. The word sometimes has connotations in its various occurrences in the Quran. In some verses, there is stress on the quality of Islam as a state, Whomsoever God desires to guide. Other verses connect Islām and dīn, Today, I have perfected your religion for you, I have completed My blessing upon you, still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith. In the Hadith of Gabriel, islām is presented as one part of a triad that also includes imān, Islam was historically called Muhammadanism in Anglophone societies. This term has fallen out of use and is said to be offensive because it suggests that a human being rather than God is central to Muslims religion
7.
House of Saud
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The House of Saud is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. The family has thousands of members, the most influential member of the Royal family is the King of Saudi Arabia, currently King Salman. The succession to the Saudi Arabian throne was designed to pass from one son of the first king, Ibn Saud, to another. The next in line, Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef is also from the ruling House of Saud, while the monarchy is hereditary now, future Saudi kings will be chosen by a committee of Saudi princes, in line with a 2006 royal decree. The family is estimated to comprise 15,000 members, but the majority of the power, House of Saud is a translation of Al Saud. The latter is an Arabic dynastic name formed by adding the word Al, meaning family of or House of, in the case of the Al Saud, this is Saud ibn Muhammad ibn Muqrin, the father of the dynastys 18th century founder, Muhammad bin Saud. Today, the surname Al Saud is carried by any descendant of Muhammad bin Saud or his three brothers Farhan, Thunayyan, and Mishari. Al Sauds other family branches like Saud al-Kabir, the Al Jiluwi, the Al Thunayan, the Al Mishari, members of the cadet branches hold high and influential positions in government though they are not in line of succession to Saudi throne. Many cadet members intermarry within the Al Saud to reestablish their lineage, the earliest recorded ancestor of the Al Saud was Mani ibn Rabiah Al-Muraydi who settled in Diriyah in 1446–1447 with his clan, the Mrudah. Although the Mrudah are believed to be descended from the Rabiah tribal confederation, Mani was invited by a relative named Ibn Dir. Ibn Dir was the ruler of a set of villages and estates that make up modern-day Riyadh, manis clan had been on a sojourn in east Arabia, near al-Qatif, from an unknown point in time. Ibn Dir handed Mani two estates called al-Mulaybeed and Ghusayba, Mani and his family settled and renamed the region al-Diriyah, after their benefactor Ibn Dir. The Mrudah became rulers of al-Diriyah, which prospered along the banks of Wadi Hanifa, as the clan grew larger, power struggles ensued, with one branch leaving for nearby Dhruma, while another branch left for the town of az-Zubayr in southern Iraq. The Al Migrin became the family among the Mrudah in Diriyah. The name of the clan comes from Sheikh Saud ibn Muhammad ibn Muqrin who died in 1725, the First Saudi State was founded in 1744. This period was marked by conquest of neighboring areas and by religious zeal, at its height, the First Saudi State included most of the territory of modern-day Saudi Arabia, and raids by Al Sauds allies and followers reached into Yemen, Oman, Syria, and Iraq. Islamic Scholars, particularly Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab and his descendants, are believed to have played a significant role in Saudi rule during this period, the Saudis and their allies referred to themselves during this period as the Muwahhidun or Ahl al-Tawhid. Later they were referred to as the Wahhabis, a group of particularly strict Sunni, leadership of the Al Saud during the time of their first state passed from father to son without incident
8.
Ulama
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Ulama are those recognized as scholars or authorities in the religious hierarchy of the Islamic religious studies. They are the guardians of legal and religious tradition in Islam, often they are Imams of important mosques, judges, teachers in the religious faculties of universities. Most ulama specialize in fiqh, and are considered the arbiters of law by mainstream Muslims. Ulama may also include specialists in areas such as muhaddith. Ulama is the plural of the word ‘alīm, which is derived from the word ‘ilm, sources used in the development of Sharia such as hadith, Ijma, and Qias, or for Shia ulama aql, are all the province of the ulama. At times in Muslim history the ulama have even served as a branch of government. On the other hand, the term is no longer confined to the Arabic bounds and is now taken with a broader meaning, the word ‘alīm is used twice in the Quran, but not necessarily in the same manner as its application in the Muslim community today. Syed, ‘alīm in the Quran refers to scientists, indicating the high importance afforded by the Quran to the physical sciences, the formative period of Islamic jurisprudence stretches back to the time of the early Muslim communities. In this period, jurists were more concerned with issues of authority. Progress in theory began to develop with the coming of the early Muslim jurist Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafii, laws were decided based on the Ijma of the Ummah, which was most often represented by the legal scholars. In order to qualify as a scholar, it was necessary obtain a doctorate known as the ijazat attadris wa l-ifttd from a Madrasah. In many ways, classical Islamic law functioned like a constitutional law, during the Ottoman era, the term ulama was commonly applied to scholars who had completed their madrasa training and gained an icazet. They had to be an expert in all the religious sciences, in addition, the student had to have been tested and approved by higher ranking ulama. Such assessment by experts gave the ulama legitimacy in the eyes of the public, in 14th and 15th century Ottoman Empire, there were not many madrasahs, and so the ulama traveled to countries such as Persia and Egypt to further their education. Upon the conquering of Istanbul, the sultan converted eight churches into madrasahs, Ulama worked as priest-like authorities who had the role of interpreting and enforcing Islamic shariah law. These jobs were distributed between two types of ulama, the Muftis, who interpreted Shariah law, and the Qadi, the Ottomans had a strict hierarchy of ulama, with the Sheikh ul-Islam holding the highest rank. A Sheikh ul-Islam was chosen by a royal warrant amongst the qadis of important cities, the Sheikh ul-Islam had the power to confirm new sultans, but once the sultan was affirmed, the sultan retained a higher authority than the Sheik ul-Islam. The Sheikh ul-Islam issued fatwas, which were written interpretations of the Quran that had authority over the community, the Sheikh ul-Islam represented the law of shariah and in the 16th century its importance rose which led to increased power
9.
Special Service Group
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The Special Service Group is the primary special operations force of the Pakistan Army. The SSG is a unit, and is headquartered at Tarbela Cantonment. It is headed by a major-general and divided into eight battalions, Each battalion consists of 700 men in four companies, with each company split into platoons and then into 10-man teams. Each battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel, SSG Pak was raised by amalgamating 7th/10th Baluch and 312 Garrison Company. Based out of Cherat and Attock, the SSG was created in 1956 and that year,19 Baluch was selected for conversion to a special operation force. As a result of this, the SSG has inherited many of the traditions, the 19th Baluch Regiments first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel Aboobaker Osman Mitha who commanded it for six years till 1961. The first commander of its Alpha Company was Major Gaideen Khan Abdullai Mahsud and their initial training and orientation as regards tactics was based on the US Special Forces pattern with whom they co-operated closely in the Cold War years. The SSG initially had 6 companies and each company had specialization units, specialized in desert, mountain, ranger, the desert companies participated in training exercises with US Army Special Forces Mobile Training Team in late 1964. In August 1965, scope of SSG was raised from a battalion size force to larger Special Operations outfit, the scuba company in Karachi was renowned for its tough physical training. Later on, Chinese training, tactics, weapons, and equipment were also introduced, the SSG guerrillas were initially deployed along the Afghan border to repel Afghan incursions into Pakistan, but their first major deployment came during the war of 1965. By 1971, the SSG had grown to 3 battalions with 1 permanently stationed in East Pakistan, in 1971, SSG comprised three battalions of which one was stationed in East Pakistan. In one of the raids on an Indian artillery regiment during the 1971 Indo-Pak war,1 Commando Battalion incapacitated number of their guns, during Operation Magistral, it is alleged that the SSG came into regular contact with Soviet forces. One of these incidents was the Battle for Hill 3234, where a company of Soviet paratroopers engaged a force of Mujahideen believed to be SSG, the Mujahideen wore black uniforms with rectangular black-yellow-red stripes. It is claimed by at least two sources that the Mujahideen were actually members of the Special Services Group, according to the Soviet estimates, the SSG lost over 200 men. Another battle reported as having been fought between the Pakistanis and Soviet troops occurred in Kunar Province in March 1986, the SSG was also active on the eastern border with India and they have fought in Siachen. In the Kargil war SSG performed rather well in the initial stages, during the period of snowfall all the Indian posts were empty and they didnt have to face any repulsion. In 1980, the SSGs Musa Company, which was formed in 1970 as a combat diver unit, was given the anti-terrorist operations role. Musa Company got the best founders in the beginning like Major Faiz Akbar Shah and they were UDT/SEAL qualified from class 79 of American Navy SEALs
10.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
11.
Tear gas
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Tear gas, formally known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator, is a chemical weapon that causes severe eye, respiratory, and skin irritation, pain, vomiting, and even blindness. In the eye, it stimulates the nerves of the gland to produce tears. Common lachrymators include pepper spray, CS gas, CR gas, CN gas, nonivamide, bromoacetone, xylyl bromide, syn-propanethial-S-oxide, lachrymatory agents are commonly used for riot control. Their use in warfare is prohibited by international treaties. During World War I, increasingly toxic lachrymatory agents were used, tear gas works by irritating mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, mouth and lungs, and causes crying, sneezing, coughing, difficulty breathing, pain in the eyes, and temporary blindness. With CS gas, symptoms of irritation typically appear after 20–60 seconds of exposure, with pepper spray, the onset of symptoms, including loss of motor control, is almost immediate. There can be variation in tolerance and response, according to the National Research Council Committee on Toxicology. The California Poison Control System analyzed 3,671 reports of pepper spray injuries between 2002 and 2011, severe symptoms requiring medical evaluation were found in 6. 8% of people, with the most severe injuries to the eyes, respiratory system and skin. The most severe occurred in law enforcement training, intentionally incapacitating people. Lachrymators are thought to act by attacking sulfhydryl functional groups in enzymes, one of the most probable protein targets is the TRPA1 ion channel that is expressed in sensory nerves of the eyes, nose, mouth and lungs. As with all non-lethal, or less-lethal weapons, there is risk of serious permanent injury or death when tear gas is used. This includes risks from being hit by tear gas cartridges, which include severe bruising, loss of eyesight, skull fracture, skin exposure to CS may cause chemical burns or induce allergic contact dermatitis. When people are hit at close range or are severely exposed, use of tear gas in warfare is prohibited by various international treaties that most states have signed. Police and private use is not banned in the same manner. Armed forces can legally use tear gas for drills and for riot control, first used in 1914, xylyl bromide was a popular tearing agent since it was easily prepared. The US Chemical Warfare Service developed tear gas grenades for use in control in 1919. Certain lachrymatory agents are used by police to force compliance. In some countries, another common substance is mace, the self-defense weapon form of mace is based on pepper spray, and comes in small spray cans, and versions including CS are manufactured for police use
12.
Al-Qassim Region
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Al-Qassim Region, also spelled Qassim, Al-Qaseem, Al-Qasim, or Gassim internationally, is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Saudi Arabia. Located at the heart of the country, and almost in the center of the Arabian Peninsula, it has a population of 1,370,727 and it is known to be the alimental basket of the country, for its agricultural assets. Al-Qassim is the richest region per capita in Saudi Arabia and it is the seventh most populated region in the country after Jizan and the fifth most densely populated. It has more than 400 cities, towns, villages, and Bedouin settlements and its capital city is Buraydah, which is inhabited by approximately 49% of the regions total population. The governor of the province from 1992 to 29 January 2015 was Prince Faisal bin Bandar, Al Qassim is derived from the word Qassimah, a reference to قصائم الغضا, meaning the regions sand dunes from which the white saxaul trees grow. The region is known to contain a group of Calligonum plants such as comosum. The province is located in the center of Saudi Arabia approximately 400 km northwest of Riyadh and it is bordered by Riyadh Region to the south and east, by Hail Region to the north, and by Al Madinah Region to the west. The region is connected to almost every part of Saudi Arabia by a complicated network of highways. The regional airport, Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport, connects Al Qassim to the provinces of the country. There is not much known about Al Qassim the province in the times of Pre-Islamic Arabia. Unaizah was repeatedly mentioned as a watering hole in the poems of Imru Al Qais. Moreover, AlJiwa, which is about 60 km north of Unzaizah, was mentioned by the heroic Absi poet Antarah bin Shaddad, Al Qassim Province had some important foyers on the road of pilgrims and traders coming from the east in the era of the Abbasid Empire. The Zubeida road was a long road that started from the city of Kufa in Iraq. The road was constructed in the reign of Harun Al Rashid and was named after his wife Zubeida and it had pilgrims foyers in many of the regions cities including Unaizah. The Al Abu Olayan - dynasty from the Banu Tamim tribe established the emirate of Buraydah in the late 16th century by its leader and he built Buraydah and made it the provinces capital. However, Unaizah was ruled by Al Sulaim dynasty, the emirate was later captured by Muhanna Salih Abalkhail, the leader of the Abalkhail dynasty. In 1890, the Rashidi dynasty based in Hail annexed the province, in 1904, the Abalkhail recaptured the province. In 1907, the province was integrated under the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the province is Saudi Arabias most conservative region
Saudi Arabia 
National Guard 
