Omsk is a city and the administrative center of Omsk Oblast, located in southwestern Siberia 2,236 kilometers from Moscow. With a population of 1,154,116, it is Russia's second-largest city east of the Ural Mountains after Novosibirsk, seventh by size nationally. Omsk acts as an essential transport node, serving as a train station for Trans-Siberian Railway and as a staging post for the Irtysh River. During the Imperial era, Omsk used to be the seat of the Governor General of Western Siberia and of the Governor General of the Steppes. For a brief period during the Russian Civil War in 1918–1920, it served as the capital of the anti-Bolshevik Russian State and held the imperial gold reserves. Omsk serves as the episcopal see of the bishop of Omsk and Tara, as well as the administrative seat of the Imam of Siberia; the mayor is Oksana Fadina. The wooden fort of Omsk was built in 1716 by a cossack unit led by Ivan Buchholz to protect the expanding Russian frontier along the Ishim and the Irtysh rivers against the Kyrgyz and Dzungar nomads of the Steppes.

In 1768 Om fortress was relocated. The original Tobolsk and the restored Tara gates, along with the original German Lutheran Church and several public buildings are left from that time. Omsk was granted town status in 1782. In 1822 Omsk became an administrative capital of Western Siberia and in 1882 the center of the vast Steppes region and Akmolinsk Oblast, in particular acquiring several churches and cathedrals of various denominations, mosques, a synagogue, the governor-general's mansion, a military academy, but as the frontier receded and its military importance diminished, the town fell into lethargy. For that time Omsk became a major center of the Siberian exile. From 1850 to 1854 Fyodor Dostoyevsky served his sentence in an Omsk katorga prison. Development of the city was catalyzed with the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway in the 1890s that affected significance of Omsk as a logistic hub. Many trade companies established stores and offices in Omsk defining the character of the city center.

British and German consulates were established at the same time in order to represent their commercial interests. The pinnacle of development for pre-revolutionary Omsk was the Siberian Exposition of Agriculture and Industry in 1910. Popularity of the World Fairs contributed to the image of Omsk as the "Chicago of Siberia". Conversely, others find the "Milwaukee of Siberia" to be a more fitting comparison. Soon after the October Revolution, anti-Bolshevik White forces seized control of Omsk; the "Provisional All-Russian Government" was established here in 1918, headed by the Arctic explorer and decorated war hero Admiral Kolchak. Omsk was proclaimed the capital of Russia, its central bank was tasked with safekeeping the former empire's gold reserves; these were guarded by a garrison of former Czechoslovakian POWs trapped in Siberia by the chaos of World War I and the subsequent Revolution. Omsk became a prime target for the Red Army leadership, which viewed it as a major target of their Siberian campaign and forced Kolchak and his government to abandon the city and retreat along the Trans-Siberian eastward to Irkutsk.

Bolshevik forces entered the city in 1919. The Soviet government preferred the young Novonikolayevsk as the administrative center of Western Siberia, prompting the mass transfer of administrative and educational functions from Omsk; this somewhat sparked a continuing rivalry between the two cities. Omsk received new life as a result of World War II; because it was both far from the fighting and had a well-developed infrastructure, Omsk provided a perfect haven for much of the industry evacuated away from the frontlines in 1941. Additionally, contingency plans were made to transfer the provisional Soviet capital to Omsk in the event of a German victory during the Battle of Moscow. At the end of the war, Omsk remained a major industrial center, subsequently becoming a leader in Soviet military production. Military industries which moved to Omsk included part of the OKMO tank-design bureau in 1941, S. M. Kirov Factory no. 185 from Chelyabinsk, in 1962. The Kirov Factory and Omsk Transmash design bureau produced T-80 tanks from the 1970s, were responsible for the BTR-T, TOS-1, the prototype Black Eagle tank.

Omsk Transmash declared bankruptcy in 2002. In the 1950s, following the development of the oil and natural-gas field in Siberia, an oil-refining complex was built, along with an entire "town of oil workers", expanding Omsk northward along the Irtysh, it is the largest such complex in Russia. Gazprom Neft, the parent company, is the largest employer in the city, wielding its tax rates as leverage in negotiations with municipal and regional authorities. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Omsk experienced a period of economic instability and political stagnation. Most of the city's large businesses, state owned, were fought over by members of the former party elite, the emerging nouveau riche, fast growing criminal syndicates; the most notorious cases involved the privatization of Sibneft, a major oil company, which dragged on for several years. Until the end of the 1990s, political life in Omsk was defined by an ongoing feud between the oblast and city authorities; the resulting conflict made at least two points of view available to the public and served as the impetus for some improvements to the city's infrastructure and cultural life.

These included the construction of new leisure parks and the renovation of the city's historic center, the establishment of the annual Siberian International Marathon, of the annual Ci

The president of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal is the head of state of Nepal and commander-in-chief of the Nepalese Armed Forces and the supreme leader of the country. The office was created in May 2008; the first president of Nepal was Ram Baran Yadav. The current president is Bidhya Devi Bhandari, elected in October 2015, she is the first female Nepali head of state. The president is formally addressed as "The Right Honourable". Under the Interim Constitution adopted in January 2007, all powers of governance were removed from the King of Nepal, the Nepalese Constituent Assembly elected in the 2008 Constituent Assembly election was to decide in its first meeting whether to continue the monarchy or to declare a republic. During the suspension of the monarchy, Girija Prasad Koirala Prime Minister of Nepal, acted as Head of State. On 28 May 2008, the Assembly voted to abolish the monarchy. Ram Baran Yadav won the historic election from the Constituent Assembly, was sworn in as the nation's first president ending a 247 year old monarchy.

The president is elected by an electoral college comprising the Parliament of Nepal and the members of the provincial legislatures. A law shall determine the weight of each of their votes. Whoever receives a majority of the delegates' votes is elected. If no one receives a majority in the first round, runoffs are held between the top two candidates until one receives a majority; the presidential term is five years. A president may be elected any number of times, but not more than twice in succession; the president's powers are entirely ceremonial. In some parliamentary republics, the president is vested with executive powers on paper, but is bound by convention to act on the advice of the prime minister and the government. In Nepal, the president is not the nominal chief executive, as the Constitution explicitly vests executive power in the Council of Ministers and the prime minister. King of Nepal List of heads of state of Nepal, for a comprehensive list of Nepalese heads of state since 1768 List of prime ministers of Nepal Vice President of Nepal Office of the President of Nepal

No negotiation with terrorists refers to a policy followed by Western countries not to negotiate with terrorists. This policy is applied during hostage crises; the policy is limited to not paying ransom demands, doesn't apply to polices forms of negotiation. This policy is intended to remove the incentive for taking hostages. For as long as a country applies this policy on a no-exceptions basis, terrorists can anticipate that there will be no reward for trading hostages. On June 18, 2013, G8 leaders signed an agreement against paying ransoms to terrorists; the United States has a policy of no negotiation with terrorists for hostages. There have been criticized incidents in which US government leaders were found to have negotiated with terrorists, with the most notable being the Iran–Contra affair and Barack Obama's negotiation with the Taliban Five. In the Iran–Contra affair, the Reagan administration sought to free seven American hostages being held in Lebanon by Hezbollah, a paramilitary group with Iranian ties connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps by selling them weapons.

The scandal led to the resignation of several high ranking US government officials. In May 2014, the U. S. government secured the release of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl in exchange for five Taliban prisoners held in Guantanamo. His release led to attacks by Republican lawmakers, who claimed President Barack Obama had abandoned the decades-old U. S. policy of not negotiating with terrorists. Israel does not negotiate with terrorists. Israel in 1993 secretly negotiated the Oslo accords with the Palestine Liberation Organization as the PLO continued its terrorist campaign and refused to recognize Israel's right to exist. Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange, where Hamas released Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1,027 prisoners held by Israel. In January 2015, hostages Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto were beheaded by ISIL after Japan refused to meet ISIL's demand of $200 million for the release of the hostages; the British government maintained a secret back channel to the Irish Republican Army after the 1991 Downing Street mortar attack.

In 1988, the Spanish government negotiated with the ETA six months after the group had killed 21 shoppers in the 1987 Hipercor bombing. An investigation by The New York Times found that Al-Qaeda and its affiliates have taken in at least $125 million in revenue from kidnappings since 2008; these payments were made exclusively by European governments, which funneled the money through a network of proxies, sometimes masking it as development aid. Some Western countries such as the United States and Britain tend to not negotiate or pay ransom to terrorists, other Western countries such as France, Germany and Switzerland are more open to negotiation and ransom payment; that creates tension between governments with opposing policies. Another area of criticism is that if not negotiating with terrorists is the announced policy of a country, a country at times still negotiate with terrorists, depending on which political party rules the country. We Do Not Negotiate with Terrorists Rewards for Justice Program

I-485/South Boulevard is a light rail station for the LYNX Blue Line in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. The station, which features an island platform that sit between the two tracks and the largest park and ride along the line, is located adjacent to Sterling Elementary School off South Boulevard, a major north–south route through Charlotte. Notable places nearby the station include the Carolina Carolina Place Mall; the southern terminus for the Blue Line was proposed for downtown Pineville, near NC 51. In 2002, the southern end was moved 1.5 miles to the north along South Boulevard at its present location as a result of low projected ridership figures for the proposed downtown Pineville station. The station opened for service on Saturday, November 24, 2007, as part of its opening celebration fares were not collected. Regular service with fare collection commenced on Monday, November 26, 2007; this is the southern terminus of the Blue Line. In 2015, the island platform was extended to allow three-car trains at the station.

The station was designed for commuters in mind with its location being near the Interstate 485, with the construction of a large underground parking garage serving commuters from southern Mecklenburg County and South Carolina. The garage was the only one constructed along the original line, was built in a ravine adjacent to Sterling Elementary School; the 1,120 space garage was completed at a cost of $22.9 million, with the top floor featuring a playing field for the adjacent school. In November 2008, an additional 54 space parking lot was opened to the east of the station platform due to frequent overflow conditions. By August 2009, digital signs were added to the garage to alert motorists as to how many spaces remain prior to entering the facility; as part of the CATS Art in Transit program, I-485/South Boulevard features several pieces intended to provide a better overall aesthetic for the station. The works include bas-reliefs entitled Skyrocket Oak by Alice Adams, drinking fountain basins designed to look like dogwoods, the North Carolina state flower, by Nancy Blum, games motifs on both the pavers and shelters by Leticia Huerta and the painting of the bridge and retaining walls by Marek Ranis.

In late 2008 the station received the Federal Highway Administration's Award of Excellence in the "Intermodal Transportation Facilities" category. Media related to I-485/South Boulevard station at Wikimedia Commons I-485/South Boulevard Station Station from Google Maps Street View

39 Steps is an album by guitarist John Abercrombie with pianist Marc Copland, bassist Drew Gress, drummer Joey Baron, recorded in 2013 and released by ECM. The AllMusic review by Thom Jurek states, "Abercrombie's 39 Steps offers the sound of a veteran quartet playing at the height of its individual members' intuitive and collective abilities". On All About Jazz Andrew Luhn said: Fans of Abercrombie's playing won't be disappointed by this album and neither will fans of the ECM record label. It's a great addition to his growing body of work and Marc Copland proves to be a good choice with whom Abercrombie to collaborate Also on All About Jazz, John Kelman noted: As good as their previous recordings together have been, 39 Steps represents a major leap forward for Abercrombie and Copland's relationship as the guitarist returns to the piano-based configuration, his first touring context, back in the late'70s. All tracks are written by John Abercrombie except. John Abercrombie – guitar Marc Copland – piano Drew Gress – double bass Joey Baron – drums

Subject... Aldo Nova is the second studio album by Canadian rock musician Aldo Nova, released in 1983, it was certified Gold by the RIAA on December 5, 1994. All songs written by Aldo Nova except. Side One "Subject's Theme" – 1:36 "Armageddon" – 0:25 "Armageddon" – 2:41 "Monkey on Your Back" – 4:35 "Hey Operator" – 3:54 "Cry Baby Cry" – 4:17 "Victim of a Broken Heart" – 4:19Side Two "Africa" – 0:39 "Hold Back the Night" – 4:48 "Always Be Mine" – 4:11 "All Night Long" – 3:41 "War Suite" – 1:26 "Prelude to Paradise" – 1:31 "Paradise" – 3:17 Aldo Nova: vocals, bass, keyboards Stephen Buslowe: bass Kevin Carlson: guitar Neal Jason: bass Chuck Burgi: drums Billy Carmasi: drums