A parlement, in the Ancien Régime of France, was a provincial appellate court. In 1789, France had 13 parlements, the most important of, the Parlement of Paris. While the English word parliament derives from this French term, parlements were not legislative bodies, they consisted of about 1,100 judges nationwide. They were the court of final appeal of the judicial system, wielded much power over a wide range of subject matter taxation. Laws and edicts issued by the Crown were not official in their respective jurisdictions until the parlements gave their assent by publishing them; the members were aristocrats called nobles of the gown who had bought or inherited their offices, were independent of the King. From 1770 to 1774 the Lord Chancellor, tried to abolish the Parlement of Paris in order to strengthen the Crown; the parlements spearheaded the aristocracy's resistance to the absolutism and centralization of the Crown, but they worked for the benefit of their own class, the French nobility. Alfred Cobban argues that the parlements were the chief obstacles to any reform before the Revolution, as well as the most formidable enemies of the French Crown.

He concludes that the Parlement of Paris, though no more in fact than a small, selfish and venal oligarchy, regarded itself, was regarded by public opinion, as the guardian of the constitutional liberties of France. In November 1789, early in the French Revolution, all parlements were suspended, they were formally abolished in September 1790; the political institutions of the Parlement in Ancien Régime France developed out of the King's Council, enjoyed ancient, customary consultative and deliberative prerogatives. In the 13th century, the parlements acquired judicial functions the right of remonstrance against the king; the parlement judges were of the opinion that their role included active participation in the legislative process, which brought them into increasing conflict with the increasing monarchical absolutism of the Ancien Régime, as the Court of Justice evolved during the 16th century from a constitutional forum to a royal weapon, used to force registration of edicts. Since c. 1250, there was only the Parlement of Paris, severed from the King's Council in 1307, with sessions held inside the medieval royal palace on the Île de la Cité, still the site of the Paris Hall of Justice.

The Paris parlement's jurisdiction covered the entire kingdom as it was in the 14th century, but did not automatically advance in step with the Crown's expanding realm. In 1443, following the turmoil of the Hundred Years' War, King Charles VII of France granted Languedoc its own parlement by establishing the Parlement of Toulouse, the first parlement outside Paris; the Parlement of Paris played a major role in stimulating the nobility to resist the expansion of royal power by military force in the Fronde, 1643-1652. In the end, the King won out and the nobility was humiliated; the parlements could withhold their assent by formulating remonstrances against the king's edicts, forcing the king to react, sometimes resulting in repeated resistance by the parlements, which the king could only terminate in his favour by issuing a Lettre de jussion, and, in case of continued resistance, appearing in person in the parlement: the Lit de justice. In such a case, the parlement's powers were suspended for the duration of this royal session.

King Louis XIV moved to centralize authority into his own hands, imposing certain restrictions on the parlements. In 1665, he ordained that a Lit de justice could be held without the king having to appear in person. In 1667, he limited the number of remonstrances to only one. In 1671–1673, the parlements resisted the taxes occasioned by the Dutch War. In 1673, the king imposed additional restrictions that stripped the parlements of any influence upon new laws by ordaining that remonstrances could only be issued after registration of the edicts. After Louis' death in 1715, all the restrictions were discontinued by the regent, although some of the judges of the Parlement of Paris accepted royal bribes to restrain that body until the 1750s. From 1443 until the French Revolution, several other parlements were created all over France, until at the end of the Ancien Régime there were provincial parlements in: Douai, Metz, Colmar, Besançon, Aix, Toulouse, Bordeaux and Rouen; these locations were provincial capitals of those provinces with strong historical traditions of independence before they were annexed to France.

Assembled in the parlements, the hereditary members, the provincial nobles of the gown were the strongest decentralizing force in a France, more multifarious in its legal systems and custom than it might have seemed under the apparent unifying rule of its kings. The Parlement of Paris had the largest jurisdiction of all the parlements, covering the major part of northern and central France, was known as "the Parlement". In some regions provincial States-General continued to meet and legislate with a measure of self-governance and control over taxation within their jurisdiction. All the parlements could issue regulatory decrees for the application of royal edicts or of customary practices, they could refuse to register laws that they adjudged as either untimely or contrary to the local customary law. Tenure on the court was bought from the

Prince Adalbert of Prussia was a son of Prince Wilhelm of Prussia and Landgravine Marie Anna of Hesse-Homburg. He was admiral, he was instrumental during the Revolutions of 1848 in founding the first unified German fleet, the Reichsflotte. During the 1850s he helped to establish the Prussian Navy. Adalbert was born in Berlin, the son of Prince William, the youngest brother of King Frederick William III; as a young man, Adalbert served in the artillery. Several journeys led him between 1826 and 1842 to the Netherlands, Russia, Turkey and Brazil, he recognized during his many sea voyages the importance that sea power had for a modern commercial and industrial nation. He studied the theory of naval warfare and in 1835-36 wrote a first plan for the construction of a Prussian fleet. Prussia at that time was a land power focused on Continental Europe, possessing no navy of its own. During the First Schleswig War of 1848-51, the failure of this strategy became apparent: Britain and the Netherlands remained neutral and Denmark became the enemy.

Within a few days the Danish navy had destroyed German maritime commerce in the North Sea and the Baltic. During the Revolutions of 1848, the German National Assembly which met at St. Paul's Church in Frankfurt resolved with "a majority bordering on unanimity" to establish a German Imperial fleet and named Prince Adalbert to lead the Maritime Technical Commission, he presented his recommendations in a "Memorandum on the Construction of a German Fleet". In this memorandum, still regarded for its insights on naval strategy, Adalbert distinguished between three fleet models: A naval force intended for defensive actions in relation to coastal defense. Adalbert favored the middle solution, because it would not provoke the great sea powers, but would provide the German navy with significant value as an ally. In 1849 his cousin, King Frederick William IV, ordered Adalbert to resign his office in the fledgling Imperial Navy; the reactionary king mistrusted the National Assembly because of its revolutionary nature, had turned down its offer to assume the German Imperial crown.

Despite the setback, Adalbert continued to give active support to the construction of a fleet. In 1852 Adalbert argued, he arranged the Jade Treaty of 20 July 1853, in which Prussia and the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg jointly withdrew from a region on the west bank of the Jade bay, where from 1854 onward Prussia established the fortress, naval base and city of Wilhelmshaven. On 30 March 1854, Adalbert was named Admiral of the Prussian Coast and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. In the summer of 1856, while on a training cruise of Prussian warships, he was shot at by pirates within sight of Morocco's Rif coast and was wounded. During the Second Schleswig War of 1864 he commanded the Baltic Squadron, without being able to take an active role in the war. After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, which led to the creation of the German Empire, Adalbert laid down his title of "Prince-Admiral" and retired from the now-renamed Imperial Navy, he died two years of liver disease, aged 62, in Karlsbad. Adalbert was married to the dancer Therese Elssler.

Umar Kamani is an English fashion retailer and businessman. At 24, Kamani and his brother Adam co-founded a fashion firm and online retail company selling clothing and other items to women aged between 12 and 25, "PrettyLittleThing.com." The Kamani brothers were inspired to found their company after witnessing the success of their father, Mahmud Kamani's fashion firm, Boohoo.com, floated for £700 million in March 2014. In 2006, Kamani began working in the family business as a manager at Boohoo.com. In 2014, Boohoo debuted on the Alternative Investment Market with a market value of £560m; this float was a major contribution to the Kamani family's wealth. In September 2016, analysts began speculating that Boohoo.com would acquire PrettyLittleThing after reviewing Boohoo's financials, which showed a 40% increase in turnover to £127.3m for the half year which ended in August 2016. Brothers and Adam Kamani co-founded PrettyLittleThing.com in January 2012. By the middle of 2013, celebrities including Miley Cyrus, Michelle Keegan, Rita Ora, Jessie J, Ryan Thomas and Nicki Minaj had been seen wearing clothing from their growing fashion retailer.

66% of the company was acquired by Boohoo for £3.3m in December 2016. The PrettyLittleThing.com team grew from 65 to 300 employees from 2014 to the end of 2015. This increase was to accommodate the workload influx from fulfilling 20 orders a day in 2014 to shipping 20,000 parcels a day by the middle of 2015. Additionally Umar reported a 500% increase in full-year sales to £30m. In 2016, PrettyLittleThing opened their flagship USA location in California; the launch party was hosted by Kylie Jenner

Kathryn Evans is an English former competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain in the Olympic Games. Evans specialised in freestyle and individual medley events, she is a two-time Olympian, a double British champion in the 200 m individual medley. Evans played for Nova Centurion Swim Club in Nottingham, under head coach Bill Furniss. Evans is the cousin of late rower Acer Nethercott, who competed in the men's eight at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Evans made her Olympic debut, as a member of Team GB, at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where she competed in the 200 m individual medley. Swimming in heat five, she rounded out a field of eight swimmers to last place and twenty-fourth overall in 2:19.41, just 5.58 seconds behind defending Olympic champion Yana Klochkova of Ukraine. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Evans competed only in two events as a relay swimmer, she finished second in the 100 m freestyle from the Olympic trials in Sheffield, posting a relay entry time of 55.52.

On the first day of the Games, Evans helped out the Brits to pull off a sixth-place effort in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay with a final time of 3:40.82. Teaming with Melanie Marshall, Karen Pickering, Lisa Chapman in the final, Evans swam a second leg, posted a lifetime best of 54.33. A week in the 4 × 100 m medley relay, along with Katy Sexton, Kirsty Balfour, Georgina Lee, finished in fifth place, but were disqualified due to an early take-off in the anchor freestyle leg. Profile – British Amateur Swimming Federation

The Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature is a literary award for Arabic literature. It is given to the best contemporary novel written in Arabic, but not available in English translation; the winning book is translated into English, published by American University in Cairo Press. It was first awarded in 1996 and is presented annually on December 11, the birthday of Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz, by the President of the American University in Cairo.2011 was a unique year for the award because of the 2011 Egyptian revolution. The campuses of the American University in Cairo were operationally impacted and instead of presenting no award, AUCP gave the award to "the revolutionary creativity of the Egyptian people during the popular uprising that began on 25 January 2011." Previous winners. 1996: Ibrahim Abdel Meguid, The Other Place.

The Ilyushin Il-276 is a medium-airlift military transport aircraft planned by the United Aircraft Corporation of Russia, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited of India. The two companies began the joint venture in 2009, when it was expected that each would be investing US$300 million in the project; the MTA was intended to replace the Indian Air Force's ageing fleet of Antonov An-32 transport aircraft. It is designed to perform regular transport duties and to deploy paratroopers; the aircraft was expected to conduct its first flight by 2017, to enter service by 2018. In January 2016 it was announced that the India's HAL would no longer be involved in the project and that Russia would proceed with the project alone. In October 2009, former Indian Defence Minister A. K. Antony made an official visit to Russia, during which the two countries formally incorporated the joint venture; the governments of Russia and India agreed to produce the aircraft for their respective armed forces and for friendly third-party countries, to develop a civilian variant of the MTA in the form of a 100-seater passenger airplane, for which Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd – owned by the Indian government – will be the lead partner and principal integrator.

The Indian portion of the MTA's serial production would take place at HAL's Transport Aircraft Division in Kanpur. India and Russia finalised arrangements to support the MTA's development with a contribution of US$300.35 million. Russia's United Aircraft Corporation and India's HAL will set up a subsidiary company to develop the aircraft; the new company, supported by US$600.7 million in funding, will begin work on developing the MTA immediately. HAL Chairman and Managing Director Ashok Nayak confirmed that India would acquire 45 aircraft and Russia 105. There would, however, be scope for exporting the aircraft, both for civil and military use, more MTAs could be manufactured. In October 2012, HAL signed a preliminary design contract with UAC, stipulating that joint design work would begin in Moscow, involving 30 Indian engineers as well as UAC's design team. In February 2015, India cancelled its existing international tender on medium-lift military transport aircraft, formalising its intent to purchase the MTA.

In March 2015, it was reported that international work sharing issues had slowed the MTA project's progress, though it remained underway. The aircraft is expected to be powered by Russian-made Aviadvigatel PD-14M turbofan engines attached to top-mounted wings, will have a T-shaped tail; the cabin size would be similar to the Ilyushin Il-76, but will be half the length, supporting a maximum payload of 20 tonnes of military or civilian cargo. The aircraft's maximum range is expected to be 2,500 kilometres, its top speed will be around 870 km/h. On 13 January 2016, Russian state media reported that Ilyushin had "frozen" the Russian-Indian project, that Russia would assume full responsibility for detailed design and production of the aircraft. In October 2017, Russian newspaper Izvestia reported that in June 2017 the aircraft received new official name Il-276. Earlier in the Russian media the project MTA-SVTS was called Il-214, it was reported that at the present the military department is in talks with Russian aircraft builders about timing of the program and creating the Il-276.

It's certain that Russia will need no less than 55 units of this aircraft. Data from UACRussia.ru and Ilyushin.orgGeneral characteristics Crew: 3 Capacity: 70 to 150 passengers Payload: 20,000 kilograms Length: 37.7 m Wingspan: 35.5 m Height: 12.95 m Wing area: 160 m2 Max takeoff weight: 72,000 kg Fuel capacity: 30,700 kilograms Powerplant: 2 × Aviadvigatel PD-14M turbofan engines, 152.98 kN thrust eachPerformance Maximum speed: 870 km/h Cruise speed: 800 km/h Range: 2,000 km with payload of 20,000 kilograms Ferry range: 7,300 km Service ceiling: 13,100 m Takeoff run: 1,050 metres Landing run: 1,050 metres Aircraft of comparable role and era Antonov An-178 Embraer KC-390 Kawasaki C-2 "Multi-Purpose Transport Aircraft". Ilyushin.org. Retrieved 4 December 2014. "Il-214 Multi-Role Transport Aircraft". GlobalSecurity.org. 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2013