Tbilisi, in some countries still known by its pre-1936 international designation Tiflis, is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of 1.5 million people. Tbilisi was founded in the 5th century AD by Vakhtang I of Iberia, since has served as the capital of various Georgian kingdoms and republics. Between 1801 and 1917 part of the Russian Empire, Tbilisi was the seat of the Imperial Viceroy, governing both Southern and Northern Caucasus; because of its location on the crossroads between Europe and Asia, its proximity to the lucrative Silk Road, throughout history Tbilisi was a point of contention among various global powers. The city's location to this day ensures its position as an important transit route for various energy and trade projects. Tbilisi's diverse history is reflected in its architecture, a mix of medieval, Beaux Arts, Art Nouveau and the Modern structures. Tbilisi has been home to people of multiple cultural and religious backgrounds, though it is overwhelmingly Eastern Orthodox Christian.

Its notable tourist destinations include cathedrals Sameba and Sioni, Freedom Square, Rustaveli Avenue and Agmashenebeli Avenue, medieval Narikala Fortress, the pseudo-Moorish Opera Theater, the Georgian National Museum. The climate in Tbilisi ranges from 18 to 30 °C; the name Tbilisi derives from Old Georgian t′⁠bilisi, further from tpili. The name T′⁠bili or T′⁠bilisi was therefore given to the city because of the area's numerous sulfuric hot springs; until 1936, the name of the city in English and most other languages was Tiflis, while the Georgian name was ტფილისი. On 17 August 1936, by order of the Soviet leadership, the official Russian names of various cities were changed to more match the local language. In addition, the Georgian-language form T′⁠pilisi was modernized on the basis of a proposal by Georgian linguists; this form was the basis for a new official Russian name. Most other languages have subsequently adopted the new name form, but some language such as Turkish, Persian and German have retained a variation of Tiflis.

On 20 September 2006, the Georgian parliament held a ceremony celebrating the 70th anniversary of the renaming. Some of the traditional names of Tbilisi in other languages of the region have different roots; the Ossetian name Калак derives from the Georgian word ქალაქი meaning simply'town'. Chechen and Ingush names for the city use a form similar to or the same as their names for the country of Georgia as does the historical Kabardian name, while Abkhaz Қарҭ is from the Mingrelian ქართი. Archaeologists discovered evidence of continuous habitation of the Tbilisi suburb of Dighomi since the early Bronze Age, stone artifacts dating to the Paleolithic age. During the late Bronze Age to early Iron Age, it was the largest settlement in the Caucasus. According to legend, the present-day territory of Tbilisi was covered by forests as late as 458. One accepted variant of the Tbilisi foundation myth states that King Vakhtang I of Iberia went hunting in the wooded region with a falcon; the King's falcon caught or injured a pheasant during the hunt, after which both birds fell into a nearby hot spring and died from burns.

King Vakhtang became so impressed with the hot springs that he decided to clear the forest and build a city on the location. King Dachi of Iberia, the successor of Vakhtang I, moved the capital of Iberia from Mtskheta to Tbilisi and began construction of the fortress wall that lined the city's new boundaries. From the 6th century, Tbilisi grew at a steady pace due to the region's strategic location along important trade and travel routes between Europe and Asia. Tbilisi's favorable trade location, did not bode well for its survival. Located strategically in the heart of the Caucasus between Europe and Asia, Tbilisi became an object of rivalry among the region's various powers such as the Roman Empire, Sassanid Persia, Muslim Arabs, the Byzantine Empire, the Seljuk Turks; the cultural development of the city was somewhat dependent on who ruled the city at various times, although Tbilisi was cosmopolitan. From 570–580, the Persians ruled the city until 627, when Tbilisi was sacked by the Byzantine/Khazar armies and in 736–738, Arab armies entered the town under Marwan II.

After this point, the Arabs established. In 764, Tbilisi – still under Arab control – was once again sacked by the Khazars. In 853, the armies of Arab leader Bugha Al-Turki invaded Tbilisi in order to enforce its return to Abbasid allegiance; the Arab domination of Tbilisi continued until about 1050. In 1068, the city was once again sacked, only this time by the Seljuk Turks under Sultan Alp Arslan. In 1121, after heavy fighting with the Seljuks, the troops of the King of Georgia David IV of Georgia besieged Tbilisi, which ended in 1122 and as a result David moved his residence from Kutaisi to Tbilisi, making it the capital of a unified Georgian State and thus inaugurating the Georgian Golden Age. From 12–13th centuries, Tbilisi became a regional power with a thriving economy and astonishing cultural output. By the end of

Paula Kelley is an American indie pop singer-songwriter and orchestral arranger/composer from Boston, Massachusetts. She began her musical career in the 1990s with the band Drop Nineteens before leaving them in 1994 to start her own career in songwriting, she worked with several other bands before going solo with her first album, Nothing/Everything, released in 2001 on Stop and Roll Records in the US and later on Caraway in Japan. The Trouble With Success or How You Fit Into The World was released in 2003 on the independent Kimchee Records label in the US and again on Caraway in Japan, she followed this up with a US tour and a tour of France after the album's European release through Polaris Musique/Sony. Her latest release is the "Airports EP," a collection of four orchestrated tracks intended to be a teaser for her forthcoming album. Paula is known for her melodic, emotional songs, expansive instrumental arrangements and sweet, distinctive singing voice. Kelley began playing piano at age three and was an orchestral harpsichordist by the time she was in high school.

She plays guitar, bass and other sundry instruments. She attended Phillips Exeter Academy Boston University and Berklee College of Music. In 2005 Ms. Kelley relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a career scoring films and doing orchestral arrangements, in addition to recording and performing her own music. A filmography can be found on her professional website; the Airports EP Some Sucker's Life, Part 1: Demos and Lost Recordings The Trouble with Success or How You Fit into the World Nothing/Everything A Bit Of Everything EP Why Christmas? with The Misfit Toys Break the Spell, Etc. EP with Boy Wonder 5:01 with Paula Kelley Rock Band Wonder-Wear with Boy Wonder Mission to Destroy b/w Backyard 7-inch with Boy Wonder Speed - Danger - Death with Hot Rod Paula Kelley's website Paula Kelley's professional composing/arranging website Stop and Roll website Kimchee Records Ho Ho Spice website

The Osaka at-large district is a constituency of the House of Councillors that elects Councillors to represent Osaka Prefecture in the National Diet of Japan. From 1947 the district has elected three Councillors every three years by single non-transferable vote for six-year terms, such that there are six Councillors representing the district in the 242-member house. A revision to the Public Officers Electoral Law in 2012 increased the district's representation so that four Councillors were elected at the July 2013 election which will give the district a total eight Councillors by 2019; the district has 7,140,578 registered voters, making it the third-largest district behind the Tokyo and Kanagawa districts. The current Councillors for the district are: Class of 2010 - Term expires in July 2016 Hirotaka Ishikawa - Komeito party, first-term Councillor Issei Kitagawa - Liberal Democratic Party, second term Motoyuki Odachi - Democratic Party of Japan, second termClass of 2013 - Term expires in July 2019 Toru Azuma - Initiatives from Osaka party, first term Hisatake Sugi - Komeito, first term Kotaro Tatsumi - Japan Communist Party, first term Takuji Yanagimoto - LDP, first term Notes