The Tigris and Euphrates, with their tributaries, form a major river system in Western Asia. From sources originating in Eastern Anatolia, they flow by/through Syria through Iraq into the Persian Gulf; the system is part of the Palearctic Tigris–Euphrates ecoregion, which includes Iraq and parts of Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. From their sources and upper courses in the mountains of eastern Turkey, the rivers descend through valleys and gorges to the uplands of Syria and northern Iraq and to the alluvial plain of central Iraq; the rivers flow in a south-easterly direction through the central plain and combine at Al-Qurnah to form the Shatt al-Arab and discharge into the Persian Gulf. The region has historical importance as part of the Fertile Crescent region, in which civilization is believed to have first emerged; the ecoregion is characterized by the Tigris and Euphrates. The rivers have several small tributaries which feed into the system from shallow freshwater lakes and marshes, all surrounded by desert.

The hydrology of these vast marshes is important to the ecology of the entire upper Persian Gulf. The area is known as Mesopotamia; as part of the larger Fertile Crescent, it saw the earliest emergence of literate urban civilization in the Uruk period, for which reason it is described as a "Cradle of Civilization". In the 1980s, this ecoregion was put in grave danger as the Iran–Iraq War raged within its boundaries; the wetlands of Iraq, which were inhabited by the Marsh Arabs, were completely dried out, have only shown signs of recovery. The Tigris–Euphrates Basin is shared by Turkey, Iraq and Kuwait. Many Tigris tributaries originate in Iran and a Tigris–Euphrates confluence forms part of the Kuwait–Iraq border. Since the 1960s and in the 1970s, when Turkey began the GAP project in earnest, water disputes have occurred in addition to the associated dam's effects on the environment. In addition and Iranian dam construction has contributed to political tension within the basin during drought; the general climate of the region is subtropical and arid.

At the northern end of the Persian Gulf is the vast floodplain of the Euphrates and Karun Rivers, featuring huge permanent lakes and forest. The aquatic vegetation includes reeds and papyrus, which support numerous species. Areas around the Tigris and the Euphrates are fertile. Marshy land is home to water birds, some stopping here while migrating, some spending the winter in these marshes living off the lizards, snakes and fish. Other animals found in these marshes are water buffalo, two endemic rodent species and gazelles and small animals such as the jerboa and several other mammals. Iraq suffers from desertification and soil salination due in large part to thousands of years of agricultural activity. Water and plant life are sparse. Saddam Hussein's government water-control projects drained the inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting streams and rivers. Shi'a Muslims were displaced under the Ba'athist regime; the destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations.

There are inadequate supplies of potable water. The marshlands were an extensive natural wetlands ecosystem which developed over thousands of years in the Tigris–Euphrates basin and once covered 15–20,000 square kilometers. According to the United Nations Environmental Program and the AMAR Charitable Foundation, between 84% and 90% of the marshes have been destroyed since the 1970s. In 1994, 60 percent of the wetlands were destroyed by Hussein's regime – drained to permit military access and greater political control of the native Marsh Arabs. Canals and dams were built routing the water of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers around the marshes, instead of allowing water to move through the marshland. After part of the Euphrates was dried up due to re-routing its water to the sea, a dam was built so water could not back up from the Tigris and sustain the former marshland; some marshlands were burned and pipes buried underground helped to carry away water for quicker drying. The drying of the marshes led to the disappearance of the salt-tolerant vegetation.

The issue of water rights became a point of contention for Iraq and Syria beginning in the 1960s when Turkey implemented a public-works project aimed at harvesting the water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers through the construction of 22 dams, for irrigation and hydroelectric energy purposes. Although the water dispute between Turkey and Syria was more problematic, the GAP project was perceived as a threat by Iraq; the tension between Turkey and Iraq about the issue was increased by the effect of Syria and Turkey's participation in the UN embargo against Iraq following the Gulf War. However, the issue had never become as significant as the water dispute between Syria; the 2008 drought in Iraq sparked new negotiations between Iraq and Turkey over trans-boundary river flows. Although the drought affected Turkey and Iran as well, Iraq complained about reduced water flows. Iraq complained about the Euphrates River because of the large amount of dams on the river. Turkey agreed to increase the flow several times, beyond its means in order to supply Iraq with extra water.

Iraq has seen significant declines in water crop yields because of the drought. To make matters worse, Iraq's water infrastructure has suffered from years of neglect. In 2008, Turkey and Syria agr

Barry Faulkner was an American artist known for his murals. During World War I, he and sculptor Sherry Edmundson Fry organized artists for training as camouflage specialists, an effort that contributed to the founding of the American Camouflage Corps in 1917. Faulkner was born in New Hampshire, he was a cousin of naturalist Abbott H. Thayer, who lived in nearby Dublin, he was a student of Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Discouraged by his family from pursuing a career in art, he agreed to attend one year at Harvard University, where his roommate was Saint-Gaudens’ son, Homer Saint-Gaudens, he returned to the study of art and, in 1907, won the Rome Prize for travel in Europe and study at the American Academy in Rome. Faulkner returned to the U. S. in 1910, thereafter worked as a muralist from his studio in New York. In 1926, he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member, became a full Academician in 1931, he continued to serve as a trustee and active member of the American Academy and in 1960 received a Rome Medal for outstanding service.

With the outbreak of World War I, he and other New York artists anticipated the U. S. entry in the war. With Sherry Fry, he organized dozens of artists in a civilian pre-war unit called the New York Camouflage Society. After the U. S. entered the war, the U. S. Army formed its own unit, called the American Camouflage Corps, appointed Homer Saint-Gaudens as its head. According to Faulkner’s autobiography, he and Fry, with four other artists, were the first enlisted camoufleurs, he spent the remainder of the war in France, attached to what was called Company A of the 40th Engineers. Throughout his life, Faulkner's main achievements were as a muralist, his earliest commissions were for murals in the homes of prominent families. These led in turn to commissions for murals or mosaics for: Washington Irving High School, New York City, 1916–19 The Cunard Building, New York City, 1920 Eastman Theatre, New York, 1922 Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Ontario, Canada, 1927 University of Illinois Library, Illinois, 1928 Mortensen Hall at Bushnell Center, Connecticut, 1931 RCA Building, Rockefeller Center, New York City, 1933 National Archives Building, Washington, D.

C. 1936 Oregon State Capitol, Oregon, 1938, including a panel in the House chamber behind the Speaker's desk that depicts the 1843 meeting at Champoeg when Oregon formed a provisional government Senate Chamber, New Hampshire State Capitol, Concord, 1942 John Hancock Building, Boston, 1949 Keene National Bank, New Hampshire, 1950 Cheshire County Savings Bank, New Hampshire, 1955 The center panel of the ceiling in Mortensen Hall is the largest hand-painted ceiling mural in the United States. The work, entitled Drama, is based on Greek motifs although it is an ode to American progress in the early 20th century, including aviation, architecture and dramatic arts; the mural cost $50,000 in 1929. Several murals in the large foyer of the Washington Irving High School auditorium depict scenes from New York state history. In 2007, the Historical Society of Cheshire County produced a full-color book about Faulkner's achievements as a muralist, with audio recordings of the artist talking about his life.

Behrens, Roy R. False Colors: Art and Modern Camouflage. Dysart, Iowa: Bobolink Books. ISBN 0-9713244-0-9. ___, Camoupedia: A Compendium of Research on Art and Camouflage. Dysart, Iowa: Bobolink Books. ISBN 978-0-9713244-6-6. Faulkner, Sketches from an Artist’s Life. Dublin, New Hampshire: William Bauhan. ISBN 978-0-87233-023-8. Rumrill, Alan F. and Carl B. Jacobs, Jr. Steps to Great Art: Barry Faulkner and the Art of the Muralist. Keene, New Hampshire: Historical Society of Cheshire County. ISBN 978-0-9724478-7-4. White, Nelson C. Abbott H. Thayer: Painter and Naturalist. Hartford, Connecticut: Connecticut Printers. ____, "The Faulkner Murals: The Barry Faulkner Murals at Washington Irving High School, History and Education". New York: Municipal Art Society of New York. Art and camouflage Barry Faulkner papers at the Archives of American Art

Enrico Cecchetti was an Italian ballet dancer and founder of the Cecchetti method. The son of two dancers from Civitanova Marche, he was born in the costuming room of the Teatro Tordinona in Rome. After an illustrious career as a dancer in Europe, he went to dance for the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, where he further honed his skills. Cecchetti was praised for his agility and strength in his performances, as well as his technical abilities in dance. By 1888, he was accepted as the greatest ballet virtuoso in the world. After an esteemed career in Russia, originating such roles as both the Bluebird and Carabosse in Petipa's masterpiece, The Sleeping Beauty, he turned to teaching; some of his students included other notable dancers of the Imperial Ballet, such as: Anna Pavlova, Léonide Massine, Vaslav Nijinsky. While in London in 1920, he provided instruction to the American ballerina Ruth Page and to Ninette de Valois, he restaged many ballets, including Petipa's definitive version of Coppélia in 1894, from which nearly all modern versions of the work are based..

While teaching a class, Cecchetti collapsed and he died the following day, 13 November 1928. Changes to the choreography of the male variations featured in the works of the Imperial Ballet's repertory. In 1890, Cecchetti performed in the ground-breaking production of The Sleeping Beauty, where his performance as the Bluebird caused a sensation in the audience at the Mariinsky Theatre; the choreography of the Bluebird has challenged male dancers to the present day. Cecchetti left the Imperial ballet in 1902 to accept the directorship of the Imperial Ballet School in Warsaw, Poland part of the Russian Empire, his farewell gala at the Mariinsky Theatre featured all of the leading ballerinas of the day, many of whom were his students. In order to have everyone pay him homage, the Paquita Grand pas classique was performed, with the inclusion of the favorite solos of all of the participating ballerinas; this led to the tradition of including a long suite of variations for several ballerinas. In 1919 Cecchetti performed at the inaugural performance of the ballet, La Boutique fantasque, in London, appearing in the role of the shopkeeper.

In 1887 Cecchetti performed in St. Petersburg where Ivan Vsevolozhsky, the director of the Mariinsky Theatre saw him perform, he was so impressed with Cecchetti that he hired Cecchetti as a principal dancer for the theatre. This was rare at the time because dancers would be asked to join a company on a lower level. With the introduction of the pointe shoe in the early 19th century, ballet was dominated by female performers using pointe technique. In many ways male technique had been reduced to the role of an actor whose responsibilities as a dancer were relegated to a servant who partnered the ballerina. Cecchetti began transforming the traditionally conservative roles for the male dancer, making drastic changes to the choreography of the male variations featured in the works of the Imperial Ballet's repertory. In 1890, Cecchetti performed in the ground-breaking production of The Sleeping Beauty, where his performance as the Bluebird caused a sensation in the auditorium of the Mariinsky Theatre.

The choreography of the Bluebird has challenged male dancers to the present day. Cecchetti left the Imperial ballet in 1902 to accept the directorship of the Imperial Ballet School in Warsaw, Poland, his farewell gala at the Mariinsky Theatre featured all of the leading ballerinas of the day, many of whom were his students. In order to have everyone pay him homage, the Paquita Grand pas classique was performed with the inclusion of the favorite solos of all of the participating ballerinas; this led to the tradition of including a long suite of variations for several ballerinas. In 1919 Cecchetti performed at the inaugural performance of the ballet La Boutique fantasque in London, appearing in the role of the shopkeeper. In the tradition of classical ballet and parts are taught directly, person to person; the technique was passed on directly to Enrico Cecchetti, as he was taught by Giovanni Lepri, who in turn was taught by Carlo Blasis and the line can be traced back to Beauchamp the first ballet master at the court of Louis X1V.

So, the Cecchetti method has been passed on directly by his former pupils such as Laura Wilson. Cecchetti died in Milan on 13 November 1928. Cecchetti created a ballet technique, now known as the Cecchetti method; this technique is popular with past and present ballet teachers, remaining contemporary. After Cecchetti's death, Cyril Beaumont, Stanislas Idzikowsky, Margaret Craske and Derra de Moroda decided to codify Cecchetti's method so it could continue to be used by ballet teachers to perfect the technique of ballet dancers. Under the Cecchetti Method, dancers follow strict routines and daily exercises to develop all-around skills to support learning and performance of every kind of dance; this training method is used by many ballet companies around the world, including The National Ballet of Canada and Mont Albert Ballet School in Melbourne, Australia. Pavlova and Cecchetti, duet from the Nutcracker, ballet by John Neumeier, Anna Pavlova, film by Emil Loteanu. History of Enrico Cecchetti at Cecchetti USA

NHS South East Coast was a strategic health authority of the National Health Service in England. It operated in the South East region, along with NHS South Central, providing coterminosity with the local government office region. NHS South East Coast was established on 1 July 2006 as one of 10 Strategic Health Authorities in England. NHS South East Coast contained 26 NHS organisations, including 6 Foundation Trusts; these comprise: eight Primary Care Trusts. Abolished April 2013 Brighton and Hove City PCT East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT Hastings and Rother PCT Medway PCT Surrey PCT West Kent PCT West Sussex PCT Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust Frimley Park NHS Foundation Trust Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust The Medway NHS Foundation Trust Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Trust Royal West Sussex NHS Trust Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust The Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust Official website

German submarine U-348 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She sank no ships, she was sunk near Hamburg by US bombs. German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-348 had a displacement of 769 tonnes when at the 871 tonnes while submerged, she had a total length of 67.10 m, a pressure hull length of 50.50 m, a beam of 6.20 m, a height of 9.60 m, a draught of 4.74 m. The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of 2,800 to 3,200 metric horsepower for use while surfaced, two AEG GU 460/8–27 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750 metric horsepower for use while submerged, she had two 1.23 m propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres; the submarine had a maximum submerged speed of 7.6 knots. When submerged, the boat could operate for 80 nautical miles at 4 knots. U-348 was fitted with five 53.3 cm torpedo tubes, fourteen torpedoes, one 8.8 cm SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, two twin 2 cm C/30 anti-aircraft guns.

The boat had a complement of between sixty. The submarine was laid down on 17 November 1942 at the Nordseewerke yard at Emden as yard number 220, launched on 26 June 1943 and commissioned on 10 August under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Norbert Schunck*. U-348 served with the 8th U-boat Flotilla, for training and with the 9th flotilla for operations from 1 April 1944, she came back under the command of the 8th flotilla on 12 July and was reassigned to the 5th flotilla on 16 February 1945. U-348 made short trips from Kiel in Germany to Stavanger and Bergen in Norway in April 1944, her first patrol began with her departure from Bergen on 23 April 1944. The detonation of a landmine near Stavanger on 6 May wounded another, she returned to Bergen on the 15th. The submarine's second foray was uneventful. U-348's third patrol was preceded by more short trips, this time between Trondheim and Reval; the boat's fourth sortie was divided into three parts in July and August 1944, but kept to the Ostsee.

Patrol number five was sub-divided into four. It included departures from arrivals at Mösholm and Libau, her sixth patrol from Danzig terminated in Swinemünde. She moved from Swinemünde to Hamburg in February 1945. On 30 March she was destroyed by US bombs during an air-raid. * Oberleutnant z. S. Hans-Joachim Förster served from June to August 1943 as Baubelehrungs commander in the last days before the boat was commissioned. Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-348". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014. Hofmann, Markus. "U 348". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de. Retrieved 26 December 2014

Aquilegia pyrenaica, common name Pyrenean columbine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae. Aquilegia pyrenaica can reach a height of 10–30 centimetres; this plant is related to the taller Aquliegia alpina. Stem is simple, more or less glabrous; the leaves are blue-green and trifoliate. The flowers are lilac, 3 -- 5 centimetres wide and 2.5 -- 3.5 centimetres. Spurs are long and little curved, stamens are yellow and protruding; this plant blooms from April to June. This species prefer rocky places at an altitude of 900 -- 2,200 metres; this species is native to the Pyrenees. Christoper Brickell: RHS A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. Third edition. Dorling Kindersley, London 2003 Biolib Alpine Encyclopedia Hortipedia