1.
Eastern Time Zone
–
Places that use Eastern Standard Time when observing standard time are 5 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time. Eastern Daylight Time, when observing daylight saving time DST is 4 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time, in the northern parts of the time zone, on the second Sunday in March, at 2,00 a. m. EST, clocks are advanced to 3,00 a. m. EDT leaving a one-hour gap, on the first Sunday in November, at 2,00 a. m. EDT, clocks are moved back to 1,00 a. m, southern parts of the zone do not observe daylight saving time. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 ruled that daylight saving time would run from the last Sunday of April until the last Sunday in October in the United States, the act was amended to make the first Sunday in April the beginning of daylight saving time as of 1987. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended daylight saving time in the United States beginning in 2007. So local times change at 2,00 a. m. EST to 3,00 a. m. EDT on the second Sunday in March, in Canada, the time changes as it does in the United States. However, a handful of communities unofficially observe Eastern Time because they are part of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area – Phenix City, Smiths Station, Lanett, and Valley. Florida, All of Florida is in the Eastern Time zone except for the portion of the Florida Panhandle west of the Apalachicola River, as the Eastern–Central zone boundary approaches the Gulf of Mexico, it follows the Bay/Gulf county line. Indiana, All of Indiana observes Eastern Time except for six counties in the Chicago metropolitan area. Kentucky, Roughly, the half of the state, including all of metropolitan Louisville, is in the Eastern Time Zone. Historically the entire state observed Central Time, when daylight saving time was first introduced, the Lower Peninsula remained on DST after it formally ended, effectively re-aligning itself into the Eastern Time Zone. The Upper Peninsula continued to observe Central Time until 1972, when all, Tennessee, Most of the eastern third of Tennessee is legally on Eastern Time. Eastern Time is also used somewhat as a de facto official time for all of the United States, since it includes the capital and the largest city. Major professional sports leagues also post all game times in Eastern time, for example, a game time between two teams from Pacific Time Zone will still be posted in Eastern time. Most cable television and national broadcast networks advertise airing times in Eastern time, national broadcast networks generally have two primary feeds, an eastern feed for Eastern and Central time zones, and a tape-delayed western feed for the Pacific Time Zone. The prime time is set on Eastern and Pacific at 8,00 p. m. with the Central time zone stations receiving the eastern feed at 7,00 p. m. local time. Mountain Time Zone stations receive a separate feed at 7,00 p. m. local time, as Arizona does not observe daylight saving time, during the summer months, it has its own feed at 7,00 p. m. local time
Eastern Time Zone
–
(farthest right pink)
2.
New York City
–
The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
New York City
–
Clockwise, from top:
Midtown Manhattan,
Times Square, the
Unisphere in
Queens, the
Brooklyn Bridge,
Lower Manhattan with
One World Trade Center,
Central Park, the
headquarters of the United Nations, and the
Statue of Liberty
New York City
–
New Amsterdam, centered in the eventual
Lower Manhattan, in 1664, the year
England took control and renamed it "New York".
New York City
–
The
Battle of Long Island, the largest battle of the
American Revolution, took place in
Brooklyn in 1776.
New York City
–
Broadway follows the Native American Wickquasgeck Trail through Manhattan.
3.
Geneva
–
Geneva is the second most populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situated where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic, the municipality has a population of 198,072, and the canton has 484,736 residents. In 2014, the compact agglomération du Grand Genève had 946,000 inhabitants in 212 communities in both Switzerland and France, within Swiss territory, the commuter area named Métropole lémanique contains a population of 1.25 million. This area is essentially spread east from Geneva towards the Riviera area and north-east towards Yverdon-les-Bains, Geneva is the city that hosts the highest number of international organizations in the world. It is also the place where the Geneva Conventions were signed, Geneva was ranked as the worlds ninth most important financial centre for competitiveness by the Global Financial Centres Index, ahead of Frankfurt, and third in Europe behind London and Zürich. A2009 survey by Mercer found that Geneva has the third-highest quality of life of any city in the world, the city has been referred to as the worlds most compact metropolis and the Peace Capital. In 2009 and 2011, Geneva was ranked as, respectively, the city was mentioned in Latin texts, by Caesar, with the spelling Genava, probably from a Celtic toponym *genawa- from the stem *genu-, in the sense of a bending river or estuary. The medieval county of Geneva in Middle Latin was known as pagus major Genevensis or Comitatus Genevensis, the name takes various forms in modern languages, Geneva /dʒᵻˈniːvə/ in English, French, Genève, German, Genf, Italian, Ginevra, and Romansh, Genevra. The city in origin shares its name, *genawa estuary, with the Italian port city of Genoa, Geneva was an Allobrogian border town, fortified against the Helvetii tribe, when the Romans took it in 121 BC. It became Christian under the Late Roman Empire, and acquired its first bishop in the 5th century, having been connected to the bishopric of Vienne in the 4th. In the Middle Ages, Geneva was ruled by a count under the Holy Roman Empire until the late 14th century, around this time the House of Savoy came to dominate the city. In the 15th century, a republican government emerged with the creation of the Grand Council. In 1541, with Protestantism in the ascendancy, John Calvin, by the 18th century, however, Geneva had come under the influence of Catholic France, which cultivated the city as its own. France also tended to be at odds with the ordinary townsfolk, in 1798, revolutionary France under the Directory annexed Geneva. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, on 1 June 1814, in 1907, the separation of Church and State was adopted. Geneva flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries, becoming the seat of international organizations. Geneva is located at 46°12 North, 6°09 East, at the end of Lake Geneva. It is surrounded by two chains, the Alps and the Jura
Geneva
–
Top left:
Palace of Nations, Middle left:
ATLAS experiment at
CERN, Right:
Jet d'Eau, Bottom: View over Geneva and the
lake.
Geneva
–
L'Escalade, the failed surprise-attack (12 December 1602) made by troops sent by
Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, to take Geneva
Geneva
–
Geneva seen from SPOT Satellite
Geneva
–
The Geneva area seen from the Salève in France. The Jura mountains can be seen on the horizon.
4.
Anthony Lake
–
He has been a foreign policy advisor to many Democratic U. S. presidents and presidential candidates, and served as National Security Advisor under U. S. President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997. Lake is credited as being one of the individuals who developed the policy led to the resolution of the Bosnian War. He also held the chair of Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, in Washington, D. C. Lake is the grandson of Kirsopp Lake, a member of the Church of England clergy who came from Oxford, England, Lakes father, Gerard Kirsopp Lake, was a New Deal Democrat and his mother Eleanor, a Republican. Lake himself was born in New York City and he attended Middlesex School and Harvard College, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1961. He later co-edited a festschrift for his Princeton mentor, Richard H. Ullman, Lake joined the State Department in 1962, serving until 1970 as a Foreign Service Officer. Lake was an assistant to Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. during the Vietnam War, in 1969, he accompanied National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger on his first secret meeting with North Vietnamese negotiators in Paris. In 1970, he had a falling-out with Kissinger over the Nixon administrations Cambodian Campaign and he later wrote a book critical of Kissingers approach to Africa. Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine in his 1972 presidential campaign, after Carter lost the 1980 election to Ronald Reagan, Lake became the Five College Professor of International Relations chair in Massachusetts, teaching first at Amherst College. In 1984, he moved to Mount Holyoke College, where he taught courses on the Vietnam War, Third World revolutions, and American foreign policy. Among his protegees at Mount Holyoke was his student research assistant Mona Sutphen who would serve in the Barack Obama White House as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. In 1997, he became Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, during the 1992 presidential campaign, he was one of Clintons chief foreign policy advisers. Lake later served as National Security Advisor, in the aftermath of the Cold War, Lake advocated a policy of enlargement of the number free market democracies. Told by the White House to sell his stocks in energy companies when he took the office in 1993, when Clinton decided in 1994 to allow Iran to arm the Bosnian army, Lake admitted he made a mistake when he didnt push to inform Congress of the decision. Following Clintons 1996 re-election, he nominated Lake to become the Director of Central Intelligence, however, others have speculated that Lakes nomination failed, in part, because Lake stated in a television interview that he was not sure if Alger Hiss was guilty. After the withdrawal of his CIA nomination, Lake became White House Special Envoy, as special envoy Lake mediated the drafting of the Algiers Agreement, ending the Eritrean-Ethiopian War. Lake co-founded Intellibridge Corporation in 2000 with David Rothkopf, in 2005 the assets of Intellibridge were acquired by the Eurasia Group. Lake was a policy adviser for Barack Obamas 2008 presidential campaign, having endorsed him over Senator Hillary Clinton
Anthony Lake
–
Anthony Lake at a visit to Stockholm, June 2010.
5.
United Nations
–
The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization to promote international co-operation. A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations, the organization was established on 24 October 1945 after World War II in order to prevent another such conflict, at its founding, the UN had 51 member states, there are now 193. The headquarters of the UN is in Manhattan, New York City, further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states, the UNs mission to preserve world peace was complicated in its early decades by the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union and their respective allies. The organization participated in actions in Korea and the Congo. After the end of the Cold War, the UN took on major military, the UN has six principal organs, the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Secretariat, the International Court of Justice, and the UN Trusteeship Council. UN System agencies include the World Bank Group, the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, UNESCO, the UNs most prominent officer is the Secretary-General, an office held by Portuguese António Guterres since 2017. Non-governmental organizations may be granted consultative status with ECOSOC and other agencies to participate in the UNs work, the organization won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001, and a number of its officers and agencies have also been awarded the prize. Other evaluations of the UNs effectiveness have been mixed, some commentators believe the organization to be an important force for peace and human development, while others have called the organization ineffective, corrupt, or biased. Following the catastrophic loss of life in the First World War, the earliest concrete plan for a new world organization began under the aegis of the US State Department in 1939. It incorporated Soviet suggestions, but left no role for France, four Policemen was coined to refer to four major Allied countries, United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and China, which emerged in the Declaration by United Nations. Roosevelt first coined the term United Nations to describe the Allied countries, the term United Nations was first officially used when 26 governments signed this Declaration. One major change from the Atlantic Charter was the addition of a provision for religious freedom, by 1 March 1945,21 additional states had signed. Each Government pledges itself to cooperate with the Governments signatory hereto, the foregoing declaration may be adhered to by other nations which are, or which may be, rendering material assistance and contributions in the struggle for victory over Hitlerism. During the war, the United Nations became the term for the Allies. To join, countries had to sign the Declaration and declare war on the Axis, at the later meetings, Lord Halifax deputized for Mr. Eden, Wellington Koo for T. V. Soong, and Mr Gromyko for Mr. Molotov. The first meetings of the General Assembly, with 51 nations represented, the General Assembly selected New York City as the site for the headquarters of the UN, and the facility was completed in 1952. Its site—like UN headquarters buildings in Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi—is designated as international territory, the Norwegian Foreign Minister, Trygve Lie, was elected as the first UN Secretary-General
United Nations
–
1943 sketch by Franklin Roosevelt of the United Nations' original three branches: The
Four Policemen, an executive branch, and an international assembly of forty UN member states.
United Nations
–
Flag
United Nations
–
The
Chilean delegation signing the
UN Charter in San Francisco, 1945
United Nations
–
Dag Hammarskjöld was a particularly active Secretary-General from 1953 until his death in 1961.
6.
Humanitarianism
–
Humanitarianism is a moral of kindness, benevolence, and sympathy extended to all human beings. Humanitarianism has been an evolving concept historically, but universality is a theme in its evolution. No distinction is to be made on the grounds of gender, sexual orientation, race, caste, age, religion, ability, the historian G. M. Trevelyan viewed humanitarianism as the product of rationalism upon Puritanism. The idea that mankind could be improved by deliberate social change distinct from the conferring of charity was relatively new, reform distinguished the humanitarian movement from philanthropy. Christian philanthropy tended to reform as political. In contrast, the movement thought reform essential to remove abuses. European individualism can be traced to the Greeks and it was the stoics, who like Aristotle, attributed significance to the human soul, but who, unlike Aristotle, considered all human beings equal in that significance. Natural law, as the stoics conceived it, was based upon this principle of spiritual equality, positive law was subject to the law of nature and, hence, uniquely to the ancient world, the stoics opposed slavery. In 18th century Enlightenment Europe, the idea of the equal moral significance of the individual in this world re-emerged grounded upon reason. Prevention of cruelty to animals involved extension of the principle to non-humans, the stoics had grounded moral significance on capacity to reason. In the 18th century, conflicting religious belief became tolerated to a degree unthinkable a century earlier, in England, pressure on Parliament led to regulation of working hours and amelioration of working conditions. An international dimension was added to humanitarian reform with the founding of the International Red Cross, finally, cruelty to animals became punishable. In contrast, social action in the 19th century was influenced by feeling and, in some instances. The initiative remained with small groups of reformers, which set about influencing public opinion, one reason for the change was the advent of democracy - limited though it was until well into the 19th century. The industrial proletariat crowding into cities made it feasible to hold mass meetings, Political pamphlets had first circulated in England during the civil war. In fiction, novels like Uncle Toms Cabin and those of Charles Dickens drew attention to social wrongs and this led to a change in approach which became less philosophical and more emotive, fastening on the inhumanity to which social action was directed. In 1503, the Spanish Governor in the Indies, Nicolás de Ovando, las Casas, who accompanied him, observed the toll of the work, and suggested the Indians be replaced by Negroes, thus beginning the transatlantic slave trade. Some 900,000 slaves were landed in the Americas by 1600, from the 17th century, demand for African labour expanded greatly with the increased importation of sugar into Europe
Humanitarianism
–
Volunteers from
AmeriCorps in Louisiana
Humanitarianism
–
"The
Anti-Slavery Society Convention, 1840" by
Benjamin Haydon (1841).
Humanitarianism
–
Medical personnel during an
armed conflict carry out humanitarian work and are "
protected persons " under
international humanitarian law. Whether military or civilian, they are considered
non-combatants and may not be attacked and not be taken as
prisoners of war by parties to a conflict. They use a
protective sign such as the
red cross, red crescent or red crystal. Attacking medical personnel is a
war crime.
Humanitarianism
–
Wounded soldiers during the
Crimean War. The
First Geneva Convention, adopted on 22 August 1864 in Switzerland, established legally binding rules guaranteeing neutrality and protection for wounded soldiers, field
medical personnel, and specific humanitarian institutions in an armed conflict.
7.
Mother
–
A mother is the female parent of a child. Mothers are women who inhabit or perform the role of bearing some relation to their children, thus, dependent on the context, women can be considered mothers by virtue of having given birth, by raising their child, supplying their ovum for fertilisation, or some combination thereof. Such conditions provide a way of delineating the concept of motherhood, women who meet the third and first categories usually fall under the terms birth mother or biological mother, regardless of whether the individual in question goes on to parent their child. Accordingly, a woman who meets only the condition may be considered an adoptive mother. The above concepts defining the role of mother are neither exhaustive nor universal, as any definition of mother may differ based on how social, cultural, and religious roles are defined. The parallel conditions and terms for males, those who are fathers do not, by definition, Mother and fatherhood are not limited to those who are or have parented. Women who are pregnant may be referred to as expectant mothers or mothers-to-be, the modern English word is from Middle English moder, from Old English mōdor, from Proto-Germanic *mōdēr, from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr. Other cognates include Latin māter, Greek μήτηρ, Common Slavic *mati, Persian مادر, biological motherhood for humans, as in other mammals, occurs when a pregnant female gestates a fertilized ovum. Typically a fetus develops from the zygote, resulting in an embryo. Gestation occurs in the uterus until the fetus is sufficiently developed to be born. In humans, gestation is often around 9 months in duration, after which the woman experiences labor and this is not always the case, however, as some babies are born prematurely, late, or in the case of stillbirth, do not survive gestation. Usually, once the baby is born, the mother produces milk via the lactation process, the mothers breast milk is the source of antibodies for the infants immune system and commonly the sole source of nutrition for the first year or more of the childs life. Mother can often apply to an other than the biological parent. This is commonly either a mother or a stepmother. The term othermother or other mother is used in some contexts for women who provide care for a child not biologically their own in addition to the childs primary mother. Adoption, in forms, has been practiced throughout history. Modern systems of adoption, arising in the 20th century, tend to be governed by comprehensive statutes, in recent decades, international adoptions have become more and more common. Adoption in the United States is common and relatively easy from a point of view
Mother
Mother
Mother
Mother
8.
Developing country
–
Also, the general term less-developed country should not be confused with the specific least developed country. The term developing describes a currently observed situation and not a dynamic or expected direction of progress, since the late 1990s developing countries tended to demonstrate higher growth rates than the developed ones. There is criticism of the use of the developing country. The term implies inferiority of a country or undeveloped country compared with a developed country. It assumes a desire to develop along the traditional Western model of development which a few countries, such as Cuba and Bhutan. An alternative measurement that has suggested is that of gross national happiness. Countries on the boundary between developed and developing are often categorized under the newly industrialized countries. In the 2016 edition of its World Development Indicators, the World Bank made a decision to no longer distinguish between “developed” and “developing” countries in the presentation of its data, nobody has ever agreed on a definition for these terms in the first place. Various terms are used for whatever is not a developed country, terms used include less developed country or less economically developed country, and for the more extreme, least developed country or least economically developed country. But according to the United Nations Statistics Division, There is no established convention for the designation of developed, the World Bank classifies countries into four income groups. These are set each year on July 1, economies were divided according to 2016 GNI per capita using the following ranges of income, Low income countries had GNI per capita of US$1,025 or less. Lower middle income countries had GNI per capita between US$1,026 and US$4,035, upper middle income countries had GNI per capita between US$4,036 and US$12,475. High income countries had GNI per capita above US$12,476 and this may be by absolute numbers or country ranking. The UN has developed the Human Development Index, an indicator of the above statistics. The UN sets Millennium Development Goals from a blueprint developed by all of the countries and leading development institutions. There is an association between low income and high population growth. The terms utilized when discussing developing countries refer to the intent, other terms sometimes used are less developed countries, least economically developed countries, underdeveloped nations or Third World nations, and non-industrialized nations. Conversely, developed countries, most economically developed countries, First World nations and that is, LEDCs are the poorest subset of LDCs
Developing country
–
developing economies according to the IMF
9.
United Nations Development Group
–
Currently, the UNDG is one of the main UN actors involved in the development of the Post-2015 Development Agenda. UNDG brings together 32 UN agencies and groups, plus five observers working on development issues. This was especially so with the Delivering as One initiative, an initial proposal was to merge the UNICEF, the World Food Programme and the UNFPA into the UNDP. Finally, then Secretary General Kofi Annan worked to form the UNDG, the CEB brings the executive heads of UN organizations together on a regular basis under the chairmanship of the Secretary-General. The Administrator of the UN Development Programme chairs the UNDG, the UNDG Chair reports to the Secretary-General and the CEB on progress in implementing the group’s work plan, and on the management of the Resident Coordinator System. The United Nations Economic and Social Council and the United Nations General Assembly provide oversight, the UNDG is overseen by the Economic and Financial Committee of the General Assembly. The UNDGs chairperson is the UNDPs Administrator, in 2009, the non-rotational members of the advisory group were, the FAO, ILO, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNHCR, WFP, WHO and UNIDO. The rotational members are, the UNCTAD and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Africa, the UN Development Operations Coordination Office is a key component within the UNDG, promoting social and economic progress by providing support. It was key part of UNDGs formation in 1997, uniting the UN system, at present is the Secretariat and technical and advisory support unit of the UNDG. It brings together the UN development system to change and innovation to deliver together on sustainable development. DOCO works under the leadership of the UNDG Chair and guidance of the UNDG, the team provides field evidence to inform policy, facilitates the achievement of shared results, and promotes excellence in UN leadership and coordination. The core objective is a relevant and impactful UN contribution to development
United Nations Development Group
–
United Nations Development Group
10.
United Nations General Assembly
–
The United Nations General Assembly is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation. The General Assembly is the deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the UN. It has also established a number of subsidiary organs. It can also reconvene for special and emergency special sessions and its composition, functions, powers, voting, and procedures are set out in Chapter IV of the United Nations Charter. The first session was convened on 10 January 1946 in the Methodist Central Hall in London, other questions are decided by a straightforward majority. Each member country has one vote, apart from approval of budgetary matters, including adoption of a scale of assessment, Assembly resolutions are not binding on the members. The Assembly may make recommendations on any matters within the scope of the UN, except matters of peace, the one state, one vote power structure potentially allows states comprising just five percent of the world population to pass a resolution by a two-thirds vote. During the 1980s, the Assembly became a forum for the North-South dialogue and these issues came to the fore because of the phenomenal growth and changing makeup of the UN membership. In 1945, the UN had 51 members and it now has 193, of which more than two-thirds are developing countries. Because of their numbers, developing countries are able to determine the agenda of the Assembly, the character of its debates. For many developing countries, the UN is the source of much of their diplomatic influence, the Assembly can consider the matter immediately with a view to making recommendations to Members for collective measures to maintain or restore international peace and security. The first session of the UN General Assembly was convened on 10 January 1946 in the Methodist Central Hall in London, the next few annual sessions were held in different cities, the second session in New York, and the third session was in Paris. It moved to the permanent United Nations Headquarters in New York at the start of its seventh regular annual session, on 14 October 1952. In December 1988, in order to hear Yasser Arafat, the General Assembly organised its 29th session in the Palace of Nations, all 193 members states of the United Nations are members of the General Assembly. The agenda for each session is planned up to seven months in advance and this is refined into a provisional agenda 60 days before the opening of the session. Items on the agenda are numbered, the General Assembly votes on many resolutions brought forth by sponsoring states. These are generally statements symbolizing the sense of the community about an array of world issues. Most General Assembly resolutions are not enforceable as a legal or practical matter, the General Assembly has authority to make final decisions in some areas such as the United Nations budget
United Nations General Assembly
–
United Nations (UN) General Assembly hall at the
UN Headquarters,
New York City
United Nations General Assembly
–
United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
–
Westminster Central Hall,
London, the location of the first meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in 1946.
United Nations General Assembly
–
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev addresses the 64th session of the UN General Assembly on 24 September 2009
11.
World War II
–
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
World War II
–
Clockwise from top left: Chinese forces in the
Battle of Wanjialing, Australian
25-pounder guns during the
First Battle of El Alamein, German
Stuka dive bombers on the
Eastern Front in December 1943, a U.S. naval force in the
Lingayen Gulf,
Wilhelm Keitel signing the
German Instrument of Surrender, Soviet troops in the
Battle of Stalingrad
World War II
–
The
League of Nations assembly, held in
Geneva,
Switzerland, 1930
World War II
–
Adolf Hitler at a German
National Socialist political rally in
Weimar, October 1930
World War II
–
Italian soldiers recruited in 1935, on their way to fight the
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
12.
United Nations System
–
The United Nations System consists of the United Nations, its subsidiary organs, the specialized agencies, and affiliated organizations. This body, chaired by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the United Nations System includes the United Nations and its subsidiary bodies, specialized agencies, and affiliated organizations. Some of the organizations of the United Nations System predate the founding of the United Nations in 1945 and were inherited after the dissolution of the League of Nations, the principal organ of the UN System was the United Nations itself. It has also established a number of subsidiary organs. The United Nations Security Council is one of the organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions, and its powers are exercised through United Nations Security Council resolutions. The Security Council held its first session on 17 January 1946 at Church House, Westminster, there are 15 members of the Security Council, consisting of five veto-wielding permanent members and 10 elected non-permanent members with two-year terms. This basic structure is set out in Chapter V of the UN Charter, Security Council members must always be present at UN headquarters in New York so that the Security Council can meet at any time. The United Nations Economic and Social Council constitutes one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and it is responsible for co-ordinating the economic, social and related work of 14 UN specialized agencies, their functional commissions and five regional commissions. ECOSOC has 54 members, it holds a four-week session each year in July, since 1998, it has also held a meeting each April with finance ministers heading key committees of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The ECOSOC serves as the forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to member states. The United Nations Secretariat is headed by the United Nations Secretary-General and it provides studies, information, and facilities needed by United Nations bodies for their meetings. It also carries out tasks as directed by the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly, the UN Economic and Social Council, the Charter provides that the staff shall not seek or receive instructions from any authority other than the UN. Each UN member country is enjoined to respect the character of the Secretariat. The Secretary-General alone is responsible for staff selection, the International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, the last was Palau, formerly part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, which became a member state of the United Nations in December 1994. The separately-administered funds and programmes, research and training institutes, throughout its history the United Nations General Assembly has established a number of programmes and funds to address particular humanitarian and development concerns. These bodies usually report to the General Assembly through an executive board, each of the funds and programmes is headed by an Executive Director at the Under-Secretary-General level and is governed by an Executive Board
United Nations System
–
The
United Nations Office at Geneva (
Switzerland) is the second biggest UN centre, after the
United Nations Headquarters (
New York).
United Nations System
United Nations System
United Nations System
13.
Nobel Peace Prize
–
Per Alfred Nobels will, the recipient is selected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, a five-member committee appointed by the Parliament of Norway. Since 1990, the prize is awarded on 10 December in Oslo City Hall each year, the prize was formerly awarded in the Atrium of the University of Oslo Faculty of Law, the Norwegian Nobel Institute, and the Parliament. Due to its nature, the Nobel Peace Prize has, for most of its history. Alfred Nobels will further specified that the prize be awarded by a committee of five chosen by the Norwegian Parliament. Nobel died in 1896 and he did not leave an explanation for choosing peace as a prize category, as he was a trained chemical engineer, the categories for chemistry and physics were obvious choices. The reasoning behind the peace prize is less clear, some Nobel scholars suggest it was Nobels way to compensate for developing destructive forces. His inventions included dynamite and ballistite, both of which were used violently during his lifetime, ballistite was used in war and the Irish Republican Brotherhood, an Irish nationalist organization, carried out dynamite attacks in the 1880s. Nobel was also instrumental in turning Bofors from an iron and steel producer into an armaments company and it is unclear why Nobel wished the Peace Prize to be administered in Norway, which was ruled in union with Sweden at the time of Nobels death. The Norwegian Nobel Committee speculates that Nobel may have considered Norway better suited to awarding the prize, the Norwegian Parliament appoints the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which selects the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Each year, the Norwegian Nobel Committee specifically invites qualified people to submit nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize, the statutes of the Nobel Foundation specify categories of individuals who are eligible to make nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. Nominations by committee members can be submitted up to the date of the first Committee meeting after this deadline. In 2009, a record 205 nominations were received, but the record was again in 2010 with 237 nominations, in 2011. Nominations from 1901 to 1956, however, have released in a database. Nominations are considered by the Nobel Committee at a meeting where a short list of candidates for review is created. Advisers usually have some months to complete reports, which are considered by the Committee to select the laureate. The Committee seeks to achieve a decision, but this is not always possible. The Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee presents the Nobel Peace Prize in the presence of the King of Norway on 10 December each year, the Peace Prize is the only Nobel Prize not presented in Stockholm. The Nobel laureate receives a diploma, a medal, and a document confirming the prize amount, as of 2013, the prize was worth 10 million SEK
Nobel Peace Prize
–
Alfred Nobel
Nobel Peace Prize
–
Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
–
The
Norwegian Nobel Institute in
Oslo, Norway
Nobel Peace Prize
–
The
14th Dalai Lama and
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureates
14.
Prince of Asturias Awards
–
The awards are presented at the Campoamor Theatre in Oviedo, the capital of the Principality of Asturias. A sculpture, expressly created for the prize by Spanish sculptor Joan Miró, is presented yearly to the recipients of the prize, king Felipe will continue to preside over the awards ceremony until the Princess of Asturias reaches majority age on 31 October 2023. In 2015, Wikipedia won the prize in the International Cooperation category, every year, a town or community organization in the Principality of Asturias is chosen to receive this award, a royal visit, and a prize of €25,000. List of prizes, medals, and awards Graciano García García, Princess of Asturias Foundation Princess of Asturias Awards
Prince of Asturias Awards
–
Princess of Asturias Awards
Prince of Asturias Awards
–
The Award given to
Claudio Magris in 2004, shown at the exhibition La Trieste di Magris at
CCCB in Barcelona during 2011.
15.
Copenhagen
–
Copenhagen, Danish, København, Latin, Hafnia) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark. Copenhagen has an population of 1,280,371. The Copenhagen metropolitan area has just over 2 million inhabitants, the city is situated on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand, another small portion of the city is located on Amager, and is separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the strait of Øresund. The Øresund Bridge connects the two cities by rail and road, originally a Viking fishing village founded in the 10th century, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the early 15th century. Beginning in the 17th century it consolidated its position as a centre of power with its institutions, defences. After suffering from the effects of plague and fire in the 18th century and this included construction of the prestigious district of Frederiksstaden and founding of such cultural institutions as the Royal Theatre and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Later, following the Second World War, the Finger Plan fostered the development of housing, since the turn of the 21st century, Copenhagen has seen strong urban and cultural development, facilitated by investment in its institutions and infrastructure. The city is the cultural, economic and governmental centre of Denmark, Copenhagens economy has seen rapid developments in the service sector, especially through initiatives in information technology, pharmaceuticals and clean technology. Since the completion of the Øresund Bridge, Copenhagen has become integrated with the Swedish province of Scania and its largest city, Malmö. With a number of connecting the various districts, the cityscape is characterized by parks, promenades. Copenhagen is home to the University of Copenhagen, the Technical University of Denmark, the University of Copenhagen, founded in 1479, is the oldest university in Denmark. Copenhagen is home to the FC København and Brøndby football clubs, the annual Copenhagen Marathon was established in 1980. Copenhagen is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world, the Copenhagen Metro serves central Copenhagen while the Copenhagen S-train network connects central Copenhagen to its outlying boroughs. Serving roughly 2 million passengers a month, Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup, is the largest airport in the Nordic countries, the name of the city reflects its origin as a harbour and a place of commerce. The original designation, from which the contemporary Danish name derives, was Køpmannæhafn, meaning merchants harbour, the literal English translation would be Chapmans haven. The English name for the city was adapted from its Low German name, the abbreviations Kbh. or Kbhvn are often used in Danish for København, and kbh. for københavnsk. The chemical element hafnium is named for Copenhagen, where it was discovered, the bacterium Hafnia is also named after Copenhagen, Vagn Møller of the State Serum Institute in Copenhagen named it in 1954. Excavations in Pilestræde have also led to the discovery of a well from the late 12th century, the remains of an ancient church, with graves dating to the 11th century, have been unearthed near where Strøget meets Rådhuspladsen
Copenhagen
–
From upper left:
Christiansborg Palace,
Frederik's Church,
Tivoli Gardens and
Nyhavn.
Copenhagen
–
Reconstruction of Copenhagen c. 1500
Copenhagen
–
The
Tøjhus Arsenal (
1604)
Copenhagen
–
The
Børsen, former stock exchange (completed
1640)
16.
Vaccines
–
A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism and is made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe. Vaccines can be prophylactic, or therapeutic, the administration of vaccines is called vaccination. The effectiveness of vaccination has been studied and verified, for example, the influenza vaccine, the HPV vaccine. The World Health Organization reports that licensed vaccines are available to prevent or contribute to the prevention. The terms vaccine and vaccination are derived from Variolae vaccinae, the term devised by Edward Jenner to denote cowpox. He used it in 1798 in the title of his Inquiry into the. Variolae vaccinae. known. the Cow Pox. In 1881, to honor Jenner, Louis Pasteur proposed that the terms should be extended to cover the new protective inoculations then being developed, vaccines have historically been the most effective means to fight and eradicate infectious diseases. Limitations to their effectiveness, nevertheless, exist, sometimes, protection fails because the hosts immune system simply does not respond adequately or at all. Lack of response commonly results from factors such as diabetes, steroid use. Adjuvants commonly are used to boost immune response, particularly for older people, the efficacy or performance of the vaccine is dependent on a number of factors, the disease itself the strain of vaccine whether the vaccination schedule has been properly observed. Idiosyncratic response to vaccination, some individuals are non-responders to certain vaccines, assorted factors such as ethnicity, age, or genetic predisposition. If a vaccinated individual does develop the disease vaccinated against, the disease is likely to be less virulent than in unvaccinated victims, in 1958, there were 763,094 cases of measles in the United States,552 deaths resulted. After the introduction of new vaccines, the number of cases dropped to fewer than 150 per year, in early 2008, there were 64 suspected cases of measles. Vaccines have contributed to the eradication of smallpox, one of the most contagious, other diseases such as rubella, polio, measles, mumps, chickenpox, and typhoid are nowhere near as common as they were a hundred years ago. As long as the vast majority of people are vaccinated, it is more difficult for an outbreak of disease to occur. This effect is called herd immunity, polio, which is transmitted only between humans, is targeted by an extensive eradication campaign that has seen endemic polio restricted to only parts of three countries. However, the difficulty of reaching all children as well as cultural misunderstandings have caused the anticipated eradication date to be missed several times, vaccination given during childhood is generally safe
Vaccines
–
Jonas Salk in 1955 holds two bottles of a culture used to grow
polio vaccines.
Vaccines
–
Maurice Hilleman 's measles vaccine is estimated to prevent 1 million deaths every year.
Vaccines
–
Electroporation System for experimental "DNA vaccine" delivery
Vaccines
–
Edward Jenner
17.
Antiretroviral drug
–
The management of HIV/AIDS normally includes the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs in an attempt to control HIV infection. There are several classes of agents that act on different stages of the HIV life-cycle. The use of drugs that act on different viral targets is known as highly active antiretroviral therapy. HAART decreases the total burden of HIV, maintains function of the immune system. Treatment has been so successful that in parts of the world. In the same paper, he noted that an estimated 700,000 lives were saved in 2010 alone by antiretroviral therapy, the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the World Health Organization recommend offering antiretroviral treatment to all patients with HIV. The first effective therapy against HIV was the reverse transcriptase inhibitor. It was approved by the US FDA in 1987, subsequently, several more NRTIs were developed but even in combination were unable to suppress the virus for long periods of time and patients still inevitably died. To distinguish from this early therapy, the term highly active anti-retroviral therapy was introduced. This concept of 3-drug therapy was quickly incorporated into practice and rapidly showed impressive benefit with a 60% to 80% decline in rates of AIDS, death. There are five classes of drugs, which are used in combination. Use of these drugs in combination can be termed anti-retroviral therapy, anti-retroviral drugs are broadly classified by the phase of the retrovirus life-cycle that the drug inhibits. Typical combinations include 2 NRTIs as a backbone along with 1 NNRTI, entry inhibitors interfere with binding, fusion and entry of HIV-1 to the host cell by blocking one of several targets. Maraviroc and enfuvirtide are the two currently available agents in this class, maraviroc works by targeting CCR5, a co-receptor located on human helper T-cells. Caution should be used when administering this drug due to a possible shift in tropism which allows HIV to target an alternative co-receptor such as CXCR4. In rare cases, individuals may have a mutation in the CCR5 delta gene which results in a nonfunctional CCR5 co-receptor and in turn, however, as mentioned previously, this can be overcome if an HIV variant that targets CXCR4 becomes dominant. To prevent fusion of the virus with the host membrane, enfuvirtide can be used, nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors and nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors are nucleoside and nucleotide analogues which inhibit reverse transcription. HIV is an RNA virus and hence unable to become integrated into the DNA in the nucleus of the human cell, since the conversion of RNA to DNA is not done in the mammalian cell it is performed by a viral protein which makes it a selective target for inhibition
Antiretroviral drug
–
Schematic description of the mechanism of the four classes of currently available antiretroviral drugs against HIV
18.
Family Tracing and Reunification
–
Family Tracing and Reunification is a process whereby disaster response teams locate separated family members and reunite them following natural and human catastrophes. Restoring Family Links Registration, emergency care and family tracing - Better Care Network Charnley, Helen M. community Based Interventions For Separated Children In Mozambique, The Family Tracing And Reunification Program. Community Alternatives, International Journal of Family Care, n. pag
Family Tracing and Reunification
–
International NGOs work to reunite separated family members
19.
United Nations Economic and Social Council
–
The ECOSOC serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to member states and the United Nations system. A number of organisations have been granted consultative status to the Council to participate in the work of the United Nations. The president is elected for a term and chosen from the small or mid-sized powers represented on the ECOSOC. His Excellency Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava was elected seventy-second President of the Economic, Ambassador Shava is currently the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Zimbabwe to the United Nations in New York. The Council has 54 member states out of the 193 UN member states, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon added, Rather than viewing growth and sustainability as competing goals on a collision course, we must see them as complementary and mutually supportive imperatives. The report concluded that Business as usual is not an option, governance of the multilateral system has historically been complex and fragmented. This has limited the capacity of the ECOSOC to influence policies in trade, finance. Reform proposals aim to enhance the relevance and contribution of the council, a major reform was approved by the 2005 World Summit on the basis of proposals submitted by secretary-general Kofi Annan. At the Summit it was decided to hold annual ministerial-level substantive reviews to assess progress in achieving internationally agreed development goals. These Annual Ministeral Reviews will be replaced by the High Level Political Forum from 2016 onwards after the new post-MDG/Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals are agreed. Subsequent proposals by the High-Level Panel Report on System-Wide Coherence in November 2006 aimed to establish a forum within the ECOSOC as a counter-model to the clubs of the G8. The Forum was to comprise 27 heads of state to meet annually and this proposal, however, was not approved by the General Assembly. The Economic and Social Council Chamber in the United Nations Conference Building was a gift from Sweden and it was conceived by Swedish architect Sven Markelius, one of the 11 architects in the international team that designed the UN headquarters. Wood from Swedish pine trees was used in the area for the railings
United Nations Economic and Social Council
–
The room of the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
UN headquarters,
New York City
United Nations Economic and Social Council
–
United Nations Economic and Social Council
United Nations Economic and Social Council
–
ECOSOC Resolution 2007/25: Support to
Non-Self-Governing Territories by the specialized agencies and international institutions associated with the United Nations (26 July 2007)
20.
Non-governmental organization
–
A non-governmental organization is a not-for-profit organization that is independent from states and international governmental organizations. They are usually funded by donations but some avoid formal funding altogether and are run primarily by volunteers, NGOs are highly diverse groups of organizations engaged in a wide range of activities, and take different forms in different parts of the world. Some may have charitable status, while others may be registered for tax exemption based on recognition of social purposes, others may be fronts for political, religious, or other interests. The number of NGOs worldwide is estimated to be 3.7 million, India is estimated to have had around 2 million NGOs in 2009, just over one NGO per 600 Indians, and many times the number of primary schools and primary health centres in India. China is estimated to have approximately 440,000 officially registered NGOs, NGOs are difficult to define, and the term NGO is not always used consistently. In some countries the term NGO is applied to an organization that in another country would be called an NPO, there are many different classifications of NGO in use. The most common focus is on orientation and level of operation, an NGOs orientation refers to the type of activities it takes on. These activities might include human rights, environmental, improving health, an NGOs level of operation indicates the scale at which an organization works, such as local, regional, national, or international. The term non-governmental organization was first coined in 1945, when the United Nations was created, later the term became used more widely. One characteristic these diverse organizations share is that their non-profit status means they are not hindered by short-term financial objectives. Accordingly, they are able to devote themselves to issues which occur across longer time horizons, such as change, malaria prevention. Public surveys reveal that NGOs often enjoy a degree of public trust. NGO/GRO types can be understood by their orientation and level of how they operate, charitable orientation often involves a top-down paternalistic effort with little participation by the beneficiaries. It includes NGOs with activities directed toward meeting the needs of the poor people, in the classical community development project, participation begins with the need definition and continues into the planning and implementation stages. There is maximum involvement of the beneficiaries with NGOs acting as facilitators, community-based organizations arise out of peoples own initiatives. They can be responsible for raising the consciousness of the poor, helping them to understand their rights in accessing needed services. City-wide organizations include organizations such as chambers of commerce and industry, coalitions of business, ethnic or educational groups, national NGOs include national organizations such as the YMCAs/YWCAs, professional associations and similar groups. Some have state and city branches and assist local NGOs and they can be responsible for funding local NGOs, institutions and projects and implementing projects
Non-governmental organization
–
Valdis Dombrovskis, then
Prime Minister of Latvia, meeting an NGO representative
21.
United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
United States
–
Native Americans meeting with Europeans, 1764
United States
–
Flag
United States
–
The signing of the
Mayflower Compact, 1620.
United States
–
The
Declaration of Independence: the
Committee of Five presenting their draft to the
Second Continental Congress in 1776
22.
Trick-or-treating
–
Trick-or-treating is a Halloween custom for children in many countries. Children in costumes travel from house to house asking for such as candy with the phrase Trick or treat. The trick is a threat to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given to them and it typically happens during the evening of October 31. Some homeowners signal that they are willing to hand out treats, others might simply leave treats on their porch. In North America, trick-or-treating has been a Halloween tradition since the late 1920s, in Britain and Ireland the tradition of going house-to-house collecting food at Halloween goes back at least as far as the 16th century, as had the tradition of people wearing costumes at Halloween. The Scottish Halloween custom of guising – children disguised in costume going from house to house for food or money – is first recorded in North America in 1911. While going house-to-house in costume has remained popular among Scots and Irish, the activity is prevalent in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Puerto Rico, and northwestern and central Mexico. In the latter, this practice is called calaverita, and instead of trick or treat, where a calaverita is a small skull made of sugar or chocolate. Since the Middle Ages there has been a tradition of mumming on a certain holiday and it involved going door-to-door in costume, performing short scenes or parts of plays in exchange for food or drink. The custom of trick-or-treating when it is Halloween may come from the belief that supernatural beings, or the souls of the dead, roamed the earth at this time and needed to be appeased. It may otherwise have originated in a Celtic festival, held on 31 October–1 November and it was Samhain in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, and Calan Gaeaf in Wales, Cornwall and Brittany. The festival is believed to have pre-Christian roots, in the 9th century, the Catholic Church made 1 November All Saints Day. Among Celtic-speaking peoples, it was seen as a time, when the spirits or fairies. Similar beliefs and customs were found in parts of Europe. It is suggested that trick-or-treating evolved from a tradition whereby people impersonated the spirits, or the souls of the dead, peddle suggests they personify the old spirits of the winter, who demanded reward in exchange for good fortune. Impersonating these spirits or souls was also believed to protect oneself from them, at least as far back as the 15th century, among Catholics, there had been a custom of sharing soul cakes at Allhallowtide. People would visit houses and take soul cakes, either as representatives of the dead, or in return for praying for their souls. Later, people went from parish to parish at Halloween, begging soul-cakes by singing under the windows some such verse as this, Soul, souls, for a soul-cake, Pray you good mistress and they typically asked for mercy on all Christian souls for a soul cake
Trick-or-treating
–
A child trick-or-treating
Trick-or-treating
–
Magazine advertisement in 1962
Trick-or-treating
–
Two children trick-or-treating on Halloween in
Arkansas, United States
Trick-or-treating
–
Trunk-or-treating event held at St. John Lutheran Church & Early Learning Center in
Darien, IL
23.
Halloween
–
It begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints, martyrs, and all the faithful departed. Some academics, however, support the view that Halloween began independently as a solely Christian holiday. Some Christians historically abstained from meat on All Hallows Eve, a reflected in the eating of certain foods on this vigil day, including apples, potato pancakes. The word Halloween or Halloween dates to about 1745 and is of Christian origin, the word Halloween means hallowed evening or holy evening. It comes from a Scottish term for All Hallows Eve, in Scots, the word eve is even, and this is contracted to een or een. Over time, Hallow Een evolved into Halloween, although the phrase All Hallows is found in Old English All Hallows Eve is itself not seen until 1556. Todays Halloween customs are thought to have influenced by folk customs and beliefs from the Celtic-speaking countries. Samhain was the first and most important of the four days in the medieval Gaelic calendar and was celebrated on 31 October–1 November in Ireland, Scotland. A kindred festival was held at the time of year by the Brittonic Celts, called Calan Gaeaf in Wales, Kalan Gwav in Cornwall and Kalan Goañv in Brittany. For the Celts, the day ended and began at sunset, Samhain and Calan Gaeaf are mentioned in some of the earliest Irish and Welsh literature. The names have been used by historians to refer to Celtic Halloween customs up until the 19th century, samhain/Calan Gaeaf marked the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the darker half of the year. Like Beltane/Calan Mai, it was seen as a liminal time and this meant the Aos Sí, the spirits or fairies, could more easily come into our world and were particularly active. Most scholars see the Aos Sí as degraded versions of ancient gods whose power remained active in the minds even after they had been officially replaced by later religious beliefs. The Aos Sí were both respected and feared, with individuals often invoking the protection of God when approaching their dwellings, at Samhain, it was believed that the Aos Sí needed to be propitiated to ensure that the people and their livestock survived the winter. Offerings of food and drink, or portions of the crops, were left outside for the Aos Sí, the souls of the dead were also said to revisit their homes seeking hospitality. Places were set at the table and by the fire to welcome them. The belief that the souls of the return home on one night of the year. In 19th century Ireland, candles would be lit and prayers offered for the souls of the dead
Halloween
–
A
jack-o'-lantern, one of the symbols of Halloween
Halloween
–
An early 20th-century Irish Hallowe'en mask displayed at the
Museum of Country Life.
Halloween
–
A traditional Irish Halloween turnip (rutabaga) lantern on display in the
Museum of Country Life, Ireland
24.
Bahamas
–
The Bahamas, known officially as the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is an archipelagic state within the Lucayan Archipelago. The capital is Nassau on the island of New Providence, the designation of the Bahamas can refer either to the country or to the larger island chain that it shares with the Turks and Caicos Islands. As stated in the mandate/manifesto of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the Bahamas is the site of Columbus first landfall in the New World in 1492. At that time, the islands were inhabited by the Lucayan, although the Spanish never colonised the Bahamas, they shipped the native Lucayans to slavery in Hispaniola. The islands were mostly deserted from 1513 until 1648, when English colonists from Bermuda settled on the island of Eleuthera, the Bahamas became a British Crown colony in 1718, when the British clamped down on piracy. After the American War of Independence, the Crown resettled thousands of American Loyalists in the Bahamas, they brought their slaves with them, Africans constituted the majority of the population from this period. Slavery in the Bahamas was abolished in 1834, Today the descendants of slaves and free Africans make up nearly 90% of the population, issues related to the slavery years are part of society. The Bahamas became an independent Commonwealth realm in 1973, retaining Queen Elizabeth II as its monarch, in terms of gross domestic product per capita, the Bahamas is one of the richest countries in the Americas, with an economy based on tourism and finance. The name Bahamas is derived from either the Taino ba ha ma, alternatively, it may originate from Guanahani, a local name of unclear meaning. In English, the Bahamas is one of two countries whose self-standing short name begins with the word the, along with The Gambia. Taino people moved into the uninhabited southern Bahamas from Hispaniola and Cuba around the 11th century and they came to be known as the Lucayan people. An estimated 30,000 Lucayan inhabited the Bahamas at the time of Christopher Columbus arrival in 1492, Columbuss first landfall in the New World was on an island he named San Salvador. Some researchers believe this site to be present-day San Salvador Island, an alternative theory holds that Columbus landed to the southeast on Samana Cay, according to calculations made in 1986 by National Geographic writer and editor Joseph Judge, based on Columbuss log. Evidence in support of this remains inconclusive, on the landfall island, Columbus made first contact with the Lucayan and exchanged goods with them. The Spanish forced much of the Lucayan population to Hispaniola for use as forced labour, the slaves suffered from harsh conditions and most died from contracting diseases to which they had no immunity, half of the Taino died from smallpox alone. The population of the Bahamas was severely diminished, in 1648, the Eleutherian Adventurers, led by William Sayle, migrated from Bermuda. These English Puritans established the first permanent European settlement on an island which they named Eleuthera—the name derives from the Greek word for freedom and they later settled New Providence, naming it Sayles Island after one of their leaders. To survive, the settlers salvaged goods from wrecks, in 1670 King Charles II granted the islands to the Lords Proprietors of the Carolinas in North America
Bahamas
–
A depiction of Columbus' first landing, claiming possession of the
New World for Spain in
caravels; the
Niña and the
Pinta, on Watling Island, an island of The Bahamas that the natives called
Guanahani and that he named San Salvador, on October 12, 1492.
Bahamas
–
Flag
Bahamas
–
Sign at
Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park commemorating hundreds of
African-American slaves who escaped to freedom in the early 1820s in the Bahamas.
Bahamas
–
Edward VIII, the
Duke of Windsor and
Governor of the Bahamas from 1940 to 1945.
25.
Brunei
–
Brunei, officially the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace, is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its coastline with the South China Sea, the country is surrounded by the state of Sarawak. It is separated into two parts by the Sarawak district of Limbang, Brunei is the only sovereign state completely on the island of Borneo, the remainder of the islands territory is divided between the nations of Malaysia and Indonesia. Bruneis population was 408,786 in July 2012, the maritime state was visited by Spains Magellan Expedition in 1521 and fought against Spain in the 1578 Castille War. During the 19th century, the Bruneian Empire began to decline, the Sultanate ceded Sarawak to James Brooke and installed him as the White Rajah, and it ceded Sabah to the British North Borneo Chartered Company. In 1888, Brunei became a British protectorate and was assigned a British resident as colonial manager in 1906, after the Japanese occupation during World War II, in 1959 a new constitution was written. In 1962, an armed rebellion against the monarchy was ended with the help of the British. Brunei gained its independence from the United Kingdom on 1 January 1984, Economic growth during the 1990s and 2000s, with the GDP increasing 56% from 1999 to 2008, transformed Brunei into an industrialised country. It has developed wealth from petroleum and natural gas fields. Brunei has the second-highest Human Development Index among the Southeast Asian nations, after Singapore, according to the International Monetary Fund, Brunei is ranked fifth in the world by gross domestic product per capita at purchasing power parity. The IMF estimated in 2011 that Brunei was one of two countries with a debt at 0% of the national GDP. Forbes also ranks Brunei as the fifth-richest nation out of 182, based on its petroleum, according to legend, Brunei was founded by Awang Alak Betatar, later to be Sultan Muhammad Shah. He moved from Garang, a place in the Temburong District to the Brunei River estuary, according to legend, upon landing he exclaimed, Baru nah, from which the name Brunei was derived. He was the first Muslim ruler of Brunei, before the rise of the Bruneian Empire under the Muslim Bolkiah Dynasty, Brunei is believed to have been under Buddhist rulers. It was renamed Barunai in the 14th century, possibly influenced by the Sanskrit word varuṇ, the word Borneo is of the same origin. In the countrys name, Negara Brunei Darussalam, darussalam means abode of peace. The people are pagans and are men of goodwill and their colour is whiter than that of the other sort. in this island justice is well administered. One of the earliest Chinese records is the 977 AD letter to Chinese emperor from the ruler of Po-ni, which some scholars believe to refer to Borneo
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The tomb of a ruler of Po-ni in
Nanjing,
China.
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Ahmad Tajuddin, the
27th Sultan of Brunei with members of his court in April 1941, eight months before the Japanese invaded Brunei.
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Japanese battleships at Brunei in October 1944.
26.
Cyprus
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Cyprus, officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean and the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean. It is located south of Turkey, west of Syria and Lebanon, northwest of Israel and Palestine, north of Egypt, the earliest known human activity on the island dates to around the 10th millennium BC. Archaeological remains from this include the well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia. Cyprus was settled by Mycenaean Greeks in two waves in the 2nd millennium BC, Cyprus was placed under British administration based on Cyprus Convention in 1878 and formally annexed by Britain in 1914. While Turkish Cypriots made up 18% of the population, the partition of Cyprus and creation of a Turkish state in the north became a policy of Turkish Cypriot leaders, following nationalist violence in the 1950s, Cyprus was granted independence in 1960. On 15 July 1974, a coup détat was staged by Greek Cypriot nationalists and elements of the Greek military junta in an attempt at enosis and these events and the resulting political situation are matters of a continuing dispute. The Cyprus Republic has de jure sovereignty over the island of Cyprus, as well as its territorial sea and exclusive economic area, another nearly 4% of the islands area is covered by the UN buffer zone. The international community considers the part of the island as territory of the Republic of Cyprus occupied by Turkish forces. The occupation is viewed as illegal under law, amounting to illegal occupation of EU territory since Cyprus became a member of the European Union. Cyprus is a major tourist destination in the Mediterranean, on 1 January 2008, the Republic of Cyprus joined the eurozone. The earliest attested reference to Cyprus is the 15th century BC Mycenaean Greek
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A copper mine on Cyprus. In antiquity, Cyprus was a major source of copper.
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Archeologic site of Choirokoitia with early remains of human habitation during Aceramic Neolithic period (reconstruction)
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Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates,
Kourion
27.
Latvia
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Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe, one of the three Baltic states. It is bordered by Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the south, Russia to the east, Latvia has 1,957,200 inhabitants and a territory of 64,589 km2. The country has a seasonal climate. Latvia is a parliamentary republic established in 1918. The capital city is Riga, the European Capital of Culture 2014, Latvia is a unitary state, divided into 119 administrative divisions, of which 110 are municipalities and 9 are cities. Latvians and Livs are the people of Latvia. Latvian and Lithuanian are the two surviving Baltic languages. Despite foreign rule from the 13th to 20th centuries, the Latvian nation maintained its identity throughout the generations via the language, Latvia and Estonia share a long common history. Until World War II, Latvia also had significant minorities of ethnic Germans, Latvia is historically predominantly Protestant Lutheran, except for the Latgale region in the southeast, which has historically been predominantly Roman Catholic. The Russian population has brought a significant portion of Eastern Orthodox Christians. The Republic of Latvia was founded on 18 November 1918, however, its de facto independence was interrupted at the outset of World War II. The peaceful Singing Revolution, starting in 1987, called for Baltic emancipation of Soviet rule and it ended with the Declaration on the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia on 4 May 1990, and restoring de facto independence on 21 August 1991. Latvia is a democratic and developed country and member of the European Union, NATO, the Council of Europe, the United Nations, CBSS, the IMF, NB8, NIB, OECD, OSCE, and WTO. For 2014, Latvia was listed 46th on the Human Development Index and it used the Latvian lats as its currency until it was replaced by the euro on 1 January 2014. The name Latvija is derived from the name of the ancient Latgalians, one of four Indo-European Baltic tribes, henry of Latvia coined the Latinisations of the countrys name, Lettigallia and Lethia, both derived from the Latgalians. The terms inspired the variations on the name in Romance languages from Letonia. Around 3000 BC, the ancestors of the Latvian people settled on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. The Balts established trade routes to Rome and Byzantium, trading local amber for precious metals, by 900 AD, four distinct Baltic tribes inhabited Latvia, Curonians, Latgalians, Selonians, Semigallians, as well as the Livonians speaking a Finnic language
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Turaida Castle near
Sigulda, built in 1214 under
Albert of Riga.
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Kārlis Ulmanis
Latvia
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Red Army troops enter
Riga (1940).
28.
Liechtenstein
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Liechtenstein, officially the Principality of Liechtenstein, is a doubly landlocked German-speaking microstate in Central Europe. It is a monarchy with the rank of principality, headed by the Prince of Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein is bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and Austria to the east and it has an area of just over 160 square kilometres and an estimated population of 37,000. Divided into 11 municipalities, its capital is Vaduz and its largest municipality is Schaan, the unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the world at 1. 5%. Liechtenstein has been known in the past as a tax haven, however. An alpine country, Liechtenstein is mainly mountainous, making it a winter sport destination, many cultivated fields and small farms are found both in the south and north. The country has a financial sector centered in Vaduz. Liechtenstein is a member of the European Free Trade Association, and while not being a member of the European Union and it also has a customs union and a monetary union with Switzerland. The oldest traces of human existence in Liechtenstein date back to the Middle Paleolithic era, neolithic farming settlements were founded in the valleys around 5300 BC. Hallstatt and La Tène cultures flourished during the late Iron Age from around 450 BC possibly under influence from the Greek. One of the most important tribal groups in the Alpine region were the Helvetii, in 58 BC, at the Battle of Bibracte, Julius Caesar defeated the Alpine tribes, bringing the region under closer control of the Roman Empire. By 15 BC, Tiberius, who was destined to be the second Roman emperor, Liechtenstein was integrated into the Roman province of Raetia. The area was maintained by the Roman military, which maintained a large legionary camp called Brigantium near Lake Constance, a Roman road ran through the territory. In 259/60 Brigantium was destroyed by the Alemanni, a Germanic people who settled in the area in around 450. In the Early Middle Ages, the Alemanni had settled the eastern Swiss plateau by the 5th century, Liechtenstein was at the eastern edge of Alemannia. In the 6th century, the region became part of the Frankish Empire following Clovis Is victory over the Alemanni at Tolbiac in 504. The area that later became Liechtenstein remained under Frankish hegemony until the empire was divided by the Treaty of Verdun in 843 AD following the death of Charlemagne. The territory of present-day Liechtenstein belonged to East Francia until it was reunified with Middle Francia under the Holy Roman Empire around 1000 AD
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Gutenberg Castle, Balzers, Liechtenstein.
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Vaduz Castle, overlooking the capital, is home to the
Prince of Liechtenstein
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Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein from 1805 to 1806 and 1814 to 1836.
29.
Malta
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Malta, officially known as the Republic of Malta, is a Southern European island country consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. It lies 80 km south of Italy,284 km east of Tunisia, the country covers just over 316 km2, with a population of just under 450,000, making it one of the worlds smallest and most densely populated countries. The capital of Malta is Valletta, which at 0.8 km2, is the smallest national capital in the European Union, Malta has one national language, which is Maltese, and English as an official language. John, French and British, have ruled the islands, King George VI of the United Kingdom awarded the George Cross to Malta in 1942 for the countrys bravery in the Second World War. The George Cross continues to appear on Maltas national flag, the country became a republic in 1974, and although no longer a Commonwealth realm, remains a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations. Malta was admitted to the United Nations in 1964 and to the European Union in 2004, in 2008, Catholicism is the official religion in Malta. The origin of the term Malta is uncertain, and the modern-day variation derives from the Maltese language, the most common etymology is that the word Malta derives from the Greek word μέλι, meli, honey. The ancient Greeks called the island Μελίτη meaning honey-sweet, possibly due to Maltas unique production of honey, an endemic species of bee lives on the island. The Romans went on to call the island Melita, which can be considered either as a latinisation of the Greek Μελίτη or the adaptation of the Doric Greek pronunciation of the same word Μελίτα. Another conjecture suggests that the word Malta comes from the Phoenician word Maleth a haven or port in reference to Maltas many bays, few other etymological mentions appear in classical literature, with the term Malta appearing in its present form in the Antonine Itinerary. The extinction of the hippos and dwarf elephants has been linked to the earliest arrival of humans on Malta. Prehistoric farming settlements dating to the Early Neolithic period were discovered in areas and also in caves. The Sicani were the tribe known to have inhabited the island at this time and are generally regarded as being closely related to the Iberians. Pottery from the Għar Dalam phase is similar to found in Agrigento. A culture of megalithis temple builders then either supplanted or arose from this early period, the temples have distinctive architecture, typically a complex trefoil design, and were used from 4000 to 2500 BCE. Animal bones and a knife found behind an altar stone suggest that temple rituals included animal sacrifice. Tentative information suggests that the sacrifices were made to the goddess of fertility, the culture apparently disappeared from the Maltese Islands around 2500 BC. Archaeologists speculate that the builders fell victim to famine or disease
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Ġgantija megalithic temple complex
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The temple complex of
Mnajdra
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Roman mosaic from
Rabat, Malta.
