ejaasaari/simplewiki-2025-04-01 huggingface dataset:
A variable star is a star that is sometimes brighter or dimmer. Most stars have only very small differences in brightness, like the Sun; but some stars can vary hugely. There are generally two types of variable stars: Intrinsic variable stars. There are a number of different types of variable stars. Eruptive variables. Eruptive variables are caused by a star throwing something out, or sometimes by something falling in. Protostars. Protostars are young objects that have not yet completed the process of contraction from a gas nebula to a true star. Most protostars show irregular brightness variations. Giants and Supergiants. Large stars lose their matter relatively easily. Variability due to eruptions and mass loss is fairly common among giants and supergiants. Cataclysmic or explosive stars. Supernovae are the most dramatic events in the universe. A supernova can briefly emit as much energy as an entire galaxy, brightening by more than 20 magnitudes (over one hundred million times brighter). Supernovae result from the death of an extremely massive star, many times heavier than the Sun. The supernova explosion is caused by a white dwarf or a star core reaching a certain mass/density limit, the Chandrasekhar limit. Then the star collapses in a fraction of a second. This collapse "bounces" and causes the star to explode and emit an enormous amount of energy.  The outer layers of these stars are blown away at speeds of many thousands of kilometers an hour. The expelled matter may form nebulae called "supernova remnants". A well-known example of such a nebula is the Crab Nebula, left over from a supernova that was observed in China and North America in 1054. The core of the star or the white dwarf may either become a neutron star (generally a pulsar) or disintegrate completely in the explosion. A supernova may also result from mass transfer onto a white dwarf from a star companion in a double star system. The infalling matter pushes the white dwarf over the Chandrasekhar limit. The absolute luminosity of this type of supernova can be calculated from its light curve, so these explosions can be used to fix the distance to other galaxies. One of the most studied supernovae is SN 1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Donald Campbell Dewar (21 August 1937 – 11 October 2000) was the first First Minister of Scotland from 1999 until his death in 2000. He was the first person to hold the position of First Minister following the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. Early life. Dewar was born and raised in Glasgow. In government. After the 1997 General Election, Dewar was in a position which John Smith (leader of the Labour Party, 1992-1994 and a good friend of Dewar) would never have thought possible. He was able to start the process to split Scotland from the United Kingdom, and worked endlessly on creating the Scotland Act, popularly known as Smith's "unfinished business". When ratified, this was to give Scotland its first Parliament for nearly 300 years. First Minister of Scotland. The first elections to the Scottish Parliament were held on 6 May 1999, with Dewar leading the Scottish Labour Party against their main opponents, the SNP under Alex Salmond. He was elected as the MSP for Glasgow Anniesland. Although Scottish Labour won the most seats, they did not have a majority in Parliament to allow them to form an Executive without the help of a smaller party. A deal was agreed with the Scottish Liberal Democrats to work together, with Dewar agreeing to their demand for the abolition of up-front tuition fees for university students. On 13 May, Dewar was nominated as First Minister, and was officially appointed by the Queen on 17 May at a ceremony in the Palace of Holyroodhouse. He later travelled to the Court of Session to be sworn in by the Lord President and receive the Great Seal of Scotland. On 16 June, Dewar set out the legislative programme for the Executive which included: an Education bill to improve standards in Scottish schools; land reform to give right of access to the countryside, a bill to abolish the feudal system of land tenure; and a bill to establish National Parks in Scotland. Death and funeral. In April 2000, Dewar was admitted to hospital for tests on his heart, following a previous test where a minor irregularity was discovered. In May 2000,
The Governor-General of Pakistan was the resident representative of King George VI in Pakistan from 1947 to 1952 and then Queen Elizabeth II ("Queen of Pakistan") from 1952 until 1956 when Pakistan was proclaimed a republic. When Pakistan became an independent, self-governing nation in 1947, it, like post-independent India, provisionally continued to use the Government of India Act 1935, as its written constitution until a post-independence constitution could be drafted; by default this contemplated the continuation of the constitutional monarchy as a Commonwealth realm Dominion.  The monarch appointed a Governor-General, upon the advice of the Prime Minister of Pakistan to serve as de facto Head of State.  Muhammad Ali Jinnah, considered "Quaid-e-Azam" ("Great Leader"), informed Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma: "when I am Governor-General the Prime Minister will do what I tell him to" -- however Jinnah's rapidly declining health made the issue moot. After Jinnah's death the Governor-General of Pakistan continued to serve a larger role than the India Act prescribed, dismissing multiple Prime Ministers and consolidating power. The office of Governor-General was replaced by the office of President of Pakistan when Pakistan became a republic in 1956. The then Governor-General, Iskander Mirza, became Pakistan's first president.
Hunza Valley () is a mountainous valley near Gilgit in the The North Trails of Pakistan. The Hunza valley is at an elevation of . The territory of Hunza is about . Karimabad (formerly called Baltit) is the main town which is also a very popular tourist destination in Pakistan because of the spectacular scenery of the surrounding mountains like Rakaposhi, Ultar Sar, Bojahagur Duanasir II, Ghenta Peak, Hunza Peak, Darmyani Peak, and Bublimating (Ladyfinger Peak), all or higher. Hunza is the northern most district of Pakistan. The district touches the borders of China &amp; Afghanistan. Hunza valley is a combination of a number of smaller sub-valleys. Most famous of these sub-valleys are Shimshal, Chipursan, Misgar and Avgarch valleys. The main town of Hunza valley with all the government offices is the Aliabad and is located on main Karakoram Highway or N-35. While Karimabad is a more established tourist attraction. Hunza valley is located on the left banks of River Hunza while going north from Gilgit. There are two parts of the valley. Altit Fort. Altit Fort is the oldest fort in the hunza valley. It was constructed some 1100 years ago and overlooks Hunza River. The primary goal of constructing this fort was to keep an eye over invaders from Hunzo-bar or Nagar. There was a great rivalry between the rulers and people of Hunza &amp; Nagar in the older times. Invaders from both valleys often attacked each others. Altit Fort was built to defend the people of Hunza from them. It was also the residence of the ruler of Hunza and his family. It can also be seen from main Karakoram Highway or N-35 after crossing Ganish. The fort can be accessed via a road from karimabad. The entry ticket for Pakistanis is PKR 400 while for foreigners is PKR 1000 for the fort. The fort offers views of the Royal Garden and a local musical school is also functioning within the premises. There is also an amazing but expensive restaurant run
The Kaghan valley is a valley in the Mansehra District of Hazara Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It has a reputation as a place of great natural beauty. This valley also suffered from the earthquake disaster on 8 October 2005. Lay out. The valley is approximately 160 kilometers long, starting from Balakot in the 'Lower Kaghan' to Babusar Pass at the extreme end of the 'Upper Kaghan'. It is mostly surrounded by the forests and hills of the Lesvjzxbser Himalayas and the Kunhar River runs though most of its length. The valley is mostly inhabited by semi-nomadic Gujars, and some Swatis, Awans and Syeds.  Background and main sights. Historically speaking, Kaghan was long a backward and neglected area, until the 1880s-1890s when officers of British India established a strategic supply line via the Babusar Pass to the northern areas of the Gilgit Agency. After that, the area soon opened up to tourism and resort centers like Shogran and Naran Valley were developed in it. The famous and lovely Saiful Muluk Lake is also a special feature of this valley as are some other lakes like Ansoo Lake, Dudupat Sar, Lulu Sar and the Lalazar Meadows. Malika Parbat is a high peak in the area. Between May and August each year, thousands of tourists from Pakistan and abroad dive up from Abbottabad and Mansehra, to visit these places in the valley. For most of the rest of the year, Kaghan area is locked in by heavy snows.
Nagar Valley () is a valley near Gilgit Valley in Gilgit-Baltistan in northern Pakistan. The Nagar Valley is at an elevation of 2,438m (7,999 feet). Nagar Khas is the main town and the capital of the former state of Nagar. The Spantik peak (Golden peak) can easily be seen from here.  Gulmet is the popular tourist attraction in Nagar because of the spectacular scenery of the surrounding mountains like Rakaposhi at 7,788m (25,561), and Diran. History. Nagar was formerly a princely state in the northernmost part of the Northern Areas of Pakistan, which existed until 1974. Administratively there are two Tehsils in Nagar namely Nagar-1 and Nagar-2 of Gilgit District. Nagar was an independent principality for 1200 years. The British gained control of Nagar during a battle at place of Nilt (Jangir-e-Laye) between 1889 and 1892. Nagarkutch fought bravely but was defeated due to lack of weapons. The Tham (Chief) of that time, Azur Khan, was sent in exile to Kashmir. Hunza was previously under the domination of Nagar and collectively called "Buroshall" and their capital was "Capal Dongs". But after the reign of the "Miyor Khan" his sons divided Buroshall into Nagar and Hunza and declared the river as the border: "Muglot" became the king of Nagar and "Kirkis" became the king of Hunza. The British retained Nagar's status as a principality until 1947. The people of Nagar and Hunza were ruled by a local Mir for more than 1200 years, which came to an end in 1974. Although never ruled directly by neighbouring Kashmir or the British, Nagar and Hunza were a vassal of Kashmir from the time of Maharaja Ranbir Singh of Jammu and Kashmir. The Mirs of both sent an annual tribute to the Kashmir Durbar until 1947, and along with the ruler of Hunza, was considered to be among the most loyal vassals of the Maharaja of
The Yasin Valley is a high mountain valley in the Hindu Kush mountains, in the northwest region of Gilgit in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. Yasin is separated from the Ishkoman Valley by a high mountain pass. To reach Yasin one must take the Karakoram Highway north from Islamabad, and then turn left to reach Gupis in Ghizar. After Gupis, one continues northwest to reach the Yasin Valley. Yasin valley has a spectacular natural beauty. History. Yasin was originally ruled by the Khushwakhte Dynasty, part of the Katur Dynasty of Chitral. The Rajas of Yasin were great warriors and fought against the Sikhs and the Dogras of Kashmir, but they eventually lost power and the ownership of Yasin changed hands several times between the rule of the Mehtar of Chitral, and the Maharaja of Kashmir. British era. Although not highly or densely populated, Yasin was of strategic importance because it leads to a high mountain pass, to Yarkhun in Chitral, and then to Broghol Pass, the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan, and into Tajikistan. Yasin could have formed an invasion route from Czarist Russia into British India. People. The primary language of Yasin Valley is the Burushaski language. The Khowar language is also spoken. The majority of the people in Yasin are Ismailies who lead their lives according to the Islamic principles more concerned with the imam of the time. Currently Prince Karim Aga Khan is the Imam and spiritual leader of the Ismailies. However, other sects of Islam like Sunni, and Shia also live in Yasin.  Ethnically the people of Yasin are of Brosho origin. There are migrants from different parts of the country, mainly from Chitral and from outside the country. Passes. The Darkut Pass connects Yasin with Broghol pass and Chitral. The Thoi Pass connects Yasin to Yarkhun Chitral. Asumber pass connects Yasin to Ishkomen. Darkot Pass is a historical pass which has been labelled as a restricted zone by the Government of Pakistan. This pass used to be the shortest means of communication between Oxus and Indus ([www.yasinvalley.com]www.yasinvalley.com). Tourists love to trek along the Assumbur pass to Ishqamen valley.
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician. He was the tenth and Prime Minister of Russia from 2012 through 2020. He previously served as the third President of Russia from 2008 to 2012. He is a close ally of the current Russian President Vladimir Putin. He is the leader of the Pro-Kremlin United Russia party. Medvedev was born in 1965 in Leningrad, Soviet Union. His parents were teachers. He studied law in the university there. In 1992, he became the law adviser to the Mayor. In 2005, he was appointed as the Head of the Kremlin Staff under president Vladimir Putin and in 2008 he was elected as third Russian President and the youngest Russian Leader since Alexander Kerensky 1917. In 2012, he was appointed as Prime Minister of Russia and Leader of United Russia.  He is known for his modernisation reforms in Russian society, especially in economy and politics. In January 2020, Medvedev announced his resignation as Prime Minister.
BBC Three is a British television channel from the BBC. BBC Three was described by the BBC as a channel for 'New drama, talent, comedy, films, and accessible news'. It ran from 19:00 to about 04:00 each night, in order to share terrestrial digital bandwidth with the CBBC channel. Unlike its commercial rivals, 90% of BBC Three's output is from the United Kingdom and other European Union countries. 80% is original, covering all genres from current affairs, to drama, to comedy to animation, BBC Three returned to TV screens in February 2022. BBC Three had a unique '60 second news' format. This was adopted so that operation of the channel could be completely automated, without the complication of dealing with variable length live news broadcasts. The current controller of the station is Danny Cohen, and the Head of Scheduling is Dan McGolpin. BBC Three closed as a standard television channel on 16 February 2016. On the same day BBC Three launched on BBC iPlayer as an online only service. The BBC relaunched BBC Three's television channel in February 2022. Launch. BBC Three was the successor to the similar BBC Choice channel and was launched on 9 February 2003. It was launched by Stuart Murphy, who previously ran BBC Choice. The channel returned on 1 February 2022. Programming. Some of the programmes that have appeared for their first showing on BBC Three include EastEnders (2003), Little Britain (October 2004), Doctor Who Confidential (2005), and Torchwood (2006), The Apprentice, You're Fired! (2006). When the first episode of Torchwood was launched in October 2006 on BBC Three, 2.4 million people watched it. This broke BBC Three's previous record of 1.8 million. The second episode attracted an equally impressive 2.3 million viewers, and boosted BBC Three to a 3.5% share of multichannel viewing that evening, compared to the network's three-month Sunday average of 0.9%. The channel featured hourly news updates called "60 Seconds", which included the top news, sport and entertainment stories.
Nerf N-Strike is an video game that was made by Electronic Arts. It is part of the Nerf series. It was released on the Wii and Nintendo DS. The game was released in North America on October 28, 2008.  History. In August 2007, Electronic Arts gained the rights to some Hasbro brands, like "Monopoly", "Littlest Pet Shop", and Nerf. In February, EA Casual Entertainment announced that their EA Salt Lake Studio would develop and release video games for "Littlest Pet Shop" and "Nerf N-Strike".
Emperor/Empress of India (Shahanshah-e-Hind in Hindustani) was used as a title by the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II, and also by the British monarchs during the rule of British India. Sometimes, the term "Emperor of India" is also used to refer to Indian emperors such as Ashoka the Great of the Maurya Dynasty and Emperor Akbar of the Mughal empire. However, they did not claim this title for themselves. Bahadur Shah II. Although the Mughal dynasty ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent from the 16th century onwards, they simply used the title Shahanshah (considered in the West to be the same as "emperor"). However during the Indian rebellion of 1857 against the British, the rebel sepoys seized Delhi and called the Mughal Bahadur Shah II as "Shahanshah-e-Hind," or Emperor of India. After the British defeated the rebels, he was captured and was forced to live in Rangoon, Burma in 1858, this ended the rule of the Mughals. British monarchs. After the Mughal Emperor ended by the British East India Company, the title "Empress of India" was taken by Queen Victoria from 1 May 1876.  Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli is usually credited with creating the title for her. Also, the title was created when it became evident that Queen Victoria's daughter, Victoria, Princess Royal, would become an empress when her husband ascended the German imperial throne, many people thought it was wrong for the daughter to be an empress while her mother was just a Queen. When Victoria died, and her son Edward VII ascended the throne, his title became "Emperor of India". The title continued until India and Pakistan became independent from the United Kingdom at midnight on 14/15 August 1947. When signing their name for Indian business, a British King-Emperor or the Queen-Empress used the initials "R I" ("Rex/Regina Imperator/Imperatrix") or the shorter
A radish is an edible root vegetable of the Brassicaceae family. People eat radishes all over the world. It was first grown in Europe in pre-Roman Empire|Roman times. Radishes are usually eaten as a crunchy salad vegetable. There are many varieties of radishes. Some radishes are different in size, flavor, color and the length of time they take to grow. It has a somewhat hot taste, rather peppery. This keeps some herbivores away, or limits the amount they eat. It acts as a defence against herbivory.
Glenn Theodore Seaborg (April 19, 1912 – February 25, 1999) was an American chemist. He was born in Ishpening, Michigan. He won the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Edwin M. McMillan. In 1980, he changed several thousand atoms of bismuth into gold at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. His experimental technique, using nuclear physics, was able to remove protons and neutrons from the bismuth atom. Seaborg's techique would have cost too much money to make of gold, but his work is the closest to the mythical Philosopher's Stone. Seaborg worked at the Manhattan Project during World War II. He studied the chemical properties of plutonium as a part of the secret war research. He served as Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and was a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He was said to be the author/co author of 500 scientific articles and multiple books. He was born in 1912 and died in 1999 from a stroke. He has a wife called Helen Griggs and his family consisted of his sister, Jeanette who was 2 years younger than him, and his parents, Henry Theodore and Selma Olivia Erikson Seaborg Seaborg was the principal or co-discoverer of ten elements: plutonium, americium, curium, berkelium, californium, einsteinium, fermium, mendelevium, nobelium and element 106, which was named seaborgium in his honor while he was still living. He also developed more than 100 atomic isotopes. Early in his career, Seaborg was a pioneer in nuclear medicine and developed many isotopes of elements that helped to diagnose and treat diseases. For example, he studied iodine-131, which is used in the treatment of thyroid disease. He developed the actinide concept which placed the actinide series beneath the lanthanide series on the periodic table. Seaborg also proposed the placement of super-heavy elements in the transactinide and superactinide series.
BBC Radio 4 is a domestic UK radio station that broadcasts different spoken-word programmes including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. Outline. Radio 4 is the second most popular British domestic radio station after Radio 2. It was named "UK Radio Station of the Year" at the 2008 "Sony Radio Academy Awards", an award it had also won in 2003 and 2004. Radio 4 costs £71.4 million a year, and is the BBC's most expensive national radio network. Many people think of it as the corporation's flagship. There is currently no commercial network like it in the UK, although there are similar publicly owned stations in such countries as Sweden (Sveriges Radio P1) and Australia (Radio National). Music and sport are the only subjects that generally fall outside the station's coverage. There are occasional concerts on Radio 4, and ball-by-ball commentaries of most test matches played by England cricket are broadcast on longwave. Because the longwave service can be received clearly at sea around the coasts of Britain and Ireland, Radio 4 also carries regular weather forecasts for shipping and gale warnings. The station has also been designated as the UK's national broadcaster in times of national emergency such as a war, meaning that even if all other radio stations were forced to close, Radio 4 would still carry on broadcasting. The current controller of Radio 4 is Gwyneth Williams. She is also in charge of its sister station BBC Radio 4 Extra.
BBC Four is a television channel developed by BBC. It was started on 2 March 2002. It often shows documentaries and arts programmes that often have a much smaller audience than BBC One or BBC Two. It shows programmes between 7pm and 4am every day, timeshared with CBeebies. A high definition of the channel, BBC Four HD was launched on 10 December 2013 alongside the sister channels BBC Three HD, BBC News HD, CBBC HD, and CBeebies HD.
Duttaphrynus stomaticus (also known as the Indus Valley toad, Asiatic marbled toad, Punjab toad, or marbled toad) is a species of toad that can be found in Pakistan, Iran, and possibly in Afghanistan. It is most found in the Indus Valley. It is also known as the "house toad". These toads are usually found near cultivated plains which have still water. It is nocturnal and its diet consist of insects such as ants. This endemic toad species is the "National amphibian of Pakistan" respectively.
The argali or mountain sheep ("Ovis ammon") is a wild sheep. It lives in the highlands of Central Asia (Himalaya, Tibet, Altay).  The argali is the biggest wild sheep. It can be up to 120 centimetres tall, and can weigh as much as 140 kilograms. The Pamir argali, also called the Marco Polo sheep, may be more than 6 feet in length. They were discovered by the explorer Marco Polo. The Pamir argali is globally endangered.