Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in 1995. The Israelis and Palestinians were working on a peace agreement. Rabin was killed by an Orthodox Jew who did not agree with the peace treaty. Many historians think Rabin's murder is one of the main reasons the peace talks fell apart.
In Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in 2007. Bhutto had been the first woman ever elected to lead a Muslim country. An Al-Qaeda leader said that Al-Qaeda assassins had killed Bhutto. He said they did this because Bhutto was trying to get rid of violent Jihadist militia groups in Pakistan. He said this made her important to the United States, so Al-Qaeda killed her.
One research study looked at assassinations of national leaders (leaders of countries, like presidents or prime ministers). The study showed that:
Another study looked at all assassinations between 1946 and 2013. It included not just national leaders, but also other members of government (including local governments), and people who were against the government. This study found that between 1946 and 2013, a total of 954 people were assassinated in 758 different attacks.
This study also looked at who was most likely to be assassinated. Of those 954 people who were assassinated:
Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson, (born August 9, 1968) is an American-British film, television and theatre actress, activist and writer. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the long-running and widely popular series "The X-Files", ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies' film "The House of Mirth" (2000), and DSI Stella Gibson on the BBC crime drama television series "The Fall". Among other honours, Anderson has won a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
After beginning her career on stage, Anderson achieved international recognition for her role as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully on the American sci-fi drama series "The X-Files" for all ten seasons (1993–2002, 2016). Her film work includes the dramas "The Mighty Celt" (2005), "The Last King of Scotland" (2006), "Shadow Dancer" (2012) and two "X-Files" films: "The X-Files: Fight the Future" (1998) and "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" (2008). Her other notable television credits include: portraying Lady Dedlock in the successful BBC production of Charles Dickens' "Bleak House", Wallis Simpson in "Any Human Heart", portraying Miss Havisham in "Great Expectations" (2011) and Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier on "Hannibal". In 2013, Anderson began starring as DSI Stella Gibson on the critically acclaimed BBC crime drama television series "The Fall". She has been serving as an executive producer from its second series. She will be appearing as goddess Media in the upcoming TV series "American Gods". Anderson is the co-writer of "The EarthEnd Saga" novel trilogy and the self-help guide book "WE: A Manifesto for Women Everywhere".
Aside from film and TV, Anderson has taken on the stage and has received both awards and critical acclaim. Her stage work includes "Absent Friends" (1991) – for which she won a Theatre World Award for Best Newcomer, "A Doll's House" (2009) – that earned her a Laurence Olivier Award nomination, and a portrayal of Blanche DuBois in "A Streetcar Named Desire" (2014, 2016) – for which she won the "Evening Standard" Theatre Award for Best Actress and received her second Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress.
Anderson has been active in supporting numerous charities and humanitarian organizations. She is an honorary spokesperson for the Neurofibromatosis (NF) Network and the co-founder of South African Youth Education for Sustainability (SAYes). Anderson was appointed an honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2016 for her services to drama.
Debt
Debt is what someone owes to someone else. Usually, debt is in the form of money, but it can also be items, services, favors, or other things. Thus if you make an agreement to give or do something for someone else, you now owe a debt. Unpaid debt can lead to problems such as the Greek government-debt crisis.
Goods, services or money borrowed with the intent of repayment (in kind or not) creates a debt. Debt can be secured or unsecured in nature.
A secured debt uses "collateral", which is an asset that is promised to the debt-holder until the debt has been repaid. If the repayment is not made in full, the lender gets the collateral asset. For instance, a car loan typically creates a secured debt. If you still owe money on the car loan and do not make timely payments, the note-holder can take back (or repossess) the car and sell it to get the money still due. A home mortgage is similar.
An unsecured debt is more risky to the debt-holder (the lender, also called creditor). In the event of non-payment of the debt, the lender cannot take assets. Credit card debt is typically unsecured. If you charge items to a credit card and do not make the monthly payments, the credit card issuer can report the non-payment to the credit-reporting agencies. That will reduce your credit score so others will not lend you money. But usually they cannot take back whatever you bought with the card.
Uranium
Uranium is a chemical element (a metal) on the periodic table. It has an atomic number of 92, which means that a uranium atom has 92 protons in its center, which is called a nucleus. Uranium that is dug out of the ground will be made from three different isotopes: three different types of uranium with different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei. Most of it is Uranium-238; uranium-235 is less common; uranium-234 is the rarest. Pitchblende is the main ore that is mined for uranium.
Uranium-235 can be used in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons by making a nuclear chain reaction. This turns the uranium-235 into uranium-236 and splits the nucleus into two smaller nuclei. This makes two completely different elements with smaller atomic numbers. This process is called nuclear fission and creates lots of heat. This heat makes it very useful for making steam in nuclear reactors, or for making explosions with nuclear weapons. But most such weapons use Plutonium made from uranium-238. Uranium is a bit radioactive.
Uranium which has had its uranium-235 taken out of it is called depleted uranium. It is less radioactive than natural uranium. It is used in anti-tank weapons. Uranium can also be used as a dye for stained glass or pottery, which is how it was used before people found out that it was radioactive.
Uranium is a dangerous substance. Because Uranium is radioactive it is often seen with the hazard sign for radioactive elements, a group of three triangles with curved outer edges pointing in towards the middle (as you can see on the left). Some people believe that Uranium is light green, and glows, due to the way it is depicted in many movies. However, this is not true. Uranium is a shiny white metal, but is usually seen in its oxide form which is black. Spent or partially spent uranium fuel rods kept underwater, for example inside a nuclear reactor or in a spent fuel pool, can glow blue due to Cherenkov radiation. In addition to being radioactive, uranium is a heavy metal and is chemically toxic.
Uranium is a silvery white, weakly radioactive metal. It has a Mohs hardness of 6. It is malleable, ductile and slightly paramagnetic. It is strongly electropositive. It is a poor electrical conductor. Uranium metal has a very high density of 19.1 g/cm.
Uranium metal reacts with almost all non-metal elements and their compounds. Hydrochloric and nitric acids dissolve uranium, but non-oxidizing acids other than hydrochloric acid dissolve the element very slowly.
Uranium-235 was the first isotope that was found to be fissile. Other naturally occurring isotopes are fissionable, but not fissile.