The region, as part of Lorraine, was part of the Holy Roman Empire, and then was gradually annexed by France in the 17th century, and formalized as one of the provinces of France. The Calvinist manufacturing republic of Mulhouse, known as Stadtrepublik Mulhausen, became a part of Alsace after a vote by its citizens on 4 January 1798. Alsace is frequently mentioned with and as part of Lorraine and the former duchy of Lorraine, since it was a vital part of the duchy, and later because German possession as the imperial province (Alsace-Lorraine, 18711918) was contested in the 19th and 20th centuries; France and Germany exchanged control of parts of Lorraine (including Alsace) four times in 75 years.

With the decline of the Roman Empire, Alsace became the territory of the Germanic Alemanni. The Alemanni were agricultural people, and their Germanic language formed the basis of modern-day dialects spoken along the Upper Rhine (Alsatian, Alemannian, Swabian, Swiss). Clovis and the Franks defeated the Alemanni during the 5th century AD, culminating with the Battle of Tolbiac, and Alsace became part of the Kingdom of Austrasia. Under Clovis' Merovingian successors the inhabitants were Christianized. Alsace remained under Frankish control until the Frankish realm, following the Oaths of Strasbourg of 842, was formally dissolved in 843 at the Treaty of Verdun; the grandsons of Charlemagne divided the realm into three parts. Alsace formed part of the Middle Francia, which was ruled by the youngest grandson Lothar I. Lothar died early in 855 and his realm was divided into three parts. The part known as Lotharingia, or Lorraine, was given to Lothar's son. The rest was shared between Lothar's brothers Charles the Bald (ruler of the West Frankish realm) and Louis the German (ruler of the East Frankish realm). The Kingdom of Lotharingia was short-lived, however, becoming the stem duchy of Lorraine in Eastern Francia after the Treaty of Ribemont in 880. Alsace was united with the other Alemanni east of the Rhine into the stem duchy of Swabia. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. What Empire declined?
2. Was Lilith part of it?
3. What was?
4. Was it appended by Germany?
5. Who appended it?
6. Who died in 855?
7. What happened after?
8. Into four sections?
9. How many?
10. Who was gifted the area with a feminine name?
11. What was his name?
12. Who else received pieces of the area?
13. What was their names?
14. Who presided over the North?
15. What did they preside over?
16. What happened in 880?
17. Did that agreement keep the feminine-named area in tact?
18. Where the residents of this area agricultural?
Answer: 1. Roman Empire
2. no
3. Lorraine
4. no
5. France
6. Lothar
7. realm was divided
8. no
9. three
10. Lothar's son.
11. unknown
12. brothers
13. Charles the Bald and Louis the German
14. neither
15. the West Frankish realm and the East Frankish realm)
16. Treaty of Ribemont
17. no
18. yes

BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) -- "Easy money, fast and effective."

Investors protest outside the headquarters of DMG, one of many companies accused of defrauding the public.

That was the name of one of the businesses in which millions of Colombians deposited their life savings after being promised short-term returns of as much as 150 percent.

But government officials say the businesses were pyramid schemes that raked in at least $200 million from 3 million people.

The government has said it knows who most of those responsible are, but they have escaped. The government is tracking them down.

Sergio Munoz is among those who lost their savings.

"That was for my children," he said. "Now, it comes to light that they have robbed us. It was with complicity of the authorities who permit this -- knowing that it is illegal for it to be permitted."

The government says the businesses defrauded the public by offering false promises of a sure investment.

Wilson Rodriguez handed over the equivalent of $80,000 to a money man who offered him what he thought were assets in hotels and property in exchange.

Now, he doesn't know whom to approach.

"I don't even have enough to care for my family," he said. "I lent money and what I make from my salary goes to pay off debts. I have nothing. I lost everything."

Infuriated investors have demonstrated outside the headquarters of several companies in question across the nation.

Worried that the situation has already led to physical altercations and riots, President Alvaro Uribe asked that authorities act immediately to bring those responsible to justice. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. Who protested?
2. Who did they protest?
3. Are they being tracked?
4. By who?
5. What did the company offer?
6. Has this personally affected families?
7. Substantially?
8. Have the protests been violent?
9. How soon does the leader want this to be solved?
10. Are the protests nationwide?
Answer: 1. Investors
2. DMG
3. yes
4. government
5. false promises
6. yes
7. yes
8. yes
9. immediately
10. yes

Rome (CNN) -- The captain of the Costa Concordia did not "fall" into a lifeboat after the ship hit rocks, as he contends, a crew member testified. Instead, Francesco Schettino "jumped into the lifeboat," Stefano Iannelli said.

Schettino is on trial in Grosseto on charges of manslaughter and abandoning ship after 32 people died in the shipwreck off the Tuscan island of Giglio on January 13, 2012.

Iannelli, who was on the bridge when the ship hit the outcropping, testified that Schettino's reaction was, "What have I done?!"

As part of his defense for the abandoning ship charge, Schettino has maintained that by the time he left the crippled vessel, the inclination made it impossible to stay on the ship. He told the court at a hearing in October that the ship was literally falling on top of him and he fell into the lifeboat. The ship ended up lying on its side.

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Iannelli, who followed Schettino off the ship, testified Monday that he did not see passengers when they left the vessel, even though more than 1,000 people were later rescued from the ship. In a taped conversation between the captain and the port authority in Livorno, the port authority ordered Schettino to "get back on board" while passengers were still being rescued from the other side of the ship.

Schettino, who admits that he was in command when the ship veered off course and hit the rocks, also blames a malfunction of the ship's watertight doors for making the situation worse. His defense lawyers say that created a new emergency after the initial accident. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. who followed Schettino off the ship?
2. who was the captain?
3. when did the ship sink?
4. where did it sink?
5. how many died?
6. did Schettino fall into the lifeboat?
7. how did he get there?
8. did Stefano Iannelli see anyone when they left the vessel?
9. what did the ship hit?
10. of what?
11. was it an outcropping of bananas?
12. who was supposed to be in command?
13. did the ship hit soft sand after it veered off course?
14. what did it contact?
15. what possibly malfunctioned?
Answer:
1. Iannelli
2. Francesco Schettino
3. January 13, 2012
4. off the Tuscan island of Giglio
5. 32
6. no
7. jumped into it
8. no
9. an outcropping
10. of the Tuscan island of Giglio
11. no
12. Schettino
13. no
14. rocks
15. the ship's watertight doors