the-french-artist/wikipedia_20220301.simple_sentence_split huggingface dataset:
It names the kind of visit and says how long the person can stay.
Sometimes, people need to go through an interview held at the embassy before they get a visa.
Some countries, such as some states of the former Soviet Union, require that their citizens, and sometimes foreign travelers, obtain an exit visa in order to be allowed to leave the country.
Until 2004, foreign students in Russia were issued only an entry visa on being accepted to University there, and had to obtain an exit visa to return home.
This policy has since been changed, and foreign students are now issued multiple entry (and exit) visa.
Conditions of issue
Some visas can be granted on arrival or by prior application at the country's embassy or consulate, or sometimes through a specialized travel agency with permission from the issuing country in the country of departure.
If there is no embassy or consulate in one's home country, then one would have to travel to a third country (or apply by post) and try to get a visa issued there.
The need for a visa generally depends on the citizenship of the applicant, how long the applicant plans to stay, and the activities that the applicant may wish to do in the country he visits.
These may result different formal categories of visas, with different issue conditions.
Some, but not all, countries have reciprocal visa regimes: if Country A requires citizens of Country B to have a visa to travel there, then Country B may apply reciprocity and require a visa from citizens of Country A.  Likewise, if A allows B's citizens to enter without a visa, B may allow A's citizens to enter without a visa.
Algeria  and Canada
most CIS member states and African countries
Brazil and Canada/CIS member states
Armenia and most non-CIS member states
A fee may be charged for issuing a visa; these are typically also reciprocal, so if country A charges country B's citizens 50 USD for a visa, country B will often also charge the same amount for country A's visitors.
The fee charged may also be at the discretion of each embassy.
A similar reciprocity often applies to the duration of the visa (the period in which one is permitted to request entry of the country) and the number of entries one can attempt with the visa.
This reciprocal fee has become more common in recent years with the decision of the United States to charge nationals of various countries a $100 visa processing fee (non-refundable, even if a visa is not issued).
A number of countries, including Brazil, Chile, and Turkey have reciprocated.
Brazil requires an advance visa before entry into the country, and that a US citizen be fingerprinted and photographed on arrival—matching U.S. requirements for Brazilians and other foreigners.
The issuing authority, usually a branch of the country's foreign ministry or department (e.g. U.S. State Department), and typically consular affairs officers, may request appropriate documentation from the applicant.
This may include proof that the applicant is able to support himself in the host country (lodging, food), proof that the person hosting the applicant in his or her home really exists and has sufficient room for hosting the applicant, proof that the applicant has obtained health and evacuation insurance, etc.
Some countries ask for proof of health status, especially for long-term visas; some countries deny such visas to persons with certain illnesses, such as AIDS.
Notable examples of countries requiring HIV tests of long-term residents are Russia  and Uzbekistan.
However, in Uzbekistan, the HIV test requirement is sometimes not strictly enforced.
The issuing authority may also require applicants to attest that they have had no criminal convictions, or that they do not partake in certain activities (like prostitution or drug trafficking).
Some countries will deny visas if the travellers' passports show evidence of citizenship or travel to a country which is not recognized by that country.
For example, Saudi Arabia will not issue visas to nationals of Israel or those with evidence of visiting Israel.
Types of visa
A transit visa, usually valid for 3 days or less, for passing through the country to a third destination.
A tourist visa, for a limited period of leisure travel, no business activities allowed.
Some countries do not issue tourist visas.
Saudi Arabia introduced tourist visas only in 2004 although it did (and still does) issue pilgrimage visas for Hajj pilgrims.
A business visa, for engaging in commerce in the country.
These visas generally preclude permanent employment, for which a work visa would be required.
A temporary worker visa, for approved employment in the host country.
These are generally more difficult to obtain but valid for longer periods of time than a business visa.
Examples of these are the United States' H-1B and L-1 visas.
A visa on arrival, which is a visa granted immediately prior to entering the country, such as at an airport or border control post.
This is distinct from not requiring a visa at all, as the visitor must still obtain the visa before they can even try to pass through immigration.
The on-arrival visa usually is nothing more than an arrival tax, though the visitors can still be denied entry even with a visa.
A spousal visa, granted to the spouse of a resident or citizen of a given country, in order to enable the couple to settle in that country.
Examples include the United Kingdom's EEA family permit.
A student visa, which allows its holder to study at an institution of higher learning in the issuing country.
Students studying in Algeria, however, are issued tourist visas.
A working holiday visa, for individuals traveling between nations offering a working holiday programme, allowing young people to undertake temporary work while traveling.
At least ten European countries allow work for non-EU students.
A diplomatic visa (sometimes official visa), which confers diplomatic status on its holder and is normally only available to bearers of diplomatic passports.
A courtesy visa issued to representatives of foreign governments or international organizations who do not qualify for diplomatic status but do merit expedited, courteous treatment.
A courtesy visa does not normally confer privileges or immunities.
A journalist visa, which some countries require of people in that occupation when travelling for their respective news organizations.
Countries which insist on this include Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, the United States (I-visa ) and Zimbabwe.
Afiancee visa, granted for a limited period prior to intended marriage based on a proven relationship with a citizen of the destination country.
For example, a German woman who wishes to marry an American man would obtain a Fiancee Visa (also known as a K-1 visa) to allow her to enter the United States.
An immigrant visa, granted for those intending to immigrate to the issuing country.
They usually are issued for a single journey as the holder will, depending on the country, later be issued a permanent resident identification card which will allow the traveller to enter to the issuing country an unlimited number of times. (
for example, the United States Permanent Resident Card)...
Entry and duration period
Visas can also be single-entry, which means the visa is cancelled as soon as the holder leaves the country, double-entry, or multiple-entry, permitting multiple entries into the country with the same visa.
Countries may also issue re-entry permits that allow temporarily leaving the country without invalidating the visa.
Even a business visa will normally not allow the holder to work in the host country without an additional work permit.
The validity of a visa is not the same as the authorized period of stay in the issuing country.
The visa validity usually indicates when the alien can apply for entry to the country.
For example, if a visa has been issued January 1st and expires March 30th, and the typical authorized period of stay in a country is 90 days, then the 90-day authorized stay starts on the day the passenger reaches the country, which has to be between January 1st and March 30th.
The traveller could therefore stay in the issuing country until June 1st.
Once in the country, the validity period of a visa or authorized stay can often be extended for a fee if the immigration authorities choose to do so.
Staying longer than the period of authorized stay given by the immigration officers is considered illegal immigration even if the visa validity period is not over (i.e. for multiple entry visas) and a form of being "out of status" and the offender may be fined, prosecuted, deported, or even blacklisted (banned) from entering the country again.
Entering a country without a valid visa or visa exemption may result in being arrested and removed (deportation or exclusion) from the country.
Doing things that are not authorized by the status of entry (for example, working while having a non-worker tourist status) can result in the individual being deemed removable, in common speech an illegal alien.
Such violation is not a violation of a visa, despite the common misuse of the phrase, but a violation of status, hence the term "out of status."
Even having a visa does not guarantee that somebody can enter ah ost country.
The border crossing authorities make the final determination to allow entry, and may even cancel a visa at the border if the alien cannot demonstrate to their satisfaction that they will abide by the status their visa grants them.
Visa and immigration laws may be very different among countries.
As such, aliens are advised to check with immigration lawyers for visa and immigration laws governing the countries they wish to enter and eligibility to receive visas or other immigration benefits.
Visa extensions
Many countries have a mechanism to allow the holder of a visa to apply to stay longer in that country.
For example, in Denmark a visa holder can apply to the Danish Immigration Service for a Residence Permit after they have arrived in the Country.
In the United Kingdom applications can be made to the Border and Immigration Agency.
In certain circumstances, it is not possible for the holder of the visa to do this, either because the country does not have a mechanism to prolong visas or, most likely, because the holder of the visa is using a short stay visa to live in a country.
In such cases, the holder often engages in what is known as a visa run; leaving the country for a short period in order to apply for a new visa prior to their return or so that they can be given a fresh permission to stay when they re-enter.
Visa refusal
has committed fraud or misrepresentation in his or her application;
cannot prove to have strong ties to their current country of residence;
intends to permanently live or work in the country she/he will visit;
does not have a legitimate reason for the journey;
has no clear way of having enough resources to take care of himself/herself while in the country;
does not have accommodation in the destination country;
has not arranged his or her transportation;
does not have a health/travel insurance valid for the destination and the duration of stay;
has a criminal record or has criminal charges pending;
does not have a good moral character;
wants to get a visa too soon;
is considered to be a security risk;
had their previous visa application(s) rejected;
is a citizen of a country with whom the host country has poor or non-existent relations;
has a contagious disease, such as tuberculosis;
has previous immigration violations;
has never undertaken any foreign travel before;
has traveled before, but taken visas for other countries which are nowhere near the destination country;
unable to demonstrate basic local language skills;
has planned a vacation for no particular purpose other than sightseeing.
has a passport that expires too soon
Visa exemption schemes
Possession of a valid visa is a condition for entry into many countries, however various exemption schemes do exist.
In some cases visa-free entry may be granted to holders of diplomatic passports even as visas are required by normal passport holders (see: Passport).
Some countries have reciprocal agreements such that a visa is not needed under certain conditions, e.g. when the visit is for tourism and for a relatively short period.
One example of this is the Visa Waiver Program of the United States.
Such reciprocal agreements may stem from common membership in international organizations or a shared heritage:
All citizens of ECOWAS member states, excluding those defined by law as undesirable aliens, may enter and stay without a visa in any member state for a maximum period of 90 days.
The only requirement is a valid travel document and international vaccination certificates.
Nationals of the East African Community member states do not need visas for entry into any of the member states.
Some countries in the Commonwealth do not require tourist visas for citizens of other Commonwealth countries.
Most countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) do not require tourist visas for citizens of other ASEAN countries.
Armenia  and Uzbekistan  allows citizens of CIS member states, except Turkmenistan, to enter visa-free as tourists.
(For examples of passport-free travel, see International travel without passports.)
Common visas
Countries that are members of regional organizations or party to regional agreements may however issue visas valid for entry into some or all of the member states of the organization or agreement:
the Schengen Visa may be the best-known example of a common visa.
This visa has it origins in the 1985 Schengen Agreement among European states which allows for a common policy on the temporary entry of persons (including visas).
The visa allows a tourist or visitor access to the area covered by the agreement (known as the “Schengen area” or “Schengenland”).
Citizens of non-EU, non-EEA countries who wish to visit Europe as tourists, and who require a visa to enter the Schengen area, are simply required to get only the common Schengen Visa from the Embassy/Consulate of any of the Schengen countries.
After this, they may visit any or all of the Schengen countries as tourists or for business without hindrance.
They are not required to get separate visas for all the Schengen countries they wish to visit.
the CARICOM Visa was introduced in late 2006 and allowed visitors to travel between 10 CARICOM member states (Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines and Trinidad & Tobago).
These 10 member countries had agreed to form a "Single Domestic Space" in which travellers would only have their passport stamped and have to submit completed, standardized entry and departure forms at the first port and country of entry.
The CARICOM Visa was applicable to the nationals of all countries except CARICOM member states (other than Haiti) and associate member states, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the overseas countries, territories or departments of these countries.
The CARICOM Visa could be obtained from the Embassies/Consulates of Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago and in countries which have no CARICOM representatives, the applications forms could be obtained from the Embassies/Consulates of the United Kingdom.
The common visa was only intended for the duration of the Cricket World Cup and was discontinued on May 15, 2007.
However, discussions are ongoing into instituting a revised CARICOM visa on a permanent basis in the future.
the Central American Single Visa (Visa Única Centroamericana) was implemented by the CA-4 agreement between Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
It is required for citizens of all other countries, eliminating the need for separate entry visas for each of the countries.
Persons entering the region on Type "B" visas can enter the area through any Port of Entry.
Persons entering on Type "C" visas (issued through prior consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) must enter through a Port of Entry in the country that issued the visa.
Once a person has been admitted, they may travel onto any of the other countries and are allowed to stay through the date authorized at the original Port of Entry.
An East African Single Tourist Visa has been up for approval by the relevant sectoral authorities under the East African Community (EAC) integration programme.
The visa would be valid for all three partner states in the EAC (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda).
Under the proposal for the visa, any new East African single visa can be issued by any partner state's embassy.
The visa proposal followed an appeal by the tourist boards of the partner states for a common visa to accelerate promotion of the region as a single tourist destination and the EAC Secretariat wants it approved before November's World Travel Fair (or World Travel Market) in London.
When approved by the East African council of ministers, tourists could apply for one country's entry visa which would then be applicable in all regional member states as a single entry requirement initiative.
The SADC UNIVISA (or Univisa) has been in development since SADC members signed a Protocol on the Development of Tourism in 1998.
The Protocol outlined the Univisa as an objective so as to enable the international and regional entry and travel of visitors to occur as smoothly as possible.
It was expected to become operational by the end of 2002.
Its introduction was delayed and a new implementation date, the end of 2006, was announced.
However, the SADC now aims to have the univisa system in place by 2008, before the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
The univisa was originally intended to only be available, initially, to visitors from selected “source markets” such as Australia, the Benelux countries, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and the USA.
It is now expected that when the Univisa is implemented, that it will apply to non SADC international (long-haul) tourists travelling to and within the region and that it will encourage multi - destination travel within the region.
It is also anticipated that the univisa will unlock the tourism potential of transfrontier parks by lowering the boundaries between neighbouring countries in the parks.
The visa is expected to be valid for all the countries with transfrontier parks (Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe) and some other SADC countries (Angola and Swaziland).
Identification documents
Andranik Toros Ozanian, or Zoravar Andranik, (February 25, 1865 – August 31, 1927) was an Armenian military general and freedom fighter.
He was seen by Armenian people as a national hero.
He was born in Şebinkarahisar, Ottoman Armenia (present-day Giresun Province, Turkey).
After losing his wife and son at an early age, he joined the Armenian freedom movement in the Ottoman Empire, and participated in various political parties.
Andranik participated in the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, within the Bulgarian army, alongside general Garegin Njdeh as a commander of Armenian auxiliary troops of 1912-1913.
After his arrest and jailed; he spent some time in Istanbul.
During World War I, he participated in the Caucasus Campaign and was appointed as general of the Armenian volunteer units of the Russian army.
He participated in 20 different offensives where he gained fame due to his courage and the tactics he came up with to defeat the opposing forces.
He was the commanding officer of the Armenian volunteer units, which helped the Van Resistance take control of the Van on May 6, 1915.
He helped re-capture the city from Ottoman forces during the Battle of Van.
He was also the commander of the battalion that took the city of Bitlis (see: Battle of Bitlis) from the Ottoman forces that was under control of Mustafa Kemal.
After declaration of Democratic Republic of Armenia (DRA), he organized volunteer units against the Ottoman army, and fought alongside those units.
Declaration of Treaty of Batum was in diffuse as Andranik, was fighting against the Ottoman Empire with his army.
He refused to accept the borders stated by the treaty.
His activities were concentrated at the link between Ottoman Empire to Azerbaijan Democratic Republic at Karabakh, Zanghezur and Nakhichevan.
Ozanian struck back at the Ottoman Fronts, Army of Islam.
Andranik, tried several times to seize Shusha.
Just before the Armistice of Mudros was signed, Andranik was on the way from Zangezur to Shusha, to control the main city of Nagorno-Karabakh.
In January 1919 Armenian troops advancing, the British forces (Lionel Dunsterville) ordered Andranik back to Zangezur, and gave him the assurances that this conflict can be solved with the Paris Peace Conference, of 1919.
He immigrated to Fresno, California.
Andranik Ozanian lived in Fresno for 18 years until his death on August 31, 1927.
His remains were moved to Paris in 1928, and returned to Armenia in 1999, where he was buried at the Yerablur military cemetery.
The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times: Foreign Dominion to Statehood: edited by Richard G Hovannisian
Zoravar Andranik - Armenfilm 35mm 1989, Director: Levon Mkrtchyan,narration Khoren Abrahamyan
Armenian military people
The Angles were a Germanic people of unknown origin.
Their name seems to be connected with Angeln, a modern district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
The Angles, together with the Jutes, Saxons and Frisians, were among the Germanic tribes who sailed across the North Sea in the 5th century to invade Britain.
The various tribes were later called "Anglo-Saxon".
English and Welsh are races apart; BBC; 30 June, 2002.
Angeln has an importance far beyond its small area, as it seems to have been the original home of the Angles who invaded the southern part of Great Britain, which was named after them, England.
And so the name of the major world language, English, seems to have taken its name from this little region.
Crop circles in Angeln
Angeln cattle
Tourism in Angeln
Cinarchea (Archaeological films of Schlesvig-Holstein)
County and Municipal Flags (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany)
Genealogy in Schleswig Holstein, Germany
The Commonwealth of Nations, the countries linked with the United Kingdom usually speaking English
The Commonwealth of Independent States was the collection of countries which were part of the Soviet Union
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Virginia
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
The Frisians are a group of people of northwestern Europe, living in an area known as Frisia.
They are mainly in the Dutch areas of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia.
They are said to be a tall, big-boned and light-haired people with a rich history and folklore.
In Roman times
The Frisians were able to make an agreement with the Romans at the River Rhine in 28 CE.
Sixteen years later they defeated the Romans under Tiberius at the Battle of Baduhennawood.
The Frisii were known and respected by the Romans and were written about by several writers.
Tacitus wrote about the Germanic peoples in 69 CE, describing the habits of the Germanic people, as well as listing a lot of Frisian groups by name.
Of the many groups he listed, the Frisians are the only ones that have kept their old name.
The Frisians probably used boats.
The North Sea from Britain to Eastern Denmark, was called Mare Frisia at that time.
Small groups of Frisians settled the lands around them and their homes have been found in England, Scotland, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, France and  The Netherlands.
Their land followed the edge of the North Sea from the mouth of the Rhine river up to that of the Ems.
The Ems was the eastern edge of their land according to Ptolemy's Geographica.
In the 5th century, the Anglo-Saxons went through Frisian territory to invade Great Britain.
A lot of Frisians moved with them.
The Frisians who stayed in Europe moved into the lands where the Anglo-Saxons used to live.
Famous Frisians
Frisian language
M.C. Escher
The Frisian Meeting Place
Alba Iulia (Latin: Apulum, German: Karlsburg/Weißenburg, Hungarian: Gyulafehérvár, former ) is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania.
It has a population of 66,369 people.
In the center of the city there is Alba Carolina citadel built in three historical periods: Roman, Medieval and Habsburg.
Arnsberg, Germany
Aeghio, Greece
Alcalá de Henares, Spain
Sliven, Bulgaria
Düzce, Turkey
San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy
General terms
Balance in stereophonic sound
Balance (accounting)
Balance beam, gymnastics equipment
Balance disorder, a medical disorder
Balance (metaphysics), a desirable point between opposite forces
Balance wheel in a watch
Balancing or hard balancing in international relations
Engine balance
Tire balance
Equilibrioception, the sense of balance, or spacial equilibrium, in humans and animals
Homeostasis, a biological balance within a living organism
Media balance, media coverage of politics
Balance, a scale for weighing
Game balance, a concept in game design describing fairness or balance of power in a game
Specific terms
BALANCE Act {H.R. 1066}, Benefit Authors without Limiting Advancement or Net Consumer Expectations
Balance (animation), a 1989 Academy Award-winning short film
Ballance, a 2004 puzzle computer game
Balance (In Urdu: Mizan or ) is a comprehensive treatise on Islam written by Javed Ahmed Ghamidi, a Pakistani Sunni Islamic scholar.
Balance Bar, a popular nutritional energy bar
Balance (band), a 1980s pop/rock group
Balance (album), an album by Van Halen
Balance (Kim-Lian album), an album by Kim-Lian
Balanced line (electronics)
Rebalancing (investment), an action to bring investments in line with target asset allocation
Vampire bats is a subfamily of bats.
Unlike other bats, vampire bats feed on blood.
Currently, there are three species of bats known to do this.
All of them live in the Americas, in Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Argentina.
Of the three known species, one feeds on the blood of mammals, the other two on the blood of birds.
The common vampire bat lives in large groups, of up to 100 animals.
They have developed complex social behaviour.
Vampire bats commonly spread diseases, most notably rabies.
The saliva of the vampire bats contain chemicals that prevent the clotting of the blood of the victim; this has been used to develop drugs to help the patients of strokes and heart attacks.
Vampire bats were some of the first animals studied using the broadly applicable tracking system, or BATS.
Scientists glued very small backpacks with sensors onto vampire bats and used GPS to tell when they looked for food, rested, or met each other.
The study, which was printed for people to read on October 31, 2019 (Halloween), said that vampire bats formed social bonds when being held by humans that they remembered after being released back into the wild.
Prehistoric Britain was a period of history when people lived in Britain, but did not keep written records.
It started when people first arrived in Britain around 900,000 years ago.
It ended with the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43.
People have lived in what is now Great Britain for hundreds of thousands of years.
However, until the Roman Empire took over in the 1st century, none of Britain’s peoples had any written language.
For this reason, archaeological sites are the only way to learn about their history, culture, and way of life.
The Greek navigator Pytheas was the first person to write about Britain and its people.
He explored the coastal region of Britain around 325 BC.
Starting in the Neolithic period, ancient Britons were involved in extensive trade (especially in exporting tin), and they had strong cultural links with the rest of Europe.
The Paleolithic
Palaeolithic Britain lasted from almost 750,000 years ago until around 10,000 years ago.
During this long period of time, there were many changes in the environment.
These included several glacial and interglacial periods, which greatly affected human settlement in the region.
Environmental changes
Around 478,000 years ago, the Anglian glaciation began.
This period lasted until about 424,000 years ago.
During this time, temperatures were very cold.
This very cold weather probably drove humans out of Britain altogether.
A warmer time period lasted from around 300,000 until 200,000 years ago.
During this time, people in Britain developed more advanced flint technology, which allowed them to hunt more efficiently.
There is little evidence that people lived in Britain during the later Ipswichian interglacial period.
This period lasted from around 130,000 years ago to 110,000 years ago.
A final ice age covered Britain between about 70,000 and 10,000 years ago.
There was an an extreme cold snap between 22,000 and 13,000 years ago, which may have driven humans south out of Britain again.
The environment during this ice age period would have been a largely treeless tundra.
It was eventually replaced by a warmer climate, perhaps reaching 17 degrees Celsius (62.6 Fahrenheit) in summer, which encouraged the expansion of birch trees as well as shrub and grasses.
Upper Paleolithic
Neanderthal occupation of Britain was limited.
The first signs of activity in Britain by modern humans (Homo sapiens) date back to about 30,000 BC.
The most famous archaeological evidence from this period is the skeleton of the Red Lady of Paviland in modern-day Wales.
Archaeologists think this person died about 33,000 years ago.
The dominant food species were the Wild Horse (Equuleus fetus) and Red Deer (Corvus elapses).
People also hunted other mammals, ranging from hares to mammoth.
By 10,500 years ago, the climate was becoming cooler and dryer, and woodland coverage expanded.
Still, populations of food animals seem to have declined around this time.
During the Final Upper Paleolithic, tool makers generally used smaller flints.
Bone and antler work became less common.
However, there are many more known archaeological sites, spread over a wider area than in the earlier Paleolithic.
Archaeologists have found many more open air sites, like the one at Hengistbury Head.
Lower Paleolithic
Archaeologists have found bones and flint tools in coastal deposits near Happisburgh in Norfolk, and near Bakersfield in Suffolk.
This is evidence that Homo erectus lived in modern-day Britain around 700,000 years ago.
At this time, southern and eastern Britain was linked to continental Europe by a wide land bridge, which allowed humans to move freely.
Where the English Channel is today, there was a large river flowing westwards.
It was fed by tributaries that would later become the Thames and Seine.
Around 10,000 years ago, the last ice age finally ended.
Temperatures rose, probably to levels similar to today’s.
As the weather got warmer, forests expanded farther.
Pine, birch, and alder forest replaced the Arctic environment.
As glaciers melted, sea levels rose.
By 8,500 years ago, the rising sea levels cut Britain off from continental Europe for the last time.
The Mesolithic-Neolithic transition
Around 4,500 BC, people in Britain began farming and started caring for animals, like cows, sheep and pigs.
They did this, at least in part, because they needed reliable sources of food.
Historians have called this the Neolithic revolution.
In the past, historians thought that people migrating from continental Europe brought ideas about farming with them to Britain.
However, modern archaeologists think that native Britons began farming, making pottery, and settling on their own.
These changes (called the Neolithic Revolution) eventually led to the growth of societies divided into differing groups of farmers, artisans and leaders.
Past historians also thought that people migrating to Britain came in waves, with each new wave annihilating the last.
However, DNA analysis suggests that this theory is not correct.
Scientists have analyzed the mitochondrial DNA of modern Europeans to find out who their ancestors were.
They found that over 80% of modern Europeans are descended in the female line from European hunter-gatherers.
Less than 20% are descended in the female line from Neolithic farmers from the Middle East.
In 1997, scientists did DNA analysis on a tooth from a Mesolithic man whose remains were found in Sough's Cave at Cheddar Gorge.
They found that 11% of modern European populations share this man’s mitochondrial DNA.
People built Britain’s first earthworks during the early Neolithic (c. 4400 BC- 3300 BC).
These were long barrows used for communal burial.
Later, during the Middle Neolithic (c. 3300 BC-c. 2900 BC), people built cursuses near these long barrows.
A cursus was a monument that looked like a trench or a ditch.
During the same period, people also built the earliest stone circles and began to bury their dead individually.
Neolithic people also built stone rows and new enclosures called henges.
The famous sites of Stonehenge and Silbury Hill reached their peak during the Neolithic.
People began industrial flint mining in places like Cissbury and Grimes Graves.
In Britain, archaeologists have found axes made from exotic stones.
These are stones which are not naturally found in Britain, like jadeite.
This shows that native Britons communicated and traded with people in continental Europe.
The Bronze Age lasted from about 3300 BC to 1200 BC.
A new culture arrived in Britain around 2700 BC, at the beginning of the Mount Pleasant Phase (2,700 BC - 2,000 BC).
This new culture is often called the Beaker culture.
Archaeologists have found Beaker pottery, flat axes, and ornaments made from gold.
Archaeologists found some of these ornaments in graves of people from the wealthy Wessex culture of southern Britain.
They have also found evidence that the Beaker people buried their dead.
The megalithic phases of Stonehenge date to this period.
Britain had large reserves of tin in the areas of Cornwall and Devon, in what is now southwest England.
During the Bronze Age, people began tin mining.
By the end of the Bronze Age, British tin was being exported across Europe.
This was so successful that around 1,600 BC, southwest Britain experienced a trade boom.
The Iron Age
As the number of people in Britain increased, opposing tribes started to fight each other for territory and power.
This led people to start building hill forts, starting around 1,500 BC.
Around 900 BC, British society changed.
Celtic peoples came to Britain in mass migrations, and brought their culture with them.
The Celts were highly skilled craftsmen.
They produced nicely patterned gold jewellery, and made weapons in bronze and iron.
By 500 BC, Celtic culture covered most of the British Isles.
Around 750 BC, iron working techniques reached Britain from southern Europe.
Iron was stronger and more plentiful than bronze.
Iron working revolutionised many aspects of life, especially agriculture.
Iron-tipped ploughs could churn up land far quicker and deeper than older wooden or bronze ploughs.
Iron axes could clear forest land far more efficiently for agriculture.
During the Iron Age, Britain exported hunting dogs, animal skins and slaves.
Late pre-Roman Iron Age (LPRIA)
During the final centuries before the Roman invasion, refugees from Gaul (modern day France and Belgium) came to Britain.
These refugees were called the Belgae.
They were displaced (pushed out of their home lands) as the Roman Empire expanded.
From around 175 BC these refugees settled in the areas of Kent, Hertfordshire and Essex.
With them, they brought pottery-making skills that were far more advanced than any others.
The Belgae became partially Romanised.
They created the first settlements large enough to be called towns.
About 100 BC, people developed coinage and also began to use iron bars as currency.
As the Roman Empire expanded northwards, Rome began to take interest in Britain.
See Roman Britain for the history of this period.
British History Encyclopedia Paragon 1999
Illustrated History Of Great Britain Octopus Books Limited 1982
The Seven Daughters of Eve, Sykes, B, 2001.
Ancient Human Occupation of Britain Project
Britain's human history revealed
700,000 year old remains in Norfolk
The Boxgrove project
Ancient Britons come mainly from Spain
The Domesday Book (also known as Domesday, or Book of Winchester) was a record of all taxable land in England, together with such information as would indicate its worth.
As the scribes went round England, they were protected by William's armed men.
Each group was led by a Royal Commissioner, who took a list of standard questions.
A 'jury' of local nobility and citizens answered the questions.
All answers were written down in Latin.
Information was collected from the start of 1086, and working up into the complete volume started later that year.
William died in 1087 before the writing-up work was completed.
William the Conqueror wished to know the details of the land he had conquered, England.
He let his knights and barons have big areas of land, and wanted rent money from them.
The Domesday Book was a record of every farm, village and house so that he knew how much rent he should get.
Only some small villages in the countryside are not in the book.
Major cities like London and Winchester are also not in the Domesday Book, perhaps because of their size, or because (not owning land), the people could not be taxed.
The Domesday book gave the names of King William's friends and even listed the number of pigs on a piece of land.
But it was not like a modern census.
It did not give the names of all the people.
It listed the heads of each household, but left out Londoners, monks, nuns, and anyone living in castles.
In effect, it listed only people he could get rent from, and who might supply men to fight in his army.
The Domesday Book is two volumes.
One of the books was called Great Domesday, and the other was called Little Domesday.
The draft of the second volume, Little Domesday, was never worked up, but no doubt was used for tax collection just the same.
Domesday Book, from The National Archives (UK).
Searchable text and page scans (complete).
Focus on Domesday , from Learning Curve .
Annotated sample page.
Domesday Book, an article from History Magazine.
www.domesdaybook.co.uk
The name LD50 is an abbreviation for "Lethal Dose, 50%" or median lethal dose.
It is the amount of the substance required (usually per body weight) to kill 50% of the test population.
The test was created by J.W. Trevan in 1927 but has been phased out.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has begun to approve non-animal alternatives to LD50, in response to research cruelty concerns and the lack of validity/sensitivity of animal tests as they relate to humans.
Oral LD50 of grain alcohol: 10.6 g/kg in young rats, 7.06 g/kg in aged rats.
Oral LD50 of nicotine: 50 mg/kg in rats.
Oral LD50 of Table Salt: 3000 mg/kg in rats
LD50 of Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (active ingredient found in Cannabis): Fischer rat, oral 1,270 mg/kg
LD50 of smoked and inhaled Cannabis or Marijuana: Unknown.
At present it is estimated that marijuana's therapeutic index is around 1:20,000 or 1:40,000 (the "1" in the prior estimate is based on an "effective dose" of the .9 grams contained in NIDA-supplied marijuana cigarettes, although the potency of Cannabis changes based on the genetics of the source plant) placing its LD50 around at least 18,000g.
LD50 of Batrachotoxin: estimated at 1 to 2 µg/kg in humans.
LD50 of Polonium 210: estimated at 10 (inhaled) to 50 (ingested) nanograms in humans makes this one of the most toxic substances known.
One gram in theory could poison 100 million people of which 50 million would die.
The Dahlerau train disaster was a railway disaster that happened on 27 May 1971.
It happened in Dahlerau, Radevormwald, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany.
A passenger train carrying pupils was travelling on the railway track from Wuppertal to Radevormwald in North Rhine-Westphalia in West Germany on the evening of 27 May 1971.
The pupils belonged to the final year of a school in Radevormwald and were returning from a trip to Bremen.
Around 21:00, the train had just left the railway station in Wuppertal-Beyenburg and was a few minutes away from the railway station in Dahlerau.
Farther south, a freight train was traveling from Radevormwald to Wuppertal, and had just arrived outside the Dahlerau station.
The freight train would have to wait in the station to allow the passenger train to pass.
This was necessary because the passenger train was 30 minutes late and there was only one track on the railway line outside the station.
The dispatcher in the station would have to go outside and show a red lantern to the freight train, because there were no signals in the station.
Nobody knows for sure what happened, but the freight train went right through the station and onto the track where the passenger train was running.
The driver of the freight train later told that the dispatcher in the station had shown him a green light.
This was the signal not to stop.
The dispatcher had seen what happened and tried to hold the train back with emergency signals, but he failed and the train disappeared behind a curve.
He went into his office to call the station in Wuppertal-Beyenburg, but the passenger train had already left Beyenburg.
The dispatcher knew what would happen, and called the police.
Meanwhile, about 800 metres north of the station, the two trains crashed.
The passenger train was crushed to 1/3 of its length, because it consisted of light railbuses and the freight train locomotive was five times as heavy.
Police, firefighters and ambulances arrived quickly, but had problems rescuing people.
This was because the crash happened on a hillside.
The parents of the pupils had also heard of the accident and had come to search for their children.
In all, 25 people were injured, many of them badly.
46 people died in the accident.
Of these 46, 41 were pupils, two teachers, one was a mother who travelled with the children, and two were working for the railway.
Only one person walked away from the accident without injuries.
So many people had died that the bodies had to be put in a gymnasium.
After the accident
The dispatcher was killed in a car accident a few weeks after the crash.
Police said it was not suicide.
Because the dispatcher could not be asked, investigating the crash was difficult and took about a year.
In the end, it was decided that human error was the cause for the accident.
Nobody could find out the exact happenings on that evening, and so the case never went before a court.
The passenger train was badly damaged and had to be destroyed.
The locomotive of the freight train was repaired and stayed in service until 2001.
The victims were buried on 2 June 1971.
More than 10,000 people attended the funeral, and all shops in Radevormwald were closed on that day.
Many important people went to the funeral, including Chancellor Willy Brandt, and the Minister of Transport.
The victims were buried together in a large grave on the Radevormwald cemetery.
Later, a memorial was built near the graves as well.
The Deutsche Bundesbahn, the company who was responsible for the railway, changed the lanterns used by the dispatchers.
They would not show a red light any more, so that red and green could not be confused any more.
They also built the successors of the type of railbus that crashed sturdier, because some people said they had been built too light.
1971 in Europe
1970s in Germany
Disasters in Germany
History of North Rhine-Westphalia
Railway accidents in Europe
Walter Edward Guinness, 1st Baron Moyne  DSO & Bar PC (29 March 1880-6 November 1944) was a British politician.
Guinness was born in Dublin, Ireland.
He was killed in 1944 in Cairo, Egypt by the Jewish terrorist group Lehi.
His assassination was said to be a message to the British government against British imperialism.
Guinness was selected because he was believed to be anti Jewish and made statements supporting sending all Jews in Europe to the African island of Madagascar.
People from Dublin
Modern Talking was a German dance pop duo consisting of Thomas Anders and Dieter Bohlen.
Their music was often classified as Europop.
Modern Talking is, by sales, the most successful and popular group in Germany, and they a number of hit singles reaching the top-5 in many countries.
Some of their most popular and widely known singles are "You're My Heart, You're My Soul", "You Can Win If You Want", "Cheri Cheri Lady", "Brother Louie", "Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. for Love)" and "Geronimo's Cadillac".
Modern Talking's first period of activity was from 1984 to 1987.
The duo reunified in 1998 and made a successful comeback, releasing more music from 1998 to 2003.
Modern Talking's sound, however, was rather different from its original 1980s sound after its reunion.
The duo came back in 1998 recording their materials based on what the demand was in central European music markets at the time in the late 1990s, which required their original 1980s mellow Europop sound to switch into 1990s up-tempo Eurodance.
The duo released singles which again entered the top-10 not only in their home country but also abroad.
Some of those singles were "You're My Heart, You're My Soul '98", "Brother Louie '98", and "You Are Not Alone".
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, also called the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake (known by the scientific community), was a great underwater earthquake.
It happened at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) December 26, 2004.
The epicenter of the earthquake was off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia.
At first, the earthquake was measured as a 9.0 on the Richter scale.
It was the longest ever recorded ocean earthquake.
It lasted between 500 (8.3 minutes) and 600 (10 minutes) seconds.
It was so powerful that it caused the entire Earth to vibrate.
It started other earthquakes as far away as Iceland.
The Asian tsunami
The large movement of earth under the water caused a very large and powerful tsunami.
The tsunami was called the Asian tsunami, or the Boxing Day tsunami in Australia, Canada, England, and South Africa because it happened on the 26th of December 2004 (Boxing Day).
It spread all over the Indian Ocean.
The tsunami caused heavy damage to countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
It also devastated the eastern coast of India, such as the states of Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.
Waves as high as 30m (100ft) killed many people and damaged or destroyed a lot of buildings and other property.
Over 225,000 people died or were not found after the tsunami.
The wave did damage in East Africa as far away as South Africa (8000km/ 5000mi) where as many as 8 people died because of high water caused by the wave.
Because of how much damage was caused and the number of people the earthquake affected, over $7 billion (USD) was donated to help rebuild the areas damaged.
News collections
BBC News - In-Depth Report: Tsunami Disaster
Channel News Asia - One Year On, Memorial & Updates to the Asian Tsunami Disaster
CNN - Tsunami, One Year After
Guardian Unlimited - Special Report: Indian Ocean Tsunami Disaster
Sydney Morning Herald - Waves of Devastation
Slideshows — Asian Tsunami Disaster
Satellite images of tsunami-affected areas (National University of Singapore)
Tsunamis.com - 2004 Asian Tsunami Pictures
After the Tsunami Danish writer and photographer Thorsten Overgaard's documentary on the relief work after the December 26, 2004 tsunami.
Indian Ocean earthquake
Earthquakes in the 2000s
Earthquake, 2004
Earthquakes in Asia
Taiwan (minus the Pescadores) is an island of eastern Asia.
Its first people were Austronesians with small numbers of Chinese.
After the arrival of the Dutch in the 1600s, many Chinese moved to Taiwan to work.
Few European people moved to Taiwan, and the native people married with Chinese or moved away from the west side of the island.
When the Qing dynasty began in China, a supporter of the old Ming dynasty hid in Taiwan.
Eventually the Qing came to Taiwan, defeated him, and added Taiwan to China.
Taiwan remained Chinese territory through most of the Qing dynasty until it was taken by Japan in 1895.
Taiwan became a colony of Japan for fifty years until the end of World War Two.
For a brief time it was under the control of China through the Guomindang government, but that government lost a civil war and moved to Taiwan.
The rule of the Guomindang is considered controversial today.
Some criticize its treatment of the people of Taiwan, but others focus on positive political and economic change that it made.
In the 1980s, the government became more democratic.
This has also been controversial because it allows different political parties to compete.