Australia

The Queen Victoria Market is a major landmark in Melbourne, Australia, and at around seven hectares is the largest open air market in the Southern... Hemisphere. The Market is significant to Melbourne's culture and heritage and has been listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. The Market is named after Queen Victoria who ruled the British Empire, from 1837 to 1901. The Queen Victoria Market is the only surviving 19th century market in the Melbourne central business district. There were once three major markets in the Melbourne CBD, but two of them, the Eastern Market and Western Market, both opened before the Queen Victoria, closed in the 1960s. It also forms part of an important collection of surviving Victorian markets which includes the inner suburban Prahran Market and South Melbourne Market. Starting as a small market to the east of the city in the 1850s, it gradually expanded into space made available by the closure of the old Melbourne Cemetery west of Queen Street and north of Franklin Street.
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The Iraq Spring Fighting of 2004 was a series of operational offensives and various major engagements during the Iraq War. It was a turning point in... the war: before, the conflict was simply US/Coalition versus insurgents, but the Spring Fighting marked the entrance of militias and religiously based militant Iraqi groups, such as the Mahdi Army into the arena of conflict. The start of 2004 was marked by a relative lull in violence. Guerrilla attacks lessened in intensity while insurgent forces reorganized, studying the multinational forces' tactics and planning a renewed offensive. There were two main causes for the start of the Spring Fighting. The first was the rise of a hard-line Shiite cleric called Muqtada al-Sadr and his militia, the Mahdi Army, in the south of the country. Muqtada al-Sadr also has great influence in the Sadr City section of Baghdad . With the fall of Saddam Hussein, Muqtada al-Sadr emerged as a Shia leader by zealously rejecting the US-led occupation of Iraq.
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The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from... the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations. The invasion phase consisted of a conventionally fought war which concluded with the capture of the Iraq capital Baghdad by United States forces. Four countries participated with troops during the initial invasion phase, which lasted from March 19 to April 9, 2003. These were the United States , United Kingdom , Australia , and Poland . 36 other countries were involved in its aftermath. In preparation for the invasion, 100,000 U.S. troops were assembled in Kuwait by February 18. The United States supplied the majority of the invading forces, but also received support from Kurdish irregulars in Iraqi Kurdistan. According to U.S. President George W.
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The Iraqi no-fly zones were a set of two separate no-fly zones , and were proclaimed by the United States, United Kingdom and France after the Gulf... War of 1991 to protect the Kurdish people in northern Iraq and Shiite Muslims in the south. Iraqi aircraft were forbidden from flying inside the zones. The policy was enforced by U.S., UK and French aircraft patrols until France withdrew in 1998. While the enforcing powers had cited United Nations Security Council Resolution 688 as authorizing the operations, the resolution contains no explicit authorization. The Secretary-General of the UN at the time the resolution was passed, Boutros Boutros-Ghali called the no-fly zones "illegal" in a later interview with John Pilger. The NFZ in the north of Iraq was established shortly after the Gulf War. In August 1992 the NFZ in the south to the 32nd parallel was established, but in 1996 it was expanded to the 33rd parallel. From 1992 to the United States-led coalition invasion of Iraq in 2003, there were two NFZs in Iraq. The northern NFZ extended from the 36th parallel northwards, while the southern extended from the 33rd parallel southwards.
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Operation Desert Thunder was a response to threats by Iraq's president Saddam Hussein to shoot down U-2 spy planes, and violate the no-fly zone set... up over his country. The operation was designed to bring stability to the region by bringing in a military presence during the negotiations between Iraq and the UN over weapons of mass destruction. The name Operation Desert Thunder has been applied to the build-up of forces in the Persian Gulf region during 1998. If an actual attack had been ordered and executed, the name would have changed to Operation Desert Viper. In the autumn of 1997 CENTCOM established a force of 35,000 air, land, and sea forces in response to Iraq's non-compliance of UN resolutions. CENTCOM Commander-in-Chief General Anthony Zinni established a permanent Coalition/Joint Task Force at Camp Doha Kuwait under command of Lieutenant General Tommy Franks to lead this force. The coalition would consist of forces from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Hungary, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, United Kingdom, United States, and Kuwait. On 18 January 1998 additional forces were brought in to support the US-led coalition forces in the region. The U.S.
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Template:Country data Secretariat of the Pacific Community The Secretariat of the Pacific Community, or SPC , is a regional intergovernmental... organisation whose membership includes both nations and territories. It aims to "develop the technical, professional, scientific, research, planning and management capability of Pacific Island people and directly provide information and advice, to enable them to make informed decisions about their future development and well-being." The SPC headquarters is in Nouméa, New Caledonia. SPC was founded in 1947 as the South Pacific Commission by six developed countries with an interest in the region: For reasons either of reduced development interest in the Pacific Islands region or a desire to concentrate assistance in other areas of greater poverty, two founding members have since withdrawn from the SPC: the Netherlands and the United Kingdom . SPC's founding charter is the Canberra Agreement. In the aftermath of World War II, the six colonial powers which created the SPC, arguably intended it to secure Western political and military interests in the postwar Pacific.
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Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the... Asia-Pacific region. Established in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies and the advent of regional economic blocs in other parts of the world, APEC works to raise living standards and education levels through sustainable economic growth and to foster a sense of community and an appreciation of shared interests among Asia-Pacific countries. Members account for approximately 40% of the world's population, approximately 54% of the world's gross domestic product and about 44% of world trade. An annual APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting is attended by the heads of government of all APEC members except the Republic of China , which is represented under the name Chinese Taipei by a ministerial-level official. The location of the meeting rotates annually among the member economies, and until 2011, a famous tradition involved the attending leaders dressing in a national costume of the host member.
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The Paris Club is an informal group of financial officials from 19 of some of the world's biggest economies, which provides financial services such... as war funding, debt restructuring, debt relief, and debt cancellation to indebted countries and their creditors. Debtors are often recommended by the International Monetary Fund after alternative solutions have failed. It meets every six weeks at the French Ministry of the Economy, Finance, and Industry in Paris. It is chaired by a senior official of the French Treasury, currently the Director General of the Treasury [Ramon Fernandez]. The club grew out of crisis talks held in Paris in 1956 between the nation of Argentina and its various creditors. Its principles and procedures were codified at the end of the 1970s in the context of the North-South Dialogue. In the 1990s, the club began to treat the HIPC and non-HIPCs differently. The club began to grant increasingly larger debt reductions for the HIPCs.
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The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to... stimulate economic progress and world trade. It is a forum of countries committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practices, and co-ordinate domestic and international policies of its members. The OECD originated in 1948 as the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation , led by Robert Marjolin of France, to help administer the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. Later, its membership was extended to non-European states. In 1961, it was reformed into the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development by the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Most OECD members are high-income economies with a "very high" Human Development Index and are regarded as developed countries. The OECD's headquarters are at the Château de la Muette in Paris, France.
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Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state.... Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL. Monash enrolls approximately 39,000 undergraduate and 16,000 graduate students, making it the university with the largest student body in Australia. It also has more applicants than any university in the state of Victoria. Monash is home to major research facilities, including the Australian Synchrotron, the Monash Science Technology Research and Innovation Precinct , the Australian Stem Cell Centre, 100 research centres and 17 co-operative research centres. In 2008, Monash University attracted more than $210 million of research investment and grants from various Government bodies and external organisations. The university has eight campuses: six in Victoria , one in Malaysia and one in South Africa. Monash also has a research and teaching centre in Prato, Italy and a graduate research school in Mumbai, India. Monash University is a commissioned Victorian university.
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RMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia... and RMIT International University in Vietnam. RMIT was founded in 1887 by prominent grazier and philanthropist, The Hon. Francis Ormond. It is the third-oldest higher education provider in the state of Victoria and the seventh-oldest in Australia. Its foundation campus "RMIT City" is located at the northern end of the Melbourne CBD. RMIT was awarded royal patronage in 1954, and is the only Australian university to have received the honour. According to the THES - QS World University Rankings in 2009, RMIT is ranked in the top 10 universities in Australia. It is included in the top 100 universities in the World for producing work-ready graduates, and is one of 20 institutes of technology that feature in the listing. It has an internationally recognised reputation for advertising, architecture, art, communication, design, engineering and technology. RMIT pioneered the dual sector education system in Australia during the mid-20th century.
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The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and... Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania. It has 32,393 undergraduate and 16,627 graduate students . The University of Sydney is organised into sixteen faculties and schools, through which it offers bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees. Three Nobel laureates have been affiliated with the University as graduate and faculty. Sydney consistently ranks amongst the top universities in Australia and Oceania. In 2011, it was ranked 38th in the world; 3rd in Australia, behind Australian National University and the University of Melbourne in the 2011 QS World University Rankings. The University of Sydney is a member of Australia's Group of Eight, Academic Consortium 21, the Association of Pacific Rim Universities and the Worldwide Universities Network. The University is also colloquially known as one of Australia's sandstone universities.
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Michelle Kahnt is an Australian gospel music singer. She is sometimes billed as Michelle Beer. Born in 1979 in the town of Taree, New South Wales,... Kahan is stationed on the Gold Coast with her husband, Christian Kahnt, an assistant pastor at Hope Church, Varsity Lakes. Her debut album, called Michelle Pure Heart contains a variety of easy listening and contemporary pop songs. The first track is a happy dance track following on to a more mellow worshipful genre of music. She performed at the Australian Gospel Music Festival 2005 and has travelled to various cities and towns since the release of her debut album.
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Alex Rafalowicz is an Australian actor. He was educated at Unley High School and Flinders University, where he studied as a student for Law and... International Studies. He was previously the South Australian president of the UNYA. Rafalowicz starred as the 'Young David' in the 1996 film Shine and Sarah Watt's 2005 film Look Both Ways.
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Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player. He has performed solo and led numerous groups... including the Dots, the Coloured Girls and the Messengers. He has been a member of associated projects Professor Ratbaggy and Stardust Five and worked with other artists and groups. Kelly's music style has ranged from bluegrass to studio-oriented dub reggae, but his core output straddles folk, rock, and country. His lyrics capture the vastness of culture and landscape by chronicling life about him for over 30 years. David Fricke from Rolling Stone calls Kelly "one of the finest songwriters I have ever heard, Australian or otherwise." However, Kelly has said, "Song writing is mysterious to me. I don’t feel like I have got it nailed yet." After growing up in Adelaide, Kelly travelled around Australia before settling in Melbourne in 1976. He became involved in the pub rock scene and drug culture, and recorded two albums with Paul Kelly and the Dots.
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Sister Janet Mead is a Roman Catholic nun and is best known for recording a rock version of The Lord's Prayer. The surprise hit reached #3 on the... Australian Singles Chart in 1974 and #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in that same year. The single earned her a Grammy Award nomination and Golden Gospel Award in 2004. Mead became the second woman to have a top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart while serving as a nun. Sister Luc-Gabrielle, also known as Sœur Sourire and The Singing Nun, had a #1 pop hit in 1963 with "Dominique." Mead formed a rock band simply called The Rock Band when she was 17 to provide music for the weekly mass at her local church. She studied piano at the Adelaide Conservatorium before joining the Sisters of Mercy order and became a music teacher at two local Catholic schools. She began to explore the "rock mass" concept in the early 1970s, desiring to make the Catholic mass more interesting and accessible for her students. This led to a successful series of "rock masses" that she conducted at Adelaide Cathedral. She began making professional recordings of her music for schools and churches in 1973.
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Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of... 28,400 square kilometres . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal. The nation of the Solomon Islands is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The Solomon Islands are believed to have been inhabited by Melanesian people for many thousands of years. Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña was the first European to arrive in Solomon islands in 1568 and named them Islas Salomón. The United Kingdom established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in 1893. In the Second World War there was fierce fighting between the Americans and the Japanese in the Solomon Islands campaign of 1942–45, including the Battle of Guadalcanal. Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence two years later. The Solomon Islands is a constitutional monarchy with the Queen of the Solomon Islands, at present Elizabeth II, as the head of state. Gordon Lilo Darcy is the eleventh and current Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands.
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Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New... Guinea and numerous offshore islands . It is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in a region defined since the early 19th century as Melanesia. The capital is Port Moresby. Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally diverse countries on Earth, with over 850 indigenous languages and at least as many traditional societies, out of a population of just under seven million. It is also one of the most rural, as only 18% of its people live in urban centres. The country is one of the world's least explored, culturally and geographically, and many undiscovered species of plants and animals are thought to exist in the interior of Papua New Guinea. The majority of the population live in traditional societies and practise subsistence-based agriculture. These societies and clans have some explicit acknowledgement within the nation's constitutional framework.
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New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is... situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long isolation New Zealand developed a distinctive fauna dominated by birds, many of which became extinct after the arrival of humans and introduced mammals. With a mild maritime climate, the land was mostly covered in forest. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks owe much to the uplift of land and volcanic eruptions caused by the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates clashing underfoot. Polynesians settled New Zealand in 1250–1300 AD and developed a distinctive Māori culture, and Europeans first made contact in 1642 AD. The introduction of potatoes and muskets triggered upheaval among Māori early during the 19th century, which led to the inter-tribal Musket Wars.
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New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, 1,500 kilometres east of Australia and about 20,000... kilometres from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of Pines and a few remote islets. The Chesterfield Islands in the Coral Sea are also part of New Caledonia. Locals refer to Grand Terre as "Le Caillou", the rock. New Caledonia has a land area of 18,576 square kilometres . The population is 256,275. The capital of the territory is Nouméa. The earliest traces of human presence in New Caledonia date back to the Lapita period. The Lapita were highly skilled navigators and agriculturists with influence over a large area of the Pacific. Europeans first sighted New Caledonia on September 4, 1774, during the second voyage of Captain James Cook. He named the territory New Caledonia, as the north-east of the island reminded him of Scotland.
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