United Kingdom

The War in Somalia was an armed conflict involving largely Ethiopian and Somali Transitional Federal Government forces and Somali troops from... Puntland versus the Somali Islamist umbrella group, the Islamic Court Union , and other affiliated militias for control of the country. There is a clear connection between War in Somalia and the War of 2006. The war officially began shortly before July 20, 2006 when U.S. backed Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia to prop up the TFG in Baidoa. The TFG in Somalia invited Ethiopians to intervene, which became an "unpopular decision" that failed to strengthen the government. Subsequently the leader of the ICU, Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, declared "Somalia is in a state of war, and all Somalis should take part in this struggle against Ethiopia". On December 24, Ethiopia stated it would actively combat the ICU. Ethiopia's prime minister, Meles Zenawi, said Ethiopia entered hostilities because it faced a direct threat to its own borders. “Ethiopian defense forces were forced to enter into war to protect the sovereignty of the nation,” he said.
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Operation Phantom Phoenix was a major nation-wide offensive launched by the Multinational Force Iraq on January 8, 2008 in an attempt to build on... the success of the two previous corps-level operations, Operation Phantom Thunder and Operation Phantom Strike and further reduce violence and secure Iraq's population, particularly in the capital Baghdad. The offensive consisted of a number of joint Coalition and Iraqi Army operations throughout northern Iraq as well as in the southern Baghdad Belts. The northern operation was designated Operation Iron Harvest. Its objective was to hunt down the remaining 200 Al-Qaeda extremists remaining in the province of Diyala following the end of the previous offensive. The operation also included targeting insurgent elements in Salah ad-Din province and Nineveh province. The southern operation was designated Operation Marne Thunderbolt and targeted insurgent safe havens in the belts to the south-east of Baghdad, particularly the Arab Jabour region. Additionally, Phantom Phoenix's aims were the remaining car, truck and suicide bomb networks in Baghdad as well as al-Qaeda’s financial network.
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The Siege of U.K. bases in Basra was conducted and maintained by the Mahdi Army in Basra for most of 2007. Following the reported success of the... coalition operation codenamed Sinbad, which purpose was to stabilise Basra and prepare it for the turning over of security to Iraqi government forces, the city was overrun by insurgent forces from three different militia forces, including the Mahdi Army, and the British found themselves under siege in their bases and capable of conducting only limited raids in armored convoys into the city. By this point in the war there were only two British bases left in Basra. One was on the outskirts of the city at the Basra airport with a garrison of 5,000 soldiers. The second, which took most of the brunt of the fighting, was in the city center at Basra Palace, a former palace of Saddam Hussein, with a garrison of 700 soldiers. The first British soldier that was killed in the city, following operation Sinbad, was killed on February 27. The airport base was being constantly hit by mortar and rocket fire during the siege but the Basra City battlegroup at the palace was involved in most of the fighting.
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Operation Hoover was a Canadian-led offensive against the Taliban in the Kandahar Province district of Zhari. The aims of the operation were to root... out as many as 300 suspected Afghan insurgents who had moved into the villages of the Zhari District. During the first morning of the operation, Leopard tanks from the Lord Strathcona's Horse Regiment entered Zhari, accompanied with pickup trucks filled with Afghan National Army troops. One of the tanks was hit by an improvised explosive device, but no casualties were reported. Shortly afterwards, Cpl. Matthew McCully, a signals operator with the 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, was killed when he stepped on a landmine. Another Canadian, as well as an Afghan translator, were also wounded in the incident which occurred outside Nalgham village. Master Corporal Rob McGregor, of the Royal Canadian Regiment 2d Battalion, was injured in the operation when he fell and broke his ankle.
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The Western European Union was an international organisation tasked with implementing the Modified Treaty of Brussels , an amended version of the... original 1948 Treaty of Brussels. The WEU was established by seven Western European nations during the Cold War. Since the end of the Cold War, WEU tasks and institutions have been transferred to the Common Security and Defence Policy which is being framed for the geographically larger and more comprehensive European Union. This process was completed in 2009, when a solidarity clause between the member states of the European Union which was similar to the WEU's mutual defense clause, entered into force with the Treaty of Lisbon. The states party to the Modified Treaty of Brussels consequently decided to terminate that treaty on 31 March 2010, with all the remaining WEU's activities to be ceased within 15 months. On 30 June 2011 the WEU was officially declared defunct. The WEU was headquartered in Brussels, with a staff of 65 and an annual budget of €13.4 million.
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The African Development Bank Group is a development bank established in 1964 with the intention of promoting economic and social development in... Africa. The Group comprises the African Development Bank , the African Development Fund , and the Nigeria Trust Fund . AfDB provides loans and grants to African governments and private companies investing in the regional member countries in Africa. It is owned and funded by member governments, and has a public-interest mandate to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development. Following the end of colonial period in Africa, growing desire for more unity within the continent led to the establishment of two draft charters, one for the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity , and for a regional development bank. A draft accord was submitted to top African officials, then to African Ministers, before being cosigned by twenty-three African governments on August 4, 1963, in the form of an agreement establishing the African Development Bank.
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The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia. The... bank admits the members of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and non-regional developed countries. From 31 members at its establishment, ADB now has 67 members - of which 48 are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside. ADB was modeled closely on the World Bank, and has a similar weighted voting system where votes are distributed in proportion with member's capital subscriptions. At present, both the United States and Japan hold 552,210 shares, the largest proportion of shares at 12.756% each. China holds 228,000 shares , India holds 224,010 shares , the 2nd and 3rd largest proportion of shares respectively. The highest policy-making body of the bank is the Board of Governors composed of one representative from each member state. The Board of Governors, in turn, elect among themselves the 12 members of the Board of Directors and their deputy.
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The Caribbean Development Bank is a financial institution which assists Caribbean nations in financing social and economic programs in its member... countries. Created on October 18, 1969, by a conference of eighteen countries and territories in Kingston, Jamaica, it has its headquarters located in Bridgetown, Barbados. In 2004 and 2010, Standard & Poor's gave the CDB a rating of Triple A, the firm's highest rating. According to Standard and Poor if the Caribbean Development bank "continues its prudent financial policies of the past, its rating should remain stable over the medium term." At the end of 2000, the bank had shareholders' equity of US$426 million. The United Nations launched Development Business in 1978 with the support of the Caribbean Development Bank, the World Bank, and many other major development banks from around the world. Today, Development Business is the primary publication for all major multilateral development banks, United Nations agencies, and several national governments, many of whom have made the publication of their tenders and contracts in Development Business a mandatory requirement.
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The University of London is a federal university made up of 31 affiliates: 19 separate university institutions, and 12 research institutes. As such,... the University of London is the largest university in the UK by number of full-time students, with 135,090 campus-based students and over 50,000 in the University of London International Programmes. The university was first established by a Royal Charter in 1836, which brought together in federation London University and King's College , to establish today's federally structured University of London. Graduates of the University of London often use the post-nominal letters 'Lond.' or, more rarely, 'Londin.' after their degree abbreviations . Founded in 1836, the University at first comprised just two colleges: University College London, which previously had no official chartered status and did not apply religious tests to its students, and King's College, which had been chartered since 1829 and which admitted only members of the Church of England.
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The University of London International Programmes is a division of the University of London that manages external study programmes. Several colleges... and institutes of the University of London offer degrees through the programme, including Birkbeck, Goldsmiths, Heythrop College, Institute of Education, King's College London, London School of Economics, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Queen Mary, Royal Holloway, Royal Veterinary College, School of Oriental and African Studies, and University College London. The institution that later became known as University College London was established in 1828, calling itself 'London University', although without official recognition of university status. The institution - following the Scottish model in curriculum and teaching - was non-denominational and, given the intense religious rivalries at the time, there was an outcry against the "godless" university. The issue soon boiled down to which institutions had degree-granting powers and which institutions did not.
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The University of West London is a public university based in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in Ealing and Brentford, London, and Reading,... Berkshire and soon to also be in Slough. The University has roots back to 1860, when the Lady Byron School was founded, which later became Ealing College of Higher Education. In 1990, Ealing College of Higher Education, Thames Valley College of Higher Education, Queen Charlotte's College of Health Care Studies and the London College of Music merged to form the Polytechnic of West London. In 1992, the Polytechnic of West London became a university and adopted the name Thames Valley University. In 2004, Thames Valley merged with Reading College and School of Arts and Design. A former campus in Slough was closed in 2010. In August 2010, the University announced that it had been granted permission to change its name to the University of West London, to reflect a focusing of operations onto its Ealing and Brentford campuses. The new name was formally adopted on Wednesday 6 April 2011.
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Andrew Nicholas Castle is an English retired tennis professional, former British No. 1, and now television presenter. Castle was born in Epsom,... Surrey. His mother, Lavinia Pollock , was adopted shortly after her birth. She married fishmonger Frank Castle in April 1953. The couple had five children: James; Richard; David; Fiona; and Andrew, who was born in 1963. Castle's father was a master fishmonger who ran the fishmongers in Westerham, Kent, where his customers included the lady of nearby Chartwell House, Winston Churchill's wife Clementine. He went on to own shops in North Cheam; Norbury; Stoneleigh, Surrey; and in Taunton, Somerset. At the age of nine, Andrew was asked by a friend to come and play tennis: "I can remember every detail about the day, from the feel of the ball to how it sounded when coming off the net. I insisted we played for eight hours non-stop." His parents supported him, but ran out of money, and his father was declared bankrupt, so both of them became taxi drivers.
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Francesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first... Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She was also runner-up at the 2011 French Open. As of 16 January 2012, Schiavone's ranking is World No. 11; her career high ranking is World No. 4, achieved on 31 January 2011. Schiavone employs an all court game and has a very classic approach to her clay game. She uses an extreme eastern grip on her one handed backhand. Chris Fowler and Brad Gilbert described her forehand as a "buggy whip." Schiavone has won four singles titles on the WTA tour, but has also achieved ten runner-ups in total, eight of them since the autumn of 2005. Schiavone lost her first eight career finals before finally winning her first title in July 2007. She and her Italian teammates Mara Santangelo, Flavia Pennetta, and Roberta Vinci beat the Belgium team 3–2 in the 2006 Fed Cup final. Justine Henin had to retire in the fifth and final match due to an injury in her right knee, which let Italy win their first Fed Cup trophy.
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Timothy Henry "Tim" Henman OBE is a retired English professional tennis player and former British Number One. Henman played a serve-and-volley style... of tennis that suited the grass courts of Wimbledon. He was the first player from the United Kingdom since Roger Taylor in the 1970s to reach the semi-finals of the Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship. Henman never reached the finals of any Grand Slam but having reached six Grand Slam semi-finals, won 15 career ATP titles , and been ranked number 4 in the world, Henman was one of Britain's most successful open era male tennis players. He retired after helping Great Britain defeat Croatia in a Davis Cup match played in September 2007. Nicknamed "Tiger Tim", Henman is worth £17 million and remains a celebrity among the public. Tim Henman comes from a talented sporting family: his father Tony, a solicitor, was accomplished at various sports, including tennis and squash. His mother Jane, a dress designer, played Junior Wimbledon and introduced Tim and his older brothers Michael and Richard to tennis as soon as they could walk on the family's grass tennis court.
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Patrick Hart "Pat" Cash is a retired Australian professional tennis player who won the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 1987. Cash first came to... the tennis world's attention as a junior player in the early 1980s. He was ranked the top junior player in the world in 1981, and in 1982 he won the junior titles at both Wimbledon and the US Open. He turned professional in 1982 and won his first top-level singles title that year in Melbourne. Cash established a reputation on the tour as a hard-fighting serve-and-volleyer and for wearing his trademark black-and-white checked headband and his cross earring. In 1983, Cash became the youngest player to play in a Davis Cup final. He won the decisive singles rubber against Joakim Nyström as Australia defeated Sweden 3–2 to claim the cup. In 1984, Cash reached the men's singles semi-finals at both Wimbledon and the US Open. He lost in three sets in the Wimbledon semi-finals to John McEnroe and was defeated in the semi-finals at the US Open by Ivan Lendl, who won their match in a fifth set tiebreaker.
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