Romania Romania ( i/roʊˈmeɪniə/ roh-MAY-nee-ə; Romanian: România [romɨˈni.a] ( )), formerly also spelled Roumania[8][9] and Rumania,[10][11] is a country located at the crossroads of Southeastern and Central Europe, on the Lower Danube, north of the Balkan Peninsula and the western shore of the Black Sea. Romania shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and Moldova to the northeast and east, and Bulgaria to the south. At 238,391 square kilometres (92,043 sq mi), Romania is the ninth largest country of the European Union by area, and has the 7th largest population of the European Union with 20,121,641 people (October 2011). Its capital and largest city is Bucharest – the 6th largest city in the EU. With the fall of the Iron Curtain, Romania began its transition towards democracy and a capitalist market economy. Etymology[edit] The use of the name Romania to refer to the common homeland of all Romanians—its modern-day meaning—is first documented in the early 19th century.
The Times of India: Latest News India, World & Business News, Cricket & Sports, Bollywood Sanskrit Fonts, Sanskrit Texts, Typography, etc. Indian Culture - Cultural India - Culture of India - Cultural Heritage of India - Cultural Attractions in India - Indian Cultural Heritage Russia Country spanning Europe and Asia Russia (Russian: Россия, Rossiya, [rɐˈsʲijə]), or the Russian Federation,[c] is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering 17,098,246 square kilometres (6,601,670 sq mi), and encompassing one-eighth of Earth's inhabitable landmass. Russia extends across eleven time zones and shares land boundaries with fourteen countries.[d] It is the world's ninth-most populous country and Europe's most populous country, with a population of over 147 million people. The country's capital and largest city is Moscow. In 1991, the Russian SFSR emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as the independent Russian Federation. Etymology History Early history Kievan Rus' In the 10th to 11th centuries, Kievan Rus' became one of the largest and most prosperous states in Europe. Grand Duchy of Moscow Tsardom of Russia Imperial Russia Revolution and civil war
Does Manmohan Singh really deserve credit for the economic reforms of 1991? | POLITICS MONITOR The Prime Minister of India is under intense pressure, his political capital seems to have evaporated, and questions around his leadership, or lack thereof, dominate discussions among the citizenry. For all his problems, congress party loyalists, and the pro-congress media continue to insist that Dr.Singh, is the right man to lead India, after all he’s the “architect” of India’s economic reforms which commenced in 1991. Much has been made of the economic reforms enacted in 1991, when Manmohan Singh was the Finance Minister, and Narasimha Rao was the Prime Minister. Manmohan Singh is hailed as the great reformer, who led India from despair to prosperity. All of this is blatant historical revisionism. The truth is far less inspiring. In 1991, Finance Minister Singh and PM Rao faced the following: 1. 2. 3. Eventually, the nation was on the brink of bankruptcy, and total economic collapse. Sridhar is Senior Editor of PoliticsMonitor.com.
New Zealand New Zealand (Māori: Aotearoa [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa]) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses – that of the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu – and numerous smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas 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 biodiversity of animal, fungal and plant life. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. Polynesians settled New Zealand in 1250–1300 CE and developed a distinctive Māori culture. Etymology Detail from a 1657 map showing the western coastline of "Nova Zeelandia" History Art
Indian Private-School Education Experiment Tests Rich and Poor Tokyo Tokyo (東京, Tōkyō?, "Eastern Capital") (Japanese: [toːkʲoː], English /ˈtoʊki.oʊ/, listen ), officially Tokyo Metropolis (東京都, Tōkyō-to?),[5] is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan.[6] Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the most populous metropolitan area in the world.[7] It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family. Tokyo is in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshu and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands.[8] Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture (東京府, Tōkyō-fu?) Tokyo is often referred to and thought of as a city, but is officially known as a "metropolitan prefecture", which differs from a city. The Michelin Guide has awarded Tokyo by far the most Michelin stars of any city in the world.[15][16] Etymology[edit] History[edit] 1869–1943[edit] In 1869, the 17-year-old Emperor Meiji moved to Edo. Cities[edit]
Madrid Madrid (English /məˈdrɪd/, Spanish: [maˈðɾið]) is the capital of Spain and its largest city. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million[4] and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be around 6.5 million. It is the third-largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-largest in the European Union after London and Paris.[5][6][7][8] The city spans a total of 604.3 km2 (233.3 sq mi).[9] Madrid houses the headquarters of the World Tourism Organization (WTO), belonging to the United Nations Organization (UN), the SEGIB, the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), and the Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB). It also hosts major international institutions regulators of Spanish: the Standing Committee of the Association of Spanish Language Academies, headquarters of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), the Cervantes Institute and the Foundation of Urgent Spanish (Fundéu BBVA). History[edit]