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Afghanistan Listeni/æfˈɡænɨstæn/ (Pashto/Persian: افغانستان, Afġānistān), officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in Central Asia and South Asia.[8][9] It has a population of approximately 31 million people, making it the 42nd most populous country in the world. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east; Iran in the west; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north; and China in the far northeast. Its territory covers 652,000 km2 (252,000 sq mi), making it the 41st largest country in the world.

Human habitation in Afghanistan dates back to the Middle Paleolithic Era,[10] and the country's strategic location along the Silk Road connected it to the cultures of the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia.[11] Through the ages the land has been home to various peoples[12] and witnessed many military campaigns, notably by Alexander the Great, Arab Muslims, Genghis Khan, and in the modern-era by Western powers.[10] The land also served as a source from which the Kushans, Hephthalites, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Khiljis, Mughals, Durranis, and others have risen to form major empires.[1

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Iran (Listeni/ɪˈrɑːn/[10] or /aɪˈræn/;[11] Persian: ایران‎ [ʔiːˈɾɑn] ( listen)), also known as Persia (/ˈpɜrʒə/ or /ˈpɜrʃə/),[11][12] officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a country in Western Asia.[13][14][15] It is bordered to the northwest by Armenia and Azerbaijan, with Kazakhstan and Russia across the Caspian Sea; to the northeast by Turkmenistan; to the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan; to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman; and to the west by Turkey and Iraq. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi), it is the second-largest nation in the Middle East and the 18th-largest in the world; with 78.4 million inhabitants, Iran is the world's 17th most populous nation.[13][16] It is the only country that has both a Caspian Sea and Indian Ocean coastline. Iran has been of geostrategic importance because of its central location in Eurasia and Western Asia and the Strait of Hormuz.

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Bangladesh /bɑːŋlɑːdɛʃ/; Listeni/ˌbæŋɡləˈdæʃ/ (বাংলাদেশ, pronounced: [ˈbaŋlad̪eʃ] ( listen), lit. "The land of Bengal"), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh (গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ Gônôprôjatôntri Bangladesh), is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India to its west, north and east; Burma to its southeast and separated from Nepal and Bhutan by the Chicken’s Neck corridor. To its south, it faces the Bay of Bengal. Bangladesh is the world's eighth-most populous country, with over 160 million people, and among the most densely populated countries. It forms part of the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal, along with the neighbouring Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura.

The present-day borders of Bangladesh took shape during the Partition of Bengal and British India in 1947, when the region used to be known as East Pakistan, as a part of the newly formed state of Pakistan. It was separated from West Pakistan by 1,400 km of Indian territory. Due to political exclusion, ethnic and linguistic discrimination and economic neglect by the politically dominant western wing, nationalism, popular agitation and civil disobedience led to the Bangladesh Liberation War and independence in 1971. After independence, the new state endured poverty, famine, political turmoil and military coups. The restoration of democracy in 1991 has been followed by relative calm and economic progress. In 2014, the Bangladeshi general election was boycotted by major opposition parties, resulting in a parliament and government dominated by the Awami League and its smaller coalition partners.

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Sri Lanka (/sriːˈlɑːŋkə, -ˈlæŋkə/ or Listeni/ʃriː-/;[6][7] Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකාව, śrī laṃkāva, Tamil: இலங்கை, ilaṅkai), officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in the northern Indian Ocean off the southeast coast of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia. Known until 1972 as Ceylon (/sɨˈlɒnˌ seɪ-ˌ siː-/), Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest.

Sri Lanka has a documented history that spans over 3,000 years, but there are theories to suggest that Sri Lanka had pre-historic human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years.[8] Its geographic location and deep harbours made it of great strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road[9] through to World War II.[10] Sri Lanka is a diverse country, home to many religions, ethnicities and languages.[11] It is the land of the Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Tamils, Moors, Indian Tamils, Burghers, Malays, Kaffirs and the aboriginal Vedda.[12] Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, the Pāli Canon, dates back to the Fourth Buddhist Council in 29 BCE.[13][14] The country's recent history has been marred by a thirty-year civil war which decisively ended when Sri Lankan military defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009.[15]

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Hong Kong (香港; "Fragrant Harbour"), officially known as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is a region on the southern coast of China geographically enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea.[8] Hong Kong is known for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour, and with a land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of over seven million people, is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.[9] Hong Kong's population is 93.6% ethnic Chinese and 6.4% from other groups.[4] Hong Kong's Cantonese-speaking majority originate mainly from the neighbouring Guangdong province,[10] from which many of them fled to escape wars and communist rule in mainland China from the 1930s to 1960s.[11][12][13][14]

Hong Kong was established as a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42). Hong Kong Island was first ceded in perpetuity to Great Britain, followed by Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and then the New Territories were put under lease in 1898. It was occupied by Japan during The Second World War (1941–45), after which the British resumed control until 1997. The amalgam of British and Chinese culture during the colonial era shaped the current culture of Hong Kong. For example, the educational system followed the British model until 2009.

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Russia Listeni/ˈrʌʃə/ or /ˈrʊʃə/ (Russian: Россия, tr. Rossiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə] ( listen)), also officially known as the Russian Federation[9] (Russian: Российская Федерация, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈrat͡sɨjə] ( listen)), is a country in northern Eurasia.[10] It is a federal semi-presidential republic. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares land borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both with Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk and the US state of Alaska across the Bering Strait. At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one-eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the world's ninth most populous nation with 143 million people as of 2012.[11] Extending across the entirety of northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans nine time zones and incorporates a wide range of environments and landforms.

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Japan Listeni/dʒəˈpæn/ (Japanese: 日本 Nippon or Nihon; formally 日本国 About this sound Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, literally "[the] State of Japan") is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is often referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".

Japan is a stratovolcanic archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku, which together comprise about ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 126 million people. Honshū's Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.

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China (Listeni/ˈtʃaɪnə/; simplified Chinese: 中国; traditional Chinese: 中國; pinyin: Zhōngguó), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a sovereign state located in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of over 1.35 billion. The PRC is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party, with its seat of government in the capital city of Beijing.[15] It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). The PRC also claims the territories governed by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity commonly known as Taiwan today, as a part of its territory, which includes the island of Taiwan as Taiwan Province, Kinmen and Matsu as a part of Fujian Province and islands the ROC controls in the South China Sea as a part of Hainan Province, a claim which is controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan.[16]

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Asia (Listeni/ˈeɪʒə/ or /ˈeɪʃə/) is the Earth's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. Though it covers only 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area, it comprises 30% of earth's land area, and has historically been home to the bulk of the planet's human population (currently roughly 60%). Asia is notable for not only overall large size and population, but unusually dense and large settlements as well as vast barely populated regions within the continent of 4.4 billion people. Asia has exhibited economic dynamism (particularly East Asia) as well as robust population growth during the 20th century, but overall population growth has since fallen to world average levels.[3]

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Netherland (2008) is a novel by Joseph O'Neill. It concerns the life of a Dutchman living in New York in the wake of the September 11 attacks who takes up cricket and starts playing at the Staten Island Cricket Club.[1]

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By now you have probably heard that WestJet is going to be flying to their first European destination - Dublin, Ireland, starting in the summer of 2014.

I've been watching these fares with great interest, because it's often the case that when an airline starts a new route, they offer some attractive prices to generate interest and fill up the plane.

Well today could be the day to strike! There seems to be some excellent prices on certain date combinations, leading to roundtrip prices that are over 50% cheaper than the closest competition! What's even more amazing is that they are during the peak summer travel period.

Here's the cheapest prices, by airline, for any date combination in June on flights from Halifax to Ireland:

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Spain (Listeni/ˈspeɪn/; Spanish: España [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España),[a][b] is a sovereign state located on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar; to the north and northeast by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west and northwest by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. Along with France and Morocco, it is one of only three countries to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines. Spain's 1,214 km (754 mi) border with Portugal is the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union.

Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, three exclaves in North Africa, Ceuta, Melilla, and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera that border Morocco, and the islands and peñones (rocks) of Alborán, Chafarinas, Alhucemas, and Perejil. (The Spanish Empire with its peak in the 1600s had included much more territory - see world map.) With an area of 505,992 km2 (195,365 sq mi), Spain is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union, and the fifth largest country in Europe.

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Finland is a member of the Schengen countries along with Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.

A Schengen visa issued for Finland allows you to travel in all Schengen countries.

Important visa information

The Embassy of Sweden is handling the visa matters of the Embassy of Finland.

Therefore, please apply for your Shengen visa for Finland through the Embassy of Sweden.

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Tyrol (German: About this sound Tirol (help·info); Italian: Tirolo; Latin: Tirolis) is a region of Europe:

Places, and geographical entities

Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino Euroregion, a Euroregion comprising the historical Tyrol region

Tyrol (state) in Austria

East Tyrol, part of the State of Tyrol

North Tyrol, part of the State of Tyrol

South Tyrol, a province of northern Italy

Tirol, South Tyrol, a municipality in South Tyrol

Historical

History of Tyrol

County of Tyrol, a former political entity in existence until the early 20th century comprising territory in the Italian region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and the Austrian state of Tyrol

German Tyrol, the German-speaking area of the old County of Tyrol

Other geographical entities

Tirol, a village in Doclin Commune, Caraş-Severin County, Romania

Tyrol Basin, a ski and snowboard area located in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin

Other

Tyrolia, a brand of ski bindings, now part of the Head company

Galen Tyrol, a fictional character from the re-imagined miniseries and television series Battlestar Galactica

Tirol (fictional planet), the homeworld of the Robotech Masters in the anime series Robotech

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Austria (Listeni/ˈɔːstriə/ or /ˈɒstriə/; German: Österreich [ˈøːstɐˌʁaɪç] ( listen)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: About this sound Republik Österreich (help·info)) (lit. Eastern Realm), is a federal republic and a landlocked country of roughly 8.5 million people[5] in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,855 square kilometres (32,377 sq mi) and has alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous, lying within the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 metres (12,461 ft).[6] The majority of the population speak local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language,[7] and Austrian German in its standard form is the country's official language.[8] Other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene.[6]

The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty when the vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire. From the time of the Reformation, many Northern German princes, resenting the authority of the Emperor, used Protestantism as a flag of rebellion. The Thirty Years War, the influence of the Kingdom of Sweden and Kingdom of France, the rise of the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Napoleonic invasions all weakened the power of the Emperor in the North of Germany, but in the South, and in non-German areas of the Empire, the Emperor and Catholicism maintained control. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria was able to retain its position as one of the great powers of Europe[9][10] and, in response to the coronation of Napoleon as the Emperor of the French, the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1804. Following Napoleon's defeat, Prussia emerged as Austria's chief competitor for rule of a larger Germany. Austria's defeat by Prussia at the Battle of Königgrätz, during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 cleared the way for Prussia to assert control over the rest of Germany. In 1867, the empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary. After the defeat of France in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War, Austria was left out of the formation of a new German Empire, although in the following decades its politics, and its foreign policy, increasingly converged with those of the Prussian-led Empire. During the 1914 July Crisis that followed the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the German Empire guided Austria in issuing the ultimatum to Serbia that led to the declaration of the First World War.

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T & T Supermarket (simplified Chinese: 大统华超级市场; traditional Chinese: 大統華超級市場; pinyin: Dàtǒnghuá Chāojíshìchǎng) is an Asian-Canadian supermarket chain which sells primarily Taiwanese, Chinese, and other Asian foods. The supermarket chain is headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia. In 1993, the first T & T was opened in Burnaby's Metropolis at Metrotown, a shopping centre in the Metrotown area in Metro Vancouver.

With rapid expansion, T & T is now Canada's largest Asian supermarket chain. It has ten stores across Metro Vancouver, four in Alberta (two in Calgary and two in Edmonton), and nine stores in Ontario with eight stores in the Greater Toronto Area including Downtown Toronto, and one in Ottawa. More stores are expected to open in the coming years with a target for 10 in Eastern Canada.[citation needed]

The average size of each store is between 35,000 sq ft (3,300 m2). and 45,000 sq ft (4,200 m2). In addition to the many departments found in a regular supermarket, most T & T stores also have an in-house bakery, an Asian deli, a sushi and Chinese barbecue department.

T & T is part of Loblaw Companies, which purchased it in July 2009 for $225 million in consideration, consisting of $191 million in cash and $34 million in preferred shares.[1] The consideration paid above and beyond the tangible asset base of the company (i.e. the accounting goodwill) which was estimated at $180 million.[2] The chain had been created as a joint venture of Uni-President Enterprises Corporation, one of Taiwan's ten largest conglomerates; Tawa Supermarkets Inc., a California-based chain of Asian supermarkets; and a group of Canadian investors. President and CEO Cindy Lee is a Taiwanese-Canadian who started the business with one store.

The first "T" stands for Tawa Supermarket Inc; the second "T" represents Uni-President Enterprises Corp., whose Chinese name is pronounced "Tung Yee".[3]

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Nicaragua (AmE Listeni/ˌnɪkəˈrɑːɡwə/, BrE /ˌnɪkəˈræɡjuːə/), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (Spanish: República de Nicaragua [reˈpuβlika ðe nikaˈɾaɣwa] ( listen)), is the largest country in the Central American isthmus, bordering Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. The country's physical geography divides it into three major zones: Pacific lowlands; wet, cooler central highlands; and the Caribbean lowlands. On the Pacific side of the country are the two largest fresh water lakes in Central America—Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua. Surrounding these lakes and extending to their northwest along the rift valley of the Gulf of Fonseca are fertile lowland plains, with soil highly enriched by ash from nearby volcanoes of the central highlands. Nicaragua's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contribute to Mesoamerica's designation as a biodiversity hotspot.

The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century. Nicaragua achieved its independence from Spain in 1821. Since its independence, Nicaragua has undergone periods of political unrest, dictatorship, and fiscal crisis—the most notable causes that led to the Nicaraguan Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. Nicaragua is a representative democratic republic, and has experienced economic growth and political stability in recent years. Since 2007, Daniel Ortega has been the President.

The population of Nicaragua, approximately 6 million, is multiethnic. Its capital, Managua, is the third-largest city in Central America. Segments of the population include indigenous native tribes from the Mosquito Coast, Europeans, Africans, Asians, and people of Middle Eastern origin. The main language is Spanish, although native tribes on the eastern coast speak their native languages, such as Miskito, Sumo, and Rama, as well as English Creole. The mixture of cultural traditions has generated substantial diversity in art and literature, particularly the latter given the various literary contributions of Nicaraguan poets and writers, including Rubén Darío, Pablo Antonio Cuadra and Ernesto Cardenal.[8] The biological diversity, warm tropical climate, and active volcanoes make Nicaragua an increasingly popular tourist destination.[9][10]

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About imagePanama (Listeni/ˈpænəmɑː/ pan-ə-mah ; Spanish: Panamá  [panaˈma]), officially the Republic of Panama (Spanish: República de Panamá [reˈpuβlika ðe panaˈma]), is the southernmost country of Central America and the whole of North America.

Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The capital is Panama City.

Panama was inhabited by several indigenous tribes prior to settlement by the Spanish in the 16th century. It broke with Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela named the Republic of Gran Colombia. When Gran Colombia dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada remained joined. Nueva Granada later became the Republic of Colombia. With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the Panama Canal to be built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. In 1977, an agreement was signed for the total transfer of the Canal from the United States to Panama by the end of the 20th century, which culminated on 31 December 1999.[5]

Revenue from canal tolls continues to represent a significant portion of Panama's GDP. Panama has the second largest economy in Central America[6] and it is also the fastest growing economy and the largest per capita consumer in Central America. In 2013, Panama ranked 5th among Latin American countries in terms of the Human Development Index, and 59th in the world.[7] Since 2010, Panama remains as the second most competitive economy in Latin America according to the Global Competitiveness Index from the World Economic Forum. Panama's jungle is home to an abundance of tropical plants, animals and birds – some of them to be found nowhere else in the world.[8]

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Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba (Listeni/ˈkjuːbə/; Spanish: República de Cuba, pronounced: [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈkuβa] ( listen)), is an island country in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba comprises the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud and several archipelagos. Havana is the capital of Cuba and its largest city. The second-largest city is Santiago de Cuba.[13][14][15] To the north of Cuba lies the United States (150 km or 93 mi away), the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands are to the northeast, Mexico is to the west (210 km or 130 mi away), the Cayman Islands and Jamaica are to the south and Haiti and the Dominican Republic are to the southeast.

The island of Cuba was inhabited by numerous Mesoamerican tribes prior to the landing of explorer Christopher Columbus in 1492, who claimed it for the Kingdom of Spain. Cuba remained a colony of Spain until the Spanish–American War of 1898, after which it was briefly administered by the United States until gaining nominal independence in 1902. The fragile republic endured increasingly radical politics and social strife, and despite efforts to strengthen its democratic system, Cuba came under the dictatorship of former president Fulgencio Batista in 1952.[16][17][18] Growing unrest and instability led to Batista's ousting in January 1959 by the July 26 movement, which afterwards established a government under the leadership of Fidel Castro. Since 1965 the country has been governed as a single-party state by the Communist Party.

Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, and with over 11 million inhabitants, is the second-most populous after Hispaniola, albeit with a much lower population density than most nations in the region. It is a multiethnic country whose people, culture and customs derive from diverse origins, including the aboriginal Taíno and Ciboney peoples, the long period of Spanish colonialism, the introduction of African slaves, a close relationship with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and proximity to the United States.

Cuba has a Human Development Index of 0.815 as of 2014.[12] According to data it presented to the United Nations, Cuba was the only nation in the world in 2006 that met the World Wide Fund for Nature's definition of sustainable development, with an ecological footprint of less than 1.8 hectares per capita, 1.5 hectares, and a Human Development Index of over 0.855.[19][20]

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Jamaica (Listeni/dʒəˈmeɪkə/) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea, comprising the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles. The island, 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area, lies about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola, the island containing the nation-states of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Jamaica is the fifth-largest island country in the Caribbean.[5]

Once a Spanish possession known as Santiago, in 1655 it came under the rule of England (later Great Britain), and was called Jamaica. It achieved full independence from the United Kingdom on 6 August 1962.[6] With 2.8 million people, it is the third most populous Anglophone country in the Americas, after the United States and Canada. Kingston is the country's largest city and its capital, with a population of 937,700.[7][8] Jamaica has a large diaspora around the world, due to emigration from the country.[9]

Jamaica is a Commonwealth realm, with Queen Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. Her appointed representative in the country is the Governor-General of Jamaica, currently Patrick Allen. The head of government and Prime Minister of Jamaica is Portia Simpson-Miller. Jamaica is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with legislative power vested in the bicameral Parliament of Jamaica, consisting of an appointed Senate and a directly elected House of Representatives.[10][11][12][13]

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Grenada (Listeni/ɡrɨˈneɪdə/) is an island country consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Grenada is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Grenada is also known as the "Island of Spice" because of the production of nutmeg and mace crops of which Grenada is one of the world's largest exporters. Its size is 344 square kilometres (133 sq mi), with an estimated population of 110,000. Its capital is St. George's. The national bird of Grenada is the critically endangered Grenada Dove.

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Denmark (Listeni/ˈdɛnmɑrk/; Danish: Danmark),[N 10] is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, located southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. The Kingdom of Denmark[N 11] comprises Denmark and two autonomous constituent countries in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Denmark proper has an area of 43,094 square kilometres (16,639 sq mi),[9] and a population of around 5.65 million inhabitants (October 2014).[3] The country consists of a peninsula, Jutland, and the Danish archipelago of 443 named islands,[10] of which around 70 are inhabited. The islands are characterised by flat, arable land and sandy coasts, low elevation and a temperate climate.

A Scandinavian nation, Denmark shares strong cultural and historic ties with its overseas neighbours Sweden and Norway. The national language, Danish, is very closely related and mutually intelligible with Swedish and Norwegian.

The unified kingdom of Denmark emerged in the 10th century as a proficient seafaring nation in the struggle for control of the Baltic Sea. Danish rule over the personal Kalmar Union, established in 1397, ended with Swedish secession in 1523. The following year, Denmark entered into a union with Norway until its dissolution in 1814. Denmark inherited an expansive colonial empire from this union, of which the Faroe Islands and Greenland are remnants. Beginning in the 17th century, there were several cessions of territory; these culminated in the 1830s with a surge of nationalist movements, which were defeated in the 1864 Second Schleswig War. Denmark remained neutral during World War I. In April 1940, a German invasion saw brief military skirmishes while the Danish resistance movement was active from 1943 until the German surrender in May 1945. An industrialized exporter of agricultural produce in the second half of the 19th century, Denmark introduced social and labour-market reforms in the early 20th century, making the basis for the present welfare state model with a highly developed mixed economy.

The Constitution of Denmark was signed on 5 June 1849, ending the absolute monarchy which had begun in 1660. It establishes a constitutional monarchy—the current monarch is Queen Margrethe II—organised as a parliamentary democracy. The government and national parliament are seated in Copenhagen, the nation's capital, largest city and main commercial centre. Denmark[N 2] exercises hegemonic influence in the Danish Realm, devolving powers to handle internal affairs. Denmark became a member of the European Union in 1973, maintaining certain opt-outs; it retains its own currency, the krone. It is among the founding members of NATO, the Nordic Council, the OECD, OSCE, and the United Nations; it is also part of the Schengen Area.

Danes enjoy a high standard of living and the country ranks highly in numerous comparisons of national performance, including education, health care, protection of civil liberties, democratic governance, prosperity and human development.[12][13][14] Denmark is frequently ranked as the happiest country in the world in cross-national studies of happiness.[15][16] The country ranks as having the world's highest social mobility,[17] a high level of income equality,[18] has one of the world's highest per capita incomes, and has one of the world's highest personal income tax rates.[19] A large majority of Danes are members of the National Church, though the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion.[20]

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Honduras (Listeni/hɒnˈdʊərəs/), officially the Republic of Honduras (Spanish: República de Honduras [reˈpuβlika ðe onˈduɾas]), is a republic in Central America. It was at times referred to as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize.[5] The country is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea.

Honduras was home to several important Mesoamerican cultures, most notably the Maya, prior to being conquered by Spain in the sixteenth century. The Spanish introduced Roman Catholicism and the now predominant Spanish language, along with numerous customs that have blended with the indigenous culture. The country became independent in 1821 and has since been a republic, although it has consistently endured much social strife and political instability.

Honduras spans an area of about 112,492 km² and has a population exceeding eight million. Its northern portions are part of the Western Caribbean Zone. Honduras is best known for the production of minerals, coffee, tropical fruit, and sugar cane, as well as for its growing textiles industry, which serves the international market.

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Costa Rica (Listeni/ˌkoʊstə ˈriːkə/, meaning "rich coast" in Spanish), officially the Republic of Costa Rica (Spanish: Costa Rica or República de Costa Rica, pronounced: [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈkosta ˈrika]), is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Ecuador to the south of Cocos Island.

Costa Rica was sparsely inhabited by indigenous people before it came under Spanish rule in the 16th century. Once a backwater colony, since attaining independence in the 19th century, Costa Rica has become one of the most stable, prosperous, and progressive nations in Latin America. It permanently abolished its army in 1949, becoming the first of a few sovereign nations without a standing army.[7][8][9] Costa Rica has consistently been among the top-ranking Latin American countries in the Human Development Index (HDI), placing 62nd in the world as of 2012.[10]

In 2010, Costa Rica was cited by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as having attained much higher human development than other countries at the same income levels,[11] while in 2011, the UNDP also identified it as a good performer in environmental sustainability, with a better record on human development and inequality than the median of their region.

Costa Rica is known for its progressive environmental policies, being the only country to meet all five criteria established to measure environmental sustainability.[12] It is ranked fifth in the world, and first among the Americas, in the 2012 Environmental Performance Index.[13] In 2007, the Costa Rican government announced plans for Costa Rica to become the first carbon-neutral country by 2021.[14][15][16] The New Economics Foundation (NEF) ranked Costa Rica first in its 2009 Happy Planet Index, and once again in 2012.[17][18] The NEF also ranked Costa Rica in 2009 as the greenest country in the world.[19] In 2012, Costa Rica became the first country in the Americas to ban recreational hunting after the country’s legislature approved the popular measure by a wide margin.[20][21]

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Mexico (Listeni/ˈmɛksɨkoʊ/; Spanish: México [ˈmexiko] ( listen)), officially the United Mexican States (Spanish: About this sound Estados Unidos Mexicanos (help·info)),[10][11][12][13] is a federal republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico.[14] Covering almost two million square kilometres (over 760,000 sq mi),[13] Mexico is the fifth largest country in the Americas by total area and the 13th largest independent nation in the world. With an estimated population of over 113 million,[15] it is the eleventh most populous and the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world and the second most populous country in Latin America. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, its capital and largest city.

In pre-Columbian Mexico many cultures matured into advanced civilizations such as the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, the Maya and the Aztec before first contact with Europeans. In 1521, the Spanish Empire conquered and colonized the territory from its base in Mexico-Tenochtitlan, which was administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain. This territory would eventually become Mexico following recognition of the colony's independence in 1821. The post-independence period was characterized by economic instability, the Mexican-American War that led to the territorial cession to the United States, the Pastry War, the Franco-Mexican War, a civil war, two empires and a domestic dictatorship. The latter led to the Mexican Revolution in 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the country's current political system. In March 1938, through the Mexican oil expropriation private U.S. and Anglo-Dutch oil companies were nationalized to create the state-owned Pemex oil company.

Mexico has one of the world's largest economies, it is the tenth largest oil producer in the world, the largest silver producer in the world and is considered both a regional power and middle power.[16][17][18][19] In addition, Mexico was the first Latin American member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD (since 1994), and considered an upper-middle income country by the World Bank.[20] Mexico is considered a newly industrialized country[21][22][23][24] and an emerging power.[25] It has the fifteenth largest nominal GDP and the tenth largest GDP by purchasing power parity. The economy is strongly linked to those of its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners, especially the United States.[26][27] Mexico ranks sixth in the world and first in the Americas by number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites with 32,[28][29][30] and in 2010 was the tenth most visited country in the world with 22.5 million international arrivals per year.[31] According to Goldman Sachs, by 2050 Mexico is expected to become the world's fifth largest economy.[32] PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) estimated in January 2013 that by 2050 Mexico could be the world's seventh largest economy.[33] Mexico has membership in prominent institutions such as the UN, the WTO, the G20 and the Uniting for Consensus.

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The United States of America (USA or U.S.A.), commonly referred to as the United States (US or U.S.), America, and sometimes the States, is a federal republic[17][18] consisting of 50 states and a federal district. The 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C., are in central North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is the northwestern part of North America and the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also has five populated and nine unpopulated territories in the Pacific and the Caribbean. At 3.80 million square miles (9.85 million km2)[4] and with around 318 million people, the United States is the world's third- or fourth-largest country by total area and third-largest by population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries.[19] The geography and climate of the United States is also extremely diverse, and it is home to a wide variety of wildlife.

Paleo-Indians migrated from Eurasia to what is now the U.S. mainland around 15,000 years ago,[20] with European colonization beginning in the 16th century. The United States emerged from 13 British colonies located along the Atlantic seaboard. Disputes between Great Britain and these colonies led to the American Revolution. On July 4, 1776, as the colonies were fighting Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War, delegates from the 13 colonies unanimously issued the Declaration of Independence. The war ended in 1783 with the recognition of independence of the United States from the Kingdom of Great Britain, and was the first successful war of independence against a European colonial empire.[21][22] The current Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787. The first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil rights and freedoms.

Driven by the doctrine of manifest destiny, the United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century.[23] This involved displacing native tribes, acquiring new territories, and gradually admitting new states.[23] The American Civil War ended legal slavery in the country.[24] By the end of the 19th century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean,[25] and its economy began to soar.[26] The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the country's status as a global military power. The United States emerged from World War II as a global superpower, the first country to develop nuclear weapons, the only country to use them in warfare, and as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union left the United States as the sole superpower.[27]

The United States is a developed country and has the world's largest national economy.[6] The economy is fueled by an abundance of natural resources and high worker productivity.[28] While the U.S. economy is considered post-industrial, it continues to be one of the world's largest manufacturers.[29] The country accounts for 37% of global military spending,[30] being the world's foremost economic and military power, a prominent political and cultural force, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations.[31]

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Canada Listeni/ˈkænədə/ is a country in North America consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean. At 9.98 million square kilometres in total, Canada is the world's second-largest country by total area and the fourth-largest country by land area. Its common border with the United States forms the world's longest land border.

The land that is now Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French colonies were established on the region's Atlantic coast. As a consequence of various conflicts, the United Kingdom gained and lost North American territories until left, in the late 18th century, with what mostly comprises Canada today. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1, 1867 three colonies joined to form the autonomous federal dominion of Canada. This began an accretion of provinces and territories to the new self-governing dominion. In 1931, Britain granted Canada full independence in most matters with the Statute of Westminster 1931. The Canada Act 1982 severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the British parliament.

Canada is a federal parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. Canada is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries, with a population of approximately 35 million as of December 2012. Its advanced economy is one of the largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed trade networks. Canada's long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture.

Canada is a developed country and one of the wealthiest in the world, with the eighth highest per capita income globally, and the eighth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, and education, and stands among the world's most educated countries- ranking first worldwide in the number of adults having tertiary education with 51% of adults having attained at least an undergraduate college or university degree (according to the OECD 2012 survey).[10] Canada's participation in economic international and intergovernmental institutions or groupings includes the G8 (Group of Eight); the Group of Ten (economic); the Group of Twenty (G-20 major economies); the North American Free Trade Agreement; and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Canada's alliances include the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

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North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas.[1] It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea.

North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles), about 4.8% of the planet's surface or about 16.5% of its land area. As of 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 565 million people across 23 independent states, representing about 7.5% of the human population. Most of the continent's land area is dominated by Canada, the United States, Greenland, and Mexico, while smaller states exist in the Central American and Caribbean regions. North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa,[2] and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe.[3]

The first people to live in North America were Paleoindians who began to arrive during the last glacial period by crossing the Bering land bridge. They differentiated into a number of diverse cultures and communities across the continent. The largest and most advanced Pre-Columbian civilizations in North America were the Aztecs in what is now Mexico and the Maya in Central America. European colonists began to arrive starting in the 16th and 17th centuries, wiping out large numbers of the native populations and beginning an era of European dominance

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The City of Carlisle (/kɑrˈlaɪl/[1]) is a local government district of Cumbria, England, with the status of a city and non-metropolitan district. It is named after its largest settlement, Carlisle, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Brampton and Longtown, as well as outlying villages including Dalston, Scotby and Wetheral. The city has a population of 100,739,[2] and an area of 1,039.97 square kilometres (402 sq mi),[2] making it the largest city in England by area (although the majority of its territory is not urbanised, but rural).[3]

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Newcastle upon Tyne (RP: Listeni/ˌnjuːkɑːsəl əˌpɒn ˈtaɪn/;[3] Locally: Listeni/njuːˌkæsəl əˌpən ˈtaɪn/),[3] commonly known as Newcastle, is a city in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear in the North East of England. It is situated on the north western bank of the River Tyne's estuary and centred 8.5 mi (13.7 km) from the North Sea.[4] The city is the most populous city in North East region and lies at the urban core of the Tyneside, the seventh most populous conurbation in the United Kingdom and the most populous in the North East.[2] Newcastle is a member of the English Core Cities Group[5] and with Gateshead the Eurocities network of European cities.[6] Newcastle was part of the county of Northumberland until 1400 when it became a county of itself;[7] a status it retained until becoming part of the Tyne and Wear metropolitan county in 1974.[8]

The city grew up in the area that was the location of the Roman settlement called Pons Aelius,[9][10] and it owes its name to the castle built in 1080, by Robert Curthose, William the Conqueror's eldest son. The city grew as an important centre for the wool trade and it later became a major coal mining area. The port developed in the 16th century and, along with the shipyards lower down the river, was amongst the world's largest shipbuilding and ship-repairing centres. Newcastle's economy includes corporate headquarters, learning, digital technology, retail, tourism and cultural centres, therefore Newcastle contributes £13bn towards the United Kingdom's GVA.

Among its main icons are Newcastle Brown Ale, a leading brand of beer, Newcastle United F.C., a Premier League team, and the Tyne Bridge. It has hosted the world's most popular half marathon, the Great North Run, since it began in 1981.[11]

The regional nickname and dialect for people from Newcastle and the surrounding area is Geordie.

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England Listeni/ˈɪŋɡlənd/ is a country that is part of the United Kingdom.[2][3][4] It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west. The Irish Sea lies north west of England, whilst the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. The North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separate England from continental Europe. The country covers much of the central and southern part of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic; and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight.

The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Palaeolithic period, but takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world.[5] The English language, the Anglican Church, and English law – the basis for the common law legal systems of many other countries around the world – developed in England, and the country's parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations.[6] The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world's first industrialised nation.[7]

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