20 February 2018, Rome Italy - Working across sectors to halt deforestation and increase forest area - from aspiration to action. International Conference organized by the Collaborative Partnership on Forests at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

 

Editorial use only.

Copyright ©FAO.

Photo credit must be given: ©FAO/Roberto Cenciarelli

 

XW325 / G-BWGF

BAC Jet Provost T.5

Royal Air Force

"Clasic Jets"

RIAT Fairford

 

During the mid-1960s the RAF increased its emphasis on high-altitude training,and this showed up a weakness in the Jet Provost T.4. The aircraft were notpressurized placing severe physical strain on the aircrews.

In 1964 Hunting-Percival then being a part of BAC (British Aircraft Corporation)responded to this problem and began work on a new pressurized version as a privateventure. The company utilised the last two T.4s of the large RAF order placedpreviously (XS230 and XS231) and began to convert these into the prototypesfor the new version, the Jet Provost Mk.5.

Following three years of work, which began at Luton but was moved to BAC'sWarton factory in 1966, the prototype T5 XS230 undertook its first flight on28 February 1967. Powered by the Rolls Royce Viper 201, the same as used inthe T.4, XS230 looked cosmetically different from its T.4 sisters. The cockpithood was re-designed and the front fuselage took on a more bulbous shape toaccommodate the necessary pressurized cockpit. The canopy slid upwards at anangle, instead of back, the wings were strengthened to carry bigger tip tanks,and a new improved cockpit avionics package was installed. Sister prototypeXS231 was built to identical standards, but was fitted with a more powerfulViper engine, capable of 3000lbs of thrust, and was placed on the UK civil registeras G-ATAJ. Both the aircraft were sent to Boscombe Down for tests and evaluationby the MoD.

The first production example was XW287 and it was the first T.5 to enter RAFservice, being handed over to the Central Flying School based at RAF LittleRissington on 3 September 1969. The T5 then went on to replace the remainderof Provost T4's then still in Service.

In 1988 the RAF made a final decision on the Jet Provost's replacement, theShorts Tucano T.1, a turboprop aircraft. This initiated the winding down ofthe RAF Jet Provost fleet, but it took some time before the last example wasfinally retired from the training syllabus. 6FTS and 1FTS were the last to retiretheir Jet Provosts. The 20th September 1993 the curtain was finally broughtdown on the Jet Provost's RAF career. It spanned some 38 years, saw 500 examplesbeing produced and helped earn the flying wings of hundreds of trainee pilots.

Jet Provost T5 XW325 spent the majority of her service career at RAF Finningleyas a NavEx trainer. After sale by the RAF XW325 was purchased by Global aviationand transferred to Humberside Airport, where she was civilianised and issuedwith a CAA Permit to Fly. After several owners XW325 was purchased by NEWMACand hangared and is now maintained by Horizon Aircraft Services at MoD St Athan.XW325 has recently been repainted into her original 6FTS marking's. This aircraftis available for airshows and flight training.

 

"Increasing Gender Diversity in Game Development Programs

Clara Fernandez Vara | Associate Arts Professor, NYU Game Center

Julia Wlochowski | Game Designer, Greenbrier Games

Elaine Gomez | Graduate Student, University of Southern California

Elyse Lemoine | Game Designer / Writer, NYU Game Center

Deirdra ""Squinky"" Kiai | MFA Student, UC Santa Cruz

Location: Room 3001, West Hall

Date: Monday, March 2

Time: 11:15am - 11:40am"

Dr. Steffen Groth, Director, Essential Health Technologies from WHO (far right), one of the main panel speakers on the first day of the Advisory Group on increasing access to Radiotherapy Technologies in developing Countries Forum. IAEA, Vienna, Austria, 24 June 2010

 

Copyright: IAEA Imagebank

Photo Credit: Dean Calma/IAEA

STUDENTS DayX3 NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION (Part 2)

 

Protest and march against University tuition fee increases, 09th Dec. 2010

 

Over 20,000 students from around the country converged on Central London today to march for a third time to protest against the coalition government's plans to massively increase University tuition fees, which will ultimately mean that far fewer students from poorer backgrounds will be able to even consider a University education because of the massive debts incurred which will follow them for the rest of their working lives.

 

I joined the days proceedings in the afternoon as they were assembling in Trafalgar Square. To throw the police off-guard they suddenly took off, en mass, through Admiralty Arch in a bid to get to Parliament Square, which had been forbidden. That evening the House of Commons was voting on the Education Funding Bill, and the students were determined to make sure that Parliament heard their protests.

 

The day started in a good mood, but by the time they reached Parliament pockets of disorder had started breaking out - Flares were lit and thrown, crush barriers and construction site fencing ripped up to be used as weapons against the massed ranks of riot police and later on the mounted police. I had to leave by around 3pm, and by the time I got home and turned on the BBC news all hell had broken loose outside Parliament. Protesters were pelting the police with lumps of masonry, metal poles and scaffolding. They lit large fires, broke down the doors to The Treasury and the new Ministry of Justice buildings, smashing many windows, daubing graffiti everywhere and generally smashing up the joint. Many people were arrested and many people hurt, some badly.

 

As the police gradually started releasing the by-now contained protesters in small numbers, several small groups headed up to Oxford Street, where they smashed the windows of the flagship TopShop store (owned by Sir Phillip Green who is being attacked for shovelling billions of pounds of what should be UK taxable income into tax haven accounts owned by his wife as part of a legal tax dodge), and in Regent Street they engulfed the Bentley containing Prince Charles and his horse-faced wife Camilla who were in the process of swanning orf the the Royal Variety Performance! The protesters started kicking the vehicle. They broke the windows and threw a tin of white paint over the car. One was not amused!

 

Needless to say the Bill was passed in Parliament tonight, and the students have vowed to continue their campaign of demonstration and civil disobedience...

 

All photos ⓒ Pete Riches

 

Please do not use my photos without my prior agreement.

Please do not re-blog my photos without my agreement.

Email: peteriches@gmail.com

Hollis Increase

"Increasing Gender Diversity in Game Development Programs

Clara Fernandez Vara | Associate Arts Professor, NYU Game Center

Julia Wlochowski | Game Designer, Greenbrier Games

Elaine Gomez | Graduate Student, University of Southern California

Elyse Lemoine | Game Designer / Writer, NYU Game Center

Deirdra ""Squinky"" Kiai | MFA Student, UC Santa Cruz

Location: Room 3001, West Hall

Date: Monday, March 2

Time: 11:15am - 11:40am"

With global warming increasing, resources running low and populations predicting to double by 2050, mankind must reach beyond in order to continue survival. Man has already taken a huge step by landing on the Moon; however a step to Mars is yet to be achieved. Shahidul Syed Alam's vehicle is designed for Mars 2050 and aims to assist researchers in exploring the planet.

  

Visit my blog at ideonexus.com

Increases concentration, small muscle development, pincer grip and lengthens attention span.

The Scottish Child Payment has today been increased to £25 and been extended to include eligible children up to age 16. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today encouraged all eligible families to apply on a visit to Golfhill Primary and Whitehill Secondary schools at their shared campus in Dennistoun, Glasgow.

To increase local-level awareness about the fact that violence against women and girls is a crime and that each community has the responsibility to prevent and eliminate it, and event was hosted in the city Ungheni by

UN Women and UNICEF within the EVA-project. The event included a show of statues meant to convey the emotional states of victims.

 

Photo: UN Women/Stela Donțu

 

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual campaign that begins on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs through International Human Rights Day on 10 December.

 

Led by civil society, the campaign is supported by the United Nations through the Secretary General’s UNiTE by 2030 to End Violence against Women initiative. This year, the UN marks the 16 Days under the theme “UNiTE! Activism to end violence against women and girls”.

 

Read More: www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/in-focus/2022/11/in-focus...

  

More than 285,000 families throughout B.C. will see bigger payments in their bank accounts starting this month, thanks to the permanently increased BC Family Benefit. Learn more: news.gov.bc.ca/29226

Designer: Lu Delin (卢德麟)

1952, August

Increase culture, to create a modernized, regular army for national defense!

Tigao wenhua, xiang xiandaihua, zhengguihua guofangjun qianjin! (提高文化，向现代化，正规化国防军前进！)

Call nr.: BG E15/942 (Landsberger collection)

 

More? See: chineseposters.net

London, England (United Kingdom).

 

In the second half of the nineteenth century, increased commercial development in the East End of London led to a requirement for a new river crossing downstream of London Bridge. A traditional fixed bridge could not be built because it would cut off access to the port facilities in the Pool of London, between London Bridge and the Tower of London. A tunnel beneath the Thames, the Tower Subway, had been opened in 1870, for pedestrians only.

 

A Special Bridge or Subway Committee was formed in 1876 to find a solution to the river crossing problem. It opened the design of the crossing to public competition. Over 50 designs were submitted, including one from civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette. The evaluation of the designs was surrounded by controversy, and it was not until 1884 that a design submitted by Horace Jones, the City Architect, was approved.

 

Jones' design was for a bascule bridge 800 feet (244 m) in length with two towers each 213 feet (65 m) high, built on piers. The central span of 200 feet (61 m) between the towers is split into two equal bascules or leaves, which can be raised to an angle of 83 degrees to allow river traffic to pass. The bascules weigh over 1,000 tons each, and they are counterbalanced to minimize the force required and allow raising in one minute. The original hydraulic raising mechanism was powered by pressurised water stored in six accumulators, and water was pumped into the accumulators by steam engines. The original hydraulic machinery still opens the bridge, but it has been converted to use oil instead of water and electric motors have taken the place of the steam engines and accumulators. The old mechanism is open to the public.

 

Construction started in 1886 and took eight years, employing five major contractors and 432 construction workers. Two massive piers, containing over 70,000 tons of concrete, were sunk into the river bed to support the construction. Over 11,000 tons of steel provided the framework for the towers and walkways. This was then clad in Cornish granite and Portland stone, both to protect the underlying steelwork and to give the bridge a pleasing appearance.

 

Jones died in 1887, and his chief engineer, Sir John Wolfe-Barry, took over the project. Wolfe-Barry replaced Jones' original medieval style of facade with the more ornate Victorian gothic style that makes the bridge a distinctive landmark.

 

The bridge was opened on 30 June 1894 by the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII, and his wife, Alexandra of Denmark.

 

More info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_bridge

Increase your social media effectiveness in 4 steps and end with an everlasting content loop.

The Pakistan Strategy Support Program (PSSP) held the conference, “Increasing Productivity and Unleashing Growth” at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad on May 26-27th, 2012. This conference also marked the final round of the Competitive Grants Program that was launched by PSSP in January 2012 for Pakistani PhD and graduate students studying locally and abroad on economic development issues of Pakistan. The finalists presented in front of the Research Advisory Committee, donor heads, professors and students from local universities. The event also consisted of plenary sessions on Pakistan’s various economic growth issues by renowned academics from all over the world, such as Dr. Jock Anderson, Dr. Regina Birner and Dr. David Spielman.

I'm working on a three storey version of the Kingsway local bank kit. A careful rearrangement of the printed sheets has allowed an extra floor to be added, although the kit can also be assembled without it.

Here are the three main walls that make up the frontage. The small corner wall has a thin card overlay.

 

Thin line of police before being breached by protesters.

  

Over 20,000 students marched through London in protest on the day Parliament was due to vote on the increase in student University tuition fees. When the march reached Trafalgar Square, many protesters, finding Whitehall blocked by police, moved towards Parliament square via The Mall and Horse Guards. Lines of police behind crush barriers blocked access to Parliament.

 

Protesters brushed aside a weak line of police and then started to try and unsuccessfully break through the lines of police in front of Parliament. Parliament Green was occupied with the temporary fencing surrounding it being broken down, and used to attack police, or defend protesters against police. Fighting between police and protesters continued during the afternoon particularly, including mounted police charges, on Broad Sanctuary.

 

At about 5pm, the kettle on the north side of Whitehall was broken by protesters, with further lines of police, both mounted and on foot having to move the length of Whitehall to re-establish the kettle.

 

With the news, in the early evening, that the vote had been passed, there was an immediate increase in anger amongst the protesters. The Treasury in particular was attacked, with riot police being stationed inside the building.

 

Lines of riot police using round and long shields eventually cleared Parliament Square. Over 1000 students were held in a kettle on Westminster Bridge until nearly midnight.

 

There were reports, many unsubstantiated as yet, of police attacking peaceful protesters trying to leave the kettle. Student Alfie Meadows was hit on the head by a truncheon, and had to have an emergency, life saving, operation to treat an intracranial bleed.

 

Smaller groups of protesters roamed streets nearby with shops, including Topshop in Oxford Street being attacked as well as a car containing Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.

 

Gangs and black block protesters from several mainland European countries attended the protest. The violence on the protesters side, even after the news of the vote result, was perpetrated by a minority. The majority of students were sitting around waiting to exit the kettle, trying to keep warm, or dancing to music.

 

   

KOHLER Touchless Toilet Flush Kit is an accessible toilet upgrade for modern home owners in search of increased bathroom hygiene. The DIY retrofit system allows users to simply hold their hand above the tank and operate water flow, instead of touching the regular handle. So how does ...

 

Read More : Wave to Flush: Touchless Toilet Kit for Increased Bathroom Hygiene [Video]

#interiordesgin #interiordesignideas #interiordesignseminar

The fortifications of Famagusta are a series of defensive walls and other fortifications which surround the city of Famagusta in Northern Cyprus. The walls were built by the Lusignan Kingdom of Cyprus in the 14th century, and redesigned by Republic of Venice in 15th and 16th centuries before the siege of Ottoman Empire in 1571. The fortifications of Famagusta withstood an 11-month siege before the city capitulated to the Ottoman Empire in August 1571.

 

In the 13th century, Famagusta's harbour was defended by a tower, and it is possible that some form of fortification existed earlier. In the 14th century, the Lusignans built the Othello Castle to defend both the harbour and the town. Famagusta fell to the Genoese in 1373, and in 1489 it was taken over by the Republic of Venice along with the rest of Cyprus.

 

While Famagusta was under Venetian rule, the city was essentially a military base. The Othello Castle was modernized, and fortifications surrounding the entire city began to be built. The fortifications were designed by a number of military engineers, including Michele Sanmicheli and his nephew Giovanni Girolamo Sammichele. The latter arrived in Famagusta in around 1550, and he designed the Martinengo Bastion, which served as a prototype for various other fortifications in Europe and America. He died in Famagusta in 1559, while the fortifications were still under construction.

 

The Fourth Ottoman–Venetian War broke out in 1570, when an Ottoman force invaded Cyprus and took control of most of the island including Nicosia within a few months. On 15 September, Ottomans surrounded Famagusta, which was the last Venetian stronghold on the island, and began the Siege of Famagusta. The city held out until August 1571, when the Venetians asked for terms of surrender. Although terms were agreed and the inhabitants began to evacuate the city, at the surrender ceremony Lala Mustafa Pasha learned that some Muslim prisoners had been killed and he had the Venetian commander Marco Antonio Bragadin mutilated and flayed alive, and the remaining Christians in the city were massacred.

 

The Ottomans repaired the damaged parts of the walls, but did not make any major alterations. The city began to expand outside its walls in the late Ottoman period, and this increased after Cyprus fell under British rule.

 

Although many buildings within the old city of Famagusta is in a state of disrepair, the fortifications are still in relatively good condition.

 

The fortifications of Famagusta consist of an enceinte which is surrounded by a rock-hewn ditch on the landward side, and the harbour on the seaward side. Like the fortifications of Rhodes, which were built by the Knights Hospitaller between the 14th and 16th centuries, the walls of Famagusta show the transition between medieval fortification and the bastioned fortifications of the early modern period.

 

Famagusta is a city on the east coast of the de facto state Northern Cyprus. It is located east of Nicosia and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. During the Middle Ages (especially under the maritime republics of Genoa and Venice), Famagusta was the island's most important port city and a gateway to trade with the ports of the Levant, from where the Silk Road merchants carried their goods to Western Europe. The old walled city and parts of the modern city are de facto part of Northern Cyprus as the capital of the Gazimağusa District.

 

The city was known as Arsinoe or Arsinoë (Greek: Ἀρσινόη, Arsinóē) in antiquity, after Ptolemy II of Egypt's sister and wife Arsinoe II.

 

By the 3rd century, the city appears as Ammochostos (Greek: Ἀμμόχωστος or Αμμόχωστος, Ammókhōstos, "Hidden in Sand") in the Stadiasmus Maris Magni.[5] This name is still used in modern Greek with the pronunciation [aˈmːoxostos], while it developed into Latin Fama Augusta, French Famagouste, Italian Famagosta, and English Famagusta during the medieval period. Its informal modern Turkish name Mağusa (Turkish pronunciation: [maˈusa]) came from the same source. Since 1974, it has formally been known to Turkey and Northern Cyprus as Gazimağusa ([ɡaːzimaˈusa]), from the addition of the title gazi, meaning "veteran" or "one who has faught in a holy war".

 

In the early medieval period, the city was also known as New Justiniana (Greek: Νέα Ἰουστινιανία, Néa Ioustinianía) in appreciation for the patronage of the Byzantine emperor Justinian, whose wife Theodora was born there.

 

The old town of Famagusta has also been nicknamed "the City of 365 Churches" from the legend that, at its peak, it boasted a church for every day of the year.

 

The city was founded around 274 BC, after the serious damage to Salamis by an earthquake, by Ptolemy II Philadelphus and named "Arsinoe" after his sister.[6] Arsinoe was described as a "fishing town" by Strabo in his Geographica in the first century BC. In essence, Famagusta was the successor of the most famous and most important ancient city of Cyprus, Salamis. According to Greek mythology, Salamis was founded after the end of the Trojan War by Teucros, the son of Telamon and brother of Aedes, from the Greek island of Salamis.

 

The city experienced great prosperity much later, during the time of the Byzantine emperor Justinian. To honor the city, from which his wife Theodora came, Justinian enriched it with many buildings, while the inhabitants named it New Justiniania to express their gratitude. In AD 647, when the neighboring cities were destroyed by Arab raiding, the inhabitants of these cities moved to Famagusta, as a result of which the city's population increased significantly and the city experienced another boom.

 

Later, when Jerusalem was occupied by the Arabs, the Christian population fled to Famagusta, as a result of which the city became an important Christian center, but also one of the most important commercial centers in the eastern Mediterranean.

 

The turning point for Famagusta was 1192 with the onset of Lusignan rule. It was during this period that Famagusta developed as a fully-fledged town. It increased in importance to the Eastern Mediterranean due to its natural harbour and the walls that protected its inner town. Its population began to increase. This development accelerated in the 13th century as the town became a centre of commerce for both the East and West. An influx of Christian refugees fleeing the downfall of Acre (1291) in Palestine transformed it from a tiny village into one of the richest cities in Christendom.

 

In 1372 the port was seized by Genoa and in 1489 by Venice. This commercial activity turned Famagusta into a place where merchants and ship owners led lives of luxury. By the mid-14th century, Famagusta was said to have the richest citizens in the world. The belief that people's wealth could be measured by the churches they built inspired these merchants to have churches built in varying styles. These churches, which still exist, were the reason Famagusta came to be known as "the district of churches". The development of the town focused on the social lives of the wealthy people and was centred upon the Lusignan palace, the cathedral, the Square and the harbour.

 

In 1570–1571, Famagusta was the last stronghold in Venetian Cyprus to hold out against the Turks under Mustafa Pasha. It resisted a siege of thirteen months and a terrible bombardment, until at last the garrison surrendered. The Ottoman forces had lost 50,000 men, including Mustafa Pasha's son. Although the surrender terms had stipulated that the Venetian forces be allowed to return home, the Venetian commander, Marco Antonio Bragadin, was flayed alive, his lieutenant Tiepolo was hanged, and many other Christians were killed.

 

With the advent of the Ottoman rule, Latins lost their privileged status in Famagusta and were expelled from the city. Greek Cypriots natives were at first allowed to own and buy property in the city, but were banished from the walled city in 1573–74 and had to settle outside in the area that later developed into Varosha. Turkish families from Anatolia were resettled in the walled city but could not fill the buildings that previously hosted a population of 10,000. This caused a drastic decrease in the population of Famagusta. Merchants from Famagusta, who mostly consisted of Latins that had been expelled, resettled in Larnaca and as Larnaca flourished, Famagusta lost its importance as a trade centre. Over time, Varosha developed into a prosperous agricultural town thanks to its location away from the marshes, whilst the walled city remained dilapidated.

 

In the walled city, some buildings were repurposed to serve the interests of the Muslim population: the Cathedral of St. Nicholas was converted to a mosque (now known as Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque), a bazaar was developed, public baths, fountains and a theological school were built to accommodate the inhabitants' needs. Dead end streets, an Ottoman urban characteristic, was imported to the city and a communal spirit developed in which a small number of two-storey houses inhabited by the small upper class co-existed with the widespread one-storey houses.

 

With the British takeover, Famagusta regained its significance as a port and an economic centre and its development was specifically targeted in British plans. As soon as the British took over the island, a Famagusta Development Act was passed that aimed at the reconstruction and redevelopment of the city's streets and dilapidated buildings as well as better hygiene. The port was developed and expanded between 1903 and 1906 and Cyprus Government Railway, with its terminus in Famagusta, started construction in 1904. Whilst Larnaca continued to be used as the main port of the island for some time, after Famagusta's use as a military base in World War I trade significantly shifted to Famagusta. The city outside the walls grew at an accelerated rate, with development being centred around Varosha. Varosha became the administrative centre as the British moved their headquarters and residences there and tourism grew significantly in the last years of the British rule. Pottery and production of citrus and potatoes also significantly grew in the city outside the walls, whilst agriculture within the walled city declined to non-existence.

 

New residential areas were built to accommodate the increasing population towards the end of the British rule,[11] and by 1960, Famagusta was a modern port city extending far beyond Varosha and the walled city.

 

The British period saw a significant demographic shift in the city. In 1881, Christians constituted 60% of the city's population while Muslims were at 40%. By 1960, the Turkish Cypriot population had dropped to 17.5% of the overall population, while the Greek Cypriot population had risen to 70%. The city was also the site for one of the British internment camps for nearly 50,000 Jewish survivors of the Holocaust trying to emigrate to Palestine.

 

From independence in 1960 to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus of 1974, Famagusta developed toward the south west of Varosha as a well-known entertainment and tourist centre. The contribution of Famagusta to the country's economic activity by 1974 far exceeded its proportional dimensions within the country. Whilst its population was only about 7% of the total of the country, Famagusta by 1974 accounted for over 10% of the total industrial employment and production of Cyprus, concentrating mainly on light industry compatible with its activity as a tourist resort and turning out high-quality products ranging from food, beverages and tobacco to clothing, footwear, plastics, light machinery and transport equipment. It contributed 19.3% of the business units and employed 21.3% of the total number of persons engaged in commerce on the island. It acted as the main tourist destination of Cyprus, hosting 31.5% of the hotels and 45% of Cyprus' total bed capacity. Varosha acted as the main touristic and business quarters.

 

In this period, the urbanisation of Famagusta slowed down and the development of the rural areas accelerated. Therefore, economic growth was shared between the city of Famagusta and the district, which had a balanced agricultural economy, with citrus, potatoes, tobacco and wheat as main products. Famagusta maintained good communications with this hinterland. The city's port remained the island's main seaport and in 1961, it was expanded to double its capacity in order to accommodate the growing volume of exports and imports. The port handled 42.7% of Cypriot exports, 48.6% of imports and 49% of passenger traffic.

 

There has not been an official census since 1960 but the population of the town in 1974 was estimated to be around 39,000 not counting about 12,000–15,000 persons commuting daily from the surrounding villages and suburbs to work in Famagusta. The number of people staying in the city would swell to about 90,000–100,000 during the peak summer tourist period, with the influx of tourists from numerous European countries, mainly Britain, France, Germany and the Scandinavian countries. The majority of the city population were Greek Cypriots (26,500), with 8,500 Turkish Cypriots and 4,000 people from other ethnic groups.

 

During the second phase of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus on 14 August 1974 the Mesaoria plain was overrun by Turkish tanks and Famagusta was bombed by Turkish aircraft. It took two days for the Turkish Army to occupy the city, prior to which Famagusta's entire Greek Cypriot population had fled into surrounding fields. As a result of Turkish airstrikes dozens of civilians died, including tourists.

 

Unlike other parts of the Turkish-controlled areas of Cyprus, the Varosha suburb of Famagusta was fenced off by the Turkish army immediately after being captured and remained fenced off until October 2020, when the TRNC reopened some streets to visitors. Some Greek Cypriots who had fled Varosha have been allowed to view the town and journalists have been allowed in.

 

UN Security Council resolution 550 (1984) considers any attempts to settle any part of Famagusta by people other than its inhabitants as inadmissible and calls for the transfer of this area to the administration of the UN. The UN's Security Council resolution 789 (1992) also urges that with a view to the implementation of resolution 550 (1984), the area at present under the control of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus be extended to include Varosha.

 

Famagusta's historic city centre is surrounded by the fortifications of Famagusta, which have a roughly rectangular shape, built mainly by the Venetians in the 15th and 16th centuries, though some sections of the walls have been dated earlier times, as far as 1211.

 

Some important landmarks and visitor attractions in the old city are:

The Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque

The Othello Castle

Palazzo del Provveditore - the Venetian palace of the governor, built on the site of the former Lusignan royal palace

St. Francis' Church

Sinan Pasha Mosque

Church of St. George of the Greeks

Church of St. George of the Latins

Twin Churches

Nestorian Church (of St George the Exiler)

Namık Kemal Dungeon

Agios Ioannis Church

Venetian House

Akkule Masjid

Mustafa Pasha Mosque

Ganchvor monastery

 

In an October 2010 report titled Saving Our Vanishing Heritage, Global Heritage Fund listed Famagusta, a "maritime ancient city of crusader kings", among the 12 sites most "On the Verge" of irreparable loss and destruction, citing insufficient management and development pressures.

 

Famagusta is an important commercial hub of Northern Cyprus. The main economic activities in the city are tourism, education, construction and industrial production. It has a 115-acre free port, which is the most important seaport of Northern Cyprus for travel and commerce. The port is an important source of income and employment for the city, though its volume of trade is restricted by the embargo against Northern Cyprus. Its historical sites, including the walled city, Salamis, the Othello Castle and the St Barnabas Church, as well as the sandy beaches surrounding it make it a tourist attraction; efforts are also underway to make the city more attractive for international congresses. The Eastern Mediterranean University is also an important employer and supplies significant income and activity, as well as opportunities for the construction sector. The university also raises a qualified workforce that stimulates the city's industry and makes communications industry viable. The city has two industrial zones: the Large Industrial Zone and the Little Industrial Zone. The city is also home to a fishing port, but inadequate infrastructure of the port restricts the growth of this sector. The industry in the city has traditionally been concentrated on processing agricultural products.

 

Historically, the port was the primary source of income and employment for the city, especially right after 1974. However, it gradually lost some of its importance to the economy as the share of its employees in the population of Famagusta diminished due to various reasons. However, it still is the primary port for commerce in Northern Cyprus, with more than half of ships that came to Northern Cyprus in 2013 coming to Famagusta. It is the second most popular seaport for passengers, after Kyrenia, with around 20,000 passengers using the port in 2013.

 

The mayor-in-exile of Famagusta is Simos Ioannou. Süleyman Uluçay heads the Turkish Cypriot municipal administration of Famagusta, which remains legal as a communal-based body under the constitutional system of the Republic of Cyprus.

 

Since 1974, Greek Cypriots submitted a number of proposals within the context of bicommunal discussions for the return of Varosha to UN administration, allowing the return of its previous inhabitants, requesting also the opening of Famagusta harbour for use by both communities. Varosha would have been returned to Greek Cypriot control as part of the 2004 Annan Plan but the plan had been rejected by a majority(3/4) of Greek Cypriot voters.

 

The walled city of Famagusta contains many unique buildings. Famagusta has a walled city popular with tourists.

 

Every year, the International Famagusta Art and Culture Festival is organized in Famagusta. Concerts, dance shows and theater plays take place during the festival.

 

A growth in tourism and the city's university have fueled the development of Famagusta's vibrant nightlife. Nightlife in the city is especially active on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights and in the hotter months of the year, starting from April. Larger hotels in the city have casinos that cater to their customers. Salamis Road is an area of Famagusta with a heavy concentration of bars frequented by students and locals.

 

Famagusta's Othello Castle is the setting for Shakespeare's play Othello. The city was also the setting for Victoria Hislop's 2015 novel The Sunrise, and Michael Paraskos's 2016 novel In Search of Sixpence. The city is the birthplace of the eponymous hero of the Renaissance proto-novel Fortunatus.

 

Famagusta was home to many Greek Cypriot sport teams that left the city because of the Turkish invasion and still bear their original names. Most notable football clubs originally from the city are Anorthosis Famagusta FC and Nea Salamis Famagusta FC, both of the Cypriot First Division, which are now based in Larnaca. Usually Anorthosis Famagusta fans are politically right wing where Nea Salamis fans are left wing.

 

Famagusta is represented by Mağusa Türk Gücü in the Turkish Cypriot First Division. Dr. Fazıl Küçük Stadium is the largest football stadium in Famagusta. Many Turkish Cypriot sport teams that left Southern Cyprus because of the Cypriot intercommunal violence are based in Famagusta.

 

Famagusta is represented by DAÜ Sports Club and Magem Sports Club in North Cyprus First Volleyball Division. Gazimağusa Türk Maarif Koleji represents Famagusta in the North Cyprus High School Volleyball League.

 

Famagusta has a modern volleyball stadium called the Mağusa Arena.

 

The Eastern Mediterranean University was founded in the city in 1979. The Istanbul Technical University founded a campus in the city in 2010.

 

The Cyprus College of Art was founded in Famagusta by the Cypriot artist Stass Paraskos in 1969, before moving to Paphos in 1972 after protests from local hoteliers that the presence of art students in the city was putting off holidaymakers.

 

Famagusta has three general hospitals. Gazimağusa Devlet Hastahanesi, a state hospital, is the biggest hospital in city. Gazimağusa Tıp Merkezi and Gazimağusa Yaşam Hastahanesi are private hospitals.

 

Personalities

Saint Barnabas, born and died in Salamis, Famagusta

Chris Achilleos, illustrator of the book versions on the BBC children's series Doctor Who

Beran Bertuğ, former Governor of Famagusta, first Cypriot woman to hold this position

Marios Constantinou, former international Cypriot football midfielder and current manager.

Eleftheria Eleftheriou, Cypriot singer.

Derviş Eroğlu, former President of Northern Cyprus

Alexis Galanos, 7th President of the House of Representatives and Famagusta mayor-in-exile (2006-2019) (Republic of Cyprus)

Xanthos Hadjisoteriou, Cypriot painter

Oz Karahan, political activist, President of the Union of Cypriots

Oktay Kayalp, former Turkish Cypriot Famagusta mayor (Northern Cyprus)

Harry Luke British diplomat

Angelos Misos, former international footballer

Costas Montis was an influential and prolific Greek Cypriot poet, novelist, and playwright born in Famagusta.

Hal Ozsan, actor (Dawson's Creek, Kyle XY)

Dimitris Papadakis, a Greek Cypriot politician, who served as a Member of the European Parliament.

Ṣubḥ-i-Azal, Persian religious leader, lived and died in exile in Famagusta

Touker Suleyman (born Türker Süleyman), British Turkish Cypriot fashion retail entrepreneur, investor and reality television personality.

Alexia Vassiliou, singer, left here as a refugee when the town was invaded.

George Vasiliou, former President of Cyprus

Vamik Volkan, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry

Derviş Zaim, film director

 

Famagusta is twinned with:

İzmir, Turkey (since 1974)

Corfu, Greece (since 1994)

Patras, Greece (since 1994)

Antalya, Turkey (since 1997)

Salamina (city), Greece (since 1998)

Struga, North Macedonia

Athens, Greece (since 2005)

Mersin, Turkey

 

Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. It is recognised only by Turkey, and its territory is considered by all other states to be part of the Republic of Cyprus.

 

Northern Cyprus extends from the tip of the Karpass Peninsula in the northeast to Morphou Bay, Cape Kormakitis and its westernmost point, the Kokkina exclave in the west. Its southernmost point is the village of Louroujina. A buffer zone under the control of the United Nations stretches between Northern Cyprus and the rest of the island and divides Nicosia, the island's largest city and capital of both sides.

 

A coup d'état in 1974, performed as part of an attempt to annex the island to Greece, prompted the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. This resulted in the eviction of much of the north's Greek Cypriot population, the flight of Turkish Cypriots from the south, and the partitioning of the island, leading to a unilateral declaration of independence by the north in 1983. Due to its lack of recognition, Northern Cyprus is heavily dependent on Turkey for economic, political and military support.

 

Attempts to reach a solution to the Cyprus dispute have been unsuccessful. The Turkish Army maintains a large force in Northern Cyprus with the support and approval of the TRNC government, while the Republic of Cyprus, the European Union as a whole, and the international community regard it as an occupation force. This military presence has been denounced in several United Nations Security Council resolutions.

 

Northern Cyprus is a semi-presidential, democratic republic with a cultural heritage incorporating various influences and an economy that is dominated by the services sector. The economy has seen growth through the 2000s and 2010s, with the GNP per capita more than tripling in the 2000s, but is held back by an international embargo due to the official closure of the ports in Northern Cyprus by the Republic of Cyprus. The official language is Turkish, with a distinct local dialect being spoken. The vast majority of the population consists of Sunni Muslims, while religious attitudes are mostly moderate and secular. Northern Cyprus is an observer state of ECO and OIC under the name "Turkish Cypriot State", PACE under the name "Turkish Cypriot Community", and Organization of Turkic States with its own name.

 

Several distinct periods of Cypriot intercommunal violence involving the two main ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, marked mid-20th century Cyprus. These included the Cyprus Emergency of 1955–59 during British rule, the post-independence Cyprus crisis of 1963–64, and the Cyprus crisis of 1967. Hostilities culminated in the 1974 de facto division of the island along the Green Line following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The region has been relatively peaceful since then, but the Cyprus dispute has continued, with various attempts to solve it diplomatically having been generally unsuccessful.

 

Cyprus, an island lying in the eastern Mediterranean, hosted a population of Greeks and Turks (four-fifths and one-fifth, respectively), who lived under British rule in the late nineteenth-century and the first half of the twentieth-century. Christian Orthodox Church of Cyprus played a prominent political role among the Greek Cypriot community, a privilege that it acquired during the Ottoman Empire with the employment of the millet system, which gave the archbishop an unofficial ethnarch status.

 

The repeated rejections by the British of Greek Cypriot demands for enosis, union with Greece, led to armed resistance, organised by the National Organization of Cypriot Struggle, or EOKA. EOKA, led by the Greek-Cypriot commander George Grivas, systematically targeted British colonial authorities. One of the effects of EOKA's campaign was to alter the Turkish position from demanding full reincorporation into Turkey to a demand for taksim (partition). EOKA's mission and activities caused a "Cretan syndrome" (see Turkish Resistance Organisation) within the Turkish Cypriot community, as its members feared that they would be forced to leave the island in such a case as had been the case with Cretan Turks. As such, they preferred the continuation of British colonial rule and then taksim, the division of the island. Due to the Turkish Cypriots' support for the British, EOKA's leader, Georgios Grivas, declared them to be enemies. The fact that the Turks were a minority was, according to Nihat Erim, to be addressed by the transfer of thousands of Turks from mainland Turkey so that Greek Cypriots would cease to be the majority. When Erim visited Cyprus as the Turkish representative, he was advised by Field Marshal Sir John Harding, the then Governor of Cyprus, that Turkey should send educated Turks to settle in Cyprus.

 

Turkey actively promoted the idea that on the island of Cyprus two distinctive communities existed, and sidestepped its former claim that "the people of Cyprus were all Turkish subjects". In doing so, Turkey's aim to have self-determination of two to-be equal communities in effect led to de jure partition of the island.[citation needed] This could be justified to the international community against the will of the majority Greek population of the island. Dr. Fazil Küçük in 1954 had already proposed Cyprus be divided in two at the 35° parallel.

 

Lindley Dan, from Notre Dame University, spotted the roots of intercommunal violence to different visions among the two communities of Cyprus (enosis for Greek Cypriots, taksim for Turkish Cypriots). Also, Lindlay wrote that "the merging of church, schools/education, and politics in divisive and nationalistic ways" had played a crucial role in creation of havoc in Cyprus' history. Attalides Michael also pointed to the opposing nationalisms as the cause of the Cyprus problem.

 

By the mid-1950's, the "Cyprus is Turkish" party, movement, and slogan gained force in both Cyprus and Turkey. In a 1954 editorial, Turkish Cypriot leader Dr. Fazil Kuchuk expressed the sentiment that the Turkish youth had grown up with the idea that "as soon as Great Britain leaves the island, it will be taken over by the Turks", and that "Turkey cannot tolerate otherwise". This perspective contributed to the willingness of Turkish Cypriots to align themselves with the British, who started recruiting Turkish Cypriots into the police force that patrolled Cyprus to fight EOKA, a Greek Cypriot nationalist organisation that sought to rid the island of British rule.

 

EOKA targeted colonial authorities, including police, but Georgios Grivas, the leader of EOKA, did not initially wish to open up a new front by fighting Turkish Cypriots and reassured them that EOKA would not harm their people. In 1956, some Turkish Cypriot policemen were killed by EOKA members and this provoked some intercommunal violence in the spring and summer, but these attacks on policemen were not motivated by the fact that they were Turkish Cypriots.

 

However, in January 1957, Grivas changed his policy as his forces in the mountains became increasingly pressured by the British Crown forces. In order to divert the attention of the Crown forces, EOKA members started to target Turkish Cypriot policemen intentionally in the towns, so that Turkish Cypriots would riot against the Greek Cypriots and the security forces would have to be diverted to the towns to restore order. The killing of a Turkish Cypriot policeman on 19 January, when a power station was bombed, and the injury of three others, provoked three days of intercommunal violence in Nicosia. The two communities targeted each other in reprisals, at least one Greek Cypriot was killed and the British Army was deployed in the streets. Greek Cypriot stores were burned and their neighbourhoods attacked. Following the events, the Greek Cypriot leadership spread the propaganda that the riots had merely been an act of Turkish Cypriot aggression. Such events created chaos and drove the communities apart both in Cyprus and in Turkey.

 

On 22 October 1957 Sir Hugh Mackintosh Foot replaced Sir John Harding as the British Governor of Cyprus. Foot suggested five to seven years of self-government before any final decision. His plan rejected both enosis and taksim. The Turkish Cypriot response to this plan was a series of anti-British demonstrations in Nicosia on 27 and 28 January 1958 rejecting the proposed plan because the plan did not include partition. The British then withdrew the plan.

 

In 1957, Black Gang, a Turkish Cypriot pro-taksim paramilitary organisation, was formed to patrol a Turkish Cypriot enclave, the Tahtakale district of Nicosia, against activities of EOKA. The organisation later attempted to grow into a national scale, but failed to gain public support.

 

By 1958, signs of dissatisfaction with the British increased on both sides, with a group of Turkish Cypriots forming Volkan (later renamed to the Turkish Resistance Organisation) paramilitary group to promote partition and the annexation of Cyprus to Turkey as dictated by the Menderes plan. Volkan initially consisted of roughly 100 members, with the stated aim of raising awareness in Turkey of the Cyprus issue and courting military training and support for Turkish Cypriot fighters from the Turkish government.

 

In June 1958, the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, was expected to propose a plan to resolve the Cyprus issue. In light of the new development, the Turks rioted in Nicosia to promote the idea that Greek and Turkish Cypriots could not live together and therefore any plan that did not include partition would not be viable. This violence was soon followed by bombing, Greek Cypriot deaths and looting of Greek Cypriot-owned shops and houses. Greek and Turkish Cypriots started to flee mixed population villages where they were a minority in search of safety. This was effectively the beginning of the segregation of the two communities. On 7 June 1958, a bomb exploded at the entrance of the Turkish Embassy in Cyprus. Following the bombing, Turkish Cypriots looted Greek Cypriot properties. On 26 June 1984, the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktaş, admitted on British channel ITV that the bomb was placed by the Turks themselves in order to create tension. On 9 January 1995, Rauf Denktaş repeated his claim to the famous Turkish newspaper Milliyet in Turkey.

 

The crisis reached a climax on 12 June 1958, when eight Greeks, out of an armed group of thirty five arrested by soldiers of the Royal Horse Guards on suspicion of preparing an attack on the Turkish quarter of Skylloura, were killed in a suspected attack by Turkish Cypriot locals, near the village of Geunyeli, having been ordered to walk back to their village of Kondemenos.

 

After the EOKA campaign had begun, the British government successfully began to turn the Cyprus issue from a British colonial problem into a Greek-Turkish issue. British diplomacy exerted backstage influence on the Adnan Menderes government, with the aim of making Turkey active in Cyprus. For the British, the attempt had a twofold objective. The EOKA campaign would be silenced as quickly as possible, and Turkish Cypriots would not side with Greek Cypriots against the British colonial claims over the island, which would thus remain under the British. The Turkish Cypriot leadership visited Menderes to discuss the Cyprus issue. When asked how the Turkish Cypriots should respond to the Greek Cypriot claim of enosis, Menderes replied: "You should go to the British foreign minister and request the status quo be prolonged, Cyprus to remain as a British colony". When the Turkish Cypriots visited the British Foreign Secretary and requested for Cyprus to remain a colony, he replied: "You should not be asking for colonialism at this day and age, you should be asking for Cyprus be returned to Turkey, its former owner".

 

As Turkish Cypriots began to look to Turkey for protection, Greek Cypriots soon understood that enosis was extremely unlikely. The Greek Cypriot leader, Archbishop Makarios III, now set independence for the island as his objective.

 

Britain resolved to solve the dispute by creating an independent Cyprus. In 1959, all involved parties signed the Zurich Agreements: Britain, Turkey, Greece, and the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders, Makarios and Dr. Fazil Kucuk, respectively. The new constitution drew heavily on the ethnic composition of the island. The President would be a Greek Cypriot, and the Vice-President a Turkish Cypriot with an equal veto. The contribution to the public service would be set at a ratio of 70:30, and the Supreme Court would consist of an equal number of judges from both communities as well as an independent judge who was not Greek, Turkish or British. The Zurich Agreements were supplemented by a number of treaties. The Treaty of Guarantee stated that secession or union with any state was forbidden, and that Greece, Turkey and Britain would be given guarantor status to intervene if that was violated. The Treaty of Alliance allowed for two small Greek and Turkish military contingents to be stationed on the island, and the Treaty of Establishment gave Britain sovereignty over two bases in Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

 

On 15 August 1960, the Colony of Cyprus became fully independent as the Republic of Cyprus. The new republic remained within the Commonwealth of Nations.

 

The new constitution brought dissatisfaction to Greek Cypriots, who felt it to be highly unjust for them for historical, demographic and contributional reasons. Although 80% of the island's population were Greek Cypriots and these indigenous people had lived on the island for thousands of years and paid 94% of taxes, the new constitution was giving the 17% of the population that was Turkish Cypriots, who paid 6% of taxes, around 30% of government jobs and 40% of national security jobs.

 

Within three years tensions between the two communities in administrative affairs began to show. In particular disputes over separate municipalities and taxation created a deadlock in government. A constitutional court ruled in 1963 Makarios had failed to uphold article 173 of the constitution which called for the establishment of separate municipalities for Turkish Cypriots. Makarios subsequently declared his intention to ignore the judgement, resulting in the West German judge resigning from his position. Makarios proposed thirteen amendments to the constitution, which would have had the effect of resolving most of the issues in the Greek Cypriot favour. Under the proposals, the President and Vice-President would lose their veto, the separate municipalities as sought after by the Turkish Cypriots would be abandoned, the need for separate majorities by both communities in passing legislation would be discarded and the civil service contribution would be set at actual population ratios (82:18) instead of the slightly higher figure for Turkish Cypriots.

 

The intention behind the amendments has long been called into question. The Akritas plan, written in the height of the constitutional dispute by the Greek Cypriot interior minister Polycarpos Georkadjis, called for the removal of undesirable elements of the constitution so as to allow power-sharing to work. The plan envisaged a swift retaliatory attack on Turkish Cypriot strongholds should Turkish Cypriots resort to violence to resist the measures, stating "In the event of a planned or staged Turkish attack, it is imperative to overcome it by force in the shortest possible time, because if we succeed in gaining command of the situation (in one or two days), no outside, intervention would be either justified or possible." Whether Makarios's proposals were part of the Akritas plan is unclear, however it remains that sentiment towards enosis had not completely disappeared with independence. Makarios described independence as "a step on the road to enosis".[31] Preparations for conflict were not entirely absent from Turkish Cypriots either, with right wing elements still believing taksim (partition) the best safeguard against enosis.

 

Greek Cypriots however believe the amendments were a necessity stemming from a perceived attempt by Turkish Cypriots to frustrate the working of government. Turkish Cypriots saw it as a means to reduce their status within the state from one of co-founder to that of minority, seeing it as a first step towards enosis. The security situation deteriorated rapidly.

 

Main articles: Bloody Christmas (1963) and Battle of Tillyria

An armed conflict was triggered after December 21, 1963, a period remembered by Turkish Cypriots as Bloody Christmas, when a Greek Cypriot policemen that had been called to help deal with a taxi driver refusing officers already on the scene access to check the identification documents of his customers, took out his gun upon arrival and shot and killed the taxi driver and his partner. Eric Solsten summarised the events as follows: "a Greek Cypriot police patrol, ostensibly checking identification documents, stopped a Turkish Cypriot couple on the edge of the Turkish quarter. A hostile crowd gathered, shots were fired, and two Turkish Cypriots were killed."

 

In the morning after the shooting, crowds gathered in protest in Northern Nicosia, likely encouraged by the TMT, without incident. On the evening of the 22nd, gunfire broke out, communication lines to the Turkish neighbourhoods were cut, and the Greek Cypriot police occupied the nearby airport. On the 23rd, a ceasefire was negotiated, but did not hold. Fighting, including automatic weapons fire, between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and militias increased in Nicosia and Larnaca. A force of Greek Cypriot irregulars led by Nikos Sampson entered the Nicosia suburb of Omorphita and engaged in heavy firing on armed, as well as by some accounts unarmed, Turkish Cypriots. The Omorphita clash has been described by Turkish Cypriots as a massacre, while this view has generally not been acknowledged by Greek Cypriots.

 

Further ceasefires were arranged between the two sides, but also failed. By Christmas Eve, the 24th, Britain, Greece, and Turkey had joined talks, with all sides calling for a truce. On Christmas day, Turkish fighter jets overflew Nicosia in a show of support. Finally it was agreed to allow a force of 2,700 British soldiers to help enforce a ceasefire. In the next days, a "buffer zone" was created in Nicosia, and a British officer marked a line on a map with green ink, separating the two sides of the city, which was the beginning of the "Green Line". Fighting continued across the island for the next several weeks.

 

In total 364 Turkish Cypriots and 174 Greek Cypriots were killed during the violence. 25,000 Turkish Cypriots from 103-109 villages fled and were displaced into enclaves and thousands of Turkish Cypriot houses were ransacked or completely destroyed.

 

Contemporary newspapers also reported on the forceful exodus of the Turkish Cypriots from their homes. According to The Times in 1964, threats, shootings and attempts of arson were committed against the Turkish Cypriots to force them out of their homes. The Daily Express wrote that "25,000 Turks have already been forced to leave their homes". The Guardian reported a massacre of Turks at Limassol on 16 February 1964.

 

Turkey had by now readied its fleet and its fighter jets appeared over Nicosia. Turkey was dissuaded from direct involvement by the creation of a United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in 1964. Despite the negotiated ceasefire in Nicosia, attacks on the Turkish Cypriot persisted, particularly in Limassol. Concerned about the possibility of a Turkish invasion, Makarios undertook the creation of a Greek Cypriot conscript-based army called the "National Guard". A general from Greece took charge of the army, whilst a further 20,000 well-equipped officers and men were smuggled from Greece into Cyprus. Turkey threatened to intervene once more, but was prevented by a strongly worded letter from the American President Lyndon B. Johnson, anxious to avoid a conflict between NATO allies Greece and Turkey at the height of the Cold War.

 

Turkish Cypriots had by now established an important bridgehead at Kokkina, provided with arms, volunteers and materials from Turkey and abroad. Seeing this incursion of foreign weapons and troops as a major threat, the Cypriot government invited George Grivas to return from Greece as commander of the Greek troops on the island and launch a major attack on the bridgehead. Turkey retaliated by dispatching its fighter jets to bomb Greek positions, causing Makarios to threaten an attack on every Turkish Cypriot village on the island if the bombings did not cease. The conflict had now drawn in Greece and Turkey, with both countries amassing troops on their Thracian borders. Efforts at mediation by Dean Acheson, a former U.S. Secretary of State, and UN-appointed mediator Galo Plaza had failed, all the while the division of the two communities becoming more apparent. Greek Cypriot forces were estimated at some 30,000, including the National Guard and the large contingent from Greece. Defending the Turkish Cypriot enclaves was a force of approximately 5,000 irregulars, led by a Turkish colonel, but lacking the equipment and organisation of the Greek forces.

 

The Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1964, U Thant, reported the damage during the conflicts:

 

UNFICYP carried out a detailed survey of all damage to properties throughout the island during the disturbances; it shows that in 109 villages, most of them Turkish-Cypriot or mixed villages, 527 houses have been destroyed while 2,000 others have suffered damage from looting.

 

The situation worsened in 1967, when a military junta overthrew the democratically elected government of Greece, and began applying pressure on Makarios to achieve enosis. Makarios, not wishing to become part of a military dictatorship or trigger a Turkish invasion, began to distance himself from the goal of enosis. This caused tensions with the junta in Greece as well as George Grivas in Cyprus. Grivas's control over the National Guard and Greek contingent was seen as a threat to Makarios's position, who now feared a possible coup.[citation needed] The National Guard and Cyprus Police began patrolling the Turkish Cypriot enclaves of Ayios Theodoros and Kophinou, and on November 15 engaged in heavy fighting with the Turkish Cypriots.

 

By the time of his withdrawal 26 Turkish Cypriots had been killed. Turkey replied with an ultimatum demanding that Grivas be removed from the island, that the troops smuggled from Greece in excess of the limits of the Treaty of Alliance be removed, and that the economic blockades on the Turkish Cypriot enclaves be lifted. Grivas was recalled by the Athens Junta and the 12,000 Greek troops were withdrawn. Makarios now attempted to consolidate his position by reducing the number of National Guard troops, and by creating a paramilitary force loyal to Cypriot independence. In 1968, acknowledging that enosis was now all but impossible, Makarios stated, "A solution by necessity must be sought within the limits of what is feasible which does not always coincide with the limits of what is desirable."

 

After 1967 tensions between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots subsided. Instead, the main source of tension on the island came from factions within the Greek Cypriot community. Although Makarios had effectively abandoned enosis in favour of an 'attainable solution', many others continued to believe that the only legitimate political aspiration for Greek Cypriots was union with Greece.

 

On his arrival, Grivas began by establishing a nationalist paramilitary group known as the National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston B or EOKA-B), drawing comparisons with the EOKA struggle for enosis under the British colonial administration of the 1950s.

 

The military junta in Athens saw Makarios as an obstacle. Makarios's failure to disband the National Guard, whose officer class was dominated by mainland Greeks, had meant the junta had practical control over the Cypriot military establishment, leaving Makarios isolated and a vulnerable target.

 

During the first Turkish invasion, Turkish troops invaded Cyprus territory on 20 July 1974, invoking its rights under the Treaty of Guarantee. This expansion of Turkish-occupied zone violated International Law as well as the Charter of the United Nations. Turkish troops managed to capture 3% of the island which was accompanied by the burning of the Turkish Cypriot quarter, as well as the raping and killing of women and children. A temporary cease-fire followed which was mitigated by the UN Security Council. Subsequently, the Greek military Junta collapsed on July 23, 1974, and peace talks commenced in which a democratic government was installed. The Resolution 353 was broken after Turkey attacked a second time and managed to get a hold of 37% of Cyprus territory. The Island of Cyprus was appointed a Buffer Zone by the United Nations, which divided the island into two zones through the 'Green Line' and put an end to the Turkish invasion. Although Turkey announced that the occupied areas of Cyprus to be called the Federated Turkish State in 1975, it is not legitimised on a worldwide political scale. The United Nations called for the international recognition of independence for the Republic of Cyprus in the Security Council Resolution 367.

 

In the years after the Turkish invasion of northern Cyprus one can observe a history of failed talks between the two parties. The 1983 declaration of the independent Turkish Republic of Cyprus resulted in a rise of inter-communal tensions and made it increasingly hard to find mutual understanding. With Cyprus' interest of a possible EU membership and a new UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1997 new hopes arose for a fresh start. International involvement from sides of the US and UK, wanting a solution to the Cyprus dispute prior to the EU accession led to political pressures for new talks. The believe that an accession without a solution would threaten Greek-Turkish relations and acknowledge the partition of the island would direct the coming negotiations.

 

Over the course of two years a concrete plan, the Annan plan was formulated. In 2004 the fifth version agreed upon from both sides and with the endorsement of Turkey, US, UK and EU then was presented to the public and was given a referendum in both Cypriot communities to assure the legitimisation of the resolution. The Turkish Cypriots voted with 65% for the plan, however the Greek Cypriots voted with a 76% majority against. The Annan plan contained multiple important topics. Firstly it established a confederation of two separate states called the United Cyprus Republic. Both communities would have autonomous states combined under one unified government. The members of parliament would be chosen according to the percentage in population numbers to ensure a just involvement from both communities. The paper proposed a demilitarisation of the island over the next years. Furthermore it agreed upon a number of 45000 Turkish settlers that could remain on the island. These settlers became a very important issue concerning peace talks. Originally the Turkish government encouraged Turks to settle in Cyprus providing transfer and property, to establish a counterpart to the Greek Cypriot population due to their 1 to 5 minority. With the economic situation many Turkish-Cypriot decided to leave the island, however their departure is made up by incoming Turkish settlers leaving the population ratio between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots stable. However all these points where criticised and as seen in the vote rejected mainly by the Greek Cypriots. These name the dissolution of the „Republic of Cyprus", economic consequences of a reunion and the remaining Turkish settlers as reason. Many claim that the plan was indeed drawing more from Turkish-Cypriot demands then Greek-Cypriot interests. Taking in consideration that the US wanted to keep Turkey as a strategic partner in future Middle Eastern conflicts.

 

A week after the failed referendum the Republic of Cyprus joined the EU. In multiple instances the EU tried to promote trade with Northern Cyprus but without internationally recognised ports this spiked a grand debate. Both side endure their intention of negotiations, however without the prospect of any new compromises or agreements the UN is unwilling to start the process again. Since 2004 negotiations took place in numbers but without any results, both sides are strongly holding on to their position without an agreeable solution in sight that would suit both parties.

BUSAN, Republic of Korea (Oct. 15, 2017) Sailors aboard the mine countermeasures ship USS Chief (MCM 14) heave a tug line in to depart the pier in preparation for Multinational Mine Warfare Exercise (MN MIWEX). MN MIWEX is a mine countermeasures exercise between the U.S., Republic of Korea, and U.N. Command Sending States meant to increase combined capabilities and readiness to respond to any contingency on the Korean peninsula. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jordan Crouch / Released)

This copy, along with five other volumes, was donated to the University Library by the author himself. An inscription on the title page reads: "Ex Libris Universitatis Bibliothecae Glasguensis Ex Domo Authoris. 1711".

 

Mather, Increase, 1639-1723. An essay for the recording of illustrious providences ... especially in New England. Boston in New-England, Samuel Green for Joseph Browning, 1684; octavo (Sp Coll Bi5-l.10)

 

Staff Sgt. Simon Debran, center, UH-60A Black Hawk crew chief, briefs visiting African air force members as they prepare to board a Black Hawk helicopter with the 1-150th Assault Helicopter Battalion, New Jersey Army National Guard, during their visit to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Aug. 31, 2015. The African Partnership Flight, which includes military representatives from Angola, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia, visit to the NJARNG’s Army Aviation Support Facility is part of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Air Forces Africa program that emphasized increased maintenance and logistics knowledge and procedures. The program was created to conduct regional military to military events with African air forces to build aviation capacity, enhance regional cooperation and increase interoperability. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen/Released)

3d stock photo illustration

Targeting increasing farm-level food security and productivity to mitigate the effects of climate risk and change: Through the SIMLESA Project, smallholder farmers practice sustainable intensification principles, such as zero or minimum tillage, maize–legume intercropping, and maize–legume rotations. In the photo, Mr. Ringson Chitsiko (standing), Permanent Secretary (PS), Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development, officially opens CIMMYT–SARO's 30th anniversary celebrations. On the extreme left is the International Livestock Research Institute’s Representative for Southern Africa, Dr. Sikhalazo Dube. To the PS’s left is the Principal Director in the Department of Research and Specialist Services, Mrs. Denisile Hikwa. Dr. Olaf Erenstein (in striped shirt), Director of CIMMYT’s Socioeconomics Program; and partly in the picture is Dr. Eric Craswell, SIMLESA Project Steering Committee Member.

  

More on CIMMYT–SARO's 30th anniversary

 

Photo: J. Siamachira/CIMMYT

"Increasing Gender Diversity in Game Development Programs

Clara Fernandez Vara | Associate Arts Professor, NYU Game Center

Julia Wlochowski | Game Designer, Greenbrier Games

Elaine Gomez | Graduate Student, University of Southern California

Elyse Lemoine | Game Designer / Writer, NYU Game Center

Deirdra ""Squinky"" Kiai | MFA Student, UC Santa Cruz

Location: Room 3001, West Hall

Date: Monday, March 2

Time: 11:15am - 11:40am"

This is a photograph from the 3rd annual running of the Trim AC 10 Mile Road Race and Fun Run which was held in Trim, Co. Meath, Ireland on Sunday 5th February 2017 at 12:00. The race attracted over 1,200 participants which shows a 100% increase on last year's participation. The event shows growth year on year mirroring the growing popularity of the race. The race started on the Trim/Athboy road on the town's ring road and proceded to take an anti-clockwise loop out towards the village of Dunderry and townland of Kilbride before returning back to the Trim Industrial Estate for the finish. The route is held on quiet country roads with some hills at 3, 6, 8 mile segments.

 

Our full set of photos from mile 1 and the finish are at: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157679859593016

 

The weather for this year's race was perfect for racing. There was a hard frost overnight but this brought clear bright skies and crisp air. There was no real wind to speak of.

 

Waterstops were provided at the 4.5 and 7 mile marks on the course. All access roads were well stewarded. The event was sponsored by Bewleys 1840 and many local business establishments. Credit must go to the Trim AC team for their flawless organisation. If the first three years of this year are anything to go on then this race will continue to grow. For runners around the North Leinster area this 10 mile race serves as a perfect training progress stepping stone to the Bohermeen Half Marathon which will take place in March 2016 and is located only 15 minutes drive from Trim.

 

USEFUL LINKS

Our Flickr photographs from the 2016 race: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157664217257512

Our Flickr photographs from the 2015 race: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157650166189770

Boards.ie Discussion Thread on the 2017 race: www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057673405

10 Mile Road Race Timelapse Video of the Route: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jp84CrctQM

  

USING OUR PHOTOGRAPHS - A QUICK GUIDE AND ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS

Can I use these photographs directly from Flickr on my social media account(s)?

 

Yes - of course you can! Flickr provides several ways to share this and other photographs in this Flickr set. You can share directly to: email, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, LiveJournal, and Wordpress and Blogger blog sites. Your mobile, tablet, or desktop device will also offer you several different options for sharing this photo page on your social media outlets.

 

BUT..... Wait there a minute....

We take these photographs as a hobby and as a contribution to the running community in Ireland. We do not charge for our photographs. Our only "cost" is that we request that if you are using these images: (1) on social media sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter,LinkedIn, Google+, VK.com, Vine, Meetup, Tagged, Ask.fm,etc or (2) other websites, blogs, web multimedia, commercial/promotional material that you must provide a link back to our Flickr page to attribute us or acknowledge us as the original photographers.

 

This also extends to the use of these images for Facebook profile pictures. In these cases please make a separate wall or blog post with a link to our Flickr page. If you do not know how this should be done for Facebook or other social media please email us and we will be happy to help suggest how to link to us.

 

I want to download these pictures to my computer or device?

 

You can download this photographic image here directly to your computer or device. This version is the low resolution web-quality image. How to download will vary slight from device to device and from browser to browser. Have a look for a down-arrow symbol or the link to 'View/Download' all sizes. When you click on either of these you will be presented with the option to download the image. Remember just doing a right-click and "save target as" will not work on Flickr.

 

I want get full resolution, print-quality, copies of these photographs?

 

If you just need these photographs for online usage then they can be used directly once you respect their Creative Commons license and provide a link back to our Flickr set if you use them. For offline usage and printing all of the photographs posted here on this Flickr set are available free, at no cost, at full image resolution.

 

Please email petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com with the links to the photographs you would like to obtain a full resolution copy of. We also ask race organisers, media, etc to ask for permission before use of our images for flyers, posters, etc. We reserve the right to refuse a request.

 

In summary please remember when requesting photographs from us - If you are using the photographs online all we ask is for you to provide a link back to our Flickr set or Flickr pages. You will find the link above clearly outlined in the description text which accompanies this photograph. Taking these photographs and preparing them for online posting takes a significant effort and time. We are not posting photographs to Flickr for commercial reasons. If you really like what we do please spread the link around your social media, send us an email, leave a comment beside the photographs, send us a Flickr email, etc. If you are using the photographs in newspapers or magazines we ask that you mention where the original photograph came from.

 

I would like to contribute something for your photograph(s)?

Many people offer payment for our photographs. As stated above we do not charge for these photographs. We take these photographs as our contribution to the running community in Ireland. If you feel that the photograph(s) you request are good enough that you would consider paying for their purchase from other photographic providers or in other circumstances we would suggest that you can provide a donation to any of the great charities in Ireland who do work for Cancer Care or Cancer Research in Ireland.

 

Let's get a bit technical: We use Creative Commons Licensing for these photographs

We use the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License for all our photographs here in this photograph set. What does this mean in reality?

The explaination is very simple.

Attribution- anyone using our photographs gives us an appropriate credit for it. This ensures that people aren't taking our photographs and passing them off as their own. This usually just mean putting a link to our photographs somewhere on your website, blog, or Facebook where other people can see it.

ShareAlike – anyone can use these photographs, and make changes if they like, or incorporate them into a bigger project, but they must make those changes available back to the community under the same terms.

 

Above all what Creative Commons aims to do is to encourage creative sharing. See some examples of Creative Commons photographs on Flickr: www.flickr.com/creativecommons/

 

I ran in the race - but my photograph doesn't appear here in your Flickr set! What gives?

 

As mentioned above we take these photographs as a hobby and as a voluntary contribution to the running community in Ireland. Very often we have actually ran in the same race and then switched to photographer mode after we finished the race. Consequently, we feel that we have no obligations to capture a photograph of every participant in the race. However, we do try our very best to capture as many participants as possible. But this is sometimes not possible for a variety of reasons:

 

     ►You were hidden behind another participant as you passed our camera

     ►Weather or lighting conditions meant that we had some photographs with blurry content which we did not upload to our Flickr set

     ►There were too many people - some races attract thousands of participants and as amateur photographs we cannot hope to capture photographs of everyone

     ►We simply missed you - sorry about that - we did our best!

  

You can email us petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com to enquire if we have a photograph of you which didn't make the final Flickr selection for the race. But we cannot promise that there will be photograph there. As alternatives we advise you to contact the race organisers to enquire if there were (1) other photographs taking photographs at the race event or if (2) there were professional commercial sports photographers taking photographs which might have some photographs of you available for purchase. You might find some links for further information above.

 

Don't like your photograph here?

That's OK! We understand!

 

If, for any reason, you are not happy or comfortable with your picture appearing here in this photoset on Flickr then please email us at petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com and we will remove it as soon as possible. We give careful consideration to each photograph before uploading.

 

I want to tell people about these great photographs!

Great! Thank you! The best link to spread the word around is probably http://www.flickr.com/peterm7/sets

 

Reducing weight to increase fuel economy and payload is a continuing goal for most sectors of the transportation industry, including the automotive, trucking, rail, and aircraft sectors. Heavy truck manufacturers, for example, have relied upon aluminum castings with thick cross-sections to meet load and durability requirements and to reduce the weight of vehicles. However, as the life of trucks is steadily extended, to now well over a million miles, the longterm endurance of aluminum is being challenged. As an alternative, thin-wall steel castings feature:.* high strength.* high strength-to-weight ratios.* excellent fatigue properties.* lightweight (≤ aluminum counterpart)..Thin-wall steel castings also may replace other steel castings that are heavy and bulky due to wall sections that cannot economically be further reduced using conventional casting processes. Unfortunately, currently available processes for producing thin-wall steel castings are uneconomical. (Although the term “thin-wall” is relative, the cross-sections of conventional sand-cast steel castings are generally process limited to a minimum of .250 inches.) Researchers at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) use the evaporative pattern casting (EPC) process to make thin-wall steel castings and apply flow and solidification modeling to gating systems to optimize metal delivery and insure thin-wall filling. In the EPC process, molten metal is poured directly into a polystyrene or other foam pattern that is embedded in unbonded sand. The pattern vaporizes, and the metal assumes the pattern’s configuration. Each casting requires a new pattern. The advantages of EPC include: dimensional tolerances and surface finishes that approach those obtainable by investment casting; elimination of cores an option of gluing simple pattern parts together to make a more complex whole; elimination of sand binders and sand preparation equipment; reduction of pattern and part draft; elimination of parting lines; reduction of post-casting cleaning; and the freedom to orient patterns within molds in a variety of positions to increase options for casting feeding and directional solidification. EPC.economies are documented for aluminum casting, but the process has not been widely used to manufacture steel castings..NETL researchers have successfully made 0.125 inch (3 mm) thick castings by modifying the EPC process for aluminum casting and adapting it to steel. Double-walled sand flasks were developed for the application of vacuum to sand molds..Because metal freezing and fluidity are a function of time, the timely dispatch of metal to thin sections is essential. The vacuum speeds the delivery of molten metal by effectively increasing the pouring height to an equivalent of nearly five feet and provides additional flow enhancement to ensure complete pattern filling.

I live in the city centre and based on experience I can say without doubt that the homeless problem is increasing at an alarming rate. Today I counted seven tents, occupied by homeless people, in this public park. A few months ago there were two. However, there was little sign of what might be described as anti-social behaviour.

 

Within the park there is a memorial and a plaque which refers the the "Croppy's Acre" as the official name is currently the "Croppies Acre 1798 Memorial Park".

 

[WHAT I SAID IN OCTOBER 2018]

 

The good news is that this park now appears to be safe to visit and the decision to have it open twenty four hours a day must have solved the anti-social problems that had resulted in it being closed to the public for extended periods of time.

 

[WHAT I SAID BACK IN NOVEMBER 2016]

 

There are two separate parks which may be related but in general most tourist guides are unaware of this fact to the extent that some claim that Anna Livia is located in the park beside the the Museum Luas Tram Stop.

 

The major park, the one normally associated with the museum, is officially the Croppies Acre 1798 Memorial Park while the smaller park featuring Anna Livia and a small pond is the Croppies Memorial Park. The distinction is important because the larger park has been closed to the public for extended periods.

 

For many years due to anti-social behaviour, mainly drugs related, the major memorial park was off-limits to the public. There was also problems with homeless people occupying parts of the park. Even today, there was a tent towards one corner of the park. One cannot blame the homeless for taking advantage of the available space.

 

On Tuesday, 14th June at 2:00 p.m. the Croppies Acre 1798 Memorial Park, Wolfe Tone Quay, Dublin 7 was once again open to the public but I did not get a chance to visit until today [November 7 2016]. Having been conditioned to the park being always closed I found the fact that the gates were partly opened a little bit unsettling and as I was the only person [if one ignores the tent and one person who left immediately I arrived] in the park I was a bit worried that an official might come along and lock the gates without informing me. This has happened to me in the past elsewhere.

 

Following discussions in 2013 with the Office of Public Works it was agreed that the management of the 4.3 acre Park would transfer from the Office of Public Works to Dublin City Council.

 

Dublin City Council’s Parks and Landscape Services have carried out an extensive works programme to upgrade the park and make it more accessible for the citizens of Dublin and visitors to the city.

 

The works include a new circulatory path system, upgrading of the existing pedestrian gates and the provision of a new pedestrian gate at the south west end of the park. Existing memorial structures have been upgraded and general landscape improvement works have been carried out. The total cost of the works, were in the order of €120,000.

 

To be fair the park was in excellent condition when I visited today but the presence of a tent was a bit worrying as was the careless attitude to properly opening the gates.

 

The name ‘Croppy’ was used in Ireland in the 1790s and was a reference to the rebels who closely cropped their hair to mimic the French Revolutionaries of the period who cut their hair in contrast to the aristocracy who wore powdered wigs.

 

Historically the Croppies Acre was located on land under common pasturage and part of what was termed ‘Oxmantown Green’.

 

In the 17th century, a portion was later presented to the Viceroy, the Duke of Ormond to build a palace, however this was never built and the site was sold to the City Authorities for a Barracks. Built in 1704, it served as a military base for 250 years, it was formally the Royal Barracks and later Collins Barracks.

 

The Esplanade where the Croppies Acre is located today was fully constructed by the 1850s, complete with boundary walls and ornate railings. During the Great Famine, the Esplanade was the site of a food kitchen. By the 1900s, the land was levelled to form two football pitches for the military. In 1997, the Decorative Arts Section of the National Museum was opened in Collins Barracks and the Memorial Park was subsequently designed and laid out in 1998.

 

We have seen that Prime gap sizes have a pattern, with gap sizes in the AA and BB groups dominating, followed by smaller gap sizes in the AB and BA groups. However, we can also multiply the gap size and frequency to calculate the area each Prime gap size takes up within the number range. What we see is a beautiful curve, spiking along the AA and BB groups, with the AB and BA groups trailing underneath. The spikes gradually increase from 6, 12, 18, 24, and reach their maximum at 30 before going back down to eventually join the other groups. The area of the Prime gaps seems to predict how the frequency of Prime gap sizes will behave. Although it has been suggested that the frequency of Prime gap sizes follows a Primorial increase, the area of the Prime gaps suggest that 12 rather than 30 (2x3x5), will become the next most frequent Prime gap size, although calculating when this will happen would be very difficult. golem.ph.utexas.edu/category/2016/03/the_most_common_prim...

Coloured photo showing the present skin wall which had undergone maintenance many times in the past decades, its length also increased over the years as can be shown by the different texture of cobble stones put on the slope. The original skin wall was much shorter and without any retaining structure behind, this wall merely covered up the exposed soil surface after a minor landslide or rain erosion

 

The black and white photo was taken in 1950s, unlike the section of skin wall added later, which was constructed only more recently, the original wall can be seen with rows of granite blocks set level along Stubbs Road [ 司 徒 拔 道 / 史 塔 士 道 ] , thus showing clearly the road gradient at the toe of the slope. Strangely, both the new and old sections do not have weep holes on the upper surface to prevent building up of pore water pressure

 

Ecovolis program has proven successful in dramatically increasing bicycle use in Tirana, which, formerly, was a city without a developed bicycle culture. Ecovolis program is the first project in Albania that provides low-income adults with commuter bicycles as well as a donating program for children bicycles. The program recently completed two major steps, opening new bike stations in the city of Durrës and integrating Tourist Information Point Service to the bicycles stations' structure.

History

The Tirana Community Bicycle Albania project won financial support from the George Soros Open Society Foundation Albania (OSFA). An even larger contribution came from the US-based Pedal for Progress organization, which donated 450 bicycles. Sixty of these were used road bikes, which were modified and painted by local technicians to serve as public bikes in the Ecovolis scheme. Another portion was set aside to donate to children and to activists and volunteers at PASS. Still another portion were diverted to the project's Eco Bicycle Shop, a social enterprise which sells bikes for USD 50-150 and reinvests profits for the service and maintenance of Ecovolis bicycles. The main objective of the program was to introduce the community to an inexpensive, environmental friendly form of transport -- the bicycle; to sell used bikes at low prices; to donate bikes to the children of needy families and to PASS volunteers; to establish a bike sharing-scheme in the city (Ecovolis); and to employ financially disadvantaged people and young students to operate the bike-sharing scheme.

System

Each Ecovolis station is staffed by two employees in two shifts and contains 30 -- 60 bicycles. In order to use the bicycles it is required to provide a personal identification document (such as passport or ID card) or by subscribing to the Ecovolis membership Card.

The first black and red bicycles, (also the colors of the Albanian flag) were donated from US-organization Pedal for Progress, (which collect and donate used bicycles). As these bicycles were of different types, converting them for safe and comfortable public use took months of work. The price per bicycle varies from 60 US$ to 90 US$ each. The bicycle is equipped with a front bicycle basket, a behind carrier, a comfortable saddle and a public fender with the Ecovolis sign.

The bicycle stations also provide touristic information to the visitors and a list of the city attractions. Moreover, being a non-profit social enterprise, during particular days the program offers free bicycle service, cycling courses, donations of bicycles and helmets for children in need, bike tours and a bicycle recycle program.

Yes, I saved the best for last and that’s the Mopar $2,495 Stage 1 Performance Package (adds another 20 horsepower and 23 lb-ft of torque), 20” black spins ($397 each) which we wrapped in a new pair of 245/45R20 Yokohama ADVAN Sport A/S tires, Mopar Center Caps, Bright Pedal Kit ($95), Door Sill Entry Guards ($145), Rear Strut Tower Brace ($499), Front Strut Tower Brace ($372), Strut Tower Brace Caps ($187) and floor mats ($125) showcasing the blue Mopar emblem. The Yokohama tires felt planted and firm during our first winter rain. This is due to a duo of serpentine and straight grooves designed for escorting H20 out of the tread, ultimately increasing wet road grip. The braces increase vehicle rigidity by 7% while Stage 1 integrates a premium fuel calibrated Powertrain Control Module (PCM) along with a Cat-Back Exhaust, Cold Air Intake and High Flow Oil Filter. The 300C’s growl is now gaudier! Mopar is the aftermarket division of Chrysler, Jeep, RAM and FIAT and manufactures warranty-backed appearance accessories and performance parts.

Designer: Suzhou shi guo chuang she geming weiyuanhui (苏州市国闯社革命委员会)

1970, January

Grasp revolution, increase production, increase work, increase war preparation

Zhua geming, cu shengchan, cu gongzuo, cu zhanbei (抓革命，促生产，促工作，促战备)

Call nr.: PC-1970-006 (Private collection)

 

More? See: chineseposters.net

The first military K9 was introduced in 1952, it was derived from the civilian Loadstar range but was modified to make it more suitable for military service, with increased track and ground clearance and all-wheel drive. Designated as the FV16000 series the 4x4 K9 was rated at a very conservative 1 ton and the chassis was adapted for use as a cargo vehicle, ambulance, water tanker and the most numerous was the wireless body.

 

The services model saw duty with the Army and RAF from 1951 until as late as 1980 when some of the ‘signals vans’ were still in the hands of the ‘Territorials’, and others were in storage depots. None were bought by the Royal Navy and there is no evidence any were even used by the Senior Service. K9 was equipped with the familiar petrol, overhead valve, 3,995cc six cylinder developing 92bhp at 3000rpm. But to create the revised model, rifle clips, a gun ring in the roof, and larger tyres (9.00 x 20) single all round were fitted. There was a transfer box to take the drive to the front axle, but even so, the off-road capability was very limited.

 

Over the years various other modifications took place which included stoplights, and a convoy lamp and plate. Then came manually raised indicator arms and ‘NATO’ trailer socket, while some ‘K9's’ used by the BAOR (British Army of the Rhine) got electrically operated trafficators. RAF vehicles differed from their sisters in having no convoy light, a civilian pattern number plate lamp, stoplights from new and semaphore indicators in the panel behind the cab doors. Three types of cab appeared, the differences being detail changes to the scuttle (no waist level louvers on early examples, for instance) floor and rear panels. Some K9's were supplied as a cab and bare chassis to be fitted with van bodies or a water tank built by outside coachbuilders. Even the standard bodies though displayed immense variety. The most basic K9 is probably the Cargo FV16001 which was designed to carry a section of soldiers and their kit. Cargo/FFW FV16002 is the somewhat lengthy code which described the standard K9 truck when '‘fitted for wireless'’ (FFW).

 

In 1955 there were developments on the communications front when a new range of radio stations called '‘Larkspur'’ was introduced. This led to the FFR (fitted for radio) K9 with a mast on the body side, brackets for the aerial tuning unit (left front wing top) and various other supports and leads. These were officially described as Radio Station Van FV16003 and also as ‘Wireless Light’. There was also Radio Repair Van FV16004, which was also the same as FV16003 only fitted out for the roles described. The ambulance version called FV16005. The 200 gallon water tanker was coded FV16009 or FV16008 (for RAF) and had a proprietary body built in Durham. Other versions were FV16006 signal, FV16010 welding, and FV16011 radar calibration equipment.

  

K9 variants:

 

▪︎FV16001 - Cargo

▪︎FV16002 - Cargo Fitted For Wireless

▪︎FV16003 - Wireless Light Mk.ll

▪︎FV16004 - Radio Repair

▪︎FV16005 - Ambulance / Crash Rescue

▪︎FV16006 - Signals, E Type Body Mk.lll Unfitted (RAF)

▪︎FV16006 - Signals, E Type Body, Mk.lll, RVT 267 Mk.l (RAF)

▪︎FV16006 - Signals, E Type Body, Mk.lll, RVT 511 Mk.l (RAF)

▪︎FV16006 - Signals, E Type Body, Mk.lll, RVT 315 Mk.lA (RAF)

▪︎FV16006 - Signals, E Type Body, Mk.lll, RVT 606 Mk.l (RAF)

▪︎FV16006 - Signals, E Type Body, Mk.lll, RVT 634 Mk.l (RAF)

▪︎FV16006 - Signals, E Type Body, Mk.lll, RVT 587 Mk.ll (RAF)

▪︎FV16007 - Signals, E Type Body, Mk.lV, RVT 105 Mk.lA (RAF)

▪︎FV16008 - Water Tanker, 200 gallon (RAF)

▪︎FV16009 - Water Tanker, 200 gallon

▪︎FV16010 - Welding

▪︎FV16011 - Radar Calibration Equipment, Mk.l

▪︎FV16012 - Cargo, Multi-Fuel

▪︎FV16013 - Ambulance / Crash Rescue, Multi-Fuel

▪︎FV16014 - Signals, E Type Body

▪︎FV16015 - Wireles, Light, Mk.ll, Direction Finder, R216

▪︎FV16106 - Sensitivity Test Vehicle.

  

General characteristics:

 

▪︎Manufacturer: Austin Motor Company Limited

▪︎Manufactured: 1952 to 1955

▪︎Powerplant: Austin Truck ''High Speed'' Series 2, 3993cc, six cylinder petrol, overhead valves, 90bhp at 3000rpm

▪︎Torque: 190lbf/ft at 1300rpm

▪︎Transmission: 4 Forward, 1 Reverse x 2 with part-time 4x4

▪︎Suspension: Live axles on semi-elliptical multi-leaf springs, progressive rubber bumpers, hydraulic telescopic shock absorbers

▪︎Brakes: Hydraulic on all wheels, parking on rear, no servo

▪︎Construction: Pressed-steel welded cab, rear body according to role

▪︎Electrical system: 12v or 24v according to role

▪︎Fuel Tank: 20 Imperial gallons

▪︎Range: 310 miles at 27mph

▪︎Tyres: 9.00in x 20in 10 ply, cross country

▪︎Length: 17ft 4in (Standard Cargo Version)

▪︎Width 7ft 3in

▪︎Height: Top of canvas 8ft 8in / top of cab 8ft

▪︎Wheelbase: 11ft 5in

▪︎Unladen Weight: 3.122 tons.

 

Sourced from:

trucksplanet.com/models/austin-k9-military/

www.lr-mad.co.uk/en/austin-k9-truck/

Hollis Increase

This is a photograph from the 3rd annual running of the Trim AC 10 Mile Road Race and Fun Run which was held in Trim, Co. Meath, Ireland on Sunday 5th February 2017 at 12:00. The race attracted over 1,200 participants which shows a 100% increase on last year's participation. The event shows growth year on year mirroring the growing popularity of the race. The race started on the Trim/Athboy road on the town's ring road and proceded to take an anti-clockwise loop out towards the village of Dunderry and townland of Kilbride before returning back to the Trim Industrial Estate for the finish. The route is held on quiet country roads with some hills at 3, 6, 8 mile segments.

 

Our full set of photos from mile 1 and the finish are at: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157679859593016

 

The weather for this year's race was perfect for racing. There was a hard frost overnight but this brought clear bright skies and crisp air. There was no real wind to speak of.

 

Waterstops were provided at the 4.5 and 7 mile marks on the course. All access roads were well stewarded. The event was sponsored by Bewleys 1840 and many local business establishments. Credit must go to the Trim AC team for their flawless organisation. If the first three years of this year are anything to go on then this race will continue to grow. For runners around the North Leinster area this 10 mile race serves as a perfect training progress stepping stone to the Bohermeen Half Marathon which will take place in March 2016 and is located only 15 minutes drive from Trim.

 

USEFUL LINKS

Our Flickr photographs from the 2016 race: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157664217257512

Our Flickr photographs from the 2015 race: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157650166189770

Boards.ie Discussion Thread on the 2017 race: www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057673405

10 Mile Road Race Timelapse Video of the Route: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jp84CrctQM

  

USING OUR PHOTOGRAPHS - A QUICK GUIDE AND ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS

Can I use these photographs directly from Flickr on my social media account(s)?

 

Yes - of course you can! Flickr provides several ways to share this and other photographs in this Flickr set. You can share directly to: email, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, LiveJournal, and Wordpress and Blogger blog sites. Your mobile, tablet, or desktop device will also offer you several different options for sharing this photo page on your social media outlets.

 

BUT..... Wait there a minute....

We take these photographs as a hobby and as a contribution to the running community in Ireland. We do not charge for our photographs. Our only "cost" is that we request that if you are using these images: (1) on social media sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter,LinkedIn, Google+, VK.com, Vine, Meetup, Tagged, Ask.fm,etc or (2) other websites, blogs, web multimedia, commercial/promotional material that you must provide a link back to our Flickr page to attribute us or acknowledge us as the original photographers.

 

This also extends to the use of these images for Facebook profile pictures. In these cases please make a separate wall or blog post with a link to our Flickr page. If you do not know how this should be done for Facebook or other social media please email us and we will be happy to help suggest how to link to us.

 

I want to download these pictures to my computer or device?

 

You can download this photographic image here directly to your computer or device. This version is the low resolution web-quality image. How to download will vary slight from device to device and from browser to browser. Have a look for a down-arrow symbol or the link to 'View/Download' all sizes. When you click on either of these you will be presented with the option to download the image. Remember just doing a right-click and "save target as" will not work on Flickr.

 

I want get full resolution, print-quality, copies of these photographs?

 

If you just need these photographs for online usage then they can be used directly once you respect their Creative Commons license and provide a link back to our Flickr set if you use them. For offline usage and printing all of the photographs posted here on this Flickr set are available free, at no cost, at full image resolution.

 

Please email petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com with the links to the photographs you would like to obtain a full resolution copy of. We also ask race organisers, media, etc to ask for permission before use of our images for flyers, posters, etc. We reserve the right to refuse a request.

 

In summary please remember when requesting photographs from us - If you are using the photographs online all we ask is for you to provide a link back to our Flickr set or Flickr pages. You will find the link above clearly outlined in the description text which accompanies this photograph. Taking these photographs and preparing them for online posting takes a significant effort and time. We are not posting photographs to Flickr for commercial reasons. If you really like what we do please spread the link around your social media, send us an email, leave a comment beside the photographs, send us a Flickr email, etc. If you are using the photographs in newspapers or magazines we ask that you mention where the original photograph came from.

 

I would like to contribute something for your photograph(s)?

Many people offer payment for our photographs. As stated above we do not charge for these photographs. We take these photographs as our contribution to the running community in Ireland. If you feel that the photograph(s) you request are good enough that you would consider paying for their purchase from other photographic providers or in other circumstances we would suggest that you can provide a donation to any of the great charities in Ireland who do work for Cancer Care or Cancer Research in Ireland.

 

Let's get a bit technical: We use Creative Commons Licensing for these photographs

We use the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License for all our photographs here in this photograph set. What does this mean in reality?

The explaination is very simple.

Attribution- anyone using our photographs gives us an appropriate credit for it. This ensures that people aren't taking our photographs and passing them off as their own. This usually just mean putting a link to our photographs somewhere on your website, blog, or Facebook where other people can see it.

ShareAlike – anyone can use these photographs, and make changes if they like, or incorporate them into a bigger project, but they must make those changes available back to the community under the same terms.

 

Above all what Creative Commons aims to do is to encourage creative sharing. See some examples of Creative Commons photographs on Flickr: www.flickr.com/creativecommons/

 

I ran in the race - but my photograph doesn't appear here in your Flickr set! What gives?

 

As mentioned above we take these photographs as a hobby and as a voluntary contribution to the running community in Ireland. Very often we have actually ran in the same race and then switched to photographer mode after we finished the race. Consequently, we feel that we have no obligations to capture a photograph of every participant in the race. However, we do try our very best to capture as many participants as possible. But this is sometimes not possible for a variety of reasons:

 

     ►You were hidden behind another participant as you passed our camera

     ►Weather or lighting conditions meant that we had some photographs with blurry content which we did not upload to our Flickr set

     ►There were too many people - some races attract thousands of participants and as amateur photographs we cannot hope to capture photographs of everyone

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Hollis Increase

Yesterday, Jools and I were lucky to have tickets to a wonderful tour of the WW2 underground shelter complex at Clapham South Underground Station. Although it is/was separate from the station itself.

 

We massed outside the tube station, then after checking and showing our tickets, we were taken to the fortified entrance for the 180 steps taking us down to the shelter level.

 

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As congestion on the Northern Line increased in the '30s, a plan was developed to build a second pair of tunnels in parallel with the Charing Cross branch of the Northern Line that would act as an express route through London. These plans were shelved at the outset of the Second World War, but as the platforms of the Underground became increasingly used by the general public overnight as air raid shelters (despite being initially discouraged), work began in 1940 on building deep level shelters which were envisaged to eventually become the platform tunnels for the express route.

 

Ten shelters were originally planned - five to the north of the Thames and five to the south. All of these were to eventually form part of the Northern Line express route apart from Chancery Lane and St. Pauls, which were associated with the Central Line. The stations on the Northern Line that were equipped with extra tunneling are: Belsize Park, Camden Town, Goodge Steet, Stockwell, Clapham North, Clapham Common, Clapham South. Work on St. Pauls was abandoned in 1941 for fear of damaging the cathedral's foundations and also work ceased on a shelter at Oval soon after, due to extensive flooding. It is unknown whether Oval would have been included in the express route.

 

Above ground, each shelter's shafts were protected by specially constructed 'pill box' buildings to prevent any bombs that directly hit the location from going underground. Each pill box housed lift machinery and provided the cover for spiral staircases down to the shelter's tunnels.

 

Each shelter consisted of two parallel tunnels that were 16ft 6in (approx. 4.9m) in diameter and were 1400ft (approx. 427m) in length. Two pairs of shafts were sunk for each shelter, with the pairs being sited a distance from each other in case a bomb struck, blocking a shaft. At each location, one shaft was for the spiral staircase and lift, the other a narrower ventilation shaft.

 

The two tunnels were interconnected at various places along their length. A floor was constructed at the horizontal diameter level of the tunnel, providing two decks of accommodation. Ventilation, medical, and catering facilities were provided and electricity was obtained from two sources in case bombing caused one to fail - the local authority and the London Underground system, which had its own power station at Lotts Road.

 

The spiral staircases were constructed in the form of a double helix. One staircase would lead to the upper deck, the other to the lower. This was to allow shelterers to be able to quickly access their destination deck with minimum confusion. On the whole, the upper and lower decks were run independently, though access between decks was provided in the mid-point and at both end of the tunnels. The lift would have access to both upper and lower decks, but was not meant to be used by shelterers.

 

Toilet facilities were constructed near the lift shafts, with the sewage being periodically hydraulically pumped up a rising main to a sewer close to surface level. There was storage capacity of 5 days for sewage should the hydraulic mechanism fail for some reason. Water was supplied from the local water supply, but should this fail, each shaft was equipped with a 3000 gallon tank of water near the surface.

 

Each shelter was originally designed to house up to 12,000 people but by the time they were built, the number of bunks had been dropped to a more comfortable 8,000. Bunks were arranged along the walls in various configurations, to maximise use of space.

 

Ventilation is vital in such a confined environment and a lot of thought was given to this. Air entered the shelter through the entrances and flowed down the spiral staircases, along the connecting tunnels into the shelter area. Stale air was then sucked out of the shelter through metal pipes in the roof (top deck) and under the floor (bottom deck). A fan pumped the air up a specially constructed ventilation shaft, out into a 30ft high tower so that it exhausted well away from the fresh air entering at ground level. When the fans were run at maximum power, the air in the shelter would be completely changed 15 times an hour.

 

The air was filtered in case of gas attack. All doors were gas seals when closed, and should there be an attack, the entrance doorways would be shut, with the air passing through grilles in the roof of the pill box (clearly visible on the Goodge Street picture below) and through gas filtration equipment.

 

It was hoped that when their wartime use had come to an end, tunneling would re-start to allow the already constructed tunnel sections to be interconnected, providing the express Northern Line route. For this reason, most shelters were constructed with ease of access to the existing Northern Line in mind. All of these shelters were constructed close to and in parallel with the existing platform tunnels of nearby stations on the Northern Line, and have interconnection tunnels with the existing platforms. In some cases, these interconnections have since been blocked.

 

Most of the shelters took about a year and a half to complete, but amazingly, the government got cold feet about using them as public shelters as they were incredibly expensive to maintain. Several of the shelters were re-purposed. Goodge Street became Genereal Eisenhower's headquarters, some were converted for government use while others were used as army barracks, to house troops in transit.

 

It took the advent of the flying bombs (V1 and later V2) to convince the government that they should be used as they were originally intended and some were converted back to be used as public shelters.

 

After the Second World War came to an end, plans to create the express route stayed on the shelf, and were then ultimately dropped as money for the project wasn't available. Most of the shelters found post war use initially as accommodation for the army in transit and most are today in use as storage facilities.

 

As they were now being used for other purposes, all the deep level shelters were isolated from their associated active Underground stations, in most cases the interconnection tunnels being bricked up.

 

underground-history.co.uk/shelters.php

Global temperatures have increased at an unprecedented pace in the past 40 years and significant further warming could occur. All countries will feel the direct negative effects of unmitigated climate change, but this paper finds that the economic costs of temperature increases will likely fall disproportionately on countries with hot climates, such as most low-income countries. Sound domestic policies and institutions can help reduce the adverse consequences of weather shocks, but only to a limited degree. The international community must play a key role in supporting low income countries’ efforts to adapt to climate change. Only continued international cooperation and a concerted effort to stem greenhouse gas emissions can limit the long-term risks of climate change.

OMTimes Magazine & SACREDspace Yoga :

Pose of the Month March 2011

 

An inversion pose such as the downward facing dog causes a temporary increase in blood circulation to the head. This increased blood flow triggers the body's calming mechanism, which slows the heart rate and respiration. Initiate the downward dog by balancing with your hands and knees on the ground. Your knees should be directly underneath your hips, while your hands should sit just in front of your shoulders. On an inhale, straighten your legs and lift your sit bones toward the ceiling. Allow your entire body to stretch away from the ground; your body should look like a triangle. Hold the pose for one to three minutes.

 

The Practice

 

The preparatory position is with the hands and knees on the floor, hands under the shoulders, fingers spread wide, knees under the hips and typically about seven inches (17 cm) apart, with the spine straightened and relaxed.

   

On a deep exhale, the hips are pushed toward the ceiling, the body forming an inverted V-shape, with an arch in the back. The legs and arms are straight, the elbows engaged, the shoulders wide and relaxed. The heels move toward the floor. The hands and feet remain hip-width apart. If the hamstrings are very strong or tight, the knees are bent to allow the spine to lengthen fully.

   

Stress on the wrists is reduced by pressing down with the fingers and borders of the palms, and pushing the hips up and backwards. The head drops slightly. The heart moves toward the back.

  

The hips move up and back. Focus is on the breath while holding the posture, with deep, steady inhalation and exhalation creating a flow of energy through the body. On an exhale, the practitioner releases onto the hands and knees and rests.

   

BKS Iyengar asserts that this posture stretches the shoulders, legs, spine and whole body; builds strength throughout the body, particularly the arms, legs, and feet; relieves fatigue and rejuvenates the body; improves the immune system, digestion and blood flow to the sinuses, and calms the mind and lifts the spirits.

  

This posture is not recommended if the wrists are sensitive or injured. A modified posture may be appropriate, such as placing the hands against a wall rather than the floor.

West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The population was 117,415 at the 2020 census. West Palm Beach is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to 6,138,333 people in 2020. It is the oldest incorporated municipality in the South Florida area, incorporated as a city two years before Miami in November 1894. West Palm Beach is located approximately 68 miles (109 km) north of Downtown Miami.

 

The history of West Palm Beach, Florida, began more than 5,000 years ago with the arrival of the first aboriginal natives. Native American tribes such as the Jaegas inhabited the area. Though control of Florida changed among Spain, England, the United States, and the Confederate States of America, the area remained largely undeveloped until the 20th century. By the 1870s and 1880s, non-Native American settlers had inhabited areas in the vicinity of West Palm Beach and referred to the settlement as "Lake Worth Country". However, the population remained very small until the arrival of Henry Flagler in the 1890s. Flagler constructed hotels and resorts in Palm Beach to create a travel destination for affluent tourists, who could travel there via his railroad beginning in 1894.

 

Flagler originally intended for West Palm Beach to serve as a residential area for the workers at his hotels in Palm Beach. In 1893, George W. Potter surveyed and platted the original 48 blocks of the city. West Palm Beach would be incorporated as a town on November 5, 1894, before becoming a city in 1903. Upon the establishment of Palm Beach County in 1909, West Palm Beach received the designation of county seat. The city developed much more rapidly during the 1920s land boom, which saw a nearly four-fold increase in population between 1920 and 1927 and the construction of many of the city's historical buildings and neighborhoods. However, the 1928 hurricane – which devastated the city – and end of the land boom ushered the area into an era of economic decline just prior to the onset of the Great Depression.

 

West Palm Beach experienced an economic rebound in the post-World War II years, as veterans who trained at Morrison Field vacationed or relocated to the area. The city also markedly expanded westward in the 1950s and 1960s, with thousands of acres of wetlands drained and filled. In the latter decade, a municipal stadium, auditorium, and mall were built on the newly drained and filled land. Commercial development west of the original city boundaries led to urban decay in downtown by the 1980s. However, the beautification of Clematis Street beginning in the early 1990s, and the opening of CityPlace in 2000 led to a revitalized downtown area. In 2018, the United States Census Bureau estimated that the city had a population of 111,398.

 

Archaeological evidence suggests that the Jaegas settled in modern-day Palm Beach County as many as 5,000 years ago. The first contact between Native Americans in the area and Europeans occurred in 1513 upon Juan Ponce de León's landfall at the Jupiter Inlet. Europeans encountered a thriving native population, the Mayaimi in the Lake Okeechobee Basin, while the Jaegas and Ais resided east of Lake Okeechobee and along the east coast north of the Tequestas. When the Spanish arrived, there were perhaps about 20,000 Native Americans in South Florida. The native peoples had all but been wiped out through war, enslavement, or European diseases, by the time the English gained control of Florida in 1763. Other native people from Alabama and Georgia moved into Florida in the early 18th century. They were of varied ancestry, but Europeans called them all Creeks. In Florida, they were known as the Seminole and Miccosukee Indians. American settlers and Seminoles fought against each other due to land and escaped slaves, who were granted protection by the Seminoles. They resisted the government's efforts to move them to the Indian Territory west of the Mississippi. The Seminoles and the United States government fought with each other in three wars between 1818 and 1858. By the end of the third war, very few Seminoles remained in Florida.

 

The area that was to become West Palm Beach was settled in the late 1870s and 1880s by a few hundred settlers who called the vicinity "Lake Worth Country". These settlers were a diverse community from different parts of the United States and the world. They included founding families such as the Potters and the Lainharts, who would go on to become leading members of the business community in the fledgling city. Irving R. Henry filed the first homestead claim in 1880, claiming 131 acres (53 ha). Henry would later sell the land to Captain O. S. Porter. The first non-Native American settlers in Palm Beach County resided around Lake Worth, – an enclosed freshwater lake at the time – named after Colonel William Jenkins Worth, who served in the Second Seminole War in 1842. Reverend Elbridge Gale and his son are believed to have constructed the first log cabin on the western shore of Lake Worth, located near where the intersection of 29th Street and Poinsettia Avenue stands today. Most settlers engaged in the growing of tropical fruits and vegetables for shipment to the north via Lake Worth and the Indian River.

 

In 1890, the United States Census counted over 200 people settled along Lake Worth in the vicinity of what would become West Palm Beach. The area at this time also boasted a hotel, the "Cocoanut House", a church, and a post office. Henry Flagler, who was instrumental to Palm Beach County's development in the late 19th century and early 20th century, first visited in 1892, describing the area as a "veritable paradise". The first newspaper in the area, The Gazetteer, began publication in 1893, but the paper ceased printing issues after burning in a downtown fire in 1896. Additionally, West Palm Beach's first business, Lainhart and Potter Lumber Company, and the first bank, Dade County State Bank, were both established in 1893. That year, Flagler began planning a city to house the employees working in the two grand hotels on the neighboring island of Palm Beach.

 

Flagler paid two area settlers, Porter and Louie Hillhouse, a combined sum of $45,000 for the original town site. Flagler hired George W. Potter, Dade County's first surveyor, to set aside 48 blocks for development stretching from Clear Lake to Lake Worth, an area that would later become West Palm Beach. The east-to-west oriented streets were named alphabetically from north to south – Althea, Banyan, Clematis, Datura, Evernia, Fern – while some of the north-to-south roads were called Lantana, Narcissus, Olive, Poinsettia, Rosemary, and Tamarind. Most of these names are still used today. Over in Palm Beach, construction began on the Royal Poinciana Hotel on May 1, 1893. The lots in West Palm Beach were auctioned off in the ballroom of the Royal Poinciana on February 4, 1894, one week before the hotel opened for business. In late March, Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway reached West Palm Beach.

 

On November 5, 1894, residents met at the "Calaboose", which served as the first jail and police station. The building formerly stood at Clematis Street and Poinsettia, now Dixie Highway. The 78 people there voted on a motion to incorporate, with 77 in favor and 1 against. They also decided to name the municipality "West Palm Beach", originally a town. This made West Palm Beach the first incorporated municipality in the county and in Southeast Florida. On the following day, 78 people also met to vote on the new town officers. Voters elected John S. Earman as the first mayor, while Henry J. Burkhardt, E. H. Dimick, J. M. Garland, H. T. Grant, J. F. Lamond, and George Zapf became the town's first aldermen. Eli Sims and W. L. Tolbert were chosen to be town clerk and town marshal, respectively. Later in November 1894, the Flagler Alerts, an all-volunteer fire department, was established as the first fire department in the city.

 

Although Flagler intended for the West Palm Beach area to be the southern terminus of his railroad, the track was extended farther southward to Miami after two severe freezes in the winter of 1894–95. The Weather Bureau office, then located in Jupiter, recorded temperatures of 24 and 27 °F (−4 and −3 °C) on December 29, 1894, and February 9, 1895, respectively. Though the railroad continued southward to Miami and eventually to Key West, Flagler and his workers continued building structures in the early years of Palm Beach and West Palm Beach. Completion of a railroad bridge across Lake Worth in 1895 allowed passengers to directly reach Palm Beach from West Palm Beach. A census conducted that year reported a population of 1,192 people. However, the town's population decreased by more than half during the second half of the 1890s due to damage to the citrus industry caused by the aforementioned freezes, a brief cessation in construction activity, and national recessions. 

 

At the V-shaped split at the east end of Clematis Street, "City Park" (later known as Flagler Park) was constructed, which contained a bandstand, a field for impromptu baseball games, and by 1896, a free "reading room". Two large fires devastated downtown West Palm Beach in early 1896. On January 2, an overheated stove at Midway Plaisance Saloon and Restaurant resulted in a fire that spread across all of Banyan Street. The next fire occurred on February 20, ignited after a man accidentally knocked over an oil lamp. Much of Narcissus Street burned, including the building housing The Gazetteer, which never resumed publication. The fire led to stricter building codes, with structures required to be made of bricks. Wilmon Whilldin, who served as mayor from 1898 to 1899, led a transition away from tents and shanty homes. He also emphasized the importance of more dwellings, parks, shade trees, and sanitation.

 

By the turn of the century, West Palm Beach had electrical and telephone service, a library, a sewer system, a pumping station, and paved roads. The 1900 Census indicated a population of 564. The library was established that year. Charles John Clarke, owner of the Palm Beach Yacht Club, donated the two-story building to be used as the library. Other donations allowed the building to be transported across the Lake Worth Lagoon via barge. The building replaced the reading room at City Park. By 1903, the town council submitted a city charter to the Florida Legislature, which was approved on July 21.

 

In September, a hurricane made landfall near Fort Lauderdale. As inclement weather conditions began arriving in West Palm Beach, businesses suspended their normal operations and people boarded up buildings, even as strong winds arrived. Many buildings lost their roofs, and much debris, including roofing materials, branches, paper, and driftwood, littered the streets. As northeast winds reached their peak late on September 11 and early on September 12, parts of buildings blew away. In the African-American section of the city, several buildings were destroyed. Just one of the four churches stood after the hurricane. Despite the hurricane, the city continued to grow, with newer businesses and more people arriving.

 

Banyan Street, originally the only location where alcohol was sold, gained an infamous reputation for its brothels, gambling halls, and saloons, which included an incident in 1895 in which Mayor Earman was arrested and charged with public intoxication while accompanying a prostitute. He was acquitted of the charges. By 1904, some local women called Carrie Nation, a radical temperance movement member notorious for attacking alcohol-serving establishments with a hatchet. However, there is no indication of her ravaging the saloons on Banyan Street. During the following years, the road's continuously poor reputation resulted in it being renamed First Street in 1925, which was reverted to Banyan Street in 1989.[26] The city's first fire department building and city hall opened in 1905 at the northeast corner of Datura Street and Poinsetta Street (modern day U.S. Route 1, also known as Dixie Highway). In 1909, Palm Beach County was formed by the Florida State Legislature, carved out of the northern portion of Dade County. West Palm Beach became the county seat. That same year, the West Palm Beach Telephone Company, the area's first telephone service, was incorporated with 65 customers.

 

According to the 1910 United States Census, the population of West Palm Beach was 1,743. Prior to the 1910s, many African Americans in the area lived in a segregated section of Palm Beach called the "Styx", with an estimated population of 2,000 at its peak. However, between 1910 and 1912, African Americans were evicted from the Styx. Urban legend states that the Styx was burned down by Flager's white laborers, as the shanty town was viewed as an eyesore. However, there is much evidence to refute this theory. Most of the displaced residents relocated to the northern end of West Palm Beach, in neighborhoods today known as Northwest, Pleasant City, and Freshwater.

 

After the passage of the Dick Act in 1903, Florida became the first state to establish its own National Guard. In 1914, a unit was established in West Palm Beach. Personnel from this unit were deployed to the Mexico–United States border from July 1916 to March 1917 and for service in Europe in October 1917.

 

In 1916, a neo-classical county courthouse was opened. Prior to the opening of the courthouse, county business was conducted at a school building located at Clematis Avenue and Poinsettia Street. The building underwent renovations in the 1950s and 1960s. It was used as the county courthouse until a new courthouse opened in 1995. The Board of County Commissioners agreed in 2002 to return the historic courthouse to its original design. Restoration was completed in March 2008 at a cost of just over $18 million. Today, the original courthouse houses the Historical Society of Palm Beach County and the Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum.

 

The Palm Beach Post became a daily newspaper in January 1916, after publishing weekly editions since its founding in 1909. Based in West Palm Beach, the paper is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the county. As of November 2017, The Palm Beach Post ranked as the fifth largest newspaper by circulation in the state of Florida, behind only the Miami Herald, Sun-Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel, and Tampa Bay Times.

 

The West Palm Beach Canal opened in 1917. The canal stretched from the Lake Worth Lagoon westward to Twenty Mile Bend and then northwestward to Canal Point, where it enters Lake Okeechobee. The canal lowered Lake Okeechobee and allowed land to be drained for agriculture, while also allowing easier transportation of crops to the coast. The city capitalized on this development and built a new canal branch and dock facilities, boat slips, a turning basin, and warehouses. West Palm Beach soon became the county's shopping center for pineapple, sugar cane, and winter vegetables.

 

By the 1910s, a movement to transition to a council–manager government gained enough momentum to allow a vote in 1919. Under the proposal, the citizens would elect members of the city council, who would in turn select the mayor. On August 29, 1919, voters approved the proposal by 201–82. The proposal also called for a primary for the election of city commissioners to be held within three weeks. The rules for the primary stated the top three vote-getters were elected to the city council. David F. Dunkle became the first mayor under this system, with his inauguration occurring on September 22, 1919.

 

Although construction slowed dramatically during World War I, West Palm Beach and the state of Florida, unlike most of the nation, was not hit as hard by the Post–World War I recession, as the completion of major roadways such as Dixie Highway and the milder climate attracted middle-class tourists. Investors and realtors heavily promoted living and vacationing in Florida. The city grew rapidly in the 1920s as part of the Florida land boom. The population of West Palm Beach quadrupled from 1920 to 1927, coupled with significant growth in businesses and public services. Property values also rose significantly, from $13.6 million in 1920 to $61 million in 1925.

 

All areas of West Palm Beach east of Australian Avenue had been platted by 1927, although sections north of 36th Street and south of Southern Boulevard remained mostly undeveloped.  Many of the city's landmark structures and preserved neighborhoods were constructed in the 1920s. For example, during this time, the Harvey and Clarke architectural firm – formed by Henry Stephen Harvey (the Mayor of West Palm Beach from 1924 to 1926) and L. Philips Clarke in 1921 – designed several structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Alfred J. Comeau House, American National Bank Building, Comeau Building, Dixie Court Hotel (demolished in 1990), Guaranty Building and Pine Ridge Hospital. Several waterfront hotels were built in the 1920s, including the Royal Palm, El Verano, and Pennsylvania. Other notable projects constructed during this era included Good Samaritan Hospital and the Seaboard Airline Railroad Station. Additionally, the city opened its first permanent library on January 26, 1924, named the Memorial Library in honor of those who died during World War I.

 

See also: Effects of the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane in Florida

The 1928 Okeechobee hurricane devastated West Palm Beach. The city observed at least 10 in (250 mm) of rainfall. Among the buildings destroyed included a furniture store, pharmacy, warehouse, hotel, school, an ironworks, and the fire station. All of the theaters in the city suffered severe damage or destruction. Generally, wood-frame buildings fared poorly and many other structures lost their roofs, while the few concrete-built structures remained standing. Skylights at the county courthouse and city hall shattered, damaging documents and records. Only one business on Clematis Street escaped serious damage, while two buildings remained standing on the north side of Banyan Boulevard (then known as First Street) between Dixie Highway and Olive Avenue, owing to the frail construction of the business buildings in that section of the city. The latter, considered the auto row of West Palm Beach, was reduced to "a mass of debris", according to The New York Times. Partially destruction of the hospital led to a temporary hospital being set up in the Pennsylvania Hotel, which itself suffered damage after the chimney crashed through 14 floors. At the city library, more than half of the books were destroyed and the floor was covered with about 2 ft (0.61 m) of water and mud. Waves washed up mounds of sand and debris across Banyan Boulevard, Clematis Street, and Datura Street, to Olive Avenue.

 

The buildings used by The Palm Beach Post and the Palm Beach Times suffered severe damage, though both companies continued to publish newspapers with little interruption. The Central Farmers Trust Company, the city's only bank, was deroofed and flooded. Prior to the storm, the American Legion building was designated as the headquarters for the Red Cross, but the building was severely damaged, forcing the Red Cross to relocate its relief post to another building. At Palm Beach High School, then located where the Dreyfoos School of the Arts stands today, the clock tower collapsed. The storm deroofed most buildings at Saint Ann's Catholic Church, while Bradley Hall Towers suffered total destruction. At Flamingo Park, one of the worst hit areas of the city, many homes suffered damage, while a shopping center on Lake Avenue experienced near complete destruction. In contrast, the El Cid and Northwood neighborhoods generally experienced only superficial impact. Fallen pine trees blocked many streets in Vedado. At Bacon Park, the area west of Parker Avenue was desolate.

 

Many homes also experienced damage in the African-American section of the city, where most dwellings were built of discarded material. On one street, only two houses did not lose either their walls or roof. Strong winds tossed cars and walls down the streets. During the storm, about 100 people ran to a trash incinerator, a concrete-reinforced building. Local Black churches suffered significant damage. Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church lost many bricks on its front facade, much of the metal grillwork around the entrances, and its roof.. The storm destroyed Payne Chapel AME Church, while St. Patrick's Catholic Church received about $40,000 in damage. According to county coroner T. M. Rickards, the streets were "shoulder-deep in debris. The suffering throughout was beyond words." Throughout the city, the storm destroyed 1,711 homes and damaged 6,369 others, leaving about 2,100 families homeless. Additionally, the hurricane demolished 268 businesses and impacted 490 others. In all, damage totaled approximately $13.8 million and 11 deaths occurred.

 

Farther inland, the hurricane is believed to have killed at least 2,500 people in cities just southeast of Lake Okeechobee, particularly in Bean City, Belle Glade, Chosen, Pahokee, and South Bay. After the storm, at least 743 bodies were brought to West Palm Beach for burial. Due to racial segregation, all but eight of the victims that received a proper burial at Woodlawn Cemetery were white. The remaining 674 bodies who were black or of an unidentifiable race were mass buried at a site near the junction of 25th Street and Tamarind Avenue, which was the city's paupers cemetery. After the burials were complete, Mayor Vincent Oaksmith proclaimed an hour of mourning on October 1 for those who died during the storm. At the pauper's cemetery, a funeral service was hosted by several local clergymen and attended by about 3,000 people, including educator Mary McLeod Bethune. A memorial was placed at Woodlawn Cemetery on behalf of the victims of the storm, but no such marker was placed at the paupers cemetery mass burial site until 2003, around the 75th anniversary of the storm.

 

The economic decline and the storm combined caused further skepticism among potential investors and buyers of land in the area. As a result, property values plummeted. During the end of the 1920s, several banks and hotels throughout the county declared bankruptcy or were sold to new owners, Palm Beach Bank and Trust. In October 1929, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurred, initiating the Great Depression. Real estate costs in West Palm Beach dropped 53 percent to $41.6 million between 1929 and 1930 and further to only $18.2 million by 1935. Twelve banks failed in Palm Beach County by 1930. However, houses continued to be constructed by the private sector. Also in despite of the economic turmoil, the population continued to increase, albeit at a far slower rate than the previous decades. Between 1920 and 1930, the city's population went from 8,659 to 26,610, a 207.3% increase. However, from 1930 to 1940, the population of the city increased from 26,610 to 33,693, or 26.6%.

 

In 1933, Palm Beach Junior College (PBJC) was established in West Palm Beach at Palm Beach High School, which is now Dreyfoos School of the Arts, becoming the first junior college in Florida. County school superintendent Joe Youngblood and Palm Beach High School principal Howell Watkins were instrumental in founding the college. Watkins was selected to be the college's first dean. Initially, the college's goal was to provide additional training to local high school graduates who were unable to find jobs during the Great Depression. The college would move out of its original building in 1948 and later to its current main campus in Lake Worth in 1956. PBJC eventually expanded to five campuses – Belle Glade (1972), Boca Raton (1983), Loxahatchee Groves (2017), and Palm Beach Gardens (1980). The college was renamed Palm Beach Community College in 1988 and then Palm Beach State College in 2010.[61]

 

After learning to fly an airplane in 1932, Grace Morrison began an effort to gain support for a public airport in Palm Beach County. Construction began in the mid-1930s and costed about $180,000 to build. Morrison died in a car accident in Titusville a few months before the airport opened in 1936. In its early years, the airport was called Morrison Field in her honor. The inaugural flight from Morrison Field was piloted by Dick Merrill. Due to poor weather conditions in Pennsylvania, the plane had to crash land near Matamoras. Also in 1936, WJNO-AM 1290 (then WJNO - 1230 AM) signed on, becoming West Palm Beach's first radio station.

 

During World War II, Florida's long coastline became vulnerable to attack. German U-boats sank dozens of merchant ships and oil tankers just off the coast of Palm Beach, which was under black out conditions to minimize night visibility to German U-boats. The U.S. Army Air Corps (a forerunner of the United States Air Force) established an Air Transport Command post at Morrison Field. The army constructed barracks, hangars, and other buildings to support about 3,000 soldiers. Throughout the course of the war, over 45,000 pilots trained or flew out of the command post, many in preparation for the Normandy landings. The 313th Material Squadron was moved from Miami Municipal Airport to Morrison Field in April 1942, with approximately 1,000 men working around the clock in order to repair and test aircraft before they were put into service. In 1947, Morrison Field was deactivated and returned to the possession of Palm Beach County.[66] Morrison Field was renamed Palm Beach International Airport (PBIA) later that year.

 

Late on August 26, 1949, a Category 4 hurricane made landfall in Lake Worth. In West Palm Beach, the hurricane produced sustained winds of 120 mph (190 km/h) and gusts up to 130 mph (210 km/h) at PBIA. The airport itself suffered about $1 million in damage, with several hangars destroyed and 16 planes ruined and 5 others affected. Additionally, 15 C-46s suffered damage. Throughout West Palm Beach, about 2,000 homes out of about 7,000 in the city were damaged. It was estimated that the hurricane caused more than $4 million in damage in West Palm Beach.

 

As a result of the Korean War, PBIA again became a military post in 1951. Temporarily renamed Palm Beach Air Force Base, nearly 23,000 Air Force personnel trained at the base during the Korean War. The federal government proposed keeping Palm Beach Air Force Base as a permanent military facility, but ultimately decided to return it to Palm Beach County control in 1959, and the name was reverted to Palm Beach International Airport.

 

The 1950s saw another boom in population, partly due to the return of many soldiers and airmen who had served or trained in the area during World War II. Also, the advent of air conditioning encouraged growth, as year-round living in a tropical climate became more acceptable to northerners. West Palm Beach became the nation's fourth fastest growing metropolitan areas during the 1950s; the city's borders spread west of Military Trail and south to Lake Clarke Shores. Between 1949 and 1962, property values rose from $72 million to $147.5 million, while the population in 1950 was 43,612 and increased about 30% by 1960. In 1955, using a $18 million bond issue, the City of West Palm Beach upgraded its sewer system and purchased the water treatment plant (then owned by Henry Flagler's estate) and land to the west of the city's boundaries, including 20 sq mi (52 km2) of wetlands (from Flagler Water Systems) and an additional 17,000 acres (6,900 ha) of land previously owned by Flagler's Model Land Company.

 

About two year later, the city sold about 5,500 acres (2,200 ha) of that land for $4.35 million to Perini Corporation of Massachusetts president Louis R. Perini, Sr. In order to transform the wetlands into dry land, Perini hired Gee and Jensen Engineers, who used approximately 30,000,000 cubic yards (23,000,000 m3) of fill to complete the task. Perini constructed the Roosevelt Estates neighborhood for middle class African-Americans. Additionally, Perini changed the name of 12th Street to Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard and extended it westward. The road was curved southwestward to eventually connect with Okeechobee Boulevard. Perini would also construct the first section of Interstate 95 in Palm Beach County in 1966, from Okeechobee Boulevard to 45th Street.

 

In the 1960s, Perini sold much of the land back to the city of West Palm Beach. The city, in turn, built West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium in 1963, the West Palm Beach Auditorium in 1965, and the Palm Beach Mall in 1967. On October 26, 1967, the Palm Beach Mall opened along Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard between Interstate 95 and Congress Avenue. The opening ceremony included a ribbon-cutting by Governor Claude Kirk, Mayor Reid Moore Jr., and Miss USA 1967 winner Cheryl Patton. About 40,000 visited the mall on its opening day. Upon opening, the mall contained 87 stores over a 1,000,000 sq ft (93,000 m2) area. The mall gradually began to draw businesses and patrons away from downtown, especially when Burdines left downtown in 1979.

 

The 1950s and 1960s also saw the opening of the Palm Beach Zoo (then known as the Dreher Park Zoo) in 1957 and the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium in 1961. The first shopping plaza in Palm Beach County, the Palm Coast Plaza, opened in 1959 along Dixie Highway near the city's southern boundary. At the time, it was considered "the largest and most complete shopping center between Miami and Jacksonville". The city of West Palm Beach opened a new library at the east end of Clematis Street on April 30, 1962, to replace the Memorial Library. In 1968, Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBA), an accredited, private Christian university, began at a downtown local church, before opening a campus in the 1980s.

 

On January 19, 1977, West Palm Beach recorded its first ever snowfall event, as part of a cold wave episode. Snow fell between 6:10 a.m. and 8:40 a.m., but hardly any accumulation was measured, as the snow almost immediately melted or was blown away after touchdown. PBIA also recorded temperatures as low as 27 °F (−3 °C).

 

By the 1980s, downtown West Palm Beach had become notorious for crime, poverty, and vacant and dilapidated businesses and houses. Then-United States Senator Lawton Chiles referred to the area as a "war zone" during his visit in September 1987, while local politicians were not optimistic about the future of downtown. The city had the highest crime rate for a city of its size in the late 1980s. Crack USA: County Under Siege, a 1989 documentary film about the crack epidemic, was filmed in West Palm Beach.

 

In 1986, private investors David C. Paladino and Henry J. Rolfs presented a 20-year, $433 million project to revitalize the western side of downtown. The proposal included plans 3,700,000 sq ft (340,000 m2) for offices, 1,900,000 sq ft (180,000 m2) for retail stores, 800 hotel rooms, and 700 housing units. Paladino and Rolfs purchased and razed properties across 77 acres (31 ha) of land – more than 300 properties – adjacent to Okeechobee Boulevard for about $40 million, with the exception of First United Methodist Church, which later became the Harriet Himmel Theater. The duo donated 5 acres (2.0 ha) of land for development of the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, which opened in 1992. However, by the early 1990s, the project was discontinued after Rolfs exhausted his personal fortune and due to defaulted loans, foreclosures, lawsuits, and a recession.

 

After several decades under the Council–manager government, public opinion shifted in favor of electing a strong mayor and having a mayor–council government by the early 1990s. Under one proposal, the mayor would be elected to a four-year term and be eligible for re-election once, the city manager and mayor would share administrative duties, and the mayor would receive the power to veto commission votes, which could be overridden by a 4–1 vote. Additionally, the mayor would be authorized to line-item veto the budget, initiate investigations, and supervise contracts and purchases involving more than $5,000. After a successful petition drive, this proposal would be listed on the ballot as Question 2. In response, the city commission submitted Question 1, which effectively added a weak mayor. In this proposal, the difference versus Question 2 is that the city manager would retain administrative authority, the mayor would vote with city commissioners only in the event of a tie, and the mayor could not veto votes by the city commission. In the referendum for mayor, voters were required to vote yes or no on Question 1 and Question 2. If both received a majority of yes votes, the question with more votes passed. The election was held on March 12, 1991. Both propositions received a majority of the votes. Question 1 received 2,944 yes votes versus 2,665 no votes, a margin of 52.6%–47.4%. Question 2 passed by a margin of 65.7%–34.3% and a vote total of 3,779–1,972. Therefore, Question 2 prevailed, allowing citizens of West Palm Beach to directly elect a strong mayor.

 

The first general election for Mayor of West Palm Beach since the late 1910s occurred on November 5, 1991. Candidates included attorney and former state representative Joel T. Daves III, city senior planner Jim Exline, Nancy M. Graham, Josephine Stenson Grund, property management company owner Michael D. Hyman, and former Palm Beach County commissioner Bill Medlen. Graham and Hyman received 34.3% and 24.9% of the vote, respectively, allowing them to advance to a run-off election held on November 19. Graham defeated Hyman by a margin of 55.8%–44.2%. She was sworn in as the city's first strong mayor on November 21.

 

During the campaign, Graham vowed for improvements to downtown. Much of the renovations in downtown began after a $18.2 million bond was issued to the city in October 1992, with $4 million allotted to the waterfront. Among the first projects was a beautification of Clematis Street, which was complete in December 1993. Over the previous six months, benches, sidewalks, and trees were replaced. The project resulted in several businesses moving to Clematis Street. Architect Dan Kiley was hired for several of the waterfront projects, including building an amphitheater, remodeling the library, and designing an interactive water fountain at Flagler Park.

 

The plan for building the amphitheater would require the city to spend about $1 million for construction, as well as $171,400 for the demolition of a Holiday Inn. The building was chosen because it had remained vacant and gutted since 1986, while plans for reselling or remodeling the building for a different use fell through. A nearby bank agreed to finance most of the cost of purchasing the building, allowing the city to acquire the hotel for only $1,000. Controlled Demolition, Inc. was hired for the demolition, which was scheduled for December 31, 1993, about 10 seconds before midnight. More than 20,000 people attended the explosion event, which was triggered by about 300 sticks of dynamite. Graham sold $25 tickets for a close-up view of the explosion. Revenue from tickets and donations totaled almost $1 million.

 

Among the most ambitious efforts to rejuvenate economic activity in downtown West Palm Beach was CityPlace. After the city reacquired the land formerly proposed for the Downtown/Uptown project by eminent domain and a multi-million dollar loan in 1995, the city began appealing to large architectural firms to develop the site Of the three proposed bid, the city commission chose CityPlace by a vote of 5–1 on October 9, 1996.[100] The $375 million project called for an 18 to 24 screen movie theater and a number of restaurants, upscale stores, apartments, and office buildings, all centered around the historical First United Methodist Church, which later became the Harriet Himmel Theatre. Overall, about 2,000,000 sq ft (190,000 m2) of land development was approved. In return, the city agreed to invest $75 million for construction of streets, parking garages, and plazas, with $20 million already borrowed for purchasing land. Construction began in 1998, with stores expected to open in November 1999, though CityPlace would actually open in October 2000.

 

CityPlace opened to the public on October 27, 2000, with 31 stores and 1 restaurant opening during the first weekend. Barnes & Noble, Macy's, and a Muvico Parisian 20 and IMAX theater served as the original anchors. The initial focus of CityPlace involved attracting many high-end stores as tenants, though emphasis shifted to home furnishings during the housing bubble. By the Great Recession, the scope turned heavily toward dining and entertainment establishments becoming tenants. Related Companies re-branded CityPlace as "Rosemary Square" in April 2019. The company intends to transform Rosemary Square from a lifestyle center to a more urban-like environment, using $550 million to construct new restaurants, a new mixed-use luxury residential tower, a new hotel, and an office tower containing 300,000 sq ft (28,000 m2) of space. Some asphalt roads were replaced with gray and white pavers and converted to create more pedestrian-walking space. The shopping center would later be re-named The Square. In 2023, the movie theater was demolished; Related Companies intends to construct two office towers in its place and add a 455-seat IMAX theater.

 

As the county seat of Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach entered the national spotlight during the 2000 presidential election. According to the results officially certified by Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, George W. Bush very narrowly carried the state of Florida over Al Gore – by 537 votes. Both candidates needed to win the state of Florida in order to secure at least 270 electoral votes, and thereby prevail in the presidential election. The close results and Palm Beach County's controversial butterfly ballot led to a notorious recount. Among those serving on the canvassing board included former West Palm Beach mayor Carol Roberts. Ultimately, the United States Supreme Court decided in Bush v. Gore on December 12, 2000, that Harris's tally would stand, awarding Bush the 25 electoral votes of Florida and the presidential election.

 

In 2004 and 2005, several tropical cyclones impacted Palm Beach County, including hurricanes Frances, Jeanne, and Wilma. West Palm Beach was affected most by Hurricane Wilma in October 2005, with the eye passing directly over the city at Category 2 intensity. Wilma produced hurricane-force winds and gusts up to 101 mph (163 km/h) at the Palm Beach International Airport. Throughout the city, 1,194 businesses suffered minor damage and 105 others experienced severe impact, while one was destroyed. A total of 6,036 homes received some degree of damage from the storm, while 16 were completely demolished. Additionally, 20 city government buildings were damaged. Overall, damage in West Palm Beach totaled approximately $425.8 million, with $267.4 million in damage to businesses, $153.1 million to residences, and $5.3 million to public property.

 

In the spring of 2009, City Center opened for business at the corner of Clematis Street and Dixie Highway. Constructed at a cost of approximately $154 million, the complex included a new library and city hall, while several city departments relocated to the complex. The city opened the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach on April 13, 2009 at City Center, replacing the original library at the east end of Clematis Street. The original library was demolished later that year for construction of a waterfront park and pavilion, which opened to the public in February 2010. The Mandel Public Library is approximately 2.5 times larger than the former library. The library currently circulates more than 800,000 items and has over 100,000 registered card holders.

 

The 2010 United States Census counted a population of 99,919 people in West Palm Beach. With the number being just 81 short of 100,000, then-outgoing mayor Lois Frankel indicated the potential for challenging the tally, as having a population of at least 100,000 would entitle the city to additional grants. Additionally, the United States Census Bureau estimated that the city had a population of 100,665 people on April 1, 2010. However, the city government apparently did not challenge the 99,919 population figure, as it remains in the official census records.

 

Although CityPlace revitalized downtown, it also contributed to the demise of the Palm Beach Mall. After a significant decline in foot traffic and tenants, as well as failed attempts to lure big box stores such as Bass Pro and IKEA to the mall, it was demolished in 2013. Palm Beach Outlets, designed and operated by New England Development, opened in February 2014 at the same location. The 460,000 sq ft (43,000 m2) outlet mall, comprising more than 100 stores, is anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue.

 

With the closure of the municipal stadium in 1997 (and its subsequent demolition in 2002), West Palm Beach had lost its ability to host spring training for a Major League Baseball. However, with the opening of the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in 2017, spring training returned to the city after a 20-year hiatus. The 6,500 seat stadium hosts the spring training events for the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals. In its inaugural year, 55,881 people attended Astros training games. However, in 2018, attendance increased to 67,931 people as a result of the Astros' 2017 World Series championship.

 

The high-speed train Brightline opened its first two stations in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach in January 2018, with a Miami station opened in May of that year.[127] Brightline extended its service to Orlando in 2023.

The Pakistan Strategy Support Program (PSSP) held the conference, “Increasing Productivity and Unleashing Growth” at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad on May 26-27th, 2012. This conference also marked the final round of the Competitive Grants Program that was launched by PSSP in January 2012 for Pakistani PhD and graduate students studying locally and abroad on economic development issues of Pakistan. The finalists presented in front of the Research Advisory Committee, donor heads, professors and students from local universities. The event also consisted of plenary sessions on Pakistan’s various economic growth issues by renowned academics from all over the world, such as Dr. Jock Anderson, Dr. Regina Birner and Dr. David Spielman.

Another operator increasing it's portfolio of service work in the NYCC April changes was Utopia (Mini) Coaches of Sherburn-in-Elmet, who picked up three additional services and acquired a pair of Dart SLFs to operate them. R138RLY was new in 1997 to Metroline as a two door bus (you can just tell !) numbered DLD38 and was seen here on Monday about to cross the Selby Canal at Burn Bridge. Full marks go to Utopia here, a smartly painted bus, ticket machine, electronic display etc. ..........a small matter is it's showing details of Wednesday only route 488, whilst actually working the Monday & Friday 486, but that's only a minor detail !.

Using pioneering new technologies in Superfoods and nutrition, CFTRI has developed amazing new products which are on show at CFTRI stall at Pragati Maidan:

   

· Chia and Quinoa based Chocolates and Laddoos;

 

· Omega-3 enriched ice-cream;

 

· Multigrain banana bar

 

· Fruit juice based carbonated drinks.

 

New Delhi, 24th November, 2016: CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), the premier national institute for food technology is exhibiting a range of new agri-products now grown in India, called Superfoods that bring health and nutrition best practices to everyday eating and living to the common man. The exhibits by CFTRI at the Trade Fair at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi both impress and surprise with the range and scope of their utility and potency.

 

The Indian population is presently going through a nutrition transition and there is an increase in incidence of diabetes, impaired heart health and obesity while there is still rampant malnutrition in the nation.

 

Keeping in mind an effective solution needed to address these concerns, CSIR-CFTRI is working on bringing Superfoods to the Indian population. CFTRI works on various facets of food technology, food processing, advanced nutrition, Superfoods and allied sciences. Superfoods are foods which have superior nutrition profiles which upon regular consumption can help improve health and wellness of the consumer.

 

CFTRI has developed the agro-technology for growing Superfoods viz. Chia and Quinoa in Indian conditions. Chia is the richest source of omega-3 fats from a vegetarian source and Quinoa has excellent protein quality and low glycemic load carbohydrates. Comprehensively, Chia and Quinoa have potential to improve population health and both blend seamlessly into traditional food preparations.

 

CSIR-CFTRI also infuses the spirit of entrepreneurship in their students. One of the doctoral students after completing her academic program started her own technology provider start-up company, Oleome Biosolutions Pvt Ltd. In a global first, CSIR-CFTRI in collaboration with Oleome, has developed a 100% vegetarian, Omega-3-enriched Ice cream called “Nutriice” using Chia oil.

 

CSIR-CFTRI is also in the process of the final phase of testing of diacylglycerol (DAG) oil, a unique cooking oil that has “Anti-Obesity” functionalities. One can consume it as part of daily regular diet and while the oil is available as energy but does not get stored as fat in our bodies. The final phase of human clinical trial is presently under progress.

 

CFTRI has also designed and developed snacks with advanced nutrition designs to support the nutrition needs of growing children. These have been implemented in the aganwadi levels to complement the existing government mid-day meal and will be scaled up soon. The products, such as Nutri Chikki with spirulina, rice beverage mix, high protein rusk, energy food, nutri sprinkle, seasame paste and fortified mango bars have been well received by the children and the anganwadis alike. Multi-grain Banana bar is a new addition to in this product portfolio.

 

Another exciting area of multidisciplinary research being done at CSIR-CFTRI is on nanotechnology, food technology and nutrition. Nanomaterials are known for their characteristic properties and CSIR-CFTRI is working on the use of nanoparticles for various applications. One of our interesting developments is the design and development of food packaging material with nanoparticles with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties to improve shelf-life of processed foods.

 

CSIR-CFTRI is also working on “Smart Foods” to answer specific needs of the consumer. These promising and specifically designed innovations are being developed for better sleep, better skin health, improved digestion, better cognitive performance and better stress management. The high science is brought into a simple food product, like a cereal bar which helps one to be more attentive over the day, or a unique dosa mix that helps in working out better at the gym with lower perceived exhaustion and even a special soup to help sleep better at night!

 

Speaking on the sidelines of the CSIR-CFTRI exhibition at Pragati Maidn, Prof. Ram Rajasekharan, Director, CFTRI said “Our mandate is to find innovative solutions to India agricultural and nutritional challenges. Our aim is to develop products to make Indian agriculture productive, efficient and at a consumer level gradually replace drugs with foods that will promote better health and wellness. We strive to deliver our best in improving food security and nutrition security, also developing a stronger, smarter and healthier India”.

 

About CSIR-CFTRI:

 

CSIR − Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore (A constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi) came into existence during 1950 with the great vision of its founders, and a network of inspiring as well as dedicated scientists who had a fascination to pursue in-depth research and development in the areas of food science and technology.

 

CSIR-CFTRI is today a large and diversified laboratory headed by Prof. Ram Rajasekharan, Director, CSIR-CFTRI. Presently the institute has a great team of scientists, technologists, engineers, technicians, skilled workers, and support staff. There are seventeen research and development departments, including laboratories focusing on lipid science, molecular nutrition, food engineering, food biotechnology, microbiology, biochemistry, food safety etc.

 

The institute has designed over 300 products, processes, and equipment types. It holds several patents and has a large number of high impact peer reviewed journal articles to its credit. India is the world's second largest food grain, fruit and vegetable producer, and the institute is engaged in research and development in the production and handling of grains, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, and poultry.

 

The institute develops technologies to increase efficiency and reduce postharvest losses, add convenience, increase export, find new sources of food products, integrate human resources in food industries and develops solutions to improve the health and wellness of the population.

 

CFTRI has a vast portfolio of over 300 products, processes and equipment designs, and close to 4000 licensees have availed themselves of these technologies for commercial exploitation. The achievements have been of considerable industrial value, social importance and national relevance, and coupled with the institute's wide-ranging facilities and services, have created an extensive impact on the Indian food industry and Indian society at large.

A sparcely populated transit center in Dolo Ado, Ethiopia June 11, 2012. It was overflowing with refugees arriving from Somalia during the famine in the summer of 2011. However, due to recent poor rain and continuing insecurity, the number of new arrival has increased. Due to recent poor rain and continuing insecurity, the number of new arrival has increased.UNHCR Ethiopia/ Somali refugees / J. Ose / June 2012