The Constitution of India states India to be a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. India is a federal republic, with a bicameral parliament operating under a Westminster-style parliamentary system. It has a three branch system of governance consisting of the legislature, executive and judiciary. The President, who is the head of state, has a largely ceremonial role. His roles include interpreting the constitution, signing laws into action, and issuing pardons. He is also the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The ...

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For most of its independent history, India's national government has been controlled by the Indian National Congress Party. Following its position as the largest political organisation in pre-independence India, Congress, usually led by a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family, dominated national politics for over forty years. In 1977, a united opposition, under the banner of the Janata Party, won the election and formed a non-Congress government for a short period after the unpopular 'emergency rule' imposed by Indira Gandhi in the previous Cong ...

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India is divided into twenty-eight states (which are further subdivided into districts), six Union Territories and the National Capital Territory of Delhi. States have their own elected government, whereas Union Territories are governed by an administrator appointed by the union government, though some have elected governments. States: Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu ...

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India has an economy ranked as the tenth largest in the world in terms of currency conversion and fourth largest in terms of purchasing power parity. It recorded one of the fastest annual growth rates of 8.2% for the year ending March 2005. India's per-capita income by purchasing power parity is US$ 3,200, ranked 125th by the World Bank. India's foreign exchange reserves amount to over US$ 145 billion. Mumbai serves as the nation's financial capital and is also home to both the headquarters of the Reserve Bank of India and the pre-eminent Bo ...

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India has a rich and unique cultural heritage, and has managed to preserve its established traditions throughout history. It has always absorbed customs, traditions and ideas from both invaders and immigrants. Many cultural practices, languages, customs and even monuments are examples of this co-mingling over centuries. Famous monuments such as the Taj Mahal and other examples of Islamic-inspired architecture have been inherited from the Mughal dynasty, perhaps India's most significant. These are the result of a syncretic tradition that comb ...

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India's entire north and northeast states are made up of the Himalayan Range. The rest of northern, central and eastern India consists of the fertile Indo-Gangetic plain. Towards western India, bordering southeast Pakistan, lies the Thar Desert. The southern Indian peninsula is almost entirely composed of the Deccan plateau. The plateau is flanked by two hilly coastal ranges, the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats. India is home to several major rivers such as the Ganga (Ganges), the Brahmaputra, the Yamuna, the Godavari, Kaveri, and the ...

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India's national sport is field hockey, although cricket is now the de facto national game due to its success and popularity in recent times, with the Indian cricket team (World Champions in 1983) one of the top contenders around. Though cricket's popularity is widespread, it is not the most popular sport in quite a few Indian states, particularly in India's northeast. Another international sport in which India has a fair degree of parity with other nations is chess, in which Indian Viswanathan Anand has been FIDE World Champion and several players have made significant inroads, in ...

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The name Australia is derived from the Latin australis, meaning southern. Legends of an "unknown southern land" (terra australis incognita) date back to the Roman times and were commonplace in mediæval geography, but they were not based on any actual knowledge of the continent. The Dutch adjectival form Australische ("Australian," in the sense of "southern") was used by Dutch officials in Batavia to refer to the newly discovered land to the south as early as 1638. The first English language writer to use the word ...

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The first human habitation of Australia is estimated to have occurred between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago.[1] The first Australians were the ancestors of the current Indigenous Australians; they arrived via land bridges and short sea-crossings from present-day Southeast Asia. Most of these people were hunter-gatherers, with a complex oral culture and spiritual values based on reverence for the land and a belief in the Dreamtime. The Torres Strait I ...

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The Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional monarchy and has a parliamentary system of government. Queen Elizabeth II is the Queen of Australia, a role that is distinct from her position as Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. The Queen is nominally represented by the Governor-General; although the Constitution gives extensive executive powers to the Governor-General, these are normally exercised only on the advice of the Prime Minister. The most notable exercise of the Governor-General's reserve powers outside the Prime Minister's dire ...

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Australia consists of six states, two major mainland territories, and other minor territories. The states are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. The two major mainland territories are the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. In most respects, the territories function similarly to the states, but the Commonwealth Parliament can override any legislation of their parliaments. By contrast, federal legislation overrides state legislation only with respect to certain a ...

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Over recent decades, Australia's foreign relations have been driven by a close association with the United States, through the ANZUS pact and by a desire to develop relationships with Asia and the Pacific, particularly through ASEAN and the Pacific Islands Forum. In 2005 Australia secured an inaugural seat at the East Asia Summit following its accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. Australia is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, in which the Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings provide the main forum for co-operation. M ...

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Australia's 7,686,850 km² (2,967,909 mi²) landmass is on the Indo-Australian Plate. Surrounded by the Indian, Southern and Pacific oceans, Australia is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas. Australia has a total 25,760 km (16,007 mi) of coastline and claims an extensive Exclusive Economic Zone of 8,148,250 km² (3,146,057 mi²). This exclusive economic zone does not include the Australian Antarctic Territory. Climate is highly influenced by ocean currents, including the El Niño southern oscillation, which is correlated ...

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Although most of Australia is semi-arid or desert, it covers a diverse range of habitats, from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests. Because of the great age and consequent low levels of fertility of the continent, its extremely variable weather patterns, and its long-term geographic isolation, much of Australia's biota is unique and diverse. About 85% of flowering plants, 84% of mammals, more than 45% of birds, and 89% of in-shore, temperate-zone fish are endemic.[10]< ...

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Australia has a prosperous, Western-style mixed economy, with a per capita GDP slightly higher than those of the UK, Germany and France. The country was ranked third in the United Nations' 2005 Human Development Index and sixth in The Economist worldwide quality-of-life index 2005. In recent years, the Australian economy has been resilient in the face of global economic downturn. Rising output in the domestic economy has been offsetting the global slump, and business and consumer confidence remains robust. Australia's emphasis on econ ...

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Most of the estimated 20.4 million Australians are descended from 19th- and 20th-century immigrants, the majority from Britain and Ireland. Australia's population has quadrupled since the end of World War I [16], spurred by an ambitious immigration program. In 2001, the five largest groups of the 27.4% of Australians who were born overseas were from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Italy, Vietnam and China.[13]< ...

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The primary basis of Australian culture up until the mid-20th century was Anglo-Celtic, although distinctive Australian features had been evolving from the environment and indigenous culture. Over the past 50 years, Australian culture has been strongly influenced by American popular culture (particularly television and cinema), large-scale immigration from non-English-speaking countries, and Australia's Asian neighbours. Australia has a long history of visual arts, starting with the cave and bark paintings of its indigenous peoples. F ...

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Seanchan - Ancient. During the time of the Trolloc Wars, the peoples of Seanchan used Portal Stones to reach alternate worlds and return with such creatures as grolm, torm, lopar, corlm, raken, and to'raken. Integrating these creatures into their armies, the people of Seanchan were able to drive back the Trollocs. A thousand years later, after unifying his own continent (or at least the part of it west of the Aiel Waste), Artur Hawkwing sent a vast fleet led by his ...

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List of Quebec media - Daily. 24 Heures Le Devoir La Presse Le Soleil La Tribune Le Nouvelliste Le Quotidien Le Journal de Montréal Le Journal de Québec The Gazette Métro The Record List of Quebec media - Weekly. Les Affaires Voir Hour Ici-Montréal Montreal Mirror Quebec C ...

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List of Quebec media - Society. L'Actualité L'Agora Recto Verso List of Quebec media - Women. Châtelaine Elle Québec List of Quebec media - Humour. Safarir Délire List of Quebec media - Literature. Liberté Nuit blanche Argument Solaris_(magazine)Solaris List of Quebec media - Cinema. See also:

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List of Quebec media - Daily. La Tribu du Verbe CMAQ Cybersolidaires Unseulmonde.ca Vigile La Gauche List of Quebec media - Weekly. Quebec Weekly News List of Quebec media - Monthly. Alternatives l'Insomniaque List of Quebec media - Media Portals. Cyberpresse Matinternet Réseau média List of Quebec media - Translation. ...

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