International Organizations, Defence, Books & Authors, World History

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Rise of nation states led to the decline of European nobles in Late Middle Age. Primarily, the emergence of strong European monarchs led to a decline in the power and authority of the feudal lords.

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The explorer Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who discovered the Americas and whose journeys marked the beginning of centuries of transatlantic colonization. He made four trips across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain: in 1492, 1493, 1498 and 1502.

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French Revolution was a period of more than 10 years that saw radical political and societal change in France. It started with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. It is one of the greatest events is in the annals of world history and civilization and is rightly regarded as the springboard from which Europe jumped into the most dynamic period of her history.

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Russian Revolution took place during the World War I. The main cause of the Russian Revolution was the oppressive nature of Tsarist rule in Russia. Russia was a country which was divided into the extremely rich and the extremely poor.

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The Portuguese established outposts in Timor and Maluku islands of Lesser Sunda Islands of Malay Archipelago. Effective European occupation of a small part of present-day East Timor began in 1769 when the city of Dili was founded and the colony of Portuguese Timor declared. For the Portuguese, East Timor remained little more than a neglected trading post until the late nineteenth century, with minimal investment in infrastructure, health, and education. Sandalwood continued to be the main export crop with coffee exports becoming significant in the mid-nineteenth century. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a faltering home economy prompted the Portuguese to extract greater wealth from its colonies, which was met with East Timorese resistance. Following the 1974 Portuguese Revolution, Portugal effectively abandoned its colony in Timor and civil war between East Timorese political parties broke out in 1975. The Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin) resisted a Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) coup attempt in August 1975, and unilaterally declared independence on 28 November 1975. Fearing a communist state within the Indonesian archipelago, the Indonesian military launched an invasion of East Timor in December 1975. Indonesia declared East Timor its 27th province on 17 July 1976. The UN Security Council opposed the invasion and the territory’s nominal status in the UN remained as “non-self-governing territory under Portuguese administration”.The 1991 Dili Massacre was a turning point for the independence cause and an East Timor solidarity movement grew in Portugal, the Philippines, Australia, and other Western countries. The Santa Cruz Massacre (also known as the Dili Massacre) was the shooting of at least 250 East Timorese pro-independence demonstrators in the Santa Cruz cemetery in the capital, Dili, on 12 November 1991, during the Indonesian occupation of East Timor and is part of the East Timorese genocide. Following the resignation of Indonesian president of Suharto, an UN-sponsored agreement between Indonesia and Portugal allowed for an UN-supervised popular referendum in August 1999. A clear vote for independence was met with a punitive campaign of violence by East Timorese pro-integration militia supported by elements of the Indonesian military. With Indonesian permission, an Australian-led multinational peacekeeping force (INTERFET) was deployed until the order was restored. On 25 October 1999, the administration of East Timor was taken over by the UN through the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), headed by Sergio Vieira de Mello. The INTERFET deployment ended in February 2000 with the transfer of military command to the UN. On 30 August 2001, the East Timorese voted in their first election organised by the UN to elect members of the Constituent Assembly. On 22 March 2002, the Constituent Assembly approved the Constitution. By May 2002, over 205,000 refugees had returned. On 20 May 2002, the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of East Timor came into force and East Timor was recognised as independent by the UN.

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United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. It was established in 1994. It is actively supporting countries to prepare for droughts.

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The coup of 18 Brumaire was happened on 9 November 1799 in France, which brought General Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of France and in view of most historians ended the French Revolution. This bloodless coup overthrew the Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate.

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The Exocet is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. The Exocet saw its first wartime launch during the Falklands War. The Exocet is built by MBDA, a European missile company. Development began in 1967 by Nord as a ship-launched weapon named the MM 38. A few years later Aerospatiale and Nord merged. The basic body design was based on the Nord AS30 air-to-ground tactical missile. The air-launched Exocet was developed in 1974 and entered service with the French Navy five years later.

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DRDO Daksh is a remote controlled bomb disposal robot. It is fully automatic, can climb staircases, navigate row lanes, steep slopes and two vehicles to find the bombs. If it finds a Bomb, it would simply throw water on it and diffuse it.

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The centre for primary flight training is located at the Air Force Academy in Hyderabad, Telangana, followed by operational training at various other schools. Advanced officer training for command positions is also conducted at the Defence Services Staff College; specialised advanced flight training schools are located at Bidar, Karnataka, and Hakimpet, Andhra Pradesh (also the location for helicopter training). Technical schools are found at a number of other locations.