camus

Land

Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ ʒɑ̃ kap fɛʁa]; Occitan: Sant Joan de Cap Ferrat; Italian: San Giovanni Capo Ferrato) is a resort town and commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2012, Cap Ferrat was named the second most expensive residential location in the world, after Monaco, earning it the nickname 'Billionaires' Peninsula'. Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is located on a peninsula next to Beaulieu-sur-Mer and Villefranche-sur-Mer and extends out to Cap Ferrat. Its tranquility and warm climate make it a favourite holiday destination among the European aristocracy and international rich who visit the French Riviera.

Being

Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war with Russia's annexation of Crimea and invasion of the Donbas, and has continued to serve during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has been ongoing since February 2022. Born in Kryvyi Rih into a Russian-speaking Jewish family, Zelenskyy obtained a law degree at the city's Institute of Economics, but instead pursued a career in comedy and entertainment. Zelenskyy co-founded the production company Kvartal 95, which produced films, cartoons, and television shows including the television series Servant of the People, in which he played a fictional Ukrainian president. The series aired from 2015 to 2019 and was immensely popular. A political party with the same name as the television show was founded in March 2018 by Zelenskyy and other associates of Kvartal 95. During his campaign in the 2019 presidential election, Zelenskyy positioned himself as anti-establishment and anti-corruption, and had already been a frontrunner in opinion polls months before he declared his candidacy. He won the election with 73.23 percent of the vote in the second round, defeating incumbent president Petro Poroshenko in the biggest landslide in the history of Ukrainian presidential elections. His party won a landslide victory in the snap parliamentary election held shortly after his inauguration. As president, Zelenskyy has been a proponent of e-government, and of unity between the Ukrainian- and Russian-speaking parts of the country's population. He makes extensive use of social media. During the first two years of his presidency, Zelenskyy oversaw some limited progress in tackling corruption in Ukraine, the ending of legal immunity for members of parliament (the Verkhovna Rada), as well as the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic recession. During his early presidency, Zelenskyy attempted to end the war in Donbas by implementing the Minsk agreements through the "Steinmeier formula", and sought dialogue with Russian president Vladimir Putin. During 2021, there was a large Russian military buildup on Ukraine's borders and increased attacks by Russian proxy forces, sparking an international crisis. Zelenskyy said his military would not respond to provocations. He attempted to calm the Ukrainian people and asked for military support from NATO. On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Zelenskyy remained in the capital Kyiv as it came under attack, declining international offers to evacuate him. He declared martial law across Ukraine and a general mobilization of the armed forces. There have reportedly been numerous Russian assassination attempts on Zelenskyy since the invasion. During the early peace negotiations, Zelenskyy demanded a ceasefire and Russian withdrawal, said he was willing to discuss Ukraine becoming a neutral country if given "real" security guarantees, and was willing to negotiate the status of Crimea and Donbas. He presented Ukraine's Peace Formula in late 2022, and the Victory Plan for Ukraine in late 2024. After Russia "annexed" southeastern Ukraine, Zelenskyy applied for Ukraine to join NATO. He has frequently visited frontline and newly liberated areas, and met with other world leaders, calling on the international community to support Ukraine's resistance, to provide Ukraine with military aid, and to impose tougher sanctions on Russia to bring an end to its war. As well as visiting Ukrainian troops on the frontlines, Zelenskyy has repeatedly met with other world leaders, calling on the international community to support Ukraine's resistance and its efforts to end Russia's war. Zelenskyy has called for an unconditional ceasefire and negotiations based on a 20-point peace plan. Zelenskyy was named the Time Person of the Year for 2022. Rating Group polls in 2022 and 2026 have ranked Zelenskyy among the five most outstanding Ukrainians of all time. Zelenskyy's term was originally scheduled to end in May 2024, but the ongoing Russian invasion and the resulting martial law prevents the regularly scheduled presidential election from being held. He is expected to remain president for the duration of the war. Due to this extension of his term, Zelenskyy is the second-longest serving president after Kuchma.

Land

The Land of Israel (Hebrew: אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל, Modern: Éretz Yisra'él, Tiberian: ʾEreṣ Yīsrāʾēl, land of Jacob, later known as Israel) is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious, and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The biblical limits of the Land of Israel are outlined in Ezekiel 47:13–20, and differ from the borders of established historical Israelite and later Jewish kingdoms, including the United Kingdom of Israel, the two kingdoms of Israel (Samaria) and Judah, the Hasmonean kingdom, and the Herodian kingdom. At their heights, these realms ruled lands with similar but not identical boundaries. Jewish communities living in the land after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem defined the term as where Jewish religious law prevailed and excluded territory where it was not applied. Though Land of Israel is not used as a phrase in the Torah, it is held that the area is a God-given inheritance of the Jewish people based on the Torah, particularly the books of Genesis, Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, as well as Joshua and the later Prophets (Exodus 6:4: "I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners"). According to the Book of Genesis, the land was first promised by God to Abram's descendants; the text is explicit that this is a covenant between God and Abram for his descendants (Gen 15:18–21 (NIV): "On that day the LORD made a covenant"). Abram's name was later changed to Abraham, with the promise refined to pass through his son Isaac and to the Israelites, descendants of Jacob, Abraham's grandson. This belief is not shared by most adherents of replacement theology (or supersessionism), who hold the view that the Old Testament prophecies were superseded by the coming of Jesus, a view often repudiated by Christian Zionists as a theological error. Evangelical Zionists variously claim that Israel has title to the land by divine right, or by a theological, historical and moral grounding of attachment to the land unique to Jews (Parkes, James). The idea that ancient religious texts can be warrant or divine right for a modern claim has often been challenged, and Israeli courts have rejected land claims based on religious motivations. During the League of Nations mandate period (1920–1948) the term "Eretz Yisrael" or the "Land of Israel" was part of the official Hebrew name of Mandatory Palestine. Official Hebrew documents used the Hebrew transliteration of the word "Palestine" פלשתינה (Palestina) followed always by the two initial letters of "Eretz Yisrael", א״י Aleph-Yod. The Land of Israel concept has been evoked by the founders of the State of Israel. It often surfaces in political debates on the status of the West Bank, referred to in official Israeli discourse as the Judea and Samaria Area. It is also mentioned in the 2018 Nation-state law.

Concept

The Orient Express was a long-distance passenger luxury train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe, with terminal stations in Paris in the northwest and Istanbul in the southeast, and branches extending service to Athens, Brussels, and London. The Orient Express embarked on its initial journey on 5 June 1883, from Paris to Vienna, eventually extending to Istanbul, thus connecting the western and eastern extremities of Europe. The route saw alterations and expansions, including the introduction of the Simplon Orient Express following the opening of the Simplon Tunnel in 1919, enhancing the service's allure and importance. Several routes concurrently used the Orient Express name, or variations. Although the original Orient Express was simply a normal international railway service, the name became synonymous with intrigue and luxury rail travel. The city names most prominently served and associated with the Orient Express are Paris and Istanbul, the original termini of the timetabled service. The rolling stock of the Orient Express changed many times. Following World War II, the Orient Express struggled to maintain its preeminence amid changing geopolitical landscapes and the rise of air travel. The route stopped serving Istanbul in 1977, cut back to a through overnight service from Paris to Bucharest, which was cut back further in 1991 to Budapest, then in 2001 to Vienna, before departing for the last time from Paris on 8 June 2007. After this, the route, still called the Orient Express, was shortened to start from Strasbourg, leaving daily after the arrival of a TGV from Paris. On 14 December 2009, the Orient Express ceased to operate entirely and the route disappeared from European railway timetables, a "victim of high-speed trains and cut-rate airlines." In contemporary times, the legacy of the Orient Express has been revived through private ventures such as the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, initiated by James Sherwood in 1982, which offers nostalgic journeys through Europe in restored 1920s and 1930s CIWL carriages, including the original route from Paris to Istanbul. An ÖBB Nightjet service was restored between Paris and Vienna in December 2021, although this was not branded as Orient Express, and it was cancelled again in December 2025 when the French Government withdrew financial support. In late 2022, Accor announced plans to launch its own Orient Express in late 2026 with journeys from Paris to Istanbul.

Being

Flavius Belisarius (Latin pronunciation: [bɛ.lɪˈsaː.ri.ʊs]; Greek: Βελισάριος; c. 500 – March 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Justinian I. Belisarius was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean territory belonging to the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century prior. He is considered one of the greatest military commanders of Byzantium and in history generally. One of the defining features of Belisarius's career was his success despite varying levels of available resources. He is frequently cited as being among the "Last of the Romans". He conquered the Vandal Kingdom of North Africa in the Vandalic War in nine months and conquered much of Italy during the Gothic War. He also defeated the Vandal armies in the battle of Ad Decimum and played an important role at Tricamarum, compelling the Vandal king, Gelimer, to surrender. During the Gothic War, despite being significantly outnumbered, he and his troops recaptured the city of Rome and then held out against great odds during the siege of Rome. After a setback at Thannurin, he won a battle against the Persians at Dara but was defeated at Callinicum. He successfully repulsed a Hunnic incursion at Melantias. He was also known for military deception; he repulsed a Persian invasion by deceiving their commander and lifted the siege of Ariminum without a fight.