BH130: The 192
Anti-Parochial In Extremis
So I was seized by this notion to write a theme-quiz that would be the most globally spread bunch of trivia teasers I have ever set (if stacks of geography ain't your thing ... FLEE NOW). Let me tell you now: I don't think I will be doing it again for a long time. A ruddy long time. East Anglia may be nothing more than a shallow inlet of the North Sea by the time I bring myself to repeating such labour. Though I say that in a state of crazed, pounded exhaustion; a natural state some might attribute to myself. My bad (lovely EP from that singer-lady).
I believed that the connection, though slightly vague on first glance and catholic in the extreme, would make it so much easier to write this BH instalment. There was a definite subject or a necessary noun needed for every one of the following questions, and I knew the ones that would be required for every single question. There was a long list: a set of clear cut objectives. A finite task. But how to prevent it from sliding into mind-numbing mundaneness? Not so easy. It would have been so easy to be so samey. However, you need a bit of imagination and brain-examination to keep it fresh and therefore viable and liable to prevent whoever bothers going through the thing from falling into such a deep coma that they may never wake up from. So in the end it took, oh, about 12 hours to set. I kid you not. The search and the setting went on and on. Night turned to day and day turned into that bit of the Autumn morn when you exclaim "Cor blimey, guvnor" - yeah, like a Cockney cab driver in Jack the Ripper times - "Has the sun already gone in? Time's progression must be havin' a larf!"
Praise be then it has doubly worked as good skim-style preparation for the forthcoming European Championships in Blackpool (ooh! The bright lights! The rollercoasters! The inebriated mong-pieces that roll out of the nightclubs with a taste for a bit of the old ultra-violence catalysed by the gallons of alcohol overloading their system! The Alan Bradley tram-squish scene! It WILL be fun). I looked hard at my reference source (you know what it is). I analysed. I selected: sometimes rashly, sometimes with a "sod this for pile of solder" and just get on with it, and sometimes with an internal "Eureka-ka-ka-ka!!" enlivening my mind.
It was an exercise I set myself and it certainly exercised me. I am sure you can more or less deduce the "link" between the questions that follow in swift time (they're very, very international *wink* *wink*). That's the easy bit. The hard bit is getting any of them right. Because I seem to have written questions based purely on the premise that I couldn't answer them myself and thought it would be good learning. For me, fantastic! For you, maybe not so much (I'm starting to talk like Toby Esterhase in Smiley's People now). And I think it is: a kind of eye-opening education (though truthfully I only wrote it while I wait for some of my 502-question testers to return their papers to me ... silly me, I never realised setters is an anagram of testers. DOUBLE DUH.)
So please, while my brain lays in a discordant ruin having splintered into countless slithery slices of useless mushiness (themes, even vague ones, slow down the setting process by a rate I haven't been arsed to calculate), dive in and look, browse, peruse, attempt to work it, then look away with numbed brain and sore eyes. I'm sure there will be at least one question you may find sort of interesting. Maybe, even two, if you're lucky.*
*This does not apply to such elite individuals as you know who. Oh yeah, THOSE guys
(The question connection revealed way down below)
BH130 BEGINS
1 Which Indian chess player has just won the 2007 World Championship, held in Mexico City, to become the new world champion?
2 In which country did the Can Tho bridge, due to be the longest main span cable-stayed bridge in south-east Asia on its completion, collapse on the morning of September 26, causing the death of at least 52 construction workers?
3 Which 72-year-old Estonian composer, often identified with a brand of music known as "mystic minimalism" or "sacred minimalism", saw his Cantus In Memoriam Benjamin Britten used in Leos Carax's 1991 film Les Amants du Pont-Neuf and Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911, and is known for such other works as Berlin Mass (1992) and Our Garden, a cantata for children's chorus and orchestra (1959/2003)?
4 Given annually to an international musician, the Leonie Sonning Music Prize or Sonning Award is recognised as which country's highest musical honour?
5 Rulers of Austria as counts of the march and dukes from 976 AD, the line of which house went extinct with the death of Frederick II in 1246?
6 Considered one of Slovenia's greatest writers along with Romantic poet France Preseren, which writer, playwright and poet (1876-1918) was active as a member of the Socialist Democrat party, a political inclination that resulted in his writing the much-translated story Hlapec Jernej in njegova pravica/The Servant Jernej and his Justice, while his hometown Vrhnika boasts a museum dedicated to him?
7 Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has ruled which country since 1995, having deposed his father who was holidaying in Switzerland at the time?
8 Considered to be modern descendants of the Kanem-Borno Empire, the Kanembu people are an ethnic group of which African country?
9 Meaning "Certification of Maturity", the Te'udat Bagrut is the official high school qualification certificate in which country?
10 One of Francisco Pizarro's lieutenants, Pedro de Vladivia founded which capital city on February 12, 1541?
11 Tanjung Piai, the southernmost tip of continental Asia, is located in which southern Malaysian state?
12 Often described as the most detailed national flag in the world, which country's flag features a green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side containing five carpet guls (designs used in making rugs) stacked above two crossed olive branches; a white waxing crescent moon, and five white five-pointed stars in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe?
13 Born in 1965, which Djibouti-born writer's first novel Le Pays San Ombre/ The Land Without Shadow was released in 1994 and won the Grand Prize for new French Speakers from the Royal Academy of French Language and Literature, in Belgium, and more recently wrote Moisson de Cranes/ Harvest of Skulls (2000) about the Rwandan genocide?
14 The Spengler Cup, an annual ice hockey tournament first held in 1923, is the second oldest international ice hockey team tournament in the world after the Stanley Cup play-offs. In which Swiss municipality is it held?
15 Now a centre of Theravada Buddhist worship, which Laotian World Heritage Site is a ruined Khmer temple complex in the south of the country located at the base of mount Phu Khao, c.6 km from the Mekong river in Champassak province, and possesses a unique structure in which the elements lead to a shrine where a linga was bathed in water from a mountain spring?
16 Which country is divided into 26 states known as wilayat (singular=wilayah), including Al Jazirah, Junqali, Warab, Kassala Sennar and Unity?
17 Said to be the only Slovakian filmmaker to make any international impact during the 1990s, which director's works include Everything I Like/Vsetko co mam rad (1992) and The Garden/ Zahrada (1995)?
18 Alam Lohar and his son Arif are famous for being what kind of performing artists in Pakistan?
19 The son of a Baoule chief, Felix Houphouet-Boigny is considered to be which country's father of independence?
20 Best known as the home of the Yampara culture, which Bolivian town's people host the Pujilay festival - where the indigenous community gather for Mass, parade in colourful traditional costumes and drink plenty of chicha (fermented beverage made of maize, manioc root or fruits) - in March each year?
21 Offered first by the younger of the two people meeting with their hands pressed together and fingertips pointing upwards as the head is bowed to touch their face to the hands, usually coinciding with the spoken word "Sawat-dii khrap" for men and "Sawat-dii ka" for women, what is the traditional Thai greeting called?
22 Belonging to the Valle department, which island in the Gulf of Fonseca is a conical basalt stratovolcano and is the southernmost volcano in Honduras?
23 The national anthem of which country is Oben am jungen Rhine, meaning "High Above the Young Rhine"?
24 Which islands were named after a British captain (first name Thomas), who crossed the archipelago in 1788, by the Russian admiral Adam von Krusenstern and French captain Louis Duperrey in 1820?
25 Which city of Ohio is home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the William McKinley Presidential Library & Museum and the First Ladies National Historic Site?
26 Which African country are famed for producing a percussion ensemble known as the "Royal Drummers of _______", whose performances are part of ceremonies such as births, funerals and coronations of mwami (kings) - their "karyenda" drums being sacred in the country - and which can be heard on such albums as Batimbo (Musiques Et Chants) (1991)?
27 The southern peak of which mountain in the province of Yungay-Cordillera Blanca in the Western Andes is the highest in Peru at 6768m?
28 Located at the junction of the Kabul and Kunar rivers, the modern version of which Afghanistan city in Nangarhar province (its capital) was the site of the residence of Amir Habibullah and King Amanullah, the Seraj-ul-Emarat, that was destroyed in 1929?
29 The Orthodox Church of St Prokop (built in 1780), the Et'hem Bey Mosque (begun in 1789 by Molla Bey and finished by his son Haxhi Et'hem Bey) and the Tabakeve and Tervize bridges (dating from the start of the 20th century) are features of which capital city?
30 The British system of longitude was discovered by charting the distance between Portsmouth in England and which Caribbean capital by using the position of the Sun in relation to both locations?
31 Which country celebrates the holidays "Anniversary of the 1966 coup d'etat" (Jan 3), Women's Day (March 8), Revolution Day (August 4), Independence Day (August 5) and the "Anniversary of the 1987 coup d'etat" (October 15)?
32 Using the slogan "Taking You Forward", which technology-communications company began in 1875 in a repair workshop for telegraph instruments in downtown Stockholm, a 30-year-old engineer started off be repairing foreign-made telephones but soon began making and selling his own?
33 Ambasse bey (of the coast), assiko (of the Bassa), mangambeu (of the Bangangte) and tsamassi (of the Bamileke) are popular musical styles in which country?
34 Though the celebrations actually begin a week early, May 30 is the date set for Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna Day, held in honour of the first modern statesman of which country?
35 Which massive freshwater lake (8264 km2) is also known by the names Cocibolca, Lago Cocibolca, Lake Granada, Lago de Granada, Mar Dulce, Gran Lago and Gran Lago Dulce?
36 Depicting a well-known group of structures on the three peaks of Monte Titano, what sort of delicacy is San Marino's Torta Tre Monti?
37 Which country's unicameral parliament, the National Assembly or Narodno Sabranie, consists of 240 deputies?
38 The Solomon Islands are located in which sub-region of Oceania extending from the western side of the West Pacific to the Arafura Sea, whose name was first used by Jules Dumont d'Urville in 1832 to denote a distinct ethnic and geographical grouping of islands?
39 Which African country is home to a traditional monarchy known as the Cokossian Monarchy, also known as Anufu, since the 17th century, and whose rulers bear the title Soma; the first such person being Bema Bonsafo and the current being Na Bema?
40 Tommy Remengesau is the President of which country, whose currency is the US Dollar?
41 Concentrated in the north of the country, which tribe forms about half the population of Namibia?
42 Later the capital of the northern division of the Babylonian empire, which ancient city and capital of an eponymous empire in central Mesopotamia was probably situated on the west bank of the Euphrates between Sippar and Kish, c.50 km south-west of present-day Baghdad and reached the height of its power between the 24th and 22nd centuries BC?
43 Meaning "The Book of Settlement", which old Icelandic manuscript describes in much detail the settlement of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries, beginning with Ingolfur Amarson's original settlement in Reykjavik?
44 Home to a series of murals by Russian artist and general Knyaz Grigory Gagarin (1810-1893) and the venerated Grapevine Cross, which cathedral in Tbilisi was initially built in the 6th-7th centuries before much destruction and reconstruction with the current church being based on a 13th century version, and was the main Georgian Orthodox cathedral as the seat of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia until the Holy Trinity Cathedral was consecrated in 2004?
45 Nicknamed "Noli", which Gabonese Afro-zouk and reggae singer and guitarist (b.1959) is best known for his 1990 song Bane, which was popularised by Radio Africa N.1 and Gilles Obringer, and such albums as Adia (1995) and Seva (2000)?
46 Akrotiri and Dhekelia are two UK-administered areas on which island that comprise the Sovereign Base Areas Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom?
47 Which thick hand-made corn tortilla, made using masa de maiz or masa de arroz (a maize or rice flour dough used in Latin American cuisine) and stuffed with such things as cheese, fried pork rind, chicken and refried beans, is perhaps the most notable dish of El Salvador?
48 Sir Durwood Knowles and Cecile Cooke won rare gold Olympic gold medals for the Bahamas in which sport in 1964?
49 Commissioned by Ildegizid Atabey Jahan Pahlawan in honour of his first wife, designed by Adjemi ibn Abubekr and completed in 1186-87, which World Heritage Site and mausoleum is located in Nakhchivan City, the capital of the same-named autonomous republic in Azerbaijan?
50 Which African lake is sometimes called the Calendar Lake as it is about 365 miles long and 52 miles wide?
51 The 22-year-old Ramzi "The Jordanian Dragon" Qattan is a rising star (relatively for the nation of Jordan) in which sport?
52 Gundars Vetra became the first person of which country to play in the NBA when he briefly played for the Minnesota Timberwolves for 13 games in 1993, while Andris Biedrins became the second when he joined the Golden State Warriors thanks to the 2004 NBA Draft?
53 Comprised of the members Derek and Brian Warfield, Noel Nagle and Tommy Byrne, which Irish rebel music band produced such songs as the Brian Warfield-written Celtic Symphony in 1987 for the 100th anniversary of Celtic Football Club and Joe McDonnell, about the IRA member who was the fifth person to die on the 1981 Hunger Strike?
54 As the country gained independence in 1960, which capital city was founded at the site of a small colonial village, the Ksar, while 90 per cent of the population remained nomadic?
55 Named for a female saint of Syracuse (c.283-304), which Caribbean island nation is known as the "Helen of the West Indies" because it switched between British and French control so often it was likened to the mythical Helen of Troy?
56 Front man of pop band O-Zone, which Moldova singer-songwriter's most successful song was Dragostea din tei (performed by O-Zone and also known as the Numa Numa song), while another single Despre tine reached no. 1 in five countries and reached no. 6 in the main European charts?
57 Modern citizens of which Central Asian country - that underwent a devastating civil war from 1992-97 - view the Persian Samanid Empire as being the first state in their history; a monument in their capital honouring Saman Khuda, ancestor of the Samanids and a source of native nationalism?
58 An ethnic Mumasaaba, which Ugandan poet and novelist (b. 1942) has published such collections as Salutations: Poems 1965-1975 (1977) - reissued with additional poems as A Pattern of Dust: A Selected Poems 1965-1990 (1994) - that reflected his rural origins, and wrote the 1989 novel Upon This Mountain, which tells the story of a child named Mwambu, who is determined to touch heaven?
59 The author Michael Ondaatje, the Australian TV chef Geoff Jansz and fashion photographer Nigel Barker are members of which Eurasian ethnic group that historically comes from Sri Lanka?
60 Captain Cook called Tonga the "Friendly Islands" because he happened to arrive at the time of which festival, the yearly donation of the first fruits to the Tu'i Tonga (or king)?
61 Which African country is the poorest country in the world, according to it ranking last (177th) on the United Nations Development Programme's 2006 Human Development Index?
62 The Lebanese writer Gibran Khalil Gibran is particularly known for which 1923 book that has been translated into more than 20 different languages and consists of 23 poetic essays concerning the title character Almustafa, who has lived in the foreign city of Orphalese for 12 years and is about to board a ship home when he is stopped by a number of people who discuss life and the human condition with him?
63 What is the world's most populous island?
64 The name of which country and small constitutional monarchy is a diminutive of an Arabic word meaning "fortress built near water"?
65 What did Emperor Haile Selassie I annex as Ethiopia's 14th province in 1961?
66 Which kingdom was established in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, with its capital at Yeha, around the 8th century BC?
67 The recorded history of which country began on October 17, 1492, when Columbus sighted the island during his first voyage of discovery and claimed it for Spain, naming it Isla Juana in reference to Prince Juan, the heir apparent?
68 The most distinct and most preserved of Nepal, what is the historic culture of Kathmandu Valley and surrounding areas previously under control of the eponymous dynasty before unification of Nepal; its indigenous community having its own calendar, the Nepal Sambat, the country's only native calendar?
69 In November 1903, Phillipe Bunau Varilla - a French citizen who was not authorised to sign any treaties on behalf of the affected country without the review of its citizens - unilaterally signed the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty, which granted rights to the US to build and administer indefinitely what?
70 On which Windward island did La Soufriere volcano (the highest peak at 1234m) erupt in 1902, killing 2000 people?
71 What is the most sparsely populated country in the European Union with a population density of 15.5 persons per square kilometre?
72 Which capital city, located on the northern coast of Bioko Island, was initially named Port Clarence by the British and renamed Santa Isabel when it reverted to Spanish control?
73 Founded by Fanny Mikey and Ramiro Osorio, the Iberoamerican Theatre Festival - the largest theatre festival in the world - takes place where every two years?
74 In which wooded area on the outskirts of Minsk, the Belarus capital, were mass graves of about 250,000 of Stalin's victims discovered by archaeologist Zyanon Paznyak?
75 Also called the monkey bread tree and bottle tree, what common name is given to the genus Adansonia containing eight species of tree, six of which are native to Madagascar, the centre of diversity?
76 Which island nation is the only republican state in the world without an official capital?
77 Saudi Arabian men traditionally wear which ankle-length shirt woven from wool or cotton, its name coming from the standard Arabic word for "a garment"?
78 The Tunisian musician Anouar Brahem is a renowned player of which instrument, a pear-shaped, stringed instrument similar to a lute?
79 The current American football cornerback for the Buffalo Bills, the 23-year-old Ashton Youboty was born in which capital city?
80 Which Kazakhstani boxer became WBC heavyweight champion after knocking out Hasim Rahman on August 12, 2006?
81 Originally named Vajk, which king established the Kingdom of Hungary in 1000AD?
82 Enjoying its golden age in the 1950s as records pressed by Stanley Motta and others brought it to a new audience and later popularly revived by the Jolly Boys in the 80s and early 90s, which Jamaican folk music style predates and greatly influenced ska and reggae and typically features acoustic instruments such as a guitar, banjo, hand drums and rhumba box (a large mbira in the shape of a box that can be sat on while played, and which carried the bass part of the music)?
83 In which country did the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) seize power in a coup d'etat and depose the Jawara government, banning all opposition political activity and installing its chairman Yahya AJJ Jammeh as head of state in July 1994?
84 Which country hosted the (Formula 1) Gulf Air Grand Prix on April 4, 2004, the first for an Arab nation?
85 Born in Bivange, Luxembourg in 1879 (though his family moved to the US in 1881), which photographer's exhibition The Family of Man is now permanently housed at the Castle of Clervaux and placed on UNESCO's Memory of the World register?
86 Meaning "I say" in all Manding languages, what is both a script devised by Solomana Kante in 1949 as a writing system the Mande languages of West Africa and the name of the literary language itself written in the script; it serving as the alphabet of Bamanakan, the largest spoken language in Mali?
87 Originating in Samoa and its national pastime, kilikiti is a version of what sport?
88 Influenced by European melody and harmony, fatele is the most famous form of which Pacific nation's dance music and is competitive, with each island divided into two sides?
89 After the Chernobyl disaster, which new city was built outside the exclusion zone to house and support employees of the plant and was named after the Old Slavic name of the nearby Dnieper River?
90 Nicanor Duarte Frutos is the president of which South American country?
91 Extending through large portions of eastern Ghana, what is the world's largest artificial lake?
92 Historically, which country was known by many names including Lho Mon (southern land of darkness), Lho Tsendenjong (southern land of the cypress) and Lhomen Khazhi (southern land of four approaches)?
93 Signed on May 31, 1991, the Bicesse Accords, also known as the Estoril Accords, laid out a transition to multi-party democracy in which country under the supervision of the United Nations' UNAVEM II mission?
94 The poem Song of the Italian Girl by which 19th century Armenian poet, an anti-Tsarist whose picture it was forbidden to possess in Russia after he died of TB in prison (though portraits with his poem Liberty printed in the margins were circulated secretly), is said to have inspired the Armenian national anthem Mer Hayrenik/Our Fatherland?
95 Which 47-year-old four-time Grammy nominated Beninese singer-songwriter has had such hit songs as Agolo, Aye and Batonga, and released the album Djin Djin in May 2007, while her song We-We (from the 1991 album Logozo) was quoted by Homer's guide in The Simpsons episode "Simpson Safari"?
96 Who is the Supreme Leader and therefore the highest state authority of Iran?
97 Which present day country emerged as a single polity under paramount chief Moshoeshoe I in 1822?
98 Excavated from 1934 onwards by a team from Poznan University led by the archaeologists Jozef Kostrzewski and Zdzislaw Rajewski, which archaeological site and life-size model of an Iron Age fortified settlement (or grod) in Poland's Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodship belongs to the eponymous group of the Lusatian culture and is located on a marshy peninsula c.90 km north-east of Poznan and 8 km south of the small town of Znin?
99 Which UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Seychelles is the world's largest raised coral atoll?
100 A high school drop out who published his debut novel El pozo in 1939, which Uruguayan novelist and short story writer was jailed along with some of his colleagues, as jury members, by the military dictatorship for choosing Nelson Marra's short story El guardaespaldas/The bodyguard as the winner of the newspaper Marcha's annual contest in 1974?
101 Acclaimed in Turkey as the first and foremost Turkish poet, which self-styled "romantic revolutionary" and repeatedly imprisoned dissident (1901-63) is known for such works as Human Landscapes from My Country/Memleketimden Insan Manzaralari, Ferhad and Sirin, Kafatasi/The Skull, The Forgotten Man/Unutulan Adam and his anti-war poem Kiz Cocugu/The Little Girl, a plea for peace from a seven-year-old child, a decade after she has perished in the atomic bomb attack at Hiroshima?
102 Sierra Leone is the setting for which 1948 diamond smuggling-themed Graham Greene novel, partly based on his experiences of working for the Secret Intelligence Service in the country during WW2?
103 A member state since 2004, what is currently the smallest EU country in both population and area?
104 The 40-rayed yellow sun in the centre of which country's red flag represents 40 warriors of the mythical hero Manas; the line inside the sun representing the crown or tunduk of a yurt?
105 Which country is home to folk dances like the contrapas and marratxa, which survive in the parish of Sant Julia de Loria especially?
106 The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two political entities that compose the modern country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. What is the other with its de jure capital at Sarajevo and its de facto capital at Banja Luka?
107 Shimaore and Kibushi are the two indigenous languages spoken on which island and overseas collectivity of France, which has prominent advocates for its inclusion in the Union of Comoros?
108 Which country's Tortuguero National Park (the name meaning "full of turtles") is home to spider, howler and white-throated Capuchin monkeys, the three-toed sloth and 320 species of bird, but is mostly recognised for the annual nesting of the endangered green turtle and is considered the most important nesting site for this species?
109 The 1591 Battle of Tondibi was the decisive confrontation in Morocco's 16th century invasion of which empire, guaranteeing its downfall after a vastly outnumbered Moroccan force under Judar Pasha defeated Askia Ishaq II?
110 The name of which ancient Maya city in Belize, home to the 54 feet-high Temple of the Masonry Altars (a drawing of which is the logo on the country's leading beer brand "Belikin") and located c.30 miles north of Belize City and c.6 miles west of the Caribbean Sea shore, is a modern one in the Maya language coined by translating the name of the nearby village of Rockstone Pond?
111 At which battle did forces of Haitian revolutionary Jean-Jacques Dessalines score a decisive victory over the French on November 18, 1803, near Cap-Haitien?
112 Which country replaced the old Metical on January 1, 2007 with the New Metical?
113 By what other name is the island of Rakiura (1746 km2) perhaps better known?
114 Founded in 1882 by Johannes Klais senior and now run by his great-grandson Philipp Klais, the Bonn-based German firm Orgelbau Klais designs, builds and restores what?
115 The father of American actor Jimmy Smits came from which country?
116 Which South Korean automaker, whose name means "modernity", operates the world's largest integrated automobile manufacturing facility in Ulsan, capable of producing 1.6 million units annually?
117 English, Tok Pisin and Hiri Motu are the official languages of which country?
118 Surrounded by the UAE, the territory of Madha is an exclave of which country?
119 The airfield of which international airport on the eponymous location and the most south-western point of Grenada was chosen as the jump-off point for the invasion of the island by US forces in 1983?
120 In the 1930s, Nazi Germany sought to re-unite the Dutch language area by referring to it by what name, partly deriving it from an archaic term for "Dutch"?
121 An armed revolt, began in 1956 by the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), under the leadership of which agronomic engineer, writer and nationalist politician (assassinated in 1973 only a few months before Guinea-Bissau declared unilateral independence) gradually and eventually consolidated its hold on the country?
122 First held in 1924, the state-supported Dainu svente (literally "Song Fest") is perhaps the most famous folk music festival of which country?
123 Widely considered Burma's national dish, what soup consists of curried catfish broth with chickpea flour, rice vermicelli and fish sauce?
124 Which subgroup of the Mongols comprise the majority of the population of the independent state of Mongolia; the country's standard language being based on their dialect?
125 Chosen as director for the official film of the 1992 Summer Olympics, which Spanish film-maker's works include La prima Angelica/Cousin Angelica (1973), Cria Cuervos/Feeding the Ravens (1975) and Ay Carmela! (1990)?
126 Resembling a small guitar and having two main forms: the Bangla and the Bhhawaiya, which stringed musical instrument is commonly used in Bangladesh and West Bengal and has a name meaning "two stringed instrument" in Bengali?
127 Winner of the 2004 and 2005 Kenyan Sportswoman of the Year awards, which four-time Boston Marathon winner and two-time world champion broke the women's marathon world record in 2001, running 2h18:47 at the Chicago Marathon?
128 What is the smallest Portuguese-speaking country in the world, as well as the smallest country in the world that is not a former UK dependency, a former US trusteeship or a European microstate?
129 Formerly known as Konsky trh (meaning "Horse Market"), which Prague city square was renamed in 1848 on the proposal of writer and publisher Karel Havlicek Borovsky?
130 The Red House, the original of which was destroyed in the 1903 water riots and rebuilt in 1907, is the seat of the parliament of which Caribbean republic?
131 Led by the Libyan-born Chairman Hassan Tatanaki and headquartered in Cairo, the company Challenger LTD is involved in which business?
132 Which writer fled South Africa's apartheid regime to live in and write about Botswana (when it was still the Bechuanaland Protectorate) in 1964 until her death at the age of 49 in 1986, and lived in Serowe where she set her most famous books When Rain Clouds Gather, Maru and A Question of Power?
133 Pradal Serey, meaning "free fighting", is the name used in which country for a system of martial arts?
134 The Croatians, Zoran Primorac and Tamara Boros, are well-known names in which sport?
135 Nicknamed the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean" due to its seemingly unspoiled natural beauty, which country's pre-Columbian name was Wai'tu kubuli meaning "Tall is her body"?
136 Which women of the Southern Province of Zambia are famed for weaving eponymous baskets from the ilala palm (mapokwe in their language) with a distinctive design and a square bottom forming their foundation (each being c.35 cm in diameter and taking about two weeks to complete)?
137 Vanuatu is an archipelago of 83 islands, of which two - Matthew and Hunter - are also claimed by which French overseas department?
138 Televisheni ya Taifa is the state-run television network of which African country?
139 The first King of the Franks, who (c.466-511) is seen as the forefather of the French kings?
140 Which Venezuelan city - the capital of the Aragua State - is home to the Mausoleo de Gomez, the mausoleum of early 20th century dictator Juan Vicente Gomez, and is known as "Ciudad Jardin" (Garden City), as well as a bullfight arena ("Maestranza Cesar Giron") that is the only maestranza or bullfighting school in the country?
141 Henrique Teixeira de Sousa, Manuel Lopes, Eugenio Tavares and Jorge Barbosa are considered to be among the icons of which country's native literature?
142 Operation Magic Carpet, or as it was officially called Operation On Wings of Eagles, brought 49,000 Jews to Israel from which country between June 1949 and September 1950?
143 Which Somali novelist's (b.1945) reputation was cemented by his most famous novel Maps (1986), the first of his Blood in the Sun trilogy and which was set during the Ogaden crisis of 1977, with other important literary achievements such as From a Crooked Rib (1970) and his Variations on the Theme of An African Dictatorship trilogy earning him the 1998 Neustadt International Prize for Literature?
144 The Wooden Churches of Maramures - a selection of eight examples of different architectural solutions from different periods and areas, all of which are Orthodox churches - is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in which country?
145 Which Cote d'Ivoire-born Portuguese athlete and member of the Baha'i faith won the triple jump at the 2007 World Championships?
146 Possibly the most popular Canadian painter of the 19th century, which Dutch-born Quebec artist (1815-72) is famed for his portrayals of the Canadian landscapes and life outdoors, especially in winter, as seen in such works as French Canadian Habitants Playing at Cards (1848), The Sleigh Race on the St-Lawrence at Quebec (1852) and Bilking the Toll (1860)?
147 The Zimbabwean novelist and poet Solomon Mutswairo wrote the first ever novel (entitled Feso and first published in 1957) in which language?
148 Which fascist party, whose name meant "National Gathering" or "National Unity", was founded by former minister of defence and notorious WW2 traitor Vidkun Quisling and a group of sympathisers that included Johan Bernhard Hjort on May 17, 1933?
149 Evolved in urban clubs during the 1920s when Tunde King and Ojoge Daniel made its first recordings, which style of percussion music fused with traditional music from the Yoruba nation was made famous in modern times by the Nigerian performer King Sunny Ade (and His African Beats)?
150 Commodore Matthew Perry of the US Navy concluded which agreement with Japan on March 31, 1854 that forced the opening of Japan to the outside world?
151 One of the seven marques owned by Piaggio, which Italian motorcycle company started out as a scooter manufacturer on its founding by Cavaliere Alberto Beggio after WW2, but has recently become better known for its race-winning sportsbikes, such as the flagship 1000 cc V twin Superbike, the RSV Mille?
152 The largest sports stadium in Guyana, the Providence Stadium is located on the east bank of which river?
153 The teams El Zamalek and Al-Ahly are fierce footballing rivals in which city?
154 The construction of the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque is a major theme in Anthony Burgess's 1961 novel Devil of a State. Completed in 1958, it is located in which Asian capital?
155 Founded in 903 by Moorish Andalusian traders, which Algerian city is the setting for both El Gallardo Espanol (1615) by Cervantes and The Plague (1947) by Albert Camus?
156 Found on Bird Island, which other Caribbean island off its coast gives its name to the rarest snake in the world (only about 200 survive)?
157 Which Chinese polymath scientist, astronomer and statesman (1031-1095) theorised that the sun and moon were spherical, corrected the position of the Pole Star with his improved sighting tube, first described the magnetic needle compass in his Dream Pool Essays of 1088, discovered the concept of true north, wrote of planetary motions such as retrogradation and compared the orbital paths of the planets to the points on the shape of a rotating willow leaf, and was also famed for his concept of land formation?
158 In 1954, the freely elected president Jacobo Arbenz Guzman was ousted in a coup d'etat by the CIA, known as Operation PBSUCCESS, the agency's second successful overthrow of a foreign government after the 1953 coup in Iran. Arbenz was president of which country?
159 Mauritius is part of which island group, along with Reunion, Rodrigues, Cargados Carajos shoals and the former islands of the Saya de Malha, Nazareth and Soudan banks, whose name is derived from the Portuguese navigator who first visited them in 1512?
160 Telling the story of the death and resurrection of an ox, the popular regional festival known as the Bumba Meu Boi or Boi Bumba ("boi" meaning ox) takes place annually in the north and northeast of which South American country?
161 The mechanisation of which traditional fishing boat in 1974 was a major milestone in the development of the fisheries industry and economy of the Maldives?
162 Which Italian driver famously crashed into the harbour during the Monaco Grand Prix in 1955?
163 Which Mexican film actress, whose affair with Orson Welles is rumoured to have led to her 1941 divorce from MGM art director and production designer Cedric Gibbons, returned to her native land in 1942 and collaborated with director Emilio Fernandez on a number of successful Spanish-language films, among them Flor Silvestre (1943) and the Palme d'Or winner Maria Candelaria (1944)?
164 Which Asian country has three recognised seasons: Tag-init or Tag-araw (hot season or summer March-May), Tag-ulan (rainy season June-November) and Taglamig (cold season December-February), as well as a south-west monsoon (May-October) called the habagat and the dry winds of the north-east monsoon (November-April), known as the amihan?
165 Chronicling the fateful months of his tour as Force Commander of the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda in 1993-94, which Canadian Lieutenant-General wrote Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity (2003) with help from Major Brent Beardsley?
166 Which peninsula near Senegal's capital Dakar is the westernmost point in Africa?
167 The Serbs formed their first unified state under the Vlastimirovic dynasty by 812, and would achieve full independence, evolving into the Serbian Kingdom and Empire under the rule of which house; Serbia seeing an apogee in economy, law, military and religion especially during Emperor Dusan (aka Stefan Uros IV Dusan) (1308-1355)?
168 In which city, an oasis in Abu Dhabi c. 140 km east of the emirate's capital, is the United Arab Emirates University?
169 In which notorious event of 1937 did the Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Trujillo order his army to kill all Haitians on his side of the border, resulting in an estimated 17,000-35,000 Haitians being killed over a period of about five days (October 2-October 8)?
170 The Martin Miguel de Guemes Airport serves which Argentine city, nicknamed "the Beautiful" and home to the Plaza 9 de Julio city park, the 18th century Cabildo and the starting point of the "Train to the Clouds" (Tren a las nubes)?
171 Which African capital was founded on Tombo Island in 1890, the same year its country was created a colony by France?
172 Which country obtained its first Olympic gold in 1996 when Jefferson Perez triumphed in the 20 km race-walk?
173 The wife of Dollar Brand (aka Abdullah Ibrahim) and mother to underground hip hop artist Jean Grae, which South African jazz vocalist and composer released her most recent album, SongSpirit, on October 17 of last year in celebration of her 70th birthday?
174 Designated the "Eternal President" on his death in 1994, Kim Il-Sung rests in which mausoleum in central Pyongyang?
175 With words written by its first president Barthelemy Boganda and a melody composed by Herbert Pepper (who also did the same for the Senegal's), which country's national anthem has been La Renaissance since 1960?
176 Which Australian artist (b.1940), whose museum is located in The Rocks, Sydney, is perhaps best known for his simple, brightly coloured images of Aussie landmarks as seen on a popular range of clothing and homewares sold under the his self-named "Design" brand, his other notable designs including the 2000 Sydney Olympics logo and the new United Buddy Bear for Australia in 2006?
177 What is said to be the second largest Francophone city in the world after Paris with a population of more than seven million (as at 2004), and will surpass the French capital if current demographic trends continue by the end of the 2010s?
178 Which historical de jure capital of Montenegro, the location where the ruler of Zeta Ivan Crnojevic built his court in 1482, is designated as Prijestonica, the old royal capital or seat of the throne?
179 While Mbabane is the administrative capital of Swaziland, what is the legal and royal capital of the country, as well as the seat of the Parliament and residence of the Queen Mother?
180 Which Caribbean international football team is known as the "Sugar Boyz"?
181 Known from the Ottoman period as "the city of the consuls", which city in the south-west of Macedonia and surrounded by the Baba and Nidze mountains hosts an "International Camera Festival"?
182 The most widespread form of native folk music in East Timor was which dance, performed to by women to welcome men home after war, using a small drum whilst occasionally carrying enemy heads in procession through villages (though its modern version is used by women in courtship)?
183 Known as the Bride of the Desert due to it being a vital caravan city for travellers crossing the desert and still known as Tadmor in Arabic and modern Hebrew, which ancient Syrian city's ruins include the Temple of Bel and the Eggelin Tomb Tower?
184 Which country consists of four "Federated States": Kosrae, Yap, Pohnpei and Chuuk?
185 The A1 Ethniki is the highest professional competition among Greek clubs in which sport, the first Greek Championship for the sport having been held in 1928?
186 Each 280 metres in height and located in the same place, the Republic Plaza, UOB Plaza and OUB Centre are the three tallest buildings in which Asian country?
187 What reptilian nickname has been given to the private militia of Denis Sassou Nguesso, the current President of the Republic of the Congo?
188 Occupying the whole western end, Karalpakistan (capital Nukus) or Qoraqalpoghiston Respublikasi is the single autonomous republic of which country that is otherwise divided into 12 provinces and one independent city?
189 Between 1946 and 1958, the US tested 66 nuclear weapons in the Marshall Islands, including the largest nuclear test it ever conducted on March 1, 1954 at Bikini Atoll. What code-name was given to this first test of a so-called dry fuel thermonuclear device?
190 Roughly meaning "assembly of land", what was the first Russian parliament of the feudal estates type, i.e. the first Russian feudal representative body, established by Ivan the Terrible in 1549?
191 One of the most commercially successful singers in Europe, Japan and Latin America, which Sicilian-born musician has lived in Belgium near the city of Mons since 1947 and released such 60s hits as Tombe la Neige, Vous permettez, Monsieur? and Inch Allah, as well as the albums Reveur de fond (1992), Regards (1998) and Zanzibar (2003)?
192 Enacted on March 3, 1284 by English king Edward I, which "Statue" ensured that the once independent Principality of Wales fell under the control of the English monarchy and took its name from a castle in north Wales that was built as one of the 'iron ring' of fortresses by the aforementioned king?
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Answers to BH130
1 Viswanath Anand 2 Vietnam 3 Arvo Part 4 Denmark 5 Babenberg 6 Ivan Cankar 7 Qatar 8 Chad 9 Israel 10 Santiago 11 Johor 12 Turkmenistan 13 Abdourahman Waberi 14 Davos 15 Wat Phou 16 Sudan 17 Martin Sulik 18 Punjabi folk music singers 19 Cote d'Ivoire 20 Tarabuco 21 The "wai" 22 El Tigre Island 23 Liechtenstein 24 Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati) 25 Canton 26 Burundi 27 Huascaran or Nevado Huascaran (the peak being Huascaran Sur) 28 Jalalabad 29 Tirana 30 Bridgetown, Barbados 31 Burkina Faso 32 Ericsson (as in Lars Magnus Ericsson) 33 Cameroon 34 Fiji 35 Lake Nicaragua 36 Chocolate layer cake 37 Bulgaria 38 Melanesia 39 Togo 40 Palau 41 Owambo tribe 42 Akkad (Sumerian: Agade, Biblical: Accad) 43 Landnamabok (often shortened to Landnama) 44 Tbilisi Sioni Cathedral or the "Sioni" Cathedral of the Dormition 45 Oliver N'Goma 46 Cyprus 47 Pupusa(s) 48 Sailing 49 Momine Khatun Mausoelum 50 Lake Malawi 51 Darts 52 Latvia 53 Wolf Tones 54 Nouakchott (Mauritania) 55 Saint Lucia 56 Dan Balan 57 Tajikistan (the capital Dushanbe) 58 Timothy Wangusa 59 Burgher people 60 'inasi 61 Niger 62 The Prophet 63 Java 64 Kuwait 65 Eritrea 66 D'mt 67 Cuba 68 Newar culture (as in the Newa people) 69 Panama canal 70 St Vincent 71 Finland 72 Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) 73 Bogota 74 Kurapaty 75 Baobab 76 Nauru 77 Thawb 78 Oud 79 Monrovia (Liberia) 80 Oleg Maskaev 81 St Stephen or Stephen I 82 Mento 83 The Gambia 84 Bahrain 85 Edward Steichen 86 N'Ko 87 Cricket 88 Tuvalu 89 Slavutych 90 Paraguay 91 Lake Volta 92 Bhutan 93 Angola 94 Mikael Nalbandian 95 Angelique Kidjo 96 Ayatollah Ali Khamenei 97 Lesotho 98 Biskupin 99 atoll of Aldabra 100 Juan Carlos Onetti 101 Nazim Hikmet 102 The Heart of the Matter 103 Malta 104 Kyrgyzstan 105 Andorra 106 Republika Srpska 107 Mayotte 108 Costa Rica 109 Songhai empire 110 Altun Ha 111 Battle of Vertieres 112 Mozambique 113 Stewart Island (New Zealand) 114 Pipe organs 115 Surinam (then Dutch Guiana) 116 Hyundai Motor Company 117 Papua New Guinea 118 Oman 119 Point Salines International Airport 120 Dietsland 121 Amilcar Cabral 122 Lithuania 123 Mohinga 124 Khalkha (or Halh) 125 Carlos Saura 126 Dotara 127 Catherine Ndereba 128 Sao Tome e Principe 129 Saint Wenceslas square/ Svatovaclavske namesti 130 Trinidad & Tobago 131 Oil and gas drilling 132 Bessie Head 133 Cambodia 134 Table tennis 135 Dominica 136 Tonga 137 New Caledonia 138 Tanzania 139 Clovis 140 Maracay 141 Cape Verde 142 Yemen (then called Aden) 143 Nuruddin Farah 144 Romania 145 Nelson Evora 146 Cornelius Krieghoff 147 Shona 148 Nasjonal Samling 149 Juju music 150 Convention of Kanagawa or Kanagawa Treaty 151 Aprilia 152 Demerara River 153 Cairo 154 Bandar Seri Begawan 155 Oran 156 Antigua Racer Snake 157 Shen Kuo 158 Guatemala 159 Mascarene Islands or Mascarenhas Archipelago 160 Brazil 161 Dhoni 162 Alberto Ascari 163 Dolores del Rio 164 Philippines 165 Romeo Dallaire 166 Cap Vert 167 House of Nemanjic 168 Al Ain 169 Parsley Massacre 170 Salta 171 Conakry (Guinea) 172 Ecuador 173 Sathima Bea Benjamin 174 Kumsusan Memorial Palace 175 Central African Republic 176 Ken Done 177 Kinshasa 178 Cetinje 179 Lobamba 180 St Kitts & Nevis 181 Bitola 182 The likurai dance 183 Palmyra 184 Federated States of Micronesia 185 Basketball 186 Singapore (in Raffles Plaza) 187 Cobras 188 Uzbekistan 189 Castle Bravo 190 Zemsky Sobor 191 Salvatore Adamo 192 The Statute of Rhuddlan
LOOKY HERE
The all too obviously link between every question
"And God bless Wikipedia, everyone!"
So I was seized by this notion to write a theme-quiz that would be the most globally spread bunch of trivia teasers I have ever set (if stacks of geography ain't your thing ... FLEE NOW). Let me tell you now: I don't think I will be doing it again for a long time. A ruddy long time. East Anglia may be nothing more than a shallow inlet of the North Sea by the time I bring myself to repeating such labour. Though I say that in a state of crazed, pounded exhaustion; a natural state some might attribute to myself. My bad (lovely EP from that singer-lady).
I believed that the connection, though slightly vague on first glance and catholic in the extreme, would make it so much easier to write this BH instalment. There was a definite subject or a necessary noun needed for every one of the following questions, and I knew the ones that would be required for every single question. There was a long list: a set of clear cut objectives. A finite task. But how to prevent it from sliding into mind-numbing mundaneness? Not so easy. It would have been so easy to be so samey. However, you need a bit of imagination and brain-examination to keep it fresh and therefore viable and liable to prevent whoever bothers going through the thing from falling into such a deep coma that they may never wake up from. So in the end it took, oh, about 12 hours to set. I kid you not. The search and the setting went on and on. Night turned to day and day turned into that bit of the Autumn morn when you exclaim "Cor blimey, guvnor" - yeah, like a Cockney cab driver in Jack the Ripper times - "Has the sun already gone in? Time's progression must be havin' a larf!"
Praise be then it has doubly worked as good skim-style preparation for the forthcoming European Championships in Blackpool (ooh! The bright lights! The rollercoasters! The inebriated mong-pieces that roll out of the nightclubs with a taste for a bit of the old ultra-violence catalysed by the gallons of alcohol overloading their system! The Alan Bradley tram-squish scene! It WILL be fun). I looked hard at my reference source (you know what it is). I analysed. I selected: sometimes rashly, sometimes with a "sod this for pile of solder" and just get on with it, and sometimes with an internal "Eureka-ka-ka-ka!!" enlivening my mind.
It was an exercise I set myself and it certainly exercised me. I am sure you can more or less deduce the "link" between the questions that follow in swift time (they're very, very international *wink* *wink*). That's the easy bit. The hard bit is getting any of them right. Because I seem to have written questions based purely on the premise that I couldn't answer them myself and thought it would be good learning. For me, fantastic! For you, maybe not so much (I'm starting to talk like Toby Esterhase in Smiley's People now). And I think it is: a kind of eye-opening education (though truthfully I only wrote it while I wait for some of my 502-question testers to return their papers to me ... silly me, I never realised setters is an anagram of testers. DOUBLE DUH.)
So please, while my brain lays in a discordant ruin having splintered into countless slithery slices of useless mushiness (themes, even vague ones, slow down the setting process by a rate I haven't been arsed to calculate), dive in and look, browse, peruse, attempt to work it, then look away with numbed brain and sore eyes. I'm sure there will be at least one question you may find sort of interesting. Maybe, even two, if you're lucky.*
*This does not apply to such elite individuals as you know who. Oh yeah, THOSE guys
(The question connection revealed way down below)
BH130 BEGINS
1 Which Indian chess player has just won the 2007 World Championship, held in Mexico City, to become the new world champion?
2 In which country did the Can Tho bridge, due to be the longest main span cable-stayed bridge in south-east Asia on its completion, collapse on the morning of September 26, causing the death of at least 52 construction workers?
3 Which 72-year-old Estonian composer, often identified with a brand of music known as "mystic minimalism" or "sacred minimalism", saw his Cantus In Memoriam Benjamin Britten used in Leos Carax's 1991 film Les Amants du Pont-Neuf and Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911, and is known for such other works as Berlin Mass (1992) and Our Garden, a cantata for children's chorus and orchestra (1959/2003)?
4 Given annually to an international musician, the Leonie Sonning Music Prize or Sonning Award is recognised as which country's highest musical honour?
5 Rulers of Austria as counts of the march and dukes from 976 AD, the line of which house went extinct with the death of Frederick II in 1246?
6 Considered one of Slovenia's greatest writers along with Romantic poet France Preseren, which writer, playwright and poet (1876-1918) was active as a member of the Socialist Democrat party, a political inclination that resulted in his writing the much-translated story Hlapec Jernej in njegova pravica/The Servant Jernej and his Justice, while his hometown Vrhnika boasts a museum dedicated to him?
7 Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has ruled which country since 1995, having deposed his father who was holidaying in Switzerland at the time?
8 Considered to be modern descendants of the Kanem-Borno Empire, the Kanembu people are an ethnic group of which African country?
9 Meaning "Certification of Maturity", the Te'udat Bagrut is the official high school qualification certificate in which country?
10 One of Francisco Pizarro's lieutenants, Pedro de Vladivia founded which capital city on February 12, 1541?
11 Tanjung Piai, the southernmost tip of continental Asia, is located in which southern Malaysian state?
12 Often described as the most detailed national flag in the world, which country's flag features a green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side containing five carpet guls (designs used in making rugs) stacked above two crossed olive branches; a white waxing crescent moon, and five white five-pointed stars in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe?
13 Born in 1965, which Djibouti-born writer's first novel Le Pays San Ombre/ The Land Without Shadow was released in 1994 and won the Grand Prize for new French Speakers from the Royal Academy of French Language and Literature, in Belgium, and more recently wrote Moisson de Cranes/ Harvest of Skulls (2000) about the Rwandan genocide?
14 The Spengler Cup, an annual ice hockey tournament first held in 1923, is the second oldest international ice hockey team tournament in the world after the Stanley Cup play-offs. In which Swiss municipality is it held?
15 Now a centre of Theravada Buddhist worship, which Laotian World Heritage Site is a ruined Khmer temple complex in the south of the country located at the base of mount Phu Khao, c.6 km from the Mekong river in Champassak province, and possesses a unique structure in which the elements lead to a shrine where a linga was bathed in water from a mountain spring?
16 Which country is divided into 26 states known as wilayat (singular=wilayah), including Al Jazirah, Junqali, Warab, Kassala Sennar and Unity?
17 Said to be the only Slovakian filmmaker to make any international impact during the 1990s, which director's works include Everything I Like/Vsetko co mam rad (1992) and The Garden/ Zahrada (1995)?
18 Alam Lohar and his son Arif are famous for being what kind of performing artists in Pakistan?
19 The son of a Baoule chief, Felix Houphouet-Boigny is considered to be which country's father of independence?
20 Best known as the home of the Yampara culture, which Bolivian town's people host the Pujilay festival - where the indigenous community gather for Mass, parade in colourful traditional costumes and drink plenty of chicha (fermented beverage made of maize, manioc root or fruits) - in March each year?
21 Offered first by the younger of the two people meeting with their hands pressed together and fingertips pointing upwards as the head is bowed to touch their face to the hands, usually coinciding with the spoken word "Sawat-dii khrap" for men and "Sawat-dii ka" for women, what is the traditional Thai greeting called?
22 Belonging to the Valle department, which island in the Gulf of Fonseca is a conical basalt stratovolcano and is the southernmost volcano in Honduras?
23 The national anthem of which country is Oben am jungen Rhine, meaning "High Above the Young Rhine"?
24 Which islands were named after a British captain (first name Thomas), who crossed the archipelago in 1788, by the Russian admiral Adam von Krusenstern and French captain Louis Duperrey in 1820?
25 Which city of Ohio is home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the William McKinley Presidential Library & Museum and the First Ladies National Historic Site?
26 Which African country are famed for producing a percussion ensemble known as the "Royal Drummers of _______", whose performances are part of ceremonies such as births, funerals and coronations of mwami (kings) - their "karyenda" drums being sacred in the country - and which can be heard on such albums as Batimbo (Musiques Et Chants) (1991)?
27 The southern peak of which mountain in the province of Yungay-Cordillera Blanca in the Western Andes is the highest in Peru at 6768m?
28 Located at the junction of the Kabul and Kunar rivers, the modern version of which Afghanistan city in Nangarhar province (its capital) was the site of the residence of Amir Habibullah and King Amanullah, the Seraj-ul-Emarat, that was destroyed in 1929?
29 The Orthodox Church of St Prokop (built in 1780), the Et'hem Bey Mosque (begun in 1789 by Molla Bey and finished by his son Haxhi Et'hem Bey) and the Tabakeve and Tervize bridges (dating from the start of the 20th century) are features of which capital city?
30 The British system of longitude was discovered by charting the distance between Portsmouth in England and which Caribbean capital by using the position of the Sun in relation to both locations?
31 Which country celebrates the holidays "Anniversary of the 1966 coup d'etat" (Jan 3), Women's Day (March 8), Revolution Day (August 4), Independence Day (August 5) and the "Anniversary of the 1987 coup d'etat" (October 15)?
32 Using the slogan "Taking You Forward", which technology-communications company began in 1875 in a repair workshop for telegraph instruments in downtown Stockholm, a 30-year-old engineer started off be repairing foreign-made telephones but soon began making and selling his own?
33 Ambasse bey (of the coast), assiko (of the Bassa), mangambeu (of the Bangangte) and tsamassi (of the Bamileke) are popular musical styles in which country?
34 Though the celebrations actually begin a week early, May 30 is the date set for Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna Day, held in honour of the first modern statesman of which country?
35 Which massive freshwater lake (8264 km2) is also known by the names Cocibolca, Lago Cocibolca, Lake Granada, Lago de Granada, Mar Dulce, Gran Lago and Gran Lago Dulce?
36 Depicting a well-known group of structures on the three peaks of Monte Titano, what sort of delicacy is San Marino's Torta Tre Monti?
37 Which country's unicameral parliament, the National Assembly or Narodno Sabranie, consists of 240 deputies?
38 The Solomon Islands are located in which sub-region of Oceania extending from the western side of the West Pacific to the Arafura Sea, whose name was first used by Jules Dumont d'Urville in 1832 to denote a distinct ethnic and geographical grouping of islands?
39 Which African country is home to a traditional monarchy known as the Cokossian Monarchy, also known as Anufu, since the 17th century, and whose rulers bear the title Soma; the first such person being Bema Bonsafo and the current being Na Bema?
40 Tommy Remengesau is the President of which country, whose currency is the US Dollar?
41 Concentrated in the north of the country, which tribe forms about half the population of Namibia?
42 Later the capital of the northern division of the Babylonian empire, which ancient city and capital of an eponymous empire in central Mesopotamia was probably situated on the west bank of the Euphrates between Sippar and Kish, c.50 km south-west of present-day Baghdad and reached the height of its power between the 24th and 22nd centuries BC?
43 Meaning "The Book of Settlement", which old Icelandic manuscript describes in much detail the settlement of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries, beginning with Ingolfur Amarson's original settlement in Reykjavik?
44 Home to a series of murals by Russian artist and general Knyaz Grigory Gagarin (1810-1893) and the venerated Grapevine Cross, which cathedral in Tbilisi was initially built in the 6th-7th centuries before much destruction and reconstruction with the current church being based on a 13th century version, and was the main Georgian Orthodox cathedral as the seat of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia until the Holy Trinity Cathedral was consecrated in 2004?
45 Nicknamed "Noli", which Gabonese Afro-zouk and reggae singer and guitarist (b.1959) is best known for his 1990 song Bane, which was popularised by Radio Africa N.1 and Gilles Obringer, and such albums as Adia (1995) and Seva (2000)?
46 Akrotiri and Dhekelia are two UK-administered areas on which island that comprise the Sovereign Base Areas Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom?
47 Which thick hand-made corn tortilla, made using masa de maiz or masa de arroz (a maize or rice flour dough used in Latin American cuisine) and stuffed with such things as cheese, fried pork rind, chicken and refried beans, is perhaps the most notable dish of El Salvador?
48 Sir Durwood Knowles and Cecile Cooke won rare gold Olympic gold medals for the Bahamas in which sport in 1964?
49 Commissioned by Ildegizid Atabey Jahan Pahlawan in honour of his first wife, designed by Adjemi ibn Abubekr and completed in 1186-87, which World Heritage Site and mausoleum is located in Nakhchivan City, the capital of the same-named autonomous republic in Azerbaijan?
50 Which African lake is sometimes called the Calendar Lake as it is about 365 miles long and 52 miles wide?
51 The 22-year-old Ramzi "The Jordanian Dragon" Qattan is a rising star (relatively for the nation of Jordan) in which sport?
52 Gundars Vetra became the first person of which country to play in the NBA when he briefly played for the Minnesota Timberwolves for 13 games in 1993, while Andris Biedrins became the second when he joined the Golden State Warriors thanks to the 2004 NBA Draft?
53 Comprised of the members Derek and Brian Warfield, Noel Nagle and Tommy Byrne, which Irish rebel music band produced such songs as the Brian Warfield-written Celtic Symphony in 1987 for the 100th anniversary of Celtic Football Club and Joe McDonnell, about the IRA member who was the fifth person to die on the 1981 Hunger Strike?
54 As the country gained independence in 1960, which capital city was founded at the site of a small colonial village, the Ksar, while 90 per cent of the population remained nomadic?
55 Named for a female saint of Syracuse (c.283-304), which Caribbean island nation is known as the "Helen of the West Indies" because it switched between British and French control so often it was likened to the mythical Helen of Troy?
56 Front man of pop band O-Zone, which Moldova singer-songwriter's most successful song was Dragostea din tei (performed by O-Zone and also known as the Numa Numa song), while another single Despre tine reached no. 1 in five countries and reached no. 6 in the main European charts?
57 Modern citizens of which Central Asian country - that underwent a devastating civil war from 1992-97 - view the Persian Samanid Empire as being the first state in their history; a monument in their capital honouring Saman Khuda, ancestor of the Samanids and a source of native nationalism?
58 An ethnic Mumasaaba, which Ugandan poet and novelist (b. 1942) has published such collections as Salutations: Poems 1965-1975 (1977) - reissued with additional poems as A Pattern of Dust: A Selected Poems 1965-1990 (1994) - that reflected his rural origins, and wrote the 1989 novel Upon This Mountain, which tells the story of a child named Mwambu, who is determined to touch heaven?
59 The author Michael Ondaatje, the Australian TV chef Geoff Jansz and fashion photographer Nigel Barker are members of which Eurasian ethnic group that historically comes from Sri Lanka?
60 Captain Cook called Tonga the "Friendly Islands" because he happened to arrive at the time of which festival, the yearly donation of the first fruits to the Tu'i Tonga (or king)?
61 Which African country is the poorest country in the world, according to it ranking last (177th) on the United Nations Development Programme's 2006 Human Development Index?
62 The Lebanese writer Gibran Khalil Gibran is particularly known for which 1923 book that has been translated into more than 20 different languages and consists of 23 poetic essays concerning the title character Almustafa, who has lived in the foreign city of Orphalese for 12 years and is about to board a ship home when he is stopped by a number of people who discuss life and the human condition with him?
63 What is the world's most populous island?
64 The name of which country and small constitutional monarchy is a diminutive of an Arabic word meaning "fortress built near water"?
65 What did Emperor Haile Selassie I annex as Ethiopia's 14th province in 1961?
66 Which kingdom was established in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, with its capital at Yeha, around the 8th century BC?
67 The recorded history of which country began on October 17, 1492, when Columbus sighted the island during his first voyage of discovery and claimed it for Spain, naming it Isla Juana in reference to Prince Juan, the heir apparent?
68 The most distinct and most preserved of Nepal, what is the historic culture of Kathmandu Valley and surrounding areas previously under control of the eponymous dynasty before unification of Nepal; its indigenous community having its own calendar, the Nepal Sambat, the country's only native calendar?
69 In November 1903, Phillipe Bunau Varilla - a French citizen who was not authorised to sign any treaties on behalf of the affected country without the review of its citizens - unilaterally signed the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty, which granted rights to the US to build and administer indefinitely what?
70 On which Windward island did La Soufriere volcano (the highest peak at 1234m) erupt in 1902, killing 2000 people?
71 What is the most sparsely populated country in the European Union with a population density of 15.5 persons per square kilometre?
72 Which capital city, located on the northern coast of Bioko Island, was initially named Port Clarence by the British and renamed Santa Isabel when it reverted to Spanish control?
73 Founded by Fanny Mikey and Ramiro Osorio, the Iberoamerican Theatre Festival - the largest theatre festival in the world - takes place where every two years?
74 In which wooded area on the outskirts of Minsk, the Belarus capital, were mass graves of about 250,000 of Stalin's victims discovered by archaeologist Zyanon Paznyak?
75 Also called the monkey bread tree and bottle tree, what common name is given to the genus Adansonia containing eight species of tree, six of which are native to Madagascar, the centre of diversity?
76 Which island nation is the only republican state in the world without an official capital?
77 Saudi Arabian men traditionally wear which ankle-length shirt woven from wool or cotton, its name coming from the standard Arabic word for "a garment"?
78 The Tunisian musician Anouar Brahem is a renowned player of which instrument, a pear-shaped, stringed instrument similar to a lute?
79 The current American football cornerback for the Buffalo Bills, the 23-year-old Ashton Youboty was born in which capital city?
80 Which Kazakhstani boxer became WBC heavyweight champion after knocking out Hasim Rahman on August 12, 2006?
81 Originally named Vajk, which king established the Kingdom of Hungary in 1000AD?
82 Enjoying its golden age in the 1950s as records pressed by Stanley Motta and others brought it to a new audience and later popularly revived by the Jolly Boys in the 80s and early 90s, which Jamaican folk music style predates and greatly influenced ska and reggae and typically features acoustic instruments such as a guitar, banjo, hand drums and rhumba box (a large mbira in the shape of a box that can be sat on while played, and which carried the bass part of the music)?
83 In which country did the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) seize power in a coup d'etat and depose the Jawara government, banning all opposition political activity and installing its chairman Yahya AJJ Jammeh as head of state in July 1994?
84 Which country hosted the (Formula 1) Gulf Air Grand Prix on April 4, 2004, the first for an Arab nation?
85 Born in Bivange, Luxembourg in 1879 (though his family moved to the US in 1881), which photographer's exhibition The Family of Man is now permanently housed at the Castle of Clervaux and placed on UNESCO's Memory of the World register?
86 Meaning "I say" in all Manding languages, what is both a script devised by Solomana Kante in 1949 as a writing system the Mande languages of West Africa and the name of the literary language itself written in the script; it serving as the alphabet of Bamanakan, the largest spoken language in Mali?
87 Originating in Samoa and its national pastime, kilikiti is a version of what sport?
88 Influenced by European melody and harmony, fatele is the most famous form of which Pacific nation's dance music and is competitive, with each island divided into two sides?
89 After the Chernobyl disaster, which new city was built outside the exclusion zone to house and support employees of the plant and was named after the Old Slavic name of the nearby Dnieper River?
90 Nicanor Duarte Frutos is the president of which South American country?
91 Extending through large portions of eastern Ghana, what is the world's largest artificial lake?
92 Historically, which country was known by many names including Lho Mon (southern land of darkness), Lho Tsendenjong (southern land of the cypress) and Lhomen Khazhi (southern land of four approaches)?
93 Signed on May 31, 1991, the Bicesse Accords, also known as the Estoril Accords, laid out a transition to multi-party democracy in which country under the supervision of the United Nations' UNAVEM II mission?
94 The poem Song of the Italian Girl by which 19th century Armenian poet, an anti-Tsarist whose picture it was forbidden to possess in Russia after he died of TB in prison (though portraits with his poem Liberty printed in the margins were circulated secretly), is said to have inspired the Armenian national anthem Mer Hayrenik/Our Fatherland?
95 Which 47-year-old four-time Grammy nominated Beninese singer-songwriter has had such hit songs as Agolo, Aye and Batonga, and released the album Djin Djin in May 2007, while her song We-We (from the 1991 album Logozo) was quoted by Homer's guide in The Simpsons episode "Simpson Safari"?
96 Who is the Supreme Leader and therefore the highest state authority of Iran?
97 Which present day country emerged as a single polity under paramount chief Moshoeshoe I in 1822?
98 Excavated from 1934 onwards by a team from Poznan University led by the archaeologists Jozef Kostrzewski and Zdzislaw Rajewski, which archaeological site and life-size model of an Iron Age fortified settlement (or grod) in Poland's Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodship belongs to the eponymous group of the Lusatian culture and is located on a marshy peninsula c.90 km north-east of Poznan and 8 km south of the small town of Znin?
99 Which UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Seychelles is the world's largest raised coral atoll?
100 A high school drop out who published his debut novel El pozo in 1939, which Uruguayan novelist and short story writer was jailed along with some of his colleagues, as jury members, by the military dictatorship for choosing Nelson Marra's short story El guardaespaldas/The bodyguard as the winner of the newspaper Marcha's annual contest in 1974?
101 Acclaimed in Turkey as the first and foremost Turkish poet, which self-styled "romantic revolutionary" and repeatedly imprisoned dissident (1901-63) is known for such works as Human Landscapes from My Country/Memleketimden Insan Manzaralari, Ferhad and Sirin, Kafatasi/The Skull, The Forgotten Man/Unutulan Adam and his anti-war poem Kiz Cocugu/The Little Girl, a plea for peace from a seven-year-old child, a decade after she has perished in the atomic bomb attack at Hiroshima?
102 Sierra Leone is the setting for which 1948 diamond smuggling-themed Graham Greene novel, partly based on his experiences of working for the Secret Intelligence Service in the country during WW2?
103 A member state since 2004, what is currently the smallest EU country in both population and area?
104 The 40-rayed yellow sun in the centre of which country's red flag represents 40 warriors of the mythical hero Manas; the line inside the sun representing the crown or tunduk of a yurt?
105 Which country is home to folk dances like the contrapas and marratxa, which survive in the parish of Sant Julia de Loria especially?
106 The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two political entities that compose the modern country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. What is the other with its de jure capital at Sarajevo and its de facto capital at Banja Luka?
107 Shimaore and Kibushi are the two indigenous languages spoken on which island and overseas collectivity of France, which has prominent advocates for its inclusion in the Union of Comoros?
108 Which country's Tortuguero National Park (the name meaning "full of turtles") is home to spider, howler and white-throated Capuchin monkeys, the three-toed sloth and 320 species of bird, but is mostly recognised for the annual nesting of the endangered green turtle and is considered the most important nesting site for this species?
109 The 1591 Battle of Tondibi was the decisive confrontation in Morocco's 16th century invasion of which empire, guaranteeing its downfall after a vastly outnumbered Moroccan force under Judar Pasha defeated Askia Ishaq II?
110 The name of which ancient Maya city in Belize, home to the 54 feet-high Temple of the Masonry Altars (a drawing of which is the logo on the country's leading beer brand "Belikin") and located c.30 miles north of Belize City and c.6 miles west of the Caribbean Sea shore, is a modern one in the Maya language coined by translating the name of the nearby village of Rockstone Pond?
111 At which battle did forces of Haitian revolutionary Jean-Jacques Dessalines score a decisive victory over the French on November 18, 1803, near Cap-Haitien?
112 Which country replaced the old Metical on January 1, 2007 with the New Metical?
113 By what other name is the island of Rakiura (1746 km2) perhaps better known?
114 Founded in 1882 by Johannes Klais senior and now run by his great-grandson Philipp Klais, the Bonn-based German firm Orgelbau Klais designs, builds and restores what?
115 The father of American actor Jimmy Smits came from which country?
116 Which South Korean automaker, whose name means "modernity", operates the world's largest integrated automobile manufacturing facility in Ulsan, capable of producing 1.6 million units annually?
117 English, Tok Pisin and Hiri Motu are the official languages of which country?
118 Surrounded by the UAE, the territory of Madha is an exclave of which country?
119 The airfield of which international airport on the eponymous location and the most south-western point of Grenada was chosen as the jump-off point for the invasion of the island by US forces in 1983?
120 In the 1930s, Nazi Germany sought to re-unite the Dutch language area by referring to it by what name, partly deriving it from an archaic term for "Dutch"?
121 An armed revolt, began in 1956 by the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), under the leadership of which agronomic engineer, writer and nationalist politician (assassinated in 1973 only a few months before Guinea-Bissau declared unilateral independence) gradually and eventually consolidated its hold on the country?
122 First held in 1924, the state-supported Dainu svente (literally "Song Fest") is perhaps the most famous folk music festival of which country?
123 Widely considered Burma's national dish, what soup consists of curried catfish broth with chickpea flour, rice vermicelli and fish sauce?
124 Which subgroup of the Mongols comprise the majority of the population of the independent state of Mongolia; the country's standard language being based on their dialect?
125 Chosen as director for the official film of the 1992 Summer Olympics, which Spanish film-maker's works include La prima Angelica/Cousin Angelica (1973), Cria Cuervos/Feeding the Ravens (1975) and Ay Carmela! (1990)?
126 Resembling a small guitar and having two main forms: the Bangla and the Bhhawaiya, which stringed musical instrument is commonly used in Bangladesh and West Bengal and has a name meaning "two stringed instrument" in Bengali?
127 Winner of the 2004 and 2005 Kenyan Sportswoman of the Year awards, which four-time Boston Marathon winner and two-time world champion broke the women's marathon world record in 2001, running 2h18:47 at the Chicago Marathon?
128 What is the smallest Portuguese-speaking country in the world, as well as the smallest country in the world that is not a former UK dependency, a former US trusteeship or a European microstate?
129 Formerly known as Konsky trh (meaning "Horse Market"), which Prague city square was renamed in 1848 on the proposal of writer and publisher Karel Havlicek Borovsky?
130 The Red House, the original of which was destroyed in the 1903 water riots and rebuilt in 1907, is the seat of the parliament of which Caribbean republic?
131 Led by the Libyan-born Chairman Hassan Tatanaki and headquartered in Cairo, the company Challenger LTD is involved in which business?
132 Which writer fled South Africa's apartheid regime to live in and write about Botswana (when it was still the Bechuanaland Protectorate) in 1964 until her death at the age of 49 in 1986, and lived in Serowe where she set her most famous books When Rain Clouds Gather, Maru and A Question of Power?
133 Pradal Serey, meaning "free fighting", is the name used in which country for a system of martial arts?
134 The Croatians, Zoran Primorac and Tamara Boros, are well-known names in which sport?
135 Nicknamed the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean" due to its seemingly unspoiled natural beauty, which country's pre-Columbian name was Wai'tu kubuli meaning "Tall is her body"?
136 Which women of the Southern Province of Zambia are famed for weaving eponymous baskets from the ilala palm (mapokwe in their language) with a distinctive design and a square bottom forming their foundation (each being c.35 cm in diameter and taking about two weeks to complete)?
137 Vanuatu is an archipelago of 83 islands, of which two - Matthew and Hunter - are also claimed by which French overseas department?
138 Televisheni ya Taifa is the state-run television network of which African country?
139 The first King of the Franks, who (c.466-511) is seen as the forefather of the French kings?
140 Which Venezuelan city - the capital of the Aragua State - is home to the Mausoleo de Gomez, the mausoleum of early 20th century dictator Juan Vicente Gomez, and is known as "Ciudad Jardin" (Garden City), as well as a bullfight arena ("Maestranza Cesar Giron") that is the only maestranza or bullfighting school in the country?
141 Henrique Teixeira de Sousa, Manuel Lopes, Eugenio Tavares and Jorge Barbosa are considered to be among the icons of which country's native literature?
142 Operation Magic Carpet, or as it was officially called Operation On Wings of Eagles, brought 49,000 Jews to Israel from which country between June 1949 and September 1950?
143 Which Somali novelist's (b.1945) reputation was cemented by his most famous novel Maps (1986), the first of his Blood in the Sun trilogy and which was set during the Ogaden crisis of 1977, with other important literary achievements such as From a Crooked Rib (1970) and his Variations on the Theme of An African Dictatorship trilogy earning him the 1998 Neustadt International Prize for Literature?
144 The Wooden Churches of Maramures - a selection of eight examples of different architectural solutions from different periods and areas, all of which are Orthodox churches - is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in which country?
145 Which Cote d'Ivoire-born Portuguese athlete and member of the Baha'i faith won the triple jump at the 2007 World Championships?
146 Possibly the most popular Canadian painter of the 19th century, which Dutch-born Quebec artist (1815-72) is famed for his portrayals of the Canadian landscapes and life outdoors, especially in winter, as seen in such works as French Canadian Habitants Playing at Cards (1848), The Sleigh Race on the St-Lawrence at Quebec (1852) and Bilking the Toll (1860)?
147 The Zimbabwean novelist and poet Solomon Mutswairo wrote the first ever novel (entitled Feso and first published in 1957) in which language?
148 Which fascist party, whose name meant "National Gathering" or "National Unity", was founded by former minister of defence and notorious WW2 traitor Vidkun Quisling and a group of sympathisers that included Johan Bernhard Hjort on May 17, 1933?
149 Evolved in urban clubs during the 1920s when Tunde King and Ojoge Daniel made its first recordings, which style of percussion music fused with traditional music from the Yoruba nation was made famous in modern times by the Nigerian performer King Sunny Ade (and His African Beats)?
150 Commodore Matthew Perry of the US Navy concluded which agreement with Japan on March 31, 1854 that forced the opening of Japan to the outside world?
151 One of the seven marques owned by Piaggio, which Italian motorcycle company started out as a scooter manufacturer on its founding by Cavaliere Alberto Beggio after WW2, but has recently become better known for its race-winning sportsbikes, such as the flagship 1000 cc V twin Superbike, the RSV Mille?
152 The largest sports stadium in Guyana, the Providence Stadium is located on the east bank of which river?
153 The teams El Zamalek and Al-Ahly are fierce footballing rivals in which city?
154 The construction of the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque is a major theme in Anthony Burgess's 1961 novel Devil of a State. Completed in 1958, it is located in which Asian capital?
155 Founded in 903 by Moorish Andalusian traders, which Algerian city is the setting for both El Gallardo Espanol (1615) by Cervantes and The Plague (1947) by Albert Camus?
156 Found on Bird Island, which other Caribbean island off its coast gives its name to the rarest snake in the world (only about 200 survive)?
157 Which Chinese polymath scientist, astronomer and statesman (1031-1095) theorised that the sun and moon were spherical, corrected the position of the Pole Star with his improved sighting tube, first described the magnetic needle compass in his Dream Pool Essays of 1088, discovered the concept of true north, wrote of planetary motions such as retrogradation and compared the orbital paths of the planets to the points on the shape of a rotating willow leaf, and was also famed for his concept of land formation?
158 In 1954, the freely elected president Jacobo Arbenz Guzman was ousted in a coup d'etat by the CIA, known as Operation PBSUCCESS, the agency's second successful overthrow of a foreign government after the 1953 coup in Iran. Arbenz was president of which country?
159 Mauritius is part of which island group, along with Reunion, Rodrigues, Cargados Carajos shoals and the former islands of the Saya de Malha, Nazareth and Soudan banks, whose name is derived from the Portuguese navigator who first visited them in 1512?
160 Telling the story of the death and resurrection of an ox, the popular regional festival known as the Bumba Meu Boi or Boi Bumba ("boi" meaning ox) takes place annually in the north and northeast of which South American country?
161 The mechanisation of which traditional fishing boat in 1974 was a major milestone in the development of the fisheries industry and economy of the Maldives?
162 Which Italian driver famously crashed into the harbour during the Monaco Grand Prix in 1955?
163 Which Mexican film actress, whose affair with Orson Welles is rumoured to have led to her 1941 divorce from MGM art director and production designer Cedric Gibbons, returned to her native land in 1942 and collaborated with director Emilio Fernandez on a number of successful Spanish-language films, among them Flor Silvestre (1943) and the Palme d'Or winner Maria Candelaria (1944)?
164 Which Asian country has three recognised seasons: Tag-init or Tag-araw (hot season or summer March-May), Tag-ulan (rainy season June-November) and Taglamig (cold season December-February), as well as a south-west monsoon (May-October) called the habagat and the dry winds of the north-east monsoon (November-April), known as the amihan?
165 Chronicling the fateful months of his tour as Force Commander of the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda in 1993-94, which Canadian Lieutenant-General wrote Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity (2003) with help from Major Brent Beardsley?
166 Which peninsula near Senegal's capital Dakar is the westernmost point in Africa?
167 The Serbs formed their first unified state under the Vlastimirovic dynasty by 812, and would achieve full independence, evolving into the Serbian Kingdom and Empire under the rule of which house; Serbia seeing an apogee in economy, law, military and religion especially during Emperor Dusan (aka Stefan Uros IV Dusan) (1308-1355)?
168 In which city, an oasis in Abu Dhabi c. 140 km east of the emirate's capital, is the United Arab Emirates University?
169 In which notorious event of 1937 did the Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Trujillo order his army to kill all Haitians on his side of the border, resulting in an estimated 17,000-35,000 Haitians being killed over a period of about five days (October 2-October 8)?
170 The Martin Miguel de Guemes Airport serves which Argentine city, nicknamed "the Beautiful" and home to the Plaza 9 de Julio city park, the 18th century Cabildo and the starting point of the "Train to the Clouds" (Tren a las nubes)?
171 Which African capital was founded on Tombo Island in 1890, the same year its country was created a colony by France?
172 Which country obtained its first Olympic gold in 1996 when Jefferson Perez triumphed in the 20 km race-walk?
173 The wife of Dollar Brand (aka Abdullah Ibrahim) and mother to underground hip hop artist Jean Grae, which South African jazz vocalist and composer released her most recent album, SongSpirit, on October 17 of last year in celebration of her 70th birthday?
174 Designated the "Eternal President" on his death in 1994, Kim Il-Sung rests in which mausoleum in central Pyongyang?
175 With words written by its first president Barthelemy Boganda and a melody composed by Herbert Pepper (who also did the same for the Senegal's), which country's national anthem has been La Renaissance since 1960?
176 Which Australian artist (b.1940), whose museum is located in The Rocks, Sydney, is perhaps best known for his simple, brightly coloured images of Aussie landmarks as seen on a popular range of clothing and homewares sold under the his self-named "Design" brand, his other notable designs including the 2000 Sydney Olympics logo and the new United Buddy Bear for Australia in 2006?
177 What is said to be the second largest Francophone city in the world after Paris with a population of more than seven million (as at 2004), and will surpass the French capital if current demographic trends continue by the end of the 2010s?
178 Which historical de jure capital of Montenegro, the location where the ruler of Zeta Ivan Crnojevic built his court in 1482, is designated as Prijestonica, the old royal capital or seat of the throne?
179 While Mbabane is the administrative capital of Swaziland, what is the legal and royal capital of the country, as well as the seat of the Parliament and residence of the Queen Mother?
180 Which Caribbean international football team is known as the "Sugar Boyz"?
181 Known from the Ottoman period as "the city of the consuls", which city in the south-west of Macedonia and surrounded by the Baba and Nidze mountains hosts an "International Camera Festival"?
182 The most widespread form of native folk music in East Timor was which dance, performed to by women to welcome men home after war, using a small drum whilst occasionally carrying enemy heads in procession through villages (though its modern version is used by women in courtship)?
183 Known as the Bride of the Desert due to it being a vital caravan city for travellers crossing the desert and still known as Tadmor in Arabic and modern Hebrew, which ancient Syrian city's ruins include the Temple of Bel and the Eggelin Tomb Tower?
184 Which country consists of four "Federated States": Kosrae, Yap, Pohnpei and Chuuk?
185 The A1 Ethniki is the highest professional competition among Greek clubs in which sport, the first Greek Championship for the sport having been held in 1928?
186 Each 280 metres in height and located in the same place, the Republic Plaza, UOB Plaza and OUB Centre are the three tallest buildings in which Asian country?
187 What reptilian nickname has been given to the private militia of Denis Sassou Nguesso, the current President of the Republic of the Congo?
188 Occupying the whole western end, Karalpakistan (capital Nukus) or Qoraqalpoghiston Respublikasi is the single autonomous republic of which country that is otherwise divided into 12 provinces and one independent city?
189 Between 1946 and 1958, the US tested 66 nuclear weapons in the Marshall Islands, including the largest nuclear test it ever conducted on March 1, 1954 at Bikini Atoll. What code-name was given to this first test of a so-called dry fuel thermonuclear device?
190 Roughly meaning "assembly of land", what was the first Russian parliament of the feudal estates type, i.e. the first Russian feudal representative body, established by Ivan the Terrible in 1549?
191 One of the most commercially successful singers in Europe, Japan and Latin America, which Sicilian-born musician has lived in Belgium near the city of Mons since 1947 and released such 60s hits as Tombe la Neige, Vous permettez, Monsieur? and Inch Allah, as well as the albums Reveur de fond (1992), Regards (1998) and Zanzibar (2003)?
192 Enacted on March 3, 1284 by English king Edward I, which "Statue" ensured that the once independent Principality of Wales fell under the control of the English monarchy and took its name from a castle in north Wales that was built as one of the 'iron ring' of fortresses by the aforementioned king?
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Answers to BH130
1 Viswanath Anand 2 Vietnam 3 Arvo Part 4 Denmark 5 Babenberg 6 Ivan Cankar 7 Qatar 8 Chad 9 Israel 10 Santiago 11 Johor 12 Turkmenistan 13 Abdourahman Waberi 14 Davos 15 Wat Phou 16 Sudan 17 Martin Sulik 18 Punjabi folk music singers 19 Cote d'Ivoire 20 Tarabuco 21 The "wai" 22 El Tigre Island 23 Liechtenstein 24 Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati) 25 Canton 26 Burundi 27 Huascaran or Nevado Huascaran (the peak being Huascaran Sur) 28 Jalalabad 29 Tirana 30 Bridgetown, Barbados 31 Burkina Faso 32 Ericsson (as in Lars Magnus Ericsson) 33 Cameroon 34 Fiji 35 Lake Nicaragua 36 Chocolate layer cake 37 Bulgaria 38 Melanesia 39 Togo 40 Palau 41 Owambo tribe 42 Akkad (Sumerian: Agade, Biblical: Accad) 43 Landnamabok (often shortened to Landnama) 44 Tbilisi Sioni Cathedral or the "Sioni" Cathedral of the Dormition 45 Oliver N'Goma 46 Cyprus 47 Pupusa(s) 48 Sailing 49 Momine Khatun Mausoelum 50 Lake Malawi 51 Darts 52 Latvia 53 Wolf Tones 54 Nouakchott (Mauritania) 55 Saint Lucia 56 Dan Balan 57 Tajikistan (the capital Dushanbe) 58 Timothy Wangusa 59 Burgher people 60 'inasi 61 Niger 62 The Prophet 63 Java 64 Kuwait 65 Eritrea 66 D'mt 67 Cuba 68 Newar culture (as in the Newa people) 69 Panama canal 70 St Vincent 71 Finland 72 Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) 73 Bogota 74 Kurapaty 75 Baobab 76 Nauru 77 Thawb 78 Oud 79 Monrovia (Liberia) 80 Oleg Maskaev 81 St Stephen or Stephen I 82 Mento 83 The Gambia 84 Bahrain 85 Edward Steichen 86 N'Ko 87 Cricket 88 Tuvalu 89 Slavutych 90 Paraguay 91 Lake Volta 92 Bhutan 93 Angola 94 Mikael Nalbandian 95 Angelique Kidjo 96 Ayatollah Ali Khamenei 97 Lesotho 98 Biskupin 99 atoll of Aldabra 100 Juan Carlos Onetti 101 Nazim Hikmet 102 The Heart of the Matter 103 Malta 104 Kyrgyzstan 105 Andorra 106 Republika Srpska 107 Mayotte 108 Costa Rica 109 Songhai empire 110 Altun Ha 111 Battle of Vertieres 112 Mozambique 113 Stewart Island (New Zealand) 114 Pipe organs 115 Surinam (then Dutch Guiana) 116 Hyundai Motor Company 117 Papua New Guinea 118 Oman 119 Point Salines International Airport 120 Dietsland 121 Amilcar Cabral 122 Lithuania 123 Mohinga 124 Khalkha (or Halh) 125 Carlos Saura 126 Dotara 127 Catherine Ndereba 128 Sao Tome e Principe 129 Saint Wenceslas square/ Svatovaclavske namesti 130 Trinidad & Tobago 131 Oil and gas drilling 132 Bessie Head 133 Cambodia 134 Table tennis 135 Dominica 136 Tonga 137 New Caledonia 138 Tanzania 139 Clovis 140 Maracay 141 Cape Verde 142 Yemen (then called Aden) 143 Nuruddin Farah 144 Romania 145 Nelson Evora 146 Cornelius Krieghoff 147 Shona 148 Nasjonal Samling 149 Juju music 150 Convention of Kanagawa or Kanagawa Treaty 151 Aprilia 152 Demerara River 153 Cairo 154 Bandar Seri Begawan 155 Oran 156 Antigua Racer Snake 157 Shen Kuo 158 Guatemala 159 Mascarene Islands or Mascarenhas Archipelago 160 Brazil 161 Dhoni 162 Alberto Ascari 163 Dolores del Rio 164 Philippines 165 Romeo Dallaire 166 Cap Vert 167 House of Nemanjic 168 Al Ain 169 Parsley Massacre 170 Salta 171 Conakry (Guinea) 172 Ecuador 173 Sathima Bea Benjamin 174 Kumsusan Memorial Palace 175 Central African Republic 176 Ken Done 177 Kinshasa 178 Cetinje 179 Lobamba 180 St Kitts & Nevis 181 Bitola 182 The likurai dance 183 Palmyra 184 Federated States of Micronesia 185 Basketball 186 Singapore (in Raffles Plaza) 187 Cobras 188 Uzbekistan 189 Castle Bravo 190 Zemsky Sobor 191 Salvatore Adamo 192 The Statute of Rhuddlan
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