The Chicago Defender was the United States' largest and most influential black weekly newspaper by the beginning of World War I.
John H. Sengstacke took over the paper in 1940. On February 6, 1956, the Defender became a daily paper and changed its name to the Chicago Daily Defender. Sengstacke created Sengstacke Enterprises, Inc. and was its principal shareholder together with his siblings - Fred, Florence and Ethel. When Sengstacke died in 1997, his trust dictated that the Northern Trust Company become the Trustee of his estate. In 1998, the benefiiciaries of the Trust terminated the services of The Northern Trust Company and the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois appointed James H. Lowry, as interim Trustee. Throughout Lowry's tenure as Chairman and CEO of Sengstacke Enterprises, Inc. and Trustee of the Sengstacke Trust each of the Sengstacke company publications (Michigan Chronicle, Tri-State Defender, The New Pittsburgh Courier and the Chicago Defender) incurred significant operational debt which likely impaired the value of Sengstacke Enterprises, Inc.
During this period (1998-2003) and under the auspices of the Court, Sengstacke Enterprises, Inc. (including the Chicago Defender) was from time to time marketed for sale, and entered into various agreements to be sold to different black owned companies, however, in each case, the Sengstacke Trust beneficiaries and other family shareholders could not align their collective interests and agree on the sale of the company, which effectively chilled these negotiated agreements.
Ultimately, control of the Chicago Defender and her sister publications was transferred to a new ownership group named Real Times Inc. in January 2003. Real Times, Inc. was organized and led by Thomas S. Picou, a nephew of John Sengstacke and Robert Abbott Sengstacke (Bobby), John H. Sengstacke's surviving child - and father of the beneficiaries of the Sengstacke Trust. In effect, Picou, then Chairman and CEO of Real Times, Inc., led what was then labeled a "Sengstacke family led" deal to facilitate Trust beneficiaries and other Sengstacke family shareholders to agree to the sale of the company. Picou recruited O'Neil Swanson, Bill Pickard, Ron Hall and Gordon Follmer, black businessman from Detroit, Michigan (the "Detroit Group") as investors in Real Times.
By majority agreement of the Board of Directors of Real Times, the Detroit Group took effective control of Real Times, Inc. on January 1, 2004. In April 2004, the company retained the services of Clarence Nixon, Jr. of CNC Group, LLC, Detroit, Michigan, first as an advisor to the company - later he was contracted to succeed Tom Picou as CEO. Nixon's brief tenure as CEO was controversial among the community the Chicago Defender served. In addition, the Real Times shareholders, the Publishers of each of the company's newspapers, and the political and economic leaders of black Chicago became hostile to his leadership. Nixon's stewardship as CEO of Real Times, Inc. lasted for less than a year. He was succeeded as CEO by Dr. Lawerence Crawford of Detroit, Michigan, in early 2005, who shortly thereafter was succeeded by Hiram Jackson of Detroit, Michigan. Hiram Jackson is the current CEO of Real Times, and Picou remains as Chairman of its board.

The Province of Wales in the Anglican Communion was created in 1920, as the Church in Wales, independent from the Church of England (of which the four Welsh dioceses had previously been part). Unlike the Archbishops of Canterbury and York -- who are appointed by the Queen upon the advice of the Prime Minister -- the Archbishop of Wales is one of the six diocesan bishops of Wales, elected to hold this office in addition to his own diocese.
The establishment of a separate province and archbishopric was an indirect consequence of the Disestablishment of the Church of England in Wales (voted by Parliament in 1914 but implemented in 1920). Precedents for this development were sought by some in the early Celtic Church with a debatable pre-eminence of St. Davids. A Roman Catholic archbishopric of Cardiff had been created in 1916. The circulating character of the post was justified by Welsh geography and by the ecclesiastical precedent of the province of Numidia (of which St. Augustine of Hippo had been a bishop).
Successive archbishops have not only represented different geographical areas but also different tendencies within Anglicanism. In the mid- twentieth century lingustic issues were prominent in the successive incumbencies of Edwin Morris (who spoke no Welsh) and of Glyn Simon (who sympathised with advocates of the use of the Welsh language). Morris in some ways represented the broad churchmanship characteristic of the first occupant of the newly created post, Alfred Edwards, whereas Simon in many respects inherited the Anglo-Catholic outlook of the second archbishop, Green. Towards the end of his period in office Gwilym Williams was one of three leading Welsh figures in a deputation to guarantee the status of the language which had been challenged by Margaret Thatcher. He was also decisive in the decision to ordain women priests. The present Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, held the post as Bishop of Monmouth.
The current Archbishop of Wales is The Most Rev Dr Barry Morgan, who signs 'Barry Cambrensis'.

The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Franchise History
Although Northern California was not considered a particularly fertile hockey market, the NHL's 1967-68 expansion included a Bay Area team, primarily because the terms of a new television agreement with CBS called for two of the new teams to be located in California. Thus, the Oakland Seals were one of the six expansion teams added, but were a failure both on the ice and at the gate. After nine money-losing seasons and continued low attendance, in 1976 the Seals were sold to Cleveland businessmen George and Gordon Gund and moved to Cleveland, where they became the Barons. After two more years of losses, the Gunds were permitted to merge the Barons with the financially struggling Minnesota North Stars (now the Dallas Stars). The Gunds emerged as the owners of the North Stars as part of the deal.
The Gunds had long wanted to bring hockey back to the Bay Area, and asked the NHL for permission to move the North Stars there in the late 1980s, but were vetoed by the league. Meanwhile, a group led by former Hartford Whalers owner Howard Baldwin was pushing the NHL to bring a team to San Jose, where a new arena was being built. Eventually a compromise was struck by the league, where the Gunds would sell their share of the North Stars to Baldwin's group, with the Gunds receiving an expansion team in the Bay Area to begin play in the 1991-92 NHL season.

Bringing hockey to the Bay Area
For their first two seasons, the Sharks played at the Cow Palace in Daly City, just outside San Francisco. During this time, under coach George Kingston, they were one of the worst teams in the NHL, as often happens to expansion teams — 71 losses and a 17-game losing streak, while earning a mere 24 points in the standings. Unsurprisingly, Kingston was fired following the end of the 1992-93 season.

George Kingston years (1991-93)
For their third season, 1993-94, the Sharks moved to their current home, the San Jose Arena (now the HP Pavilion at San Jose). Under head coach Kevin Constantine, the Sharks pulled off one of the biggest turnarounds in NHL history, finishing with a 33-35-16 record, making the playoffs with 82 points — a 58-point jump from the previous season. They were seeded 8th in the Western Conference playoffs and faced the Detroit Red Wings, the near-unanimous pick to win the Stanley Cup. However, in one of the biggest upsets in Stanley Cup Playoff history, the underdog Sharks shocked the Red Wings in seven games. In the second round, the Sharks had a 3-2 lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs, but lost the final two games in Toronto; including an overtime loss in Game 6 where, moments before Toronto's decisive goal, Johan Garpenlov's shot rang off the Toronto crossbar.
In 1994-95, the Sharks returned to the playoffs and again made it to the second round. Ray Whitney scored a goal in double overtime of Game 7 of the conference quarterfinals against the Calgary Flames, adding to Calgary's streak of not winning a playoff series after they won the 1989 Stanley Cup (a streak they wouldn't break until 2004). Key Sharks players were goalie Arturs Irbe, defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh and forwards Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov. The 1995 season also saw the only rainout in the history of the NHL, when the Guadalupe River flooded its banks in March 1995, making it impossible for anyone to get into the San Jose Arena for a game between the Sharks and the Red Wings.
In 1995-96, the Sharks finished last in the Pacific Division and failed to make the playoffs. The team also underwent major changes: during the season they traded Ozolinsh and Larionov; Irbe, who had suffered an off-ice injury, was released at the end of the season. The team began rebuilding, acquiring forward Owen Nolan from the Colorado Avalanche, as well as several other players. Constantine was fired midway through the season and replaced by interim coach Jim Wiley. The next season was no better under Al Sims, with the Sharks again finishing last and winning only 27 games.

Kevin Constantine years (1993-97)
The Sharks returned to the playoffs in 1997-98, with goalie Mike Vernon, whom they acquired from the Red Wings (the season after Vernon won the Conn Smythe Trophy), and new head coach Darryl Sutter. For the next two years, the Sharks made the playoffs, yet never advanced past the first round. This changed in the 1999-2000 season, when the Sharks finished with their first-ever winning record, but earned a match-up against the Presidents' Trophy champion St. Louis Blues in the first round. However, in an upset on par with the one they had pulled on Detroit six years earlier, the Sharks managed to eliminate the Blues in the full seven games. San Jose, however, managed to last only five more games before being eliminated by the Dallas Stars that year.
In 2000-01, Kazakh goalie Evgeni Nabokov won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's best rookie. The team also acquired Finnish star forward Teemu Selanne from the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for Jeff Friesen and Steve Shields. In the 2001 playoffs, the Blues downed the Sharks in six games in the first round, avenging the 2000 defeat to San Jose. The team's breakout year was 2001-02. Veteran Adam Graves was acquired for Mikael Samuelsson. The Sharks won their first Pacific Division title, and defeated the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round, but fell to the Colorado Avalanche in second.
Following the 2001-02 season, the Gunds sold the Sharks to a group of local investors headed by team president Greg Jamison. Kyle McLaren was acquired in a three-way trade with the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins for checking-line winger Niklas Sundstrom and promising prospect Jeff Jillson, and Dan McGillis was acquired for Marcus Ragnarsson, but the team could not turn itself around. Sutter was fired and replaced by Ron Wilson midway through that season.

Darryl Sutter years (1997-2002)
The team underwent a huge change. Owen Nolan was traded to Toronto, and the newly-acquired McGillis, Bryan Marchment, AHL star Shawn Heins, and forward Matt Bradley were moved. Selanne left to sign with the Colorado Avalanche. Character centers Alyn McCauley (from the Maple Leafs) and Wayne Primeau (from the Pittsburgh Penguins) were brought in to stabilize the locker room. The one bright spot for the Sharks that season was Jim Fahey, who led all rookie defensemen in points despite playing in only 43 games.
2003-04 saw another turnaround for the team, resulting in the team's best season ever. An injection of youth, with players like Christian Ehrhoff and Tom Preissing, and the influx of energy with Alexander Korolyuk jump-started San Jose. They posted the third-best record in the league with a team-record 104 points (31 more than the previous season, and the first time the team had earned 100 points), won the Pacific Division championship, and were seeded second in the Western Conference. They charged through the playoffs, taking down the St. Louis Blues 4 games to 1 in the conference quarterfinals and stopping the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 in the conference semis—before falling to the Calgary Flames 4-2 in the conference finals.
The Sharks started the 2005-06 season slowly, with inconsistent goaltending and an inability to score goals dropping the team to last place in the Pacific Division. In response, the Sharks traded Brad Stuart, Wayne Primeau and Marco Sturm to the Boston Bruins for Joe Thornton. The trade re-energised the team, and with excellent play by backup goaltender Vesa Toskala, the Sharks rallied back from their early season slump to clinch the 5th seeding in the Western Conference for the playoffs. The Sharks defeated the Nashville Predators 4-1 in the conference quarterfinals before falling to the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 in the conference semifinals. Joe Thornton was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's MVP, as well as the Art Ross Trophy for leading the league in points, with a total of 125. Jonathan Cheechoo was awarded the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy for scoring the most goals during the regular season, with a total of 56.
The Sharks entered the 2006-07 season as the youngest team in average age, as well as the biggest team in average weight, and they raced out to a 20-7-0 start, the best in franchise history. Ron Wilson chose the uncommon strategy of alternating both Vesa Toskala and Evgeni Nabokov every other game. However, injuries, inexperience, and inconsistency dogged the team until making two significant trades at the trade deadline for defenseman Craig Rivet and winger Bill Guerin. The trades coincided with Nabokov, playing full time while Toskala recovered from an injury, putting together a string of outstanding performances and earning the number one job. The Sharks finished the regular season with the best record in franchise history at 51-26-5, and defeated the Nashville Predators in a 1st round rematch of last year's playoffs with the same 4-1 result. In the Western Conference semifinals, the Sharks faced the Detroit Red Wings. After taking a 2-1 series lead, they lost a pivotal game 4 when the Red Wings scored the tying goal with 33 seconds left and went on to win in overtime. The Sharks never recovered from the disappointment of this loss, losing the next two games in a row giving the series to Detroit 4-2.
See also 2006-07 San Jose Sharks season.
The Sharks goal horn is a fog horn that reflects on the many fog horns heard in the Bay Area.
For the Sharks 2007-2008 campaign, the Sharks have updated their logos and jerseys to adjust to the new Rbk EDGE jersey. The team unveiled their new logos on July 24, 2007, and introduced their new jerseys on September 17.

Ron Wilson years (2003-present)
This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Sharks. For the full season-by-season history, see San Jose Sharks seasons
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Records as of April 7, 2007. As of the 2005-06 NHL season, all games will have a winner; the OTL column includes SOL (Shootout losses).

Season-by-season record

Notable players
As of October 17, 2007. [1]

Current roster



Doug Wilson, 1991-93
Bob Errey, 1993-95
Jeff Odgers, 1995-96
Todd Gill, 1996-98
Owen Nolan, 1998-2003
Rotating captains for much of 2003-04

• Mike Ricci (first 10 games)
  Vincent Damphousse (next 20 games)
  Alyn McCauley (next 10 games)
  Patrick Marleau, 2004- present Team captains
  Hall of Famers: The Sharks have had no Hockey Hall of Fame members as part of their franchise.
  Retired numbers: The Sharks have not retired any numbers. However Wayne Gretzky's number 99 was retired league-wide February 6, 2000.
  
  First-round draft picks
  These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.
  Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game
  * = current Sharks player
  
  Franchise scoring leaders
  Art Ross Trophy
  Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
  Calder Memorial Trophy
  Hart Memorial Trophy
  Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy
  (* - traded from the Boston Bruins during the 2005-06 season)
  
  Joe Thornton*: 2005-06
  Tony Granato: 1996-97
  Evgeni Nabokov: 2000-01
  Joe Thornton*: 2005-06
  Jonathan Cheechoo: 2005-06 NHL awards and trophies
  
  Most Goals in a season: Jonathan Cheechoo, 56 (2005-06)
  Most Assists in a season: Joe Thornton, 92 (2006-07)
  Most Points in a season: Joe Thornton, 114 (2006-07)
  Most Penalty Minutes in a season: Link Gaetz, 326 (1991-92)
  Most Points in a season, defenseman: Sandis Ozolinsh, 64 (1993-94)
  Most Points in a season, rookie: Pat Falloon, 59 (1991-92)
  Most goaltending wins in a season: Evgeni Nabokov, 37 (2001-02) Franchise individual records
  
  Broadcasters
  
  

Lafayette is a city on the Vermilion River in Lafayette Parish, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Lafayette is the parish seat. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 110,257; a 2004 census estimate put the metro area's population at 246,160. It is the fourth largest incorporated city in the state. It is the principal city of the Lafayette-Acadiana, LA Combined Statistical Area, which, in 2006, had an estimated total population of 537,947.
The city was founded as Vermilionville in 1821 by a French-speaking Acadian named Jean Mouton. In 1884, it was renamed for the Marquis de Lafayette, who assisted the United States during its Revolutionary War. The city's economy was primarily based on agriculture until the 1940s, when the petroleum and natural gas industry became dominant.
Lafayette has a strong tourism industry, attracted by the Cajun and Creole cultures of the surrounding region. It has one of the highest restaurant counts per capita of cities in the area.

Geography
The estimated metro-area population of the Lafayette-Acadiana area for 2006 is 537,947 43,506 households, and 27,104 families residing in the city of Lafayette only. The population density was 894.5/km² (2,316.7/mi²). There were 46,865 housing units at an average density of 380.2/km² (984.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 68.23% White, 28.51% African American, 0.25% Native American, 1.44% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.58% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.88% of the population.
Lafayette is the only major city in Louisiana to be growing in population instead of shrinking (even before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita). However, according to a 2005 estimate, Lake Charles, Louisiana has resumed growing once again after a slight loss of .03 % between 1990 and 2000.
There were 43,506 households, out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.9% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. Nearly 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 13.3% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,996, and the median income for a family was $47,783. Males had a median income of $37,729 versus $23,606 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,031. About 11.6% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over. In the 1970s, Lafayette had the distinction of having more millionaires per capita than any other city in the United States, thanks mostly to the oil industry.

Demographics
Public Schools
Private Schools
University and colleges
Public Library System

Lafayette Parish Public Schools
Cathedral Carmel School
Ascension Day School
Sts. Leo-Seton Catholic School
Fatima School, Our Lady of
Lafayette Christian Academy
St. Thomas More School
Teurlings Catholic High School
Episcopal School of Acadiana
Family Life Christian Academy
Holy Family Catholic School
Immaculate Heart of Mary School
First Baptist Christian School
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette
South Louisiana Community College (Lafayette campus)
Louisiana Technical College (Lafayette campus)
Remington College (Lafayette campus)
Lafayette Public Library System Education
Lafayette is served by the following hospitals.

Lafayette General Medical Center - 1214 Coolidge Street
University Medical Center - 2390 West Congress Street
Womens and Childrens Hospital - 4600 Ambassador Caffery Parkway
Lafayette General Surgical Hospital - 1000 West Pinhook Road
Lafayette Surgical Specialty Hospital - 1011 Kaliste Saloom Road
Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center - 611 Saint Landry Street
Medical Center of Southwest Louisiana - 2810 Ambassador Caffery Parkway Health and medicine
Lafayette is home to the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, the athletic teams of The University of Louisiana at Lafayette. It is also home to the Lafayette Bayou Bulls semi-pro football program which started in 2003. Between the years of 1995 and 2005, Lafayette was home to the Louisiana IceGators ECHL hockey team.
Sports venues:

Cajundome
Cajun Field
Blackham Coliseum Sports
Lafayette is the home of the National Guard headquarters of the 256th Infantry Brigade, a military unit of over 3,000 soldiers that served in Iraq in the years of 2004-5.

Government and politics
Print
Television Lafayette is home to KATC-TV, Channel 3, an (ABC) affiliate, KLFY-TV Channel 10 (CBS), KADN-TV, Channel 15 (Fox), and KLWB, Channel 50 (CW). KPLC-TV, Channel 7 and WVLA, Channel 33, are NBC affiliates, located in nearby Lake Charles and Baton Rouge, respectively, but serve Lafayette as well.
Radio

The Daily Advertiser, daily newspaper
The Independent Weekly, weekly newspaper
The Times of Acadiana, weekly newspaper
The Vermillion, UL Lafayette student newpaper
List of Lafayette radio stations Media
Events

Acadian Village is a reconstructed (actually, reassembled) Cajun bayou and has a community representative collection of Cajun furnishings. Website
Acadiana Center for the Arts
Alexandre Mouton House Museum was home to Louisiana's first Democratic governor, Alexandre Mouton, who once lived in this antebellum town house. It is now a museum and contain collection of antiques, historical documents, and old mardi gras costumes.
Cajundome, home to the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns basketball teams, serves as a convention space.
Cajun Field also nicknamed "the Swamp" is home to the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team.
Children's Museum of Acadiana
Cite des Arts
Cypress Lake
Heymann Center A performing arts center.
Jean Lafitte National Park Acadian Cultural Center
Jefferson Street Market has 65 shops under one roof, offering everything from fine French antiques to fine art by regional artists.
Lafayette Natural History Museum & Planetarium is a combination museum and planetarium, which houses over 1,000 paintings, prints and sculpture of Louisiana artists and regularly changing exhibits and planetarium programs.
Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE) is a state-of-the-art resource center encompassing the world's first six-sided, digital virtual reality cube as well as the world's largest digital 3-D auditorium.
Mall of Acadiana - Contains a Dillards, Sears, JCPenny, Macy's, and over 120 specialty stores and services.
Paul and Lulu Hillard University Art Museum has a Permanent Collection consists of more than 2000 works of art, including paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, and photographs that represents 18th, 19th and 20th century Louisiana, in addition to works from around the world.
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
National Wetlands Research Center is a research facility operated by the U.S. Geological Survey that focuses on estuarine, marine, and freshwater wetlands.
River Ranch An urban village with residences, restaurants, and specialty shops.
Vermillionville is a reconstruction of a Cajun-Creole settlement from the 1765-to-1890 era
Zoo of Acadiana is located nearby in Broussard.
Lafayette Public Library System
Festivals Acadiens
Festival International
Festival de Musique Acadienne Transportation
Natives Some of the notable people born in Lafayette:
Residents Other notable residents of Lafayette:

For more details on this topic, see List of University of Louisiana at Lafayette people.

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani became the Emir of the State of Qatar on June 26, 1995 after deposing his father, who was vacationing in Switzerland at the time.
Sheikh Hamad was acclaimed Crown Prince in 1977 and at the same time was appointed Minister of Defense. In the early 1980s he led the Supreme Planning Council, which sets the Qatar's basic economic and social policies. Since 1992, Sheikh Hamad has selected Qatar's cabinet and been responsible for administering the country's day-to-day affairs. He has also led the development of Qatar's oil and natural gas resources.
Sheikh Hamad (born in 1952) began his education in Qatar and later attended Sandhurst Military Academy in England. Upon his graduation in 1971, he was commissioned as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Qatari armed forces and commanded the 1st Mobile Battalion, which has since been designated the "Hamad Mobile Battalion" in his honor.
Sheikh Hamad was later promoted to the rank of Major General and appointed Commander in Chief of the Qatari Armed Forces. He oversaw an extensive program to modernize Qatar's military, increasing manpower, creating new units, updating weaponry, and improving training. The effects of this program were evident during the Gulf War when Qatari forces helped liberate Kuwait and led the battle for the recapture of the Kuwaiti town of Khafji.
A keen sportsman and an accomplished diver, Sheikh Hamad has played an active role in promoting and developing athletics in Qatar. His activism has enhanced the country's involvement and performance in a number of international competitions, including: winning an Olympic medal in track and field; hosting a wide variety of international sporting events such as the 15th Asian Games, GCC, Asian and World Youth soccer championships; and initiating the Qatar Open Tennis Championship which has grown to become one of two premier tennis competitions in the Middle East.
During the last several years, Sheikh Hamad has represented Qatar on official state visits and at numerous Gulf and international forums. His role as a leader and diplomat has earned him worldwide honors: the Order of Oman from the Sultanate of Oman, the Order of the Nile from Egypt, the Order of King Abdul Aziz from Saudi Arabia, the Indonesian Order of Ibn 'Azeem, the Order of Francisco de Miranda from Venezuela, the Order of St. Michael and St. George from Britain, the Order of Grand Officer of the Legion d'Honneur from France, the Mohammedi Medal from Morocco and the Lebanese Order of Merit.

Place and Date of Birth
Received his Primary, Preparatory and Secondary education at Qatari schools.
Joined the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and graduated in July 1971.

Academic Qualifications
He joined the Qatari Armed Forces in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was appointed Commander of the first Mobile Regiment, now named: Hamad Mobile regiment. He was then promoted to the rank of Major General and was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
He has achieved modernizing existing units, equipping them with the most up-to-date weaponry, increasing their personnel and providing the best training on the most advanced military techniques.
On May 31, 1977, appointed Heir Apparent and Minister of Defence.
He is appointed Chairman of the Higher Council for Planning, which is considered as the cornerstone in the building of a modern state.
He chaired the Higher Council for Youth Welfare (HCYW) since it was set up in 1979 until September 1991, and pledged substantial patronage to sports and youths activities through the HCYW, clubs and various sports establishments.
H.H. the Emir is the sponsor of civilian sports in Qatar. He also established the first Military Sporting Association, which got the membership of the International Military Sporting Association. H.H. the Emir gave much support and attention to youth and sports sector out of his belief in the significance of the role played by this vital sector in the process of building and developing the society.
On 27 June 1995, deposed his father in a bloodless coup with the help of his cousin, Shaykh Hamad bin Jasim bin Jabr Al Thani, and ascended to the monarchy. [2]
He has sponsored many conferences on a variety of topics, taken part in numerous Gulf and Arab conferences and paid visits to many countries around the world.
He has a poor health : he suffers from diabetes and had to go through a kidney operation a few years ago.

Political History
In 1997, under Sheik Hamad's rule, Qatar became the second country in the Persian Gulf country where women gained the right to vote (women in Iran were given the right to vote during the White Revolution in 1963.

Al Jazeera Funding

List of national leaders
List of emirs of Qatar
Qatar

A web banner or banner ad is a form of advertising on the World Wide Web. This form of online advertising entails embedding an advertisement into a web page. It is intended to attract traffic to a website by linking them to the web site of the advertiser. The advertisement is constructed from an image (GIF, JPEG, PNG), JavaScript program or multimedia object employing technologies such as Java, Shockwave or Flash, often employing animation or sound to maximize presence. Images are usually in a high-aspect ratio shape (i.e. either wide and short, or tall and narrow) hence the reference to banners. These images are usually placed on web pages that have interesting content, such as a newspaper article or an opinion piece.
The web banner is displayed when a web page that references the banner is loaded into a web browser. This event is known as an "impression". When the viewer clicks on the banner, the viewer is directed to the website advertised in the banner. This event is known as a "click through". In many cases, banners are delivered by a central ad server.
When the advertiser scans their logfiles and detects that a web user has visited the advertiser's site from the content site by clicking on the banner ad, the advertiser sends the content provider some small amount of money (usually around five to ten US cents). This payback system is often how the content provider is able to pay for the Internet access to supply the content in the first place.
Web banners function the same way as traditional advertisements are intended to function: notifying consumers of the product or service and presenting reasons why the consumer should choose the product in question, although web banners differ in that the results for advertisement campaigns may be monitored real-time and may be targeted to the viewer's interests.
Many web surfers regard these advertisements as highly annoying because they distract from a web page's actual content or waste bandwidth. (Of course, the purpose of the banner ad is to attract attention. Without attracting attention, which makes it annoying, it would provide no revenue for the advertiser or for the content provider.) Newer web browsers often include options to disable pop-ups or block images from selected websites. Another way of avoiding banners is to use a proxy server that blocks them, such as Privoxy.
Web banner adverts are restricted by high cost and limited physical banner area.

Standard sizes

Online advertising
Marketing
Advertising
Central ad server
Internet marketing
Popup ad
Hover ad
Live Banner

This is a list of the monarchs of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, that is, the monarchs on the thrones of some of the various kingdoms that have existed in the British Isles, namely:
To see the rulers of certain states prior to the formation of the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and the principality of Wales, see:

The Kingdom of Scotland, from 843 up to 1707;
The Kingdom of England, from 871 (including Wales from the Act of Union 1536–1543) up to 1707;
The Lordship of Ireland, from 1199 up to 1541;
The Kingdom of Ireland, from 1541 up to 1801;
The Kingdom of Great Britain, from the Acts of Union, 1707, between England and Scotland, up to 1801;
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, from the Act of Union, 1801, between Great Britain and Ireland, up to 1927;
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (The UK after the Irish Free State was formed and became a separate state).
Kings of the Britons
Kings of the Picts
Kings of the Scots (includes the Stewart succession 1603–1714 to the throne of both Scotland and England)
Kings of Dál Riata
Kings of the Isle of Man
Kings of the Isle of Man and the Isles
Kings of Strathclyde
Legendary Kings of Britain
Rulers of Wales
Kings of East Anglia
Kings of Essex
Kings of Kent
Kings of Sussex
Kings of Wessex
Kings of Mercia
Kings of Northumbria
High Kings of Ireland Complications over title and style
Succession to the many thrones often did not pass smoothly from parent to child; lack of heirs, civil wars, murders and invasions affected the inheritance in ways that a simple list does not show. The relationships that formed the basis for claims to throne are noted where we know them, and the dates of reign indicated.