Saturday, December 18, 2010

Top 10 Female Politicians of the World

10. Dalia Grybauskaite, President of Lithuania

After Grybauskaite came to power in 2009, European journalists quickly dubbed her Lithuania’s Iron Lady, owing to her steely way with words and her black belt in karate. The daughter of a saleswoman and an electrician, she worked part time in a factory while earning a Ph.D. in economics. She went on to become Deputy Minister of Finance in 1999, before holding a series of positions within the European Commission. In 2009, with Lithuania mired deep in recession, Grybauskaite focused her presidential campaign on protecting those with the lowest incomes and tackling unemployment, which had climbed to nearly 16%. Running as an independent, she won with a 68% majority — the largest margin of victory ever recorded in Lithuania’s presidential election history. 9 More Female Politicians of the World after the break...



09. Tarja Halonen, President of Finland

Brought up in a working-class family in downtown Helsinki, Halonen has built a highly successful political career by building ties with trade unions and nongovernmental organizations. Serving as President since 2000, she has vehemently defended the President’s role as commander in chief of the military, and campaigned against Finnish membership in NATO. Her hobbies belie her powerful position: she is said to enjoy swimming and taking care of her two cats. In 2006, TV host and comedian Conan O’Brien endorsed Halonen’s re-election because of her strong resemblance to him.

08. Laura Chinchilla, President of Costa Rica
A former Vice President under Nobel laureate Oscar Arias Sánchez, Chinchilla won a 47% majority in the February 2010 election. In a country increasingly concerned about crime, the center-leftist played up her security experience: she previously served as both Public Security Minister and Justice Minister in the National Liberation Party. A social conservative, she opposes gay marriage, abortion and the legalization of the morning-after pill. She has pledged to continue the pro-business policies of her predecessor by courting international investment and expanding free trade.

07. Johanna Sigurdardottir, Prime Minister of Iceland
After Iceland’s economy collapsed in October 2008, Sigurdardottir rode a wave of discontent all the way to the premiership. It wasn’t exactly surprising: the former flight attendant turned politician had won eight consecutive elections since entering Parliament in 1978, making her the country’s longest-serving parliamentarian and one of its most popular. In addition to being Iceland’s first female Prime Minister, Sigurdardottir, 67, is also the world’s first openly gay head of state. In June 2010, when Iceland legalized gay marriage, Sigurdardottir tied the knot with her long-term partner, with whom she had entered a civil union seven years earlier.

06. Sheik Hasina Wajed, Prime Minister of Bangladesh
Hasina, the 62-year-old leader of the left-of-center Awami League, has a history of surviving. During a 1975 coup d’état, assassins killed 17 members of her family — including her son, three brothers, mother and father, former Prime Minister Sheik Mujibur Rahman. Hasina, then 28, happened to be abroad at the time. She later survived a grenade attack that killed more than 20 people, dodging the bullets that sprayed her car as she fled. Hasina was first elected Prime Minister in 1996. But in 2001, Transparency International named Bangladesh as the most corrupt country in the world, and Hasina was ousted in a landslide. That wasn’t the end of her, though. In January 2009, the Awami League won 230 of 299 parliamentary seats, and the consummate survivor found herself Prime Minister — again.

05. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia
Educated at the University of Wisconsin and at Harvard, Africa’s first female President served as Liberia’s Minister of Finance in the late 1970s. But when Samuel Doe seized power in a military coup in 1980 and executed the President and several Cabinet members, Johnson Sirleaf fled to Kenya, where she became a director at Citibank. She returned to contest the 1996 presidential election and lost to Charles Taylor. In 2005, she ran again and won, promising to bring motherly sensitivity and emotion to the presidency — a tall order in a country still reeling from years of civil war.

04. Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia
After she helped orchestrate a Labor Party coup that ousted Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on June 24, 2010, Gillard, 48, became Australia’s first female PM. Tasked with rebuilding dwindling support for her party, she called snap elections just three weeks into office, hoping to benefit from her bounce in public opinion. But the Aug. 21 election proved inconclusive: neither Gillard’s center-left government nor the Liberal-National coalition led by Tony Abbott were able to secure an outright majority. The stalemate finally broke on Sep. 7. After more than two weeks of protracted negotiation with a handful of independent candidates, Gillard secured a 76-74 majority in parliament to form a minority government.

03. Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil
“I would like parents who have daughters to look straight in their eyes and tell them: ‘Yes, a woman can,’” Dilma Rousseff said following her victory in Brazil’s runoff election. When she takes the reins of the world’s fourth largest democracy on Jan. 1, Rousseff will become the South American country’s first female president. Her win, a victory for would-be women leaders everywhere, was also a nod to outgoing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who handpicked her for the job. As Lula’s former chief of staff, Rousseff promised to carry on the outgoing and overwhelmingly popular leader’s work. “I offer special thanks to President Lula,” she said in her election night speech. “I will know how to honor his legacy. I will know how to consolidate and go forward with his work.”

02. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President of Argentina
Elected President in November 2007 (thereby succeeding her husband Néstor), Fernández has proven she is her own woman. Dismissively referred to as “Cristina” by some members of Argentina’s macho political elite, Fernández has survived a standoff with the country’s powerful farming lobby, a fallout with the U.S. over a suitcase allegedly containing illegal campaign contributions and a series of high-profile economic-policy spats that culminated in the ousting of the governor of Argentina’s Central Bank earlier this year. With her striking appearance and polarizing rhetoric, she inevitably draws comparisons with former First Lady Eva Perón.

01. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
The most influential female politician in the world, Merkel earned a doctorate in physics in East Germany before turning her eye to politics. She won a seat in the Bundestag during the first post-reunification general election, in December 1990, and Chancellor Helmut Kohl appointed her as a Cabinet minister just one year later. Childless and twice married, the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union often comes off as reserved and self-effacing. But as she told TIME in a 2010 interview, she has plenty of confidence: “You could certainly say that I’ve never underestimated myself. There’s nothing wrong with being ambitious.”

Top 25 Universities Of The World

25. Kyoto University, Japan
Kyoto University rated as 25th best university in World University Rankings. Founded in 1897, Kyoto University has deeply considered its traditions of liberal and academic freedom, educating many. We continue to actively maintain these principles, which are the foundation of academic freedom. Kyoto University places top priority on basic research, develops advanced technology leading to the acquisition of intellectual property, and then returns this knowledge to society through education, social cooperation, and the opportunity for lifelong education. Kyoto University has 3 campuses nestled in a basin, which forms the main part of Kyoto, a city which in tradition and culture of which Kyoto University is a part. 24 More universities after the break...
24. University of Hong Kong
University of Hong Kong rated as 24th best university in World University Rankings . The University of Hong Kong is the territory’s oldest university, and with a history that stretches back more than 90 years, it has grown with and helped shape the city from which it takes its name. The University of Hong Kong, as a pre-eminent international university in Asia, seeks to sustain and enhance its excellence as an institution of higher learning through outstanding teaching and world-class research so as to produce well-rounded graduates with lifelong abilities to provide leadership within the societies they serve.  HKU has won a proud reputation as a world-class comprehensive research university.  It offers internationally recognized qualifications and it is renowned for its academic and research excellence worldwide.  As an English-medium university in China, HKU also offers researchers unique opportunities to bridge cultures and continents, and to explore more on China-related studies.

23. King’s College London

King’s College London rated as 23rd best university in World University Rankings. King’s College London is a constituent college of the University of London in the United Kingdom. The college was founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and its royal charter is predated in England only by those of Oxford University and Cambridge University.. There are currently more than 19,000 students in nine Schools of study based at our five London campuses. We offer a vast range of undergraduate programmes, and whichever programme you choose to pursue, you will work with academics who are often national or international leaders in their field. As an undergraduate at King’s, you will become part of a vibrant and intellectually stimulating community. You will be inspired by researchers, discoverers and inventors who are pushing the boundaries of knowledge and will mix with students from across the UK, Europe and almost every country in the world. King’s has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe and is home to five Medical Research Council Centres – more than any other university.

22. University of Tokyo

University of Tokyo rated as 22th best university in World University Rankings. The University of Tokyo abbreviated as Todai, is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongo-, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be one of the most prestigious universities in Japan.
21. University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh rated as 21st best university in World University Rankings. The University of Edinburgh was founded in 1583, making it one of Scotland’s ancient universities. The University offers over 600 first degree programmes, which includes over 300 joint degree combinations, spread across some 100 academic disciplines. More than 22,000 students study here, from all over the world and from a variety of backgrounds. The University has 22 Schools in three Colleges: Humanities & Social Science, Medicine & Veterinary Medicine, and Science & Engineering. World renowned and well respected, a degree from the University of Edinburgh will be recognised wherever you go. The University of Edinburgh’s success is not limited to Scotland, or even the UK. We have a well-deserved international reputation for excellence, as demonstrated in our partnerships with other key institutions worldwide, such as our work with Stanford University on Informatics. Many of our degree programmes offer the opportunity to spend some time studying abroad. Perhaps this international dimension helps explain why we have the largest proportion of international students of any Scottish university.


20. ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)
ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) rated as 20th best university in World University Rankings. ETH Zurich’s 16 departments offer Bachelor, Master and Doctoral programmes in engineering and natural sciences. The language of instruction in the Bachelor programmes is German, whereas English is the prime language on the graduate level. All degree programmes provide a solid scientific foundation combined with outstanding all-round skills, equipping ETH graduates with the abilities and flexibility needed for a career in industry, business or the public sector, as entrepreneur or scientist.

19. University of Michigan, United States
University of Michigan rated as 18th best university in World University Rankings. The University of Michigan, one of the world’s leading public universities, has 26,000 undergraduate and 15,000 graduate/professional students from all 50 states and 117 countries. Students may choose from over 200 undergraduate majors, over 90 master’s programs, and over 100 doctoral programs. Numerous research and study abroad opportunities are offered at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. A wide variety of social, cultural, and athletic activities are available. There is something for everyone here. The University is located in the culturally rich and exciting community of Ann Arbor. Distinct yet closely integrated with the University, Ann Arbor offers its own array of social and cultural offerings, to which University students are enthusiastically welcomed. The city is home to numerous parks and athletic facilities, and boasts an excellent public transportation system.


18. Mcgill University, Canada

Mcgill University rated as 18th best university in World University Rankings. Innovative research programs and cutting-edge facilities including our brand new Life Sciences Complex attract internationally respected faculty. Our faculty excel at research; in 2008, McGill professors Nahum Sonenberg and Charles Taylor took home, respectively, the Gairdner International Award and the Kyoto Prize, two of the world’s top research prizes. McGill’s faculty are committed to excellence in teaching, too, bringing their cutting-edge breakthroughs into the classroom. McGill’s 21 faculties and professional schools offer degrees in more than 300 fields of study. McGill offers a full range of bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs as well as professional degrees in law, dentistry, business and medicine. The world-renowned Faculty of Medicine has four affiliated teaching hospitals and graduates more than 1,000 health care professionals each year.

17. Australian National University

Australian National University rated as 17th best university in World University Rankings. The Australian National University is one of the world’s foremost research universities. Distinguished by its relentless pursuit of excellence, ANU attracts leading academics and outstanding students from Australia and around the world. The primary educational objective of ANU is to become the university of choice for talented students locally, nationally and internationally by offering a unique range of research-led degree programs. Graduate education continues as one of the major focuses of the University and about one quarter of the total enrolment is undertaking post-graduate study. Regardless of whether those students are enrolled in the Institute of Advanced Studies or the Faculties, the full resources of both and of University Centres are available to them through the Graduate School.


16. Stanford University, United States
Stanford University rated as 16th best university in World University Rankings. Stanford University, founded in 1885, is recognized as one of the world’s leading research and teaching institutions, with one of the most renowned faculties in the nation. Stanford students  men and women of all races, ethnicities and ages are distinguished by their love of learning and desire to contribute to the greater community. Stanford University offers its students a remarkable range of academic and extracurricular activities. We are committed to offering an education that is unrivaled among research universities.


15. Cornell University, United States
Cornell University rated as 15th best university in World University Rankings. Once called “the first American university” by educational historian Frederick Rudolph, Cornell University represents a distinctive mix of eminent scholarship and democratic ideals. Adding practical subjects to the classics and admitting qualified students regardless of nationality, race, social circumstance, gender, or religion was quite a departure when Cornell was founded in 1865. Today’s Cornell reflects this heritage of egalitarian excellence. It is home to the nation’s first colleges devoted to hotel administration, industrial and labor relations, and veterinary medicine. Both a private university and the land-grant institution of New York State, Cornell University is the most educationally diverse member of the Ivy League.
14. Duke University, United States
Duke University rated as 14th best university in World University Rankings. Duke University was created in 1924 by James Buchanan Duke as a memorial to his father, Washington Duke. The Dukes, a Durham family that built a worldwide financial empire in the manufacture of tobacco and developed electricity production in the Carolinas, long had been interested in Trinity College. Trinity traced its roots to 1838 in nearby Randolph County when local Methodist and Quaker communities opened Union Institute. The school, then-named Trinity College, moved to Durham in 1892. In December 1924, the provisions of James B. Duke’s indenture created the family philanthropic foundation, The Duke Endowment, which provided for the expansion of Trinity College into Duke University.


13. Johns Hopkins University, United States
Johns Hopkins University rated as 13th best university in World University Rankings. The Johns Hopkins University, founded in Baltimore in 1876, was the first university in the Western Hemisphere founded on the model of the European research institution, where research and the advancement of knowledge were integrally linked to teaching. Its establishment began a revolution in U.S. higher education. The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Johns Hopkins also maintains full-time campuses elsewhere in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Italy, China, and Singapore. Johns Hopkins University has an affiliated hospital and medical school. It is one of fourteen founding members of the Association of American Universities.


12. University of Pennsylvania, United States
University of Pennsylvania rated as 12th best university in World University Rankings. The University of Pennsylvania (commonly referred to as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and is one of several institutions that claims to have been the first university in America. Penn is a member of the Ivy League and is one of the Colonial Colleges. University of Pennsylvania has been committed to excellence in scholarship, research and service. From its highly regarded undergraduate, graduate and professional schools to its wide-ranging program of interdisciplinary research and scholarship, Penn takes pride in being a place where students and faculty can pursue knowledge without boundaries, a place where theory and practice combine to produce a better understanding of our world and ourselves.


11. Columbia University, United States
Columbia University rated as 11th best university in World University Rankings. Columbia University is one of the world’s most important centers of research and at the same time a distinctive and distinguished learning environment for undergraduates and graduate students in many scholarly and professional fields. The University recognizes the importance of its location in New York City and seeks to link its research and teaching to the vast resources of a great metropolis. It seeks to attract a diverse and international faculty and student body, to support research and teaching on global issues, and to create academic relationships with many countries and regions. It expects all areas of the university to advance knowledge and learning at the highest level and to convey the products of its efforts to the world.


10. California Institute of Technology (caltech)
California Institute of Technology (caltech) rated as 10th best university in World University Rankings. The mission of the California Institute of Technology is to expand human knowledge and benefit society through research integrated with education. We investigate the most challenging, fundamental problems in science and technology in a singularly collegial, interdisciplinary atmosphere, while educating outstanding students to become creative members of society.

09. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (mit), United States
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (mit) rated as 9th best university in World University Rankings. The Institute is committed to generating, disseminating, and preserving knowledge, and to working with others to bring this knowledge to bear on the world’s great challenges. MIT is dedicated to providing its students with an education that combines rigorous academic study and the excitement of discovery with the support and intellectual stimulation of a diverse campus community. We seek to develop in each member of the MIT community the ability and passion to work wisely, creatively, and effectively for the betterment of humankind.The mission of MIT is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

08. PRINCETON University, United States

PRINCETON University rated as 8th best university in World University Rankings. Princeton is the fourth-oldest college in the United States. As a research university, it seeks to achieve the highest levels of distinction in the discovery and transmission of knowledge and understanding, and in the education of graduate students. At the same time, Princeton is distinctive among research universities in its commitment to undergraduate teaching. The University provides its students with academic, extracurricular and other resources — in a residential community committed to diversity in its student body, faculty and staff — that help them achieve at the highest scholarly levels and prepare them for positions of leadership and lives of service in many fields of human endeavor.

07. University of CHICAGO, United States

University of CHICAGO rated as the 7th best university in World University Rankings. The University of Chicago was founded in 1890 by the American Baptist Education Society and oil magnate John D. Rockefeller. The University of Chicago has had a profound impact on American higher education; curricula across the country have been influenced by the emphasis on broad humanistic and scientific undergraduate education. The University also has a well-deserved reputation as the teacher of teachers.

06. University of OXFORD, United Kingdom
University of OXFORD rated the sixth best university in World University Rankings. Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world and lays claim to nine centuries of continuous existence. As an internationally renowned centre for teaching and research, Oxford attracts students and scholars from across the globe, with almost a quarter of our students from overseas. More than 130 nationalities are represented among a student population of over 18,000. Oxford is a collegiate university, with 39 self-governing colleges related to the University in a type of federal system. There are also seven Permanent Private Halls, founded by different Christian denominations. Thirty colleges and all halls admit students for both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Seven other colleges are for graduates only; one has Fellows only, and one specializes in part-time and continuing education.

05. IMPERIAL College London

Imperial College London, rated the fifth best university in the world for. Imperial College London is a university of world class scholarship, education and research in science, engineering and medicine, with particular regard to their application in industry, commerce and healthcare. The College has over 3,000 academic and research staff and almost 14,000 students from over 120 different countries. Our reputation for excellence in teaching and research in science, engineering, medicine and business attracts students and staff of the highest international calibre. Imperial College staff are frequently consulted by governments, and also act as members of professional bodies, advise industry, and offer informed comment to the media.


04. UCL (University College London)

UCL (University College London) rated the fourth best university in World University Rankings. UCL is a multidisciplinary university with an international reputation for the quality of its research and teaching across the academic spectrum, with subjects spanning the sciences, arts, social sciences and biomedicine. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) UCL was rated the best research university in London, and third in the UK overall, for the number of its submissions which were considered of world-leading quality. The university is located on a compact site in the very heart of London and is surrounded by the greatest concentration of libraries, museums, archives, cultural institutions and professional bodies in Europe.


03. Yale University, United States
Yale University rated as third best university in the World University Rankings. Yale University is one of the most famous schools in the United States, with a long history of service and an alumni list that reads like a “Who’s Who” of successful people. Yale University is the fulfillment of a European vision of intellectual freedom that is aimed at the service of the community and country. It has championed over history and survived the most destructive calamities such as the American Revolution. Since then, the university has continually grown and progressed to a center for high quality education that is recognized by the global community. The university is considered one of the oldest institution of higher education in the US. It was founded in 1701 and is a proud member of the prestigious Ivy League.

02. University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

University of Cambridge rated the second best in World University Rankings. The University of Cambridge is one of the oldest universities in the world and one of the largest in the United Kingdom. Its reputation for outstanding academic achievement is known world-wide and reflects the intellectual achievement of its students, as well as the world-class original research carried out by the staff of the University and the Colleges. Its reputation is endorsed by the Quality Assurance Agency and by other external reviewers of learning and teaching, such as External Examiners. These high standards are the result of both the learning opportunities offered at Cambridge and by its extensive resources, including libraries, museums and other collections. Teaching consists not only of lectures, seminars and practical classes led by people who are world experts in their field, but also more personalised teaching arranged through the Colleges. Many opportunities exist for students to interact with scholars of all levels, both formally and informally.

01. Harvard University, United States

Harvard University rated as the number one university in World University Rankings. Harvard is America’s oldest institution of higher learning, founded 140 years before the Declaration of Independence was signed. The University has grown from nine students with a single master to an enrollment of more than 18,000 degree candidates, including undergraduates and students in 10 principal academic units. An additional 13,000 students are enrolled in one or more courses in the Harvard Extension School. Over 14,000 people work at Harvard, including more than 2,000 faculty. There are also 7,000 faculty appointments in affiliated teaching hospitals.

Madhurima Latest Photo Gallery

Madhurima Latest New Cute Looking Photos,  More images after the break...


Smartest Man in China

With nine educational diplomas under his belt, Zhou Baokuan can definitely claim the title of “smartest man in China.” When it comes to education, we all want the best for our kids, but I think Zhou Baokuan’s parents might have pushed him a little to far, when he was a child. I mean, the man started studying and even though he is now 53 years old, he has no intention of stopping. More images after the break...

In recognition of his incredible desire to study, an organization known as China World Records Association decided to award Zhou the title of “man with most diplomas in the world.” Over the course of 35 years of intense studying (sometimes without sleep) the man earned a total of nine diplomas, including three doctoral diplomas and two masters degrees. Zhou, a resident of Shenyang City, admits it wasn’t easy getting this many diplomas, and reckons he spent around 126,500 hours studying for them. Believe it or not, Zhou Baokuan is currently studying to get his fourth doctoral degree, at Fudan University.
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