VIA Miss Universe Australia 2011 will be held in June at The Sofitel Wentworth, Sydney on July 7, 2011
Australia has informed Indian authorities that it will soon return the sculpture, dating back to second century BC, realizing that it had been stolen from an archaeological site in India. Abbott has on several occasions stated that improving relations with India was high on his priority list and one of the ways he has reached out to the Modi government is by returning stolen artifacts illegally taken out of India.
During his summit meet with Modi last year in September, Abbott returned statues of 11th century Shiva Nataraja and Ardhanariswara to India. According to a report in The Australian earlier this year, the artifact was purchased by billionaire philanthropist Ros Packer for NGA. After Indian authorities took up the issue with Australia, NGA launched a probe into how the statue was bought from a New York antiquities dealer and found that the dealer had tricked Australian authorities into believing that the red sandstone marvel had been purchased from a British collector in Hong Kong. The investigations revealed that the New York based dealer had travelled to India and acquired two Kushan Buddhas from a trafficker.
"The Department of Culture and the Archaeological Survey of India are working with the National Museum in Delhi to affect the handover. The Buddha statue of the Kushan period dating back to 2nd century BC is made of red sandstone and is from the Mathura region of Uttar Pradesh," said a senior government official.
Government sources here claimed there was a growing personal bonhomie between Modi and Abbott following their bilateral meetings last year. Modi last year became the first Indian PM to visit Australia after Rajiv Gandhi in 1985.
Author: Sachin Parashar | Source: Times of India [January 01, 2015]
The items were seized by Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers and Federal Arts Department representatives from an auction house and private home in Sydney under laws designed to protect cultural objects.
Local authorities were tipped off by Interpol about the historic items including a Coptic textile fragment and large saucer lamp.
Macquarie University's Ancient Cultures Research Centre director Naguib Kanawati was one of several examiners who was asked to assess the cultural significance of the artefacts.
"While the provenance is unknown, the objects are all funerary in nature and would have been found in a cemetery or multiple cemeteries," he said.
They include a wooden hand belonging to an anthropoid coffin, small statuettes of a man and woman to serve the deceased in the afterlife, as well as a number of amulets.
A preliminary examination by Australian Egyptologists suggested the items date from the New Kingdom to Coptic periods and that some pieces may be over 3,000-years-old.
"As sites were used for burials by successive generations at different stratigraphic levels it is not unusual to find objects belonging to different periods at the same site," Professor Kanawati said.
Federal Arts Minister George Brandis handed the artefacts back at a formal ceremony at the Egyptian Embassy in Yarralumla.
"This is a splendid and significant occasion because it is not often that one government has the opportunity to return to another government, artefacts that are precious not only to Egypt but significant to the history of civilisation itself," he said.
Egypt's ambassador Dr Hassan El-Laithy welcomed the return of the significant items.
"One of the pieces that the Honourable Minister handed back over was a piece that witnessed the Coptic history and Christianity in Egypt... something we are very proud of," he said.
"Egypt was not only privileged by having its old civilisation of the Pharaohs, but also having prophets Moses and Jesus living in Egypt."
Last year Prime Minister Tony Abbott returned a 900-year-old bronze statue of the god Shiva to India that was found to have been looted from a temple in Tamil Nadu.
The statue had been purchased by the National Gallery of Australia in 2008 from a New York art dealer who became embroiled in a stolen art trafficking scandal.
Author: Liz Foschia | Source: ABC News Website [April 08, 2015]
The international team of researchers warns that localized issues, such as declining water quality from nutrient pollution or deforestation, can exacerbate the effects of climatic extremes, such as heat waves and droughts. This reduces the ability of ecosystems to cope with the impacts of climate change.
"We show that managing local pressures can expand the 'safe operating space' for these ecosystems. Poor local management makes an ecosystem less tolerant to climate change and erodes its capacity to keep functioning effectively," says the study's lead author Marten Scheffer, chair of the Department of Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management at the Netherlands' Wageningen University.
The authors examined three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Spain's Doñana wetlands, the Amazon rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. While many ecosystems are important to their local people, these ecosystems have a global importance--hence their designation as World Heritage Sites. For instance, the Amazon rainforest is a globally important climate regulator.
Like coral reefs, rainforests and wetlands around the world, these sites are all under increasing pressure from both climate change and local threats.
For example, the Doñana wetlands in southern Spain are Europe's most important wintering site for waterfowl, hosting over half a million birds, and home to numerous unique invertebrate and plant species. Nutrient runoff from the use of agricultural fertilizers and urban wastewater is degrading water quality in the wetlands, causing toxic algal blooms, which endanger the ecosystem's biodiversity. A warming climate could encourage more severe blooms, causing losses of native plants and animals, say the researchers.
"Local managers could lessen this risk and therefore boost the wetlands' climate resilience by reducing nutrient runoff," says co-author Andy Green, a professor at the Doñana Biological Station. He added that nutrient control measures could include reducing fertilizer use, improving water treatment plants and closing illegal wells that are decreasing inputs of clean water to the wetlands.
Rising temperatures and severe dry spells threaten the Amazon rainforest and, in combination with deforestation, could turn the ecosystem into a drier, fire-prone and species-poor woodland. Curtailing deforestation and canopy damage from logging and quickening forest regeneration could protect the forest from fire, maintain regional rainfall and thus prevent a drastic ecosystem transformation.
"A combination of bold policy interventions and voluntary agreements has slowed deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon to one fourth of its historical rate. The stage is now set to build on this success by ramping up efforts to tame logging and inhibit fire," says Daniel Nepstad, executive director of Earth Innovation Institute.
The Great Barrier Reef is threatened by ocean acidification and coral bleaching, both induced by carbon dioxide emissions. Local threats such as overfishing, nutrient runoff and unprecedented amounts of dredging will reduce the reef's resilience to acidification and bleaching.
"It's an unfolding disaster. The reef needs less pollution from agricultural runoff and port dredging, less carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, and less fishing pressure. Ironically, Australia is still planning to develop new coal mines and expand coal ports, despite global efforts to transition quickly towards renewable energy," says co-author Terry Hughes, director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies.
"As a wealthy country, Australia has the capability and responsibility to improve its management of the reef," adds Hughes.
"All three examples play a critical role in maintaining global biodiversity. If these systems collapse, it could mean the irreversible extinction of species," says Scheffer.
The authors suggest their evidence places responsibility on governments and society to manage local threats to iconic ecosystems, and such efforts will complement the growing momentum to control global greenhouse gases.
Yet, in the three cases they examined, they found local governance trends are worrisome.
"UNESCO is concerned that Australia isn't doing enough to protect the Great Barrier Reef. It would be disastrous for the $6 billion reef tourism industry and Australia's reputation if they list the GBR as 'in danger.' We need to put science into action to prevent this from happening," urges Hughes.
According to co-author Scott Barrett, the problem is one of incentives.
"These ecosystems are of value to the whole world, not only to the countries that have jurisdiction over them. It may be necessary for other countries to bring pressure to bear on these 'host' countries or to offer them assistance, to ensure that these iconic ecosystems are protected for the benefit of all of humanity," says Barrett, who is also a professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.
Above all, the paper raises awareness of the great opportunities for enhanced local action.
"Local management options are well understood and not too expensive. So there is really no excuse for countries to let this slip away, especially when it comes to ecosystems that are of vital importance for maintaining global biodiversity," says Scheffer.
Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison [March 19, 2015]
Sally Arnott
Amy Sutton
Melody LeVIA Finalists of Miss Victoria State to Compete in Miss Universe Australia 2011 on July 7, 2011
Sally ArnottAmy SuttonMelody LeVIA The Finalists of Miss Victoria State to Compete in Miss Universe Australia 2011
VIA Mariana Notarangelo da Fonseca, Miss Brazil is the Miss Global Beauty Queen 2011
On Monday, I came home from work to find a package waiting for me. From Australia. I don't really know anyone in Australia so I was confused, but intrigued.
So I opened it.
And I saw this:
I stopped breathing. No really. I gasped, and then choked on the breath. And stopped breathing.
My hands shook. And I opened the pages (still not breathing) thinking... Maybe, just maybe. And it was. I saw this:
I cried.
.
VIA Mariana Notarangelo da Fonseca, Miss Brazil is the winner of Miss Global Beauty Queen 2011
The new project of mixed use located in the north of Sydney, with the budget in 400 million dollars, urged to "plant trees and shrubs" in business. Developed by architects GHD, Innovative park Gore Hill is the newest building object Lindsay Bennelong Developments before which it's necessary to connect a problem ecological stability to business innovations.
Project Gore Hill will be the first technological business park received five stars AGBA and rating Green Star in Australia. In located on the former areas of studios ABC in Gore Hill, on the bottom part of northern coast of Sydney, business park, the area in 4.6 hectares, provides convenient places for offices, and as spaces under retail shops and the entertaining centers — including a separate site for retail trade in plaza-style, a zone of municipal departments, motor shows, the aqua-center, and also foot and bicycle paths.
“Project of a glass cube so typical for given area is not pleasant to us”, main architect GHD Nando Nicotra speaks. “From the very beginning of the project we wished to create the unique building corresponding to aesthetic ideals, and have decided, that it's necessary to concentrate attention to appearance of a building”.
The given project, example of modern innovative architecture, also is realization of various innovations on ecological stability — including repeated capture of superseded heat, effective system of lifts and a central air “chilled beam”. It guarantees that the project will receive a five-stars rating and will set the tendency of new level of requirements to the future industrial and commercial projects. At present works on district to start building in January, 2009 are conducted.
Alright Fairy Tale fans! My last giveaway comes from author Regina Doman! She has generously offered a copy of any one the books in her fairy tale series to one lucky winner!
Her series, A Fairy Tale Retold, covers several different fairy tale favorites. With five books in the series, Regina's stories retell the 1001 Tales, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Snow White and Rose Red and The Twelve Dancing Princesses.
These books have been on my wishlist for a long time. I haven't read any of them yet, but I've been eyeing them for over 3 years now.
These books are each set in the modern world and use modern teenagers to tell these fairy tales.
Regina has been generous enough to offer the book of choice to one lucky winner within the US, UK, Europe, or Australia. And, if the winner is from the US, the book of your choice will be signed!
To enter — Leave a comment with which book you would pick if you are the winner! And, why not tell us which fairy tale you would love to see a retelling of next!
AND head on over to The Book Rat for an interview with Regina!!
Sean Kitchen — the project of studio BEE Design opened in September, 2008 in Sydney.
The head cook and owner Sean Connelly (the Winner of popular competition head cook Sydney Morning Herald in 2007) supervises over this dynamical restaurant.
The restaurant consists of the several zones named “contact points”. In each of such zones various variants of a delicatessen and a decor that gives possibility to diversify the menu in the same institution, at invariable quality of service. Zones are named: Tapas Bar, Ocean Shelf, Patio Bar and Lounge.
The restaurant on 300 places, with the Mediterranean interiors perfectly combines in the interior earthy shades red and brown with sharp illumination.
However the most intriguing aspect of a premise is the openness of area for cooking of the dishes, allowing to observe skillful masters of culinary arts in work and all movement of the kitchen personnel.
My cousin, Emily, blogs over at In Which Ems Reviews Books and she and a friend have started a weekly Sunday feature. I have been a bit absent so far this year (my apologies) but when I saw her post today — the first post of the new feature and saw the topic, I decided this was something I had to take part in. I mean, I never miss an opportunity to talk up my favorite books and today's topic is to pick a favorite and talk about why it's special to you.
Any guesses as to which book I'm going to pick?:)
So there's this book... It's kind of a big deal to me. I talk about it all the time, and it's gotten to the point that if I send certain people a tweet saying — Ask them — they all know which book I'm talking about.
I decided several years ago that I was going to read all the books on the Newbery award list, and when I learned about the Printz award, and it is to YA what the Newbery is to MG, I decided I would read all of those too. And I read a brilliantly funny/witty/hysterical/intelligent Honor winner from 2009 called The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. And let me tell you, I loved that book. It remains one of the smartest funny books I've ever read. But, that is not the book I'm going to talk about today. Because after I finished that book, I wondered why it didn't win the actual award. So I sought out the winner of the Award that year, wondering if I was going to be disappointed that this was the book that ultimately won.
But friends. Do you know what book won the Printz Award in 2009? DO YOU?!
I'll give you a hint... It's this one:
This book wrecked me. It tore me to pieces, pulled apart my heart and pulverized my soul. And then it put me back together again, different, but better. I am never at a loss for words, but I never feel like I can truly articulate what this book did to me. It just... consumed me. I was so incredibly captivated and involved with this book, these characters and their lives.
I've felt sad before, finishing a book and knowing that my time with the characters was over for now, and I've actively wished that some of the people in the book were real. But not even with Harry Potter do I remember being so overwhelmingly devastated that these people weren't real because I just felt them that much.
I have never come across a writer with an ability like Marchetta's before. Something about her writing just hits me, in that perfect way. I tend to get overly dramatic when I talk about Marchetta, specifically when referencing this book and I saw things like — Melina Marchetta owns my soul. And when I'm reading one of her books, she does.
I tell you what — Never have I read anything like this book. It causes me genuine physical pain when I hear that someone didn't like this book. Physical pain. (and I'll be honest and admit that the secret, shameful place inside of me wonders about their mental stability... But only for a minute).
I don't think I will ever run out of positive things to say about this book, but I need an ending point somewhere, so let me also just add this (because I still make giddy/squeaky noises every time I think about it)
After Just Contemporary month, when I emailed Melina (*dies*) I got a surprise package in the mail. From Australia. And I opened it to find this:
I cried.
I'm so excited for this read-a-thon today! I have a huge stack of books just sitting here, waiting to be read! I am really hoping to get a lot of reading done, but we shall see. When I initially signed up for the read-a-thon, this weekend was almost completely empty. But it seems like things keep popping up, so I might have to take more breaks that I thought I would.: P We shall see.
Click the image to learn more!
Anyway, as mentioned over on Enna's blog, there are going to be regularly spaced giveaways throughout the day. Because entry into each of these giveaways requires a blog entry or update, I'm just going to use this post here to keep track of everything and offer each of my updates, so as not to overwhelm anyone's feed readers.:)
I'm going to keep a running list of each title that I complete at the very bottom of the post, so if that's what you are interested in, scroll all the way down.
I'll also be on Twitter and snooping around other blogs throughout the day, as I finish books, or need a break. If anyone wants to be update buddies, let me know! It's always more fun to have someone specific to share your progress with. If you want someone, I'd be more than happy to welcome in another update buddy!:)
I'm off to work for a few hours now, where it will hopefully be slow enough that I'll be able to get some reading done.
Fingers crossed and happy reading!
This is today's first update!! I had to work this morning, from 9 till 12, so I wasn't able to get online, although work was really slow today and it was 'movie day' for the kids so I had a lot of down time, which meant I got to read for pretty much the whole 3 hours (although, I did have to stop frequently to help take care of the aforementioned kiddies). I did take a break when I got home to eat lunch and then help my sister for a few minutes, check my email & Twitter) but then I got right back to reading. I'm going to try for one more book right now, and then I might take a quick power nap to kind of recharge. We'll see what happens.: P
I've chosen at this point not to do the update activites, because I'm too tired to think that hard, but I will return to at least a few of them later. I think a Wordle would be fun, and I always like to get my rant on about movie adaptations (because I hate them, but for now, I'm going to skip it. We'll see what happens at the 4:00 update.: P)
Figured I should probably tell you which books I've read!: P
1 — I Heart You, You Haunt Me — Lisa Schroeder
2 — Fog Magic — Julia L. Sauer (NBH)
3 — Monster — Walter Dean Meyers (PA, reread)
4 — The Five People You Meet in Heaven — Mitch Albom
Mini-Challenge w/ update 5: Sentence from book titles — (I couldn't take a picture because most of my books are in storage, and my copy of the final book title is the America version, not the Australia version, so it drops On the, which ruins my sentence.: P)
Beauty Queens Wither On the Jellicoe Road
UPDATE 2: (About 7:30)
Total Books Read: 4 Total Pages Read: 824 Books Read Since Last Update: 1 Pages Read since last update: 196 Total time read: 6 hours How I'm currently feeling: Awesome!:) I took a short nap at 4:00 because, as I mentioned, I was really tired. I decided sleeping now and having more energy was better than fighting to stay awake. Definitely a good plan!:) I'm ready to jump right into my next book! Make up some of the time I wasted on Twitter earlier!
UPDATE 1: (About 3:00)
Total Books Read: 3 Total Pages Read: 628 Books Read Since Last Update: 3 (first update...) Pages Read since last update: 628 (first update...) Total time read: 4 hours How I'm currently feeling: Good! I'm really enjoying the extra reading movitation!:) I'm hoping to get a lot more reading done today! I've made good progress, 3 books before 4:00 and I find that very encouraging and happy making. However, I am really tired today. I've been staying up later than I should the last few days (ahem... okay, fine. Weeks) and that's catching up to me, especially when I'm sitting in one place without moving for long periods of time. So, I might take a quick power nap here coming up, but I'm afraid a quick nap will turn into a looonng one. So, I'm undecided. I shall let you know at next update!:)
VIA «Home builder in Sydney»
British campaigners likened the UK’s stance to “clinging on to stolen booty for dear life” and contrasted it with the “generous act” of returning the sculptures to help a friendly country on the brink of economic collapse. Youth unemployment has hit 50 per cent and suicide rates have soared amid a crisis so severe the Financial Times has warned Greece could turn into a “quasi slave economy”.
In 2013, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) invited the UK to take part in mediation about the marbles, created 2,500 years ago to decorate the Parthenon temple in Athens. Then last year it asked for a response by 31 March.
However a Government source said the UK “won’t be able to make any significant announcement this side of the [May] election”.
A motion calling for the UK to reply to Unesco and move to return the marbles is to be filed in the House of Commons on Monday.
The failure to respond in time could prompt Greece to abandon decades of diplomacy and take legal action, possibly in the European Court of Human Rights. A team of lawyers in London, including leading QC Geoffrey Robertson and Amal Clooney, wife of actor George, is preparing a “book-length” document setting out the options.
A source who has advised successive Greek governments said the main problem was finding a court to take jurisdiction in the case, but once that hurdle was overcome “then the lawyers are saying there is about a 75 to 80 per cent chance of success”.
The marbles are regarded as some of the finest works of art in history and a symbol of the birth of Western civilisation. Some sculptures were taken to Britain by Lord Elgin in controversial circumstances just over 200 years ago when Greece was ruled by the Ottoman Empire.
Dr Elena Korka, director of antiquities at the Greek Culture Ministry, said the central issue was “reunifying these exceptional, outstanding and most important sculptures, which belong as an integral part of a unique symbolic monument for the whole world”.
“This is the essence of it, making something which exists today as whole as it can be… this is what the public wants, every poll shows it. It’s such an important issue. Even if Greece didn’t ask for it, the whole world would,” she said.
She said if the British authorities relented it would be “a day of true joy, not only for the monument itself but I think for the value of the gesture for the sake of co-operation”. “It would definitely help the [public] morale. It would be a huge boost,” she said.
Asked about the prospect of legal action, Dr Korka said Greece was “still so much into the process of mediation that we’re not thinking of the next step”. “We haven’t exhausted the possibilities so let’s not go so fast,” she said.
She added that the UK’s silence since 2013 was “not so polite really”.
David Hill, chairman of the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures in Australia, said there was a “growing appreciation even among people who are timid about the prospect of litigation that we have reached the point of last resort if this UNESCO gambit fails. The diplomatic and political strategies of the last 30 years have not produced any progress at all.”
Polls have consistently showed strong support in Britain for returning the marbles. In November, a survey for The Times found there was a two-to-one majority in favour.
Andrew George, chairman of Marbles Reunited and Liberal Democrat MP for St Ives, said: “One of our friends is down on their uppers and we can offer something to them that might make their lives easier and give them a lift, which can only be good for their economy.
“It would be a generous act which would improve Britain’s standing in the world. At the moment we look rather grubby… like we are clinging on to stolen booty for dear life.”
He said he planned to lodge an early day motion in the Commons tomorrow calling for the Government to “demonstrate that Britain is prepared to... reunite these British-held Parthenon sculptures with those now displayed in the purpose-built Acropolis Museum in the shadow of the monument to which they belong, the Parthenon in Athens”.
The British Museum, which denies Elgin stole the marbles, argues that it “tells the story of cultural achievement throughout the world” and the Parthenon sculptures are “a significant part of that story”. It regards itself as “a unique resource for the world” with visitors able to “re-examine cultural identities and explore the complex network of interconnected human cultures” within its walls.
“The Parthenon Sculptures are a vital element in this interconnected world collection. They are a part of the world’s shared heritage and transcend political boundaries,” it says.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said it would “respond in due course” to UNESCO.
Author: Ian Johnston | Source: Indpendent [March 07, 2015]
Since I live on campus and have no car it is very difficult for me to go to the movies, at least for feature films. I did manage to escape over the weekend to my home away from home, Des Moines, where my boyfriend took me to Where the Wild Things Are. Being the book obsessed girl that I am I was very excited to see the movie, especially since it was one of my childhood favorites. Since I saw it a week after it came out I was also able to hear what a lot of other people thought about it. Most of the things I heard surprised me. My boyfriend's aunt, a librarian, absolutely hated it. Several people that I work with at the front desk in my residence hall also said it wasn't good. I also work at an elementary school where I heard a few teachers say they didn't like it. Obviously this made me very interested to find out why everyone was so against a movie I've been waiting to see since last March.
I can understand why so many people don't like Where the Wild Things Are. It is very different from the book, but the book is also, what, 32 lines? Since I am familiar with Dave Eggers and Spike Jonze I kind of knew what I was getting myself into. Let's face it, neither one are the most conventional of characters, although both are brilliant. I feel like what is causing a lot of the dislike towards this movie is fear. The fear of being honest with children and not always creating a perfect happy ending. As we all know, Max returns to his mother at the end of the book, but that does not mean all the problems go away. His mother is still single and he is still a lonely little boy. The plot is very much for adults, but I do not think that means it is not also for children, or that children will not understand it.
On the contrary, I feel like the movie is great for children. The bulk of the movie takes place with the wild things, and this is where the imagination from Sendak, Eggers, and Jonze really shines. The home that is created is so magical I felt myself wanting to be a child again, more than have in a long time. The scenery is so breathtakingly beautiful (it was filmed in Australia) that I literally had to catch my breath at some points. The world created is one that children can dream about very several years. Even with the beauty, the movie deals a lot with loneliness, and loneliness is a concept I think all children are familiar with. I work with three children as a reading tutor and I can tell that all three of them are very aware of what loneliness is, and they feel it. This is the concept that I think is tying all of us together in this movie, answering to the tag, "There's one in all of us."
Overall I felt that the movie stuck to the spirit of the book, even if others do have problems with it. Where the Wild Things Are encourages imagination, honesty, and community, all three of which I think children's movies and books have been lacking in recently.
Release date: October 16, 2009
Running time: 101 minutes
Language: English
Director: Spike Jonze
Writers: Dave Eggers and Spike Jonze
Based on Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.
Considered the cornerstone of modern democracy, liberty, justice and the rule of law, the 1215 English charter forms the basis for legal systems around the world, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the US Constitution.
About 1,200 people, drawn from a ballot, have won the chance to see the unification event at the British Library, which brings together its two originals with those of Lincoln and Salisbury cathedrals.
The four parchments will then be on private display in the UK parliament, marking the start of a year of celebrations for a document that still has resonance eight centuries later.
"No free man shall be taken or imprisoned or disseized or outlawed or exiled or in any way ruined, nor will we go and send against him except by the lawful judgement of his peers by the law of the land," the document states in Latin.
"To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny or delay right or justice."
Charter made after rebel barons challenged king
In June 1215, the wayward King John agreed to the demands of rebellious barons to curb his powers and sealed the charter at Runnymede, a meadow by the River Thames west of London.
Although nearly a third of the text was dropped or substantially rewritten within 10 years and almost all the 63 clauses have been repealed, Magna Carta principles have become "a potent, international rallying cry against the arbitrary use of power", the British Library said.
One of Britain's Supreme Court judges, Anthony Clarke, said it was still important for governments seeking a balance between issues of security, individual rights, the rule of law and the "principles of justice that lie at the foundation of society".
He said the principles that justice should be available to all, the law applies to all equally and leaders can only exercise power in accordance with the law continue to be fought for in many parts of the world.
Magna Carta Trust, which looks after the memorial site in Runnymede, said the charter's importance was growing.
"800 years on, Magna Carta's best days lie ahead," it said.
"As an idea of freedom, democracy and the rule of law, it is lapping against the shores of despotism.
"The principles set out in Magna Carta have driven the Arab Spring and the continuing protests against despotism around the world."
Magna Carta 'linked to prosperity'
The principles of the Magna Carta extend well beyond the world's common law jurisdictions such as the United States, India and Australia which inherited England's legal system.
Lawyer David Wootton, a former lord mayor of London, said English law was the "common currency" of global business deals precisely due to the protections derived from Magna Carta.
"Investors regard their money as safe here (in London) because of the protections in the legal system," he said.
"There is a close relationship between economic development, societal development and the quality of a country's legal system."
Events are being staged across Britain throughout 2015 to mark the anniversary, including a major international commemoration event at Runnymede on June 15.
Exhibitions, debates, conferences, church services, lectures, charity dinners, theatre performances, tourist trails, village fetes, and even a national peal of bells are being staged.
There will also be a mock trial of the barons who forced the creation of the charter in parliament's Westminster Hall to debate whether they were guilty of treason.
Source: AFP [February 02, 2015]
