Andorra

Coordinates: 42°30′N 1°30′E / 42.500°N 1.500°E / 42.500; 1.500

Andorra (ⁱ/ænˈdɔːrə/; Catalan: [ənˈdorə], locally: [anˈdɔra]), officially the Principality of Andorra (Catalan: Principat d'Andorra), also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra (Catalan: Principat de les Valls d'Andorra), is a sovereign landlocked microstate in Southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. Created under a charter in A.D. 988, the present Principality was formed in A.D. 1278. It is known as a principality as it is a monarchy headed by two Co-Princes – the Spanish/Roman Catholic Bishop of Urgell and the President of France.

Andorra is the sixth-smallest nation in Europe, having an area of 468 km² (181 sq mi) and a population of approximately 85,000. Its capital Andorra la Vella is the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of 1,023 metres (3,356 ft) above sea level. The official language is Catalan, although Spanish, Portuguese, and French are also commonly spoken.

TED (conference)

TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a global set of conferences run by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, under the slogan "Ideas Worth Spreading". The emphasis is on the entertainment aspect. TED was founded in 1984 as a one-off event; the annual conference series began in 1990. TED's early emphasis was technology and design, consistent with its Silicon Valley origins, but it has since broadened its focus to include talks on many scientific, cultural, and academic topics.

The main TED conference is held annually in Vancouver, Canada, and its companion TEDActive is held in Whistler, British Columbia. Prior to 2014, the two conferences were held in Long Beach and Palm Springs, California, respectively. TED events are also held throughout North America and in Europe and Asia, offering live streaming of the talks. They address a wide range of topics within the research and practice of science and culture, often through storytelling. The speakers are given a maximum of 18 minutes to present their ideas in the most innovative and engaging ways they can. Past speakers include Bill Clinton, Jane Goodall, Al Gore, Gordon Brown, Billy Graham, Richard Dawkins, Richard Stallman, Bill Gates, Bono, Mike Rowe, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and many Nobel Prize winners. TED's current curator is the British former computer journalist and magazine publisher Chris Anderson.

La Salle

La Salle, LaSalle or Lasalle may refer to:

Places

Canada

France

Haiti

Italy

United States

Albert Salvadó

Albert Salvadó i Miras (born Andorra la Vella, 1951) is an Andorran writer and industrial engineer. He writes in both Catalan and Spanish.

Salvadó writes children's stories, essays and novels, often focusing on historical fiction. He has been described as having breathed new life into the historical novel in the Catalan language.

In the crime fiction genre, he has written El rapte, el mort i el Marsellès (Serie Negra Prize 2000), and Una vida en joc, dedicated to the former Casino de la Rabassada (1910). In the suspense novel genre, he has written Un vot per l'esperança, a novel that won the title of "Selected Work" in the Plaza & Janés International Novel Prize in 1985 and L'informe Phaeton, which has received unanimous acclaim from the public, who say this is my most impressive novel. In historical fiction he has written books set in different eras: The Teacher of Cheops (Néstor Luján Prize Historical Novel 1998); L'anell d'Àtila (Fiter i Rossell Prize 1999); Els ulls d'Anníbal (Charlemagne Prize 2002); La Gran Concubina d'Egipte (Nestor Lujan Prize 2005); the trilogy dedicated to James I the Conqueror (2000)s comprising: El punyal del sarraí, La reina hongaresa and Parleu o mateu-me; the trilogy dedicated to Ali Bey comprising: Maleït català, Maleït musulmà and Maleït cristià; and Obre els ulls i desperta, set in 17th-century Prague.