Sealand

Sealand may refer to:

Places

Other uses

See also

Red Bull

Red Bull is an energy drink sold by Austrian company Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the highest-selling energy drink in the world, with 5.387 billion cans sold in 2013.

Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an existing energy drink named Krating Daeng, which was first invented and sold in Thailand. He took this idea, modified the ingredients to suit the tastes of Westerners, and, in partnership with Chaleo Yoovidhya, founded Red Bull GmbH in 1987 in Chakkapong, Thailand. In Thai, daeng means red, and krating is the large bovine called "gaur". Red Bull is sold in a tall and slim blue-silver can, while Krating Daeng is in a gold shorter can. The two are different products, produced separately.

The Red Bull company slogan is "Red Bull gives you wings", and the product is marketed through advertising, events (Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, Red Bull Air Race, Red Bull Crashed Ice), sports team ownerships (RB Leipzig, FC Red Bull Salzburg, Red Bull Brasil, New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Racing, Scuderia Toro Rosso), celebrity endorsements, and music, through its record label Red Bull Records.

President of France

The President of the French Republic (French: Président de la République française, French pronunciation: ​[pÊ?ezidɑ̃ dÉ™ la Ê?epyblik fÊ?ɑ̃sÉ›z]), is the executive head of state of the French Fifth Republic. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, and their relation with the first minister and cabinets has over time differed with the various French constitutions.

The President of France is also the ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, Grand Master of the Légion d'honneur and the Ordre national du Mérite and honorary proto-canon of the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome.

The current President of France is François Hollande, who took office on 15 May 2012.

Election

Since the Referendum on the Direct Election of the President of the French Republic in 1962, the President has been directly elected by universal suffrage; he or she was previously elected by an electoral college.

After the Referendum on the Reduction of the Mandate of the President of the French Republic, 2000, the length of the term was reduced from seven to five years; the first election to a shorter term was held in 2002. President Chirac was first elected in 1995 and again in 2002. At that time, there was no limit on the number of terms, so Chirac could have run again, but chose not to. He was succeeded by Nicolas Sarkozy on 16 May 2007.

Principality of Sealand

The Principality of Sealand is an unrecognised micronation that claims Roughs Tower, an offshore platform located in the North Sea approximately 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) off the coast of Suffolk, England, as its territory. Roughs Tower is a disused Maunsell Sea Fort, originally called HM Fort Roughs, built as an anti-aircraft defensive gun platform by the British during World War II.

Since 1967, the decommissioned HM Fort Roughs has been occupied by family and associates of Paddy Roy Bates, who claim that it is an independent sovereign state. Bates seized it from a group of pirate radio broadcasters in 1967 with the intention of setting up his own station at the site. He attempted to establish Sealand as a nation-state in 1975 with the writing of a national constitution and establishment of other national symbols.

While it has been described as the world's smallest country or nation, Sealand is not officially recognised by any established sovereign state in spite of Sealand's government's claim that it has been de facto recognised by the United Kingdom and Germany. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in force since 1994 states "Artificial islands, installations and structures do not possess the status of islands. They have no territorial sea of their own, and their presence does not affect the delimitation of the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone or the continental shelf". Sealand was not grandfathered, and sits in British waters.