United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a sovereign state in the European Union. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, it includes the island of "Great Britain" (a term also applied loosely to refer to the whole country), the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands.Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to its east, the English Channel to its south and the Celtic Sea to its south-southwest. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 93,800 square miles (243,000 km²), the UK is the 80th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also is the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 64.5 million inhabitants.

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. Its capital city is London, an important global city and financial centre with an urban population of 10,310,000, the fourth-largest in Europe and second-largest in the European Union. The current monarch—since 6 February 1952—is Queen Elizabeth II. The UK consists of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The latter three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast, respectively. The nearby Isle of Man, Bailiwick of Guernsey and Bailiwick of Jersey are not part of the United Kingdom, being Crown dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international representation.

Nickelodeon (UK and Ireland)

Nickelodeon UK and Ireland is a television channel dedicated to kids' programming. In the UK and Ireland it is operated under a joint venture between Viacom International Media Networks Europe and Sky plc.

On 1 September 1993, a localised version of the US channel launched in the United Kingdom and much later in Ireland. In the United Kingdom, the channel is available on Sky, Virgin Media, and TalkTalk Plus TV. In Ireland, the channel is available on Virgin Media Ireland, eVision and Sky Ireland.

History

The channel launched on satellite (as part of British Sky Broadcasting's Sky Multichannels package) on 1 September 1993, originally airing for 12 hours and showing both cartoons and live action series. Off air the channel would air static logos, schedule information and teletext. Live presentation followed in 1994, branded as Nick Alive! From October 1995 it shared space with Paramount Channel. When Sky launched in 1998, Nickelodeon was in the original channel line-up on Astra 2A, and the channel was aired for three more hours. However, analogue satellite services continued to shut down Nickelodeon at 7 p.m. each day until analogue satellite was discontinued in 2001. Later, additional channels were added such as Nick Jr. and a timeshift version.

The United

The United (Arabic: المتحدين) is a 2012 film produced by Touchstone Pictures. It was conceived as Disney's first ever Arabic-language film, intended primarily for Middle Eastern audiences. Produced by Rachel Gandin, The United was directed by Amin Matalqa, written by Nizar Wattad, and features performances from Farouk Al-Fishawy, Waleed Zuaiter, Bosaina, and Amir Scandar. It was shot in and around Amman, Jordan in January 2011 by veteran cinematographer Ray Peschke, and edited by Debbie Berman. In addition to an original score by composer, Omar Fadel, the United also features a vocal collaboration between three of the Arab world's best known rappers, Omar Offendum, Deeb, and Salah Edin.

Synopsis

The film tells the story of a down-and-out Egyptian soccer coach, his former superstar player, and his determined granddaughter as they gather a team of the best youth soccer players from around the Arab world.

Release

As of October 2012, the release date of The United remained uncertain, due to ongoing instability in the Middle Eastern region.

Great Britain

Great Britain, also known as Britain ⁱ/ˈbrɪ.tən/, is an island in the North Atlantic off the north-west coast of continental Europe. With an area of 209,331 km² (80,823 sq mi), it is the largest island in Europe and the ninth-largest in the world. In 2011 the island had a population of about 61 million people, making it the third-most populous island in the world, after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan. It accounts for the majority of the British Isles archipelago, along with over 1,000 smaller surrounding islands, including the island of Ireland to its west.

The island is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, constituting most of its territory: most of England, Scotland, and Wales are on the island, with their respective capital cities, London, Edinburgh, and Cardiff. Politically, the term Great Britain usually extends to include surrounding islands that form part of England, Scotland, and Wales.

A single Kingdom of Great Britain resulted from the Union of Scotland and England (which already comprised the present-day countries of England and Wales) in 1707. More than a hundred years before, in 1603, King James VI, King of Scots, had inherited the throne of England, but it was not until 1707 that the Parliaments of the two countries agreed to form a unified state. Subsequently, in 1801, Great Britain united with the neighbouring Kingdom of Ireland, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The state was renamed the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" after five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom in 1922.