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Sofia Richie, a model and the daughter of musician Lionel Richie, married Jewish music executive Elliot Grainge on Saturday, less than a month after she said she completed her conversion to Judaism. Earlier this month, Richie had posted on Instagram that Nathan Lam, a prominent Los Angeles cantor, had been “helping me along this journey of converting to Judaism.” Pronouncing her conversion complete on April 3, she posted on Instagram, “It has been one of the greatest experiences of my life.” Richie, 24, and Grainge, 29, tied the knot at a hotel in Antibes, France, where they were married by...

Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev says the entire Balkans will have prosperity and lasting peace when Macedonia joins NATO. Zaev spoke in Sofia, Bulgaria Monday — two days before Macedonia signs the accession protocol at NATO headquarters in Brussels. "Macedonia has been waiting for 27 years to become a member of NATO. Zaev said. "Today, Macedonia has the hope of having open doors." Greece had blocked Macedonia's efforts to join NATO and the EU because of a long-running dispute over the use of the name 'Macedonia' — shared both by a historic region of northern Greece and the former Yugoslav...

The world’s largest airborne observatory was supposed to be parked in Seattle this week, so thousands of scientists attending the “Super Bowl of Astronomy” could behold this marvel: a Boeing 747 outfitted with a massive telescope used to study the fundamental mysteries of the universe. But conference-goers will not be able to see NASA’s space-exploring plane. Its visit to the 233rd Meeting of the American Astronomical Society was canceled, one of a growing list of scientific casualties of the partial government shutdown now stretching into its third week. Along with the plane, hundreds of government scientists are also no longer...

From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and, in many cases, increasing measure of control from Moscow. ~ Winston S. Churchill (1874-1965) (speech, Fulton Missouri, 5 March...

In 271 AD, Roman Emperor Aurelian (r. 270-275 AD) transformed the province of Moesia Superior into the province of Dacia Aureliana with its capital at Serdica (today's Sofia), after vacating Dacia Traiana beyond the Danube. Around 283 AD, Dacia Aureliana was divided into two provinces, Dacia Mediterranea, with its capital at Serdica, and Dacia Ripensis ("Dacia from the banks of the Danube") with its capital at Ratiaria (Colonia Ulpia Ratiaria)... In addition to the portico, i.e. a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, the archaeologists have also unearthed the stylobate, the platform upon...

World's Smartest Woman Denies She is on the Dole in Bulgaria Lifestyle: 14 November 2004, Sunday. The Bulgarian woman, who made headlines after being pronounced the world's cleverest by the country's Mensa office, denied reports she has spent two years without a job in Bulgaria. Daniela Simidchieva, a qualified industrial engineer with a mind-boggling IQ of 200 and five masters degrees, said she was looking for a job to correspond with her qualification and skills. The reports are not true and could discredit me, Daniela told local Trud Daily, commenting reports that she is struggling to find gainful employment, "even...

An Austrian man caused mayhem on an El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Munich on Thursday, when he started shouting about terror attacks and bombs. Two men shot in Munich beer garden (27 May 14) Firefighters rescue man from women’s jail (23 May 14) Cheap flights get pricier as airlines expand (24 Apr 14) The 25-year-old man, from Tyrol, had to be restrained and the Boeing 737 made an emergency landing in Sofia, Bulgaria. About two hours into the flight the man jumped up and started shouting: "Here are the terrorists, we have a bomb! You’ll all be blown...

Archaeologists have discovered colorful floor mosaic from the Roman era near the so-called West Gate of Serdica in downtown Sofia. The news was announced Monday by the Mayor of Sofia, Yordanka Fandakova, who visited the archaeological excavations in the company of her Deputy in charge of Culture, Todor Chobanov. The mosaic has an area of 40 square meters and is located in the ruins of a Roman building discovered for the first time between 1975 and 1980 when archaeologists began exploring the site. The works were later abandoned and remained unfinished. Serdica's West Wall followed the current "Washington" and "Lavelle"...

The Island belongs to the Western Visayas group and is located in the northwestern tip of Panay, in the west Visayas of Region VI, neighboring the Sibuyan Sea. The island has three major Villages namely; Yapak in the North, Balabag in the middle, and Manoc-Manoc in the south, and numerous small barrios or barangays or sitios, all linked together by a maze of paths, labeled into five commercial stations.

She is used to fame as one of the breakout stars of hit US sitcom Modern Family. But it seems sexy actress Sofia Vergara could be set for public life of a different kind after it emerged her millionaire boyfriend is thinking of entering politics. Environmental businessman Nick Loeb is considering running for Florida’s seat in the United States Senate in 2012. And the glamorous Columbian actress and model has vowed to do whatever she can to back him if he decides to throw his hat in the ring. She told People magazine: ‘Of course I will help him, why...

Romania is holding talks with Washington to deploy about 20 interceptor missiles as part of a U.S. missile shield, Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Baconschi said on Feb. 25. Earlier this month, the Balkan country's top defence body approved a U.S. proposal to include Romania in a system it said aimed at providing defence against attack by ballistic missile or mid-range rockets. The move angered Russia, eastern Europe's former Cold War master. "The talks will probably take a year and a half. They concern deploying 20 interceptor devices at different locations in Romania," Baconschi told a news conference in Sofia after...

MADRID (Reuters) - The Queen of Spain drew criticism Friday after she was quoted as condemning gay marriage, gay pride marches and abortion in an upcoming biography. "If these people want to live together, dress as grooms and get married, they might have the right to do so or not, depending on the laws of their countries. But they shouldn't call it marriage, because it isn't," Queen Sofia was quoted as saying. "There are many possible names: social contract, contract of union," she said in extracts from "La Reina Muy de Cerca" (The Queen Up Close) previewed Thursday in the...

PALMDALE - Technicians at the NASA Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale have removed the German-built primary mirror assembly from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy - a telescope carried in a modified Boeing 747 - in preparation for the final finish coating of the mirror. Technicians employed a high-precision crane and other equipment to lift the more than two-ton mirror assembly from its cavity in the rear fuselage of the aircraft, NASA said in an update on the observatory, called SOFIA. After it was removed, the assembly was moved to a clean room where it is being prepared for...

PALMDALE - NASA's SOFIA infrared-observatory aircraft spent several nights parked on an unlit ramp next to its hangar as its telescope team got a working knowledge of how telescope operating systems interact and the experience of tracking celestial targets from the ground. Their primary celestial target was the North Star, NASA said. The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, consists of a modified Boeing 747 jet fitted with a 22-ton German-built infrared telescope. The aircraft is housed at the NASA Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale. In addition to establishing a functional baseline for operation of the telescope's control...

Unique Roman Amphitheatre Slumbers Beneath Sofia Downtown Updated on: 20.02.2008, 14:29 Published on: 19.02.2008, 12:13 Serdica - an ancient names of Sofia, was a military, economic and culture centre in the Roman Empire. And while local culture tourism is redirected to Perperikon and other spots dispersed all over this country, a mystic town slumbers beneath Sofia downtown, told from Standart. The excavations under the medieval St. Sofia church started in the 1940s. There is a huge Roman necropolis under the church with dozens of tombs stretching under the building of the National Assembly. Archaeologists and historians reckon the remnants from...

PALMDALE - The world's newest flying telescope will be in focus on Saturday, June 30, at NASA's Aerospace Exploration Gallery in the Palmdale Civic Center. Dr. Dana Backman will give presentations regarding NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronom beginning at 9 a.m., then repeating at 10:30, noon and 1:30 p.m. Dr. Backman is with the SETI Institute and the Universities Space Research Association and manages SOFIA's education and public outreach program. An infrared astronomer, Backman received his doctoral degree in astrophysics from the University of Hawaii. While Backman was a post-doctoral student at NASA's Ames Research Center, he flew on...

EDWARDS AFB - The latest research aircraft to join the fleet at Dryden Flight Research Center arrived May 31. The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, consists of a 2½-meter (8.2-foot) in diameter infrared telescope mounted inside the 747 airliner, chosen for its ability to house the 45,000-pound telescope. The long-range airliner is capable of remaining airborne for six hours at altitudes higher than 41,000 feet, above much of the atmospheric water vapor. SOFIA will be used to study the universe in the infrared spectrum, as well as to develop observational techniques, instruments and for educational purposes. The aircraft...

A modified 747 airliner designed to carry an infrared telescope took its first flight Thursday, one of several checkout flights planned before it makes its way to a new home at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base. The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, consists of a 2½-meter in diameter infrared telescope mounted inside the 747 airliner, chosen for its ability to house the 45,000-pound telescope. The long-range airliner is capable of remaining airborne for six hours at altitudes higher than 41,000 feet, above much of the atmospheric water vapor. SOFIA will be used to...

International Project Features 20-ton, German Telescope on NASA 747 Aircraft New York, NY – L-3 Communications announced today that NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), completed its first test flight following extensive aircraft modification and telescope integration at the company's L-3 Integrated Systems (L-3 IS) Waco, Texas facility. SOFIA is a Boeing 747SP extensively modified to carry a 45,000-pound (20 metric ton), 98.4-inch (2.5-meter) diameter infrared telescope assembly provided by the German Aerospace Center, DLR. SOFIA will fly at altitudes up to 45,000 feet (13.7 km) - above more than 99 percent of the Earth's water vapor -...

EDWARDS AFB - NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center has awarded a contract to L-3 Communications Integrated Systems, L.P., of Waco, Texas, for continued developmental and engineering work on the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. The cost-plus-award-fee contract could be worth up to $26 million over a five-year period if all options are exercised. The contract took effect Friday, with a 23-month base period extending through Dec. 31, 2008. Three one-year option periods could extend the agreement from Jan. 1, 2009, to Dec. 31, 2011. The tasks that remain for completion of the SOFIA airborne observatory platform involve two major parts,...