Sintra is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 377,835, in an area of 319.23 square kilometres (123.26 sq mi). Sintra is a major tourist destination in Portugal, famed for its picturesqueness and for its numerous historic palaces and castles. Sintra is also a major luxury dining and tourism destination within the Portuguese Riviera, as well as one of the wealthiest municipalities in the country, and is known for the numerous notable events hosted in Sintra, such as Bilderberg Meetings and the Open de Portugal. read more…
Diekirch is a commune with town status in north-eastern Luxembourg, capital city of the canton Diekirch and, until its abolition in 2015, the district of Diekirch. The town is situated on the banks of the Sauer river. Diekirch was the first town in Luxembourg to have a pedestrian zone, in 1977. Diekirch is home to a brewery of national importance carrying the town’s name. The town’s mascot is the donkey. There is a donkey fountain in the centre of Diekirch. The yearly cavalcade (carnival procession) is held under the sign of the donkey. read more…
Esch-sur-Alzette is a commune with town status in south-western Luxembourg. It is the country’s second “city”, and its second-most populous commune, with a population of 35,040 inhabitants, as of 2018. It lies in the south-west of the country, on the border with France and in the valley of the Alzette, which flows through the town. The town is usually referred to as just Esch; however, the full name distinguishes it from the village and commune of Esch-sur-Sûre which lies 45 kilometres (28 miles) further north. The country’s capital, Luxembourg City, is roughly 15 km (9.3 mi) to the north-east. The town has the longest shopping street in Luxembourg. On November 10, 2017, Esch was selected by the European Council as the European Capital of Culture in 2022 on the recommendation of the responsible committee. The city shares this title with the Lithuanian city of Kaunas. In addition to the other ten municipalities of the PROSUD syndicate, the municipalities of the Pays Haut Val d’Alzette municipal association across the border in France will also take part in the events. read more…
Île-de-France (literally “Island of France”) is the most populous of the 18 regions of France. It is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the Région Parisienne (“Paris Region”) because it includes the city of Paris. Île-de-France is densely populated and economically important: it covers only 12,012 square kilometres (4,638 square miles), about 2% of France’s territory, but has an official estimated population of 12,213,364 (18.2% of the population of France) and accounts for nearly 30% of the French Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Although the modern name Île-de-France literally means “Island of France”, the etymology is in fact unclear. The “island” may refer to the land between the rivers Oise, Marne and Seine, or it may also have been a reference to the Île de la Cité, where the French royal palace and cathedral were located. read more…
Ettelbruck is a commune with town status in central Luxembourg, with a population of 8,926 inhabitants, as of 2019. The towns of Warken and Grentzingen are also within the commune. Until 1850, both Erpeldange and Schieren were part of the Ettelbruck commune as well, but both towns were detached from Ettelbruck by law on 1 July 1850. read more…
George Soros is a Hungarian–Americanbillionaire investor and philanthropist. As of May 2020, he had a net worth of $8.3 billion, having donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundations. Born in Budapest, Soros survived Nazi Germany–occupied Hungary and moved to the United Kingdom in 1947. He attended the London School of Economics, graduating with a bachelor’s and eventually a master’s degree in philosophy. Soros began his business career by taking various jobs at merchant banks in the United Kingdom and then the United States, before starting his first hedge fund, Double Eagle, in 1969. Profits from his first fund furnished the seed money to start Soros Fund Management, his second hedge fund, in 1970. Double Eagle was renamed to Quantum Fund and was the principal firm Soros advised. At its founding, Quantum Fund had $12 million in assets under management, and as of 2011 it had $25 billion, the majority of Soros’s overall net worth. read more…
Differdange is a commune with town status in south-western Luxembourg, 17 miles (27 km) west from the country’s capital. It lies near the borders with Belgium and France and it is located in the canton of Esch-sur-Alzette. With a population of around 26,000, Differdange is the country’s third largest city. It is also the main town of the commune, and other towns within the commune include Lasauvage, Niederkorn, and Oberkorn. Differdange is an industrial town that was home to much of Luxembourg’s steel production, much of its development occurred during its heyday. Today, Differdange still remains an important industrial center, with ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel producer, retaining an important steel factory in the town. read more…
