"Tupeni Lebaivalu Baba is a Fijian academic and politician, who founded the now-defunct New Labour Unity Party. Most members of this party later merged with several other centrist parties to form the Fiji Democratic Party (now part of the National Alliance Party). A former Professor of Education at the University of the South Pacific (USP), he later served as a senior research fellow at the Centre for Pacific Studies at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, from 2001 to the end of 2005. In the general election scheduled for 6–13 May 2006, Baba attempted a political comeback, this time on the ticket of the ruling Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL), a political switch that generated a considerable degree of public discussion. Although his bid was unsuccessful, he was subsequently appointed to the Senate as one of nine nominees of the Fijian government. == Political career == Baba was a founding member of the Fiji Labour Party in the mid-1980s and was elected in 1987 to the House of Representatives as a candidate of the Labour-National Federation Party Coalition, which brought Timoci Bavadra to power. A month later, the new government was deposed in a coup led by Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka. Baba returned to his academic career, taking a post as a lecturer at the University of Suva, where he remained until 1999, when he was again elected to Parliament and became Foreign Minister and one of two Deputy Prime Ministers in the government of Mahendra Chaudhry. During the coup of 2000 in which most members of the government were kidnapped by George Speight, Baba's courage as one of the hostages earned him considerable public respect. Baba launched the NLUP in June 2001 after resigning from the Fiji Labour Party (FLP) of former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, who had been deposed in the Fiji coup of 2000. The breach followed months of intra-party infighting, much of which preceded the coup. Large numbers of anti-Chaudhry dissidents followed him out of the party into the New Labour Unity Party. Baba's departure was thought to be one of the reasons why the Labour Party lost the elections held to restore democracy in September 2001; its share of the vote among ethnic Fijians dropped to around two percent. Baba's NLUP captured two seats, although Baba himself was not elected. During the campaign, he called on the electorate not to support his former party, warning that a return to a government led by Chaudhry could result in another coup. For this, he was accused of fear- mongering. == Life outside politics == Baba waited until 2005 to reiterate and clarify his reasons for leaving the Labour Party. It was no longer the party he had joined under the leadership of Timoci Bavadra in the 1980s, he said on 18 September 2005. Bavadra's vision had been of a multiracial Fiji, but the present leadership of the party could not see past ethnic boundaries. All that was left of Bavadra's party was the name, he said. He expressed disappointment at Chaudhry's failure as Leader of the Opposition to work with Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase on matters of national importance, saying that when the party negotiated with the government at all, it appeared more like a trade union than a political party. In a multiethnic country like Fiji, Baba said, it was imperative that leaders look beyond ethnic boundaries. On 22 December 2005, Baba said that he would pursue academic and consultancy work after completing his four-year contract at the University of Auckland, which expired at the end of 2005. He was happy to be away from politics, he said, and was not inclined to return to it. He found recent political trends in Fiji depressing, especially the polarization of political parties on ethnic lines. Questioned again by the Fiji Village news service on 16 February, after his return to Fiji, he refused to be drawn on whether he would contest the 2006 election or not, but made it clear that he was no longer affiliated with the FLP. == Speight of Violence == On 15 May 2005, the publication of "Speight of Violence," coauthored by Baba, his wife Unaisi Nabobo-Baba (a fellow USP academic (at the time) now (2011) of the University of Guam) and journalist Michael Field, generated controversy with the claim that Mahendra Chaudhry had promised him the Prime Ministership before and during the 1999 election campaign, and that Chaudhry had reneged on that promise. Chaudhry reacted strongly to the allegation, saying that no such promise was or would have been made. An FLP press release called Baba was "a frustrated and embitterered" person who had left the Labour Party after a failed bid for the leadership. "Speight of Violence" is based largely on a diary that Baba claims to have compiled secretly while held hostage by Speight's loyalists, but also gives background information, from Baba's perspective, on political events up to and following the coup. == SDL convert, 2006 == The Fiji Times reported on 11 March 2006 that the ruling SDL had approached Baba with an invitation to contest the parliamentary election scheduled for 6–13 May under the SDL banner. On 18 March, the SDL announced that Baba had been approved as its candidate for the Tamavua Samabula Open Constituency. Fiji Village quoted Baba as saying that his decision to join the SDL was motivated by what he called the lack of leadership in the FLP. FLP politicians, however, poured derision on the move. Leader Mahendra Chaudhry said that Baba was a deserter, and that the SDL must be "hard up for candidates" to have selected a man like him, while Deputy Leader Poseci Bune told the Fiji Sun that he was baffled by the turn of events. "He used to be a liberal left winger but now he is back to nationalist. SDL must be desperate for candidates," he surmised. Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (SVT) General Secretary Ema Druavesi also expressed disappointment with Baba's decision, saying he had joined a party lacking "the character of a good leadership." The Fiji Times quoted Baba on 20 March as saying that the SDL was "the only alternative for Fiji moving forward." He praised its success in reviving the economy; he conceded that some of its legislation was controversial, but saw it as an attempt to move the country forward. He still considered himself a liberal and a socialist, he said, but insisted that had to be seen in the multiracial context of Fiji. His former party, the FLP, gave mere lip service to multiracialism, he charged. "I have responded to the request of the SDL party according to the mood of politics because I am fed up of confrontational and negative politics," he said. == The 2006 coup d'état == Towards the end of 2006, the Fijian government announced that Baba would be its next Ambassador to the United Nations. This plan was aborted, however, by a military coup on 5 December. The Military later announced that Baba might face investigation for his alleged links to international fraudster Peter Foster. == Return to politics == Baba helped to found the Social Democratic Liberal Party (SDLP) as the successor party to the SDL, which the Military-backed interim government had dissolved. He briefly led the party in 2014, but made way for Ro Teimumu Kepa, a high chief and former Cabinet Minister. He was not a candidate in the general elections held in 2014. == Personal life == Dr Tupeni Baba is married to Associate Professor of Education Dr Unaisi Nabobo-Baba of the University of Guam. Together they have one son only. Previously, Baba had a son, Viliame, and a daughter, Raijeli, with his first wife, Miriama Raitasia Cagilaba, a native of Natewa in Cakaudrove Province. Miriama is the younger sister of Lady Bale Ganilau, the wife of former Governor-General and first President, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau. In 2002, Raijeli married the then-Chief Justice, Sir Timoci Tuivaga. A lawyer, Raijeli continues to work in the law and runs her own practice in Suva. Baba is related to Sitiveni Rabuka, who deposed the 1987 government in which he served. Category:Fiji Labour Party politicians Category:I-Taukei Fijian members of the Senate (Fiji) Category:I-Taukei Fijian members of the House of Representatives (Fiji) Category:Fijian Methodists Category:Living people Category:Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua politicians Category:People educated at Lelean Memorial School Category:University of Auckland faculty Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Social Democratic Liberal Party politicians Category:Foreign Ministers of Fiji Category:New Labour Unity Party politicians Category:Politicians from Cakaudrove Province "

— Tupeni Baba 🌸

"Centurion (previously known as Verwoerdburg and before that Lyttelton) is a town with 236,580 (2011 Census) inhabitants in the Gauteng Province of South Africa, located between Pretoria and Midrand (Johannesburg). Formerly an independent municipality, with its own town council, it has formed part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality since 2000. Its heart is located at the intersection of the N1 and N14 freeways. The R21 also passes through Centurion. The Waterkloof Air Force Base, as well as the Swartkop Air Force Base (which includes the South African Air Force Museum) are located in Centurion. == History Pre-historic === Fossils discovered at the Sterkfontein Caves show that hominids lived in the vicinity of Centurion between 2 and 3 million years ago. The Sterkfontein Caves, a World Heritage Site, is less than 50 km from Centurion, near Mogale City and Krugersdorp. However, the earliest evidence of modern human habitation in the Centurion area does not go this far back. It dates back to 1200 AD when black African communities settled in this area. They cultivated lands, grazed their cattle, made earthenware containers and melted iron. === 19th century=== From 1825 to 1826 the Matabele peoples defeated the Bakwena tribe and established Mhlahlandlela under the leadership of Mzilikazi, what would later become Centurion. In 1841 the Erasmus family arrived and settled in the area. Daniel Jacobus Erasmus settled on the farm Zwartkop, Daniel Elardus Erasmus on the farm Doornkloof and Rasmus Elardus Erasmus developed the farm Brakfontein. Several of the suburbs like Erasmia, Elardus Park, Zwartkop and Doornkloof were named after these 19th-century owners of the land and their properties. In 1849 Rev Andrew Murray visited the farm Doornkloof and christened 129 babies, heard the profession of faith of 29 new members of the Reformed Church and the next day, 29 December 1849, celebrated communion. In 1889 Alois Hugo Nelmapius bought the northern and north-eastern portions of the farm Doornkloof and named it after his daughter Irene (who died in 1961). First Anglo-Boer War As part of the First Boer War, the battle for Rooihuiskraal (Afrikaans for "Red House Kraal") took place in 1881 here. A Boer commando under the leadership of D.J. Erasmus Jr defeated Colonel Gildea, or "The Blasted Colonel" as they called him, the British Officer Commanding of the Pretoria Garrison. After the cornered British garrison tried to escape to Natal to join General George Pomeroy Colley, the Boers entrenched themselves behind a stone wall surrounding the animal stockade, and wounded the colonel in the backside, who was standing upright in his stirrups. Second Anglo- Boer War Photograph of the Irene concentration camp During the Second Boer War the Irene Concentration Camp was established in 1901 on the farm Doornkloof, as part of the British scorched earth policy, where Boer women and children were housed under extremely poor conditions. At its peak the camp had 5,500 inhabitants, mostly women and children. Between February 1901 and the end of the war in 1902, 1,249 lost their lives here, about 1,000 of them children. The Irene Camp Cemetery is well preserved and contains 576 of the original slate tombstones that were carved by hand in the camp. === 20th century === The town of Irene was established in 1902 when 337 plots were laid out on the farm Doornkloof. Jan Smuts later owned this farm, and died there in 1950. The original Smuts House is a museum today. Centurion developed from the initial Lyttelton Township that was marked out on the farm Droogegrond in 1904. Lyttelton Manor Extension 1 was established in 1942. These two townships initially resorted under the Peri Urban Board in Pretoria. Centurion was granted City Council status in 1962 as Lyttelton. It was formed by combining the areas of Doornkloof, Irene and Lyttelton. In 2000, the Centurion local government became part of the newly created City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, which also includes Pretoria, and the town ceased to have its own Town Council. === Name changes and post-apartheid reorganisation === Aerial view of Zwartkops-Raceway Lyttelton was renamed Verwoerdburg in 1967, after Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd, the former prime minister of South Africa who was assassinated the previous year. The surrounding areas, as they grew, came under the same name and Lyttelton became known as one of the suburbs of Verwoerdburg. Others included Clubview, Eldoraigne, Kloofsig, Wierdapark, Zwartkop and their extensions. The name Centurion was chosen by residents in 1995 (without the option to retain the existing name), soon after the end of apartheid, to match the name of the Centurion Park (now called SuperSport Park) cricket stadium which is located in the area. Following the end of apartheid, the Indian township of Laudium and surrounding suburbs including Erasmia and Claudius, which were formerly a part of Pretoria, were made part of Centurion. A black township, called Olievenhoutbosch, was established in Centurion at around the same time. == Geography Suburbs of Centurion=== * Amberfield * Brakfontein * Bronberrick * Celtisdal * Centurion Central * Claudius * Clubview * De Hoewes * Doringkloof * Eldoraigne * Erasmia * Gerhardsville * Hennopspark * Heritage Hill * Heuweloord * Highveld * Hoekplaats * Irene * Kloofsig * Knoppieslaagte * Kosmosdal * Laezonia AH * Laudium * Louwlardia * Lyttelton * Lyttelton Manor * Mnandi * Monavoni * Olievenhoutbosch * Pierre van Ryneveld Park * Pretoria Rural * Raslouw * Rooihuiskraal * Rooihuiskraal North * Skurweplaas * Southdowns * Sunderland Ridge * Thaba Tshwane * Thatchfield * The Reeds * Valhalla * Vlakplaats * Waterkloof 378-Jr * Wierdapark * Zwartkop === Climate === Centurion is located on the Highveld like Johannesburg and Pretoria and has a similar climate, with dry, sunny winters (max. daytime temperature around 20 °C dropping to an average minimum of 5 °C), and warm to hot summers (October - April) tempered by late-afternoon showers often accompanied by spectacular thunder and lightning. Hailstorms are not uncommon, but a serious hailstorm has not happened for many years. Summer temperatures range from the mid-20s to the mid-30s (°Celsius). Centurion's weather tends to follow the slightly warmer Pretoria, when compared to that of Johannesburg. The Hennops River flows through the heart of Centurion, and causes occasional flooding when heavy rainfall has occurred. == Military == AFB Waterkloof and AFB Swartkop are located in Centurion. Other military support services, like the former Military Medical Institute (now the Institute for Aviation Medicine), and the former Base Workshops and Vehicle Reserve Park (4VRP) were based in Centurion. It appears that 101 Air Supply Unit SAOSC is located in Lyttleton, Gauteng. There is also a South African Army installation in the area. Technical Base Complex Centurion is home to the 2 Parachute Battalion (a reserve force unit), 44 Parachute Engineers, 1 Military Printing Regiment, 4 Survey and Map Regiment, and the Army Engineer Formation. It also houses the Technical Service Training Centre, and units from the SAMHS and the SAAF. The base's TEK appellation may be derived from "Tegnies Basis Werkswinkel". It has a housing complex for active members. In addition, separately, the reserve force 3 Parachute Battalion is also headquartered in the town. === Memorials === *The South African Air Force memorial is located at AFB Swartkop. *The Irene Concentration Camp Cemetery and Garden of Remembrance is located on Stopforth Road in Irene. * There is also a World War 2 memorial dedicated to South African Air Force members who gave their lives in the conflict, located on Cornwall Hill. == Society and culture Media = Museums === * South African Air Force Museum * Centurion Art Museum === Sport === SuperSport Park, Centurion Cricket is the most popular sport in Centurion. It has hosted many cricket tournaments like 2003 Cricket World Cup, 2005 Women's Cricket World Cup, 2007 ICC World Twenty20, 2009 IPL and 2009 ICC Champions Trophy. Boxing Day Test will be played starting from 2013/14 season. Stadiums * SuperSport Park == Government == The Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) previously had its head office in Lake Buena Vista Building in Centurion. == Education Primary education === * Laerskool Bakenkop * Laerskool Doringkloof * Laerskool Hennopspark * Laerskool Fleur * Irene Primary School * Laerskool Louis Leipoldt * Lyttelton Primary School * Springvale Primary School * Southdowns College * Laerskool Wierdapark * Regio Centurion Onafhanklike Laerskool * Cresta College * Laerskool Swartkop * Laerskool Rooihuiskraal * Village Montessori School * Wierda Park Primary School === Secondary education === * Cornwall Hill College * Cresta College * Hoërskool Centurion * Hoërskool Eldoraigne * Hoërskool Uitsig * Hoërskool Zwartkop * Sutherland High School * Lyttelton Manor High School * Southdowns College == Economy Rapid growth === Centurion has come a long way from being a large town south of Pretoria, with smallholdings and large open spaces. Having experienced growth since 1994, like the rest of urban South Africa, many businesses have relocated there, and property development is boosting the ever-expanding city limits. This development has meant there is now little break between the outskirts of Pretoria to the north, and Midrand and Johannesburg to the south. The Gauteng Provincial Government envisages that, according to current growth trends, much of the Gauteng province will be a megalopolis by 2015. === Centurion Aerospace Village (CAV) === The CAV was formally established in 2006 in order to create an aerospace supplier park where anchor firms are at the centre of the aerospace cluster and are supported by small and medium-sized producers. The supplier park is modelled on the local automotive industry and mirrors similar international parks, such as Silicon Valley, in California, and Toulouse, in France. The CAV is located in Pierre van Ryneveld Park, Tshwane, on state-owned land, adjacent to Aerosud Holdings, and along the eastern boundary of the Waterkloof Air Force Base. Aerosud was selected by the South African Department of Trade and Industry to be the industry driver and catalyst for this development. The CAV development was made possible with the financial support of the European Union and the South African government, through the Sector-Wide Support Enterprise, Employment and Equity Programme (SWEEEP). === Infrastructure === Today Centurion features modern shopping malls (Centurion Mall, Mall@Reds, Forest Hill City Mall), several entertainment spots, a theatre, golf courses and a driving range. Several hotels including Irene Country Lodge as well as a plethora of smaller guest houses. The Unitas hospital is the largest private hospital on the African continent (including a helipad) and is part of the Netcare group. Technology companies like Aerosud, Accenture, Denel Dynamics, Siemens, SAAB Grintek Technologies, Telkom and others such as GMC Aircon are located in Centurion. The Gautrain has a station in Centurion. == Centurion Mall == Established during 1983/1984, the Centurion Mall was constructed around the Centurion Lake (on the Hennops River) and was the only shopping centre with the standard big- name retailers of that time in Centurion until the 21st century. In 2003, the mall underwent its first major revamp which was estimated at around 250 million ZAR. 29,760 m2 of retail space was added to the mall bringing the mall's total size to 105,000 m2, making it the second largest shopping centre in the Tshwane metropolitan area. The mall was also famous for its man-made colour water fountain amenity, which was located in the centre of the lake, on the north side of the mall (known as the 'bay' area). This very same water feature has been used as a 'logo' for the former City of Centurion, seen at many of the entrances of the previous municipality. == References == Category:Populated places in the City of Tshwane Category:Populated places founded by Afrikaners "

— Centurion, Gauteng 🌸

"Map of Woleai Woleai, also known as Oleai, is a coral atoll of twenty-two islands in the eastern Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in the Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia and is located approximately west-northwest of Ifalik and northeast of Eauripik. Woleai is also the name of the largest of the islets constituting the atoll, lying to the northeast. The population of the atoll was 1,081 in 2000,Yap State Census Report, 2000 (PDF) on an area of 4.5 km2. ==Geography== The islands constitute a double atoll forming the number eight, with a total length of and up to wide; however, most of reef on the southern rim is submerged or poorly developed. The northern and eastern rims have several relatively large islets. The western lagoon is deeper and larger than its eastern counterpart. Both components are part of the same seamount. The total land area for both components combined is only . ==History== Woleai is culturally unique because a script was in use among some speakers of the Woleaian language prior to 1913. As with all of the Caroline Islands, sovereignty passed to the Empire of Germany in 1899. The atoll came under the control of the Empire of Japan after World War I, and was subsequently administered under the South Seas Mandate. In 1944, as the Allied forces closed in on the Mariana Islands, Woleai was heavily fortified by a contingent of 6,426 troops from the Imperial Japanese Army’s IJA 50th Independent Mixed Brigade and Imperial Japanese Navy’s 44th Base Guard Unit and 216th Base Construction Unit. Wolfe Islet was completely leveled, and made into an airfield with a single runway and taxiway. A seaplane anchorage was also constructed off the south-west corner of Woleai Islet. The island and its military facilities were bombed on numerous occasions through the end of 1944 until the middle of 1945, driving its defenders underground, and isolating them from supplies or reinforcements. By the surrender of Japan, only 1,650 survivors remained, the rest having perished by starvation or disease. The survivors were recovered by on September 17, 1945.http://www.desausa.org/images5/uss_sloat_de_245_woleai_surrender.htm Surrender of Woleai Following World War II, the atoll came under the control of the United States of America. It was administered as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands from 1947, and became part of the Federated States of Micronesia beginning 1979. ==Education== Public schools:"Higher Education in the Federated States of Micronesia." Embassy of the Federated States of Micronesia Washington DC. Retrieved on February 23, 2018. * Woleai High School ==References== * Columbia Gazetteer of the World. Vol. 1, p. 900 * Skog, Captain Peter (2019). A Unique Live at Sea. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse UK. . ==External links== * *Pacific Wrecks *Woleai Atoll Surrender *V6T Amateur Radio Woleai Category:Islands of Yap Category:Municipalities of Yap Category:Atolls of the Federated States of Micronesia "

— Woleai 🌸