Thursday, March 19, 2020

Capital Cities of Every Independent Country

Capital Cities of Every Independent Country There are 195 nations officially recognized as independent countries in the world, each with its own capital city. A significant number of countries have multiple capital cities. Where that occurs, the additional capital cities are listed as well. Is Taiwan a Country? The United Nations list of nations doesnt include Taiwan as separate but as a part of China: 193 U.N. member nations and two nonvoting observer  states, the Vatican City and Palestine. Only 17 nations recognize Taiwan as an independent nation, nine of which are in Latin America; in August 2018 El Salvador severed ties with Taiwan in favor of establishing relations with China, the third country to do so in just over a year. The Countries of the World and their Capitals Check out this alphabetical list of every independent nation and its capital (Taiwan is also included): Afghanistan: KabulAlbania: TiranaAlgeria: AlgiersAndorra: Andorra la VellaAngola: LuandaAntigua and Barbuda: Saint JohnsArgentina: Buenos AiresArmenia: YerevanAustralia: CanberraAustria: ViennaAzerbaijan: BakuThe Bahamas: NassauBahrain: ManamaBangladesh: DhakaBarbados: BridgetownBelarus: MinskBelgium: BrusselsBelize: BelmopanBenin: Porto-NovoBhutan: ThimphuBolivia: La Paz (administrative); Sucre (judicial)Bosnia and Herzegovina: SarajevoBotswana: GaboroneBrazil: BrasiliaBrunei: Bandar Seri BegawanBulgaria: SofiaBurkina Faso: OuagadougouBurundi: Gitega (changed from Bujumbura in December 2018)Cambodia: Phnom PenhCameroon: YaoundeCanada: OttawaCape Verde: PraiaCentral African Republic: BanguiChad: NDjamenaChile: SantiagoChina: BeijingColombia: BogotaComoros: MoroniCongo, Republic of the: BrazzavilleCongo, Democratic Republic of the: KinshasaCosta Rica: San JoseCote dIvoire: Yamoussoukro (official); Abidjan (de facto)Croatia: ZagrebCuba: HavanaCyprus: NicosiaCzech Republic: PragueDenmar k: Copenhagen Djibouti: DjiboutiDominica: RoseauDominican Republic: Santo DomingoEast Timor (Timor-Leste): DiliEcuador: QuitoEgypt: CairoEl Salvador: San SalvadorEquatorial Guinea: MalaboEritrea: AsmaraEstonia: TallinnEthiopia: Addis AbabaFiji: SuvaFinland: HelsinkiFrance: ParisGabon: LibrevilleThe Gambia: BanjulGeorgia: TbilisiGermany: BerlinGhana: AccraGreece: AthensGrenada: Saint GeorgesGuatemala: Guatemala CityGuinea: ConakryGuinea-Bissau: BissauGuyana: GeorgetownHaiti: Port-au-PrinceHonduras: TegucigalpaHungary: BudapestIceland: ReykjavikIndia: New DelhiIndonesia: JakartaIran: TehranIraq: BaghdadIreland: DublinIsrael: Jerusalem*Italy: RomeJamaica: KingstonJapan: TokyoJordan: AmmanKazakhstan: AstanaKenya: NairobiKiribati: Tarawa AtollKorea, North: PyongyangKorea, South: SeoulKosovo: PristinaKuwait: Kuwait CityKyrgyzstan: BishkekLaos: VientianeLatvia: RigaLebanon: BeirutLesotho: MaseruLiberia: MonroviaLibya: TripoliLiechtenstein: VaduzLithuania: VilniusLuxembourg: LuxembourgMacedonia: SkopjeMad agascar: Antananarivo Malawi: LilongweMalaysia: Kuala LumpurMaldives: MaleMali: BamakoMalta: VallettaMarshall Islands: MajuroMauritania: NouakchottMauritius: Port LouisMexico: Mexico CityMicronesia, Federated States of: PalikirMoldova: ChisinauMonaco: MonacoMongolia: UlaanbaatarMontenegro: PodgoricaMorocco: RabatMozambique: MaputoMyanmar (Burma): Rangoon (Yangon); Naypyidaw or Nay Pyi Taw (administrative)Namibia: WindhoekNauru: no official capital; government offices in Yaren DistrictNepal: KathmanduNetherlands: Amsterdam; The Hague (seat of government)New Zealand: WellingtonNicaragua: ManaguaNiger: NiameyNigeria: AbujaNorway: OsloOman: MuscatPakistan: IslamabadPalau: MelekeokPanama: Panama CityPapua New Guinea: Port MoresbyParaguay: AsuncionPeru: LimaPhilippines: ManilaPoland: WarsawPortugal: LisbonQatar: DohaRomania: BucharestRussia: MoscowRwanda: KigaliSaint Kitts and Nevis: BasseterreSaint Lucia: CastriesSaint Vincent and the Grenadines: KingstownSamoa: ApiaSan Marino: San MarinoSao Tome and Principe: Sao Tome Saudi Arabia: RiyadhSenegal: DakarSerbia: BelgradeSeychelles: VictoriaSierra Leone: FreetownSingapore: SingaporeSlovakia: BratislavaSlovenia: LjubljanaSolomon Islands: HoniaraSomalia: MogadishuSouth Africa: Pretoria (administrative); Cape Town (legislative); Bloemfontein (judiciary)South Sudan: Juba  Spain: MadridSri Lanka: Colombo; Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative)Sudan: KhartoumSuriname: ParamariboSwaziland: MbabaneSweden: StockholmSwitzerland: BernSyria: DamascusTaiwan: TaipeiTajikistan: DushanbeTanzania: Dar es Salaam; Dodoma (legislative)Thailand: BangkokTogo: LomeTonga: NukualofaTrinidad and Tobago: Port-of-SpainTunisia: TunisTurkey: AnkaraTurkmenistan: AshgabatTuvalu: Vaiaku village, Funafuti provinceUganda: KampalaUkraine: KyivUnited Arab Emirates: Abu DhabiUnited Kingdom: LondonUnited States of America: Washington, D.C.Uruguay: MontevideoUzbekistan: TashkentVanuatu: Port-VilaVatican City (Holy See): Vatican CityVenezuela: CaracasVietnam: HanoiYemen: SanaaZambia: Lusa kaZimbabwe: Harare An important fact to note is that the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of the State of Israel are all located in Jerusalem, making it the capital; nonetheless, almost all countries maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv. President Donald Trump moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem in 2018 and others may follow, possibly just to curry favor with the United States for aid in their own crises, Eric Olson told the Washington Post. While the listing above is an authoritative listing of the independent countries of the world, it is important to note that there are also more than 60  territories, colonies, and dependencies of independent countries, which often have their own capital cities as well.

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Say No to Your Darlings

Say No to Your Darlings Say No to Your Darlings Say No to Your Darlings By Michael Veteran writers often advise aspiring writers to â€Å"kill your darlings.† Grisly, isnt it, but they all say it. William Faulkner wrote, â€Å"In writing, you must kill all your darlings.† Stephen King wrote, â€Å"kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.† Notice that King said kill three times, but then, we are talking about Stephen King. According to Slates culture editor Forrest Wickman, this advice was originally given by more than a century ago by Cornish writer Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch (his pen name was Q). In On the Art of Writing: Lectures Delivered in the University of Cambridge, 1913–1914, Sir Arthur Q advised: If you here require a practical rule of me, I will present you with this: ‘Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it- whole-heartedly- and delete it before sending your manuscript to press. Murder your darlings. Observe that Sir Q didnt say murder your whole manuscript. And he didnt tell us to ignore your darlings either. No, he encourages us to put our darlings whole-heartedly onto paper. Just dont send that piece of paper to the publisher. And how did our friend Q define darlings? As a piece of exceptionally fine writing, one that happens to have been written by yourself. A darling is not a wickedly appropriate plot twist or a subtle yet deep character insight. No, it is merely a purported example of exceptionally fine writing. Does it further the story or reveal character or do any of the things that truly fine writing does? Erm, no comment. My takeaway on this: if something helps your reader, dont murder it. If it only make it easier to pat yourself on the back, lose it. Sir Q didnt really say to kill your darlings. He said okay, he said murder your darlings. No way am I going to write one thousand words encouraging you to murder a loved one. So let me adjust the analogy. Nobody wants to think about losing a beloved child. We all want to keep our darlings. But just because we love our darlings doesnt mean that right here is the right place for them. Cute as a three-year-old daughter is, I can think of a lot of places in the house that she doesnt need to be, and a lot of things she doesnt need to be doing. We would never get rid of her, but often we need to say no to her. Her cuteness makes it hard to say no, but not less necessary. Im using the singular feminine when I talk about darlings, calling her she, because losing a favorite character or passage or idea can feel giving up a favorite daughter. Deliberately giving her up, by your own choice, seems even worse. Maybe you feel like youre committing child abandonment. Except it isnt really like that. Once your book goes to press, your readers will never miss your darling. They will never know she is missing. Since she didnt really belong in your book, you will never miss her there. Yes, she seems so precious. But having your writing called precious is not usually a compliment. But what if your darling feels real to you, already a three-dimensional character in your mind or deserving to become one? What if you cant give her up? Fortunately, saying no to your darling this time doesnt mean you cant say yes to her later. Just cut and paste the passage into another file on your computer. Yes, you must remove your darling from where she doesnt belong, but you dont have to delete your darling entirely. Maybe she will fit beautifully in another story. She may become the centerpiece, the key to your new masterpiece. By the way, that other file doesnt need to be reserved only for deceased darlings. You should keep an idea file anyway, for all those ideas which you already know they dont fit into your current project. I like to review my idea files sometimes even when Im not particularly working on anything. It makes me feel more brilliant. I have to recognize, however, that not all my darlings are simply misplaced beauties. Maybe that character isnt as three-dimensional as I believed. Maybe Im deceived about the truthfulness of that plot line. Maybe life isnt really like that. Maybe my affection is misplaced. Regardless, once youve done away with your darling, immediately fill in the hole she left. Read over the part just before the cut, and keep on going and writing from there. How do you recognize a darling that needs to be removed? And where do you find the courage to remove her? Well, we often find courage and wisdom in other people. A writer needs other people alpha readers, beta readers, or a writing group. You need these intelligent, literate people to look into your story, to show you how well they appreciate the good parts (demonstrating their great insight), and to share with you how confused or apathetic they felt when they read the other parts. Inconceivable, isnt it, that so many intelligent readers dont appreciate something that is so obviously brilliant. If only one reader has trouble with it, maybe thats his problem. If many readers have trouble with it, maybe theres your problem. And you need to take care of it. Essentially, your darlings are the beloved parts of your work that dont advance your work. And you need others to help you see the truth, just some parents are incapable of seeing that their three-year-old is spoiled until others point it out. Saying no to your darlings will make you stronger. Suffering tends to do that sort of thing. Accepting another point of view will increase your empathy. Youre giving up something you love out of deference to others. Doing so will make you less selfish and a better writer. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Has vs. HadYay, Hooray, Woo-hoo and Other Acclamations10 Varieties of Syntax to Improve Your Writing