Answer: National Bank of Tuvalu

Context: Banking services are provided by the National Bank of Tuvalu. Public sector workers make up about 65% of those formally employed. Remittances from Tuvaluans living in Australia and New Zealand, and remittances from Tuvaluan sailors employed on overseas ships are important sources of income for Tuvaluans. Approximately 15% of adult males work as seamen on foreign-flagged merchant ships. Agriculture in Tuvalu is focused on coconut trees and growing pulaka in large pits of composted soil below the water table. Tuvaluans are otherwise involved in traditional subsistence agriculture and fishing.

Question: What business provides banking services on Tuvalu?


Answer: overseas

Question: Where are many of those who provide income to residents earning?


Answer: seamen

Question: How do 15% of male Tuvaluans earn their income?


Answer: 65%

Question: What percentage of the Tuvalu workforce is in the public sector?


Answer: agriculture and fishing.

Question: What are the traditional forms of living employed by Tuvaluans?


Answer: Tuvalu Maritime Training Institute

Context: Tuvaluans are well known for their seafaring skills, with the Tuvalu Maritime Training Institute on Amatuku motu (island), Funafuti, providing training to approximately 120 marine cadets each year so that they have the skills necessary for employment as seafarers on merchant shipping. The Tuvalu Overseas Seamen's Union (TOSU) is the only registered trade union in Tuvalu. It represents workers on foreign ships. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimates that 800 Tuvaluan men are trained, certified and active as seafarers. The ADB estimates that, at any one time, about 15% of the adult male population works abroad as seafarers. Job opportunities also exist as observers on tuna boats where the role is to monitor compliance with the boat's tuna fishing licence.

Question: What school provides maritime education on Tuvalu?


Answer: 120

Question: What is the yearly number of cadets at the Maritime Training Institute?


Answer: Tuvalu Overseas Seamen's Union

Question: What is the only trade union on Tuvalu?


Answer: on foreign ships

Question: On what does the Seaman'd Union represent workers?


Answer: 800

Question: How many Tuvaluan men are active seafarers?


Answer: $2.2 million

Context: Government revenues largely come from sales of fishing licenses, income from the Tuvalu Trust Fund, and from the lease of its highly fortuitous .tv Internet Top Level Domain (TLD). In 1998, Tuvalu began deriving revenue from the use of its area code for premium-rate telephone numbers and from the commercialisation of its ".tv" Internet domain name, which is now managed by Verisign until 2021. The ".tv" domain name generates around $2.2 million each year from royalties, which is about ten per cent of the government's total revenue. Domain name income paid most of the cost of paving the streets of Funafuti and installing street lighting in mid-2002. Tuvalu also generates income from stamps by the Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau and income from the Tuvalu Ship Registry.

Question: How much money does Tuvalu's tv domain name earn each year?


Answer: Top Level Domain

Question: What si Tuvalu's tv domain?


Answer: Verisign

Question: What company is managing Tuvalu's tv domain?


Answer: ten per cent

Question: How much of the total government revenue comes from the domain name?


Answer: Tuvalu Ship Registry

Question: What income source does Tuvalu earn from shipping?


Answer: least developed

Context: The United Nations designates Tuvalu as a least developed country (LDC) because of its limited potential for economic development, absence of exploitable resources and its small size and vulnerability to external economic and environmental shocks. Tuvalu participates in the Enhanced Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries (EIF), which was established in October 1997 under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation. In 2013 Tuvalu deferred its graduation from least developed country (LDC) status to a developing country to 2015. Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga said that this deferral was necessary to maintain access by Tuvalu to the funds provided by the United Nations's National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA), as "Once Tuvalu graduates to a developed country, it will not be considered for funding assistance for climate change adaptation programmes like NAPA, which only goes to LDCs". Tuvalu had met targets so that Tuvalu was to graduate from LDC status. Prime minister, Enele Sopoaga wants the United Nations to reconsider its criteria for graduation from LDC status as not enough weight is given to the environmental plight of small island states like Tuvalu in the application of the Environmental Vulnerability Index (EVI).

Question: What is the UN developmental designation for Tuvalu?


Answer: deferred its graduation

Question: What did Tuvalu do in 2013 in regards to it least developed country status?


Answer: World Trade Organisation

Question: What organization sponsors an assistance program for least developed countries?


Answer: funding assistance

Question: What would Tuvalu have lost as a developed country?


Answer: environmental

Question: What type of problem does the current developed country rating not take into enough consideration?


Answer: Radio Tuvalu

Context: The Tuvalu Media Department of the Government of Tuvalu operates Radio Tuvalu which broadcasts from Funafuti. In 2011 the Japanese government provided financial support to construct a new AM broadcast studio. The installation of upgraded transmission equipment allows Radio Tuvalu to be heard on all nine islands of Tuvalu. The new AM radio transmitter on Funafuti replaced the FM radio service to the outer islands and freed up satellite bandwidth for mobile services. Fenui – news from Tuvalu is a free digital publication of the Tuvalu Media Department that is emailed to subscribers and operates a Facebook page, which publishes news about government activities and news about Tuvaluan events, such as a special edition covering the results of the 2015 general election.

Question: What is the radio station on Tuvalu?


Answer: Funafuti

Question: From where does Radio Tuvalu broadcast?


Answer: Japanese government

Question: Who gave financial support to Tuvalu to upgrade transmission equipment?


Answer: FM radio

Question: What did the new radio equipment replace with AM service?


Answer: mobile

Question: What service got more bandwidth from the transmission upgrade?


Answer: Funafuti

Context: Funafuti is the only port but there is a deep-water berth in the harbour at Nukufetau. The merchant marine fleet consists of two passenger/cargo ships Nivaga III and Manu Folau. These ships carry cargo and passengers between the main atolls and travel between Suva, Fiji and Funafuti 3 to 4 times a year. The Nivaga III and Manu Folau provide round trip visits to the outer islands every three or four weeks. The Manu Folau is a 50-metre vessel that was a gift from Japan to the people of Tuvalu. In 2015 the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) assisted the government of Tuvalu to acquire MV Talamoana, a 30-metre vessel that will be used to implement Tuvalu's National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) to transport government officials and project personnel to the outer islands. In 2015 the Nivaga III was donated by the government of Japan; it replaced the Nivaga II, which had serviced Tuvalu from 1989.

Question: Where is Tuvalu's only port?


Answer: Nukufetau

Question: Where is there a deep water berth available on Tuvalu?


Answer: two

Question: Of how many ships does the merchant marine fleet consist?


Answer: Nivaga III

Question: What ship did Japan donate to Tuvalu in 2015?


Answer: cargo and passengers

Question: What do Tuvalu's merchant fleet carry?


Answer: three

Context: Tuvalu consists of three reef islands and six true atolls. Its small, scattered group of atolls have poor soil and a total land area of only about 26 square kilometres (10 square miles) making it the fourth smallest country in the world. The islets that form the atolls are very low lying. Nanumanga, Niutao, Niulakita are reef islands and the six true atolls are Funafuti, Nanumea, Nui, Nukufetau, Nukulaelae and Vaitupu. Tuvalu's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers an oceanic area of approximately 900,000 km2.

Question: How many reef islands does the Tuvalu group have?


Answer: six

Question: What are the number of true atolls are in the Tuvalu islands?


Answer: 26 square kilometres

Question: What is the total land area of Tuvalu?


Answer: fourth smallest

Question: How does Tuvalu rank in country size as compared to other nations?


Answer: 900,000 km2

Question: What is the coverage of Tuvalu's economic zone?


Answer: Funafuti

Context: Funafuti is the largest atoll of the nine low reef islands and atolls that form the Tuvalu volcanic island chain. It comprises numerous islets around a central lagoon that is approximately 25.1 kilometres (15.6 miles) (N–S) by 18.4 kilometres (11.4 miles) (W-E), centred on 179°7'E and 8°30'S. On the atolls, an annular reef rim surrounds the lagoon with several natural reef channels. Surveys were carried out in May 2010 of the reef habitats of Nanumea, Nukulaelae and Funafuti and a total of 317 fish species were recorded during this Tuvalu Marine Life study. The surveys identified 66 species that had not previously been recorded in Tuvalu, which brings the total number of identified species to 607.

Question: Which of Tuvalu's atolls is largest?


Answer: volcanic island chain

Question: What type of island grouping is Tuvalu?


Answer: 179°7'E and 8°30'S

Question: What are the map coordinates fro Tuvalu?


Answer: 607

Question: How species of creatures inhabit the Tuvalu lagoon?


Answer: 66

Question: How many new species were were found in the Tuvalu area that had not been previously recorded?


Answer: El Niño and La Niña

Context: Tuvalu experiences the effects of El Niño and La Niña caused by changes in ocean temperatures in the equatorial and central Pacific. El Niño effects increase the chances of tropical storms and cyclones, while La Niña effects increase the chances of drought. Typically the islands of Tuvalu receive between 200 to 400 mm (8 to 16 in) of rainfall per month. However, in 2011 a weak La Niña effect caused a drought by cooling the surface of the sea around Tuvalu. A state of emergency was declared on 28 September 2011; with rationing of fresh-water on the islands of Funafuti and Nukulaelae. Households on Funafuti and Nukulaelae were restricted to two buckets of fresh water per day (40 litres).

Question: What specific ocean temperature conditions effect Tuvalu?


Answer: El Niño

Question: Which effect causes increases in sea storms like cyclones?


Answer: La Niña

Question: What temperature effect causes drought?


Answer: rationing of fresh-water

Question: What did a drought in 2011 cause on Funafuti?


Answer: 200 to 400 mm

Question: What is the usual amount of rainfall per month on Tuvalu?


Answer: desalination plants

Context: The governments of Australia and New Zealand responded to the 2011 fresh-water crisis by supplying temporary desalination plants, and assisted in the repair of the existing desalination unit that was donated by Japan in 2006. In response to the 2011 drought, Japan funded the purchase of a 100 m3/d desalination plant and two portable 10 m3/d plants as part of its Pacific Environment Community (PEC) program. Aid programs from the European Union and Australia also provided water tanks as part of the longer term solution for the storage of available fresh water.

Question: What type of device did Australia and New Zealand offer to Tuvalu during the 2011 drought?


Answer: Pacific Environment Community

Question: As aprt of what program did Japan fund a new desalination plant at Tuvalu?


Answer: water tanks

Question: What did aid from the European Union provide during the drought on Tuvalu?


Answer: fresh water

Question: What did Tuvalu's new water tanks make possible to store?


Answer: 2006

Question: In what year had Japan previously donated a desalination plant to Tuvalu?


Answer: Funafuti International Airport

Context: The eastern shoreline of Funafuti Lagoon was modified during World War II when the airfield (what is now Funafuti International Airport) was constructed. The coral base of the atoll was used as fill to create the runway. The resulting borrow pits impacted the fresh-water aquifer. In the low areas of Funafuti the sea water can be seen bubbling up through the porous coral rock to form pools with each high tide. Since 1994 a project has been in development to assess the environmental impact of transporting sand from the lagoon to fill all the borrow pits and low-lying areas on Fongafale. In 2014 the Tuvalu Borrow Pits Remediation (BPR) project was approved in order to fill 10 borrow pits, leaving Tafua Pond, which is a natural pond. The New Zealand Government funded the BPR project. The project was carried out in 2015 with 365,000 sqm of sand being dredged from the lagoon to fill the holes and improve living conditions on the island. This project increase the usable land space on Fongafale by eight per cent.

Question: What is the modern name for the air field built during WWII?


Answer: Funafuti Lagoon

Question: What was damaged by building of the war time air field?


Answer: fresh-water aquifer

Question: What has the pits from the Tuvalu air runways construction impacted?


Answer: New Zealand Government

Question: What government funded the restoration of the borrow pits on Tuvalu?


Answer: eight per cent

Question: How much increase in land space did the filling of the borrow pits cause?


Answer: 80 per cent

Context: The reefs at Funafuti have suffered damage, with 80 per cent of the coral becoming bleached as a consequence of the increase in ocean temperatures and ocean acidification. The coral bleaching, which includes staghorn corals, is attributed to the increase in water temperature that occurred during the El Niños that occurred from 1998–2000 and from 2000–2001. A reef restoration project has investigated reef restoration techniques; and researchers from Japan have investigated rebuilding the coral reefs through the introduction of foraminifera. The project of the Japan International Cooperation Agency is designed to increase the resilience of the Tuvalu coast against sea level rise through ecosystem rehabilitation and regeneration and through support for sand production.

Question: What percentage of the Tuvalu coral has become bleached?


Answer: water temperature

Question: What increase caused by the El Ninos is responsible for the coral bleaching?


Answer: foraminifera

Question: What has been investigated as a means of rebuilding the reefs at Tuvalu?


Answer: ecosystem rehabilitation

Question: What is hoped will strengthen the Tuvalu coast against sea level rise?


Answer: reef restoration

Question: What type of project has been started to rebuild the reefs at Tuvalu?


Answer: Funafuti Conservation Area

Context: The rising population has resulted in an increased demand on fish stocks, which are under stress; although the creation of the Funafuti Conservation Area has provided a fishing exclusion area to help sustain the fish population across the Funafuti lagoon. Population pressure on the resources of Funafuti and inadequate sanitation systems have resulted in pollution. The Waste Operations and Services Act of 2009 provides the legal framework for waste management and pollution control projects funded by the European Union directed at organic waste composting in eco-sanitation systems. The Environment Protection (Litter and Waste Control) Regulation 2013 is intended to improve the management of the importation of non-biodegradable materials. In Tuvalu plastic waste is a problem as much imported food and other commodities are supplied in plastic containers or packaging.

Question: What has been formed to protect the fish stocks in Tuvalu Lagoon?


Answer: rising population

Question: What factor has caused an increased demand for fish?


Answer: pollution

Question: What has growth in population and poor sanitation caused?


Answer: European Union

Question: What organization has funded a waste management control plan on Tuvalu?


Answer: plastic waste

Question: What do imports produce on Tuvalu?


Answer: Reverse osmosis

Context: Reverse osmosis (R/O) desalination units supplement rainwater harvesting on Funafuti. The 65 m3 desalination plant operates at a real production level of around 40 m3 per day. R/O water is only intended to be produced when storage falls below 30%, however demand to replenish household storage supplies with tanker-delivered water means that the R/O desalination units are continually operating. Water is delivered at a cost of A$3.50 per m3. Cost of production and delivery has been estimated at A$6 per m3, with the difference subsidised by the government.

Question: What type of desalination is used on Funafuti?


Answer: 40 m3 per day

Question: How much water does the Funafuti plant produce?


Answer: below 30%

Question: At what storage point is R/O water production meant to be used?


Answer: government

Question: What organization subsidizes the cost of water desalination?


Answer: A$3.50 per m3

Question: What is the cost of R/O produced water?


Answer: July 2012

Context: In July 2012 a United Nations Special Rapporteur called on the Tuvalu Government to develop a national water strategy to improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation. In 2012, Tuvalu developed a National Water Resources Policy under the Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) Project and the Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC) Project, which are sponsored by the Global Environment Fund/SOPAC. Government water planning has established a target of between 50 and 100L of water per person per day accounting for drinking water, cleaning, community and cultural activities.

Question: When did the UN ask Tuvalu to come up with a plan to improve drinking water?


Answer: National Water Resources Policy

Question: What did Tuvalu develop as a safe water strategy?


Answer: 50 and 100L

Question: What is the per person per day targeted use of water for Tuvalu?


Answer: United Nations

Question: What organization called for Tuvalu to improve its water and sanitation systems?


Answer: Global Environment Fund

Question: What group ultimately sponsored the Tuvalu water resources policy?


Answer: low elevation

Context: Because of the low elevation, the islands that make up this nation are vulnerable to the effects of tropical cyclones and by the threat of current and future sea level rise. The highest elevation is 4.6 metres (15 ft) above sea level on Niulakita, which gives Tuvalu the second-lowest maximum elevation of any country (after the Maldives). The highest elevations are typically in narrow storm dunes on the ocean side of the islands which are prone to overtopping in tropical cyclones, as occurred with Cyclone Bebe, which was a very early-season storm that passed through the Tuvaluan atolls in October 1972. Cyclone Bebe submerged Funafuti, eliminating 90% of structures on the island. Sources of drinking water were contaminated as a result of the system's storm surge and the flooding of the sources of fresh water.

Question: What geological situation makes Tuvalu prone to storm damage?


Answer: sea level rise

Question: To what climate change condition does Tuvalu's low elevation make it susceptible?


Answer: 4.6 metres

Question: What is the highest elevation on Tuvalu?


Answer: Niulakita

Question: Where on Tuvalu is the highest elevation?


Answer: second-lowest

Question: Where does Tuvalu rank among other countries as to lowest elevation?


Answer: Cyclone Bebe

Context: Cyclone Bebe in 1972 caused severe damage to Funafuti. Funafuti's Tepuka Vili Vili islet was devastated by Cyclone Meli in 1979, with all its vegetation and most of its sand swept away during the cyclone. Along with a tropical depression that affected the islands a few days later, Severe Tropical Cyclone Ofa had a major impact on Tuvalu with most islands reporting damage to vegetation and crops. Cyclone Gavin was first identified during 2 March 1997, and was the first of three tropical cyclones to affect Tuvalu during the 1996–97 cyclone season with Cyclones Hina and Keli following later in the season.

Question: What cyclone badly damaged Funafuti?


Answer: three

Question: How many cyclones effected Tuvalu during the 1996-97 cyclone season?


Answer: Cyclone Ofa

Question: What cyclone caused major damage to vegetation on all islands on Tuvalu?


Answer: Cyclone Gavin

Question: What was the first cyclone to strike Tuvalu during the 1996-97 season?


Answer: Funafuti's Tepuka Vili Vili

Question: What islet was damaged by Cyclone Meli in 1979?


Answer: 3 metres (9.8 ft) to 5 metres (16 ft)

Context: In March 2015, the winds and storm surge created by Cyclone Pam resulted in waves of 3 metres (9.8 ft) to 5 metres (16 ft) breaking over the reef of the outer islands caused damage to houses, crops and infrastructure. On Nui the sources of fresh water were destroyed or contaminated. The flooding in Nui and Nukufetau caused many families to shelter in evacuation centres or with other families. Nui suffered the most damage of the three central islands (Nui, Nukufetau and Vaitupu); with both Nui and Nukufetau suffering the loss of 90% of the crops. Of the three northern islands (Nanumanga, Niutao, Nanumea), Nanumanga suffered the most damage, with 60-100 houses flooded, with the waves also causing damage to the health facility. Vasafua islet, part of the Funafuti Conservation Area, was severely damaged by Cyclone Pam. The coconut palms were washed away, leaving the islet as a sand bar.

Question: What were the wave heights during Cyclone Pam on Tuvalu?


Answer: March 2015

Question: In what year did Cyclone Pam strike Tuvalu?


Answer: Nui

Question: During Cyclone Pam which island had the most damage?


Answer: 90%

Question: What percentage of Tuvalu crops were destroyed during Cyclone Pam?


Answer: coconut palms

Question: The loss of what caused the Vasafua islet to become a sand bar due to Cyclone Pam?


Answer: damage

Context: The Tuvalu Government carried out assessments of the damage caused by Cyclone Pam to the islands and has provided medical aid, food as well as assistance for the cleaning-up of storm debris. Government and Non-Government Organisations provided assistance technical, funding and material support to Tuvalu to assist with recovery, including WHO, UNICEF, UNDP, OCHA, World Bank, DFAT, New Zealand Red Cross & IFRC, Fiji National University and governments of New Zealand, Netherlands, UAE, Taiwan and the United States.

Question: What did the Tuvalu government assess after Cyclone Pam?


Answer: Cyclone Pam

Question: What event on Tuvalu made assistance to the population necessary?


Answer: recovery

Question: What assistance did many international groups give to Tuvalu?


Answer: cleaning-up

Question: For what action was government assistance necessary after the Tuvalu cyclone??


Answer: sea level

Context: Whether there are measurable changes in the sea level relative to the islands of Tuvalu is a contentious issue. There were problems associated with the pre-1993 sea level records from Funafuti which resulted in improvements in the recording technology to provide more reliable data for analysis. The degree of uncertainty as to estimates of sea level change relative to the islands of Tuvalu was reflected in the conclusions made in 2002 from the available data. The 2011 report of the Pacific Climate Change Science Program published by the Australian Government, concludes: "The sea-level rise near Tuvalu measured by satellite altimeters since 1993 is about 5 mm (0.2 in) per year."

Question: What subject is arguable concerning Tuvalu?


Answer: 5 mm

Question: What was the amount of sea level change on Tuvalu estimated by the 2011 report?


Answer: satellite

Question: What device was used to produce the measurements of sea level change on Tuvalu?


Answer: pre-1993

Question: Prior to what year were the reports used to assess sea level rise?


Answer: degree of uncertainty

Question: What is assumed about the sea level reports and records of Tuvalu?


Answer: resilience

Context: The atolls have shown resilience to gradual sea-level rise, with atolls and reef islands being able to grow under current climate conditions by generating sufficient sand and coral debris that accumulates and gets dumped on the islands during cyclones. Gradual sea-level rise also allows for coral polyp activity to increase the reefs. However, if the increase in sea level occurs at faster rate as compared to coral growth, or if polyp activity is damaged by ocean acidification, then the resilience of the atolls and reef islands is less certain. The 2011 report of Pacific Climate Change Science Program of Australia concludes, in relation to Tuvalu, states the conclusions that over the course of the 21st century:

Question: What have the Tuvalu atolls displayed about sea level rise?


Answer: reefs

Question: What does gradual sea level rise allow for coral to increase?


Answer: faster rate

Question: What sea level rise rate could cause more uncertainty to the welfare of coral reefs?


Answer: ocean acidification

Question: What condition besides sea level rise can damage coral reefs?


Answer: on the islands

Question: Where does sand and coral debris end up because of the action of cyclones?


Answer: relocation

Context: While some commentators have called for the relocation of Tuvalu's population to Australia, New Zealand or Kioa in Fiji, in 2006 Maatia Toafa (Prime Minister from 2004–2006) said his government did not regard rising sea levels as such a threat that the entire population would need to be evacuated. In 2013 Enele Sopoaga, the prime minister of Tuvalu, said that relocating Tuvaluans to avoid the impact of sea level rise "should never be an option because it is self defeating in itself. For Tuvalu I think we really need to mobilise public opinion in the Pacific as well as in the [rest of] world to really talk to their lawmakers to please have some sort of moral obligation and things like that to do the right thing."

Question: What do some people want to do with the people of Tuvalu?


Answer: rising sea levels

Question: What did the Tuvalu Prime Minster say was not enough of an immediate threat to cause evacuation of the population?


Answer: 2006

Question: When did Prime Minster Maatia Toafa make his comments about not evacuating Tuvalu?


Answer: never be an option

Question: What did Enele Sopoaga think evacuation of the people should be?


Answer: original sin only

Context: The defined dogma of the Immaculate Conception regards original sin only, saying that Mary was preserved from any stain (in Latin, macula or labes, the second of these two synonymous words being the one used in the formal definition). The proclaimed Roman Catholic dogma states "that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin." Therefore, being always free from original sin, the doctrine teaches that from her conception Mary received the sanctifying grace that would normally come with baptism after birth.

Question: What is the Immaculate Conception a representation of the avoidance of ?


Answer: Mary was preserved from any stain (in Latin, macula or labes

Question: What was Mary prevented from having to endure ?


Answer: privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved free from all stain

Question: Who was believed to have prevented this from occurring to Mary ?


Answer: Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin."

Question: What was the outcome of preventing Mary from having to endure such an injustice ?


Answer: sanctifying grace that would normally come with baptism after birth.

Question: What normally followed the delivery of a child by a woman in Mary time period ?


Answer: makes no declaration about the Church's belief that the Blessed Virgin was sinless in the sense of freedom from actual or personal sin

Context: The definition makes no declaration about the Church's belief that the Blessed Virgin was sinless in the sense of freedom from actual or personal sin. However, the Church holds that Mary was also sinless personally, "free from all sin, original or personal". The Council of Trent decreed: "If anyone shall say that a man once justified can sin no more, nor lose grace, and that therefore he who falls and sins was never truly justified; or, on the contrary, that throughout his whole life he can avoid all sins even venial sins, except by a special privilege of God, as the Church holds in regard to the Blessed Virgin: let him be anathema."

Question: Is it believed that Mary carried no transgression which would require blame ?


Answer: the Church holds that Mary was also sinless personally, "free from all sin, original or personal

Question: How did the Church view Mary in regards to her personal sins ?


Answer: let him be anathema."

Question: What important announcement was made by the ecumenical council in regards to the decision on Mary ?


Answer: The Council of Trent

Question: What was the name of the ecumenical council that made the decision ?


Answer: doctrine of the immaculate conception (Mary being conceived free from original sin) is not to be confused with her virginal conception of her son Jesus

Context: The doctrine of the immaculate conception (Mary being conceived free from original sin) is not to be confused with her virginal conception of her son Jesus. This misunderstanding of the term immaculate conception is frequently met in the mass media. Catholics believe that Mary was not the product of a virginal conception herself but was the daughter of a human father and mother, traditionally known by the names of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne. In 1677, the Holy See condemned the belief that Mary was virginally conceived, which had been a belief surfacing occasionally since the 4th century. The Church celebrates the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (when Mary was conceived free from original sin) on 8 December, exactly nine months before celebrating the Nativity of Mary. The feast of the Annunciation (which commemorates the virginal conception and the Incarnation of Jesus) is celebrated on 25 March, nine months before Christmas Day.

Question: Is the view of the impregnation of Mary's pregnancy the same as the one held for the birth of her first child ?


Answer: Catholics believe that Mary was not the product of a virginal conception herself but was the daughter of a human father and mother

Question: What is the view held at the Vatican regarding how Mary was actually given life into the world ?


Answer: since the 4th century

Question: When did these contradictory views start to emerge ?


Answer: 1677, the Holy See condemned the belief that Mary was virginally conceived,

Question: When were contradictory views to the belief of Mary's parentage struck down ?


Answer: Saint Joachim and Saint Anne

Question: Who were the parents of Mary believed to be ?


Answer: dogma in Ineffabilis Deus, Pope Pius IX explicitly affirmed that Mary was redeemed in a manner more sublime

Context: Another misunderstanding is that, by her immaculate conception, Mary did not need a saviour. When defining the dogma in Ineffabilis Deus, Pope Pius IX explicitly affirmed that Mary was redeemed in a manner more sublime. He stated that Mary, rather than being cleansed after sin, was completely prevented from contracting Original Sin in view of the foreseen merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race. In Luke 1:47, Mary proclaims: "My spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour." This is referred to as Mary's pre-redemption by Christ. Since the Second Council of Orange against semi-pelagianism, the Catholic Church has taught that even had man never sinned in the Garden of Eden and was sinless, he would still require God's grace to remain sinless.

Question: What was explained by the man Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti who later became leader of the Holy Roman Church ?


Answer: Another misunderstanding is that, by her immaculate conception, Mary did not need a saviour

Question: What did Mary supposedly not require that everyone else also required and why was this so ?


Answer: Catholic Church has taught that even had man never sinned in the Garden of Eden and was sinless, he would still require God's grace to remain sinless.

Question: According to the teaching of the Catholic religion is a savior for the world needed ?


Answer: Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race.

Question: What is the child of Mary known to be famous for according to Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti ?


Answer: Greek theologians of Byzantium

Context: Mary's complete sinlessness and concomitant exemption from any taint from the first moment of her existence was a doctrine familiar to Greek theologians of Byzantium. Beginning with St. Gregory Nazianzen, his explanation of the "purification" of Jesus and Mary at the circumcision (Luke 2:22) prompted him to consider the primary meaning of "purification" in Christology (and by extension in Mariology) to refer to a perfectly sinless nature that manifested itself in glory in a moment of grace (e.g., Jesus at his Baptism). St. Gregory Nazianzen designated Mary as "prokathartheisa (prepurified)." Gregory likely attempted to solve the riddle of the Purification of Jesus and Mary in the Temple through considering the human natures of Jesus and Mary as equally holy and therefore both purified in this manner of grace and glory. Gregory's doctrines surrounding Mary's purification were likely related to the burgeoning commemoration of the Mother of God in and around Constantinople very close to the date of Christmas. Nazianzen's title of Mary at the Annunciation as "prepurified" was subsequently adopted by all theologians interested in his Mariology to justify the Byzantine equivalent of the Immaculate Conception. This is especially apparent in the Fathers St. Sophronios of Jerusalem and St. John Damascene, who will be treated below in this article at the section on Church Fathers. About the time of Damascene, the public celebration of the "Conception of St. Ann [i.e., of the Theotokos in her womb]" was becoming popular. After this period, the "purification" of the perfect natures of Jesus and Mary would not only mean moments of grace and glory at the Incarnation and Baptism and other public Byzantine liturgical feasts, but purification was eventually associated with the feast of Mary's very conception (along with her Presentation in the Temple as a toddler) by Orthodox authors of the 2nd millennium (e.g., St. Nicholas Cabasilas and Joseph Bryennius).

Question: What Empire held Grecian teachers of the virginity of Mary's conception ?


Answer: St. Gregory Nazianzen, his explanation of the "purification" of Jesus and Mary

Question: Who gave a reason for the purging of evil for the Blessed Virgin and her first child ?


Answer: the circumcision

Question: What procedure was being performed while he gave his reasoning ?


Answer: Luke

Question: Who was compelled to write of this instance that was also an author of one of the book of the Bible ?


Answer: purification was eventually associated with the feast of Mary's very conception

Question: What became associated with the celebration of Mary's inception in the womb ?


Answer: include original sin as well as actual. Thus in the first five centuries such epithets as "

Context: It is admitted that the doctrine as defined by Pius IX was not explicitly mooted before the 12th century. It is also agreed that "no direct or categorical and stringent proof of the dogma can be brought forward from Scripture". But it is claimed that the doctrine is implicitly contained in the teaching of the Fathers. Their expressions on the subject of the sinlessness of Mary are, it is pointed out, so ample and so absolute that they must be taken to include original sin as well as actual. Thus in the first five centuries such epithets as "in every respect holy", "in all things unstained", "super-innocent", and "singularly holy" are applied to her; she is compared to Eve before the fall, as ancestress of a redeemed people; she is "the earth before it was accursed". The well-known words of St. Augustine (d. 430) may be cited: "As regards the mother of God," he says, "I will not allow any question whatever of sin." It is true that he is here speaking directly of actual or personal sin. But his argument is that all men are sinners; that they are so through original depravity; that this original depravity may be overcome by the grace of God, and he adds that he does not know but that Mary may have had sufficient grace to overcome sin "of every sort" (omni ex parte).

Question: What proof do some believe is offered as to proof of Mary being the ultimate concept of pure?


Answer: in every respect holy", "in all things unstained", "super-innocent", and "singularly holy" are applied to her

Question: What phrases were used to describe Mary ?


Answer: Eve before the fall

Question: Who is often held as the model for all things holy and pure that is not Mary ?


Answer: St. Augustine (d. 430) may be cited: "As regards the mother of God," he says, "I will not allow any question whatever of sin.

Question: Who refused to hear any contradictory views about Mary and her perceived inception ?


Answer: his argument is that all men are sinners;

Question: What did this person also state about all of mankind in regards to wayward transgressions ?


Answer: Mary's Immaculate Conception appears only later among Latin (and particularly Frankish) theologians

Context: Although the doctrine of Mary's Immaculate Conception appears only later among Latin (and particularly Frankish) theologians, it became ever more manifest among Byzantine theologians reliant on Gregory Nazianzen's Mariology in the Medieval or Byzantine East. Although hymnographers and scholars, like the Emperor Justinian I, were accustomed to call Mary "prepurified" in their poetic and credal statements, the first point of departure for more fully commenting on Nazianzen's meaning occurs in Sophronius of Jerusalem. In other places Sophronius explains that the Theotokos was already immaculate, when she was "purified" at the Annunciation and goes so far as to note that John the Baptist is literally "holier than all 'Men' born of woman" since Mary's surpassing holiness signifies that she was holier than even John after his sanctification in utero. Sophronius' teaching is augmented and incorporated by St. John Damascene (d. 749/750). John, besides many passages wherein he extolls the Theotokos for her purification at the Annunciation, grants her the unique honor of "purifying the waters of baptism by touching them." This honor was most famously and firstly attributed to Christ, especially in the legacy of Nazianzen. As such, Nazianzen's assertion of parallel holiness between the prepurified Mary and purified Jesus of the New Testament is made even more explicit in Damascene in his discourse on Mary's holiness to also imitate Christ's baptism at the Jordan. The Damascene's hymnongraphy and De fide Orthodoxa explicitly use Mary's "pre purification" as a key to understanding her absolute holiness and unsullied human nature. In fact, Damascene (along with Nazianzen) serves as the source for nearly all subsequent promotion of Mary's complete holiness from her Conception by the "all pure seed" of Joachim and the womb "wider than heaven" of St. Ann.

Question: Where did the majority of the concepts of Mary's birth show themselves the most ?


Answer: to call Mary "prepurified"

Question: In what way did this Ruler refer to Mary in his writings ?


Answer: Emperor Justinian I,

Question: What Byzantine Ruler ho ruled from from 527 to 565 was also a well trained thinker of concepts ?


Answer: she was "purified" at the Annunciation

Question: What event happened to Theotokos that was of significant religious note ?


Answer: holier than all 'Men' born of woman

Question: How did some view the the person whose name includes a Christian rite of passage from the Bible?


Answer: the feast of her conception was widely celebrated in the Byzantine East

Context: By 750, the feast of her conception was widely celebrated in the Byzantine East, under the name of the Conception (active) of Saint Anne. In the West it was known as the feast of the Conception (passive) of Mary, and was associated particularly with the Normans, whether these introduced it directly from the East or took it from English usage. The spread of the feast, by now with the adjective "Immaculate" attached to its title, met opposition on the part of some, on the grounds that sanctification was possible only after conception. Critics included Saints Bernard of Clairvaux, Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas. Other theologians defended the expression "Immaculate Conception", pointing out that sanctification could be conferred at the first moment of conception in view of the foreseen merits of Christ, a view held especially by Franciscans.

Question: What was widely observed in the eastern portion of the Byzantine world ?


Answer: under the name of the Conception (active) of Saint Anne

Question: What was the name of this festival ?


Answer: In the West it was known as the feast of the Conception (passive) of Mary, and was associated particularly with the Normans

Question: Was there anything in similarity that happened in the Western portion of the Empire ? If so who was it supported by?


Answer: Critics included Saints Bernard of Clairvaux, Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas.

Question: Who was against all of the celebrations of Mary 's her birth ?


Answer: out that sanctification could be conferred at the first moment of conception in view of the foreseen merits of Christ, a view held especially by Franciscans.

Question: According to some when is is possible for a Sanctified Mary to have emerged ?


Answer: authorized those dioceses that wished to introduce the feast to do so, and introduced it to his own diocese of Rome in 1477

Context: On 28 February 1476, Pope Sixtus IV, authorized those dioceses that wished to introduce the feast to do so, and introduced it to his own diocese of Rome in 1477, with a specially composed Mass and Office of the feast. With his bull Cum praeexcelsa of 28 February 1477, in which he referred to the feast as that of the Conception of Mary, without using the word "Immaculate", he granted indulgences to those who would participate in the specially composed Mass or Office on the feast itself or during its octave, and he used the word "immaculate" of Mary, but applied instead the adjective "miraculous" to her conception. On 4 September 1483, referring to the feast as that of "the Conception of Immaculate Mary ever Virgin", he condemned both those who called it mortally sinful and heretical to hold that the "glorious and immaculate mother of God was conceived without the stain of original sin" and those who called it mortally sinful and heretical to hold that "the glorious Virgin Mary was conceived with original sin", since, he said, "up to this time there has been no decision made by the Roman Church and the Apostolic See." This decree was reaffirmed by the Council of Trent.

Question: What happened on the final day of the month of love that was of significance was authorized by the Holy Roman Church leader ?


Answer: Pope Sixtus IV, authorized those dioceses

Question: Who was the Holy Roman Church leader that authorized the change ?


Answer: with a specially composed Mass and Office of the feast. With his bull Cum praeexcelsa of 28 February 1477

Question: What document made the authorization official ?


Answer: but applied instead the adjective "miraculous" to her conception.

Question: What word substitution did he use in the authorization to appease all of the worshipers and view points when speaking of the inception of Mary ?


Answer: mortally sinful

Question: What was the opposite of a sinner who committed a venial type? It would be the most grave type of all .


Answer: published Esame Critico sulla dottrina dell’ Angelico Dottore S. Tommaso di Aquino circa il Peccato originale, relativamente alla Beatissima Vergine Maria

Context: In 1839 Mariano Spada (1796 - 1872), professor of theology at the Roman College of Saint Thomas, published Esame Critico sulla dottrina dell’ Angelico Dottore S. Tommaso di Aquino circa il Peccato originale, relativamente alla Beatissima Vergine Maria [A critical examination of the doctrine of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, regarding original sin with respect to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary], in which Aquinas is interpreted not as treating the question of the Immaculate Conception later formulated in the papal bull Ineffabilis Deus but rather the sanctification of the fetus within Mary's womb. Spada furnished an interpretation whereby Pius IX was relieved of the problem of seeming to foster a doctrine not in agreement with the Aquinas' teaching. Pope Pius IX would later appoint Spada Master of the Sacred Palace in 1867.

Question: What did a teacher of religion from the college that was named after a Dominican friar do in 1839 of historical note ?


Answer: appoint Spada Master of the Sacred Palace in 1867

Question: What position was the teacher later given by the Holy Roman Church ?


Answer: Pope Pius IX

Question: Who gave the teacher the new job ?


Answer: Mariano Spada

Question: Who was the teacher who committed the act ?


Answer: Pius IX was relieved of the problem of seeming to foster a doctrine not in agreement with the Aquinas' teaching.

Question: What problem did the teacher's publication solve for the Holy Roman leader with act that was committed to do in response to the actions of the teacher ?


Answer: St Bernard of Clairvaux

Context: It seems to have been St Bernard of Clairvaux who, in the 12th century, explicitly raised the question of the Immaculate Conception. A feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin had already begun to be celebrated in some churches of the West. St Bernard blames the canons of the metropolitan church of Lyon for instituting such a festival without the permission of the Holy See. In doing so, he takes occasion to repudiate altogether the view that the conception of Mary was sinless. It is doubtful, however, whether he was using the term "conception" in the same sense in which it is used in the definition of Pope Pius IX. Bernard would seem to have been speaking of conception in the active sense of the mother's cooperation, for in his argument he says: "How can there be absence of sin where there is concupiscence (libido)?" and stronger expressions follow, showing that he is speaking of the mother and not of the child.

Question: Who began to query the position of the conception of Mary following the 11th century ?


Answer: St Bernard blames the canons of the metropolitan church of Lyon for instituting such a festival without the permission of the Holy See.

Question: Who did the query starter lay blame upon for the festivals that surrounded Mary's inception ?


Answer: How can there be absence of sin where there is concupiscence (libido)?

Question: What did the query starter believe to be the ultimate difficulty in accepting the a virgin conception of Mary ?


Answer: conception in the active sense of the mother's cooperation

Question: What did the query starter believe had been done by Mary's direct maternal line that contradict the conception theory of immaculate for Mary ?


Answer: instituting such a festival without the permission of the Holy See

Question: Did the query starter believe that the festival for Mary's conception had authorization to be held ?


Answer: that from a rational point of view it was certainly as little derogatory to the merits of Christ

Context: The celebrated John Duns Scotus (d. 1308), a Friar Minor like Saint Bonaventure, argued, on the contrary, that from a rational point of view it was certainly as little derogatory to the merits of Christ to assert that Mary was by him preserved from all taint of sin, as to say that she first contracted it and then was delivered. Proposing a solution to the theological problem of reconciling the doctrine with that of universal redemption in Christ, he argued that Mary's immaculate conception did not remove her from redemption by Christ; rather it was the result of a more perfect redemption granted her because of her special role in salvation history.

Question: What did the the monk of minor believe to be true of Mary ?


Answer: to assert that Mary was by him preserved from all taint of sin, as to say that she first contracted it and then was delivered.

Question: What point did his argument attempt to bring to the masses ?


Answer: Proposing a solution to the theological problem of reconciling the doctrine with that of universal redemption in Christ

Question: What did the monk of minor believe could alleviate the tension in the matter of the


Answer: immaculate conception did not remove her from redemption by Christ;

Question: What consequences did he believe that this would have on Mary's reputation ?


Answer: rather it was the result of a more perfect redemption granted her because of her special role in salvation history.

Question: How did monk of minor explain how the change in reputation could be of benefit to Mary ?


Answer: Popular opinion remained firmly behind the celebration of Mary's conception.

Context: Popular opinion remained firmly behind the celebration of Mary's conception. In 1439, the Council of Basel, which is not reckoned an ecumenical council, stated that belief in the immaculate conception of Mary is in accord with the Catholic faith. By the end of the 15th century the belief was widely professed and taught in many theological faculties, but such was the influence of the Dominicans, and the weight of the arguments of Thomas Aquinas (who had been canonised in 1323 and declared "Doctor Angelicus" of the Church in 1567) that the Council of Trent (1545–63)—which might have been expected to affirm the doctrine—instead declined to take a position.

Question: Where did the mass majority stand in relation to having or not having the Mary inception festivals ?


Answer: stated that belief in the immaculate conception of Mary is in accord with the Catholic faith.

Question: How did the Holy Roman Church rule on the matter of the festivals ?


Answer: end of the 15th century the belief was widely professed and taught in many theological faculties

Question: Was the practce behind the meaning of the Mary inception festivals taught at Universities of theology ?


Answer: Thomas Aquinas (who had been canonised in 1323

Question: In what year was the famous friar named Tom given a position as a saint of the Holy Roman Catholic Church ?


Answer: declared "Doctor Angelicus" of the Church in 1567

Question: What happened to Tom at one of the 1567 that changed his title ?


Answer: papal bull defining the dogma, Ineffabilis Deus

Context: The papal bull defining the dogma, Ineffabilis Deus, mentioned in particular the patrististic interpretation of Genesis 3:15 as referring to a woman, Mary, who would be eternally at enmity with the evil serpent and completely triumphing over him. It said the Fathers saw foreshadowings of Mary's "wondrous abundance of divine gifts and original innocence" "in that ark of Noah, which was built by divine command and escaped entirely safe and sound from the common shipwreck of the whole world; in the ladder which Jacob saw reaching from the earth to heaven, by whose rungs the angels of God ascended and descended, and on whose top the Lord himself leaned; in that bush which Moses saw in the holy place burning on all sides, which was not consumed or injured in any way but grew green and blossomed beautifully; in that impregnable tower before the enemy, from which hung a thousand bucklers and all the armor of the strong; in that garden enclosed on all sides, which cannot be violated or corrupted by any deceitful plots; in that resplendent city of God, which has its foundations on the holy mountains; in that most august temple of God, which, radiant with divine splendours, is full of the glory of God; and in very many other biblical types of this kind."

Question: What holy document takes the view of Mary back to the creation of man and woman ?


Answer: Genesis 3:15

Question: What specific part the Bible does this document reference for Mary ?


Answer: the Fathers saw foreshadowings of Mary's "wondrous abundance of divine gifts and original innocence

Question: According to the document what did the forebears already have knowledge of before Mary came about ?


Answer: in that ark of Noah, which was built by divine command and escaped entirely safe and sound from the common shipwreck of the whole world

Question: Where was Mary represented (according to the Holy document ) on the vessel that wandered the sea for forty days and forty nights ?


Answer: Contemporary Eastern Orthodox Christians often object to the dogmatic declaration of her immaculate conception

Context: Contemporary Eastern Orthodox Christians often object to the dogmatic declaration of her immaculate conception as an "over-elaboration" of the faith and because they see it as too closely connected with a particular interpretation of the doctrine of ancestral sin. All the same, the historical and authentic tradition of Mariology in Byzantium took its historical point of departure from Sophronios, Damascene, and their imitators. The most famous Eastern Orthodox theologian to imply Mary's Immaculate Conception was St. Gregory Palamas. Though many passages from his works were long known to extol and attribute to Mary a Christlike holiness in her human nature, traditional objections to Palamas' disposition toward the Immaculate Conception typically rely on a poor understanding of his doctrine of "the purification of Mary" at the Annunciation. Not only did he explicitly cite St. Gregory Nazianzen for his understanding of Jesus' purification at His baptism and Mary's at the Annunciation, but Theophanes of Nicaea, Joseph Bryennius, and Gennadios Scholarios all explicitly placed Mary's Conception as the first moment of her all-immaculate participation in the divine energies to such a degree that she was always completely without spot and graced. In addition to Emperor Manuel II and Gennadius Scholarius, St. Mark of Ephesus also fervently defended Mary's title as "prepurified" against the Dominican, Manuel Calecas, who was perhaps promoting thomistic Mariology that denied Mary's all-holiness from the first moment of her existence.

Question: What sect often stands in disagreement over the virginal inception of Mary ?


Answer: dogmatic declaration of her immaculate conception as an "over-elaboration"

Question: What does this group believe of the story of a Virgin mother for Mary and those who follow its teaching ?


Answer: because they see it as too closely connected with a particular interpretation of the doctrine of ancestral sin.

Question: What in particular does the group feels is impossible to believe ?


Answer: took its historical point of departure from Sophronios, Damascene, and their imitators.

Question: What did this theological study do to set itself apart from the other groups ?


Answer: Mariology

Question: What is the theological study of Mary called ?


Answer: Martin Luther

Context: Martin Luther, who initiated the Protestant Reformation, said: "Mother Mary, like us, was born in sin of sinful parents, but the Holy Spirit covered her, sanctified and purified her so that this child was born of flesh and blood, but not with sinful flesh and blood. The Holy Spirit permitted the Virgin Mary to remain a true, natural human being of flesh and blood, just as we. However, he warded off sin from her flesh and blood so that she became the mother of a pure child, not poisoned by sin as we are. For in that moment when she conceived, she was a holy mother filled with the Holy Spirit and her fruit is a holy pure fruit, at once God and truly man, in one person." Some Lutherans, such as the members of the Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church, support the doctrine.

Question: Who is the person that started the religion that separated itself from the Catholic Church in the 17th century ?


Answer: Protestant Reformation

Question: What did he do that sparked the separation from the Catholic Church ?


Answer: Mother Mary, like us, was born in sin of sinful parents, but the Holy Spirit covered her, sanctified and purified her

Question: What did this leader of change believe of the conception of Mary ?


Answer: this child was born of flesh and blood, but not with sinful flesh and blood.

Question: What did Mary's child avoid according to the leader of the separation ?


Answer: Some Lutherans, such as the members of the Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church, support the doctrine.

Question: What particular sect is a patron of this belief ?


Answer: Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission

Context: The report "Mary: Faith and Hope in Christ", by the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, concluded that the teaching about Mary in the two definitions of the Assumption and the Immaculate Conception can be said to be consonant with the teaching of the Scriptures and the ancient common traditions. But the report expressed concerns that the Roman Catholic dogmatic definitions of these concepts implies them to be "revealed by God", stating: "The question arises for Anglicans, however, as to whether these doctrines concerning Mary are revealed by God in a way which must be held by believers as a matter of faith."

Question: What was written by the a all inclusive group convened by the holy church centered in Rome ?


Answer: The report "Mary: Faith and Hope in Christ"

Question: What document did this group create once it was convened ?


Answer: Assumption and the Immaculate Conception can be said to be consonant with the teaching of the Scriptures and the ancient common traditions.

Question: What was the final conclusion reached in the report by the group ?


Answer: The question arises for Anglicans, however, as to whether these doctrines concerning Mary are revealed by God in a way which must be held

Question: What type of interpretation did the group believe was of concern in regard to Mary ?


Answer: teaching about Mary in the two definitions

Question: What did the document attempt to clarify ?


Answer: claim that the immaculate conception of Mary is a teaching of Islam.

Context: Some Western writers claim that the immaculate conception of Mary is a teaching of Islam. Thus, commenting in 1734 on the passage in the Qur'an, "I have called her Mary; and I commend her to thy protection, and also her issue, against Satan driven away with stones", George Sale stated: "It is not improbable that the pretended immaculate conception of the virgin Mary is intimated in this passage. For according to a tradition of Mohammed, every person that comes into the world, is touched at his birth by the devil, and therefore cries out, Mary and her son only excepted; between whom, and the evil spirit God placed a veil, so that his touch did not reach them. And for this reason they say, neither of them were guilty of any sin, like the rest of the children of Adam."

Question: What religion is credited by some authors from the west for initiating the story of the conceiving of Mary ?


Answer: Mary and her son only excepted; between whom, and the evil spirit God placed a veil, so that his touch did not reach them.

Question: According to the teaching of this other religion what occurred to Mary during the birth of her first child ?


Answer: every person that comes into the world, is touched at his birth by the devil

Question: What does this other religion also state happens to everyone besides Mary and her First born child ?


Answer: every person that comes into the world, is touched at his birth by the devil, and therefore cries out,

Question: What does the event cause to happen to everyone but Mary and her first born child ?


Answer: passage in the Qur'an, "I have called her Mary; and I commend her to thy protection, and also her issue, against Satan driven away with stones

Question: What do these authors use in the form of proof for credit given to the other religion ?


Answer: Others have rejected that the doctrine of Immaculate Conception exists in Islam

Context: Others have rejected that the doctrine of Immaculate Conception exists in Islam, the Quranic account does not confirm the Immaculate Conception exclusively for Mary as in Islam every human child is born pure and immaculate, her sinless birth is thus independent of the Christian docrtrine of original sin as no such doctrine exists in Islam. Moreover, Hannah's prayer in the Quran for her child to remain protected from Satan (Shayṭān) was said after it had already been born, not before and expresses a natural concern any righteous parent would have. The Muslim tradition or hadith, which states that the only children born without the "touch of Satan," were Mary and Jesus. should therefore not be taken in isolation from the Quran, and is to be interpreted within the specific context of exonerating Mary and her child from the charges that were made against them and is not a general statement. The specific mention of Mary and Jesus in this hadith may also be taken to represent a class of people, in keeping with the Arabic language and the Quranic verse [O Satan] surely thou shalt have no power over My servants, except such of the erring ones as choose to follow thee (15:42)

Question: Does everyone agree on the credit that should be given for the story of Mary's inception ?


Answer: in Islam every human child is born pure and immaculate

Question: What does the book of Muslim faith state in regards to how every person is born ?


Answer: her sinless birth is thus independent of the Christian docrtrine of original sin as no such doctrine exists in Islam

Question: Does this view contradict the belief that Mary was also born to a virgin mother ?


Answer: Muslim tradition or hadith, which states that the only children born without the "touch of Satan," were Mary and Jesus.

Question: What view did the Qua-ran take on the sinful ways in which Mary could have been conceived ?


Answer: Hannah's prayer in the Quran for her child to remain protected from Satan

Question: What is the name of the prayer that is listed in the Qua-ran is used to enact a safeguard on kids from the the devil ?


Answer: The Latin Church has not disdained to borrow from the Koran the immaculate conception of his virgin mother

Context: Further claims were made that the Roman Catholic Church derives its doctrine from the Islamic teaching. In volume 5 of his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, published in 1788, Edward Gibbon wrote: "The Latin Church has not disdained to borrow from the Koran the immaculate conception of his virgin mother." That he was speaking of her immaculate conception by her mother, not of her own virginal conception of Jesus, is shown by his footnote: "In the xiith century the immaculate conception was condemned by St. Bernard as a presumptuous novelty." In the aftermath of the definition of the dogma in 1854, this charge was repeated: "Strange as it may appear, that the doctrine which the church of Rome has promulgated, with so much pomp and ceremony, 'for the destruction of all heresies, and the confirmation of the faith of her adherents', should have its origin in the Mohametan Bible; yet the testimony of such authorities as Gibbon, and Sale, and Forster, and Gagnier, and Maracci, leave no doubt as to the marvellous fact."

Question: What did the writer of a 1788 multi-volumed text say concerning plagiarism and the Roman Catholic Church ?


Answer: Edward Gibbon

Question: Who is the author of the texts entailed in the fifth part of the the collection about the Roman Catholic Church ?


Answer: Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Question: What was the group of volumes titled ?


Answer: Mohametan Bible

Question: Where does the author state that the Roman Catholic Church received her facts and confirmations ?


Answer: Your clothing is white as snow,

Context: The Roman Missal and the Roman Rite Liturgy of the Hours naturally includes references to Mary's immaculate conception in the feast of the Immaculate Conception. An example is the antiphon that begins: "Tota pulchra es, Maria, et macula originalis non est in te" (You are all beautiful, Mary, and the original stain [of sin] is not in you. Your clothing is white as snow, and your face is like the sun. You are all beautiful, Mary, and the original stain [of sin] is not in you. You are the glory of Jerusalem, you are the joy of Israel, you give honour to our people. You are all beautiful, Mary.) On the basis of the original Gregorian chant music, polyphonic settings have been composed by Anton Bruckner, Pablo Casals, Maurice Duruflé, Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki, no:Ola Gjeilo, José Maurício Nunes Garcia, and Nikolaus Schapfl,

Question: What color garment is used in traditional chants to represent the purity of Mary's conception ?


Answer: The Roman Missal

Question: The rituals for the correct way to enjoy Mass is listed in what text ?


Answer: polyphonic settings have been composed

Question: What type of melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic changes have been made by composers but are based on the works that are monophonic and unaccompanied sacred song?


Answer: Roman Rite Liturgy of the Hours

Question: What official writings give specific prayers for each hours of the day for Catholics ?


Answer: in a heavenly realm, moments after her creation, the spirit of Mary (in the form of a young woman) looks up in awe at (or bows her head to) God

Context: The popularity of this particular representation of The Immaculate Conception spread across the rest of Europe, and has since remained the best known artistic depiction of the concept: in a heavenly realm, moments after her creation, the spirit of Mary (in the form of a young woman) looks up in awe at (or bows her head to) God. The moon is under her feet and a halo of twelve stars surround her head, possibly a reference to "a woman clothed with the sun" from Revelation 12:1-2. Additional imagery may include clouds, a golden light, and cherubs. In some paintings the cherubim are holding lilies and roses, flowers often associated with Mary.

Question: What became very popular symbol among the who believed Mary had a Virgin for a mother ?


Answer: moon is under her feet

Question: What does Mary stand upon in this symbol?


Answer: a halo of twelve stars surround her head

Question: What does Mary where atop her hair that twinkles in the symbol ?


Answer: clouds, a golden light, and cherubs. In some paintings the cherubim are holding lilies and roses, flowers often associated with Mary.

Question: What else can be found in the symbol with Mary that may vary in different versions ?


Answer: free

Context: Namibia has free education for both Primary and secondary education levels. Grades 1–7 are primary level, grades 8–12 secondary. In 1998, there were 400,325 Namibian students in primary school and 115,237 students in secondary schools. The pupil-teacher ratio in 1999 was estimated at 32:1, with about 8% of the GDP being spent on education. Curriculum development, educational research, and professional development of teachers is centrally organised by the National Institute for Educational Development (NIED) in Okahandja.

Question: What is the cost of primary and secondary education in Namibia?


Answer: 400,325

Question: How many Namibian students were recorded in 1998 in primary school?


Answer: 115,237

Question: How many Namibian students were recorded in 1998 in secondary schools?


Answer: 32:1

Question: What was the pupil-teacher ratio in Namibia in 1999?


Answer: National Institute for Educational Development

Question: What develops the curriculum as well as other educational resources in Namibia?


Answer: Namibië

Context: Namibia (i/nəˈmɪbiə/, /næˈ-/), officially the Republic of Namibia (German: Republik Namibia (help·info); Afrikaans: Republiek van Namibië) is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. Although it does not border Zimbabwe, a part of less than 200 metres of the Zambezi River (essentially a small bulge in Botswana to achieve a Botswana/Zambia micro-border) separates it from that country. Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek, and it is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and the Commonwealth of Nations.

Question: What is the Afrikaans name for Namibia?


Answer: southern

Question: Where in Africa is Namibia?


Answer: 21 March 1990

Question: When did Namibia gain independence from South Africa?


Answer: Atlantic Ocean

Question: What ocean borders Namibia?


Answer: 200 metres

Question: How far away is Namibia to the Zambezi River?


Answer: 14th century

Context: The dry lands of Namibia were inhabited since early times by San, Damara, and Namaqua, and since about the 14th century AD by immigrating Bantu who came with the Bantu expansion. Most of the territory became a German Imperial protectorate in 1884 and remained a German colony until the end of World War I. In 1920, the League of Nations mandated the country to South Africa, which imposed its laws and, from 1948, its apartheid policy. The port of Walvis Bay and the offshore Penguin Islands had been annexed by the Cape Colony under the British crown by 1878 and had become an integral part of the new Union of South Africa at its creation in 1910.

Question: When did Bantu immigrate to Namibia?


Answer: 1884

Question: When did Namibia become German Imperial protectorate?


Answer: end of World War I

Question: When did Namibia stop being a German colony?


Answer: 1920

Question: What year did the League of Nations mandate Namibia to South Africa?


Answer: 1948

Question: When did South Africa impose the apartheid policy on Namibia?


Answer: South West Africa People's Organisation

Context: Uprisings and demands by African leaders led the UN to assume direct responsibility over the territory. It recognised the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) as the official representative of the Namibian people in 1973. Namibia, however, remained under South African administration during this time as South-West Africa. Following internal violence, South Africa installed an interim administration in Namibia in 1985. Namibia obtained full independence from South Africa in 1990, with the exception of Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands, which remained under South African control until 1994.

Question: What does SWAPO stand for?


Answer: 1973

Question: When was SWAPO designated as the representative of Namibian people?


Answer: South-West Africa.

Question: When Namibia was under South African administration, what was it called?


Answer: internal violence

Question: Why did South Africa install an interim administration in Namibia?


Answer: 1990

Question: When did Namibia obtain full independence?


Answer: Orange River

Context: The dry lands of Namibia were inhabited since early times by San, Damara, Nama and, since about the 14th century AD, by immigrating Bantu who came with the Bantu expansion from central Africa. From the late 18th century onwards, Orlam clans from the Cape Colony crossed the Orange River and moved into the area that today is southern Namibia. Their encounters with the nomadic Nama tribes were largely peaceful. The missionaries accompanying the Orlams were well received by them, the right to use waterholes and grazing was granted against an annual payment. On their way further northwards, however, the Orlams encountered clans of the Herero tribe at Windhoek, Gobabis, and Okahandja which were less accommodating. The Nama-Herero War broke out in 1880, with hostilities ebbing only when Imperial Germany deployed troops to the contested places and cemented the status quo between Nama, Orlams, and Herero.

Question: Orlam clans crossed which river to migrate to Namibia?


Answer: southern Namibia

Question: What area of Namibia did Orlam clans settle in?


Answer: 18th century

Question: When did Orlam clans settle in Namibia?


Answer: 1880

Question: When did the Nama-Herero war begin?


Answer: Imperial Germany

Question: Who deployed troops to start the Nama-Herero war?


Answer: Portuguese

Context: The first Europeans to disembark and explore the region were the Portuguese navigators Diogo Cão in 1485 and Bartolomeu Dias in 1486; still the region was not claimed by the Portuguese crown. However, like most of Sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia was not extensively explored by Europeans until the 19th century, when traders and settlers arrived, principally from Germany and Sweden. In the late 19th century Dorsland trekkers crossed the area on their way from the Transvaal to Angola. Some of them settled in Namibia instead of continuing their journey.

Question: What nationality were the first navigators to explore Namibia come from?


Answer: 1486

Question: When did Bartolomeu Dias explore Namibia?


Answer: 1485

Question: When did Diogo Cao explore Namibia?


Answer: Angola

Question: Settlers on their way to Angola settled in Namibia instead of going where?


Answer: Germany

Question: Along with Swedish settlers, what other country's settlers inhabited in Namibia first?


Answer: Namaqua

Context: From 1904 to 1907, the Herero and the Namaqua took up arms against the Germans and in calculated punitive action by the German occupiers, the 'first genocide of the Twentieth Century' was committed. In the Herero and Namaqua genocide, 10,000 Nama (half the population) and approximately 65,000 Hereros (about 80% of the population) were systematically murdered. The survivors, when finally released from detention, were subjected to a policy of dispossession, deportation, forced labour, racial segregation and discrimination in a system that in many ways anticipated apartheid.

Question: Herero and what other group took action against German occupiers?


Answer: 1904 to 1907

Question: When did two clans take up action against the German occupiers?


Answer: first genocide of the Twentieth Century

Question: What was the war against the German occupiers considered?


Answer: 65,000

Question: How many Herero's were killed in the war against German occupiers?


Answer: 10,000

Question: How many Nama's were killed in the war against German occupiers?


Answer: 1946

Context: South Africa occupied the colony in 1915 after defeating the German force during World War I and administered it from 1919 onward as a League of Nations mandate territory. Although the South African government desired to incorporate 'South-West Africa' into its territory, it never officially did so, although it was administered as the de facto 'fifth province', with the white minority having representation in the whites-only Parliament of South Africa, as well as electing their own local administration the SWA Legislative Assembly. The South African government also appointed the SWA administrator, who had extensive powers. Following the League's replacement by the United Nations in 1946, South Africa refused to surrender its earlier mandate to be replaced by a United Nations Trusteeship agreement, requiring closer international monitoring of the territory's administration (along with a definite independence schedule). The Herero Chief's Council submitted a number of petitions to the UN calling for it to grant Namibia independence during the 1950s. During the 1960s, when European powers granted independence to their colonies and trust territories in Africa, pressure mounted on South Africa to do so in Namibia. In 1966 the International Court of Justice dismissed a complaint brought by Ethiopia and Liberia against South Africa's continued presence in the territory, but the U.N. General Assembly subsequently revoked South Africa's mandate, while in 1971 the International Court of Justice issued an "advisory opinion" declaring South Africa's continued administration to be illegal.

Question: When did South Africa refuse to surrender Namibia?


Answer: 1915

Question: When did South Africa occupy Namibia?


Answer: Herero Chief's Council

Question: Which council submitted petitions for Namibia's independence?


Answer: 1946

Question: When was the League replaced by the United Nations?


Answer: 1960s

Question: When did European powers grant independence to their colonies in Africa?


Answer: People's Liberation Army of Namibia

Context: In response to the 1966 ruling by the International Court of Justice, South-West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) military wing, People's Liberation Army of Namibia, a guerrilla group began their armed struggle for independence, but it was not until 1988 that South Africa agreed to end its occupation of Namibia, in accordance with a UN peace plan for the entire region. During the South African occupation of Namibia, white commercial farmers, most of whom came as settlers from South Africa and represented 0.2% of the national population, owned 74% of the arable land. Outside the central-southern area of Namibia (known as the "Police Zone" since the German era and which contained the main towns, industries, mines and best arable land), the country was divided into "homelands", the version of South African bantustan applied to Namibia, although only a few were actually established because indigenous Namibians often did not cooperate.

Question: Which guerrilla group fought for Namibia's independence?


Answer: 1966

Question: When did a guerrilla group fight for Namibia's independence?


Answer: 1988

Question: When did South Africa end occupation of Namibia?


Answer: UN peace plan

Question: Why did South Africa end occupation in Namibia?


Answer: Police Zone

Question: What is the central-southern area of Namibia known as?


Answer: South West Africa

Context: South West Africa became known as Namibia by the UN when the General Assembly changed the territory's name by Resolution 2372 (XXII) of 12 June 1968. In 1978 the UN Security Council passed UN Resolution 435 which planned a transition toward independence for Namibia. Attempts to persuade South Africa to agree to the plan's implementation were not successful until 1988 when the transition to independence finally started under a diplomatic agreement between South Africa, Angola and Cuba, with the USSR and the USA as observers, under which South Africa agreed to withdraw and demobilise its forces in Namibia. As a result, Cuba agreed to pull back its troops in southern Angola sent to support the MPLA in its war for control of Angola with UNITA.

Question: What was Namibia previously called?


Answer: 12 June 1968

Question: What date did Namibia get it's official name?


Answer: Resolution 2372 (XXII)

Question: What was the resolution that granted Namibia it's name?


Answer: 1988

Question: How long did it take for South Africa to agree to the implantation of Namibia's new name?


Answer: USA

Question: The diplomatic agreement between South Africa, Angola, and Cuba was observed by the USSR and what other country?


Answer: United Nations Transition Assistance Group

Context: A combined UN civilian and peace-keeping force called UNTAG (United Nations Transition Assistance Group) under Finnish diplomat Martti Ahtisaari was deployed from April 1989 to March 1990 to monitor the peace process, elections and supervise military withdrawals. As UNTAG began to deploy peacekeepers, military observers, police, and political workers, hostilities were briefly renewed on the day the transition process was supposed to begin. After a new round of negotiations, a second date was set and the elections process began in earnest. After the return of SWAPO exiles (over 46,000 exiles), Namibia's first one-person one-vote elections for the constitutional assembly took place in November 1989. The official election slogan was "Free and Fair Elections". This was won by SWAPO although it did not gain the two-thirds majority it had hoped for; the South African-backed Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) became the official opposition. The elections were peaceful and declared free and fair.

Question: What does UNTAG stand for?


Answer: Martti Ahtisaari

Question: Who was the diplomat for UNTAG?


Answer: April 1989 to March 1990

Question: When was the diplomat for UNTAG deployed to supervise withdrawals from Namibia?


Answer: Finnish

Question: What nationality was the diplomat in UNTAG?


Answer: Free and Fair Elections

Question: What was the official election slogan in the first Namibia election?


Answer: February 1990

Context: The Namibian Constitution adopted in February 1990 incorporated protection for human rights, compensation for state expropriations of private property, an independent judiciary and an executive presidency (the constituent assembly became the national assembly). The country officially became independent on 21 March 1990. Sam Nujoma was sworn in as the first President of Namibia watched by Nelson Mandela (who had been released from prison the previous month) and representatives from 147 countries, including 20 heads of state. Walvis Bay was ceded to Namibia in 1994 upon the end of Apartheid in South Africa.[citation needed]

Question: When was the Namibian Constitution adopted?


Answer: Sam Nujoma

Question: Who was the first President of Namibia?


Answer: 21 March 1990

Question: When did the country of Namibia officially become a country?


Answer: Nelson Mandela

Question: Who swore in the first President of Namibia?


Answer: Walvis Bay

Question: What was ceded to Namibia in 1994?


Answer: parliamentary democracy

Context: Since independence Namibia has successfully completed the transition from white minority apartheid rule to parliamentary democracy. Multiparty democracy was introduced and has been maintained, with local, regional and national elections held regularly. Several registered political parties are active and represented in the National Assembly, although the Swapo Party has won every election since independence. The transition from the 15-year rule of President Sam Nujoma to his successor Hifikepunye Pohamba in 2005 went smoothly.

Question: What did Namibia transition to after white minority apartheid rule?


Answer: Multiparty democracy

Question: What type of independence was introduced in Namibia after independence?


Answer: Swapo Party

Question: What party has won every election in Namibia?


Answer: Hifikepunye Pohamba

Question: Who succeeded Sam Nujoma?


Answer: 15-year

Question: How long did president Same Nujoma rule?


Answer: Kalahari Desert

Context: The Kalahari Desert, an arid region shared with South Africa and Botswana, is one of Namibia's well-known geographical features. The Kalahari, while popularly known as a desert, has a variety of localised environments, including some verdant and technically non-desert areas. One of these, known as the Succulent Karoo, is home to over 5,000 species of plants, nearly half of them endemic; Approximately 10 percent of the world's succulents are found in the Karoo. The reason behind this high productivity and endemism may be the relatively stable nature of precipitation.

Question: What Desert is shared between South Africa and Botswana?


Answer: 5,000

Question: How many plants species are found in Succulent Karoo?


Answer: half

Question: How many plants are endemic to the Succulent Karoo?


Answer: 10 percent

Question: How many of the worlds succulents are found in Karoo?


Answer: stable nature of precipitation

Question: What is probably the reason there are so many unique plants in Karoo?


Answer: 17°S to 25°S

Context: Namibia extends from 17°S to 25°S: climatically the range of the sub-Tropical High Pressure Belt, arid is the overall climate description descending from the Sub-Humid (mean rain above 500 mm) through Semi-Arid between 300 and 500 mm (embracing most of the waterless Kalahari) and Arid from 150 to 300 mm (these three regions are inland from the western escarpment) to the Hyper-Arid coastal plain with less than a 100 mm mean. Temperature maxima are limited by the overall elevation of the entire region: only in the far south, Warmbad for instance, are mid-40 °C maxima recorded.

Question: What is the climate range for Namibia?


Answer: arid

Question: What is the overall climate description for Namibia?


Answer: 500 mm

Question: What is the mean rain above in Namibia?


Answer: 300 and 500 mm

Question: What is the semi-arid measurements in Namibia?


Answer: 150 to 300 mm

Question: What is the arid measurement in Namibia?


Answer: 300 days

Context: Typically the sub-Tropical High Pressure Belt, with frequent clear skies, provides more than 300 days of sunshine per year. It is situated at the southern edge of the tropics; the Tropic of Capricorn cuts the country about in half. The winter (June – August) is generally dry, both rainy seasons occur in summer, the small rainy season between September and November, the big one between February and April. Humidity is low, and average rainfall varies from almost zero in the coastal desert to more than 600 mm in the Caprivi Strip. Rainfall is however highly variable, and droughts are common. The last[update] bad rainy season with rainfall far below the annual average occurred in summer 2006/07.

Question: What is the typical amount of sunshine days in Tropical high pressure belt?


Answer: the Tropic of Capricorn

Question: What feature cuts Namibia in half?


Answer: dry

Question: What is the winter in Namibia like?


Answer: between February and April

Question: When is the rainiest season in Namibia?


Answer: low

Question: What is humidity like in Namibia?


Answer: Benguela

Context: Weather and climate in the coastal area are dominated by the cold, north-flowing Benguela current of the Atlantic Ocean which accounts for very low precipitation (50 mm per year or less), frequent dense fog, and overall lower temperatures than in the rest of the country. In Winter, occasionally a condition known as Bergwind (German: Mountain breeze) or Oosweer (Afrikaans: East weather) occurs, a hot dry wind blowing from the inland to the coast. As the area behind the coast is a desert, these winds can develop into sand storms with sand deposits in the Atlantic Ocean visible on satellite images.

Question: What current dominates the coastal area of Namibia?


Answer: north

Question: What direction does the current in the coastal area flow?


Answer: Atlantic

Question: Which ocean is on the coastal area of Namibia?


Answer: Bergwind

Question: What is the condition that happens in winter in Namibia?


Answer: sand storms

Question: What do hot dry winds blowing inland to the coast create?


Answer: Namibia

Context: Namibia is the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa and depends largely on groundwater. With an average rainfall of about 350 mm per annum, the highest rainfall occurs in the Caprivi in the northeast (about 600 mm per annum) and decreases in a westerly and southwesterly direction to as little as 50 mm and less per annum at the coast. The only perennial rivers are found on the national borders with South Africa, Angola, Zambia, and the short border with Botswana in the Caprivi. In the interior of the country surface water is available only in the summer months when rivers are in flood after exceptional rainfalls. Otherwise, surface water is restricted to a few large storage dams retaining and damming up these seasonal floods and their runoff. Thus, where people don’t live near perennial rivers or make use of the storage dams, they are dependent on groundwater. The advantage of using groundwater sources is that even isolated communities and those economic activities located far from good surface water sources such as mining, agriculture, and tourism can be supplied from groundwater over nearly 80% of the country.

Question: What is the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa?


Answer: 350 mm per annum

Question: What is the average rainfall in Namibia?


Answer: Caprivi

Question: Where does the highest rainfall occur in Namibia?


Answer: 80%

Question: How much of the country does dam water supply the rest of the country with?


Answer: natural resources

Context: Namibia is one of few countries in the world to specifically address conservation and protection of natural resources in its constitution. Article 95 states, "The State shall actively promote and maintain the welfare of the people by adopting international policies aimed at the following: maintenance of ecosystems, essential ecological processes, and biological diversity of Namibia, and utilisation of living natural resources on a sustainable basis for the benefit of all Namibians, both present and future."

Question: What does Namibia protect in it's constitution?


Answer: Article 95

Question: What article in the Namibia constitution supports natural conservation?


Answer: utilisation of living natural resources

Question: What do Namibians believe sustains them?


Answer: 1993

Context: In 1993, the newly formed government of Namibia received funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Living in a Finite Environment (LIFE) Project. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism with the financial support from organisations such as USAID, Endangered Wildlife Trust, WWF, and Canadian Ambassador's Fund, together form a Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) support structure. The main goal of this project is promote sustainable natural resource management by giving local communities rights to wildlife management and tourism.

Question: When did Namibia receive funding from USAID?


Answer: Living in a Finite Environment

Question: What does LIFE project stand for?


Answer: Community Based Natural Resource Management

Question: What does CBNRM stand for?


Answer: United States Agency for International Development

Question: What does USAID stands for?


Answer: states that aided the independence

Context: Namibia follows a largely independent foreign policy, with persisting affiliations with states that aided the independence struggle, including Cuba. With a small army and a fragile economy, the Namibian Government's principal foreign policy concern is developing strengthened ties within the Southern African region. A dynamic member of the Southern African Development Community, Namibia is a vocal advocate for greater regional integration. Namibia became the 160th member of the UN on 23 April 1990. On its independence it became the fiftieth member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Question: Who does Namibia have affiliation with in their foreign policy?


Answer: Southern African

Question: What ties does Namibia want to strengthen?


Answer: 160th

Question: Which number member is Namibia in the UN?


Answer: 23 April 1990

Question: When did Namibia join the UN?


Answer: fiftieth

Question: Which number member is Namibia in the Commonwealth of Nations?


Answer: 36.7%

Context: According to the Namibia Labour Force Survey Report 2012, conducted by the Namibia Statistics Agency, the country's unemployment rate is 27.4%. "Strict unemployment" (people actively seeking a full-time job) stood at 20.2% in 2000, 21.9% in 2004 and spiraled to 29.4% in 2008. Under a broader definition (including people that have given up searching for employment) unemployment rose to 36.7% in 2004. This estimate considers people in the informal economy as employed. Labour and Social Welfare Minister Immanuel Ngatjizeko praised the 2008 study as "by far superior in scope and quality to any that has been available previously", but its methodology has also received criticism.

Question: What was the highest unemployment rate in Namibia?


Answer: Immanuel Ngatjizeko

Question: Who is the Labour and Social Welfare Minister?


Answer: 20.2%

Question: When was the lowest unemployment rate in Namibia?


Answer: 27.4%

Question: What is Namibian's unemployment rate?


Answer: top emerging market economy in Africa

Context: In 2013, global business and financial news provider, Bloomberg, named Namibia the top emerging market economy in Africa and the 13th best in the world. Only four African countries made the Top 20 Emerging Markets list in the March 2013 issue of Bloomberg Markets magazine, and Namibia was rated ahead of Morocco (19th), South Africa (15th) and Zambia (14th). Worldwide, Namibia also fared better than Hungary, Brazil and Mexico. Bloomberg Markets magazine ranked the top 20 based on more than a dozen criteria. The data came from Bloomberg's own financial-market statistics, IMF forecasts and the World Bank. The countries were also rated on areas of particular interest to foreign investors: the ease of doing business, the perceived level of corruption and economic freedom. In order to attract foreign investment, the government has made improvement in reducing red tape resulted from excessive government regulations making the country one of the least bureaucratic places to do business in the region. However, facilitation payments are occasionally demanded by customs due to cumbersome and costly customs procedures. Namibia is also classified as an Upper Middle Income country by the World Bank, and ranks 87th out of 185 economies in terms of ease of doing business.

Question: What did Bloomberg name Namibia?


Answer: 13th best in the world

Question: What rank did Bloomberg name Namibia's economy?


Answer: four

Question: How many African countries made the list for top Emerging Markets?


Answer: half

Context: About half of the population depends on agriculture (largely subsistence agriculture) for its livelihood, but Namibia must still import some of its food. Although per capita GDP is five times the per capita GDP of Africa's poorest countries, the majority of Namibia's people live in rural areas and exist on a subsistence way of life. Namibia has one of the highest rates of income inequality in the world, due in part to the fact that there is an urban economy and a more rural cash-less economy. The inequality figures thus take into account people who do not actually rely on the formal economy for their survival. Although arable land accounts for only 1% of Namibia, nearly half of the population is employed in agriculture.

Question: How much of the population depends on agriculture?


Answer: five times

Question: How much more is the per capita GDP in Namibia compared to the rest of Africa's countries?


Answer: inequality

Question: Namibia has one of the highest rates of what type of income problems in the world?


Answer: rural

Question: Where does a majority of Namibia's people live?


Answer: 1%

Question: How much of Namibia's land is arable?


Answer: 25%

Context: Providing 25% of Namibia's revenue, mining is the single most important contributor to the economy. Namibia is the fourth largest exporter of non-fuel minerals in Africa and the world's fourth largest producer of uranium. There has been significant investment in uranium mining and Namibia is set to become the largest exporter of uranium by 2015. Rich alluvial diamond deposits make Namibia a primary source for gem-quality diamonds. While Namibia is known predominantly for its gem diamond and uranium deposits, a number of other minerals are extracted industrially such as lead, tungsten, gold, tin, fluorspar, manganese, marble, copper and zinc. There are offshore gas deposits in the Atlantic Ocean that are planned to be extracted in the future. According to "The Diamond Investigation", a book about the global diamond market, from 1978, De Beers, the largest diamond company, bought most of the Namibian diamonds, and would continue to do so, because "whatever government eventually comes to power they will need this revenue to survive".

Question: How much revenue does mining provide Namibia?


Answer: fourth

Question: Where does Namibia rank in the exportation of uranium?


Answer: gem-quality diamonds

Question: What does rich alluvial diamond deposits make Namibia a source of?


Answer: uranium

Question: Namibia was expected to become the largest exporter of what in 2015?


Answer: Sport hunting

Context: There are many lodges and reserves to accommodate eco-tourists. Sport hunting is also a large, and growing component of the Namibian economy, accounting for 14% of total tourism in the year 2000, or $19.6 million US dollars, with Namibia boasting numerous species sought after by international sport hunters. In addition, extreme sports such as sandboarding, skydiving and 4x4ing have become popular, and many cities have companies that provide tours.[citation needed] The most visited places include the capital city of Windhoek, Caprivi Strip, Fish River Canyon, Sossusvlei, the Skeleton Coast Park, Sesriem, Etosha Pan and the coastal towns of Swakopmund, Walvis Bay and Lüderitz.

Question: What accounts for almost 14% of total tourism in Namibia?


Answer: $19.6 million US dollars

Question: How much economic assistance does Namibia get from tourism from hunting?


Answer: extreme sports

Question: What other types of sports are popular in Namibia?


Answer: Windhoek

Question: What is the most visited city in Namibia?


Answer: coastal

Question: What type of town is Swakopmund?


Answer: Windhoek

Context: The capital city of Windhoek plays a very important role in Namibia's tourism due to its central location and close proximity to Hosea Kutako International Airport. According to The Namibia Tourism Exit Survey, which was produced by the Millennium Challenge Corporation for the Namibian Directorate of Tourism, 56% of all tourists visiting Namibia during the time period, 2012 - 2013, visited Windhoek. Many of Namibia's tourism related parastatals and governing bodies such as Namibia Wildlife Resorts, Air Namibia and the Namibia Tourism Board as well as Namibia's tourism related trade associations such as the Hospitality Association of Namibia are also all headquartered in Windhoek. There are also a number of notable hotels in Windhoek such as Windhoek Country Club Resort and some international hotel chains also operate in Windhoek, such as Avani Hotels and Resorts and Hilton Hotels and Resorts.

Question: What is the capital of Namibia?


Answer: Hosea Kutako International Airport

Question: What is the airport in Namibia?


Answer: Windhoek Country Club Resort

Question: What is the most popular hotel in Windhoek?