Kevin Gower

Peru was first colonised by the Spanish in the 15th century. Despite the wars of independence being fought across Latin America in the early 19th century, Peru remained loyal to the Spanish crown. There had been some insurrection but this had been quashed by the government.

The Viceroy of Peru then initiated a military campaign against Chile and their fight for independence. Despite some early success, the tide turned against the Viceroy and the Royalist forces. Argentina and Chile then signed a treaty to pursue the ‘liberation’ of Peru. On entering Lima, the Argentinian commander, Jose San Martin declared the independence of Peru on July 28th 1821, with the phrase: “Peru is from this moment free and independent by the general will of the people and by the justice of its cause that God defends.”

However, it wasn’t until 1824, following the decisive victory at the Battle of Ayacucho under the leadership of Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín, that independence was achieved.

They say that the Rio Carnival is the greatest show on Earth as the streets of Rio de Janeiro explode in a riot of colour and noise as partygoers from across the world welcome the onset of Lent in early spring. That tradition had made its way from medieval Europe via Africa to the Americas during the age of exploration and the slave trade.

It wasn’t just Brazil that began a tradition of Carnival. From Louisiana in the USA, across the Caribbean and into South America, different geographic, ethnic and religious influences shaped each Carnival to form its unique identity.

Take the Saba Summer Festival as an example. Part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Saba is a tiny island only five square miles nestled in the northeastern Caribbean, yet its colourful and exuberant annual festival packs enough “spice per mile” to compete with the grandest of carnivals!

According to Saba Tourism Bureau, Carnival, also known as Saba Summer Festival has been taking place since 1975. It’s held in July as many Sabans living abroad, in particular students furthering their education elsewhere, return home for the Summer holidays. The Saba Summer Festival may use terms familiar to Lent Carnivals such as Jouvert and Last Lap, but the focus here is on having fun rather than a last splurge before the austerity of Lent.

The public holiday for Carnival Monday replaced Whit Monday, which is no longer observed as a public holiday.

Highlights of the festival include the Opening Night Jump-Up, which is when islanders parade through the street, dancing and revelling in the joy of the celebration, live concerts, various competitions, comedy shows, costume competitions, and the costumed parades that take place on the final Saturday and Sunday.

THE boss of a company has informed staff of his intention to do an endurance challenge and received no follow-up questions from anyone.

When chief operating officer Martin, aged 49, not his real name, asked for a moment of his staff’s time he expected cheers, awe and promises of vast sums but instead got carefully blank faces and barely perceptible nods.

He said: “I’d been building up to the moment I announced I was doing the Swansea Bay Ironman Triathlon next year, so convened a special lunchtime meeting.

“But the big reveal got me nothing. I can’t understand why. It wasn’t from any lack of enthusiasm on my part, or the quality of the PowerPoint and spiral-bound brochures.

“I outlined the course: a mile swim, then biking out through Mumbles into the hills of the Gower peninsula, then a final 13.1k loop along the bay. I invited them along to spectate, but they were staring at their shoes and checking their phones. This is 70.2 kilometres! It is a big deal!”

Team leader Cad, not his real name, said: “So that’s a year of training, boring on about his hydration levels and telling the girls to prod his calves, frequent absences we’ll have to cover and he’s asking us to pay him £50 each.

“Sorry, it’s for charity. Though he didn’t mention which one, presumably because that’s beside the f**king point.”

The Republic of Liberia began as a settlement of the American Colonization Society (ACS), who believed black people would face better chances for freedom in Africa than in the United States.

Between 1822 and 1861, thousands of free blacks were relocated to the settlement at Cape Mesurado on the Pepper Coast of West Africa. In 1824 the colony was named Liberia, and the main settlement was named Monrovia, which remains the present-day capital.

Monrovia is named in honour of U.S. President James Monroe, who supported the colonization of Liberia by the American Colonization Society. This makes it the only other national capital to be named after a U.S. President; Washington, D.C. being the other.

The settlers faced immense hardships in the initial years with atrocious mortality rates due to disease and conflict with the indigenous peoples. Within twenty years, the colony had grown and established economic stability.

On July 26th 1847, the settlers issued a Declaration of Independence and promulgated a constitution. The constitution was heavily based on the United States Constitution and established the independent Republic of Liberia. The United Kingdom was the first country to recognize Liberia’s independence, the United States only recognized Liberia’s independence in 1862 during the American Civil War.

Liberia was the first African republic to proclaim its independence, and is Africa’s first and oldest modern republic, maintaining independence despite the colonial expansion in Africa in the late nineteenth century.

The Star and Stripes 

The Liberian flag is based on the flag of the united States and was adopted on July 26th 1847. It has 11 horizontal red stripes representing the 11 men who signed the Liberian Declaration of Independence. The single star represents African freedom.

HE’S been sitting there all evening and you know, and he knows you know, it’s his round. Use these ways to gently point it out to the scrounging bastard:

The Casual Head Nod

Gaze at your empty glass, then him, then the bar, before giving a gentle nod in that direction. If he asks what you’re looking at, simply reply ‘Your future, mate’. If he still doesn’t get it, point out the bar again, asking if he needs you to mark it on Apple Maps.

The Phantom Wallet Search

Pat your own pockets theatrically before saying ‘Thank God it’s your round because I’ve left my…’ and trail off. Gauge his reaction. Like David Attenborough filming a rare woodland stoat, you’ve startled the round-dodger into revealing his natural defence mechanisms. Namely, staring at the floor, checking his phone or suddenly needing a piss.

Buy Everyone Else a Drink

Return with fresh pints for everyone except him. When he asks where his is, smile warmly and say that that buying him one would only confuse him further about how rounds work. Add ‘You need to master the basics before we move on to advanced round-buying,’ and ask it he’s considered evening classes.

The Public Service Announcement

Raise your empty glass and loudly ask if anyone else wants one. Watch him stare into the middle distance as if pretending not to understand English will save him thirty quid. Then, scratch frantically at your throat, pretending to die of thirst. Saying you fancy a drink isn’t sufficient as the scumbag will respond that he’s ‘alright actually, thanks’.

The Barman Assist

Catch the bartender’s eye and when he asks ‘who’s next?’ point to your friend and his sealed wallet. He’ll already have noticed and, like any decent server of alcohol, considers it a personal insult to civilisation. And his livelihood. Round-avoiders are the only customers publicans despise more than those who order mocktails at peak times.

The Nuclear Option

Pick him up bodily and drag him to the f**king bar. Hold his phone up to his face until it unlocks, then complete the transaction before his flight instinct kicks in. Hold him there even if it does. This is male bonding.

Fulgencio Batista had led a military coup on 10 March 1952 installing himself as president, supported financially and militarily by the United States government. Batista moved to suspend the 1940 Constitution and revoked most political liberties, including the right to strike. 

Fidel Castro was a lawyer with strong communist views. He had participated in the elections that were cancelled due to Batista’s coup. Castro viewed Batista as an oppressive dictator in the pocket of the US and had begun training rebels with the aim of removing Batista. 

On the morning of 26 July 1953, around 160 men under the command of Fidel Castro attacked the Moncada army garrison in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba’s second-largest city. The attack was seen as an opportunity to arm the rebels and instigate a revolution that would bring down Batista. 

By any measure, the assault was a failure, with deaths on both sides. Many of the rebels were hunted down and executed. Those that were captured, including Castro, were sentenced to long prison sentences; though they only served 22 months due to an amnesty for political prisoners.

Fulgencio Batista was removed from power on 12 January 1959. 

Despite the failure of the attack on the Moncada barracks, it is seen as the catalyst for the Castro-led insurrection that eventually expelled Fulgencio Batista. The date of the attack was adopted by Castro as the name for his revolutionary movement. (Movimiento 26 Julio or M 26-7). 

The damage to the Moncada Barracks was quickly repaired by the military after the attack. The bullet holes were recreated in the façade of the barracks after the revolution’s success.

DONALD Trump has made at least $1 billion from cryptocurrency, it has emerged. So who better to give advice on putting your money into this risky and complex investment?

Launch your own cryptocurrency

Obviously you can’t make money from crypto in a legitimate way, so set up your own with an ego-boosting name like ‘Trumpcoin’. Was there a ‘Bidencoin’ that rapidly lost 97 per cent of its value and screwed ordinary investors? No. That guy’s a loser.

Attract the stupidest investors in the world

If you’re an amoral piece of shit selling a product that screams ‘SCAM!’, you’ll need dumb investors. And that’s where MAGA comes in. They’re unlikely to worry about the inherent instability of currency without a central bank when they think Michelle Obama is a man because some dicks on the internet say so.

Get your family involved

I put my sons Don Jr and Eric in charge of my cryptocurrency. There’s nothing more American than a wholesome family-owned business, and if it turns out to have done a load of illegal stuff and they go to prison, who cares? They’re only your children, so it’s not like you’re close.

Make sure you understand it

Never get involved in crypto without knowing how it works. The last thing you want is for your blockchains to get clogged with too many Bitcoins, which might make liquidity leak everywhere. Luckily there’s no one in the world who understands cryptocurrency like me. Everything is computer.

Learn from actual crimes

Many criminal scams involve taking money on false pretences, like selling products you’ve no intention of sending or persuading someone to buy the Eiffel Tower. If this appeals to you, you should definitely start your own cryptocurrency. It’s totally legal and you don’t even have to set up a crummy website full of suspiciously cheap Xboxes.

Make sure you’re president

Your foray into cryptocurrency will be aided by becoming president so that crypto shysters desperately want to start a company with you, and you can lure in more suckers by saying you’ll make America into a ‘crypto superpower’. This sounds like I’m about to tank the US economy with crypto bullshit, but don’t worry, I’ll be fine.

Get out early

The trick with crypto is to watch it massively increase in value, then get rid of it faster than someone who’s just been handed a warm dog turd. It’s the only way to invest in this totally legitimate currency of the future.

DONALD Trump has made at least $1 billion from cryptocurrency, it has emerged. So who better to give advice on putting your money into this risky and complex investment?

Launch your own cryptocurrency

Obviously you can’t make money from crypto in a legitimate way, so set up your own with an ego-boosting name like ‘Trumpcoin’. Was there a ‘Bidencoin’ that rapidly lost 97 per cent of its value and screwed ordinary investors? No. That guy’s a loser.

Attract the stupidest investors in the world

If you’re an amoral piece of shit selling a product that screams ‘SCAM!’, you’ll need dumb investors. And that’s where MAGA comes in. They’re unlikely to worry about the inherent instability of currency without a central bank when they think Michelle Obama is a man because some dicks on the internet say so.

Get your family involved

I put my sons Don Jr and Eric in charge of my cryptocurrency. There’s nothing more American than a wholesome family-owned business, and if it turns out to have done a load of illegal stuff and they go to prison, who cares? They’re only your children, so it’s not like you’re close.

Make sure you understand it

Never get involved in crypto without knowing how it works. The last thing you want is for your blockchains to get clogged with too many Bitcoins, which might make liquidity leak everywhere. Luckily there’s no one in the world who understands cryptocurrency like me. Everything is computer.

Learn from actual crimes

Many criminal scams involve taking money on false pretences, like selling products you’ve no intention of sending or persuading someone to buy the Eiffel Tower. If this appeals to you, you should definitely start your own cryptocurrency. It’s totally legal and you don’t even have to set up a crummy website full of suspiciously cheap Xboxes.

Make sure you’re president

Your foray into cryptocurrency will be aided by becoming president so that crypto shysters desperately want to start a company with you, and you can lure in more suckers by saying you’ll make America into a ‘crypto superpower’. This sounds like I’m about to tank the US economy with crypto bullshit, but don’t worry, I’ll be fine.

Get out early

The trick with crypto is to watch it massively increase in value, then get rid of it faster than someone who’s just been handed a warm dog turd. It’s the only way to invest in this totally legitimate currency of the future.

Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios was born in Caracas on July 24th 1783.

He was born into an influential and rich family, but both his parents died before he was ten, and Bolivar was placed under the guidance of several tutors, the most influential being Don Simón Rodríguez, who became his mentor and instilled in Bolivar the ideas of liberty, enlightenment, and freedom. When Bolivar was 14, Rodríguez had to leave the country and Bolivar joined a military academy. When he was 16, Bolívar was sent to Europe to complete his education.

He lived in Spain and married the daughter of a Spanish nobleman in 1802. He then returned to Caracas with his young bride, who died less than a year later from Yellow fever. He then travelled across Europe for a few years, even meeting Napoleon Bonaparte whose success at the time impressed Bolivar.

On his return to Caracas, he found a region that had started to embrace the idea of independence from colonial rule. In 1810, he joined a group of patriots that temporarily seized Caracas and proclaimed independence from Spain.

In 1813, he was given command of a patriot army and he began a successful military campaign – recapturing Caracas from the Spaniards. He was soon forced to retreat to New Granada (now Colombia), which was also at war with Spain. Taking command of a Colombian army he captured Bogota in 1814. The struggle for Colombia (now Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela) continued until 1819. After the military victory, he led the congress that organised the original republic of Colombia and Bolivar became its first president on December 17th 1819.

Lieutenant José Quiñones Gonzales was a Peruvian pilot during the Ecuadorian–Peruvian War. On July 23rd 1941, his plane, a North American NA-50 fighter, was hit while performing a low-level attack on an Ecuadorian border post on the banks of the Zarumilla River.

According to Peruvian accounts, instead of parachuting to safety, Quiñones chose to make the supreme sacrifice by crashing his damaged aircraft onto the Ecuadorian position, rendering the battery out of action. 

Quiñones was promoted posthumously to the rank of Air Force Captain and was declared a national hero by law on May 10th 1966.

A PODCAST has quickly got down to the subject it is ostensibly about a mere 17 minutes into its runtime.

Treating the precious lives of its audience with the respect they deserve, the podcast whipped through its introductions and sponsorship adverts to get to its derivative contents in less time than it takes to listen to half of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours.

Listener Martin, not his real name, said: “I love this podcast, and I especially love getting through a good chunk of my workout listening to three people unenthusiastically droning on about NordVPN and plugging their upcoming Edinburgh shows.

“Even the staged chatter about what they’d been up to that week was mercifully brief, clocking in at a tight five minutes. They could have stretched it out, as they’d done nothing of interest, but best to leave the audience wanting more.

“Then it was simply a case of sitting through some terrible jingles, a needless recap of the format, and a couple more intrusive Spotify ads at deafening volume before getting right to it.

“Well worth it to hear up to 12 minutes of quizzing a celebrity guest previously unknown to me laughingly detailing their whole Greggs order. I would happily have spent twice the time building up to that hilarity thrillride.”

He added: “I’m thinking of signing up to their Patreon. Apparently you get uncut behind-the-scenes moments delivered direct to your inbox.”

Many Jews worldwide observe the religious holiday of Tisha B’Av by fasting, praying and reading Bible passages related to the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC.

Religious Jews have kept Tisha B’Av for centuries as a day of communal mourning for the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem.

The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans under Titus, who burned it down in 70 AD.

For Jews, the ninth day of the month of Av also commemorates multiple tragedies in Jewish history, ranging from God decreeing that the Israelites would wander in the desert for 40 years to Jews being expelled by decree from England in 1290 and from Spain in 1492. 

The Orthodox Jewish organization Chabad ranks Tisha B’Av as “the saddest day on the Jewish calendar,” even more sombre than Yom Kippur.

The Fast of Av begins at sunset the previous day and lasts for more than 24 hours.

Jewish law demands that during the three weeks preceding the day, Jews limit rejoicing: no weddings, no haircuts, no listening to music and swimming is prohibited. In the last nine days of the three weeks, no one is allowed to eat meat or drink wine except on Shabbat, or even wash clothes.

In a list of most popular reasons for public holidays, celebrating the birthday of a ruler or the date when a country threw off the shackles of colonial rule are probably the most popular. Not far down the list is commemorating a battle or war that was crucial to the heritage and history of a nation. This is the case with Guam’s Liberation Day which commemorates the Battle of Guam in 1944 which returned the island to U.S. control.

Guam is the southernmost and largest of the Marianas Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It became a U.S. territory in December 1898 after the Spanish-American War. The U.S. sold the other Marianas Islands to Germany.

In December 1941, Japan entered the second world war when it launched a surprise attack on the U.S. Naval base at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii. With the intention to dominate the Pacific theatre, Japan invaded Guam a few days after the Pearl Harbour attack. This first Battle of Gaum lasted two days before the U.S. troops were overwhelmed by the Japanese.

Japan’s early advances in the war began to wane as the U.S. Pacific Fleet retaliated with a major victory at the Battle of Midway coming in June 1942.

It would two long years of hard-fought victories before the U.S. launched its assault to liberate Guam on July 21st 1944. The Second Battle of Guam raged until August 10th, with the Japanese troops fighting to the last man.

We said “last man”, but some Japanese soliders held out in the jungle and fought until December 1944, and famously one of the Japanese soldiers was discovered on the island in January 1972, having escaped the fighting and living in a cave for 28 years.

After the battle, Guam became an important base for the allied operations that would eventually end the war in 1945.

The Spanish first arrived in Colombia in 1499, founding the first permanent settlement in 1510. Under the reign of King Charles III (reigned 1759-1788), resentment in the colonies was growing as the Spanish insisted that the colonies could only trade with Spain, limiting their growth and also as the Spanish support for the Americans in the US war of independence increased taxation. This had led to small, ineffective rebellions.

Following the Napoleonic Wars and the turmoil in Europe, Criollos (natives born from Spanish descent) who wanted independence seized their chance.

A DESPICABLE bastard of a boyfriend is on thin ice after being openly unsure if the person his partner is telling an anecdote about is an obviously malevolent idiot.

Hannah, not her real name, came home from work furious about an outrage committed toward her and only required the man who is supposed to love her to give his full, uncompromising support which he singularly failed to do.

She said: “I was telling Joe about this twat at work who did something utterly moronic, as usual. He already knows the backstory. His role could not have been clearer.

“But in the middle of what I was saying, just as the extent of her malice was about to become apparent, he cuts in with, ‘Well, it sounds like Mary was just trying to help’.

“I explained he does not know her, has no idea what she’s like, and added that if that is how he feels maybe he should just go to Mary’s house and tell her since clearly he loves her and wants to shag her. What an absolutely useless prick.”

Boyfriend Allan, not his real name, said: “According to Hannah, she said the meeting notes needed writing up, it wasn’t specifically delegated to Mary, she did it anyway but nobody had told her what format to use. I failed to see the villainy in that.

“I thought this would show I was actually listening to the story, not just mindlessly agreeing. I see now that was a mistake.

“Thankfully, Hannah’s being completely rational about it and has asked if I want Mary’s, who’s 62 and married, home address so I can tell her how great she is and we can arrange a tryst.”

Nicaragua is the largest of the republics in Central America. 

In 1936, Anastasio Somoza García, the head of Nicaragua’s army deposed the elected President, Juan Bautista Sacasa (who was also Somoza’s uncle), and installed himself as President. 

This effectively established a hereditary dictatorship in the country for over 45 years, with two of Somoza’s sons serving as president after Somoza had been assassinated in 1956. 

Backed by the US because of their anti-communist stance, the administration brought some reforms to the country, though the Somozas exhibited the usual dictatorial traits of accumulating incredible personal wealth and exiling any potential opponents. 

Anastasio Somoza Debayle, the second of Somoza’s sons to be president was seen as particularly dictatorial and was accused of human rights violations. 

Not too far in the background of the Somoza rule was the Sandinista National Liberation Front. This was a socialist revolutionary group founded in 1962 and named after Augusto Sandino, a hero of the resistance to U.S. military occupation between 1927 and 1933. 

Since their creation, the Sandinistas had steadily built their support base amongst workers, students and peasants. In the 1970s, the political aims spilt over into military attacks on the Nicaraguan government. And although the Somozas retaliated, the revolution was gaining momentum, exploding into direct confrontations between the Sandinistas and the Nicaraguan army in 1978. 

STAFF who will find any excuse to have a few drinks after work strangely never celebrate employee of the month awards, it has emerged.

Employees who are happy to drunkenly socialise for the birthdays and leaving dos of people they barely know have an odd lack of interest in recognising a colleague being good at their job.

Sales executive Martin, not his real name, said: “I think part of the problem is it’s more of a burden than an actual prize. A poisoned chalice, if you will. Except they’re too stingy to give you a chalice.

“You only get ‘preferential’ treatment that would delight the worst sort of corporate drone, like being asked your opinion on shitty work strategies and having the boss sit on the edge of your desk asking which minion is deserving enough to be the next recipient.

“The unlucky winner gets their fake, smiley ‘Meet the team’ webpage photo plastered on the wall in the corridor leading to the toilets. You also get a tacky trophy with a gold briefcase on top for a month. You don’t even get to keep it, not that you’d want to.

“The borderline alcoholics I work with will go for a drink for anything: birthdays, training days, even baby showers. Christ, last month we got pissed to celebrate Darren buying an air fryer. But employee of the month never results in going to the pub. It’s weird.”

Office manager Hannah, not her real name, said: “Now you mention it, it is strange that our office never celebrates employee of the month. But I think we can put that down to them usually being a loathsome, arselicking little crawler.

“That’s not a criticism, by the way.”

After achieving enlightenment, Buddha gave his first sermon in the Deer Park in Isipatana, India and founded the Buddhist sangha (monkhood) about 2,500 years ago.

In the sermon, which is known as ‘Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion’, the Buddha first spelt out the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.

In His First Sermon, the Buddha said, “I teach one thing and one thing only: suffering and the end of suffering,” which is the ultimate goal of Buddhism. The Buddha presented and explained this very doctrine in his major discourses. In this First Sermon at Deer Park, He taught the Four Noble Truths: the existence of suffering, the cause of suffering, that the cause of suffering can end, and the path to the end of suffering.

“Avoiding extremes, the Buddha has realised the Middle Path: It gives vision, it gives knowledge, and it leads to calm, to insight, to enlightenment, to Nirvana. And what is that Middle Path? It is simply the Noble Eightfold Path, namely, right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. This is the Middle Path realised by the Buddha, which gives vision, which gives knowledge, and which leads to calm, to insight, to enlightenment, and to Nirvana.”

IDLY scrolling through your banking app, you begin to wonder what the f**k all these monthly payments are actually for. These are the bastards bleeding you dry:

Gym membership

Signed up to following a bad photo of yourself three years ago. Last attended in June 2025. The £36 a month has stayed significantly more committed than you did.

Hinge+

Upgraded in a low moment to see who’d liked you. It was one bot and a man called Gaz, aged 51, holding a large fish.

The Economist

It’s still unsure who you the f**k you thought you were when you signed up to this. The unread pile is now as high as the toilet bowl.

Quibz

You’d never heard of this streaming platform before but signed up for a free trial to watch a single film. Two weeks later it renewed into an annual plan and you’re now a Quibz Platinum member.

Drizzl

Another streaming platform. Never heard of it. Another free trial. You are apparently Drizzl Elite.

Zumo

Yet another streaming platform. The only evidence this one even exists is your monthly payment.

A document-scanning app

Used once to scan a parking permit. Inexplicably £180 a year. Nobody has ever found the option to cancel.

A financial management app

You subscribed to an app to help get rid of all your subscriptions and all you ended up with was another subscription, because you are incapable of learning.

Extra cloud storage

£2.49 a month for 200GB, 190 of which is screenshots of memes from a group chat you dearly wish you could leave.

A meditation app

You downloaded this in the hopes of reducing stress. The most recent payment put you into your overdraft.

A parking app

Required by a car park in Basingstoke you’ve never been back to. Charged you 30p to avoid a ticket, then 99p a month ever since. The car park is now flats.

Adobe something

You needed to edit one PDF for work. You are now subscribed to a suite of professional creative tools used by Hollywood studios.

A razor subscription box

Five blades and beard oil arrive monthly. You’re unaware of this because your downstairs neighbour steals them.

Super Duolingo

You think you might have known how to introduce yourself in French the last time you used this, but can’t be sure. Quel dommage.

A vitamin gummy subscription

A box of suspiciously colourful gummies turns up for an immune system you can’t ever remember worrying about.

Antivirus software

Renewed itself for a third year to protect a laptop you recycled last summer.

Following the end of World War II and liberation from Japanese Rule, Korea was split in two by the occupation of Allied and Soviet forces.

In April 1948 a democratic election for National Assembly members was held in Allied-controlled South Korea. The elected assembly members then created a constitution, based on a presidential and unicameral system.

This constitution was formally adopted by President Syngman Rhee on July 17th 1948

On August 15th 1948, the Republic of Korea was established, with Syngman Rhee as the first president. On September 9th 1948, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) was established under Kim Il-sung.

Bolivia gained its independence on August 6th 1825, an event celebrated each year on the country’s national day. The journey to independence didn’t happen overnight. Sixteen years earlier, Bolivia was the location of the first stirrings of nationalism in Latin America. In May 1809, the ‘Primer grito libertario’ (first shout of freedom) took place in Sucre. Shortly afterwards, the flame of insurrection was lit in La Paz, the capital of Bolivia.

On July 16th 1809 the Bolivian patriot Pedro Domingo Murillo led an uprising led a revolt of mestizos, or those of mixed European and South American heritage, against the Spanish authorities in La Paz. Murillo declared Upper Peru (modern-day Bolivia) to be an independent state, beginning the Bolivian War of Independence.

To commemorate the momentous events of 1809, July 16th is now a municipal holiday in La Paz, and the day is celebrated with parades, concerts, fireworks, and dancing.

La Paz is the second-highest city in the world and was the first South American city to have an electricity supply. It was powered by llama dung.

July 16th is also Our Lady of Carmel, honouring the Virgin Mary. Mary is the Patroness of Bolivia and the Armed Forces of the Nation, and of La Paz. In fact, the official name of the city is Nuestra Señora de La Paz (‘Our lady of peace’).

A WOMAN who is only offered a selection of lunatics and perverts on dating apps has been asked why she always picks the wrong men.

Hannah, not her real name, friends regard her romantic history as a personal failing, despite every app featuring the same rotating cast of commitment-phobes, crypto evangelists and men whose profile picture still includes a fish.

Hannah, 36, said: “They say ‘you need to stop choosing the wrong type’ as if I keep ignoring emotionally intelligent millionaires who do Pilates in favour of a 45-year-old who lives with his mum and calls himself a ‘men’s rights activist’.

“Do they honestly believe I want to spend time with a man who refers to his penis as ‘Little Pete’, as he explained to me in Pizza Express? Or guys who think your lovemaking won’t be impaired by worrying you’ll catch something off the sheets?

“I am wading through a sea of shit while smug marrieds who’ve been off the market since 2012 send me reels about ‘anxious-avoidant attachment’ and ‘manifesting healthy love’.

“They should try having fulfilling relationships when the only options are weird liars who clearly aren’t six foot, even in their massive platform trainers. Or the guy who had seven kids by seven different women because his genes are ‘too good to waste’.”

Shortly afterwards Tomlinson was matched with a man claiming to be a wealthy porn director scouting for new talent, which was both undesirable and unlikely for someone who appeared to live in a Transit van.