A girl is to become a tool for a shadowy conspiracy, which will determine her fate. The year is 2030. The world is divided into supernational unions yet they don’t control all nation-states, inviting an acceptable quantity of wars for mercenaries to find. This was the result of an alien ship crashing into the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan in the year 1985 with the supernational unions born from a world war from 1989 to 1991 that saw the use of nuclear weapons. Four months after being assigned to monitor Japanese corporate heiress Maria Hoshikawa, Iron Dutchman Services is tasked to assist the Foreign Intelligence Service of the New United Nations in assisting with an operation to rescue one Maral Eminovna Guliyeva, a teenage girl forced into sexual slavery, from Mexican drug lord Segismundo Alba. In truth, the mission is an attempt by the FIS to draw out Anton Oleksandrovich Kravchenko, the sex trafficker who sold Guliyeva to Alba, in order to capture him and use him for future negotiations with the Eurasian Tsardom as they failed to capture Kravchenko. However, the Gatekeepers of Knowledge, the organization mostly responsible for the reconstruction of the world after the Third World War, intend on taking advantage of this operation as they want Guliyeva as well. This, along with the Eurasian Tsardom’s OVR launching an operation to bring Imperial Eurasian Navy Walgear pilot Vladimir Nikolayevich Mirov to Japan to learn about Tarou Ganji and Tatev Mirzoyan’s feelings about the mission, will affect Guliyeva’s fate…

Population diversity is becoming more prevalent globally with increasing immigration, emigration, and refugee placement. These circumstances increase the likelihood that a child will be raised speaking a different language in the home than the common language used in each country. This necessitates the development of comprehensive strategies that promote second language learning through the adoption of new technological advancements. New Technological Applications for Foreign and Second Language Learning and Teaching is a scholarly publication that explores how the latest technologies have the potential to engage foreign and second language learners both within and outside the language classroom and to facilitate language learning and teaching in the target language. Highlighting a range of topics such as learning analytics, digital games, and telecollaboration, this book is ideal for teachers, instructional designers, curriculum developers, IT consultants, educational software developers, language learning specialists, academicians, administrators, professionals, researchers, and students.

Few subjects elicit greater moral outrage than human trafficking. Media reports of dehumanizing practices such as slavery, abduction, child prostitution, and torture, along with shocking statistics, form the basis of public knowledge. Those who work closely with victims acknowledge the complexity of the issue, and it is this complexity, rather than loose statistics and conjecture, that deserves our attention. With sensitivity and candor, this book addresses the reality of human trafficking in Thailand, dissecting studies, presenting facts, and dismissing stereotypes. It focuses on the areas of fishing, agriculture, domestic work, sex work, and the trafficking of children, weaving individual narratives and official studies into the wider history of Thailand’s changing economy and labor situation. It also details how the Thai government has addressed the issue, reflects on the roots of human exploitation, and suggests a way forward. This book raises much-needed awareness of commonly held misconceptions and clarifies what we know and what we have yet to discover about the trafficking of persons to and from Thailand. Highlights • Concise and accessible study of the reality of human trafficking in Thailand • Thorough critical analysis of current policies and public discourse on trafficking • Details relevant Thai and international laws • Discusses the relationship between the modern economic system and exploitation • Analyzes the changing face of the Thai labor market and the impact of industrialization on the Thai population

A seemingly simple protection job alerts the existence of a shadowy conspiracy. The year is 2030. The world is divided into supernational unions yet they don't control all nation-states, inviting an acceptable quantity of wars for mercenaries to find. This was the result of an alien ship crashing into the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan in the year 1985 with the supernational unions born from a world war from 1989 to 1991 that saw the use of nuclear weapons. The mercenary group Iron Dutchman Services, after another pay cut due to the damage wrought from their last job, takes up a job offer from the Foreign Intelligence Service of the New United Nations to go to Japan to secretly protect Maria Hoshikawa, a teenage corporate heiress. One member, Tarou Ganji, seventeen years old, uses this job as an opportunity to figure out his past as Maria has a similar upbringing (growing up in a country with different physical features from its inhabitants). The risk comes in acting like a normal teenager; something Tarou never learned to do as he learned how to use a gun at the age of ten. However, shadowy forces intend on using Maria for their own ends. They employ a man that made Tarou what he is today to kidnap her, having him work with the OVR foreign intelligence agency of the Eurasian Tsardom. This will complicate Tarou's mission as many now have an interest with a teenage girl, putting the fate of the world at risk.

There is a tribute book to be written about the nicest man in snooker - but this isnt it! Whatever else he was, The Hurricane wasnt nice. He was unpredictable, wild, demonic and obsessive. The Peoples Champion was an unstoppable force who transformed snooker from a niche sport into a must watch phenomenon. Drawing upon unrivalled access to The Hurricanes friends and player colleagues, this is an affectionate and honest portrayal of the most legendary player ever to hit the world of snooker. This is a real tribute book and an honest and affectionate portrait of the snooker legend by John Virgo who was a great friend, rival and compatriot to the most complicated genius ever to grace the game. Virgo was frequently driven to despair by Higgins antics, the gambling, the drug using, the sheer uninhibited madness of the man but there was always a buzz around the man, there was ALWAYS something happening !

I'm Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter meets Emergency Contact in this stunning Pura Belpré Honor Book about first love, familial expectations, the power of food, and finding where you belong. Penelope Prado has always dreamed of opening her own pastelería next to her father's restaurant, Nacho's Tacos. But her mom and dad have different plans—leaving Pen to choose between not disappointing her traditional Mexican American parents or following her own path. When she confesses a secret she's been keeping, her world is sent into a tailspin. But then she meets a cute new hire at Nacho's who sees through her hard exterior and asks the questions she's been too afraid to ask herself. Xander Amaro has been searching for home since he was a little boy. For him, a job at Nacho's is an opportunity for just that—a chance at a normal life, to settle in at his abuelo's, and to find the father who left him behind. But when both the restaurant and Xander's immigrant status are threatened, he will do whatever it takes to protect his newfound family and himself. Together, Pen and Xander must navigate first love and discovering where they belong in order to save the place they all call home. This stunning and poignant novel from debut author Laekan Zea Kemp explores identity, found families and the power of food, all nestled within a courageous and intensely loyal Chicanx community.

Keely Allen's life goes into a tailspin when her adoptive father is viciously attacked. And the detective who offers to help her? None other than the sexy, love 'em and leave 'em man who once broke her heart. Homicide Detective Logan North carries a haunting secret that has always kept his emotions on lockdown. But when he is forced to work alongside his former lover, the heat is still there between them, burning hotter than ever. Logan is determined to keep the luscious and tempting Keely at a distance...but he made a vow not to leave until all are safe. They're in a race to solve the tangled web of crime, and their lives have never been in more danger.

He made a fortune of two bilion US dollars in four years. He won four elections by landslides. He was overthrown by a coup and driven into exile. His opponents and supporters dressed themselves in red and yellow and fought battles on the streets. To some, he is a visionary, even a revolutionary. To others, he is greedy, deceitful, deluded, dangerous. This book was first published in 2004. Four new chapters provide a detailed account of the turmoil of Thai politics over the subsequent five years.