Des Moines vs Vlora

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Des Moines ( (listen)) is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857. It is located on, and named after, the Des Moines River, which likely was adapted from the early French name, Rivière des Moines, meaning "River of the Monks". The city's population was 214,237 as of the 2019 population estimate. The six-county metropolitan area is ranked 83rd in terms of population in the United States with 699,292 residents according to the 2019 estimate by the United States Census Bureau, and is the largest metropolitan area fully located within the state. A portion of the larger Omaha, Nebraska, metropolitan area extends into three counties of southwest Iowa.Des Moines is a major center of the US insurance industry and has a sizable financial services and publishing business base. The city was credited as the "number one spot for U.S. insurance companies" in a Business Wire article and named the third-largest "insurance capital" of the world.

The city is the headquarters for the Principal Financial Group, the Meredith Corporation, Ruan Transportation, TMC Transportation, EMC Insurance Companies, and Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. Other major corporations such as Wells Fargo, Voya Financial, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, ACE Limited, Marsh, Monsanto, and Corteva have large operations in or near the metropolitan area. In recent years, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, and Facebook have built data-processing and logistical facilities in the Des Moines area. Forbes ranked Des Moines as the "Best Place for Business" in both 2010 and 2013. In 2014, NBC ranked Des Moines as the "Wealthiest City in America" according to its criteria.Des Moines is an important city in U.S. presidential politics; as the state's capital, it is the site of the first caucuses of the presidential primary cycle. Many presidential candidates set up campaign headquarters in Des Moines. A 2007 article in The New York Times said, "If you have any desire to witness presidential candidates in the most close-up and intimate of settings, there is arguably no better place to go than Des Moines."

Source: Wikipedia

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Vlorë ( VLO-re, Albanian: [ˈvlɔɾə] or [ˈvlɔɾa]) is the third most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the capital of the eponymous county and municipality.Geographically, the city is located on the Bay of Vlorë and the foothills of the Ceraunian Mountains at the Strait of Otranto along the Adriatic and Ionian Sea within the Mediterranean Sea. Its climate is profoundly affected by the sea and therefore it experiences a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Historically, the city was founded as Aulon as an Ancient Greek colony in Illyria and was centuries later conquered by the Romans, Byzantines, Normans, Venetians and Ottomans. Between the 18th and 19th centuries, the Albanian people gathered both spiritual and intellectual strength for national consciousness in the city which conclusively led to the Albanian Renaissance.

Thus, it was in the 20th century when the Albanian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed following the Assembly of Vlorë on the 28th of November 1912. Culturally and economically, the city is one of the most significant cities of southern Albania and the region of Labëria which is traditionally popular for its traditions and folklore. It is served by the Port of Vlorë, the SH8 highway, and the A2 motorway representing a section of the Adriatic–Ionian Corridor as well as the Pan-European Corridor VIII.

Source: Wikipedia