title: Human sacrifice

text: José Luis Painecur had his arms and legs removed by Juan Pañán and Juan José Painecur (the victim's grandfather), and was stuck into the sand of the beach like a stake. The waters of the Pacific Ocean then carried the body out to sea. The authorities only learned about the sacrifice after a boy in the commune of Nueva Imperial denounced to local leaders the theft of two horses; these were allegedly eaten during the sacrifice ritual. The two men were charged with the crime and confessed, but later recanted. They were released after two years. A judge ruled that those involved in these events had "acted without free will, driven by an irresistible natural force of ancestral tradition." The story was mentioned in a "Time" magazine article, although with meagre detail.


title: Human sacrifice

text: In 1963, a small cult in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, founded by two brothers, Santos and Cayetano Hernández, committed between 8 and 12 murders during bloody rituals that included drinking human blood. The cult was initially a scam to obtain money and sexual favors, but after a prostitute named Magdalena Solís entered in the organization, she inaugurated human sacrifices inspired by ancient Aztec rituals as a method to control disciples.


title: Human sacrifice

text: During the 1980s, other case of serial murders that involved human sacrifices rituals occurred in Tamaulipas, Mexico. The drug dealer and cult leader Adolfo Constanzo orchestrated several executions during rituals that included the victims' dismemberment.


title: Human sacrifice

text: Between 2009 and 2010, in Sonora, Mexico, a serial killer named Silvia Meraz committed three murders in sacrifice rituals. With the help of her family, she beheaded two boys (both relatives) and one woman in front of an altar dedicated to Santa Muerte.


title: Human sacrifice

text: The "New Light Of God" sect in the town of El Terrón, Ngäbe-Buglé Comarca, Panama, believed they had a mandate from God to sacrifice members of their community who failed to repent to their satisfaction. In 2020, 5 children, their pregnant mother, and a neighbor were killed and decapitated at the sect's church building, with 14 other wounded victims being rescued. Victims were hacked with machetes, beaten with Bibles and cudgels, and burned with embers. A goat was ritually sacrificed at the scene as well. The cult's beliefs were a syncretic blend of Pentecostalism with indigenous beliefs and some New Age ideas including emphasis on the third eye. A leader of the Ngäbe-Buglé region labeled the sect "satanic" and demanded its eradication.


title: Human sacrifice

text: Human sacrifice is illegal in India. According to the "Hindustan Times", there was an incident of human sacrifice in western Uttar Pradesh in 2003.


title: Human sacrifice

text: Similarly, police in Khurja reported "dozens of sacrifices" in the period of half a year in 2006, by followers of Kali, the goddess of death and time.


title: Human sacrifice

text: In 2015, during the "Granite scam" investigations of Tamil Nadu, there were reports of possible human sacrifices in the Madurai area to pacify goddess Shakthi for getting power to develop the illegal granite business. Bones and skulls were retrieved from the alleged sites in presence of the special judicial officer appointed by the high court of Madras.


title: Human sacrifice

text: In the practice known as Hitobashira (人柱, "human pillar"), a person was buried alive at the base of large structures such as dams, castles, and bridges.


title: Human sacrifice

text: Human sacrifice is no longer legal in any country, and such cases are prosecuted. As of 2020 however, there is still black market demand for child abduction in countries such as Kenya for purposes which include human sacrifice.


title: Human sacrifice

text: In January 2008, Milton Blahyi of Liberia confessed being part of human sacrifices which "included the killing of an innocent child and plucking out the heart, which was divided into pieces for us to eat." He fought against Charles Taylor's militia.


title: Human sacrifice

text: In 2019, an Anti-balaka leader in Satema in Central African Republic killed a 14 year-old girl in ritualistic way to increase profit from mines.


title: Human sacrifice

text: On March 22, 2014, a group of motorcycle taxi drivers discovered the Ibadan forest of horror, a dilapidated building believed to been used for human trafficking and ritual sacrifice located in Soka forest in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.


title: Human sacrifice

text: On 6 June 2000, three teenage girls lured a Catholic sister, Maria Laura Mainetti, out of her convent in Chiavenna, Sondrio, and stabbed her to death in a satanic sacrifice.


title: Human sacrifice

text: In June 2005, a report by the BBC claimed that boys from Africa were being trafficked to the UK for human sacrifice. It noted that children were beaten and murdered after being labelled as witches by pastors in an Angolan community in London.


title: Human sacrifice

text: Ritual killings perpetrated by individuals or small groups within a society that denounces them as simple murder are difficult to classify as either "human sacrifice" or mere pathological homicide because they lack the societal integration of sacrifice proper.


title: Human sacrifice

text: The instances closest to "ritual killing" in the criminal history of modern society would be pathological serial killers such as the Zodiac Killer, and mass suicides with a doomsday cult background, such as the Peoples Temple, the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, the Order of the Solar Temple or the Heaven's Gate incidents. Other examples include the "Matamoros killings" attributed to American cult leader Adolfo Constanzo and the "Superior Universal Alignment" killings in 1990s Brazil.


title: Human sacrifice

text: In India there is a festival where a person is chosen as a "sacrifice", and is believed by participants to die during the ritual, although they actually remain alive and are "raised" from the dead at the end after a period of lying still. Thus, this does not have the same legal implications as a true human sacrifice although participants consider it to be one.


title: Vishnu Vishal

text: Vishal Kudawla (born 17 July 1984), known professionally as Vishnu Vishal, is an Indian actor and producer who appears in Tamil film industry. After a brief career in cricket, he started his acting career in the year 2009 playing the lead role in the sports film "Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu", winning acclaim for his portrayal. Vishnu won further acclaim for his role in "Neerparavai" (2012), portraying a fisherman. He rose to fame with the psychological thriller film, "Ratsasan" (2018).


title: Vishnu Vishal

text: Vishnu Vishal was born to Ramesh Kudawla, a high-ranking Tamil Nadu police officer. He finished his schooling in Campion Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School in Tiruchirappalli. After completing his MBA in marketing from SRM Institute of Science and Technology, he went on to become a cricketer, playing in TNCA league games. However, a leg injury ended his cricket career and the actor noted that during the time he was bedridden, he started watching films and began an interest in an acting career. His father's uncle had been an actor in several small films and he shaped Vishnu's interest in the industry. He entered the film industry changing his name to Vishnu to which he later added his birth name.


title: Vishnu Vishal

text: After being offered a role by Anand Chakravarthy in Suseenthiran's directorial debut "Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu", Vishnu spent months preparing for the role. He had to tan his body sitting for hours in the sun to get dark and look like a player and then for 3 months he trained for kabbadi matches under a coach, for five hours a day. The film opened to very positive reviews, with Vishnu earning a nomination from the Vijay Awards for Best Debut Actor. He had two releases in 2010, portraying an action role in the comedy "Bale Pandiya" and then played a rowdy from Royapuram in "Drohi". Featuring alongside Srikanth in the latter, Vishnu had to put on to look mature for the role. He subsequently worked on the comedy, "Kullanari Koottam", After a year without any releases, he had two releases in 2014: the romantic comedy "Mundasupatti" under Thirukumaran Entertainment and the sports drama "Jeeva" for which he collaborated with Suseenthiran again. Both films won positive reviews and performed well at the box office.


title: Vishnu Vishal

text: In 2015, he appeared in the science and fiction comedy "Indru Netru Naalai" directed by R.Ravikumar. The movie was a super hit at the box office. Vishnu had two releases in 2016. His first release of the year was also his first production venture, the comedy film "Velainu Vandhutta Vellaikaaran" directed by Ezhil, with Nikki Galrani in the female lead. The movie was one of the most profitable ventures at the box office. His final release of the year was "Maveeran Kittu", a period drama set in the 1980s. Despite receiving positive reviews, the movie did well at the box office. He finished shooting for Seenu Ramasamy's "Idam Porul Yaeval".


title: Vishnu Vishal

text: His next films are "Katha Nayagan" (2017), "Raatchasan" (2018) and "Silukkuvarupatti Singam" (2018) directed by a first time film maker, Chella.


title: Vishnu Vishal

text: In 2021, the Prabhu Solomon's "Kaadan" has received mixed reviews from the audience and critics alike. Vishnu Vishal is known for his choice of scripts in different genres that make every film of his unique for his fans. His "FIR" (2022) too follows in the same vein touching the sensitive issue of branding muslims as terrorist. Vishnu Vishal has delivered one of his best performances in his career through this film. FIR, which is to hit screens on February 11, 2022 gets banned in Malaysia, Kuwait & Qatar. In the same year, the actor has his family entertainer "Gatta Kusthi" lined up for release on December 2nd. The film has Aishwarya Lekshmi playing the female lead, and is co-produced by Ravi Teja under his home banner RT Teamworks. Vishnu plays a wrestler in this film which is also releasing in Telugu as "Matti Kusthi".


title: Vishnu Vishal

text: Vishnu Vishal was married to Rajini Natraj, daughter of the actor K. Natraj. The two were college-mates and were in a relationship for four years before getting married. Their wedding took place on 2 December 2010 at Hotel Asiana in Chennai, and their son was born in 2017. In November 2018, the couple divorced due to undisclosed reasons.


title: Vishnu Vishal

text: Vishnu got engaged to badminton player Jwala Gutta in September 2020. Their wedding took place on April 22, 2021 in Hyderabad.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and invariably fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of the disease the cow becomes unable to function normally. There is conflicting information around the time between infection and onset of symptoms. In 2002, the WHO suggested it to be approximately four to five years. Time from onset of symptoms to death is generally weeks to months. Spread to humans is believed to result in variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD). As of 2018, a total of 231 cases of vCJD had been reported globally.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: BSE is thought to be due to an infection by a misfolded protein, known as a prion. Cattle are believed to have been infected by being fed meat-and-bone meal (MBM) that contained either the remains of cattle who spontaneously developed the disease or scrapie-infected sheep products. The outbreak increased throughout the United Kingdom due to the practice of feeding meat-and-bone meal to young calves of dairy cows. Cases are suspected based on symptoms and confirmed by examination of the brain. Cases are classified as classic or atypical, with the latter divided into H- and L types. It is a type of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE).


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: Efforts to prevent the disease in the UK include not allowing any animal older than 30 months to enter either the human food or animal feed supply. In continental Europe, cattle over 30 months must be tested if they are intended for human food. In North America, tissue of concern, known as specified risk material, may not be added to animal feed or pet food. About four million cows were killed during the eradication programme in the UK.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: Four cases were reported globally in 2017, and the condition is considered to be nearly eradicated. In the United Kingdom, from 1986 to 2015, more than 184,000 cattle were diagnosed with the peak of new cases occurring in 1993. A few thousand additional cases have been reported in other regions of the world. It is believed that several million cattle with the condition likely entered the food supply during the outbreak.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: Signs are not seen immediately in cattle, due to the disease's extremely long incubation period. Some cattle have been observed to have an abnormal gait, changes in behavior, tremors and hyper-responsiveness to certain stimuli. Hindlimb ataxia affects the animal's gait and occurs when muscle control is lost. This results in poor balance and coordination. Behavioural changes may include aggression, anxiety relating to certain situations, nervousness, frenzy and an overall change in temperament. Some rare but previously observed signs also include persistent pacing, rubbing and licking. Additionally, nonspecific signs have also been observed which include weight loss, decreased milk production, lameness, ear infections and teeth grinding due to pain. Some animals may show a combination of these signs, while others may only be observed demonstrating one of the many reported. Once clinical signs arise, they typically get worse over the subsequent weeks and months, eventually leading to recumbency, coma and death.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: BSE is an infectious disease believed to be due to a misfolded protein, known as a prion. Cattle are believed to have been infected from being fed meat and bone meal (MBM) that contained the remains of other cattle who spontaneously developed the disease or scrapie-infected sheep products. The outbreak increased throughout the United Kingdom due to the practice of feeding meat-and-bone meal to young calves of dairy cows.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: BSE prions are misfolded forms of the particular brain protein called prion protein. When this protein is misfolded, the normal alpha-helical structure is converted into a beta sheet. The prion induces normally-folded proteins to take on the misfolded phenotype in an exponential cascade. These sheets form small chains which aggregate and cause cell death. Massive cell death forms lesions in the brain which lead to degeneration of physical and mental abilities and ultimately death. The prion is not destroyed even if the beef or material containing it is cooked or heat-treated under normal conditions and pressures. Transmission can occur when healthy animals come in contact with tainted tissues from others with the disease, generally when their food source contains tainted meat.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: The British Government enquiry took the view that the cause was not scrapie, as had originally been postulated, but was some event in the 1970s that could not be identified.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: Spread to humans is believed to result in variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD). The agent can be transmitted to humans by eating food contaminated with it. Though any tissue may be involved, the highest risk to humans is believed to be from eating food contaminated with the brain, spinal cord, or digestive tract.<ref name="FDA/CFSAN">


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: The pathogenesis of BSE is not well understood or documented like other diseases of this nature. Even though BSE is a disease that results in neurological defects, its pathogenesis occurs in areas that reside outside of the nervous system. There was a strong deposition of PrP initially located in the ileal Peyer's patches of the small intestine. The lymphatic system has been identified in the pathogenesis of scrapie. It has not, however, been determined to be an essential part of the pathogenesis of BSE. The Ileal Peyer's patches have been the only organ from this system that has been found to play a major role in the pathogenesis. Infectivity of the Ileal Peyer's patches has been observed as early as 4 months after inoculation. PrP accumulation was found to occur mostly in tangible body macrophages of the Ileal Peyer's patches. Tangible body macrophages involved in PrP clearance are thought to play a role in PrP accumulation in the Peyer's patches. Accumulation of PrP was also found in follicular dendritic cells; however, it was of a lesser degree. Six months after inoculation, there was no infectivity in any tissues, only that of the ileum. This led researchers to believe that the disease agent replicates here. In naturally confirmed cases, there have been no reports of infectivity in the Ileal Peyer's patches. Generally, in clinical experiments, high doses of the disease are administered. In natural cases, it was hypothesized that low doses of the agent were present, and therefore, infectivity could not be observed.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: Diagnosis of BSE continues to be a practical problem. It has an incubation period of months to years, during which no signs are noticed, though the pathway of converting the normal brain prion protein (PrP) into the toxic, disease-related PrP form has started. At present, no way is known to detect PrP reliably except by examining "post mortem" brain tissue using neuropathological and immunohistochemical methods. Accumulation of the abnormally folded PrP form of PrP is a characteristic of the disease, but it is present at very low levels in easily accessible body fluids such as blood or urine. Researchers have tried to develop methods to measure PrP, but no methods for use in materials such as blood have been accepted fully.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: The traditional method of diagnosis relies on histopathological examination of the medulla oblongata of the brain, and other tissues, "post mortem". Immunohistochemistry can be used to demonstrate prion protein accumulation.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: In 2010, a team from New York described detection of PrP even when initially present at only one part in a hundred billion (10) in brain tissue. The method combines amplification with a novel technology called surround optical fiber immunoassay and some specific antibodies against PrP. After amplifying and then concentrating any PrP, the samples are labelled with a fluorescent dye using an antibody for specificity and then finally loaded into a microcapillary tube. This tube is placed in a specially constructed apparatus so it is totally surrounded by optical fibres to capture all light emitted once the dye is excited using a laser. The technique allowed detection of PrP after many fewer cycles of conversion than others have achieved, substantially reducing the possibility of artifacts, as well as speeding up the assay. The researchers also tested their method on blood samples from apparently healthy sheep that went on to develop scrapie. The animals' brains were analysed once any signs became apparent. The researchers could, therefore, compare results from brain tissue and blood taken once the animals exhibited signs of the diseases, with blood obtained earlier in the animals' lives, and from uninfected animals. The results showed very clearly that PrP could be detected in the blood of animals long before the signs appeared. After further development and testing, this method could be of great value in surveillance as a blood- or urine-based screening test for BSE.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: BSE is a transmissible disease that primarily affects the central nervous system; it is a form of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, like Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and kuru in humans, scrapie in sheep, and chronic wasting disease in deer.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: A ban on feeding meat and bone meal to cattle has resulted in a strong reduction in cases in countries where the disease has been present. In disease-free countries, control relies on import control, feeding regulations, and surveillance measures.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: In UK and US slaughterhouses, the brain, spinal cord, trigeminal ganglia, intestines, eyes, and tonsils from cattle are classified as specified risk materials, and must be disposed of appropriately.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: An enhanced BSE-related feed ban was enacted in both the United States (2009) and Canada (2007) to help improve prevention and elimination of BSE.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: The tests used for detecting BSE vary considerably, as do the regulations in various jurisdictions for when, and which cattle, must be tested. For instance in the EU, the cattle tested are older (30 months or older), while many cattle are slaughtered younger than that. At the opposite end of the scale, Japan tests all cattle at the time of slaughter. Tests are also difficult, as the altered prion protein has very low levels in blood or urine, and no other signal has been found. Newer tests are faster, more sensitive, and cheaper, so future figures possibly may be more comprehensive. Even so, currently the only reliable test is examination of tissues during a necropsy.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: As for vCJD in humans, autopsy tests are not always done, so those figures, too, are likely to be too low, but probably by a lesser fraction. In the United Kingdom, anyone with possible vCJD symptoms must be reported to the Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit. In the United States, the CDC has refused to impose a national requirement that physicians and hospitals report cases of the disease. Instead, the agency relies on other methods, including death certificates and urging physicians to send suspicious cases to the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center (NPDPSC) at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, which is funded by the CDC.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: To control potential transmission of vCJD within the United States, the FDA had established strict restrictions on individuals' eligibility to donate blood. Individuals who had spent a cumulative time of 3 months or more in the United Kingdom between 1980 and 1996, or a cumulative time of 5 years or more from 1980 to 2020 in any combination of countries in Europe, were prohibited from donating blood.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: Due to blood shortages associated with the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak, the FDA announced that these restrictions were rescinded effective immediately. They are expected to remain rescinded indefinitely.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: Similar rules also apply in Australia for any British expats. Anyone who lived in the UK between 1980 and 1996 for longer than 6 months is prohibited from giving blood. There are also prohibitions on donating breast milk and tissue. This is partly because there is no appropriate screening test that donation centres can use. However, there are no restrictions on organ donation. Some blood donation organisations considered relaxing the rules after the COVID-19 pandemic and some natural disasters that depleted the blood supply.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: The first reported case in North America was in December 1993 from Alberta, Canada. Another Canadian case was reported in May 2003. The first known U.S. occurrence came in December of the same year, but it was later confirmed to be a cow of Canadian origin imported to the U.S. The cow was slaughtered on a farm near Yakima, Washington. The cow was included in the United States Department of Agriculture's surveillance programme, specifically targeting cattle with BSE. Canada announced two additional cases of BSE from Alberta in early 2005.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: In June 2005, John R. Clifford, chief veterinary officer for the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, confirmed a fully domestic case of BSE in Texas.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: The use of animal byproduct feeds was never common, as it was in Europe. Soybean meal is cheap and plentiful in the United States, and cottonseed meal (1.5 million tons of which are produced in the U.S. every year, none of which is suitable for humans or any other simple-stomach animals) is even cheaper than soybean meal. Historically, meat and bone meal, blood meal, and meat scraps have almost always commanded a higher price as a feed additive than oilseed meals in the U.S., so not much incentive existed to use animal products to feed ruminants. However, U.S. regulations only partially prohibited the use of animal byproducts in feed. In 1997, regulations prohibited the feeding of mammalian byproducts to ruminants such as cattle and goats. However, the byproducts of ruminants can still be legally fed to pets or other livestock, including pigs and poultry. In addition, it is legal for ruminants to be fed byproducts from some of these animals. Because of this, some authors have suggested that under certain conditions, it is still possible for BSE incidence to increase in U.S. cattle.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: U.S. meat producer Creekstone Farms alleged in a lawsuit that the USDA was preventing the company from testing its slaughtered cattle for BSE.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: The USDA has issued recalls of beef supplies that involved introduction of downer cows into the food supply. Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company was found to have used electric shocks to prod downer cows into the slaughtering system in 2007. Possibly due to pressure from large agribusiness, the United States has drastically cut back on the number of cows inspected for BSE.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: Japan was the top importer of US beef, buying $1.7 billion worth in 2003. After the discovery of the first case of BSE in the US on 23 December 2003, Japan halted US beef imports. In December 2005, Japan once again allowed imports of US beef, but reinstated its ban in January 2006 after a violation of the US-Japan beef import agreement: a vertebral column, which should have been removed prior to shipment, was included in a shipment of veal.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: Tokyo yielded to US pressure to resume imports, ignoring consumer worries about the safety of US beef, said Japanese consumer groups. Michiko Kamiyama from Food Safety Citizen Watch and Yoko Tomiyama from Consumers Union of Japan said about this: "The government has put priority on the political schedule between the two countries, not on food safety or human health."


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: Sixty-five nations implemented full or partial restrictions on importing US beef products because of concerns that US testing lacked sufficient rigor. As a result, exports of US beef declined from 1,300,000 tonnes (t) in 2003, (before the first mad cow was detected in the US) to 322,000 t in 2004. This has increased since then to 771,000 t in 2007 and to 1,300,000 t by 2017.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: On 31 December 2006, Hematech Inc, a biotechnology company based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, announced it had used genetic engineering and cloning technology to produce cattle that lacked a necessary gene for prion production – thus theoretically making them immune to BSE.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: In April 2012, some South Korean retailers ceased importing beef from the United States after a case of BSE was reported. Indonesia also suspended imports of beef from the US after a dairy cow with mad cow disease was discovered in California.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: With 36 confirmed cases, Japan experienced one of the largest number of cases of BSE outside Europe. It was the only country outside Europe and the Americas to report non-imported cases. Reformation of food safety in light of the BSE cases resulted in the establishment of a governmental Food Safety Commission in 2003.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: Cattle are naturally herbivores, eating grasses. In modern industrial cattle-farming, though, various commercial feeds are used, which may contain ingredients including antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, fertilizers, and protein supplements. The use of meat and bone meal, produced from the ground and cooked leftovers of the slaughtering process, as well as from the carcasses of sick and injured animals such as cattle or sheep, as a protein supplement in cattle feed was widespread in Europe prior to about 1987. Worldwide, soybean meal is the primary plant-based protein supplement fed to cattle. However, soybeans do not grow well in Europe, so cattle raisers throughout Europe turned to the cheaper animal byproduct feeds as an alternative. The British Inquiry dismissed suggestions that changes to processing might have increased the infectious agents in cattle feed, saying, "changes in process could not have been solely responsible for the emergence of BSE, and changes in regulation were not a factor at all." (The prion causing BSE is not destroyed by food heat treatment.)


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: The first confirmed instance in which an animal fell ill with the disease occurred in 1986 in the United Kingdom, and lab tests the following year indicated the presence of BSE; by November 1987, the British Ministry of Agriculture accepted it had a new disease on its hands. Subsequently, 177 people (as of June 2014) contracted and died of a disease with similar neurological symptoms subsequently called (new) variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD). This is a separate disease from 'classical' Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, which is not related to BSE and has been known about since the early 1900s. Three cases of vCJD occurred in people who had lived in or visited the UK – one each in the Republic of Ireland, Canada, and the United States of America. Also, some concern existed about those who work with (and therefore inhale) cattle meat and bone meal, such as horticulturists, who use it as fertilizer. Up-to-date statistics on all types of CJD are published by the National Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit in Edinburgh, Scotland.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: For many of the vCJD patients, direct evidence exists that they had consumed tainted beef, and this is assumed to be the mechanism by which all affected individuals contracted it. Disease incidence also appears to correlate with slaughtering practices that led to the mixture of nervous system tissue with ground meat (mince) and other beef. An estimated 400,000 cattle infected with BSE entered the human food chain in the 1980s. Although the BSE epizootic was eventually brought under control by culling all suspect cattle populations, people are still being diagnosed with vCJD each year (though the number of new cases currently has dropped to fewer than five per year). This is attributed to the long incubation period for prion diseases, which is typically measured in years or decades. As a result, the full extent of the human vCJD outbreak is still not known.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: The scientific consensus is that infectious BSE prion material is not destroyed through cooking procedures, meaning that even contaminated beef foodstuffs prepared "well done" may remain infectious.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: Alan Colchester, a professor of neurology at the University of Kent, and Nancy Colchester, writing in the 3 September 2005 issue of the medical journal "The Lancet", proposed a theory that the most likely initial origin of BSE in the United Kingdom was the importation from the Indian Subcontinent of bone meal which contained CJD-infected human remains. The government of India vehemently responded to the research, calling it "misleading, highly mischievous; a figment of imagination; absurd," further adding that India maintained constant surveillance and had not had a single case of either BSE or vCJD. The authors responded in the 22 January 2006 issue of "The Lancet" that their theory is unprovable only in the same sense as all other BSE origin theories are and that the theory warrants further investigation.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: During the course of the investigation into the BSE epizootic, an enquiry was also made into the activities of the Department of Health Medicines Control Agency (MCA). On 7 May 1999, David Osborne Hagger, a retired civil servant who worked in the Medicines Division of the Department of Health between 1984 and 1994, produced a written statement to the BSE Inquiry in which he gave an account of his professional experience of BSE.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: In February 1989, the MCA had been asked to "identify relevant manufacturers and obtain information about the bovine material contained in children's vaccines, the stocks of these vaccines and how long it would take to switch to other products." In July, "[the] use of bovine insulin in a small group of mainly elderly patients was noted and it was recognised that alternative products for this group were not considered satisfactory." In September, the BSE Working Party of the Committee on the Safety of Medicines (CSM) recommended that "no licensing action is required at present in regard to products produced from bovine material or using prepared bovine brain in nutrient media and sourced from outside the United Kingdom, the Channel Isles and the Republic of Ireland provided that the country of origin is known to be free of BSE, has competent veterinary advisers and is known to practise good animal husbandry."


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: In 1990, the British Diabetic Association became concerned regarding the safety of bovine insulin. The CSM assured them "[that] there was no insulin sourced from cattle in the UK or Ireland and that the situation in other countries was being monitored."


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: In 1991, the European Commission "[expressed] concerns about the possible transmission of the BSE/scrapie agent to man through use of certain cosmetic treatments."


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: In 1992, sources in France reported to the MCA "that BSE had now been reported in France and there were some licensed surgical sutures derived from French bovine material." Concerns were also raised at a CSM meeting "regarding a possible risk of transmission of the BSE agent in gelatin products."


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: For this failure, France was heavily criticised internationally. Thillier himself queried why there had never been a ban on French beef or basic safety precautions to stop the food chain becoming contaminated, suggesting "Perhaps because the French government forgot its role in guaranteeing the safety of food products, and this neglect cost the lives of nine people." The Sydney Morning Herald added, "while blustering French politicians blamed Britain for the emergence of the disease – and tried to quarantine the country by banning imports of British beef – they failed to adopt measures to prevent a hidden epidemic at home."


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: In October 2015 a case of BSE was confirmed at a farm in Carmarthenshire in Wales. In October 2018, a case of BSE was confirmed at a farm in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the first such case in Scotland in a decade. The case was believed to be an isolated one, but four other animals from the same herd were being culled for precautionary reasons. Scottish officials confirmed that the case had been identified as part of routine testing and that the diseased cow had not entered the human food chain.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: A number of other countries had isolated outbreaks of BSE confirmed, including Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Germany.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: The BSE crisis led to the European Union (EU) banning exports of British beef with effect from March 1996; the ban lasted for 10 years before it was finally lifted on 1 May 2006 despite attempts in May through September 1996 by British prime minister John Major to get the ban lifted. The ban, which led to much controversy in Parliament and to the incineration of over one million cattle from at least March 1996, resulted in trade controversies between the UK and other EU states, dubbed "beef war" by media. Restrictions remained for beef containing "vertebral material" and for beef sold on the bone. France continued to impose a ban on British beef illegally long after the European Court of Justice had ordered it to lift its blockade, although it has never paid any fine for doing so.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: Russia was proceeding to lift the ban sometime after November 2012 after 16 years; the announcement was made during a visit by the UK's chief veterinary officer Nigel Gibbens.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: It was successfully negotiated that beef from Wales was allowed to be exported to the Dutch market, which had formerly been an important market for Northern Irish beef. Of two approved export establishments in the United Kingdom in 1999, one was in Scotland – an establishment to which live beef was supplied from Northern Ireland. As the incidence of BSE was very low in Northern Ireland – only six cases of BSE in 1999 – partly due to the early adoption of an advanced herd tagging and computerization system in the region, calls were made to remove the EU ban on exports with regard to Northern Irish beef.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: Similar wildcat bans from countries known to have BSE were imposed in various European countries, although these were mostly subsequently ruled illegal. "The Economist" noted, "Unfortunately, much of the crisis in Europe can be blamed on politicians and bureaucrats. Even while some European countries were clamouring for bans on British beef, they were ignoring warnings from the European Commission about how to avoid the spread of BSE in their own herds."


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: Different hypotheses exist for the origin of BSE in cattle. One hypothesis suggests it may have jumped species from the "scrapie" disease in sheep, and another hypothesis suggests that it evolved from a rare spontaneous form of "mad cow disease" that has been seen occasionally in cattle for many centuries. In the 5th century BC, Hippocrates described a similar illness in cattle and sheep, which he believed also occurred in humans. Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus recorded cases of a disease with similar characteristics in the fourth and fifth centuries AD.


title: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

text: In more recent UK history, the official BSE inquiry (published 2000) suggested that the outbreak there "probably arose from a single point source in the southwest of England in the 1970s".


title: Trafalgar Square

text: Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemorating the victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. The battle of 21 October 1805, established the British navy's dominance at sea in the Napoleonic Wars over the fleets of France and Spain.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: The site around Trafalgar Square had been a significant landmark since the 1200s. For centuries, distances measured from Charing Cross have served as location markers. The site of the present square formerly contained the elaborately designed, enclosed courtyard of the King's Mews. After George IV moved the mews to Buckingham Palace, the area was redeveloped by John Nash, but progress was slow after his death, and the square did not open until 1844. The Nelson's Column at its centre is guarded by four lion statues. A number of commemorative statues and sculptures occupy the square, but the Fourth Plinth, left empty since 1840, has been host to contemporary art since 1999. Prominent buildings facing the square include the National Gallery, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Canada House, and South Africa House.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: The square has been used for community gatherings and political demonstrations, including Bloody Sunday in 1887, the culmination of the first Aldermaston March, anti-war protests, and campaigns against climate change. A Christmas tree has been donated to the square by Norway since 1947 and is erected for twelve days before and after Christmas Day. The square is a centre of annual celebrations on New Year's Eve. It was well known for its feral pigeons until their removal in the early 21st century.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: The square is named after the Battle of Trafalgar, a British naval victory in the Napoleonic Wars with France and Spain that took place on 21 October 1805 off the coast of Cape Trafalgar, southwest Spain, although it was not named as such until 1835.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: The name "Trafalgar" is a Spanish word of Arabic origin, derived from either "Taraf al-Ghar" ( 'cape of the cave/laurel') or "Taraf al-Gharb" ( 'extremity of the west').


title: Trafalgar Square

text: Trafalgar Square is owned by the King in Right of the Crown and managed by the Greater London Authority, while Westminster City Council owns the roads around the square, including the pedestrianised area of the North Terrace. The square contains a large central area with roadways on three sides and a terrace to the north, in front of the National Gallery. The roads around the square form part of the A4, a major road running west of the City of London. Originally having roadways on all four sides, traffic travelled in both directions around the square until a one-way clockwise gyratory system was introduced on 26 April 1926. Works completed in 2003 reduced the width of the roads and closed the northern side to traffic.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: Nelson's Column is in the centre of the square, flanked by fountains designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens between 1937 and 1939 (replacements for two of Peterhead granite, now in Canada) and guarded by four monumental bronze lions sculpted by Sir Edwin Landseer. At the top of the column is a statue of Horatio Nelson, who commanded the British Navy at the Battle of Trafalgar.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: Surrounding the square are the National Gallery on the north side and St Martin-in-the-Fields Church to the east. Also on the east is South Africa House, and facing it across the square is Canada House. To the south west is The Mall, which leads towards Buckingham Palace via Admiralty Arch, while Whitehall is to the south and the Strand to the east. Charing Cross Road passes between the National Gallery and the church.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: London Underground's Charing Cross station on the Northern and Bakerloo lines has an exit in the square. The lines had separate stations, of which the Bakerloo line one was called Trafalgar Square until they were linked and renamed in 1979 as part of the construction of the Jubilee line, which was rerouted to Westminster in 1999. Other nearby tube stations are Embankment connecting the District, Circle, Northern and Bakerloo lines, and Leicester Square on the Northern and Piccadilly lines.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: London bus routes 3, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 23, 24, 29, 53, 87, 88, 91, 139, 159, 176, 453 are only some among the bus routes that pass through Trafalgar Square.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: A point in Trafalgar Square is regarded as the official centre of London in legislation and when measuring distances from the capital.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: Building work on the south side of the square in the late 1950s revealed deposits from the last interglacial period. Among the findings were the remains of cave lions, rhinoceroses, straight-tusked elephants and hippopotami.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: The site has been significant since the 13th century. During Edward I's reign it hosted the King's Mews, running north from the T-junction in the south, Charing Cross, where the Strand from the City meets Whitehall coming north from Westminster. From the reign of Richard II to that of Henry VII, the mews was at the western end of the Strand. The name "Royal Mews" comes from the practice of keeping hawks here for moulting; "mew" is an old word for this. After a fire in 1534, the mews were rebuilt as stables, and remained here until George IV moved them to Buckingham Palace.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: After 1732, the King's Mews were divided into the Great Mews and the smaller Green Mews to the north by the Crown Stables, a large block, built to the designs of William Kent. Its site is occupied by the National Gallery.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: In 1826 the Commissioners of H.M. Woods, Forests and Land Revenues instructed John Nash to draw up plans for clearing a large area south of Kent's stable block, and as far east as St Martin's Lane. His plans left open the whole area of what became Trafalgar Square, except for a block in the centre, which he reserved for a new building for the Royal Academy. The plans included the demolition and redevelopment of buildings between St Martin's Lane and the Strand and the construction of a road (now called Duncannon Street) across the churchyard of St Martin-in-the-Fields. The Charing Cross Act was passed in 1826 and clearance started soon after. Nash died soon after construction started, impeding its progress. The square was to be named for William IV commemorating his ascent to the throne in 1830. Around 1835, it was decided that the square would be named after the Battle of Trafalgar as suggested by architect George Ledwell Taylor, commemorating Nelson's victory over the French and Spanish in 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: After the clearance, development progressed slowly. The National Gallery was built on the north side between 1832 and 1838 to a design by William Wilkins, and in 1837 the Treasury approved Wilkins' plan for the laying out of the square, but it was not put into effect. In April 1840, following Wilkins' death, new plans by Charles Barry were accepted, and construction started within weeks. For Barry, as for Wilkins, a major consideration was increasing the visual impact of the National Gallery, which had been widely criticised for its lack of grandeur. He dealt with the complex sloping site by excavating the main area to the level of the footway between Cockspur Street and the Strand, and constructing a high balustraded terrace with a roadway on the north side, and steps at each end leading to the main level. Wilkins had proposed a similar solution with a central flight of steps. Plinths were provided for sculpture and pedestals for lighting. One of the original lanterns was hollowed out and converted into a police observation room, opening on 19 March 1928. All the stonework was of Aberdeen granite.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: In 1841 it was decided that two fountains should be included in the layout. The estimated budget, excluding paving and sculptures, was £11,000. The earth removed was used to level Green Park. The square was originally surfaced with tarmacadam, which was replaced with stone in the 1920s.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: Nelson's Column was planned independently of Barry's work. In 1838 a Nelson Memorial Committee had approached the government proposing that a monument to the victory of Trafalgar, funded by public subscription, should be erected in the square. A competition was held and won by the architect William Railton, who proposed a Corinthinan column topped by a statue of Nelson and guarded by four sculpted lions. The design was approved, but received widespread objections from the public. Construction went ahead beginning in 1840 but with the height reduced to . The column was completed and the statue raised in November 1843.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: The last of the bronze reliefs on the column's pedestals was not completed until May 1854, and the four lions, although part of the original design, were only added in 1867. Each lion weighs seven tons. A hoarding remained around the base of Nelson's Column for some years and some of its upper scaffolding remained in place. Landseer, the sculptor, had asked for a lion that had died at the London Zoo to be brought to his studio. He took so long to complete sketches that its corpse began to decompose and some parts had to be improvised. The statues have paws that resemble cats more than lions.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: Barry was unhappy about Nelson's Column being placed in the square. In July 1840, when its foundations had been laid, he told a parliamentary select committee that "it would in my opinion be desirable that the area should be wholly free from all insulated objects of art".


title: Trafalgar Square

text: In 1940 the Nazi SS developed secret plans to transfer Nelson's Column to Berlin after an expected German invasion, as related by Norman Longmate in "If Britain Had Fallen" (1972).


title: Trafalgar Square

text: The square was the target of two suffragette bombings in 1913 and 1914. This was as part of the suffragette bombing and arson campaign of 1912–1914, in which suffragettes carried out a series of politically-motivated bombing and arson attacks nationwide as part of their campaign for women's suffrage.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: The first attack occurred on 15 May 1913. A bomb was planted in the public area outside the National Gallery, but failed to explode. A second attack occurred at St Martin-in-the-Fields church at the north-east corner of the square one 4 April 1914. A bomb exploded inside the church, blowing out the windows and showering passers-by with broken glass. The bomb then started a fire. In the aftermath, a mass of people rushed to the scene, many of whom aggressively expressed their anger towards the suffragettes. Churches were a particular target during the campaign, as it was believed that the Church of England was complicit in reinforcing opposition to women's suffrage. Between 1913 and 1914, 32 churches were attacked nationwide. In the weeks after the bombing, there were also attacks on Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: A major 18-month redevelopment of the square led by W.S. Atkins with Foster and Partners as sub-consultants was completed in 2003. The work involved closing the eastbound road along the north side and diverting traffic around the other three sides of the square, demolishing the central section of the northern retaining wall and inserting a wide set of steps to the pedestrianised terrace in front of the National Gallery. The construction includes two lifts for disabled access, public toilets and a café. Access between the square and the gallery had been by two crossings at the northeast and northwest corners.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: Barry's scheme provided two plinths for sculptures on the north side of the square. A bronze equestrian statue of George IV was designed by Sir Francis Chantrey and Thomas Earle. It was originally intended to be placed on top of the Marble Arch, but instead was installed on the eastern plinth in 1843. There are two other statues on plinths, both installed during the 19th century: General Sir Charles James Napier by George Cannon Adams in the south-west corner in 1855, and Major-General Sir Henry Havelock by William Behnes in the south-east in 1861. In 2000, the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, suggested replacing the statues with figures more familiar to the general public.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: In the 21st century, the empty plinth in the north-west corner of the square, the "Fourth Plinth", has been used to show specially commissioned temporary artworks. The scheme was initiated by the Royal Society of Arts and continued by the Fourth Plinth Commission, appointed by the Mayor of London.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: There are three busts of admirals against the north wall of the square. Those of Lord Jellicoe (by Sir Charles Wheeler) and Lord Beatty (by William MacMillan) were installed in 1948 in conjunction with the square's fountains, which also commemorate them. The third, of the Second World War First Sea Lord Admiral Cunningham (by Franta Belsky) was unveiled alongside them on 1967.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: On the south side of Trafalgar Square, on the site of the original Charing Cross, is a bronze equestrian statue of Charles I by Hubert Le Sueur. It was cast in 1633, and placed in its present position in 1678.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: The two statues on the lawn in front of the National Gallery are the statue of James II (designed by Peter van Dievoet and Laurens van der Meulen for the studio of Grinling Gibbons) to the west of the portico, and of George Washington, a replica of a work by Jean-Antoine Houdon, to the east. The latter was a gift from the Commonwealth of Virginia, installed in 1921.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: Two statues erected in the 19th century have since been removed. One of Edward Jenner, pioneer of the smallpox vaccine, was set up in the south-west corner of the square in 1858, next to that of Napier. Sculpted by William Calder Marshall, it showed Jenner sitting in a chair in a relaxed pose, and was inaugurated at a ceremony presided over by Prince Albert. It was moved to Kensington Gardens in 1862. The other, of General Charles George Gordon by Hamo Thornycroft, was erected on an 18-foot high pedestal between the fountains in 1888. It was removed in 1943 and re-sited on the Victoria Embankment ten years later.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: In 1841, following suggestions from the local paving board, Barry agreed that two fountains should be installed to counteract the effects of reflected heat and glare from the asphalt surface. The First Commissioner of Woods and Forests welcomed the plan because the fountains reduced the open space available for public gatherings and reduced the risk of riotous assembly. The fountains were fed from two wells, one in front of the National Gallery and one behind it connected by a tunnel. Water was pumped to the fountains by a steam engine housed in a building behind the gallery.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: In the late-1930s it was decided to replace the pump and the centrepieces of the fountains. The new centrepieces, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, were memorials to Lord Jellicoe and Lord Beatty, although busts of the admirals, initially intended to be placed in the fountain surrounds were placed against the northern retaining wall when the project was completed after the Second World War. The fountains cost almost £50,000. The old ones were presented to the Canadian government and are now located in Ottawa's Confederation Park and Regina's Wascana Centre.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: A programme of restoration was completed by . The pump system was replaced with one capable of sending an jet of water into the air. An LED lighting system that can project different combinations of colours on to the fountains was installed to reduce the cost of lighting maintenance and to coincide with the 2012 Summer Olympics.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: The square was once famous for feral pigeons and feeding them was a popular activity. Pigeons began flocking to the square before construction was completed and feed sellers became well known in the Victorian era. The desirability of the birds' presence was contentious: their droppings disfigured the stonework and the flock, estimated at its peak to be 35,000, was considered a health hazard. A stall seller, Bernie Rayner, infamously sold bird seed to tourists at inflated prices.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: In February 2001, the sale of bird seed in the square was stopped and other measures were introduced to discourage the pigeons including the use of birds of prey. Supporters continued to feed the birds but in 2003 the mayor, Ken Livingstone, enacted bylaws to ban feeding them in the square. In September 2007 Westminster City Council passed further bylaws banning feeding birds on the pedestrianised North Terrace and other pavements in the area. Nelson's column was repaired from years of damage from pigeon droppings at a cost of £140,000.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: For many years, revellers celebrating the New Year have gathered in the square despite a lack of celebrations being arranged. The lack of official events was partly because the authorities were concerned that encouraging more partygoers would cause overcrowding. Since 2003, a firework display centred on the London Eye and South Bank of the Thames has been provided as an alternative. Since 2014, New Year celebrations have been organised by the Greater London Authority in conjunction with the charity Unicef, who began ticketing the event to control crowd numbers. The fireworks display has been cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an event due to take place in the Square to see in 2022. However the event was cancelled during the spread of the SARS-Cov-2 Omicron variant.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: A Christmas ceremony has been held in the square every year since 1947. A Norway spruce (or sometimes a fir) is presented by Norway's capital city, Oslo as London's Christmas tree, a token of gratitude for Britain's support during World War II. (Besides war-time support, Norway's Prince Olav and the country's government lived in exile in London throughout the war.)


title: Trafalgar Square

text: The Christmas tree is decorated with lights that are switched on at a seasonal ceremony. It is usually held twelve days before Christmas Day. The festivity is open to the public and attracts a large number of people. The switch-on is usually followed by several nights of Christmas carol singing and other performances and events. On the twelfth night of Christmas, the tree is taken down for recycling. Westminster City Council threatened to abandon the event to save £5,000 in 1980 but the decision was reversed.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: The tree is selected by the Head Forester from Oslo's municipal forest and shipped, across the North Sea to the Port of Felixstowe, then by road to Trafalgar Square. The first tree was tall, but more recently has been around . In 1987, protesters chained themselves to the tree. In 1990, a man sawed into the tree with a chainsaw a few hours before a New Year's Eve party was scheduled to take place. He was arrested and the tree was repaired by tree surgeons who removed gouged sections from the trunk while the tree was suspended from a crane.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: The square has become a social and political focus for visitors and Londoners, developing over its history from "an esplanade peopled with figures of national heroes, into the country's foremost "place politique"", as historian Rodney Mace has written. Since its construction, it has been a venue for political demonstrations. The great Chartist rally in 1848, a campaign for social reform by the working class began in the square. A ban on political rallies remained in effect until the 1880s, when the emerging Labour movement, particularly the Social Democratic Federation, began holding protests. On 1886 (also known as "Black Monday"), protesters rallied against unemployment leading to a riot in Pall Mall. A larger riot (""Bloody Sunday"") occurred in the square on 1887.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament's first Aldermaston March, protesting against the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), began in the square in 1958. One of the first significant demonstrations of the modern era was held in the square on 1961 by the Committee of 100, which included the philosopher Bertrand Russell. The protesters rallied for peace and against war and nuclear weapons. In March 1968, a crowd of 10,000 demonstrated against US involvement in the Vietnam War before marching to the American Embassy in Grosvenor Square.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: Throughout the 1980s, a continuous anti-apartheid protest was held outside South Africa House. In 1990, the Poll Tax Riots began by a demonstration attended by 200,000 people and ultimately caused rioting in the surrounding area. More recently, there have been anti-war demonstrations opposing the Afghanistan War and the Iraq War. A large vigil was held shortly after the terrorist bombings in London on Thursday, 2005.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: In December 2009, participants from the Camp for Climate Action occupied the square for the two weeks during which the UN Conference on Climate Change took place in Copenhagen. It was billed as a UK base for direct action on climate change and saw various actions and protests stem from the occupation.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: In March 2011, the square was occupied by a crowd protesting against the UK Budget and proposed budget cuts. During the night the situation turned violent as the escalation by riot police and protesters damaged portions of the square. In November 2015 a vigil against the terrorist attacks in Paris was held. Crowds sang the French national anthem, "La Marseillaise", and held banners in support of the city and country.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: Every year on the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar (), the Sea Cadet Corps holds a parade in honour of Admiral Lord Nelson and the British victory over the combined fleets of Spain and France at Trafalgar. The Royal British Legion holds a Silence in the Square event on Armistice Day, 11 November, in remembrance of those who died in war. The event includes music and poetry readings, culminating in a bugler playing the Last Post and a two-minute silence at 11 am.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: In February 2019, hundreds of students participated in a protest against climate change as a part of the School strike for Climate campaign. The protest started in the nearby Parliament Square, and as the day went on, the demonstrators moved towards Trafalgar Square.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: In July 2020, two members of the protest group Animal Rebellion were arrested on suspicion for criminal damage after releasing red dye into the fountains.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: In September 2020 anti-lockdown protests opposed to the imposition of regulations relating to the coronavirus outbreak took place in the square.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: A police observation box has been in the Square since 1919, originally a wooden freestanding unit, it was replaced by hollowing out a lampstand at the southeastern corner of the Square into a permanent structure in 1928, but decommissioned in the 1970s.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: In the 21st century, Trafalgar Square has been the location for several sporting events and victory parades. In June 2002, 12,000 people gathered to watch England's FIFA World Cup quarter-final against Brazil on giant video screens which had been erected for the occasion. The square was used by England on 2003 to celebrate their victory in the Rugby World Cup, and on 2005 for England's victory in the Ashes series.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: On 6 July 2005 Trafalgar Square hosted the official watch party for London's bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore, hosted by Katy Hill and Margherita Taylor. A countdown clock was erected in March 2011, although engineering and weather-related faults caused it to stop a day later. In 2007, it hosted the opening ceremonies of the Tour de France and was part of the course for subsequent races.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: The Sea Cadets hold a yearly Battle of Trafalgar victory parade running the north of Whitehall, from Horse Guard's Parade to Nelson's Column.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: As an archetypal London location, Trafalgar Square featured in film and television productions during the Swinging London era of the late 1960s, including "The Avengers", "Casino Royale", "Doctor Who", and "The Ipcress File". It was used for filming several sketches and a cartoon backdrop in the BBC comedy series "Monty Python's Flying Circus". In May 2007, the square was grassed over with 2,000 square metres of turf for two days in a campaign by London authorities to promote "green spaces" in the city.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: In July 2011, due to building works in Leicester Square, the world premiere of the final film in the "Harry Potter" series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2", was held in Trafalgar Square, with a red carpet linking the squares. Fans camped in Trafalgar Square for up to three days before the premiere, despite torrential rain. It was the first film premiere ever to be held there.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: A Lego architecture set based on Trafalgar Square was released in 2019. It contains models of the National Gallery and Nelson's Column alongside miniature lions, fountains and double-decker buses.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: Trafalgar Square is one of the squares on the standard British Monopoly Board. It is in the red set alongside the Strand and Fleet Street.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: Several scenes in the dystopian future of George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty Four" take place in Trafalgar Square, which was renamed "Victory Square" by the story's totalitarian regime and dominated by the giant statue of Big Brother which replaced Nelson.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: The square has seen controversy over busking and street theatre, which have attracted complaints over noise and public safety. In 2012, the Greater London Authority created a bylaw for regulating busking and associated tourism. In 2016, the National Gallery proposed to introduce licensing for such performances.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: Trafalgar Square in Scarborough, North Yorkshire gives its name to the Trafalgar Square End at the town's North Marine Road cricket ground.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: The square known as Chelsea Square, London SW3 was at one time known as Trafalgar Square and predated the one in Westminster.


title: Trafalgar Square

text: National Heroes Square in Bridgetown, Barbados, was named Trafalgar Square in 1813, before its better-known British namesake. It was renamed in 1999 to commemorate national heroes of Barbados. There is a life scale replica of the square in Bahria Town, Lahore, Pakistan where it is a tourist attraction and centre for local residents.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: Orlando International Airport is a major public airport located 6 miles (10 km) southeast of Downtown Orlando, Florida. In 2021, it handled 19,618,838 passengers, making it the busiest airport in the state and seventh busiest airport in the United States. The airport code MCO stands for the airport's former name, McCoy Air Force Base, a Strategic Air Command (SAC) installation, that was closed in 1975 as part of a general military drawdown following the end of the Vietnam War.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: The airport serves as a hub for Silver Airways, an operating base for JetBlue, Southwest Airlines and Spirit Airlines, as well as a focus city for Frontier Airlines. Southwest is the airport's largest carrier by passengers carried. The airport is also a major international gateway for the mid-Florida region, with over 850 daily flights on 44 airlines. The airport also serves 135 domestic and international destinations. At , MCO is one of the largest commercial airports in terms of land area in the United States. In addition, the airport is home to a maintenance base for United Airlines. The airport was also a hub for Delta Air Lines until 2007.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: The airfield was originally constructed as a U.S. Army Air Forces facility and military operations began in 1942 as Orlando Army Air Field #2, an auxiliary airfield to Orlando Army Air Base, now known as Orlando Executive Airport. Orlando Army Air Field #2 was renamed Pinecastle Army Airfield in January 1943. At the end of World War II, Pinecastle was briefly used for unpowered glide tests of the Bell X-1 from B-29 aircraft before the program moved to Muroc Army Airfield in California– now Edwards AFB – for the world's first supersonic flight. With the establishment of an independent U.S. Air Force in 1947, the airfield was briefly placed in caretaker status, until being reactivated during the Korean War as a Strategic Air Command (SAC) facility for B-47 Stratojets and KC-97 Stratofreighters and renamed Pinecastle AFB.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: In the 1950s, the base began hosting SAC's annual Bombing and Navigation Competition. A B-47 Stratojet crashed during the 1958 competition, killing Colonel Michael Norman Wright McCoy, commander of the 321st Bombardment Wing, which was the host wing for Pinecastle AFB. The following year the base was renamed for McCoy. The base later was home to the 306th Bombardment Wing operating the B-52 Stratofortress and the KC-135 Stratotanker. It was also used by EC-121 Warning Star early warning aircraft of the 966th Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron, a tenant unit at McCoy assigned to the Aerospace Defense Command.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: During the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, McCoy AFB became a temporary forward operating base for more than 120 F-100 Super Sabre and F-105 Thunderchief fighter bombers and the primary base for U-2 reconnaissance aircraft flying over Cuba. One of these U-2s was shot down by Soviet-operated SA-2 Guideline surface-to-air missiles near Banes, Cuba. Its pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson, Jr., USAF, was the crisis' only combat death. Following the crisis, McCoy AFB hosted a permanent U-2 operating detachment of the 100th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing until 1973.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: McCoy AFB was identified for closure in early 1973 as part of a post-Vietnam reduction in force. The following year, McCoy's 306th Bombardment Wing was inactivated, its B-52D Stratofortress and KC-135A Stratotanker aircraft reassigned to other SAC units and most of the McCoy AFB facility turned over to the city of Orlando by the General Services Administration (GSA) in late 1974 and early and mid 1975. USAF responsibility for the airfield's air traffic control tower was turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the airport established its own crash, fire and rescue department, initially utilizing equipment transferred by the GSA.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: In the early 1960s, when jet airline flights came to Orlando, the installation became a joint civil-military facility.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: Early jetliners such as the Boeing 707, Boeing 720, Douglas DC-8 and Convair 880 required longer and sturdier runways than the ones at Herndon Airport (now Orlando Executive Airport). Nearby lakes and commercial and residential development made expansion impractical, so an agreement was reached between the City of Orlando and the United States Air Force in 1962 to use McCoy AFB under a joint arrangement. The military offered a large AGM-28 Hound Dog missile maintenance hangar and its associated flight line ramp area in the northeast corner of the field for conversion into a civil air terminal. The city would then cover the cost of building a replacement missile maintenance hangar on the main base's western flight line. The new civil facility would be known as the Orlando Jetport at McCoy and would operate alongside McCoy AFB. This agreement became a model for other joint civil-military airports in operation today.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: Airline flights to the Orlando Jetport began shortly after an agreement was signed by the city and USAF in October 1961. Over the next few years airline flights shifted from the old Herndon Airport (renamed in 1982 as the Orlando Executive Airport ). In 1971 scheduled airlines were Delta Air Lines, Eastern Air Lines, National Airlines and Southern Airways.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: The 1971 opening of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World would lead to a significant increase in air travel as Orlando became a major tourist destination. For much of the 1970s, Shawnee Airlines would directly link MCO with Walt Disney World using de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter commuter aircraft. These connecting flights flew from MCO to the Walt Disney World STOL Airport, a small short-lived airfield near the Magic Kingdom's parking lot. Deregulation of the airline industry in 1978 also contributed to increases in air service to Orlando.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: When McCoy AFB closed in 1975, part of the facility stayed under military control to support Naval Training Center Orlando and several tenant commands.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: There are only a few enclaves on the original McCoy AFB site that the military still uses such as the 164th Air Defense Artillery Brigade from the Florida Army National Guard in the former McCoy AFB Officers Club complex, an Army Reserve intelligence unit in the former SAC Alert Facility, the 1st Lieutenant David R. Wilson Armed Forces Reserve Center supporting multiple units of the Army Reserve, Navy Reserve and Marine Corps Reserve that was constructed in 2002, and a large Navy Exchange for active, reserve and retired military personnel and their dependents.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: In 1975, the final Air Force contingent departed McCoy AFB and the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) was established as a state-chartered local governmental agency and an enterprise fund of the city of Orlando. GOAA's mission was to operate, manage and oversee construction of expansions and improvements to both the Orlando International Airport and the Orlando Executive Airport. The airport gained its current name and international airport status a year later in 1976, but retained its old IATA airport code MCO and ICAO airport code KMCO.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: The airport became a U.S. Customs Service Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) in 1978, said zone being designated as FTZ #42. In 1979, the facility was also designated as a large hub airport by the FAA based on flight operations and passenger traffic.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: In 1978, construction of the current Landside Terminal and two Airsides on the west side of the terminal (known today as Airsides 1 and 3) began, opening in 1981. In 1983 a small chapel was opened memorializing Michael Galvin who died during the construction of the airport's expansion. The original International Concourse was housed in Airside 1 and opened in 1984. Funding to commence developing the east side of the airport was bonded in 1986, with Runway 17/35 (now 17R/35L) completed in 1989. Airside 4 opened in 1990 and also contains an International Concourse for the processing of international flights. Airside 2, which filled out what will become known as the North Terminal complex, was completed in 2000, with the last additional gates added in 2006. Runway 17L/35R was opened in 2003, providing the airport with a total of four runways.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: In 1978, the airport handled 5 million passengers. By 2018, that number had risen to 47 million. Today it covers 51 square kilometers (19.7 sq mi) and is the fifth-largest airport in the United States by land area after Denver International Airport which covers 136 square kilometers (52.4 sq mi), Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport which covers 70 square kilometers (26.9 sq mi), Southwest Florida International Airport which covers 55 square kilometers (21.2 sq mi), and Washington Dulles International Airport which covers 53 square kilometers (20.3 sq mi). MCO has North America's fourth tallest control tower at 345 feet, replacing two earlier Air Force and FAA control towers.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: Orlando was a designated Space Shuttle emergency landing site. The west-side runways, Runway 18L/36R and Runway 18R/36L, were designed for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and due to their proximity to NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center, were an obvious choice for an emergency landing should an emergency return to launch site (RTLS) attempt to land at KSC have fallen short. The runway was also an emergency divert site for NASA's Boeing 747 Shuttle Transport Aircraft when relocating orbiters from either west coast modification work or divert recoveries at Edwards AFB, California or the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: Eastern Air Lines used Orlando as a focus city during the 1970s and early 1980s, and became "the official airline of Walt Disney World." Following Eastern's demise, Delta Air Lines assumed this role.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: Delta Air Lines began operating a hub at MCO in 1987. Airside 4, which opened in 1990, was primarily designed for Delta's hub operation and it included a ramp tower, an international arrivals facility, and a wing for regional aircraft under the people mover guideway. Delta would later pull much of its large aircraft from its hub operations and focused its service there on regional flights via their Delta Connection affiliate Comair. Comair operated intra-Florida flights as well as flights to other southeastern cities and to the Caribbean. In 2002, Chautauqua Airlines replaced Comair as the primary Delta Connection carrier at MCO. Delta closed the Orlando hub entirely in 2007.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: Orlando-based AirTran Airways also operated a hub at MCO from 1993 to 2014. After Delta closed their hub in 2007, AirTran relocated their hub to Airside 4, using some of Delta's former gates which allowed them to double their capacity. AirTran merged with Southwest Airlines in 2014, which is today the busiest carrier at MCO.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: On February 22, 2005, the airport became the first airport in Florida to accept E-Pass and SunPass toll transponders as a form of payment for parking. The system allows drivers to enter and exit a parking garage without pulling a ticket or stopping to pay the parking fee. The two toll roads that serve the airport, SR 528 (Beachline Expressway) and SR 417 (Central Florida GreeneWay), use these systems for automatic toll collection.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: The original terminal building, a converted hangar, was described as inadequate for the task at hand even when it was first opened as Orlando Jetport. After its closure in 1981, it passed through several tenants, the last of which was UPS. It was demolished in May 2006.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: On February 1, 2010, Allegiant Air began operations at the airport. The company moved one half of its Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB) schedule to Orlando to test revenue at the higher cost airport. After evaluating the routes out of Orlando, the carrier decided to consolidate and return its Orlando area operations to Sanford citing an inability to achieve a fare premium at Orlando as anticipated, passenger preference for Orlando Sanford International Airport, higher costs at Orlando than expected and a more efficient operating environment at Sanford.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: In March 2015, Emirates announced that they would begin daily service to the airport from Dubai International Airport beginning September 1, 2015. The airport had tried to attract Emirates for five years before the service was announced. Orlando International was the first airport in Florida served by Emirates. The airline expects three major markets for the flights: leisure and corporate travelers along with locals of Asian heritage traveling to Asia, which is well-served by the airline. Greater Orlando Aviation Association Chair Frank Kruppenbacher called the new service "without question the biggest, most significant move forward for our airport" and estimates that the local economic impact of the new service will be up to $100 million annually. The inaugural flight was made with an Airbus A380. Regularly scheduled flights operate with Boeing 777-300ERs. Gate 90 was updated in the summer of 2018 with 3 jetways to be able to properly handle the A380, 3 years after the airplane first arrived at Orlando, docking at Gate 84.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: On May 18, 2016, the airport launched its own radio station, FlyMCO 105.1 HD2, an FM HD Radio subchannel of WOMX-FM. With the goal of "keeping passengers informed, entertained and aware" FlyMCO 105.1 HD2 provides quick access to up-to-date airport information, local weather, and adult contemporary / top-40 pop music. The radio station can be heard across 11 Central Florida counties (Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Volusia, Brevard, Lake, Marion, Flagler, Polk, Sumter and Putnam), and through WOMX's owner Entercom, is streamable via the Radio.com website/app outside of central Florida.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: In 2017, the airport reached 44.6 million passengers, surpassing Miami International Airport to become the busiest airport in the state of Florida.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: The Orlando International Airport Intermodal Terminal, which was partially funded by the Florida Department of Transportation, opened on November 17, 2017 and is connected to the Terminal A/B complex by an automated people mover (APM) line. The $684 million station is directly connected to Terminal 3, a new 2,500 space parking garage, and the Orlando station for the Brightline higher speed regional rail service to South Florida. The station reused some of the plans of the Orlando Airport station of the now defunct Florida High Speed Rail project. Phase 1 of the South Terminal Complex includes the new Parking Garage C, the Rail Station, and the 20 gate Terminal C. Phase 1 officially opened in September of 2022, adding several new, and old airlines to MCO’s new terminal.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: The airport is currently building a new terminal south of the Terminal 1/2 complex. In May 2015, the Board of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) voted unanimously to approve construction of the $1.8 billion South Terminal Complex. The South Terminal Complex will be built adjacent to the Orlando International Airport Intermodal Terminal, which was completed in late 2017 and is connected to the existing terminal by a Automated People Mover (APM) line. At full buildout, the South Terminal Complex will have 120 new gates.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: Phase I (which will be known as "Terminal C") of South Terminal Complex will encompass approximately and will include new aircraft taxiways and aprons, a terminal building with 20 gates. Construction of Terminal C began in 2017, and it was opened on September 19, 2022.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: The Orlando International Airport Intermodal Terminal was built to accommodate an extension of the SunRail commuter rail service. The route to the current SunRail line would travel along an Orlando Utilities Commission rail spur, before either branching off to the intermodal station, or have an intermediate transfer point on to light rail to complete the journey to this station.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: Multiple options are being considered for a link to International Drive, either with elevated maglev train system, connecting the airport to the Orange County Convention Center, the Florida Mall, and the Sand Lake Road SunRail station, or a light rail link running along a similar route as the maglev alternative between the airport and International Drive.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: Orlando International Airport has a large main terminal building divided into north and south sides, and four airside concourses accessible with elevated people movers, with a total of 93 gates. International arrivals are primarily handled in Airside 4, with secondary operations occurring in Airside 1 and Terminal C.


title: Orlando International Airport

text: The airport features an on-site Hyatt Regency hotel within the main terminal structure. The hotel is located on the east side of the Terminal A/B complex with a fourth floor lobby level and guest rooms beginning on level five and above. The airport features an expansive lobby area for guests awaiting flights, convention space, several bars, and two restaurants including a signature restaurant on the top level of the terminal building overlooking the airport facility and runways below.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: Clyde Austin Drexler (born June 22, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player and the commissioner of the Big3 3-on-3 basketball league. Nicknamed "Clyde the Glide", he played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), spending a majority of his career with the Portland Trail Blazers before finishing with the Houston Rockets. He was a ten-time NBA All-Star and named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams. Drexler won an NBA championship with Houston in 1995, and earned a gold medal on the 1992 United States Olympic team known as "The Dream Team". He was inducted twice into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, in 2004 for his individual career and in 2010 as a member of the "Dream Team". Drexler is widely considered one of the greatest basketball players and greatest shooting guards of all time.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: Drexler was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and lived in the South Park area in Houston, Texas. He attended Ross Sterling High School in Houston, where he was a classmate of tennis player Zina Garrison. As a sophomore, he made the varsity baseball team, and tried out for the basketball team but failed to make the cut. Drexler played as a center as a senior. He began receiving attention from college coaches following a 34-point, 27-rebound performance against Sharpstown High School during a 1979 Christmas tournament.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: After graduating in 1980, he was recruited by New Mexico State University, Texas Tech University, and the University of Houston, the latter after childhood friend Michael Young told an assistant to head coach Guy Lewis that Drexler was the best player he had faced in high school. Houston was able to recruit them both due to Drexler's friendship with Young and his desire to stay home. Drexler majored in finance and worked at a bank during the summer. Lewis recalled in 2003 that he initially received hate mail from Houston supporters and alumni for recruiting Drexler, as they felt that he was not good enough to play for the school.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: Drexler and Young, along with Larry Micheaux and new recruit Hakeem Olajuwon (known then as Akeem), comprised the "Phi Slama Jama" basketball fraternity that gained national attention for its acrobatic, above-the-rim play. New players were "initiated" into the fraternity by having to stand underneath the basket as Drexler drove in from halfcourt and threw down a tomahawk slam over them. Houston made the first of Drexler's two straight Final Four appearances in 1982, where they lost to eventual champions North Carolina. He averaged 15.2 points and 10.5 rebounds (second in the Southwest Conference) per game as a small forward as Houston finished 25–8.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: The 1982–83 campaign saw Houston return to the Final Four ranked No. 1. They were matched up against No. 2 Louisville and the "Doctors of Dunk" in the semifinals, which Houston won 94–81 following a brilliant dunking display by both sides, including a double-pump slam by Drexler that "Sports Illustrated" writer Curry Kirkpatrick called "your basic play of the century". He finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists. In the championship game against North Carolina State, Drexler failed to make an impact after picking up four fouls before halftime, and scored only four points on one-of-five shooting and two free throws in NC State's upset victory.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: Drexler declared for the NBA draft as a junior, leaving Houston with career averages of 14.4 points, 3.3 assists and 9.9 rebounds in three seasons. In addition to being named the Southwestern Conference Player of the Year and a first-team All American his final season, he remains the only player in school history with combined totals of at least 1,000 career points, 900 rebounds and 300 assists; he is also Houston's all-time steals leader with 268.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: In the 1983 NBA draft, Drexler was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 14th overall pick. He averaged 7.7 points in 17.2 minutes per game in his rookie season. These all improved with more playing time in his second season, to 17.2 points, 6 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.2 steals per game. In his third season Drexler made his first All-Star team, averaging 18.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 8 assists and 2.6 steals. In the 1989–1990 season, Drexler led the Portland Trail Blazers to the NBA Finals, averaging 26.4 points and 7.8 rebounds, but his team lost to the Detroit Pistons in five games. In the 1990–1991 season Drexler led Portland to a franchise-best 63–19 record. Heavily favored to win the West, the Los Angeles Lakers upset the Trail Blazers by winning the Western Conference Finals.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: In the 1991–92 season he made the All-NBA First Team and finished second to Michael Jordan in MVP voting. He met Jordan's Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals that same season only to fall short, as Jordan and the Bulls went on to win their second consecutive championship. In the six-game series against Chicago, Drexler averaged 24.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: In 1992, he was selected to the U.S. Olympic basketball team, nicknamed "The Dream Team", which won the gold medal in Barcelona.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: On February 14, 1995, with the Blazers out of serious contention for a championship, Portland honored Drexler's request to be traded to a contender and sent the Blazer great back home to the Houston Rockets, along with Tracy Murray in exchange for Otis Thorpe, the draft rights of Marcelo Nicola, and a 1995 first-round draft pick in mid-season, right before the trade deadline. Despite finishing the regular season with a record of 47–35, which placed the Rockets 6th out of 8 playoff teams in the Western Conference, Drexler and long-time friend Hakeem Olajuwon helped propel them to an improbable second consecutive championship in 1995, sweeping the Orlando Magic. In his third and final NBA Finals appearance, Drexler averaged 21.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: Most steals in a 3-game series: 13, Portland Trail Blazers vs. Dallas Mavericks, 1990 Western Conference First round


title: Clyde Drexler

text: Clyde "The Glide" Drexler, as he was nicknamed at the University of Houston and throughout his professional career, was famed for his speed and athleticism on the court and his easygoing and quiet demeanor off the court. At the University of Houston, Drexler became well known for his exceptional abilities as a finisher, but generally was not considered a great shooter. During his pro career Drexler developed a much more well-rounded game, even becoming an effective post player and more consistent outside shooter. His extraordinary leaping abilities allowed him to be an acrobatic dunker and Drexler participated in numerous NBA All-Star dunk contests during the late eighties.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: Drexler was regarded as a versatile player, and he was consistently among the leaders at his position in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. He also posted a considerable number of blocked shots for a player his size, ranking third for his career totals among guards.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: As of 2008, Drexler leads all guards with his career average of offensive rebounds with 2.4 per game.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: Drexler stayed with the Rockets for three more seasons before retiring from the NBA after the 1997–98 season in order to become head men's basketball coach at his alma mater, the University of Houston.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: Drexler coached the Cougars in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 seasons. After compiling a 19–39 record in his two seasons, Drexler decided to resign to spend more time with his family.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: Drexler's No. 22 jersey has been retired by the Cougars ("pictured"), Rockets, and Trail Blazers. He was inducted as a player into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on September 10, 2004, in his first year of eligibility. He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996 and named to the league's 75th anniversary team in 2021.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: In 2004 Drexler co-authored his biography, "Clyde the Glide", with "Portland Tribune" sports writer Kerry Eggers, and University of Houston classmate and CBS Sports broadcaster Jim Nantz providing the foreword.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: Drexler married his wife, Gaynell, on December 30, 1988. They divorced in 2011. He has four children: Erica, Austin, Elise, and Adam (the last three with Gaynell). In 2014 Drexler married his second wife, Tonya, whom he had met through fellow NBA star Dominique Wilkins. Drexler has owned homes in the River Oaks–Memorial neighborhood of Houston and in the Dunthorpe suburb of Portland.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: His brother James and his two sisters, Denise and Virginia, run the family barbecue restaurants in Houston called Drexler's World Famous BBQ & Grill, which includes the "22 Bar". His mother, Eunice Scott, also works at the downtown restaurant that was started by his uncle in 1967. There are two locations, downtown Houston and Bush Intercontinental Airport. Drexler also started investing in real estate in his rookie NBA season, and although he is now mostly retired, he does do some managing of his Drexler Holdings LLC, based in downtown Houston.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: Drexler is the subject of the book "Clyde Drexler: Clyde the Glide". He also wrote the introduction to the children's book "Shrews Can't Hoop".


title: Clyde Drexler

text: Drexler made a guest appearance on "Married... with Children", a cameo appearance in an episode of "Arliss", and was also a guest star in an episode of "The Sentinel". In 2006, he made a cameo appearance in the basketball movie "". That same year, Drexler participated in the first season of the Spike TV show "Pros vs. Joes", which features three amateur contestants matching themselves against five professional athletes. Drexler was a member of the regular season Green Team and the season finale Orange Team.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: On February 21, 2007, it was announced that Drexler would participate in the fourth season of the American version of "Dancing with the Stars" with partner Elena Grinenko. Drexler was the fourth celebrity to be voted off in round five on April 17, 2007.


title: Clyde Drexler

text: On April 11, 2010, Drexler appeared as a guest on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" in which he helped the men's team "Rock Solid" complete a task to create video advertisements for Right Guard.


title: Yangon

text: Yangon (; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government relocated the administrative functions to the purpose-built capital city of Naypyidaw in north central Myanmar. With over 7 million people, Yangon is Myanmar's most populous city and its most important commercial centre.


title: Yangon

text: Yangon boasts the largest number of colonial-era buildings in Southeast Asia, and has a unique colonial-era urban core that is remarkably intact. The colonial-era commercial core is centered around the Sule Pagoda, which is reputed to be over 2,000 years old. The city is also home to the gilded Shwedagon Pagoda – Myanmar's most sacred and famous Buddhist pagoda.


title: Yangon

text: Yangon suffers from deeply inadequate infrastructure, especially compared to other major cities in Southeast Asia, such as Jakarta, Bangkok or Hanoi. Though many historic residential and commercial buildings have been renovated throughout central Yangon, most satellite towns that ring the city continue to be profoundly impoverished and lack basic infrastructure.


title: Yangon

text: The name "Yangon" () is derived from the combination of the Burmese words () and (), which mean 'enemies' and 'run out of', respectively. This word combination can be translated as 'End of Strife'.


title: Yangon

text: Yangon was founded as "Dagon" in the early 11th century () by the Mon people, who inhabited Lower Burma at that time. Dagon became an important pilgrimage pagoda town, starting in the 14th century, during the Hanthawaddy Kingdom. Notable governors of Dagon included Princess Maha Dewi, who ruled the town from 1364 to 1392, and her grandniece, Shin Saw Pu, who later became the only female queen regnant in Burmese history. Queen Saw Pu built a palace next to the Shwedagon Pagoda in the town in 1460 and spent her semi-retired life at that palace until her death in 1471.


title: Yangon

text: In 1755, King Alaungpaya, the founder of the Konbaung Dynasty captured Dagon, added settlements around it, and called the enlarged town "Yangon". In the 1790s, the East India Company opened a factory in Yangon. The estimated population of Yangon in 1823 was about 30,000. The British captured Yangon during the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–26), but returned the city to Burmese rule after the war. The city was destroyed by a fire in 1841.