title: Terence Trent D'Arby

text: On 15 March 2021, Maitreya released his 12th studio album, "Pandora's PlayHouse", which included three collaborations, the song "Reflecting Light", composed with the Australian duo The Avalanches; "Time Is On My Side" with Irene Grandi and the opening song of the project: "Pandora's Plight" with jazz pianist Antonio Faraò. The project has an instrumental song called "Prince", which honors the memory and the friendship of Maitreya and Prince.


title: Terence Trent D'Arby

text: In 2022, he was featured on Calvin Harris' new Love Regenerator track "Lonely" (a record which Harris recorded with Italian producer Riva Starr), with the vocals coming from 1989's "…And I Need to Be with Someone Tonight".


title: Terence Trent D'Arby

text: Maitreya has appeared in two films and in the TV mini-series "", in which he played the part of Jackie Wilson.


title: Terence Trent D'Arby

text: Maitreya married Italian television host and architect Francesca Francone in 2003. They have two sons. Maitreya also has a daughter from a previous relationship, London-based musician Seraphina Simone.


title: Close Enough

text: Close Enough is an American animated sitcom created by J. G. Quintel. Originally intended to air on TBS in 2017, the project faced various delays and setbacks before eventually premiering on HBO Max on July 9, 2020. The series has received positive reviews, with critics comparing it favorably to Quintel's previous series, "Regular Show".


title: Close Enough

text: In July 2022, HBO Max cancelled the series after three seasons. A month later, the show, alongside several other original and non-original content, was removed from the service.


title: Close Enough

text: A couple in their early thirties, Josh and Emily, and their young daughter, Candice, live in a Los Angeles duplex with their divorced friends, Alex and Bridgette. They get into what seem like normal domestic crises, which tend to escalate in surreal (often even science fiction-esque) ways.


title: Close Enough

text: The first season was originally set to run for 10 episodes, but only 8 episodes were released when the series launched.


title: Close Enough

text: The series was announced in May 2017, four months after Quintel's previous series, "Regular Show", concluded its run on the sibling Cartoon Network. The series was originally announced to air on TBS, but was delayed several times. It would later be revealed that TBS had planned to premiere the show as part of its own animation block, but those plans fell through when production on "The Cops" was shut down due to Louis C.K.’s admitted sexual misconduct. On October 29, 2019, it was announced that the series would instead move to HBO Max. The second half of the third episode was premiered at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival on June 15, 2020.


title: Close Enough

text: On August 6, 2020, the series was renewed for a second season. The following month, the series was distributed internationally through Netflix as a Netflix Original, beginning September 14, 2020 in Latin America.


title: Close Enough

text: The second season premiered on February 25, 2021 on HBO Max. Prior to the season premiere, a third season was announced on February 10, 2021. The second season was released internationally on Netflix on May 26, 2021.


title: Close Enough

text: On October 24, 2021, the first two seasons became available to buy digitally on iTunes. The third season was released digitally on May 8, 2022.


title: Close Enough

text: With the announcement of TBS and TNT's Front Row blocks, the series debuted on the former network on October 25, 2021.


title: Close Enough

text: The third season premiered on April 7, 2022 on HBO Max. On July 15, 2022, HBO Max cancelled the series after three seasons. On August 17, 2022, the service announced the removal of several shows, including "Close Enough".


title: Close Enough

text: Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 100% based on 19 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10, for the first season. The website's critical consensus reads, "Completely absurd and yet, utterly relatable, "Close Enough" captures the strange experience that is being an adult." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100 based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: The Stranglers

text: The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 19 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the UK punk scene.


title: The Stranglers

text: Formed as the Guildford Stranglers in Guildford, Surrey, in early 1974, they originally built a following within the mid-1970s pub rock scene. While their aggressive, no-compromise attitude had them identified by the media with the emerging UK punk rock scene that followed, their idiosyncratic approach rarely followed any single musical genre, and the group went on to explore a variety of musical styles, from new wave, art rock and gothic rock through the sophisti-pop of some of their 1980s output. They had major mainstream success with their 1982 single "Golden Brown". Their other hits include "No More Heroes", "Peaches", "Always the Sun", "Skin Deep" and "Big Thing Coming".


title: The Stranglers

text: The Stranglers' early sound was driven by Jean-Jacques Burnel's melodic bass, but also gave prominence to Dave Greenfield's keyboards.


title: The Stranglers

text: Their early music was also characterised by the growling vocals and sometimes misanthropic lyrics of both Burnel and Hugh Cornwell. Over time, their output gradually grew more refined and sophisticated. Summing up their contribution to popular music, critic Dave Thompson later wrote: "From bad-mannered yobs to purveyors of supreme pop delicacies, the group was responsible for music that may have been ugly and might have been crude – but it was never, ever boring."


title: The Stranglers

text: Keyboard player Dave Greenfield died on 3 May 2020 after contracting COVID-19 while receiving treatment for a heart ailment. The remaining band members completed a new album recorded with Greenfield, "Dark Matters" following his death and confirmed that they would proceed with their "Final Full UK Tour", initially announced in January 2020, in his honour.


title: The Stranglers

text: Before forming the band, "Jet Black" (real name Brian Duffy) was in his mid-30s. A successful businessman, Black at one point owned a fleet of ice cream vans, and later ran "The Jackpot", a Guildford off-licence that would serve as the base for the early Stranglers. Black had also been a semi-professional drummer in the late 1950s and early 1960s; after attaining a degree of financial stability due to his business successes, by 1974 he decided to return to drumming, and to assemble a band. The Stranglers came to be an influential band in the British punk and new wave scene of the mid-70s. Black drove the ice cream vans that would serve as the Stranglers' early tour buses.


title: The Stranglers

text: The group that eventually formed between 1974 and 1975 was originally named The Guildford Stranglers, but they soon dropped the geographical prefix and the name, "The Stranglers", was registered as a business on 11 September 1974 by Black. The other original personnel were bass player/vocalist Jean-Jacques Burnel, guitarist/vocalist Hugh Cornwell and keyboardist/guitarist Hans Wärmling, who was replaced by keyboardist Dave Greenfield within a year. None of the band came from the Guildford area apart from Burnel, who was originally from Notting Hill but moved to Godalming during his childhood. Black is from Ilford, Cornwell from Kentish Town and Greenfield from Brighton, while Wärmling came from Gothenburg and returned there after leaving the band.


title: The Stranglers

text: Cornwell was a blues musician before forming the band and had briefly been a bandmate of Richard Thompson, Burnel had been a classical guitarist who had performed with symphony orchestras, Black's musical background was as a jazz drummer, and Dave Greenfield had played at military bases in Germany. Their early influences included pre-punk psychedelic rock bands such as the Doors and the Music Machine.


title: The Stranglers

text: From 1976 the Stranglers became associated with the burgeoning punk rock movement, due in part to their opening for the first British tours of American punks the Ramones and Patti Smith. Notwithstanding this association, some of the movement's champions in the British musical press viewed the band with suspicion on account of their age and musical virtuosity and the intellectual bent of some of their lyrics. However, Burnel was quoted saying, "I thought of myself as part of punk at the time because we were inhabiting the same flora and fauna ... I would like to think the Stranglers were more punk plus and then some."


title: The Stranglers

text: The band's early albums, "Rattus Norvegicus", "No More Heroes" and "Black and White", all released within a period of 13 months, were highly successful with the record-buying public and singles such as "Peaches", "Something Better Change" and "No More Heroes" became instant punk classics. Meanwhile, the band received a mixed reception from some critics because of their apparent sexist and racist innuendo. However, critic Dave Thompson argued that such criticism was oblivious to the satire and irony in the band's music, writing: "the Stranglers themselves revelled in an almost Monty Python-esque grasp of absurdity (and, in particular, the absurdities of modern 'men's talk')."


title: The Stranglers

text: These albums went on to build a strong fan-following, but the group's confrontational attitude towards the press was increasingly problematic and triggered a severe backlash when Burnel, a martial arts enthusiast, punched music journalist Jon Savage during a promotional event.


title: The Stranglers

text: In February 1978 the Stranglers began a mini-tour, playing three secret pub gigs as a thank-you to those venues and their landlords for their support during the band's rise to success. The first was at The Duke of Lancaster in New Barnet on Valentine's Day, with further performances at The Red Cow, Hammersmith, and The Nashville Rooms, West Kensington, in early September.


title: The Stranglers

text: During their appearance at the University of Surrey on the BBC TV programme "Rock Goes to College" on 19 October 1978, the group walked off stage because an agreement to make tickets available to non-university students had not been honoured.


title: The Stranglers

text: In the later half of the 1970s, the Stranglers toured Japan twice, joining the alternative music scene of Tokyo, which was evolving from the punk sound of Kyoto-based band Murahachibu (村八分, "Ostracism"), whose music influence spread to Tokyo in 1971. The Stranglers were the only foreign band to take part in a landmark scene focused around S-KEN Studio in Roppongi, and The Loft venues in Shinjuku and Shimokitazawa from 1977 to 1979. The scene included bands such as Friction, and they became friends with the band, Red Lizard, who they invited back to London, where the band became known as Lizard. In 1979, while still in Japan, Burnel also became close friends with Keith, co-founder and drummer for ARB. At the end of 1983, ARB's bassist was imprisoned, leaving the band with a problem for their forthcoming tour. Burnel took time out from the Stranglers to fly out to Japan at short notice and join ARB to cover the tour, including appearing at the 'All Japan Rock Festival' at Hibaya park, becoming the first non-Japanese to ever appear at the festival. Burnel toured with ARB for 5 weeks and played on two studio tracks, "Yellow Blood" and "Fight it Out", both of which appeared on the RCA Victor ARB album "Yellow Blood".


title: The Stranglers

text: In 1979, one of the Stranglers' two managers advised them to break up as he felt that the band had lost direction, but this idea was dismissed and they parted company with their management team. Meanwhile, Burnel released an experimental solo album "Euroman Cometh" backed by a small UK tour and Cornwell recorded the album "Nosferatu" in collaboration with Robert Williams. Later that year the Stranglers released "The Raven", which heralded a transition towards a more melodic and complex sound which appealed more to the album than the singles market. The songs on "The Raven" are multi-layered and musically complicated, and deal with such subjects as a Viking's lonely voyage, heroin addiction, genetic engineering, contemporary political events in Iran and Australia and extraterrestrial visitors, "Meninblack". "The Raven" saw a definite transition in the band's sound. The Hohner Cembalet – so prominent on the previous three albums – was dropped and Oberheim synthesizers used instead whilst acoustic piano was used on "Don't Bring Harry". A harmonizer was used to treat Burnel's vocal on the track "Meninblack", the recording of which led to Martin Rushent, who had produced their earlier albums, walking out leaving the band to co-produce the album themselves with Alan Winstanley.


title: The Stranglers

text: "The Raven" was not released in the US; instead a compilation album "The Stranglers IV" was released in 1980, containing a selection of tracks from "The Raven" and a mix of earlier and later non-album tracks. "The Raven" sold well, reaching No.4 in the UK Albums Chart - it spawned one top 20 single, "Duchess", with "Nuclear Device" reaching No.36 and the EP "Don't Bring Harry" reaching No.41. This was followed by a non-album single, "Bear Cage", backed with "Shah Shah a Go Go" from "The Raven". A 12-inch single, the band's first, containing extended mixes of both tracks was also released, but "Bear Cage" also only managed No.36 in the charts.


title: The Stranglers

text: Following the success of the Stranglers' previous four albums they were given complete freedom for their next, "The Gospel According to the Meninblack", a concept album exploring religion and the supposed connection between religious phenomena and extraterrestrial visitors. It was preceded by a single "Who Wants the World", which didn't appear on the album, and only just made the top 40. The album also included "Waltzinblack" which became adopted as a theme by TV chef Keith Floyd. "The Gospel According to The Meninblack" was very different from their earlier work and alienated many fans. It peaked on the UK albums chart at No.8, their lowest placing to date, and in 1981 was widely considered an artistic and commercial failure. The track "Two Sunspots" had been recorded during the "Black And White" sessions in 1978, but was shelved until 1980 when it was rediscovered and placed on "The Gospel According to the Meninblack". The "Meninblack" track from "The Raven" is the "Two Sunspots" soundtrack slowed down.


title: The Stranglers

text: After a slow start, the Stranglers recovered their commercial and critical status with "La Folie" (1981) which was another concept album, this time exploring the subject of love. At first "La Folie" charted lower than any other Stranglers studio album, and the first single taken from it, "Let Me Introduce You to the Family", only charted at No.42. However, the next single was "Golden Brown". The song is an evocative waltz-time ballad, with an extra beat in the fourth bar. Cornwell said the lyrics were "about heroin and also about a girl. She was of Mediterranean origin and her skin was golden brown." It became their biggest hit, charting at No.2 in the UK Singles Chart. It was also named as "record of the week" on BBC Radio 2, despite the station not previously playing music associated with the punk genre. It remains a radio staple to this day. Following this success, "La Folie" recharted at No.11 in the UK albums chart. "Tramp" was originally thought to be the ideal follow-up single to "Golden Brown"; however "La Folie" was chosen after Burnel convinced his bandmates of its potential. Sung in French, it received negligible airplay and charted at No.47. Shortly afterwards the Stranglers left EMI. As part of their severance deal, the Stranglers were forced to release a greatest hits collection, "The Collection 1977–1982". The track listing for "The Collection 1977–1982" included the new single "Strange Little Girl", which had originally been recorded on a demo in '74 and rejected by EMI. It became a hit, charting at No.7 in July 1982.


title: The Stranglers

text: Following the Stranglers' return to commercial success, many record companies lined up to sign them. Virgin Records was the most likely choice but Epic Records made a last minute offer and secured the Stranglers' services. The Stranglers once again had complete artistic freedom and in 1983 released their first album for Epic, "Feline", which included the UK No. 9 hit "European Female". The album was another change in musical direction, this time influenced by European music. It was the first Stranglers album to feature acoustic guitars, and it was on this album that Jet Black began to use electronic drum kits. Hugh Cornwell stated, "On "La Folie" there were three tracks – 'Golden Brown' ... 'La Folie' and 'How to Find True Love and Happiness in the Present Day' – that sort of pointed us away from what we had been doing. It was strange doing those tracks, because we'd never really attempted that quite minimalistic recording technique. And when we started writing for "Feline", things were coming out the same way." The album gained much critical success but fell well short of "La Folie" in terms of sales and failed to produce another hit after "European Female". Nonetheless "Feline" broke the Stranglers in Europe and reached No.4 in the UK chart in January 1983.


title: The Stranglers

text: 1984 saw the release of "Aural Sculpture" which consolidated the band's success in Europe and established them in Oceania. It included the UK No.15 hit "Skin Deep" (which also reached No. 11 in Australia and No. 19 in New Zealand, and Top 30 in the Netherlands). This was their first album to feature the three-piece horn-section which was retained in all their subsequent albums and live performances until Hugh Cornwell's departure in 1990. "Aural Sculpture" was only a moderate success in the UK album charts, peaking at No.14 in November 1984.


title: The Stranglers

text: Their 1986 album, "Dreamtime", dealt with environmental concerns among other issues. Its signature track, and another radio staple for many years to come, was "Always the Sun" (a No.15 hit in France and No.16 hit in Ireland, No.21 in Australia, No.30 in the UK, and No.42 in the Netherlands). The only Stranglers album to chart in the US, "Dreamtime" was again only a moderate hit in the UK, reaching No. 16 in November 1986.


title: The Stranglers

text: The Stranglers' final album with Cornwell, "10", was released in 1990. This was recorded with the intention of building on their "cult" status in America. Following the success of their cover of The Kinks' "All Day and All of the Night", a UK No. 7 hit in 1988, the Stranglers released another '60s cover, "96 Tears" as their first single from "10"; it reached No. 17 in the UK. Despite this success, the follow-up single "Sweet Smell of Success" only reached No.65. "Man of the Earth", which the band had high hopes for, was due to be the third single from the album, but Epic Records decided against it. In August 1990, Hugh Cornwell abruptly left Stranglers to pursue a solo career, following the band's failure to attain a tour in the US. In his autobiography, Cornwell stated that he felt that the Stranglers were a spent force creatively, and cited various examples of his increasingly acrimonious relationship with his fellow band-members, particularly Burnel.


title: The Stranglers

text: Following the departure of Cornwell, CBS-Sony dropped the Stranglers from their roster. The remaining members recruited John Ellis, who had had a long-standing association with the band. He had opened for them in the 1970s as a member of The Vibrators, filled in for Cornwell during his time in prison for drug possession in 1980, worked with Burnel and Greenfield in their side-project Purple Helmets, and been added to the Stranglers' line-up as a touring guitarist a short time before Cornwell's departure. Burnel and Ellis briefly took over vocal duties (for one television appearance on "The Word") before enlisting Paul Roberts, who sang on most songs live, even those originally sung by Burnel.


title: The Stranglers

text: This line-up recorded four albums: "Stranglers in the Night" (1992), "About Time" (1995), "Written in Red" (1997) and "Coup de Grace" (1998).


title: The Stranglers

text: The Stranglers achieved something of a critical and popular renaissance in 2004 with the album "Norfolk Coast" and a subsequent sell-out tour, together with their first Top-40 hit (No. 31 UK) in fourteen years, "Big Thing Coming". The album also included "Tuckers Grave" about a Somerset cider house named after the victim of a suicide in a nearby farm which members of the band now occupied. In 2005, "Coast to Coast: Live on Tour" was released, the live album contained songs recorded during their tour the previous year. On their sellout UK tour they were supported by Goldblade.


title: The Stranglers

text: In May 2006, Roberts left the band, and the Stranglers were now back to a four-piece line-up: Burnel, Black, Greenfield and Warne, with the lead vocals shared between Warne and Burnel. In concert, Burnel returned to singing the songs he originally recorded as lead vocalist, and Warne sang the numbers originally led by Hugh Cornwell.


title: The Stranglers

text: "Suite XVI", the follow-up album to "Norfolk Coast", was released in September 2006 (the title is a pun on "Sweet 16" and also a reference to the fact that it was the band's sixteenth studio album) and continued the band's resurgence. Although partly a return to the band's heavier punk roots, the album featured a typically idiosyncratic mixture of musical styles which included a country and western style Johnny Cash pastiche/homage "I Hate You".


title: The Stranglers

text: In 2007 it was reported that drummer Black was suffering from atrial fibrillation, an ailment which subsequently forced him to miss a number of shows, particularly where extended travel was required. On such occasions Ian Barnard, Black's drum technician, deputised.


title: The Stranglers

text: On 4 November 2007, the band (with Black) played a sell-out gig at the Roundhouse in Camden, North London, marking the thirtieth anniversary of their headline run at the same venue in 1977. The set list was the same as the 1977 concert, with the addition of a couple of more recent songs as a final encore. The event is recorded on the DVD "Rattus at the Roundhouse".


title: The Stranglers

text: The Stranglers continued their resurgence in 2010 starting with an extensive UK tour, including a sold-out return to the Hammersmith Apollo in March, their first visit there since 1987. They were supported on the 16-date UK tour by Max Raptor.


title: The Stranglers

text: A double CD compilation album, "Decades Apart", containing a selection of tracks from the full career of the band, including at least one from each of their sixteen studio albums and two new tracks, "Retro Rockets" and "I Don't See the World Like You Do", was released in February 2010. The download version of "Decades Apart" included an unreleased recording from 1978, "Wasting Time", inspired by the band's 'Rock Goes To College' experience earlier that year; this track, originally titled "Social Secs" was never released, and the music ended up being reversed and released as "Yellowcake UF6", the B-side to "Nuclear Device" in 1979.


title: The Stranglers

text: Across the summer the band played a number of festivals, including Weyfest and Glastonbury and T in the Park in the UK and Oxegen 2010 in Ireland, and concerts in Japan, Greece, Poland, Slovakia and Bulgaria. The band also released a new live album and DVD, recorded at the Hammersmith Apollo in May 2010. In March 2011, the band completed another UK tour. Burnel's long-term friend, Wilko Johnson, was invited to bring The Wilko Johnson band on the tour. In April, the band began touring Europe, with many gigs and major festivals lined up for the entire year.


title: The Stranglers

text: On 23 September 2012, the band returned to Looe, Cornwall, fronted by Warne and Burnel. The band had originally spent time in Looe writing "Suite XVI".


title: The Stranglers

text: "Giants" was released in 2012, including the first instrumental on an album since "Waltzinblack" on "The Gospel According to The Meninblack". The "deluxe" version consisted of a second disc containing tracks from the 'Weekend in Black' acoustic session in November 2011.


title: The Stranglers

text: 2013 saw the band play a full UK tour, with Black playing the second half at most gigs (Jim Macaulay taking the first half). Several festivals were booked for 2013, including a session at the BBC Proms on 12 August. For the North American tour Black was not present, with Macaulay playing the entire show.


title: The Stranglers

text: In 2014, the band celebrated their fortieth birthday with a Ruby Tour, throughout the UK and Europe. In 2015, the March On tour had 18 dates around the United Kingdom. Where stage space allowed, a second drum kit was set up and Jet Black appeared for a set of four songs. A proposed gig in Moscow was announced and then cancelled due to visa difficulties, but a mini-tour of the UK took place in July. The band then played gigs throughout Europe, ending in November. In April 2016, they returned to New Zealand and Australia.


title: The Stranglers

text: Black ceased performing on stage with the band after some partial-set appearances in March 2015, although he remained an official member of the band until his retirement was confirmed in 2018. Jim Macaulay appeared in a promotional photograph alongside Burnel, Greenfield and Warne for the first time in 2016 and has since been named as an official member of the group.


title: The Stranglers

text: In August 2017, the Stranglers performed at an outdoor concert in Hull as part of the UK City of Culture celebrations. In July 2018, the band played at the LUNAR festival in Tanworth-in-Arden.


title: The Stranglers

text: During an interview with Janice Long, on BBC Radio Wales, on 10 July 2018, Burnel revealed that Black continued to be in fairly poor health and had suffered a minor stroke earlier in 2018.


title: The Stranglers

text: Greenfield died on 3 May 2020, at the age of 71. He had contracted COVID-19 while in hospital for a heart ailment. The band's eighteenth studio album "Dark Matters", features contributions from Greenfield and is also their first release following the retirement of Jet Black. It was released on 10 September 2021, and entered the UK album chart at number 4, the highest position since "Feline" in 1983 and their first top 10 position since 1990.


title: The Stranglers

text: In November 2021, the band began their last full tour with their new keyboard player, Toby Hounsham, who played with Rialto, an English rock band formed in London in 1997, and subsequently Mungo Jerry for live and studio work since the early 2000s. The tour is currently scheduled to continue through the UK and several European countries, ending in Sweden in October 2022.


title: The Stranglers

text: "No More Heroes" was featured in the first episode of the BBC series "Ashes to Ashes" and in the third episode of the second season of the American TV show "Queer as Folk". The title was used for the 2007 video game "No More Heroes", created by Japanese designer Goichi Suda, who is also a fan of the band. Despite the name, the cost of licensing the track prevented the song from appearing in the game. A cover version by Violent Femmes was used for the film "Mystery Men".


title: The Stranglers

text: The song "Let me Down Easy" was used as the opening credits theme for Hardcore Henry. "Peaches" appeared in the title sequence of "Sexy Beast" by director Jonathan Glazer, and was used as the closing theme for many of Keith Floyd's cooking programmes, with the instrumental track 'Waltzinblack' providing the title music.


title: The Stranglers

text: "Golden Brown" featured in Guy Ritchie's film "Snatch" (2000), was used extensively in the Australian film "He Died with a Felafel in His Hand". It also featured in the "Black Mirror" episode "Metalhead" and in Season 2 of "The Umbrella Academy".


title: The Stranglers

text: More songs by the Stranglers have been licensed for use in commercials than from any other punk band. "Always The Sun" was used for a tv and radio campaign by insurance company Sun Alliance in 1992 and 1993. "Peaches" has appeared on adverts for Adidas, HSBC, Tesco and JBL speakers while "Waltzinblack" has been used for Vodafone and the Carphone Warehouse. In 2002 "Hanging Around", a track from the 1977 debut album "Rattus Norvegicus" which was never released as a single, was used in several French Wonderbra commercials featuring model Inna Zobova. "Golden Brown" was used to advertise Ore-Ida french fries and later used in Waitrose's 2008 Christmas campaign.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: Rosuvastatin, sold under the brand name Crestor among others, is a statin medication, used to prevent cardiovascular disease in those at high risk and treat abnormal lipids. It is recommended to be used together with dietary changes, exercise, and weight loss. It is taken by mouth.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: Common side effects include abdominal pain, nausea, headaches, and muscle pains. Serious side effects may include rhabdomyolysis, liver problems, and diabetes. Use during pregnancy may harm the baby. Like all statins, rosuvastatin works by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme found in the liver that plays a role in producing cholesterol.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: Rosuvastatin was patented in 1991, and approved for medical use in the United States in 2003. It is available as a generic medication. In 2020, it was the seventeenth most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 29million prescriptions.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: There have been criticisms of rosuvastatin having worse adverse effects despite effectively reducing cholesterol more than other statins.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: The primary use of rosuvastatin is for prevention of cardiovascular disease in those at high risk and the treatment of abnormal lipids.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: The effects of rosuvastatin on low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol are dose-related. Higher doses were more efficacious in improving the lipid profile of patients with hypercholesterolemia than milligram-equivalent doses of atorvastatin and milligram-equivalent or higher doses of simvastatin and pravastatin.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: Meta-analysis showed that rosuvastatin is able to modestly increase levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol as well, as with other statins. A 2014 Cochrane review determined there was good evidence for rosuvastatin lowering non-HDL levels linearly with dose.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: Side effects are uncommon. The following side effects should be reported to the prescribing doctor if they persist or get worse:


title: Rosuvastatin

text: The following rare side effects are more serious. Like all statins, rosuvastatin can possibly cause myopathy, rhabdomyolysis. Stop taking rosuvastatin and contact the prescribing doctor if any of these occur:


title: Rosuvastatin

text: Rosuvastatin has multiple contraindications, conditions that warrant withholding treatment with rosuvastatin, including hypersensitivity to rosuvastatin or any component of the formulation, active liver disease, elevation of serum transaminases, pregnancy, or breastfeeding. Rosuvastatin must not be taken while pregnant as it can cause serious harm to the baby. In the case of breastfeeding, it is unknown whether rosuvastatin is passed through breastmilk but, due to the potential of disrupting the infant's lipid metabolism, patients should not breast feed while on rosuvastatin.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: The risk of myopathy may be increased in Asian Americans: "Because Asians appear to process the drug differently, half the standard dose can have the same cholesterol-lowering benefit in those patients, though a full dose could increase the risk of side-effects, a study by the drug's manufacturer, AstraZeneca, indicated." Therefore, the lowest dose is recommended in Asians.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: As with all statins, there is a concern of rhabdomyolysis, a severe undesired side effect. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has indicated that "it does not appear that the risk [of rhabdomyolysis] is greater with Crestor than with other marketed statins", but has mandated that a warning about this side-effect, as well as a kidney toxicity warning, be added to the product label.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: Statins increase the risk of diabetes, consistent with FDA's review, which reported a 27% increase in investigator-reported diabetes mellitus in rosuvastatin-treated people.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: The following drugs can have negative interactions with rosuvastatin and should be discussed with the prescribing doctor:


title: Rosuvastatin

text: Rosuvastatin has structural similarities with most other synthetic statins, e.g., atorvastatin, cerivastatin and pitavastatin, but unlike other statins, rosuvastatin contains sulfur (in sulfonyl functional group).


title: Rosuvastatin

text: Crestor is a calcium salt of rosuvastatin, i.e. rosuvastatin calcium, in which calcium replaces the hydrogen in the carboxylic acid group on the right of the skeletal formula at the top right of this page.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: Rosuvastatin is a competitive inhibitor of the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, having a mechanism of action similar to that of other statins.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: Putative beneficial effects of rosuvastatin therapy on chronic heart failure may be negated by increases in collagen turnover markers as well as a reduction in plasma coenzyme Q levels in patients with chronic heart failure.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: In a Cochrane systematic review the dose-related magnitude of rosuvastatin on blood lipids was determined. Over the dose range of 1 to 80 mg/day strong linear dose‐related effects were found; total cholesterol was reduced by 22.1% to 44.8%, LDL cholesterol by 31.2% to 61.2%, non-HDL cholesterol by 28.9% to 56.7% and triglycerides by 14.4% to 26.6%.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: Absolute bioavailability of rosuvastatin is about 20% and C is reached in 3 to 5 hours; administration with food did not affect the AUC according to the original sponsor submitted clinical study and as per product label. However, a subsequent clinical study has shown a marked reduction in rosuvastatin exposure when administered with food. It is 88% protein bound, mainly to albumin. Fraction absorbed of rosuvastatin is frequently misquoted in the literature as approximately 0.5 (50%) due to a miscalculated hepatic extraction ratio in the original submission package subsequently corrected by the FDA reviewer.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: Rosuvastatin is metabolized mainly by CYP2C9 and not extensively metabolized; approximately 10% is recovered as metabolite "N"-desmethyl rosuvastatin. It is excreted in feces (90%) primarily and the elimination half-life is approximately 19 hours.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: Because low- to moderate dose statins are strongly recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in adults aged 40–75 years who are at risk, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in the United States requires most health insurance plans to cover the costs of these drugs without charging the insured patient a copayment or coinsurance, even if he or she has not yet reached his or her annual deductible. Rosuvastatin 5 mg and 10 mg are examples of regimens meeting the USPTFS guideline; however, insurers have discretion as to which low- and moderate-dose statin regimens to cover under this requirement, and some only cover other statins.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: The drug was billed as a "super-statin" during its clinical development; the claim was that it offers high potency and improved cholesterol reduction compared to rivals in the class. The main competitors to rosuvastatin are atorvastatin and simvastatin. However, people can also combine ezetimibe with either simvastatin or atorvastatin and other agents on their own, for somewhat similar augmented response rates. some published information for comparing rosuvastatin, atorvastatin, and ezetimibe/simvastatin results is available, but many of the relevant studies are still in progress.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: First launched in 2003, sales of rosuvastatin were $129million and $908million in 2003, and 2004, respectively, with a total patient treatment population of over 4million by the end of 2004.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: Annual cost to the UK National Health Service (NHS) in 2018, for 5–40 mg rosuvastatin daily was £24-40, compared to £10-20 for 20–80 mg simvastatin.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: In 2013, it was the fourth-highest selling drug in the United States, accounting for approximately $5.2billion in sales. In 2020, it was the seventeenth most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 29million prescriptions.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: Rosuvastatin is approved in the United States for the treatment of high LDL cholesterol (dyslipidemia), total cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia), and/or triglycerides (hypertriglyceridemia). In February 2010, rosuvastatin was approved by the FDA for the primary prevention of cardiovascular events.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: , rosuvastatin had been approved in 154 countries and launched in 56. Approval in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) came on 13 August 2003.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: The main patent protecting rosuvastatin (RE37,314 — due to expire in 2016) was challenged as being an improper reissue of an earlier patent. This challenge was rejected in 2010, confirming protection until 2016.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: In April 2016, the FDA approved the first generic version of rosuvastatin (from Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc). In July 2016, Mylan gained approval for its generic rosuvastatin calcium.


title: Rosuvastatin

text: In October 2003, several months after its introduction in Europe, Richard Horton, the editor of the medical journal "The Lancet", criticized the way Crestor had been introduced. "AstraZeneca's tactics in marketing its cholesterol-lowering drug, rosuvastatin, raise disturbing questions about how drugs enter clinical practice and what measures exist to protect patients from inadequately investigated medicines," according to his editorial. "The Lancet's" editorial position is that the data for Crestor's superiority rely too much on extrapolation from the lipid profile data (surrogate end-points) and too little on hard clinical end-points, which are available for other statins that had been on the market longer. The manufacturer responded by stating that few drugs had been tested so successfully on so many patients. In correspondence published in "The Lancet", AstraZeneca's CEO Tom McKillop called the editorial "flawed and incorrect" and slammed the journal for making "such an outrageous critique of a serious, well-studied medicine."


title: Rosuvastatin

text: In 2004, the consumer interest organization Public Citizen filed a Citizen's Petition with the FDA, asking that Crestor be withdrawn from the US market. On 11 March 2005, the FDA issued a letter to Sidney M. Wolfe of Public Citizen both denying the petition and providing an extensive detailed analysis of findings that demonstrated no basis for concerns about rosuvastatin compared with the other statins approved for marketing in the United States. In 2015, Wolfe explained why he thought that "the drug should have been withdrawn and why it should not be used", due to the incidence of rhabdomyolysis, renal problems, and significant increase in glycated hemoglobin (HbA) and fasting insulin levels, and decreased insulin sensitivity in diabetic patients. Rosuvastatin indeed lowered cholesterol more than other statins, but Wolfe asked "what about actually improving health, preventing heart attacks and strokes?"


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: Rania Al-Abdullah (, ; born Rania Al-Yassin, 31 August 1970) is Queen of Jordan as the wife of King Abdullah II.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: Rania was born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents. She received her bachelor's degree in business at The American University in Cairo. In 1991, following the Gulf War, she and her family fled to Amman, Jordan, where she met Prince Abdullah of Jordan. Before meeting him, she worked at Citibank and then took a job in the marketing department at Apple Inc. Since marrying Abdullah in 1993, she has become known for her advocacy work related to education, health, community empowerment, youth, cross-cultural dialogue and micro-finance.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: Forbes magazine has ranked Rania as one of the world's 100 most powerful women. The 2022 Credit Suisse leaks claimed that the Queen had an account in a Swiss bank. A statement by the Royal Hashemite Court said the account balance stated in the leak was incorrect and that the account was for the royal couple's children.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: Rania Al-Yassin was born on 31 August 1970 in Kuwait, to Palestinian parents. Her father, (1934–2022) was from Tulkarm in the West Bank. She also has Turkish roots on her maternal grandfather's side. Rania received a degree in business administration from the American University in Cairo. Upon her graduation, she worked briefly in marketing for Citibank, followed by a job with Apple Inc. in Amman, Jordan.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: Rania met Jordanian Prince Abdullah bin Al-Hussein at a dinner party in January 1993. On 10 June 1993, they were married. Their wedding ceremony was considered a national holiday. The couple has four children:


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: Since her marriage, Queen Rania has used her position to advocate for various sectors of society in Jordan and beyond.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: Queen Rania has launched and championed several initiatives in education and learning. Queen Rania has stated that an essential aspect of education is to equip young people with the necessary skills to perform well in the workplace.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: In July 2005, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the King and Queen launched an annual teachers' award, the Queen Rania Award for Excellence in Education.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: The Queen is Chairperson of Jordan's first interactive children's museum, which opened in May 2007. In April 2008, the Queen launched "Madrasati" ("My School"), a public-private initiative aimed at refurbishing 500 of Jordan's public schools over a five-year period. Queen Rania also established The Queen Rania Al Abdullah Center for Educational Technology on 6 June 2001, aiming to use modern technology to serve and develop education in Jordan.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: The Queen Rania Teacher Academy, which was launched in June 2009, provides professional development programs for current and new teachers in partnership with the Ministry of Education. The Queen Rania Scholarship Program partners with several universities from around the world to support scholarships and training for Jordanian students and workers in management, marketing, design, business administration, psychology, engineering, law, and other fields.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: The Jordan River Children Program (JRCP) was developed by Queen Rania to place children's welfare above political agendas and cultural taboos. This led to the launch, in 1998, of JRF's Child Safety Program, which addresses the immediate needs of children at risk from abuse and initiated a long-term campaign to increase public awareness about violence against children. The deaths of two children in Amman as a result of child abuse in early 2009 led Queen Rania to call for an emergency meeting of government and non-government (including JRF) stakeholders to discuss where the system was failing.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: In 2009, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of her husband's accession to the throne, Queen Rania launched a community champion award (Ahel Al Himmeh) to highlight the accomplishments of groups and individuals who have helped their local communities. Queen Rania initiated the Al-Aman Fund for the Future of Orphans in 2003.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: In her capacity as Regional Ambassador of INJAZ Al-Arab, Queen Rania has taught classes and engaged in dialogue with young people in other countries; she also launched INJAZ Al-Arab's presence elsewhere in the Arab world. She chaired a discussion with entrepreneurs in celebration of INJAZ Al-Arab's 10th anniversary, showcasing alumni's success stories At the 2008 World Economic Forum in Davos, she launched the "Empowering One Million Arab Youth by 2018" campaign, which was conceived by INJAZ Arabia.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: In 2005, Queen Rania established the Royal Health Awareness Society (RHAS) to educate parents and children about the basics of nutrition and hygiene, the benefits of exercise, the harms of smoking, and other areas related to health.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: In 2011, the first specialized medical building for children was built in Jordan, Queen Rania Children's Hospital, established to improve the medical service for Jordanian children. The hospital provides for the care of children, especially complex medical cases including organ transplants and endoscopic operations.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: In November 2000, in recognition of her commitment to the cause of children and youth, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) invited Queen Rania to join its Global Leadership Initiative. In early 2002 Queen Rania joined the Board of Directors of the International Youth Foundation, based in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States. In January 2007, Queen Rania was named UNICEF's first Eminent Advocate for Children. In August 2009, Queen Rania became Honorary Global Chair of the United Nations Girls' Education Initiative (UNGEI).


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: As a longtime supporter of the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), Queen Rania met with children and inspirational women in South Africa, both in the cities of Johannesburg and Soweto, in March 2009. One of the stories in the book, "Maha of the Mountains", was contributed by Queen Rania.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: During her April 2009 US trip, Queen Rania joined leading education advocates Congresswoman Nita Lowey and Counsellor to the Secretary of the Treasury Gene Sperling to launch "The Big Read" as part of Global Campaign for Education's global action week calling for quality basic education for all children. She was also hosted by first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, during that same trip.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: On 20 August 2009, Queen Rania co-founded and led the launch of the "1GOAL: Education for All" campaign alongside Gary Lineker, and with the help of top international footballers at Wembley Stadium, London. On 6 October 2009, Queen Rania was joined by Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the UK, the President of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, and other heads of state, for the Global Launch of 1GOAL, which took place across six locations worldwide.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: Queen Rania has also been particularly vocal about the importance of cross-cultural and interfaith dialogue to foster greater understanding, tolerance and acceptance across the world. She has used her status to correct what she sees as misconceptions in the West about the Arab world.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: Queen Rania has played a significant role in reaching out to the global community to foster values of tolerance and acceptance, and increase cross-cultural dialogue. For example, regionally and internationally, Queen Rania has campaigned for a greater understanding between cultures in such high-profile forums as the Jeddah Economic Forum, Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University, and the Skoll Foundation in the UK. She has also made public appearances, including a half-hour television interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show on 17 May 2006, where she spoke about misconceptions about Islam and especially women in Islam. She received the North-South Prize from the Council of Europe in March 2009 and the PeaceMaker Award from the Non-Profit Seeds of Peace.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: In September 2006, Queen Rania also joined the United Nations Foundation Board of Directors. The UN Foundation builds and implements public-private partnerships to address the world's most pressing problems, and broadens support for the UN through advocacy and public outreach.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: In September 2003, Queen Rania accepted an invitation to join the Board of Directors of the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA).


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: An emissary for the United Nations' International Year of Microcredit in 2005, Queen Rania's belief in microfinance and her partnership with FINCA has generated more Jordanian micro-businesses, with the official opening of FINCA Jordan in February 2008.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: In October 2020, Queen Rania was named as a member of the Earthshot Prize Council, an initiative of Prince William to find solutions to environmental issues.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: Queen Rania has used YouTube as a way to promote intercultural dialogue by calling on young people around the world to engage in a global dialogue to dismantle stereotypes of Muslims and the Arab world. On 30 March 2008, Queen Rania launched her own YouTube channel, initially to invite viewers to give their opinions of the Middle East and talk about stereotypes they may have of Arabs and Muslims. Between 30 March and 12 August (International Youth Day), Queen Rania posted videos on YouTube in which she asked people to send her their questions about Islam and the Arab world. She provided responses to those questions and explained her view of the truth about various Arab and Muslim stereotypes. Over five months she posted videos on subjects that included honour killings, terrorism and the rights of Arab women. International personalities such as Dean Obeidallah, Maz Jobrani, and YouTube star Mia Rose also contributed videos to the campaign.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: In 2008, Queen Rania participated in YouTube's In My Name campaign. She appeared alongside The Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am in the video, "End Poverty – Be the Generation," which urged world leaders to keep the promises they made in 2000 at the United Nations Millennium Summit.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: To coincide with the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Jordan on Friday, 8 May 2009, Queen Rania started using the micro-blogging website Twitter with the username @QueenRania. On the occasion of the World Economic Forum held at the Dead Sea in Jordan, June 2009, she conducted her first Twitter interview, answering five questions from the general public via her Twitter account.


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: When she joined Twitter, she also gave an interview with TechCrunch on "how Twitter can help change the world", where she said "It's about using social media for social change: creating a community of advocates who can use their voices on behalf of the voiceless, or leverage their talents, skills, knowledge, and resources to put more children into classrooms, or pressure their elected representatives to get global education top of the agenda".


title: Queen Rania of Jordan

text: Queen Rania campaigned for Petra to be voted as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, including personally welcoming New7Wonders to Petra during its official World Tour.


title: Marbella

text: Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the region; it is also the head of the judicial district that bears its name.


title: Marbella

text: Marbella is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, between Málaga and the Strait of Gibraltar, in the foothills of the Sierra Blanca. The municipality covers an area of crossed by highways on the coast, which are its main entrances.


title: Marbella

text: In 2018 the population of the city was 141,463 inhabitants,<ref name="http://www.ine.es/en/wel/faq_en.htm#3"></ref> making it the second most populous municipality in the province of Málaga and the eighth in Andalusia. It is one of the most important tourist cities of the Costa del Sol and throughout most of the year is an international tourist attraction, due mainly to its climate and tourist infrastructure.


title: Marbella

text: The city also has a significant archaeological heritage, several museums and performance spaces, and a cultural calendar with events ranging from reggae concerts to opera performances.


title: Marbella

text: The Marbella municipality occupies a strip of land that extends along of coastline of the Penibético region, sheltered by the slopes of the coastal mountain range, which includes the Bermeja, Palmitera, Royal, White and Alpujata sub-ranges. Due to the proximity of the mountains to the coast, the city has a large gap between its north and south sides, thus providing views of the sea and mountain vistas from almost every part of the city. The coastline is heavily urbanised; most of the land not built up with golf courses has been developed with small residential areas. Marbella is bordered on the north by the municipalities of Istán and Ojén, on the northwest by Benahavís, on the west by Estepona and on the northeast by Mijas. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south.


title: Marbella

text: There are five geomorphological units: the Sierra Blanca, the Sierra Blanca piedmont (foothills), the lower hill country, the plains and the coastal dunes. The Sierra Blanca is most centrally located in the province, looming over the old village. This mountain range has three peaks: La Concha, located further west at above sea level, Juanar Cross, located eastward (within the municipality of Ojen) at above sea level, and the highest, Mount Lastonar, located between the two at . Marbella's topography is characterised by extensive coastal plains formed from eroded mountains. North of the plain, is an area of elevations from , occupied by low hills, with foothills and steeper slopes of the mountains behind. The coast is generally low and has sandy beaches that are more extensive further east, between the fishing port and . Despite the intense urbanisation of the coast, it still retains a natural area of dunes, the Artola Dunes ("Dunas de Artola"), at the eastern end of town.


title: Marbella

text: The entire region lies within the Andalusian Mediterranean Basin. The rivers are short and have very steep banks, so that flash floods are common. These include the Guadalmina, the Guadaiza, the Verde and the Rio Real, which provide most of the water supply. The irregularity of rainfall has resulted in intermittent rivers that often run dry in summer; most of the many streams that cross the city have been bridged. The La Concepción reservoir supplies the population with drinking water; apart from this there are other reservoirs like El Viejo and El Nuevo (the Old and the New) that irrigated the old agricultural colony of El Ángel, and Las Medranas and Llano de la Leche that watered the plantations of the colony of San Pedro de Alcántara.


title: Marbella

text: Marbella has a subtropical Mediterranean climate (Köppen: "Csa") with humid, very mild winters (for European standards) and warm to hot, dry summers. Marbella is protected on its northern side by the coastal mountains of the Cordillera Penibética and so enjoys a climate with an average annual temperature between . During winters, the highest peaks of the nearby mountain range are occasionally covered with snow, which can be seen from the coastline of Marbella when it snows on the Sierra Blanca mountain peak at . Average rainfall is , while hours of sunshine average above 2,900 annually.


title: Marbella

text: Because most of the mountain areas around Marbella cannot be managed by the City Council and they are under the management of the central government, remnants of the land in its natural state are still preserved in the mountains, where there are chestnut and cherry trees; reforested firs; Aleppo, Monterrey and maritime pines, pinyons; and ferns. The fauna is represented by golden eagles, Bonelli's eagles, short-toed eagles, hawks, falcons, vultures, genets or musk cats, badgers, wild goats, deer, martens, foxes and rabbits.


title: Marbella

text: The coast has the Natural Monument site of the Dunas de Artola, one of the few protected natural beaches of the Costa del Sol, which contains marram grass, sea holly, sea daffodils and shrubs such as large-fruited juniper. The "Posidonia oceanica", endemic to the Mediterranean, is found in the Cabopino area; it is an important part of the ecosystem in the sea around Marbella.


title: Marbella

text: According to the census of the INE for 2018, Marbella had a population of 141,463 inhabitants, which ranked it as the second-most populous city in the province of Málaga and eighth in Andalusia after surpassing Cádiz in 2008. Unlike other towns in the Costa del Sol, Marbella had a significant population before the population explosion caused by the tourist boom of the 1960s. The census counted about 10,000 people in 1950; population growth since has been as great as that of neighboring towns. Between 1950 and 2001 the population grew by 897%, with the decade of the 1960s having the highest relative increase, at 141%. In 2001, only 26.2% of Marbella's population had been born there, 15.9% were foreign-born, and those born in other towns in Spain made up the difference. During the summer months the population of Marbella increases by 30% with the arrival of tourists and foreigners who have their second homes in the area.


title: Marbella

text: The population is concentrated in two main centres: Marbella and San Pedro Alcántara; the rest is scattered in many developments in the districts of Nueva Andalucia and Las Chapas, located along the coast and on the mountain slopes. According to a study by the Association of Municipalities of the Costa del Sol, based on the production of solid waste in 2003, Marbella had a population of about 246,000 inhabitants, almost twice that of the population census of 2008. From the estimated volume of municipal waste in 2010, the City calculates the population during the summer months at around 400,000 people, while official police sources estimated it at about 500,000, with a peak of up to 700,000 people.


title: Marbella

text: Traditionally the people of Marbella have been called "marbelleros" in the local vernacular and "marbellenses" in more formal registers; these names have appeared in dictionaries and encyclopedias. Since the mid-1950s, however, Marbellan residents have been called "marbellís" or "marbellíes", the only gentilic, or demonym, that appears in the "Diccionario de la Lengua Española" (Dictionary of the Spanish Language) published by the Royal Spanish Academy.


title: Marbella

text: The use of "marbellí" as a gentilic was popularised by the writer and journalist Víctor de la Serna (1896–1958), who wrote a series of documentary articles on "The Navy of Andalucía"; in his research he had come upon the "Historia de Málaga y Su Provincia" (History of Málaga and the Province) by Francisco Guillén Robles, who used the plural word "marbellíes" to designate the Muslim inhabitants of Marbella.


title: Marbella

text: Archaeological excavations have been made in the mountains around Marbella which point to human habitation in Paleolithic and Neolithic times. Some historians believe that the first settlement on the present site of Marbella was founded by the Phoenicians in the 7th century BC, as they are known to have established several colonies on the coast of Málaga province. However, no remains have been found of any significant settlement, although some artefacts of Phoenician and later Carthaginian settlements have been unearthed in different parts of the municipality, as in the fields of Rio Real and Cerro Torrón.


title: Marbella

text: The existence of a Roman population centre in what is now the "El Casco Antiguo" (Old Town) is suggested by three Ionic capitals embedded in one section of the "Murallas del Castillo" (Moorish castle walls), the reused materials of a building from earlier times. Recent discoveries in "La Calle Escuelas" (School Street) and other remains scattered throughout the old town testify to a Roman occupation as well. West of the city, on the grounds of the Hotel Puente Romano, is a small 1st century Roman Bridge over a stream. There are ruins of other Roman settlements along the Verde and Guadalmina rivers: Villa Romana on the "Rio Verde" (Green River), the Roman baths at Guadalmina, and the ruins of a Roman villa and an early Byzantine basilica at Vega del Mar, built in the 3rd century and surrounded by a paleo-Christian necropolis, later used as a burial ground by the Visigoths. All of these further demonstrate a continued human presence in the area. In Roman times, the city was called "Salduba" (Salt City).


title: Marbella

text: During the period of Islamic rule, after the Normans lay waste to the coast of Málaga in the 10th century, the Caliphate of Córdoba fortified the coastline and built a string of several lighthouse towers along it. In the Umayyad fashion they constructed a citadel, the Alcazaba, and a wall to protect the town, which was made up of narrow streets and small buildings with large patios, the most notable buildings being the citadel and the mosque. The village was surrounded by orchards; its most notable crops were figs and mulberry trees for silkworm cultivation. The current name most likely developed from the name the Arabs gave it: "Marbal·la" (مربلة), which may in turn derive, according to some linguistic investigations, from a previous Iberian place name. The traveller Ibn Battuta characterised it as "a pretty little town in a fertile district." During the time of the first kingdoms of Taifa, "Marbil-la" was disputed by the Taifas of Algeciras and of Málaga, eventually falling into the orbit of Málaga, which in turn later became part of the Nazarid Kingdom. In 1283 the Marinid sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd Al-Haqq launched a campaign against the Kingdom of Granada. Peace between the Marinid dynasty and the Nasrid dynasty was achieved with the signing of the Treaty of Marbella on 6 May 1286, by which all the Marinid possessions in Al-Andalus were restored to the Nazarid sultan.


title: Marbella

text: On 11 June 1485, the town passed into the hands of the Crown of Castile without bloodshed. The Catholic Monarchs gave Marbella the title of city and capital of the region and made it a "realengo" (royal protectorate). The "Plaza de los Naranjos" was built along the lines of Castilian urban design about this time, as well as some of the historical buildings that surround it. The "Fuerte de San Luis de Marbella" (Fort of San Luis) was built in 1554 by Charles V. The main door faced north and was protected by a moat with a drawbridge. Today, the ruins of the fort house a museum, and on the grounds are the "Iglesia del Santo Cristo de la Vera Cruz" (Church of the Holy Christ of the True Cross) and "Ermita del Calvario" (Calvary Chapel). Sugar cane was introduced to Marbella in 1644, the cultivation of which spread on the Málaga province coast, resulting in the construction of numerous sugar mills, such as "Trapiche del Prado de Marbella".


title: Marbella

text: In 1828 Málaga businessman Manuel Agustín Heredia founded a company called "La Concepción" to mine the magnetite iron ores of the Sierra Blanca at nearby Ojén, due to the availability of charcoal made from the trees of the mountain slopes and water from the Verde River, as a ready supply of both was needed for the manufacture of iron. In 1832 the company built the first charcoal-fired blast furnace for non-military use in Spain; these iron-smelting operations ultimately produced up to 75% of the country's cast iron. By 1860 competition from the coke-fired blast furnaces in northern Spain had made the plant uneconomical. In 1860 the 1st Marquess of Duero founded an agricultural colony for the unemployed iron workers, now the heart of San Pedro de Alcántara.


title: Marbella

text: The simultaneous dismantling of the iron industry, based in the forges of "El Angel" and "La Concepción", disrupted the local economy. Much of the population had to return to farming or fishing for a livelihood. The situation was compounded by the widespread crisis of traditional agriculture and by the epidemic of phylloxera blight in the vineyards, causing Marbella to suffer high unemployment, an increase in poverty, and the starvation of many day labourers.


title: Marbella

text: The associated infrastructure built for the installation of the foundry of El Angel in 1871 by the British-owned Marbella Iron Ore Company temporarily relieved the situation, and even made the city a destination for immigrants, increasing its population. However, the company did not survive the worldwide economic crisis of 1893, and closed its doors in that year due to the difficulty of finding a market for the magnetite iron ore it mined.


title: Marbella

text: In the late 19th century, Marbella was a village composed of three parts: the main districts, the Barrio Alto or San Francisco, and the Barrio Nuevo. There were three smaller nuclei arranged around the old ironworks and the farm-model of the colony of San Pedro Alcántara, as well as isolated dwellings in orchards and farms. The general population was divided between a small group of oligarchs and the working people, the middle class being practically non-existent.


title: Marbella

text: In the early decades of the century the first hotels were built: El Comercial, which opened in 1918, and the Miramar, in 1926. During the Second Republic, Marbella experienced major social changes and contentious political parties mobilized.


title: Marbella

text: As the Spanish Civil War began in the late 1930s, Marbella and Casare suffered more anticlerical violence than the rest of western Málaga province. The day after the failed uprising which led to the civil war, several religious buildings in Marbella were set on fire. Only the walls of the Church of St. Mary of the Incarnation and the Church of San Pedro Alcantara were left standing. With the aid of Fascist Italian troops, Nationalist forces seized Marbella during the first months of the war. It became a haven for prominent Nazis, including Léon Degrelle and Wolfgang Jugler, and Falangist personalities like José Antonio Girón de Velasco and José Banús.


title: Marbella

text: After the Second World War, Marbella was a small jasmine-lined village with only 900 inhabitants. , Marquis of Ivanrey, moved to Marbella and popularised it among his rich and famous friends. In 1943, he acquired a country estate located between Marbella and San Pedro called "El Rodeo", and later built a resort there called "Venta y Albergues El Rodeo", beginning the development of tourism in Marbella.


title: Marbella

text: Soriano's nephew, Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, descendant of a high-ranking aristocratic family (his mother, María de la Piedad de Yturbe y Scholtz-Hersmendorff, was the Marquesa de Belvís de las Navas) acquired another estate, "Finca Santa Margarita". In 1954, he opened the Marbella Club, an international resort aimed at movie stars, business executives and the nobility.


title: Marbella

text: Both resorts came to be frequented by members of European aristocratic families with famous names: Bismarck, Rothschild, Thurn und Taxis, Metternich, de Mora y Aragon, de Salamanca or Thyssen-Bornemisza. This transformed Marbella into a destination for the international jet set. Trading on Prince Alfonso's kinship to the royal courts of Europe, his hotel quickly proved popular with vacationing members of Europe's social elites, for its casual but discreet luxury. Jaime de Mora y Aragón, a Spanish "" and brother to Fabiola, Queen of the Belgians, as well as Adnan Khashoggi, were frequent visitors. Prince Alfonso's first marriage was to Princess Ira von Fürstenberg, an Agnelli heiress. Princess Marie-Louise of Prussia (great-granddaughter of Kaiser Wilhelm II) and her husband Count Rudolf "Rudi" von Schönburg–Glauchau eventually worked closely with the new proprietors, the Shamoon family, who took over the Marbella Club Hotel from Prince Alfonso.


title: Marbella

text: In 1966, Prince Alfonso hired a Beverly Hills architect and, with the assistance of the Banus family, who were personal friends of dictator Francisco Franco and had already developed the later-controversial Valle de los Caídos, developed the high-end tourist resort Puerto Banus. The resort opened to much fanfare in 1970. Celebrities in attendance included Franco's designated successor, Juan Carlos (then Prince of Asturias), Prince Rainier of Monaco and his wife Grace Kelly, and Aga Khan IV; entertainers included Julio Iglesias. In 1973, exiled dictator Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar, who had left Cuba with a fortune estimated at between $100 and $300 million and lived extravagantly in various Iberian resorts, died of a heart attack there. Fugitive financier Marc Rich bought a house in Marbella, renounced his American citizenship and claimed Spanish citizenship during his decades of evading American income taxes, although he spent more time in Switzerland, where he died.


title: Marbella

text: In 1974, Prince Fahd arrived in Marbella from Monte Carlo. Until his death in 2005, Prince Fahd was a frequent and profligate guest. Marbella welcomed his retinue of over a thousand people spending petro-dollars. The then-anonymous Osama bin Laden visited on a number of occasions with his family between 1977 and 1988.


title: Marbella

text: In the 1980s, Marbella continued as a popular jet set destination. However, the 1987 kidnapping of Melodie Nakachian, the daughter of local billionaire philanthropist Raymond Nakachian and the Korean singer Kimera, focused less-favourable international media scrutiny on Marbella, even though a police raid ultimately freed her.


title: Marbella

text: From the first democratic elections after the adoption of the 1978 Spanish Constitution, until 1991, all the mayors of Marbella were members of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party ('El Partido Socialista Obrero Español' or PSOE in Spanish).


title: Marbella

text: In 1991, the builder and president of Atlético Madrid, Jesús Gil was elected mayor of Marbella by a wide majority. He and his party, the right-wing populist Independent Liberal Group ('Grupo Independiente Liberal' or GIL in Spanish), promised to fight petty crime as well as the region's declining prestige. Actor Sean Connery became Marbella's international spokesman, although Connery later ended this business relationship after Gil used his image in an election campaign. Gil's administration facilitated a building boom. However, critics complained about disregard for the existing urban plan, market speculation and environmental predation by developers; the regional Andalusian government suspended some development. Gil despised town-hall formalities, instead ruling from his office at the Club Financiero, and cultivated a maverick image. The PSOE and the People's Party criticized Gil even at the national level, but voters re-elected him and some Spanish celebrities continued to spend summers there. Gil's political party, GIL, also proved popular in other tourist-dependent Costa del Sol towns like Estepona, and even across the Strait of Gibraltar to the Spanish North African cities of Ceuta and Melilla.


title: Marbella

text: In 1999, Gil was convicted of embezzling public funds and falsifying public documents. Gil died in 2004, and his party remained in power until 2006, but related scandals continue to this day, as discussed below.


title: Marbella

text: The old town of Marbella includes the ancient city walls and the two historical suburbs of the city, the "Barrio Alto", which extends north, and the "Barrio Nuevo", located to the east. The ancient walled city retains nearly the same layout as in the 16th century. Here is the "Plaza de los Naranjos", an example of Castilian Renaissance design, its plan laid out in the heart of Old Town after the Christian reconquest. Around the square are arranged three remarkable buildings: the town hall, built in 1568 by the Catholic Monarchs in Renaissance style, the Mayor's house, which combines Gothic and Renaissance elements in its façade, with a roof of Mudejar style and fresco murals inside, and the Chapel of Santiago, the oldest religious building in the city, built earlier than the square and not aligned with it, believed to date from the 15th century. Other buildings of interest in the centre are the Church of Santa María de la Encarnación, built in the Baroque style starting in 1618, the "Casa del Roque", and the remains of the Arabic castle and defensive walls; also in the Renaissance style are the "Capilla de San Juan de Dios" (Chapel of St. John of God), the "Hospital Real de la Misericordia" (Royal Hospital of Mercy) and the "Hospital Bazán" which now houses the Museum of Contemporary Spanish Engravings.


title: Marbella

text: One of the highlights of the Barrio Alto is the "Ermita del Santo Cristo de la Vera Cruz" (Hermitage of the Holy Christ of the True Cross), built in the 15th century and enlarged in the 18th century, which consists of a square tower with a roof covered by glazed ceramic tiles. The "Barrio Alto" is also known as the San Francisco neighborhood, after a Franciscan convent formerly located there. The so-called "Nuevo Barrio" (New Town), separated from the walled city by the "Arroyo de la Represa", has no monumental buildings but retains its original layout and much of its character in the simple whitewashed houses with their tiled roofs and exposed wooden beams, orchards and small corrals.


title: Marbella

text: Between the old town and the sea in the area known as the "historic extension" ("ensanche histórico"), there is a small botanical garden on Paseo de la Alameda, and a garden with fountains and a collection of ten sculptures by Salvador Dalí on the Avenida del Mar, which connects the old town with the beach. To the west of this road, passing the Faro de Marbella, is Constitution Park ("Parque de la Constitución"), which houses the auditorium of the same name and the Skol Apartments, designed in the Modernist style by the Spanish architect Manuel Jaén Albaitero.


title: Marbella

text: What is known as Marbella's Golden Mile is actually a stretch of which begins at the western edge of Marbella city and stretches to Puerto Banús. The area is home to some of Marbella's most luxurious villas and estates with views of mountain and sea, such as the Palace of King Fahd, as well as some landmark hotels, among them the Melia Don Pepe, the Hotel Marbella Club and the Hotel Puente Romano. The area developed during the tourism boom of the 1960s, where may be found the ruins of the Roman villa by the Rio Verde, and El Ángel, where the land of the old forge works was converted to an agricultural colony, and the Botanical Gardens of El Ángel with gardens of three different styles, dating from the 8th century.


title: Marbella

text: The Golden Mile is divided into two parts by a motorway that runs through it. Along the motorway are strings of business centres, five-star hotels, golf course and other services. The beachside of the motorway is fully developed, while the mountain side is still undergoing development. Urbanisations in the area's sea side are Alhambra del Mar, La Alcazaba, Las Torres, Los Verdiales, Marbellamar, Marina Marbella, Oasis, Rio Verde and Santa Margarita. On the mountainside of the motorway, the following residential areas are currently being developed: Sierra Blanca, Nagüeles, Cascada de Camoján, Jardines Colgantes, Marbella Hill Club, El Venero, El Batatal, La Capellania, La Virginia, Carolina, El Vicario, Altos de Salamanca, Casas del Señorio de Marbella, Coto Real, and Ancon Sierra.


title: Marbella

text: The Golden Mile should not be confused with the New Golden Mile which is a marketing name given to the area between San Pedro de Alcantara and Estepona.


title: Marbella

text: Nueva Andalucía is an area just west of Marbella and inland from the marina of Puerto Banús. Home to many golf courses, it is also known as Golf Valley. The bullring by Centro Plaza marks the entrance to Nueva Andalucia where the villas and apartments are based on traditional Andalusian architecture and design. Nueva Andalucia is a very popular residential area both due to tis three golf courses, but also due to an increasing number of restaurants and entertainment venues. The three golf courses in Nueva Andalucia are Los Naranjos Golf Club, Las Brisas Golf Club and Aloha Golf.


title: Marbella

text: At the heart of San Pedro Alcántara are two industrial buildings of the 19th century: the "Trapiche de Guadaiza" and the sugar mill, which now houses the Ingenio Cultural Centre. The 19th century heritage of San Pedro is also represented by two buildings of colonial style, the parish Church and the Villa of San Luis, residence of the Marqués del Duero. Next to San Pedro, near the mouth of the river Guadalmina, are some of the most important archaeological sites in Marbella: the early Christian "Basílica de Vega del Mar", the vaulted Roman baths of Las Bóvedas (the Domes) and the eponymous watch tower of "Torre de Las Bóvedas". The important archaeological site of Cerro Colorado is located near Benahavis; it features a chronologically complex stratigraphy that begins in the 4th century BC within a Mastieno (ancient Iberian ethnicity of the Tartessian confederation) area, then a town identified as Punic, and finally a Roman settlement. A series of domestic structures built behind the city walls, and corresponding to these different stages of occupation recorded in the archaeological sequence of the site, characterise the settlement as being fortified. A hoard of three pots filled with silver coins of mostly Hispano-Carthaginian origin, and numerous pieces of precious metalwork, along with clippings and silver ingots, all dating from the 3rd century BC, were found here.


title: Marbella

text: In the eastern part of the municipality in the district of Las Chapas is the site of "Rio Real", situated on a promontory near the mouth of the river of the same name. Here traces of Phoenician habitation dating to the early 7th century BC were discovered in excavations made during an archaeological expedition led by Pedro Sánchez in 1998. Bronze Age utensils including plates, carinated bowls, lamps and other ceramics of Phoenician and indigenous Iberian types have been found, as well as a few Greek examples. There are two ancient watchtowers, the "Torre Río Real" (Royal River Tower) and the "Torre Ladrones" (Tower of Thieves). Among the notable tourist attractions is the residential complex "Ciudad Residencial Tiempo Libre" (Residential Leisure City), an architectural ensemble of the Modernist movement, which has been a registered property of "Bien de Interés Cultural" (Heritage of Cultural Interest) since 2006.


title: Marbella

text: The of coastline within the limits of Marbella is divided into twenty-four beaches with different features; however, due to expansion of the municipality, they are all now semi-urban. They generally have moderate surf, golden or dark sand ranging through fine, medium or coarse in texture, and some gravel. The occupancy rate is usually high to midrange, especially during the summer months, when tourist arrivals are highest. Amongst the various notable beaches are Artola beach, situated in the protected area of the Dunas de Artola, and Cabopino, one of the few nudist beaches in Marbella, near the port of Cabopino. The beaches of Venus and La Fontanilla are centrally located and very popular, and those of Puerto Banús and San Pedro Alcántara have been awarded the blue flag of the Foundation for Environmental Education for compliance with its standards of water quality, safety, general services and environmental management.


title: Marbella

text: Political administration of the municipal government is run by the Ayuntamiento (City Hall), whose members are elected every four years. Maria Angeles Muñoz, leader of the People's Party (PP) in Marbella, became mayor in 2007, and her party has governed the town ever since. The electoral roll is composed of all residents registered in Marbella who are over age 18 and a citizen of Spain or one of the other member states of the European Union. The Spanish Law on the General Election sets the number of councilors elected according to the municipality's population; the Municipal Corporation of Marbella consists of 27 councilors.


title: Marbella

text: Corruption accusations and mayor Gil's further conviction in 2002 for diverting public funds to Atlético led to reappraisal of the city's finances. When Jesús Gil y Gil finally resigned that year, he was succeeded by Julián Muñoz, his right-hand man, a former waiter famous for his romantic involvement with singer Isabel Pantoja, a matador's widow. After a power struggle in which Muñoz fired Juan Antonio Roca Nicolas, a planning consultant, for involvement in the Gil-era scandal and in the later scandal discussed below, the city council censured the new mayor and expelled him from office. More than 79 companies and 85 individuals were implicated in the initial corruption scandal (for which Roca had been released from prison upon paying a 450,000 euro fine), and an additional fifty persons and more companies were convicted in June 2013. In a televised debate, Muñoz and Gil each accused the other of having robbed public funds.


title: Marbella

text: After his own party repudiated Muñoz, Marisol Yagüe, a former secretary, became Marbella's new mayor, but was herself arrested and jailed in March 2006. Deputy Mayor Isabel Garcia Marcos was arrested at Malaga's airport en route to a honeymoon in Russia at this time, and police found over €360,000 in cash in a safe in her home. Garcia, a Socialist until her expulsion from that party in 2003, had been known for criticizing Marbella's endemic corruption. Gil died in 2004, a year after Spain's Supreme Court barred him from holding further public office for 28 years for breach of trust and influence-peddling in the earlier cases, as well as shortly after a lower court ordered him to surrender his Atlético shares and fined him $16 million in connection with the 2002 conviction (but allowed him to remain free on bail during his appeal).


title: Marbella

text: In March 2006, Marbella seemed nearly bankrupt. City councilor Tomás Reñones, a former Atlético Madrid football player, ran Marbella after Mayor Yague and Deputy Mayor Garcia were jailed, but soon ended up in jail as well. On 8 April 2006, the Spanish Senate unanimously approved the report of the General Commission of Autonomous Communities and suspended the city council, the first time such a course of action had occurred in Spain since democracy's restoration. Spain's Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, head of the national PSOE, appointed a committee of auditors to run Marbella temporarily, as well as unravel the financial machinations.


title: Marbella

text: After a short period of interim government, municipal elections were held in May 2007. For the first time, the People's Party (PP) gained a majority, with 16 out of the 27 council seats. The PSOE won 10 council seats, United Left (IU) had 1. In the municipal elections of May 2011, the PP won 15 seats, the PSOE 7, the IU 2, and independents 3.


title: Marbella

text: The investigation, known as the Operation Malaya case, has resulted in numerous convictions and the seizure of goods worth €2.4 million. Today "Marbellan urbanism" is synonymous in Spain with governmental corruption, with as many as 30,000 illegal homes built in the town, without significant educational and health infrastructure.


title: Marbella

text: During the complex, three-year trial (which included over 300 hours of hearings and 400 witnesses), evidence showed that under a scheme masterminded by Roca (a formerly unemployed builder who ran the city's planning department in the 1990s), building permits were issued in exchange for envelopes of cash, and the money then illegally laundered. Although prosecutors had sought even stiffer terms after convicting 50 municipal officials and business executives, in October 2013, Roca was sentenced to 11 years in jail and fined €240m, former mayor Muñoz sentenced to six years, and former mayor Yagüe sentenced to serve two years in prison. Forty of the 95 accused were found not guilty by the Malaga court.


title: Marbella

text: The corruption investigation that led to this round of convictions began in 2005, as an investigation into drug moneylaundering. Roca reportedly claimed to control the town after Gil's death. At the height of his wealth he was one of the richest men in Andalucia, having accumulated several hotels, ranches with more than 103 thoroughbred horses and fighting bulls, a private jet, a helicopter, 14 vintage cars, 5 kilos of jewellery and a 275 piece art collection including Miro paintings. However, although Marbella's population had boomed to approximately 160,000 residents during the previous fifteen years, neither additional schools nor health centres were built; the city's infrastructure remained virtually unchanged since 1991. Although the city expanded its workforce from 400 employees in 1991 to 3,200 in 2006, under the GIL administrations Marbella paid neither social security contributions nor taxes for its employees. The town's debt now exceeds over €200 million and precludes necessary infrastructure improvements. Hundreds of the poorly built apartments and homes, many sold to expatriate British and Irish retirees, face demolition as hazardous. Investigating magistrate Miguel Angel Torres Segura, who led the investigations through 2007, was promoted to the criminal court in Granada.


title: Marbella

text: The design of the coat of arms and the flag used by Marbella City Hall has been the subject of controversy.


title: Marbella

text: According to 2003 data, Marbella is amongst the municipalities ranking highest in household disposable income per capita in Andalusia, second to Mojácar and matched by four other municipalities, including its neighbour, Benahavís.


title: Marbella

text: Its business sector consisted of 17,647 establishments in 2005, representing a total of 14.7% of the businesses in Malaga province, and showed greater dynamism than the provincial capital itself for growth over the period 1998–2004, when it grew 9% compared to the 2.4% growth rate of Málaga. Compared to the rest of Andalusia, the volume of production in Marbella is higher than that of most other municipalities with similar population, ranking even above the capitals of Almería, Huelva and Jaén.


title: Marbella

text: As in most cities of the Andalusian coast, Marbella's economy revolves around tertiary activities. The service sector accounts for 60% of employment, while trade accounts for almost 20%. The main branches of the service sector are hospitality, real estate, and business services, which underscores the importance of tourism in Marbella's economy. Employment in construction, industry, and agriculture is 14.2%, 3.8%, and 2.4% respectively.


title: Marbella

text: The number of business establishments in the service sector accounts for 87.5% of the total. Businesses in construction account for 9.6% and, in industry, 2.9%. Of these companies, 89.5% have fewer than 5 employees and only 2.3% have a staff of at least 20 employees.


title: Marbella

text: In 2008, a study by the Institute of Statistics of Andalusia (IEA) based on 14 variables (income, equipment, training, etc.), found Marbella was the Andalusian city with the most developed general welfare and the highest quality of life. According to the study's results, Marbella ranks highest in the number of private clinics, sports facilities, and private schools.


title: Marbella

text: In December 2016, an investment fund based in Hong Kong announced that it had acquired of land near Elviria and planned to invest €300 million to develop a five-star luxury hotel and 120 villas. According to its developer, the future resort "is to be the most luxurious in the country" and will be run by an international hotel chain.


title: Marbella

text: Cities on the coast are accessible by bus from Marbella, including Málaga, Estepona, Torremolinos, Fuengirola and Gibraltar. The area is also served by the A7 motorway; the closest airport is Málaga-Costa Del Sol.


title: Marbella

text: The four ports of Marbella are primarily recreational; although both Puerto Banús and the Puerto de la Bajadilla are permitted to dock cruise ships, neither operates regular service to other ports. The port of Bajadilla is home to the Marbella fishermen's guild and is used to transport goods.


title: Marbella

text: Marbella is the most populous municipality in the Iberian Peninsula without a railway station in its territory, and is the only Spanish city of over 100,000 inhabitants not served by rail.


title: Marbella

text: A project is underway to construct a railway (Costa del Sol railway) to connect Nerja, Málaga, and Algeciras. It may be a high speed railway with several stops in Marbella. Until then, the nearest station is near Fuengirola, distant. Further away is Málaga Maria Zambrano, in Málaga city, away, and Ronda railway station, also .


title: Marbella

text: Marbella offers residents of the municipality free mobility on its urban bus lines (Urbanos de Marbella) operated by Avanza, thanks to the Tarjeta Municipal de Movilidad. There are currently 10 urban bus lines, spanning from San Pedro de Alcántara to Cabopino, in addition to the temporary Starlite line available during summers.


title: Marbella

text: Most intercity bus services are operated by CTSA-Portillo. They connect Marbella to other urban centres, such as Málaga and its airport, nearby towns in the interior (Benahavis, Ojen, Ronda), the Campo, including Gibraltar (La Linea and Algeciras), some major cities in Andalusia (Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba, Jerez, Granada, Jaen, Seville, and Úbeda), and Mérida in Extremadura. The central bus station has connections to other domestic destinations, such as Madrid and Barcelona.


title: Marbella

text: There are plenty of taxis to Marbella from the airports at Malaga and Gibraltar and from the taxi ranks along the Costa del Sol. Most are clean and non-smoking, as well as being the most comfortable way to travel to local vacation destinations.


title: Marbella

text: Due to the city's ethnic diversity, Marbella's newspapers and magazines are published in several European languages, among which are "La Tribuna de Marbella" (in Spanish) and "Costa del Sol Nachrichten" (in German). In addition, "Diario Sur" (Spanish) or "Southern Journal" (English) and "La Opinión de Málaga" (Spanish) have editorial offices in the city. Among the English language magazines with the largest circulation are those dedicated to fashion and lifestyle, such as "Essential Magazine" and "Society Marbella Magazine".


title: Marbella

text: Marbella has several local television stations, such as M95 Television, Summer TV, and South Coast Television. It also has several digital news dailies, including the "Voice of Marbella" and "Journal of Marbella".


title: Marbella

text: Besides the typical Andalusian cultural events, a variety of annual festivals are held in Marbella, mainly between June and October; other events are held sporadically. Festivals dedicated to music include the Marbella International Opera Festival held in August since 2001, the Marbella Reggae Festival in July, and the Marbella International Film Festival in June at different locations around the city—amongst them the beach, aboard a boat or in Old Town. It also hosts the Marbella International Film Festival, the Spanish Film Festival and the Festival of Independent Theatre.


title: Marbella

text: To provide venues for these and other events, the city has cultural facilities both publicly and privately managed, such as the Auditorium of Constitution Park, the Ingenio Cultural Centre, the "Teatro Ciudad de Marbella" or Black Box Theatre, among others. In addition, there is a music conservatory, a cinema club and several cinemas showing foreign films dubbed into Castilian.


title: Marbella

text: The International Contemporary Art Fair I, also known as MARB ART, was held in Marbella in 2005, exhibiting works of photography, painting, sculpture and graphic design by over 500 artists; it has been held annually since at the Palace of Congresses. The following year the 2006 extension of the "Ateneo de Málaga Marbella" (Atheneum of Málaga Marbella) opened, dedicated to the development of artistic and cultural activities.


title: Marbella

text: Amongst local cultural associations is the Cilniana Association, an organisation dedicated to protecting and promoting the heritage of Marbella and neighbouring towns, which publishes its own magazine. Since 2009 the city has been home to Marbella University, the first private university in the province of Málaga. In 2013, the city welcomed the opening of Marbella International University Centre (MIUC), an international higher-education institution focused on Business, Politics and Media, and the only university in Andalusia where courses are taught in both English and Spanish.


title: Marbella

text: The traditional cuisine of Marbella is that of the Malagueño coast and is based on seafood. The most typical dish is fried fish, using anchovies, mackerel, mullet or squid, amongst others. Gazpacho and garlic soup are very typical. Bakeries sell oil cakes, wine donuts, borrachuelos (aniseed rolls fried with a little wine and dipped into syrup), torrijas (similar to French toast) and churros (fritters). In addition to the traditional native cuisine, there are many restaurants in Marbella that serve food of the international, nouvelle, or fusion cuisines.


title: Marbella

text: In June, the Fair and Fiesta of San Bernabe honour the patron saint of Marbella. They last a week, with activities and performances divided in two parts: Fair Day, which began in Old Town and is now held in the Avenida del Doctor Maíz Viñals, and Fair Night, in Arroyo Primero.


title: Marbella

text: October sees the fair and festivals honouring the patron saint of San Pedro Alcantara. These too last a week. The smaller Fair and Festivals of "Nueva Andalucía", celebrated in early October in Las Chapas and El Ángel, are also popular.


title: Marbella

text: Throughout the summer season (July to October) most "barrios" of Marbella have events organised by neighbourhood associations to encourage cultural activities including: bullfights, musical performances, photo competitions, and sporting events. Among the best known associations are those of Santa Marta, Salto del Agua, Leganitos, Divina Pastora, Trapiche, Plaza de Toros and Miraflores.


title: Marbella

text: Other festivals and local celebrations include the Pilgrimages of Cruz de Juanar (May), La Virgen del Carmen (July) and La Virgen Madre (August), as well as the Día del Tostón (November), a traditional celebration which consists of going to the fields to roast chestnuts.


title: Marbella

text: The city is especially popular with tourists from Northern Europe (including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden and Germany) and also Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Marbella is particularly noted for the presence of aristocrats, celebrities and wealthy people; it is a popular destination for luxury yachts, and increasingly so for cruise ships, which dock in its harbour.


title: Marbella

text: The area is popular with golfers and boaters, and there are many private estates and luxury hotels in the vicinity, including the Marbella Club Hotel. Marbella hosts a WTA tennis tournament on red clay, the Andalucia Tennis Experience.


The 1928 United States presidential election was the 36th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 1928. Republican Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover defeated the Democratic nominee, Governor Al Smith of New York. After President Calvin Coolidge declined to seek reelection, Hoover emerged as his party's frontrunner. As Hoover's party opponents failed to unite around a candidate, Hoover received a large majority of the vote at the 1928 Republican National Convention. The strong state of the economy discouraged some Democrats from running, and Smith was nominated on the first ballot of the 1928 Democratic National Convention. Hoover and Smith had been widely known as potential presidential candidates long before the 1928 campaign, and both were generally regarded as outstanding leaders. Both were newcomers to the presidential race and presented in their person and record an appeal of unknown potency to the electorate. Both faced serious discontent within their respective parties' membership, and both lacked the wholehearted support of their parties' organization.


title: 1928 United States presidential election

text: In the end, the Republicans were identified with the booming economy of the 1920s, and Smith, a Roman Catholic, suffered politically from anti-Catholic prejudice, his opposition to Prohibition, and his association with the legacy of corruption by Tammany Hall. Hoover won a third straight Republican landslide and made substantial inroads in the traditionally-Democratic Solid South by winning several states that had not voted for a Republican since the end of Reconstruction. Hoover's victory made him the first president born west of the Mississippi River, and he is the most recent sitting member of the Cabinet to win a presidential election. Charles Curtis was elected vice president, becoming the first Native American and the first person with acknowledged non-European ancestry to reach that office, a feat that was not repeated until 2020, when Kamala Harris became vice president under President Joe Biden.