title: Esso

text: ExxonMobil did not specify whether they would now open new stations in the U.S. under the Esso name; they were primarily concerned about the additional expenses of having separate marketing, letterheads, packaging, and other materials that omit Esso. The Esso name did return to minor station signage at both Exxon and Mobil stations, which also had the effect of ExxonMobil de facto claiming the Standard trademark in Colorado, Kentucky, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Wyoming as Chevron withdrew from Kentucky in 2010 and BP gradually withdrew sales from the other states.


title: Esso

text: In 1888, the Anglo American Oil Company opened its head office in London, which eventually became a part of Esso. In August 1998, Tesco announced a partnership with Esso, opening chains of Tesco Express stores located within forecourts, which continues today. In February 2000, the two companies were opening one new store a month, creating 4,000 jobs.


title: Esso

text: Esso Blue was the brand name of Esso's paraffin oil (kerosene) for domestic heaters in countries such as the United Kingdom. Their television advertising song from the 1950s, through to the 1970s, was the famous "Bom, Bom, Bom, Bom, Esso Blue!"


title: Esso

text: One campaign used the well-known song tune of "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" reworded as: "They asked me how I knew, it was Esso Blue, I of course replied, with lower grades one buys, smoke gets in your eyes. The non-smoking paraffin".


title: Esso

text: In the 1930s, Esso acquired Cleveland, an independent company based in North East England. Its founder and principal shareholder, Norman Davis, had spent some of World War I with his brother Manuel in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland's products included a benzole blend and an alcohol blend called "Discol". The Esso and Cleveland names continued in use until 1973, when the Cleveland filling stations were re-branded as Esso.


title: Esso

text: Esso traded in Northern Ireland up until the early 2000s. Their forecourts were re-branded as Maxol and some remained private.


title: Esso

text: 45 of Euro Garages' forecourts were bought from Esso in 2013, and are operated under the Esso brand. They plan to roll out partner brands such as Starbucks and Spar, replacing the Esso branded shops.


title: Esso

text: ROC used self-branded stores under the "Snack and Shop" and "On the Run" branding depending on the size and the larger sites featured a Costa Cafe. ROC was the name for Esso's self-operated forecourts.


title: Esso

text: By 2015, ROC UK had sold all their sites to operators such as Rontec and Euro Garages, leaving no forecourts directly operated by Esso in the UK.


title: Esso

text: In Australia, Esso is an affiliate of ExxonMobil; it operates oil and gas production. Its retail petrol stations were acquired by Mobil Australia in 1990.


title: Esso

text: In Canada, the Esso brand is used on stations supplied by Imperial Oil, which is 69.8% owned by ExxonMobil. The stations are owned by third-party retailers such as Couche-Tard (mostly Ontario and Quebec, with stores primarily operating under the Circle K, Couche-Tard and Mac's brands), 7-Eleven (mostly Alberta and British Columbia), Parkland Fuel, Harnois Groupe pétrolier, Husky Energy, and Wilson Fuel. Imperial Oil began to sell the majority of its company-owned stations in 2016.


title: Esso

text: Esso has sold most of its assets in the Caribbean. In 2008 it sold its retail operations in Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands and Jamaica to TotaEnergies. Those were converted to the Total brand. In 2014, Sol Petroleum purchased Esso operations in The Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe and Martinique. Rights to continue to operate in those countries under the Esso name were included.


title: Esso

text: Esso S.A.F. is the French subsidiary of ExxonMobil, operating several hundred filling stations and two refineries in France.


title: Esso

text: Established as Esso Standard Sekiyu K.K. in 1962, following the dissolution of the Standard Vacuum Oil Company. It became Esso Sekiyu K.K. in 1982. After the Exxon and Mobil merger in 1999, the Japanese subsidiaries were reorganized as ExxonMobil Y.K. in 2002, which spun off its downstream business to EMG Marketing G.K. in 2012, and acquired as a subsidiary by TonenGeneral Sekiyu K.K. in the same year. In 2016, JX Holdings and the TonenGeneral Group merged into JXTG Holdings (now Eneos Holdings), leading to the dissolution and absorption of EMG Marketing into a subsidiary of the new company, JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy (now Eneos), in 2017. In 2019, the company began to phase out the Esso and Mobil brands in Japan, replacing it with JX's Eneos EneJet banner.


title: Esso

text: Standard Oil of New Jersey started business in Argentina in 1911, acquiring the "Compañía Nacional de Aceites" (National Company of Oil) (that had been founded in 1906 by entrepreneur Emilio Schiffner in Campana, Buenos Aires to produce kerosene). It became the first oil refinery in Latin America, doing business as "Compañía Nativa de Petróleo". Soon later, it merged to other foreign company operating in Argentina, West India Oil Co. (mostly known as "WICO"). The first petrol pump was placed in the Plaza del Congreso of Buenos Aires, while the first service station opened in 1927 in the city of Santa Fe. The company opened other refineries in Neuquén and Jujuy provinces. The company also introduced its motor oil line, "Essolube" in 1936. By 1943, Esso produced the 60% of petroleum in Argentina.


title: Esso

text: In 2011, local consortium Bridas Corporation (formed by Bridas Energy Holdings Limited and Chinese CNOOC International Limited) acquired rights to the Esso brand in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. As a result, all the Esso stations were rebranded as "Axion Energy". At the moment of the acquisition, Esso had 520 stations (with 450 under franchises), being the third largest producer of Argentine after YPF and Shell, with a 12% of participation in the market.


title: Esso

text: Esso is ExxonMobil's primary gasoline brand worldwide except in Australia, Guam, Mexico, Nigeria, and New Zealand, where the Mobil brand is used exclusively. In Canada (since 2017), Colombia, Egypt, and formerly Malaysia (until 2013, when Petron acquired ExxonMobil's Malaysian operations) and Japan (until 2019), both the Esso and Mobil brands are used. In Hong Kong and Singapore, Mobil brand is applied on Esso fuel tank after Mobil service stations began to merge with Esso since 2006.


title: Esso

text: Mobil is ExxonMobil's primary retail gasoline brand in California, Florida, New York, New England, the Great Lakes and the Midwest. Exxon is the primary brand in the rest of the United States, with the highest concentration of retail outlets located in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas and in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern states.


title: Esso

text: In the 1960s, campaigns featuring heavy spending in different mass media channels became more prominent. Esso spent hundreds of millions of dollars on a brand awareness campaign built around the simple and alliterative theme "Put a Tiger in Your Tank", which was invented by Emery Smith in 1959.


title: Esso

text: The North American and later European campaign featured extensive television and radio and magazine ads, including photos with tiger tails supposedly emerging from car gas tanks, in England there were faux tiger tails with pink ribbons to tie round underneath the cap of the petrol tank so as to look as if there was a tiger in the tank: these were often seen on the road in the 1960s; at one time in England there was a television advertisement where a sombre man labelled as the advertising manager said that they were no longer going to have the tiger, followed a short while later with advertisements for the save the tiger campaign, promotional events featuring real tigers, billboards, and in Europe station pump hoses "wrapped in tiger stripes" as well as pop music songs. Tiger imagery can still be seen on the pumps of successor firm ExxonMobil.


title: Esso

text: Esso, along with its sister brands Exxon and Mobil, are official long-term recommended gasoline of two Volkswagen Group marques (mainly Bentley and Porsche), all Toyota Group marques and subsidiaries (including Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu, Hino, and Perodua, shared with Petronas,Eneos and Petron), General Motors marques and subsidiaries (including Chevrolet (shared with Shell), Cadillac, Buick, Holden, and former GM marques such as Opel (shared with Shell along with Chevrolet) and Vauxhall) and Honda (including Acura, shared with BP, TotalEnergies and its subsidiary, Elf Aquitaine) for automobiles. In addition, they are also recommended fuels for Honda motorcycles.


title: Esso

text: Formula One team Lotus had Esso sponsorship from 1962 until 1967 while sponsoring Indianapolis 500 winner and Formula One world champion Jim Clark as well as Brabham from 1964 until 1973. From 2002 to 2009, Esso sponsored Toyota F1, as well as Jordan and its successor, Midland in 2005 and 2006, after Esso became ExxonMobil's global primary fuel brand through the merger of Exxon with Mobil in 1999. Williams F1 had one season of Esso sponsorship in 2009 when Petrobras left F1 in 2008 before they returned in 2014. The Esso brand was used in McLaren Formula One cars along with Mobil from 2014 despite Esso actually partnering and supplying fuels for McLaren team from 2015 to 2016 seasons, as well as Exxon from 2015 in United States Grand Prix only, as they are currently ExxonMobil brands after the merger. In 2017, ExxonMobil switched to Red Bull Racing, as well as Faenza-based sister team Scuderia Toro Rosso for one season only.


title: Esso

text: Enco, as sister brand of Esso before both renamed as Exxon in 1973, had sponsored three Indianapolis 500 winning cars in 1965, 1967 and 1968, won by Jim Clark, A. J. Foyt and Bobby Unser, powered by Ford for 1965 and 1967 seasons, and Offenhauser for 1968 season.


title: Esso

text: Esso is also active in 24 Hours of Le Mans and various endurance racing, sponsoring Martini Lancia from 1982 to 1986, Le Mans-winning Peugeot 905 from 1990 to 1993, and Toyota GT-One in 1998–99. Esso is also a racing fuel supplier for Corvette Racing (for FIA World Endurance Championship, shared with VP Racing Fuels for non-WEC races). Since 1996 Esso currently supplying fuels for all Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup entrants under Mobil brand as ExxonMobil increased its fuel partnership role with Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup as Esso since the 2015 season.


title: Axial tilt

text: In astronomy, axial tilt, also known as obliquity, is the angle between an object's rotational axis and its orbital axis, which is the line perpendicular to its orbital plane; equivalently, it is the angle between its equatorial plane and orbital plane. It differs from orbital inclination.


title: Axial tilt

text: At an obliquity of 0 degrees, the two axes point in the same direction; that is, the rotational axis is perpendicular to the orbital plane.


title: Axial tilt

text: The rotational axis of Earth, for example, is the imaginary line that passes through both the North Pole and South Pole, whereas the Earth's orbital axis is the line perpendicular to the imaginary plane through which the Earth moves as it revolves around the Sun; the Earth's obliquity or axial tilt is the angle between these two lines.


title: Axial tilt

text: Earth's obliquity oscillates between 22.1 and 24.5 degrees on a 41,000-year cycle. Based on a continuously updated formula (here Laskar, 1986, though since 2006 the IMCCE and the IAU recommend the P03 model), Earth's mean obliquity (without taking into account the nutation in obliquity) is currently about and decreasing; according to P03 astronomical model, its value (without taking into account the nutation in obliquity) was 23°26′11.570″ (23.4365472133°) on January 1, 2021, 0 TT.


title: Axial tilt

text: Over the course of an orbital period, the obliquity usually does not change considerably, and the orientation of the axis remains the same relative to the background of stars. This causes one pole to be pointed more toward the Sun on one side of the orbit, and more away from the Sun on the other side—the cause of the seasons on Earth.


title: Axial tilt

text: There are two standard methods of specifying a planet's tilt. One way is based on the planet's "north pole", defined in relation to the direction of Earth's north pole, and the other way is based on the planet's "positive pole", defined by the right-hand rule:


title: Axial tilt

text: Earth's orbital plane is known as the ecliptic plane, and Earth's tilt is known to astronomers as the "obliquity of the ecliptic", being the angle between the ecliptic and the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. It is denoted by the Greek letter "ε".


title: Axial tilt

text: Earth currently has an axial tilt of about 23.44°. This value remains about the same relative to a stationary orbital plane throughout the cycles of axial precession. But the ecliptic (i.e., Earth's orbit) moves due to planetary perturbations, and the obliquity of the ecliptic is not a fixed quantity. At present, it is decreasing at a rate of about 46.8″ per century "(see details in Short term below)".


title: Axial tilt

text: Earth's obliquity may have been reasonably accurately measured as early as 1100 BC in India and China. The ancient Greeks had good measurements of the obliquity since about 350 BC, when Pytheas of Marseilles measured the shadow of a gnomon at the summer solstice. About 830 AD, the Caliph Al-Mamun of Baghdad directed his astronomers to measure the obliquity, and the result was used in the Arab world for many years. In 1437, Ulugh Beg determined the Earth's axial tilt as 23°30′17″ (23.5047°).


title: Axial tilt

text: It was widely believed, during the Middle Ages, that both precession and Earth's obliquity oscillated around a mean value, with a period of 672 years, an idea known as "trepidation" of the equinoxes. Perhaps the first to realize this was incorrect (during historic time) was Ibn al-Shatir in the fourteenth century and the first to realize that the obliquity is decreasing at a relatively constant rate was Fracastoro in 1538. The first accurate, modern, western observations of the obliquity were probably those of Tycho Brahe from Denmark, about 1584, although observations by several others, including al-Ma'mun, al-Tusi, Purbach, Regiomontanus, and Walther, could have provided similar information.


title: Axial tilt

text: Earth's axis remains tilted in the same direction with reference to the background stars throughout a year (regardless of where it is in its orbit). This means that one pole (and the associated hemisphere of Earth) will be directed away from the Sun at one side of the orbit, and half an orbit later (half a year later) this pole will be directed towards the Sun. This is the cause of Earth's seasons. Summer occurs in the Northern hemisphere when the north pole is directed toward the Sun. Variations in Earth's axial tilt can influence the seasons and is likely a factor in long-term climatic change "(also see Milankovitch cycles)".


title: Axial tilt

text: The exact angular value of the obliquity is found by observation of the motions of Earth and planets over many years. Astronomers produce new fundamental ephemerides as the accuracy of observation improves and as the understanding of the dynamics increases, and from these ephemerides various astronomical values, including the obliquity, are derived.


title: Axial tilt

text: Annual almanacs are published listing the derived values and methods of use. Until 1983, the Astronomical Almanac's angular value of the mean obliquity for any date was calculated based on the work of Newcomb, who analyzed positions of the planets until about 1895:


title: Axial tilt

text: From 1984, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's DE series of computer-generated ephemerides took over as the fundamental ephemeris of the Astronomical Almanac. Obliquity based on DE200, which analyzed observations from 1911 to 1979, was calculated:


title: Axial tilt

text: JPL's fundamental ephemerides have been continually updated. For instance, according to IAU resolution in 2006 in favor of the P03 astronomical model, the "Astronomical Almanac" for 2010 specifies:


title: Axial tilt

text: These expressions for the obliquity are intended for high precision over a relatively short time span, perhaps several centuries. J. Laskar computed an expression to order good to 0.02″ over 1000 years and several arcseconds over 10,000 years.


title: Axial tilt

text: These expressions are for the so-called "mean" obliquity, that is, the obliquity free from short-term variations. Periodic motions of the Moon and of Earth in its orbit cause much smaller (9.2 arcseconds) short-period (about 18.6 years) oscillations of the rotation axis of Earth, known as nutation, which add a periodic component to Earth's obliquity. The "true" or instantaneous obliquity includes this nutation.


title: Axial tilt

text: Using numerical methods to simulate Solar System behavior, long-term changes in Earth's orbit, and hence its obliquity, have been investigated over a period of several million years. For the past 5 million years, Earth's obliquity has varied between and , with a mean period of 41,040 years. This cycle is a combination of precession and the largest term in the motion of the ecliptic. For the next 1 million years, the cycle will carry the obliquity between and .


title: Axial tilt

text: The Moon has a stabilizing effect on Earth's obliquity. Frequency map analysis conducted in 1993 suggested that, in the absence of the Moon, the obliquity could change rapidly due to orbital resonances and chaotic behavior of the Solar System, reaching as high as 90° in as little as a few million years "(also see Orbit of the Moon)". However, more recent numerical simulations made in 2011 indicated that even in the absence of the Moon, Earth's obliquity might not be quite so unstable; varying only by about 20–25°. To resolve this contradiction, diffusion rate of obliquity has been calculated, and it was found that it takes more than billions of years for Earth's obliquity to reach near 90°. The Moon's stabilizing effect will continue for less than 2 billion years. As the Moon continues to recede from Earth due to tidal acceleration, resonances may occur which will cause large oscillations of the obliquity.


title: Axial tilt

text: All four of the innermost, rocky planets of the Solar System may have had large variations of their obliquity in the past. Since obliquity is the angle between the axis of rotation and the direction perpendicular to the orbital plane, it changes as the orbital plane changes due to the influence of other planets. But the axis of rotation can also move (axial precession), due to torque exerted by the Sun on a planet's equatorial bulge. Like Earth, all of the rocky planets show axial precession. If the precession rate were very fast the obliquity would actually remain fairly constant even as the orbital plane changes. The rate varies due to tidal dissipation and core-mantle interaction, among other things. When a planet's precession rate approaches certain values, orbital resonances may cause large changes in obliquity. The amplitude of the contribution having one of the resonant rates is divided by the difference between the resonant rate and the precession rate, so it becomes large when the two are similar.


title: Axial tilt

text: Mercury and Venus have most likely been stabilized by the tidal dissipation of the Sun. Earth was stabilized by the Moon, as mentioned above, but before its formation, Earth, too, could have passed through times of instability. Mars's obliquity is quite variable over millions of years and may be in a chaotic state; it varies as much as 0° to 60° over some millions of years, depending on perturbations of the planets. Some authors dispute that Mars's obliquity is chaotic, and show that tidal dissipation and viscous core-mantle coupling are adequate for it to have reached a fully damped state, similar to Mercury and Venus.


title: Axial tilt

text: The occasional shifts in the axial tilt of Mars have been suggested as an explanation for the appearance and disappearance of rivers and lakes over the course of the existence of Mars. A shift could cause a burst of methane into the atmosphere, causing warming, but then the methane would be destroyed and the climate would become arid again.


title: Axial tilt

text: The stellar obliquity , i.e. the axial tilt of a star with respect to the orbital plane of one of its planets, has been determined for only a few systems. But for 49 stars as of 2012, the sky-projected spin-orbit misalignment has been observed, which serves as a lower limit to . Most of these measurements rely on the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect. So far, it has not been possible to constrain the obliquity of an extrasolar planet. But the rotational flattening of the planet and the entourage of moons and/or rings, which are traceable with high-precision photometry, e.g. by the space-based Kepler space telescope, could provide access to in the near future.


title: Axial tilt

text: Astrophysicists have applied tidal theories to predict the obliquity of extrasolar planets. It has been shown that the obliquities of exoplanets in the habitable zone around low-mass stars tend to be eroded in less than 10 years, which means that they would not have seasons as Earth has.


title: World Famous Lover

text: World Famous Lover is a 2020 Indian Telugu-language romantic drama film written and directed by Kranthi Madhav. The film stars Vijay Deverakonda, Raashii Khanna, Aishwarya Rajesh, Catherine Tresa and Izabelle Leite. It is produced by K. A. Vallabha under the banner of Creative Commercials. The film was panned by the critics and audience though Aishwarya Rajesh's performances was praised.


title: World Famous Lover

text: The film begins with Gautham in a prison saying that he too has a story to tell. The film cuts to Yamini and Gautham's story. They are in a live-in relationship. Gautham is pursuing his dream of becoming a writer. Yamini takes care of Gautham like a mother and is always supportive of his decisions. But she doesn't see him putting in any effort for his dream and is fed up with her routine life. She eventually breaks up with Gautham.


title: World Famous Lover

text: This makes Gauthum start writing again and he writes a story that takes place in Yellandu. The protagonist Srinu is a union leader in the coal mines and is married to Suvarna unwillingly and the couple has a 5-year old son. The newly appointed officer, Ms. Smitha gets close to Srinu, unaware that he is married. Srinu does not disclose his marital status either and starts to avoid his own wife Suvarna. Suvarna suspects that her husband is having an extra-marital affair but doesn't confront him. Instead, she decides to pursue her career. She tops her examinations and it is published in the local newspaper, causing Smitha realise that Srinu is married, that too with a son. Srinu upon rushing home finds Suvarna in a modern dress. She tells him that she'll be whatever he wants her to be, including wearing revealing clothes and make-up. All this made Srinu understand his mistake and go back to loving his wife. The story ends with a note from Gautham saying that Srinu sacrificed everything to be with his wife.


title: World Famous Lover

text: Now, the story cuts back to the present where Gautham recalls his past on how he first encountered Yamini and how they fell in love. The next morning, he goes to meet Yamini in her office to tell her that he has started writing again, but Yamini asks him to leave. Another glimpse from his past is shown when Gautham and Yamini used to work in the same office. Yamini was going to be terminated and Gautham was going to get a promotion to work in Paris. Instead, he resigns the job requesting the manager to retain Yamini's position. The film again cuts back to the present where Gautham says that if he hadn't resigned from his job, he would have been in Paris right now. This inspires him to write another story that takes place in Paris.


title: World Famous Lover

text: In Paris, Gautham is working in a radio station, he loves parachuting. He falls in love with his neighbour Iza, a pilot. On Iza's birthday, she wanted something memorable, so Gautham takes her for bike racing which ends in a tragic accident where Iza loses her eyesight. After six months, she gets a compatible eye donor and regains her vision. It is revealed that Gautham was the one who donated his eyes for Iza and he tells her to return to him if she realised his love. This story ends with a note saying that Gautham sacrificed his vision for love.


title: World Famous Lover

text: The film cuts to the present when Yamini comes to visit Gautham to invite him to her wedding, which is in 3 days. A frustrated Gautham yells at Yamini and she leaves the house. Gautham later goes to Yamini's house to try and convince her in vain. On his way home he gets into a fight with a random guy and ends up in prison for bashing his head with a rock. After 2 years Gautham is released and his friend publishes his book on behalf of Gautham, named "The World Famous Lover". Gautham attends the press meet of his book's success event while the public eagerly waits for the unfinished climax of the story. On stage, he recounts his tale stating that upon returning from jail Yamini waits for him and they both live happily ever after, whereas, in reality, no one was waiting for him. He says that it is always been Yamini who compromised. And even in Srinu's story, it is Suvarna who always compromised and not her husband. In the Paris love story, the sacrifice made by Gautham came from the sacrifice made by Yamini in real life. He concludes the press meet by saying that he wants Yamini to be happy wherever she is.


title: World Famous Lover

text: Later, Yamini's father reveals to Gautham that when Yamini learned that he had been arrested, she called off her wedding. He then leaves his daughter to Gautham. Gautham asks for forgiveness. She forgives him and asks if he knows the route to his home. He nods, implying yes. The film ends with Gautham and Yamini reuniting.


title: World Famous Lover

text: Kranthi Madhav started talks with Vijay Devarakonda for his upcoming film with Creative Commercials attached to produce the film. By October everything was set in place and film officially launched on 18 October 2018 on the occasion of Dusshera. The ceremony was graced by film's cast and crew along with T. Subbarami Reddy as main guest.


title: World Famous Lover

text: In the launch event it was announced that Raashi Khanna, Aishwarya Rajesh and Izabelle Leite are set to co star Vijay in un disclosed roles. In January 2019, Catherine Tresa was announced to join the cast.


title: World Famous Lover

text: The production on film started in February 2019 at Yellandu of Khammam district. In June 2019, a schedule was filmed in France with Vijay.


title: World Famous Lover

text: The film was released on Valentine's Day 2020. Apart from Telugu, the film was released in Malayalam, Tamil. The film was also later dubbed and released in Hindi and Bengali by Goldmines Telefilms on 30 January 2021 And 31 July 2021.The Hindi dubbed was premiered on Sony Max and The Bengali dubbed was premiered on Jalsha Movies.The both dubbed versions are available on YouTube.


title: World Famous Lover

text: " World Famous Lover" grossed on the day of release, and in its first weekend at the worldwide box office.


title: World Famous Lover

text: The film received negative reviews from critics. Writing for "Times of India", Suhas Yellapantula gave 2 out of 5 stars and wrote that "World Famous Lover comes across as a caustic rant of a disgruntled writer who subjects the audience to two hours and 36 minutes of his tears and frustration. Vijay Deverakonda yells, cries, punches mirrors, bangs his head against rocks, speaks Telangana dialect, and jumps off planes, but he remains a helpless spectator as Kranthi Madhav tires the audience with his gloomy love story. Aishwarya Rajesh stands out among the women with a powerful performance."


title: World Famous Lover

text: Janani K of "India Today" rated 2 out of 5 and wrote that "Director Kranthi Madhav’s World Famous Lover aims to be an emotional love story that speaks about compromise and sacrifice. Sadly, the film doesn’t have much substance to keep it going for two and a half hours."


title: World Famous Lover

text: "The New Indian Express "wrote that "The director has been unable to make an impression with his script which is filled with heavy melodrama and contrived emotions".Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion South wrote "More annoyingly, writing this story doesn’t seem to have given Gautham any kind of catharsis. When we return to the present day, to the real-life Gautham, he is still Arjun Reddy the angsty wallower he was when Yamini left him."


title: Region

text: In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and the environment (environmental geography). Geographic regions and sub-regions are mostly described by their imprecisely defined, and sometimes transitory boundaries, except in human geography, where jurisdiction areas such as national borders are defined in law.


title: Region

text: Apart from the global continental regions, there are also hydrospheric and atmospheric regions that cover the oceans, and discrete climates above the land and water masses of the planet. The land and water global regions are divided into subregions geographically bounded by large geological features that influence large-scale ecologies, such as plains and features.


title: Region

text: As a way of describing spatial areas, the concept of regions is important and widely used among the many branches of geography, each of which can describe areas in regional terms. For example, ecoregion is a term used in environmental geography, cultural region in cultural geography, bioregion in biogeography, and so on. The field of geography that studies regions themselves is called regional geography. Regions are an area or division, especially part of a country or the world having definable characteristics but not always fixed boundaries.


title: Region

text: In the fields of physical geography, ecology, biogeography, zoogeography, and environmental geography, regions tend to be based on natural features such as ecosystems or biotopes, biomes, drainage basins, natural regions, mountain ranges, soil types. Where human geography is concerned, the regions and subregions are described by the discipline of ethnography.


title: Region

text: Global regions distinguishable from space, and are therefore clearly distinguished by the two basic terrestrial environments, land and water. However, they have been generally recognized as such much earlier by terrestrial cartography because of their impact on human geography. They are divided into the largest of land regions, known as continents and the largest of water regions known as oceans. There are also significant regions that do not belong to either classification, such as archipelago regions that are littoral regions, or earthquake regions that are defined in geology.


title: Region

text: Continental regions are usually based on broad experiences in human history and attempt to reduce very large areas to more manageable regionalization for the purpose of the study. As such they are conceptual constructs, usually lacking distinct boundaries. The oceanic division into maritime regions is used in conjunction with the relationship to the central area of the continent, using directions of the compass.


title: Region

text: Some continental regions are defined by the major continental feature of their identity, such as the Amazon basin, or the Sahara, which both occupy a significant percentage of their respective continental land area.


title: Region

text: To a large extent, major continental regions are mental constructs created by considering an efficient way to define large areas of the continents. For the most part, the images of the world are derived as much from academic studies, from all types of media, or from personal experience of global exploration. They are a matter of collective human knowledge of their own planet and are attempts to better understand their environments.


title: Region

text: Regional geography is a branch of geography that studies regions of all sizes across the Earth. It has a prevailing descriptive character. The main aim is to understand or define the uniqueness or character of a particular region, which consists of natural as well as human elements. Attention is paid also to regionalization, which covers the proper techniques of space delimitation into regions.


title: Region

text: Regional geography is also considered as a certain approach to study in geographical sciences (similar to quantitative or critical geographies; for more information, see history of geography).


title: Region

text: Human geography is a branch of geography that focuses on the study of patterns and processes that shape human interaction with various discrete environments. It encompasses human, political, cultural, social, and economic aspects among others that are often clearly delineated. While the major focus of human geography is not the physical landscape of the Earth (see physical geography), it is hardly possible to discuss human geography without referring to the physical landscape on which human activities are being played out, and environmental geography is emerging as a link between the two. Regions of human geography can be divided into many broad categories:


title: Region

text: The field of historical geography involves the study of human history as it relates to places and regions, or the study of how places and regions have changed over time.


title: Region

text: D. W. Meinig, a historical geographer of America, describes many historical regions in his book "The Shaping of America: A Geographical Perspective on 500 Years of History". For example, in identifying European "source regions" in early American colonization efforts, he defines and describes the "Northwest European Atlantic Protestant Region", which includes sub-regions such as the "Western Channel Community", which itself is made of sub-regions such as the "English West Country" of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, and Dorset.


title: Region

text: In describing historic regions of America, Meinig writes of "The Great Fishery" off the coast of Newfoundland and New England, an oceanic region that includes the Grand Banks. He rejects regions traditionally used in describing American history, like New France, "West Indies", the Middle Colonies, and the individual colonies themselves (Province of Maryland, for example). Instead he writes of "discrete colonization areas", which may be named after colonies but rarely adhere strictly to political boundaries. Among other historic regions of this type, he writes about "Greater New England" and its major sub-regions of "Plymouth", "New Haven shores" (including parts of Long Island), "Rhode Island" (or "Narragansett Bay"), "the Piscataqua", "Massachusetts Bay", "Connecticut Valley", and to a lesser degree, regions in the sphere of influence of Greater New England, "Acadia" (Nova Scotia), "Newfoundland and The Fishery/The Banks".


title: Region

text: Other examples of historical regions are Iroquoia, Ohio Country, Illinois Country, and Rupert's Land.


title: Region

text: In Russia, historical regions include Siberia and the Russian North, as well as the Ural Mountains. These regions had an identity that developed from the early modern period and led to Siberian regionalism.


title: Region

text: A tourism region is a geographical region that has been designated by a governmental organization or tourism bureau as having common cultural or environmental characteristics. These regions are often named after a geographical, former, or current administrative region or may have a name created for tourism purposes. The names often evoke certain positive qualities of the area and suggest a coherent tourism experience to visitors. Countries, states, provinces, and other administrative regions are often carved up into tourism regions to facilitate attracting visitors.


title: Region

text: Some of the more famous tourism regions based on historical or current administrative regions include Tuscany in Italy and Yucatán in Mexico. Famous examples of regions created by a government or tourism bureau include the United Kingdom's Lake District and California's Wine Country.


title: Region

text: Natural resources often occur in distinct regions. Natural resource regions can be a topic of physical geography or environmental geography, but also have a strong element of human geography and economic geography. A coal region, for example, is a physical or geomorphological region, but its development and exploitation can make it into an economic and a cultural region. Examples of natural resource regions are the Rumaila Field, the oil field that lies along the border or Iraq and Kuwait and played a role in the Gulf War; the Coal Region of Pennsylvania, which is a historical region as well as a cultural, physical, and natural resource region; the South Wales Coalfield, which like Pennsylvania's coal region is a historical, cultural, and natural region; the Kuznetsk Basin, a similarly important coal mining region in Russia; Kryvbas, the economic and iron ore mining region of Ukraine; and the James Bay Project, a large region of Quebec where one of the largest hydroelectric systems in the world has been developed.


title: Region

text: Sometimes a region associated with a religion is given a name, like Christendom, a term with medieval and renaissance connotations of Christianity as a sort of social and political polity. The term Muslim world is sometimes used to refer to the region of the world where Islam is dominant. These broad terms are very vague when used to describe regions.


title: Region

text: Within some religions there are clearly defined regions. The Roman Catholic Church, the Church of England, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and others, define ecclesiastical regions with names such as diocese, eparchy, ecclesiastical provinces, and parish.


title: Region

text: For example, the United States is divided into 32 Roman Catholic ecclesiastical provinces. The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod is organized into 33 geographic "districts", which are subdivided into "circuits" (the Atlantic District (LCMS), for example). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints uses regions similar to dioceses and parishes, but uses terms like ward and stake.


title: Region

text: In the field of political geography, regions tend to be based on political units such as sovereign states; subnational units such as administrative regions, provinces, states (in the United States), counties, townships, territories, etc.; and multinational groupings, including formally defined units such as the European Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and NATO, as well as informally defined regions such as the Third World, Western Europe, and the Middle East.


title: Region

text: The word "region" is taken from the Latin "regio" (derived from "regere", 'to rule'), and a number of countries have borrowed the term as the formal name for a type of subnational entity (e.g., the "región", used in Chile). In English, the word is also used as the conventional translation for equivalent terms in other languages (e.g., the "область" ("oblast"), used in Russia alongside a broader term "регион").


title: Region

text: The following countries use the term "region" (or its cognate) as the name of a type of subnational administrative unit:


title: Region

text: In Spain the official name of the autonomous community of Murcia is "Región de Murcia". Also, some single-province autonomous communities such as Madrid use the term "región" interchangeably with "comunidad autónoma".


title: Region

text: Two län (counties) in Sweden are officially called 'regions': Skåne and Västra Götaland, and there is currently a controversial proposal to divide the rest of Sweden into large regions, replacing the current counties.


title: Region

text: The government of the Philippines uses the term "region" (in Filipino, "rehiyon") when it's necessary to group provinces, the primary administrative subdivision of the country. This is also the case in Brazil, which groups its primary administrative divisions ("estados"; "states") into "grandes regiões" (greater regions) for statistical purposes, while Russia uses "экономические районы" (economic regions) in a similar way, as does Romania and Venezuela.


title: Region

text: The following countries use an administrative subdivision conventionally referred to as a region in English:


title: Region

text: China has five 自治区 ("zìzhìqū") and two 特別行政區 (or 特别行政区; "tèbiéxíngzhèngqū"), which are translated as "autonomous region" and "special administrative region", respectively.


title: Region

text: There are many relatively small regions based on local government agencies such as districts, agencies, or regions. In general, they are all regions in the general sense of being bounded spatial units. Examples include electoral districts such as Washington's 6th congressional district and Tennessee's 1st congressional district; school districts such as Granite School District and Los Angeles Unified School District; economic districts such as the Reedy Creek Improvement District; metropolitan areas such as the Seattle metropolitan area, and metropolitan districts such as the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, the Metropolitan Police Service of Greater London, as well as other local districts like the York Rural Sanitary District, the Delaware River Port Authority, the Nassau County Soil and Water Conservation District, and C-TRAN.


title: Region

text: The traditional territorial divisions of some countries are also commonly rendered in English as "regions". These informal divisions do not form the basis of the modern administrative divisions of these countries, but still define and delimit local regional identity and sense of belonging. Examples are:


title: Region

text: Functional regions are usually understood to be the areas organised by the horizontal functional relations (flows, interactions) that are maximised within a region and minimised across its borders so that the principles of internal cohesiveness and external separation regarding spatial interactions are met (see, for instance, Farmer and Fotheringham, 2011; Klapka, Halas, 2016; Smart, 1974). A functional region is not an abstract spatial concept, but to a certain extent it can be regarded as a reflection of the spatial behaviour of individuals in a geographic space.


title: Region

text: The functional region is conceived as a general concept while its inner structure, inner spatial flows, and interactions need not necessarily show any regular pattern, only selfcontainment. The concept of self-containment remains the only crucial defining characteristic of a functional region. Nodal regions, functional urban regions, daily urban systems, local labour-market areas (LLMAs), or travel-to-work areas (TTWAs) are considered to be special instances of a general functional region that need to fulfil some specific conditions regarding, for instance, the character of the region-organising interaction or the presence of urban cores, (Halas et al., 2015).


title: Region

text: In military usage, a region is shorthand for the name of a military formation larger than an Army Group and smaller than an Army Theater or simply Theater. The full name of the military formation is Army Region. The size of an Army Region can vary widely but is generally somewhere between about 1 million and 3 million soldiers. Two or more Army Regions could make up an Army Theater. An Army Region is typically commanded by a full General (US four stars), a Field Marshal, or General of the Army (US five stars), or Generalissimo (Soviet Union); and in the US Armed Forces an Admiral (typically four stars) may also command a region. Due to the large size of this formation, its use is rarely employed. Some of the very few examples of an Army Region are each of the Eastern, Western, and southern (mostly in Italy) fronts in Europe during World War II. The military map unit symbol for this echelon of formation (see Military organization and APP-6A) is identified with six Xs.


title: Region

text: Media geography is a spatio-temporal understanding, brought through different gadgets of media, nowadays, media became inevitable at different proportions and everyone supposed to consumed at different gravity. The spatial attributes are studied with the help of media outputs in shape of images which are contested in nature and pattern as well where politics is inseparable. Media geography is giving spatial understanding of mediated image.


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: Shaheer Nawaz Sheikh (born 26 March 1984) is an Indian actor and model who mainly works in Hindi television. In 2009, he made his acting debut with the television show "Kya Mast Hai Life" playing Veer Mehra and then appeared as Anant Bajpai in "Navya..Naye Dhadkan Naye Sawaal". In 2013, he got his breakthrough with the role of Arjuna in "Mahabharat" for which, he received widespread acclaim.


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: In 2015, he took a break from Indian television and made his Indonesian television debut with "" and also appeared as a host on various shows. He appeared in Indonesian films, including and "Maipa Deapati & Datu Museng". He is popularly known as the "Srk Of Indonesia" due to his widespread popularity in the country.


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: Shaheer made his Indian television comeback in 2016, with the critically acclaimed show "Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi", playing Dev Dixit and portrayed Salim in "Dastaan-E-Mohabbat Salim Anarkali". In 2019, he portrayed Abir Rajvansh in the successful show "Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke". Sheikh has established himself as one of the most popular television actors in India.


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: Sheikh made his web debut with "Paurashpur" in 2020. He also appeared as Manav Deshmukh in the web show "Pavitra Rishta- Its Never Too Late". In addition to TV shows, he has appeared in many music videos. As of 2022, Sheikh is portraying Krishna Choudhary in "Woh Toh Hai Albelaa."


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: Sheikh was born on 26 March 1984, in Bhaderwah, Doda, Jammu and Kashmir to Shahnawaz Sheikh and Dilshad Sheikh. He also has two sisters, Aleefa and Ifrah. He has completed his schooling from Hari Singh Higher Secondary School, Jammu. He has done his graduation in Bachelor of Laws (L.L.B.) from New Law College, Bharati Vidyapeeth University, Pune.


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: After dating for almost two years, Sheikh married Ruchikaa Kapoor on 19 October 2020 in a court wedding, after which they had celebrations in Jammu and Mumbai. Kapoor is the marketing head and senior vice-president at Balaji Motion Pictures. On 9 September 2021, they became parents to a baby girl, Anaya.


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: After pursuing L.L.B, he started working for a law firm after which he started his career as a photographer. Then, he went on to modelling.


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: In 2009 Sheikh made his television debut in "Kya Mast Hai Life", where he played Veer Mehra, a teenager who loves music and playing guitar. After second season of the show ended, Sheikh was seen in "Jhansi Ki Rani" as Nana Sahib, brother of Rani of Jhansi replacing Satyajeet Dubey.


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: In 2011, Sheikh was approached to play the lead in television show, "Navya..Naye Dhadkan Naye Sawaal" opposite Saumya Seth. He played Anant Bajpai, a 19-year-old college boy who looks like any other urban boy but deep down he is a traditionalist and a conformist. Alongside "Navya", Sheikh also worked in Disney Channel's show "Best Of Luck Nikki" in season 1 as Ritesh. In 2012, Sheikh also appeared in the telefilm shown in Star Plus' show "Teri Meri Love Stories" opposite Mahhi Vij.


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: In 2013, he signed Swastik Productions' "Mahabharat". He played Arjuna, an incredible archer, a warrior prince and the third Pandava in the series which ended in August 2014. For his performance he got lot of appreciation. For the series, he underwent several trainings including fitness, horse riding and weapon training for almost eight months. "Mahabharat" was a huge critical and commercial success. It was said to have recorded the highest GTVMs ever achieved by any other serial in the history of Indian Television. It was also popular in Indonesia, establishing Sheikh as a big star of the country, often credited as the 'SRK of the country'. His chemistry with his co-star Pooja Sharma who played Draupadi's role, was also highly adored by fans. After Mahabharat, he did various projects in Indonesia which made him even more popular there.


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: In 2014, he hosted Indonesian reality television "" and a variety show "The New Eat Bulaga! Indonesia" along with his costars from "Mahabharat". In 2015, he co-hosted the television talent show "Asia's Got Talent" with Marc Nelson. Co-starring Nabila Syakieb and Ravi Bhatia, he also featured in a romantic drama, "" as Reehan Syahputra, a calm and composed guy. In 2015, Sheikh landed a lead role in a romantic comedy film "" opposite actress Kirana Larasati where he played Azan Khan, a handsome photographer from India, who befriended Nabil, a tough and beautiful tourist guide in Yogyakarta.


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: In 2016, Sheikh made his come back to Indian television with Sony TV's critically acclaimed television show, "Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi" alongside Erica Fernandes and Supriya Pilgaonkar. He played Devrath Dixit (Dev), a young and successful business tycoon. Sheikh's performance and his onscreen chemistry with Erica was appreciated. In September 2017, the show came back with its second season.


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: Along with "Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi" he also did episodic roles and gave guest appearances in many Indonesian television series. He was seen as Raden Petir in "", as Salman in "", as Aladin/Ali Besar in "Aladin & Alakadam", as Prince Zamzaman "", as Mr. Thakur in "", as Rahul in "Tuyul & Mba Yul Reborn" and in a guest appearance in "". In 2016, he also starred opposite Masayu Anastasia in an Indonesian telefilm "Namaku Yusuf" wherein he played the titular role of Yusuf.


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: In February 2017, he started working on his upcoming Indonesian feature film "Maipa and Datu Museng", an action based periodic love story in which Sheikh played the role of Datu Museng, a warrior. The film released on 11 January 2018. In 2018, he portrayed Salim in Colors TV's "Dastaan-E-Mohabbat: Salim Anarkali". He was paired opposite Sonarika Bhadoria.


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: From March 2019 to October 2020, he played Abir Rajvansh in Star Plus's "Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke", opposite Rhea Sharma. Producer Rajan Shahi stated his role as dynamic.


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: He made his web debut with "Paurashpur" starring Annu Kapoor, Shilpa Shinde, Milind Soman and Flora Saini. In 2021, he reprised the role of Dev Dixit in "Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi 3" alongside Erica Fernandes. The story progressed from where it ended in the second season.


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: In July, he signed "Pavitra Rishta: Its Never Too Late", which was an OTT project as a tribute to actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who essayed the lead role of Manav in ithe first season. Shaheer stepped into his shoes, with some changes to the plot as well as characterization. It released on 15 September 2021, garnering commendable response from audience, much to the current situation. On 28 January "Pavitra Rishta: Its Never Too Late 2.0" was released.


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: In 2022, Sheikh starred in "Yatri Kripya Dhyan De" , a short film alongside Shweta Basu Prasad. Since March 2022, he is seen as Krishna Choudhary in Star Bharat's "Woh Toh Hai Albelaa" opposite Hiba Nawab.


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: In 2017, Sheikh topped in Times list of 20 Most Desirable Men on Indian Television. Next year he earned 4th spot in same list. In 2019 he earned 3rd spot in same list. In 2020 he earned the 4th spot in same list.


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: Sheikh was ranked in The Times 50 Most Desirable Men at No. 50 in 2017, at No. 29 in 2019, at No. 38 in 2020.


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: In 2016, 2018 and 2019 he was placed at the 25th, 17th and 11th position in Eastern Eye's 50 Sexiest Asian Men List.


title: Shaheer Sheikh

text: In August 2018, he was chosen as "first Indian torch bearer" of the "18th Asian Games" by Indonesian Government.


title: Ys (series)

text: The first game in the series, "", was released on the NEC PC-8801 in 1987. "Ys" games have since been ported and released on several other platforms. As of 2017, "Ys" had sold over 4.8 million copies worldwide.


title: Ys (series)

text: The "Ys" series chronicles the life of Adol Christin, a young man obsessed with adventure. Gameplay usually revolves around Adol, though his comrade, Dogi, is a frequent companion in his travels. More recent games in the series include several other playable party members.


title: Ys (series)

text: A feature of the early "Ys" games is the Darm Tower. In the story, it is an unfinished and deserted tower, built with the intention of touching the sky. The tower houses a small annex, titled "the Tower of Rado" (or simply "Rado's Annex") three quarters of the way up. According to in-game lore, the normally immortal ancient Ys aged because humans overused the magic power of an ancient artifact, known as the Black Pearl. The result of this misuse was evil magical energy bringing forth millions of cruel demons. The people of Ys fled to the Palace of Solomon and used the Black Pearl to lift the palace into the sky, creating a safe haven. The demons, focused on controlling the Black Pearl for their own intentions, began building the Darm Tower, day and night, attempting to connect to the Palace of Solomon with their construction. As in-game-events transpired, however, the demons' efforts were thwarted. Later games feature a variety of plots but frequently begin with a shipwreck, with a stranded Adol getting involved in the new area's events.


title: Ys (series)

text: In early games, the player uses only the directional pad to fight. The player must run Adol into enemies, hitting them on the side, back or slightly off-center of the front. This was created with accessibility in mind; while other RPGs at the time had either turn-based combat or a manually activated sword, "Ys" had Adol automatically attack when walking into enemies. While most "Ys" titles do not use the 'bump attack' system, it has become one of the series' defining features. Falcom staff have compared this style of gameplay to the enjoyment of popping air bubble sheets, in the sense that it took the tedious task of level-grinding and turned it into something similar to a high-score-based arcade game.


title: Ys (series)

text: A feature that has been used in nearly every "Ys" title is the recharging health mechanism, which had previously only been used in the "Hydlide" series. Recharging health has since become a common mechanism used in many video games today.


title: Ys (series)

text: "Ys II" introduced magic spells to the series (e.g. shooting fireballs), and the ability to transform into a monster, which allows the player to both scare human non-player characters for unique dialogues, and interact with non-boss monsters.


title: Ys (series)

text: "" adopted side-scrolling action-adventure gameplay, similar to Falcom's own "Dragon Slayer" series and Nintendo's "", with an attack button and a variety of different attacks.


title: Ys (series)

text: "" and "" returned to the original control scheme, while "Ys IV:Mask of the Sun-A New Theory" requires the player to press buttons to attack.


title: Ys (series)

text: "" uses a top-down viewpoint and requires the player to press buttons to attack or defend with a shield.


title: Ys (series)

text: "" graphically departed from its predecessors, using a mix of three-dimensional graphics and sprites. Gameplay is hack and slash generally without the ability to actively block. "Ys: The Oath in Felghana" and "Ys: Origin" share this gameplay style.


title: Ys (series)

text: "Ys Seven" brought back the ability to actively block, with skills, stun meters for enemies, weapon types, super combos known as EXTRA skills, and the ability to parry hits from attacks with a flash guard system. Failed flash guards result in the player character taking extra damage compared to failing to defend at all. "Memories of Celceta" introduces a flash dodge where a player character dodges just before a hit. "Ys VIII" and "Ys IX" continued this style.


title: Ys (series)

text: The "Ys" series has its roots in the Japanese computer system NEC PC-8801. Each of the first three games was released on that platform first. Ports of the games to console platforms have usually been handled by various other licensee companies, such as Hudson Soft, Tonkin House and Konami. In terms of the number of game releases, the "Ys" series is second only to "Final Fantasy" as the largest Eastern role-playing game franchise, as of 2011.


title: Ys (series)

text: The first two games in the series were originally intended as a single game, but the creators Masaya Hashimoto and Tomoyoshi Miyazaki eventually decided to split it into two separate games: "" (1987) and "" (1988). They were later re-released together in the enhanced remake "Ys I & II" (1989). It was one of the first video games to use CD-ROM, which was utilized to provide enhanced graphics, animated cutscenes, a Red Book CD-DA soundtrack, and voice acting. Its English localization was also one of the first to use voice dubbing. The game received the Game of the Year award from "OMNI Magazine" in 1990, as well as many other awards. The Sharp X68000 remake of "Ys I" released in 1991 was notable for its early use of 3D pre-rendering for the boss sprites. An MS-DOS remake called "Ys II Special" was also released exclusively for the South Korean market in 1994; it was a mash-up of "Ys II" with the anime "Ys II: Castle in the Heavens" (1992) along with a large amount of new content.


title: Ys (series)

text: After completing "" (1989), Hashimoto and Miyazaki left Nihon Falcom and founded Quintet. Two versions of the fourth game were released, and Falcom licensed both versions out: the Super Famicom version to Tonkin House (who had handled the Super NES port for "Ys III"), titled ""; and the PC Engine CD version to Hudson Soft (who had ported all three previous games to that platform), titled "". Hudson Soft took certain liberties with the game, and as a result, it is very different from "Mask of the Sun". They share the same setting, cast, and much of the basic plot, but the actual structure of the story plays out in a completely different manner, as do the game's levels and enemies. "Mask of the Sun" is the official continuation of the series, while Falcom have deemed "The Dawn of Ys" to be essentially an "alternate universe" take on the events in Celceta. A PS2 remake of "Mask of the Sun" was released in May 2005, further subtitled "A New Theory".


title: Ys (series)

text: Falcom released "Ys V" as a Super Famicom exclusive. A standalone title, it gave Adol a jump and manual attack. It was criticized as being too easy; in response to this, Falcom put out "Ys V Expert", a harder version of the game. A PS2 remake of "Ys V" by Taito was released 2006 in Japan.


title: Ys (series)

text: After this, the series remained dormant for eight years (except for remakes such as "Ys Eternal"), during which time Falcom abandoned console development altogether, choosing instead to focus on the Microsoft Windows platform. They announced a new game in the series, entitled "", which was released on 27 September 2003. "", a remake of "Ys III", was released in 2005. A spin-off game called "Ys Strategy" was released on 16 March 2006 in Japan for the Nintendo DS. Unlike the rest of the series, it is a real-time strategy game]]. It received lackluster reviews and general disdain from fans.


title: Ys (series)

text: "Ys Origin" was released in December 2006. It takes place 700 years before the events of the first game, following the separation of Ys from Esteria. The two initial playable characters are Yunica Tovah and Hugo Fact. The two characters' stories play out somewhat differently during character interactions. Adol appears only as a hidden bonus character. Falcom has since released a new version of the game that required a copy's registration serial number sent to Falcom along with shipping charges to get an extra enhancement disc for the game. With this disc the player would be able to play as Adol, along with various other new features. "Ys Seven" was released in Japan in 2009 for the PlayStation Portable. Unlike the previous entries in the series, this time the player has a party of characters fighting simultaneously against enemies on the field, and can change the controlled character on the fly with the press of a button. This system has been maintained in all subsequent games in the series. The graphics also had a significant upgrade compared to "Ys Origin".


title: Ys (series)

text: In September 2012, "" was released for the PlayStation Vita. "" was released in Japan on 21 July 2016 for the PlayStation Vita, and was later ported to the PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, and Nintendo Switch. "" was released on the PlayStation 4 in Japan on 26 September 2019. It was released in North America and Europe in 2021. "Ys X: Nordics" is scheduled for release in Japan for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in 2023. It will feature naval exploration and combat for the first time in the series.


title: Ys (series)

text: Until 2005, only three "Ys" games were available in North America: "" (Master System, MS-DOS, Apple IIGS), "Ys I & II" (TurboGrafx CD), and "" (SNES, Genesis, TurboGrafx CD). The original PC-8801, PC-9801, X1 and MSX2 versions, as well as the Famicom ports remain exclusive to Japan. English ports of the Japanese PC game "Ys VI: Ark of Napishtim" were released by Konami in 2005 and 2006 for the PS2 and PSP, respectively, marking the first English release of the series in 13 years.


title: Ys (series)

text: At one point, NEC Interchannel proposed bringing DigiCube's "Ys Eternal Story" to North America, but the idea was rejected by Sony Computer Entertainment America.


title: Ys (series)

text: The original Windows PC remakes were "Ys Eternal" and "Ys II Eternal". Later, there was a compiled re-release called "Ys I & II Complete", which bumped up "Ys Eternal" visuals to "Ys II Eternal" level (more color depth, primarily) and made the soundtrack sound more cohesive between the two. Once this was out of print, Falcom began selling the two separately again, as "Ys I Complete" and "Ys II Complete". Falcom changed the "Eternal" to "Complete" on all external packaging and advertisements, but not in the actual games themselves. In one of the English patches, the internal bitmaps are edited to reflect the external change for the packages.


title: Ys (series)

text: In 2002, Nicolas Livaditis, an avid Ys fan and software engineer, spearheaded an English fan translation project for the first PC remake, "Ys I Complete". This led to other projects for "Ys II Complete", "", "", "" and "Ys Origin", though not all were completed; the "Ys VI" project for example, was cancelled to respect Konami's licensing rights. Completed translation patches were made for "Ys I & II Complete" and "Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys". In 2010, Xseed Games purchased the fan-translated script for "" from Jeff Nussbaum, the actual translator, an act considered historic and unprecedented, as unlicensed translations are technically copyright infringements as unauthorized derivative works. XSEED went on to purchase three more fan-translated scripts for "Ys I", "Ys II", and "Ys Origin".


title: Ys (series)

text: Nintendo added "Ys Book I & II" to the US Virtual Console on 25 August 2008, the first release of the "Ys" series on a 7th generation home console. Atlus released the games in one package entitled "Legacy of Ys: Books I & II" on 24 February 2009 on the Nintendo DS.


title: Ys (series)

text: Xseed Games localized the PlayStation Portable games "Ys I & II Chronicles", "Ys: The Oath in Felghana", and "Ys Seven" in North America. As of 2011, all games have been released.


title: Ys (series)

text: In 2012, Xseed Games began publishing Japanese PC games through Steam, starting with the PC version of "Ys: The Oath in Felghana" on 19 March. On 31 May, Xseed Games released an English version of "Ys Origin" on Steam. "Ys I & II" were also released via Steam on 14 February 2013 as "Ys I & II Chronicles+" – XSEED's Steam programmer Sara managed to combine Falcom's PC port of "Ys I & II Chronicles" with the earlier fan-favorite PC release "Ys I & II Complete", effectively mixing all the best features of both versions like selectable soundtracks (PC-88 original, Complete and Chronicles) and art styles from both Chronicles and Complete, alongside the visual flexibility of Complete, such as greater viewing area, togglable screen frame and support for windowed mode.


title: Ys (series)

text: "" was released in North America on 26 November 2013 by Xseed Games. The American release was also released as a very limited edition called "Silver Anniversary Edition", which features a 3-CD collection of both original and arranged music spanning the history of the franchise, a cloth map of the land of Celceta, a logo-emblazoned compass and Adol's Travel Journal, containing around 120+ pages of adventuring strategies and artwork. "" was also released in Europe on 21 February 2014, courtesy of NIS America.


title: Ys (series)

text: "Ys Online ~ The Call of Solum", developed by the South Korean game maker CJ Internet and taking place more than a hundred years after the main series, was launched on 5 November 2007 in South Korea, and in 2009 as an open beta for Chinese, Japanese and European players, but was discontinued in all regions in October 2012.


title: Ys (series)

text: There are two separate OVA series of "Ys", with the first spanning seven episodes and covering the events of the first game, and the second running for four episodes and loosely covering the events of the second game. The first anime expands on the relatively thin storyline of "Ys I", including a retelling and expansion of the prologue found in the game's original Japanese manual.


title: Ys (series)

text: Both series were released on DVD in English by Media Blasters' anime label "AnimeWorks", packaged both separately and in a three-disc box set. The dubbed/audio tracks have changes to some character names ("Dark Fact" becoming "Dark Factor", "Adol" becoming "Adle", and "Lilia" becoming "Lillian", for instance). Pronunciations of various names are inconsistent, sometimes within the same scene.


title: Ys (series)

text: Included on one of the discs is what appears to be a preview for an anime based around "Ys IV". This was created by Falcom as a "pitch" trailer to shop around to various animation studios to see if anyone was interested in producing the series; however, they had no takers, so this trailer is all that exists of the rumored "Ys IV" anime.


title: Ys (series)

text: The first two games were composed by Yuzo Koshiro, Mieko Ishikawa, and Hideya Nagata, whereas Mieko Ishikawa handled the soundtrack for "Ys III". The composers' works have been remixed for each subsequent release, for instance, by Japanese musician Ryo Yonemitsu for Hudson Soft's "Ys I & II", "Ys III: Wanderers from Ys" and "Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys" releases for TurboGrafx-CD. The TurboGrafx versions made use of Red Book audio.


title: Ys (series)

text: The "Ys" series is seen in the video game music industry as some of the finest and most influential role-playing video game scores of all time, demonstrated by an extensive series of CD releases based on the series' music, with numerous variations on its themes. It has also inspired video game composers outside Japan, such as German musician Chris Huelsbeck.


title: Ys (series)

text: The later games in the series were composed by Falcom Sound Team jdk, the collective name of Falcom's internal sound production staff (not to be confused with the jdk Band – a band made of freelance musicians who works for Falcom and performs Sound Team jdk's music for both arranged albums/soundtracks and live during concerts).


title: Ficus religiosa

text: Ficus religiosa or sacred fig is a species of fig native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina that belongs to Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family. It is also known as the bodhi tree, pippala tree, peepul tree, peepal tree, pipal tree, or ashvattha tree (in India and Nepal). The sacred fig is considered to have a religious significance in three major religions that originated on the Indian subcontinent, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Hindu and Jain ascetics consider the species to be sacred and often meditate under it. This is the tree under which Gautama Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment. The sacred fig is the state tree of the Indian states of Odisha, Bihar and Haryana.


title: Ficus religiosa

text: "Ficus religiosa" is a large dry season-deciduous or semi-evergreen tree up to tall and with a trunk diameter of up to . The leaves are in shape with a distinctive extended drip tip; they are long and broad, with a petiole. The fruits are small figs in diameter, green ripening to purple.


title: Ficus religiosa

text: "F. religiosa" has a lifespan ranging between 900 and 1,500 years. The Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree in the city of Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka is estimated to be more than 2,250 years old.


title: Ficus religiosa

text: "Ficus religiosa" is native to most of the Indian subcontinent – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and India including the Assam region, Eastern Himalaya and the Nicobar Islands, as well as part of Indochina – the Andaman Islands, Thailand, Myanmar and Peninsular Malaysia. It has been widely introduced elsewhere, particularly in the rest of tropical Asia, but also in Iran, Florida and Venezuela.


title: Ficus religiosa

text: "Ficus religiosa" suitably grows at altitudes ranging from up to . Due to the climatic conditions which are prevalent throughout different heat zones, it can grow at latitudes ranging from 30°N to 5°S. It can tolerate air temperatures ranging between to , beyond this upper limit its growth diminishes. It grows on a wide variety of soils but preferably needs deep, alluvial sandy loam with good drainage. It is also found on shallow soils including rock crevices.


title: Ficus religiosa

text: "Ficus religiosa" is associated with Blastophaga quadriceps, an agaonid wasp which acts as its pollinator as this wasp lays its eggs only on trees of this species.


title: Ficus religiosa

text: "Ficus religiosa" is tolerant to various climate zones (Köppen climate classification categories of Af, Am, Aw/As, Cfa, Cwa and Csa) and various types of soils. In Paraguay the tree species occurs in forests at lower elevations, and in China the species has been reported growing at altitudes ranging from to . In India, being a native species, it occurs both naturally in wild as well as cultivated up to altitudes of .


title: Ficus religiosa

text: "Ficus religiosa" is tolerant to widely varying climatic conditions such as Tropical rainforest climate where the region receives more than of precipitation per month, Tropical monsoon climate where average precipitation ranges from in the driest month to , Tropical savanna climate with dry summer where average precipitation ranges from per month in summers to per month in winters, Warm temperate climate, wet all year where average temperature ranges from to and it is wet all year, as well as Warm temperate climate with dry summer where average temperature ranges from to and summers are dry.


title: Ficus religiosa

text: Unlike most epiphytic jungle figs, which ring the stems of dicotyledonous support trees from the outside, the epiphytic bushes of F. religiosa are not true stranglers. Their roots penetrate inside the stem of the support, eventually splitting it from within. "Ficus religiosa" has been listed as an "environmental weed" or "naturalised weed" by the Global Compendium of Weeds (Randall, 2012). It has been assigned an invasiveness high risk score of 7 in a risk assessment prepared for the species' invasiveness in Hawaii by PIER. Such a high score predicts it will become a major pest in suitable climate zones. The major reasons for its invasive behaviour are its fast-growing nature, tolerance to various climate zones and soil types, reported lifespan of over 3,000 years, and its suffocating growth habit as it often begins life as an epiphyte.


title: Ficus religiosa

text: The earliest known record of "Ficus religiosa" in human culture is the use of peepal leaf motifs in the pottery of the Helmand culture, found at Mundigak site, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, dating back to third millennium BCE.


title: Ficus religiosa

text: The peepal tree is considered sacred by the followers of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, "I am the Peepal tree among the trees, Narada among the Deva Rishi (Divine sages), Bhrigu among the Saptha-Maharishis, Chitraratha among the Gandharvas, And sage Kapila among the Siddhas."


title: Ficus religiosa

text: Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment ("bodhi") while meditating underneath a "Ficus religiosa". The site is in present-day Bodh Gaya in Bihar, India. The original tree was destroyed, and has been replaced several times. A branch of the original tree was rooted in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka in 288 BCE and is known as Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi; it is the oldest living human-planted flowering plant (angiosperm) in the world.


title: Ficus religiosa

text: In Theravada Buddhist Southeast Asia, the tree's massive trunk is often the site of Buddhist or animist shrines. Not all "Ficus religiosa" can be called a "Bodhi Tree". A Bodhi Tree must be able to trace its parent to another Bodhi Tree and the line goes on until the first Bodhi Tree under which Gautama is said to have gained enlightenment.


title: Ficus religiosa

text: Sadhus (Hindu ascetics) still meditate beneath sacred fig trees, and Hindus do pradakshina (circumambulation, or meditative pacing) around the sacred fig tree as a mark of worship. Usually seven pradakshinas are done around the tree in the morning time chanting ""vriksha rajaya namah"", meaning "salutation to the king of trees". It is claimed that the 27 stars (constellations) constituting 12 houses ("rasis") and 9 planets are specifically represented precisely by 27 trees—one for each star. The Bodhi Tree is said to represent Pushya (Western star name γ, δ and θ Cancri in the Cancer constellation).


title: Ficus religiosa

text: "Plaksa" is a possible Sanskrit term for "Ficus religiosa". However, according to Macdonell and Keith (1912), it denotes the wavy-leaved fig tree ("Ficus infectoria") instead. In Hindu texts, the Plaksa tree is associated with the source of the Sarasvati River. The "Skanda Purana" states that the Sarasvati originates from the water pot of Brahma flows from Plaksa on the Himalayas. According to Vamana Purana 32.1-4, the Sarasvati was rising from the Plaksa tree (Pipal tree). "Plaksa Pra-sravana" denotes the place where the Sarasvati appears. In the Rigveda Sutras, Plaksa Pra-sravana refers to the source of the Sarasvati.


title: Ficus religiosa

text: "Ficus religiosa" is grown by specialty tree plant nurseries for use as an ornamental tree, in gardens and parks in tropical and subtropical climates. Peepul trees are native to Indian subcontinent and thrive in hot, humid weather. They prefer full sunlight and can grow in all soil types, though loam is the best. When planting, use soil with a pH of 7 or below. While it is possible for the plant to grow indoors in a pot, it grows best outside. Young peepul needs proper nourishment. It requires full sunlight and proper watering. Sacred fig occurs naturally in submontane forest regions. As with many Ficus trees, these are well suited for Bonsai training.


title: Ficus religiosa

text: In the Middle East, it is preferably planted as an avenue or road verge tree. In the Philippines and in Nicaragua the species is cultivated in parks and along roadsides and pavements, while in Paraguay it occurs in forests at lower elevations.


title: Ficus religiosa

text: In Thailand โพ or "Pho" trees grow everywhere, but in the Wats (temples) they are revered, and usually are several hundred years old, with trunks up to 20 feet / 6 meters wide. As with all sacred trees in Thailand, they have a saffron cloth wrapped around the base. A yearly ritual involving the Bo Trees at wats is the purchasing of "mai kam sii" ไม้คำ้ศริ, which are "supports" that look like crutches and are placed under the spreading branches as if holding them up. The purchase money helps fund the wat, a central part of Thai life.


title: Ficus religiosa

text: "Ficus religiosa" is used in traditional medicine for about fifty types of disorders including asthma, diabetes, diarrhea, epilepsy, gastric problems, inflammatory disorders, infectious and sexual disorders.


title: Ficus religiosa

text: The trunk of this tree is used by farmers as a soil leveller. After seed harvesting, the rectangular trunk is connected to tractors and levels the soil.


title: Pravda

text: Pravda (, "Truth") is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the country with a circulation of 11 million. The newspaper began publication on 5 May 1912 in the Russian Empire, but was already extant abroad in January 1911. It emerged as a leading newspaper of the Soviet Union after the October Revolution. The newspaper was an organ of the Central Committee of the CPSU between 1912 and 1991.


title: Pravda

text: After the dissolution of the Soviet Union "Pravda" was sold off by Russian President Boris Yeltsin to a Greek business family in 1996, and the paper came under the control of their private company Pravda International.


title: Pravda

text: In 1996, there was an internal dispute between the owners of Pravda International and some of the "Pravda" journalists which led to "Pravda" splitting into different entities. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation acquired the "Pravda" paper, while some of the original "Pravda" journalists separated to form Russia's first online paper "Pravda Online" (now "Pravda.ru"), which is not connected to the Communist Party. After a legal dispute between the rival parties, the Russian court of arbitration stipulated that both entities would be allowed to continue using the "Pravda" name.


title: Pravda

text: The "Pravda" paper is today run by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, whereas the online "Pravda.ru" is privately owned and has international editions published in Russian, English, French and Portuguese.


title: Pravda

text: Though "Pravda" officially began publication on 5 May 1912 (22 April 1912 OS), the anniversary of Karl Marx's birth, its origins trace back to 1903 when it was founded in Moscow by a wealthy railway engineer, V.A. Kozhevnikov. "Pravda" had started publishing in the light of the Russian Revolution of 1905. At the time when the paper was founded, the name "Pravda" already had a clear historical connotation, since the law code of the Medieval Kievan Rus' was known as "Russkaya Pravda"; in this context, "Pravda" meant "Justice" rather than "Truth", "Russkaya Pravda" being "Russian Justice". This early law code had been rediscovered and published by 18th-century Russian scholars, and in 1903 educated Russians with some knowledge of their country's history could have been expected to know the name.


title: Pravda

text: During its earliest days, "Pravda" had no political orientation. Kozhevnikov started it as a journal of arts, literature and social life. Kozhevnikov was soon able to form up a team of young writers including A.A. Bogdanov, N.A Rozhkov, M.N Pokrovsky, I.I Skvortsov-Stepanov, P.P Rumyantsev and M.G. Lunts, who were active contributors on 'social life' section of "Pravda". Later they became the editorial board of the journal and in the near future also became the active members of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP). Because of certain quarrels between Kozhevnikov and the editorial board, he had asked them to leave and the Menshevik faction of the RSDLP took over as editorial board. But the relationship between them and Kozhevnikov was also a bitter one.


title: Pravda

text: The Ukrainian political party Spilka, which was also a splinter group of the RSDLP, took over the journal as its organ. Leon Trotsky was invited to edit the paper in 1908 and the paper was finally moved to Vienna in 1909. By then, the editorial board of "Pravda" consisted of hard-line Bolsheviks who sidelined the Spilka leadership soon after it shifted to Vienna. Trotsky had introduced a tabloid format to the newspaper and distanced itself from the intra-party struggles inside the RSDLP. During those days, "Pravda" gained a large audience among Russian workers. By 1910 the Central Committee of the RSDLP suggested making "Pravda" its official organ.


title: Pravda

text: Finally, at the sixth conference of the RSDLP held in Prague in January 1912, the Menshevik faction was expelled from the party. The party under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin decided to make "Pravda" its official mouthpiece. The paper was shifted from Vienna to St. Petersburg and the first issue under Lenin's leadership was published on 5 May 1912 (22 April 1912 OS). It was the first time that "Pravda" was published as a legal political newspaper. The Central Committee of the RSDLP, workers and individuals such as Maxim Gorky provided financial help to the newspaper. The first issue published on 5 May cost two kopecks and had four pages. It had articles on economic issues, workers movement, and strikes, and also had two proletarian poems. M.E. Egorov was the first editor of St. Petersburg "Pravda" and Member of Duma Nikolay Poletaev served as its publisher.


title: Pravda

text: Egorov was not a real editor of "Pravda" but this position was pseudo in nature. As many as 42 editors had followed Egorov within a span of two years, till 1914. The main task of these editors was to go to jail whenever needed and to save the party from a huge fine. On the publishing side, the party had chosen only those individuals as publishers who were sitting members of Duma because they had parliamentary immunity. Initially, it had sold between 40,000 and 60,000 copies. The paper was closed down by tsarist censorship in July 1914. Over the next three years, it changed its name eight times because of police harassment:


title: Pravda

text: The overthrow of Tsar Nicholas II by the February Revolution of 1917 allowed "Pravda" to reopen. The original editors of the newly revived "Pravda", Vyacheslav Molotov and Alexander Shlyapnikov, were opposed to the liberal Russian Provisional Government. However, when Lev Kamenev, Joseph Stalin and former Duma deputy Matvei Muranov returned from Siberian exile on 12 March, they took over the editorial board – starting from 15 March.


title: Pravda

text: Under Kamenev's and Stalin's influence, "Pravda" took a conciliatory tone towards the Provisional Government – "insofar as it struggles against reaction or counter-revolution" – and called for a unification conference with the internationalist wing of the Mensheviks. On 14 March, Kamenev wrote in his first editorial:


title: Pravda

text: The offices of the newspaper were transferred to Moscow on 3 March 1918 when the Soviet capital was moved there. "Pravda" became an official publication, or "organ", of the Soviet Communist Party. "Pravda" became the conduit for announcing official policy and policy changes and would remain so until 1991. Subscription to "Pravda" was mandatory for state run companies, the armed services and other organizations until 1989.


title: Pravda

text: Other newspapers existed as organs of other state bodies. For example, "Izvestia", which covered foreign relations, was the organ of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, "Trud" was the organ of the trade union movement, "Bednota" was distributed to the Red Army and rural peasants. Various derivatives of the name "Pravda" were used both for a number of national newspapers ("Komsomolskaya Pravda" was the organ of the Komsomol organization, and "Pionerskaya Pravda" was the organ of the Young Pioneers), and for the regional Communist Party newspapers in many republics and provinces of the USSR, e.g. "Kazakhstanskaya Pravda" in Kazakhstan, "Polyarnaya Pravda" in Murmansk Oblast, "Pravda Severa" in Arkhangelsk Oblast, or "Moskovskaya Pravda" in the city of Moscow.


title: Pravda

text: Shortly after the October 1917 Revolution, Nikolai Bukharin became the editor of "Pravda". Bukharin's apprenticeship for this position had occurred during the last months of his emigration/exile prior to his return to Russia in April 1917. These months from November 1916 until April 1917 were spent by Bukharin in New York City in the United States. In New York, Bukharin divided his time between the local libraries and his work for "Novyj Mir" (The New World) a Russian language newspaper serving the Russian speaking community of New York. Bukharin's involvement with "Novyj Mir" became deeper as time went by. Indeed, from January 1917 until April when he returned to Russia, Bukharin served as "de facto" editor of "Novyj Mir". In the period after the death of Lenin in 1924, "Pravda" was to form a power base for Bukharin, which helped him reinforce his reputation as a Marxist theoretician. Bukharin would continue to serve as editor of "Pravda" until he and Mikhail Tomsky were removed from their responsibilities at "Pravda" in February 1929 as part of their downfall as a result of their dispute with Joseph Stalin.


title: Pravda

text: A number of places and things in the Soviet Union were named after "Pravda". Among them was the city of Pravdinsk in Gorky Oblast (the home of a paper mill producing much newsprint for "Pravda" and other national newspapers), and a number of streets and collective farms.


title: Pravda

text: As the names of the main Communist newspaper and the main Soviet newspaper, "Pravda" and "Izvestia", meant "the truth" and "the news" respectively, a popular saying was "there's no truth in Pravda and no news in Izvestia". However, though not highly appreciated as an objective and unbiased news source, "Pravda" was regarded – both by Soviet citizens and by the outside world – as a government mouthpiece and therefore a reliable reflection of the Soviet government's positions on various issues. The publication of an article in "Pravda" could be taken as indication of a change in Soviet policy or the result of a power struggle in the Soviet leadership, and Western Sovietologists were regularly reading "Pravda" and paying attention to the most minute details and nuances.


title: Pravda

text: After the dissolution of the Soviet Union "Pravda" was sold off by Russian President Boris Yeltsin to a Greek business family – the Giannikoses – in 1991, and the paper came under the control of their private company Pravda International.


title: Pravda

text: In 1996, there was an internal dispute between the owners of Pravda International and some of the "Pravda" journalists which led to "Pravda" splitting into different entities. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation acquired the "Pravda" paper, while some of the original "Pravda" journalists separated to form Russia's first online paper (and the first online English paper) "Pravda.ru", which is not connected to the Communist Party. After a legal dispute between the rival parties, the Russian court of arbitration stipulated that both entities would be allowed to continue using the "Pravda" name. The "Pravda" paper is today run by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, whereas the online "Pravda.ru" is privately owned and has international editions published in Russian, English, French and Portuguese.


title: Pravda

text: "Pravda" is witnessing hard times and the number of its staff members and print run has been significantly reduced. During the Soviet era it was a daily newspaper but today it is published three times a week. "Pravda" still operates from the same headquarters at Pravda Street from where journalists used to prepare "Pravda" every day during the Soviet era. It operates under the leadership of journalist Boris Komotsky. A function was organised by the CPRF on 5 July 2012 to celebrate 100 years since the publication of the first official issue of "Pravda".


title: Pravda

text: In 2013, after Russian President Vladimir Putin published an op-ed in "The New York Times" in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, US senator John McCain announced that he would publish a response article in "Pravda", referring to the Communist newspaper. McCain, however, eventually published his op-ed in "Pravda.ru". This caused protests from the editor of Communist "Pravda" Boris Komotsky and a response from the editor of "Pravda.ru" Dmitry Sudakov: Komotsky claimed that "there is only one "Pravda" in Russia, it is the organ of the Communist Party, and we have heard nothing about the intentions of the Republican senator" and dismissed "Pravda.ru" as an "Oklahoma-City-Pravda", while Sudakov derided Komotsky, claiming that "the circulation of the Communist Party "Pravda" is like a factory newspaper of AvtoVAZ from the Soviet times". McCain later attempted to publish his op-ed in the Communist "Pravda" as well, but the paper refused to publish it, since it was not aligned to the political positions of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.


title: Tokyo Imperial Palace

text: The is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda district of the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo and contains several buildings including the where the Emperor has his living quarters, the where various ceremonies and receptions take place, some residences of the Imperial Family, an archive, museums and administrative offices.


title: Tokyo Imperial Palace

text: It is built on the site of the old Edo Castle. The total area including the gardens is . During the height of the 1980s Japanese property bubble, the palace grounds were valued by some to be more than the value of all of the real estate in the U.S. state of California.


title: Tokyo Imperial Palace

text: After the capitulation of the shogunate and the Meiji Restoration, the inhabitants, including the Shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu, were required to vacate the premises of the Edo Castle. Leaving the Kyoto Imperial Palace on 26 November 1868, the Emperor arrived at the Edo Castle, made it to his new residence and renamed it to . At this time, Tōkyō had also been called Tōkei. He left for Kyōto again, and after coming back on 9 May 1869, it was renamed to .


title: Tokyo Imperial Palace

text: Previous fires had destroyed the Honmaru area containing the old "donjon" (which itself burned in the 1657 Meireki fire). On the night of 5 May 1873, a fire consumed the Nishinomaru Palace (formerly the shōgun's residence), and the new imperial was constructed on the site in 1888. The castle has many gardens.


title: Tokyo Imperial Palace

text: A non-profit was founded in 2004 with the aim of a historically correct reconstruction of at least the main donjon. In March 2013, Naotaka Kotake, head of the group, said that "the capital city needs a symbolic building", and that the group planned to collect donations and signatures on a petition in support of rebuilding the tower. A reconstruction blueprint had been made based on old documents. The Imperial Household Agency at the time had not indicated whether it would support the project.


title: Tokyo Imperial Palace

text: In the Meiji period, most structures from the Edo Castle disappeared. Some were cleared to make way for other buildings while others were destroyed by earthquakes and fire. For example, the wooden over the moat were replaced with stone and iron bridges. The buildings of the Imperial Palace constructed in the Meiji era were constructed of wood. Their design employed traditional Japanese architecture in their exterior appearance while the interiors were an eclectic mixture of fashionable Japanese and European elements. The ceilings of the grand chambers were coffered with Japanese elements; however, Western chairs, tables and heavy curtains furnished the spaces. The floors of the public rooms had parquets or carpets while the residential spaces used traditional "tatami" mats.


title: Tokyo Imperial Palace

text: The main audience hall was the central part of the palace. It was the largest building in the compound. Guests were received there for public events. The floor space was more than 223 tsubo or approximately . In the interior, the coffered ceiling was traditional Japanese-style, while the floor was parquetry. The roof was styled similarly to the Kyoto Imperial Palace, but was covered with (fireproof) copper plates rather than Japanese cypress shingles.


title: Tokyo Imperial Palace

text: In the late Taishō and early Shōwa period, more concrete buildings were added, such as the headquarters of the Imperial Household Ministry and the Privy Council. These structures exhibited only token Japanese elements.


title: Tokyo Imperial Palace

text: From 1888 to 1948, the compound was called . On the night of 25 May 1945, most structures of the Imperial Palace were destroyed in the Allied firebombing raid on Tokyo. According to the US bomber pilot Richard Lineberger, Emperor's Palace was the target of their special mission on July 29, 1945, and was hit with 2000-pound bombs. In August 1945, in the closing days of World War II, Emperor Hirohito met with his Privy Council and made decisions culminating in the surrender of Japan at an underground air-raid shelter on the palace grounds referred to as .


title: Tokyo Imperial Palace

text: Due to the large-scale destruction of the Meiji-era palace, a new and residences were constructed on the western portion of the site in the 1960s. The area was renamed in 1948, while the eastern part was renamed and became a public park in 1968.


title: Tokyo Imperial Palace

text: The present Imperial Palace encompasses the retrenchments of the former Edo Castle. The modern designed for various imperial court functions and receptions is located in the old "Nishinomaru" section of the palace grounds. On a much more modest scale, the , the official residence of the Emperor and empress, is located in the Fukiage Garden. Designed by Japanese architect Shōzō Uchii the modern residence was completed in 1993. This residence is currently (July 2020) not in use and being prepared for Naruhito, who for the time being keeps his primary residence at the former Tōgū Palace, renamed while he resides there.


title: Tokyo Imperial Palace

text: Except for the Imperial Household Agency and the East Gardens, the main grounds of the palace are generally closed to the public, except for reserved guided tours from Tuesdays to Saturdays (which access only the Kyūden Totei Plaza in front of the Chowaden). Each New Year (January 2) and Emperor's Birthday, the public is permitted to enter through the Nakamon (inner gate) where they gather in the Kyūden Totei Plaza. The Imperial Family appears on the balcony before the crowd and the Emperor normally gives a short speech greeting and thanking the visitors and wishing them good health and blessings. Parts of the Fukiage garden are sometimes open to the general public.


title: Tokyo Imperial Palace

text: The old "Honmaru", "Ninomaru", and "Sannomaru" compounds now comprise the East Gardens, an area with public access containing administrative and other public buildings.


title: Tokyo Imperial Palace

text: The Kitanomaru Park is located to the north and is the former northern enceinte of Edo Castle. It is a public park and is the site of the Nippon Budokan. To the south is Kokyo Gaien National Garden.


title: Tokyo Imperial Palace

text: Though much of the site is off limits to the public, there have been multiple instances of tourists attempting to trespass on the palace grounds by swimming in the moat. In 2008, a British tourist stripped naked, repeatedly dove into and swam across the moat in an attempt to avoid being arrested, and used stones and a plastic pole as weapons when faced by staff and local police officers. A similar incident took place in 2013, in which two drunken tourists decided to try to sneak into the palace building after removing their clothing and entering the water near Sakurada Gate.


title: Tokyo Imperial Palace

text: The and the headquarters of the Imperial Household Agency are located in the former Nishinomaru enceinte ("West Citadel") of the Edo Castle.


title: Tokyo Imperial Palace

text: The main buildings of the palace grounds, including the main palace, home of the liaison conference of the Imperial General Headquarters, were severely damaged by the fire of May 1945. Today's palace consists of multiple modern structures that are interconnected. The palace complex was finished in 1968 and was constructed of steel-framed reinforced concrete structures produced domestically, with two stories above ground and one story below. The buildings of the Imperial Palace were constructed by the Takenaka Corporation in a modernist style with clear Japanese architectural references such as the large, gabled hipped roof, columns and beams.


title: Tokyo Imperial Palace

text: Halls include the "Minami-Damari", "Nami-no-Ma", multiple corridors, "Kita-Damari", "Shakkyō-no-Ma", "Shunju-no-Ma", "Seiden-Sugitoe (Kaede)", "Seiden-Sugitoe (Sakura)", "Take-no-Ma", "Ume-no-Ma" and "Matsu-no-Ma". Famous "Nihonga" artists such as Maeda Seison were commissioned to paint the artworks.


title: Tokyo Imperial Palace

text: The Kyūden is used for both receiving state guests and holding official state ceremonies and functions. The Matsu-no-Ma ("Pine Chamber") is the throne room. The Emperor gives audiences to the Prime Minister in this room, as well as appointing or dismissing ambassadors and Ministers of State. It is also the room where the Prime Minister and Chief Justice is appointed to office.