title: Almería

text: The origin of Almería is connected to the 9th-century establishment of the so-called Republic of Pechina (Bajjana) some kilometres to the north, which was for a time autonomous from the Cordobese central authority: the settlement of current-day Almería initially developed as a humble trading port of Pechina known as Al-Mariyya Bajjana. Pechina and its maritime port experienced divergent fortunes, and while the former progressively depopulated, the latter became the base of the Caliphal navy after 933, during the rule of Abd-ar-Rahman III. Furthermore, in 955, Abd-ar-Rahman III decided to erect the walls. A silk industry consisting of hundreds of looms and feeding itself from the mulberry trees planted in region, fostered Almería's economy. Almería also became an important slave trade hub during the caliphal period.


title: Almería

text: In the wake of the collapse of the Caliphate of Córdoba in the early 11th century, Almería detached from Cordobese authority towards 1014 and became ruled as an independent taifa under Slavic kinglets. It submitted to the Taifa of Valencia in 1038, yet it soon became independent as a new taifa, ruled by the Arab Banu Sumadih until 1091, when it fell to Almoravid control. This allowed the city's economy to insert itself into the trade networks of the Almoravid empire. Building upon the previous development during the caliphal period, Almería reached a degree of historical relevance unmatched in the rest of its history throughout the 11th and 12th centuries, becoming the third-largest city of Al-Andalus. Almería imported indigo dye and wool from the Maghreb and linen from Egypt, while it exported copper to Fez and Tlemcen as well as its highly sought textiles.


title: Almería

text: Contested by the emirs of Granada and Valencia, Almería experienced many sieges, including one especially fierce siege when Christians, called to the Second Crusade by Pope Eugene III, were also encouraged to counter the Muslim forces on a more familiar coast. On that occasion Alfonso VII, starting on 11 July 1147, at the head of mixed armies of Catalans, Genoese, Pisans and Franks, led a crusade against the rich city, and Almería was captured on 17 October 1147, marking the breakup of the city's period of splendor in the Middle Ages.


title: Almería

text: Within a decade, in 1157, Almería had passed to the control of Muslim Almohad rulers. Almería soon passed by the temporary overarching control of rebel Murcian emir Ibn Mardanish (1165–1169), hindering the early efforts of recovery in the city, that under the decade of Christian occupation reportedly had been left depopulated and, by and large, quite destroyed. During Almohad rule, the city did not return to its previous splendor, although the port remained trading with the Crown of Aragon and the Italian republics.


title: Almería

text: Following the rebellion against Almohad rule heralded by the likes of the Banu Hud and the Banu Mardanis, Almería submitted to the authority of Ibn Hud, who had raised the black banner and pledged nominal allegiance to Abbasid authorities by 1228. After Ibn Hud's assassination in Almería in 1238, the bulk of the remaining Muslim-controlled territories in the Iberian Peninsula passed to the control of rival ruler Ibn al-Aḥmar (sultan since 1232), who had set the capital of his emirate in Granada by 1238, constituting the Emirate of Granada, to which Almería belonged from then on. While relatively languishing throughout the Nasrid period, Almería still remained a key strategic port of the emirate together with Málaga, as well as a haven for pirates and political dissidents. It sustained intense trading relations with Aragon and the African port of Hunayn. Almería endured a brutal siege by Aragonese forces in 1309 that, while eventually unsuccessful, left the city battered.


title: Almería

text: The city submitted to the sovereignty of the Catholic Monarchs on December 22, 1489. Relatively isolated and within the range of attacks from Barbary pirates, the hitherto mercantile city entered modernity by undergoing a process of heavy ruralization that imperiled its very same continued existence as a city.


title: Almería

text: The 16th century was for Almería a century of natural and human catastrophes; for there were at least four earthquakes, of which the one in 1522 was especially violent, devastating the city. The people who had remained Muslim were expelled from Almería after the War of Las Alpujarras in 1568 and scattered across Spain. Landings and attacks by Barbary pirates were also frequent in the 16th century, and continued until the early 18th century. At that time, huge iron mines were discovered and French and British companies set up business in the area, bringing renewed prosperity and returning Almería to a position of relative importance within Spain.


title: Almería

text: During the Spanish Civil War the city was shelled by the German Navy, with news reaching the London and Parisian press about the "criminal bombardment of Almería by German planes". Almería surrendered in 1939, being the last Andalusian main city to fall to Francoist forces.


title: Almería

text: In the second half of the 20th century, Almería witnessed spectacular economic growth due to tourism and intensive agriculture, with crops grown year-round in massive "invernaderos" – plastic-covered "greenhouses" – for intensive vegetable production.


title: Almería

text: After Franco's death and popular approval of the new Spanish Constitution, the people of southern Spain were called on to approve an autonomous status for Andalusia region in a referendum. The referendum were approved with 118,186 votes for and 11,092 votes against in Almería province, which represented 42% of all registered voters.


title: Almería

text: Almería has the highest proportion of Muslim population of any Spanish city at 11-20%, depending on source.


title: Almería

text: Famous natives of Almería include Nicolás Salmerón y Alonso, who in 1873 was the third president of the First Spanish Republic, as well as several musicians, including the composer José Padilla Sánchez, whose music was declared of "universal interest" by Unesco in 1989, the popular folk singer Manolo Escobar, renowned Flamenco guitar player José Tomás "Tomatito" and Grammy Award winner David Bisbal; the champion motorcyclist Antonio Maeso moved to Almería as a child.


title: Almería

text: The Irish folk-rock group The Pogues paid tribute to Almería in "Fiesta," a song on the band's third album, "If I Should Fall from Grace with God".


title: Almería

text: In 1989, English electronic band Depeche Mode filmed the video for their song "Personal Jesus" in Almería.


title: Almería

text: The tourism increased and hotels were all occupied from January to February during the filming of the sixth season of the TV series "Game of Thrones".


title: Almería

text: Almería hosted the Mediterranean Games in 2005. The city has 2 football teams: UD Almería, which was promoted to La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football, in 2022 and CP Almería, which plays in the División de Honor, the sixth tier.


title: Almería

text: The Plaza de toros de Almería is the main bullring in Almería. It has a capacity of 10,000 and it opened in 1882.


title: Almería

text: Intensive agriculture has been the most important economic sector of Almería for the last 50 years. Nowadays, greenhouse's production, handling and commercialisation of vegetables, and the supply industry of the sector, represent almost 40% of Almería's GDP. Directly, agricultural production accounts for 18.2% of the provincial GDP. In Andalusia, the average contribution is 6.6% and in Spain it is only 2.9%.


title: Almería

text: This situation is the result of a great dynamic model, which can continually incorporate new technologies: using soil sanding, plastic covers, drip irrigation systems, hybrid seeds, soil-less cultivation, irrigation programs, new greenhouse structures, and so on. They all allowed to improve production and increase commercialisation calendars, assuring the profitability and quality of the crops and the competitiveness of the markets. Moreover, Almería's economy has an important exporting vocation: 75% of production was sold abroad in 2018, with a value of 2.400 million euros.


title: Almería

text: This development is explained by familiar investment, as subsidies have been limited or non-existent. In this sense, the horticultural sector receives the least European aids from the Common Agricultural Policy: 1.9% of total income. This figure is much lower than that received by other sectors such as olive groves (33%) or cereals (53%).


title: Almería

text: The production of this area is based on a fair competition with officially a just remuneration of employees, with similar salaries than the ones in the same sector in Europe: 8% higher than Italy and 11% than Belgium. This avoids the social dumping exerted by non-EU countries, like Morocco, with salaries up to 90% lower than those of Almería. However, there is well-documented widespread exploitation of workers from North Africa who work and live in terrible conditions, earning much lower than the minimum wage.


title: Almería

text: From a social point of view, Almería and Granada are an example of familiar agriculture, with small farms and little concentration of land. This social nature generates high equity in the level of income and welfare, that is, social cohesion is produced, and inequality is reduced. Concretely, Almería is made up of 12.500 farms with an extension of 2,5 hectares and a 30% of familiar labour. It is also important the high education levels of the farmers, who shows an innovative and receptive character when it comes to continuing learning: 81,2% have some type of official academic training.


title: Almería

text: At the same time, a commercial system based on social economy enterprises has been developed, e.g. as cooperative societies. These companies represent the 62% of production and sales.  They assure the access to the market in optimal conditions, because they increase its position inside the agri-food supply chain, facilitate financing, technical advice, and incorporation of technology. Moreover, local ties increase environmental sustainability.


title: Almería

text: By land, Almería can be reached by the A-7 Mediterranean Highway, which connects the Mediterranean area with the Spanish A-92 that unites it with the rest of Andalusia. Almería railway station is served by Renfe Operadora with direct rail services to Granada, and Madrid Atocha using a branch off the Alcázar de San Juan–Cádiz railway; the Linares Baeza–Almería railway. In the future, high-speed rail AVE services will link Almería to Madrid via Murcia. The central railway station has been closed for several months and it is not known exactly when it will re-open. Passengers currently start their journey by being bussed a few kilometres to Huercal de Almería station.


title: Almería

text: By sea, the port of Almería has connections to Melilla, Algeria, Morocco, and tourist cruises in the Mediterranean. It also has a marina with moorings for pleasure boats. Currently the port of Almería is being expanded with new docks and transformed into a container port to take large-scale international shipping and thereby increase its freight traffic. It normally connects with the following destinations:


title: Almería

text: By air, Almería is served by Almería Airport, the fourth largest in Andalusia. The winter timetable includes flights to Madrid, Barcelona, Melilla, London, and Seville, with international connections to Manchester, Birmingham, Brussels, Dublin and Swiss, German and other EU airports being added during the summer.


title: Almería

text: Due to its arid landscape, numerous Spaghetti Westerns were filmed in Almería and some of the sets are still remain as a tourist attraction.


title: Almería

text: These sets are located in the desert of Tabernas. The town and region were also used by David Lean in "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962), John Milius in "The Wind and the Lion" (1975) and others.


title: Almería

text: One of Almería's most famous natural spots is the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park. This park is of volcanic origin, and is the largest and most ecologically significant marine-terrestrial space in the European Western Mediterranean Sea. The Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park runs through the municipal areas of Níjar, Almerimar and Carboneras. Its villages, previously dedicated to fishing, have become tourism spots. The beaches of Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park are also an attraction.


title: Almería

text: Almería has one islet that it administers as a part of its territory in the Alboran Sea, Alboran Island. The island has a small cemetery, a harbor, and a lighthouse, built in the 19th century.


title: Almería

text: With a yearly precipitation of just and with only 26 days of precipitation and an annual temperature of , Almería has a hot semi-arid climate ("BSh") bordering on a hot desert climate ("BWh") according to the Köppen climate classification, and it is the closest city in Europe to a hot desert climate, reaching it closely in the south-eastern outskirts of the city until the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park located east of the city. It is one of the driest zones on both shores of the Mediterranean coast.


title: Almería

text: The BWh climate is present in the city of Almería, in nearby areas of Almería province (such as the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park, the Andarax/Almanzora river valleys), the only region in Europe to have this climate (this excludes the Canary Islands, which are also part of Spain but geographically belong to the continent of Africa, which have a hot desert climate on most of the islands, specifically on the islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote in the Province of Las Palmas). With an average annual temperature above , it also qualifies as the 3rd warmest city in continental Europe, after Seville and Athens. This arid climatic region spreads along the coastline around Almería to Torrevieja, in the northeast. The nearby Faro del Cabo in the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park, has the lowest annual precipitation on the European continent (156mm).


title: Almería

text: Almería also experiences the warmest winters of any city on the European continent with a population over 100,000, having hot and dry summers, with precipitation rare between June and August (July and August have in average 0.3 rainy days). Almería enjoys about 3,000 hours of sunshine with over 320 sunny days per year on average (6 hours of sunshine in January and 12 in July) so it is one of the sunniest cities in Europe.


title: Almería

text: Almería is unique, for a city in Continental Europe, for not having any registered temperature under the freezing mark in its recorded weather history. The coldest temperature recorded was at the airport in January 2005. Before that, the previous record was on 9 February 1935.


title: Almería

text: During the winter, daily maximum temperatures tend to stay around . At night, the minimum temperature is usually around 8–10 °C (47–50 °F). This makes Almería the city with the second warmest winters in Spain and Europe, just after Cádiz. The city only receives 26 days of rainfall annually; so while no month could be described as truly wet, there are strong differences in terms of rainfall, with coastal parts of the city (such as the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park) receiving a rainfall amount of per year, which is also noted as the driest location in Europe, while inland areas (such as the Tabernas Desert) receive a rainfall amount of per year, since the average altitude is , and it has an average temperature of , so it would be classified as a cold desert climate ("BWk") bordering a cold semi-arid climate ("BSk") according to the Köppen climate classification.


title: Almería

text: Inland areas of the Almería province are believed to have reached temperatures close to in summer (dubious). Though temperatures above are very rare in the city of Almería.


title: Almería

text: During the warmest months - July and August, the sky is usually cloudless and almost no rainfall occurs. The typical daily temperatures are around during the day while the minimum temperatures stay around during July and August. As is the case for most of coastal Iberia, heatwaves in Almería are much less common than in the interior because of its coastal location; The hottest temperature recorded was in July 2019.


title: Almería

text: In 2000, a team of geologists found a cave filled with giant gypsum crystals in an abandoned silver mine near Almería. The cavity, which measures , may be the largest geode ever found. The entrance of the cave was blocked by five tons of rocks, and was under police protection (to prevent looters from entering). According to geological models, the cave was formed during the Messinian salinity crisis 6 million years ago, when the Mediterranean sea evaporated and left thick layers of salt sediments (evaporites). The site is currently open for tourists under guided tours.


title: Stéphanie Szostak

text: Stéphanie Szostak (born August 5, 1975) is a French actress who started her career in the early 2000s. Szostak is best known for having appeared in the films "The Devil Wears Prada", "Dinner for Schmucks", "Iron Man 3", and "R.I.P.D." Szostak starred in the USA Network original drama series "Satisfaction" and the ABC series "A Million Little Things".


title: Stéphanie Szostak

text: Szostak was raised in the suburbs of Paris, France. She moved to the United States to study business at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, where she played on the women's varsity golf team. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in marketing, she moved to New York City and worked for Chanel in marketing. She then switched to acting after taking acting classes.


title: Stéphanie Szostak

text: Szostak's married name is Polish and is pronounced ""Sho"-stack". She currently resides outside New York City with her husband and two sons.


title: Cup (unit)

text: The cup is a cooking measure of volume, commonly associated with cooking and serving sizes. In the US, it is traditionally equal to . Because actual drinking cups may differ greatly from the size of this unit, standard measuring cups may be used, with a metric cup being 250 millilitres.


title: Cup (unit)

text: The cup currently used in the United States for nutrition labelling is defined in United States law as 240 ml.


title: Cup (unit)

text: A "cup" of coffee in the US is usually 4 fluid ounces (118 ml), brewed using 5 fluid ounces (148 ml) of water. Coffee carafes used with drip coffee makers, e.g. Black and Decker models, have markings for both water and brewed coffee as the carafe is also used for measuring water prior to brewing. A 12-cup carafe, for example, has markings for 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 cups of water or coffee, which correspond to 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 US fluid ounces (0.59, 0.89, 1.18, 1.48, and 1.77 litres) of water or 16, 24, 32, 40, and 48 US fluid ounces (0.47, 0.71, 0.95, 1.18, and 1.42 litres) of brewed coffee respectively, the difference being the volume absorbed by the coffee grounds and lost to evaporation during brewing.


title: Cup (unit)

text: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and some other members of the Commonwealth of Nations, being former British colonies that have since metricated, employ a "metric cup" of 250millilitres. Although derived from the metric system, it is not an SI unit.


title: Cup (unit)

text: A "coffee cup" is 1.5 dL (i.e. 150 millilitres or 5.07 US customary fluid ounces), and is occasionally used in recipes; in older recipes, cup may mean "coffee cup". It is also used in the US to specify coffeemaker sizes (what can be referred to as a "Tasse à café"). A "12-cup" US coffeemaker makes 57.6 US customary fluid ounces of coffee, which is equal to 6.8 metric cups of coffee.


title: Cup (unit)

text: Canada now usually employs the metric cup of 250ml, but its conventional cup was somewhat smaller than both American and imperial units.


title: Cup (unit)

text: In the United Kingdom the standard cup was set at 10 imperial fluid ounces, or half an imperial pint. The cup was rarely used in practice, as historically most kitchens tended to be equipped with scales and ingredients were measured by weight, rather than volume. A related measure, the gill (5 fluid ounces, or half an imperial cup), was commonly used in older cookbooks for liquids, and may still be used (in fractions of 1/4, 1/5 and 1/6) for spirits.


title: Cup (unit)

text: Similar units in other languages and cultures are sometimes translated "cup", usually with various values around to of a litre.


title: Cup (unit)

text: In Latin America, the amount of a "cup" () varies from country to country, using a cup of 200ml, 250ml, and the US legal or customary amount.


title: Cup (unit)

text: The traditional Japanese unit equated with a "cup" size is the "gō", legally equated with litres (≈180.4 ml) in 1891, and is still used for reckoning amounts of rice and "sake". The Japanese later defined a "cup" as 200 ml.


title: Cup (unit)

text: The traditional Russian measurement system included two cup sizes, one of which, the "charka" (cup proper), was usually used for alcoholic drinks and measured , while another, "stakan" ("glass") was twice as big at and used for other liquids.


title: Cup (unit)

text: Since metrication, the charka was informally redefined as 100 ml, acquiring a new name of "stopka" (related to the traditional Russian measurement unit "stopa"), while there are currently two widely used glass sizes of 250 and 200 ml.


title: Cup (unit)

text: In Europe, recipes normally weigh non-liquid ingredients in grams rather than measuring volume. For example, where an American recipe might specify "1 cup of sugar and 2 cups of milk", a European recipe might specify "200 g sugar and 500 ml of milk". A precise conversion between the two measures takes into account the density of the ingredients, and some recipes specify both weight and volume to facilitate this conversion. Many European measuring cups have markings that indicate the weight of common ingredients for a given volume.


title: Teochew people

text: The Teochew people or Chaoshan people (rendered Têo-Swa in romanized Teoswa and Chaoshan in Standard Chinese also known as Teo-Swa in mainland China due to a change in place names) is anyone native to the historical Chaoshan region in south China who speak the Teo-Swa Min (Chaoshan) language (typified by the Chaozhou dialect). Today, most Chaoshan people live throughout Chaoshan, Hong Kong, and also outside China in Southeast Asia, including in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia. The community can also be found in diasporas around the world, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and France.


title: Teochew people

text: Chaoshan can be romanized in a variety of schemes, and are known in Mandarin as "Cháoshan rén" and in Cantonese as "Chiushan yan". In referring to themselves as ethnic Chinese, Chaoshan people generally use "Deung nang" (), as opposed to "Hang nang" ().


title: Teochew people

text: Chaoshan people of the diaspora would generally use "ting nang" () to indicate Chinese heritage in a cultural sense. "tingnang" and "tangren" are broadly used by most of the southern Chinese people living outside of China, referring to their maintaining a substantial cultural identity they consider to be Chinese. The identification of "tingnang" could perhaps be due to their early affiliation with the Tang dynasty. The Teochew people are those who speak the Teochew dialect and identify with Teochew culture, cuisine and customs.


title: Teochew people

text: The ancestors of the Chaoshan people moved to present-day Chaoshan as refugees possibly from central China due to various reasons. The Teochews were often called Fulao (Hoklo) because they came mostly passed through Fujian during migration, with some well-maintained language and customs from ancient China. As was recorded in pedigrees and ancient inscriptions, one of the two groups of those who temporarily migrated to the capital city of Fujian later moved to parts of Chaoshan instead in batches during the Tang Dynasty, genetically intermixing with the local people within Chaoshan there.


title: Teochew people

text: The Chaoshan people are mistakenly known to the Cantonese as "Hoklo", literally meaning "men of Fujian", although the term "Teochew" was used in the Straits Settlements in the 19th century and early 20th century. "Teochew" is derived from Teochew prefecture (Chaozhou Fu) the departmental city where they originate.


title: Teochew people

text: From the 19th century, significant numbers of Teochew people left their homeland for Singapore and a new life. Early Teochew settlers could trace their origins to eight counties/prefectures: Chao'an, Chenghai, Chaoyang, Jieyang, Raoping, Puning, Huilai and Nan'ao. In addition to these new immigrants from the port of Swatow (Shantou), Teochew immigrants from Siam and the Riau Islands also began settling in Singapore after 1819.


title: Teochew people

text: Today, Teochew is the second-most spoken Chinese dialect in Singapore. They are the second-largest Chinese dialect group in Singapore, comprising 21% of the Chinese population. As a result, they play a significant role in commerce and politics.


title: Teochew people

text: Most of the Teochew descendants in Taiwan have already been "hokkienized" ("hoklonized"). They speak the Taiwanese Hokkien language instead of Teochew. However, there are still some Teochew in Chaozhou township, in Pingtung County.


title: Teochew people

text: Throughout a history of over 1000 years, the region of Chaoshan, known in ancient times as Teochew Prefecture, has developed and cultivated a prestigious culture which manifests its unique characteristics in language, opera, cuisine, tea practice, music, and embroidery.


title: Teochew people

text: The Teochew language () is spoken by roughly 10 million people in Chaoshan and more than five million outside the Chinese mainland.


title: Teochew people

text: Teochew opera () is a traditional art form which has a history of more than 500 years and is now enjoyed by 20 million Teochew people in over 20 countries and regions. Based on local folk dances and ballads, Teochew opera has formed its own style under the influence of Nanxi Opera. Nanxi is one of the oldest Chinese operas and originated in the Song Dynasty. The old form of choral accompaniment still preserves its distinctive features . Clowns and females are the most distinctive characters in Teochew opera, and fan-play and acrobatic skills are prominent.


title: Teochew people

text: Teochew music () is popular in Chaoshan's teahouse scene. The Teochew string instrument, gong, drum, and traditional Chinese flute are typically involved in ensembles. The current Chaozhou drum music is said to be similar to the Drum and Wind Music form of the Han and Tang Dynasties.


title: Teochew people

text: Teochew woodcarving () is a form of Chinese woodcarving originating from Chaoshan. Teochew people used a great deal of Teochew wood carving in their buildings.


title: Teochew people

text: Yingge dance () is a form of Chinese folk dance originating in the Ming Dynasty. It is one of the most representative form of Teochew folk arts.


title: Teochew people

text: Although few movies or television dramas have been made about the Teochew people, one such notable drama is the Singaporean 1995 drama series "The Teochew Family". In 2019 Netflix released the documentary series "Flavorful Origins", which focused on Teochew cuisine.


title: A Separation

text: A Separation (; lit. 'The Separation of Nader from Simin; also titled Nader and Simin, A Separation) is a 2011 Iranian drama film written and directed by Asghar Farhadi, starring Leila Hatami, Peyman Moaadi, Shahab Hosseini, Sareh Bayat, and Sarina Farhadi. It focuses on an Iranian middle-class couple who separate, the disappointment and desperation suffered by their daughter due to the egotistical disputes and separation of her parents, and the conflicts that arise when the husband hires a lower-class caregiver for his elderly father, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease.


title: A Separation

text: "A Separation" won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012, becoming the first Iranian film to win the award. It received the Golden Bear for Best Film and the Silver Bears for Best Actress and Best Actor at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival, becoming the first Iranian film to win the Golden Bear. It also won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and the Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Feature Film. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, making it the first non-English film in five years to achieve this.


title: A Separation

text: Nader, Simin, and their 11-year-old daughter, Termeh, are a secular, middle-class family living in a flat in Tehran. Simin wants the whole family to leave Iran and has prepared the visas, but Nader wishes to stay to care for his father, who lives with them, and has Alzheimer's disease. Simin therefore files for divorce, but the family court considers the grounds to be insufficient and rejects the application. Simin moves back to her parents’ home and Termeh stays with her father.


title: A Separation

text: Nader hires Razieh, a deeply religious woman from a poor and distant suburb, to take care of his father during the day. She comes each day with her young daughter, Somayeh. She soon finds that she cannot cope, in particular because the old man has become incontinent. One day, when Razieh and Somayeh are busy, he slips out and wanders in the street. Razieh hastens out and dodges through the traffic to get to him.


title: A Separation

text: The next day, Nader and Termeh come home early and discover the old man lying unconscious on the floor in his bedroom, tied to the bed. Razieh and Somayeh are out. When they return, Razieh says she had some urgent personal business; Nader accuses her of neglecting his father and stealing some money (which Simin had in fact used to pay some movers). When Razieh refuses to leave until he pays her, he pushes her out of the flat. She apparently falls down some steps. Nader and Simin later learn that Razieh has suffered a miscarriage.


title: A Separation

text: If Nader knew of Razieh's pregnancy and caused the miscarriage, he could be guilty of murder. There is now a series of claims and counter-claims before a criminal judge: on one side, Nader, with Simin and Temeh; on the other, Razieh and her husband, Hodjat. He is a hot-tempered man, embittered and humiliated by the loss of his long-time job as a cobbler, and harassed by creditors. More than once, he attempts to assault Nader.


title: A Separation

text: Razieh says that Nader knew of her pregnancy because he heard a conversation in the flat between her and Termeh’s tutor, in which the tutor recommended a doctor to her. Nader denies this, and the tutor gives evidence in his support. Termeh finds reasons to believe this is not true, and Nader at last admits to her that he has lied for her sake and his father’s: he cannot go to prison. The tutor withdraws her evidence. To protect her father, Termeh tells the judge that he did not know of the pregnancy until she told him.


title: A Separation

text: Nader claims that when he pushed Razieh out of the flat, she could not have fallen down the steps, but would have been protected by the railing. Razieh confesses to Simin that when she went out to bring back the old man, she was hit by a car and was in pain that night; this was the day before Nader pushed her, and she had gone out that day to see a doctor.


title: A Separation

text: Hodjat is violent, and Simin fears for Termeh’s safety. Simin persuades Nader to make a payment to Hodjat, but Nader first asks Razieh to swear on the Qur'an that he is the cause of her miscarriage. She cannot do so. Hodjat cannot force her, and begins hitting himself in a rage.


title: A Separation

text: Later, at the family court, Nader and Simin are granted a divorce. As the film ends, they wait separately outside the court while Termeh tells the judge which parent she chooses to live with.


title: A Separation

text: The concept came from a number of personal experiences and abstract pictures which had been in Asghar Farhadi's mind for some time. Once he decided to make the film, about a year before it premiered, it was quickly written and financed. Farhadi described the film as the "logical development" from his previous film, "About Elly". Like Farhadi's last three films, "A Separation" was made without any government support. The financing went without trouble much thanks to the success of "About Elly". The production was granted in support from the Motion Picture Association's APSA Academy Film Fund.


title: A Separation

text: In September 2010, Farhadi was banned from making the film by the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, because of an acceptance speech held during an award ceremony where he expressed support for several Iranian film personalities. Notably he had wished to see the return to Iranian cinema of Mohsen Makhmalbaf, an exiled filmmaker and Iranian opposition profile, and of the imprisoned political filmmaker Jafar Panahi, both of whom had been connected to the Iranian Green Movement. The ban was lifted in the beginning of October after Farhadi claimed to have been misperceived and apologized for his remarks.


title: A Separation

text: The film premiered on 9 February 2011 at the 29th Fajr International Film Festival in Tehran. Six days later it played in Competition at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival. Farhadi had previously competed at the festival's 2009 edition with "About Elly", for which he had received the Silver Bear for Best Director. "A Separation" was distributed in Iran through Filmiran. Distribution rights for the United Kingdom were acquired by Artificial Eye.


title: A Separation

text: As of 17 April 2014, "A Separation" has grossed worldwide over $24 million on an estimated budget of $800,000, making it a box-office success.


title: A Separation

text: The film has been met with universal acclaim from film critics. It currently holds a 99% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 176 reviews with an average rating of 8.90/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Morally complex, suspenseful, and consistently involving, "A Separation" captures the messiness of a dissolving relationship with keen insight and searing intensity", as well as a score of 95 on Metacritic based on 41 reviews, making it the best-reviewed film of 2011.


title: A Separation

text: Young noted how Farhadi portrayed Iran's social and religious divisions, and complimented the film's craft:


title: A Separation

text: The film won the Fajr Film Festival's Crystal Simorghs for Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematographer and Best Sound Recorder. It also received the Audience Favourite Film award. It won the top award, the Golden Bear for Best Film, at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival. The actress ensemble received the Silver Bear for Best Actress, and the actor ensemble the Silver Bear for Best Actor. In addition it received the Competition Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and the Berliner Morgenpost Readers' Prize. Isabella Rossellini, the Jury president of the Berlin International Film Festival, said that the choice of Farhadi's film for the Golden Bear was "pretty unanimous". Farhadi commented that he never would have thought he would win the Golden Bear, and that the film's victory offered "a very good opportunity to think of the people of my country, the country I grew up in, the country where I learned my stories – a great people". Ahmad Miralaii, the director of Iran's Farabi Cinematic Foundation, said that "Iranian cinema is proud of the awards", as he welcomed Farhadi at the airport upon the director's return from Berlin.


title: A Separation

text: "A Separation" was voted the second best film of 2011 in the annual "Sight & Sound" critic poll, as well as in the LA Weekly Film Poll 2011. The film was also voted No. 3 in the annual "indieWire" critic survey for 2011, No. 4 in the 2011 poll by Film Comment, and was ranked No. 5 on "Paste" magazine's 50 Best Movies of 2011. Roger Ebert ranked the film No. 1 on his The Best Films of 2011 list and wrote: ""A Separation" will become one of those enduring masterpieces watched decades from now".


title: A Separation

text: Iranian critic Massoud Farasati, whose views are close to those of the Islamic regime, said "The image of our society that "A Separation" depicts is the dirty picture westerners are wishing for".


title: A Separation

text: Steven Spielberg stated he believed the film to be the best of that year by a wide margin. Other admirers of the film included Woody Allen who called Farhadi to congratulate him on the film. David Fincher, Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie spoke to Farhadi during the awards season each offering their praise for him and the film.


title: A Separation

text: The film has appeared on numerous critics' top ten lists for 2011, some notable of which are the following:


title: A Separation

text: "Sight & Sound magazine included the film in it"s list of "30 great films of the 2000s". "A Separation" was later named the ninth-greatest film of the 21st century in a 2016 BBC critics' poll. In 2018 the film was ranked 21st in the BBC's list of The 100 greatest foreign language films of all time. In 2019, "The Guardian" ranked the film 36th in its 100 best films of the 21st century list.


title: Paki (slur)

text: Paki is a term typically directed towards people of Pakistani descent mainly in British slang, and as an offensive slur is often used indiscriminately towards people of perceived South Asian descent in general. The slur is used primarily in the United Kingdom, the Benelux and Canada, where the term is commonly associated with "Paki-bashing", which consists of violent attacks against people of perceived Pakistani and South Asian origin.


title: Paki (slur)

text: "Paki" is derived from the exonym "Pakistan". The term "Paki" () means "pure" in Persian, Urdu and Pashto. There was no "Pak" or "Paki" ethnic group before the state was created. The name of Pakistan (initially as "Pakstan") was coined by the Cambridge University law student and Muslim ultra-nationalist Rahmat Ali, and was published on 28 January 1933 in the pamphlet "Now or Never".


title: Paki (slur)

text: The use of the term "Paki" was first recorded in 1964, during a period of increased South Asian immigration to the United Kingdom. At this time, the term "Paki" was very much in mixed usage; it was often used as a slur. In addition to Pakistanis (which included Bangladeshis up until 1971), it has also been directed at people of other South Asian backgrounds as well as people from other demographics who physically resemble South Asians. Starting in the late-1960s, and peaking in the 1970s and 1980s, violent gangs opposed to immigration took part in attacks known as "Paki-bashing", which targeted and assaulted South Asians and businesses owned by them, and occasionally other ethnic minorities. "Paki-bashing" became more common after Enoch Powell's Rivers of Blood speech in 1968; polls at the time showed that Powell's anti-immigrant rhetoric held support amongst the majority of the white populace at the time. "Paki-bashing" peaked during the 1970s1980s, with the attackers often being supporters of far-right fascist, racist and anti-immigrant movements, including the white power skinheads, the National Front, and the British National Party. These attacks were usually referred to as either "Paki-bashing" or "skinhead terror", with the attackers usually called "Paki-bashers" or "skinheads".


title: Paki (slur)

text: "Paki-bashing" was partly fuelled by the media's anti-immigrant and anti-Pakistani rhetoric at the time, and by systemic failures of state authorities, which included under-reporting racist attacks, the criminal justice system not taking racist violence seriously, constant racial harassment by police, and sometimes police involvement in racist violence. Asians were frequently stereotyped as "weak" and "passive" in the 1960s and 1970s, with Pakistanis viewed as "passive objects" and "unwilling to fight back", making them seen as easy targets by "Paki-bashers". The "Joint Campaign Against Racism" committee reported that there had been more than 20,000 racist attacks on British people of colour, including Britons of South Asian origin, during 1985.


title: Paki (slur)

text: Drawing inspiration from the African-American civil rights movement, the Black Power movement, and the anti-apartheid movement, young British Asian activists began a number of anti-racist youth movements against "Paki-bashing", including the Bradford Youth Movement in 1977, the Bangladeshi Youth Movement following the murder of Altab Ali in 1978, and the Newham Youth Movement following the murder of Akhtar Ali Baig in 1980.


title: Paki (slur)

text: The earliest groups to resist "Paki-bashing" date back to 19681970, with two distinct movements that emerged: the integrationist approach began by the Pakistani Welfare Association and National Federation of Pakistani Associations attempted to establish positive race relations while maintaining law and order, which was contrasted by the autonomous approach began by the Pakistani Progressive Party and the Pakistani Workers' Union which engaged in vigilantism as self-defence against racially motivated violence and police harassment in conjunction with the Black Power movement (often working with the British Black Panthers and Communist Workers League of Britain) while also seeking to replace the "weak" and "passive" stereotypes of Pakistanis and Asians. Divisions arose between the integrationist and autonomous movements by 1970, with integrationist leader Raja Mahmudabad criticising the vigilantism of the latter as "alien to the spirit and practice of Islam" whereas PPP/PWU leader Abdul Hye stated they "have no intention of fighting or killing anyone, but if it comes to us, we will hit back." It was not until the 1980s and 1990s that academics began to take racially motivated violence into serious focus, partly as a result of black and Asian people entering academic life.


title: Paki (slur)

text: In the 21st century, some younger British Pakistanis and other British South Asians have attempted to reclaim the word, thus drawing parallels to the LGBT reclamation of the slur "queer" and the African American reclamation of the slur "nigger". Peterborough businessman Abdul Rahim, who produces merchandise reclaiming the word, equates it to more socially accepted terms such as "Aussie" and "Kiwi", saying that it is more similar to them than it is to "nigger", as it denotes a nationality and not a biological race. However, other British Pakistanis see use of the word as unacceptable even among members of their community, due to its historical usage in a negative way.


title: Paki (slur)

text: In December 2000, the Advertising Standards Authority published research on attitudes of the British public to pejoratives. It ranked "Paki" as the tenth severest pejorative in the English language, up from seventeenth three years earlier.


title: Paki (slur)

text: Several scholars have compared Islamophobic street violence in the 2000s and 2010s to that of Paki-bashing in the 1970s and 1980s. Robert Lambert notes that a key difference is that, whereas the National Front and BNP targeted all British South Asians (including Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs), the English Defence League (EDL) specifically target British Muslims. Lambert also compares the media's role in fuelling "Paki-bashing" in the late 20th century to its role in fuelling Islamophobic sentiment in the early 21st century. Geddes notes that variations of the "Paki" racial slur are occasionally used by members of the EDL.


title: Paki (slur)

text: The term is also used as a slur in Canada against Canadians of Pakistani descent. This term is also used as a slur against Canadians of other South Asian descent, along with those who are viewed as racialized Muslims. The term migrated to Canada around the 1970s with increased Pakistani immigration to Canada. In 2008, a campaign sign for an Alberta Liberal Party candidate in Edmonton was defaced when the slur was spray painted on it.


title: Paki (slur)

text: Americans generally are unfamiliar with the word "Paki" as a slur because it is also just an abbreviation used by millions of people, and U.S. leaders and public figures have occasionally had to apologise for using it. In January 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush said on India–Pakistan relations that "We are working hard to convince both the Indians and the Pakis that there's a way to deal with their problems without going to war." After a Pakistani American journalist complained, a White House spokesman made a statement that Bush had great respect for Pakistan. This followed an incident four years earlier, when Clinton White House adviser Sandy Berger had to apologise for referencing "Pakis" in public comments.


title: Paki (slur)

text: The 2015 American film "Jurassic World" was mocked satirically by British Asian comedian Guz Khan for using "pachys" (pronounced "pakis") as shorthand for the genera Pachycephalosaurus. Unrelated to this, this would later spark a short-lasted controversy relating to the name used in the movie over the misidentification of the name.


title: Paki (slur)

text: Spike Milligan, who was white, played the lead role of Kevin O'Grady in the 1969 LWT sitcom "Curry and Chips". O'Grady, half-Irish and half-Pakistani, was taunted with the name "Paki-Paddy"; the show intended to mock racism and bigotry. Following complaints, the BBC edited out use of the word in repeats of the 1980s sitcom "Only Fools and Horses". Columnists have perceived this as a way of obscuring the historical truth that the use of such words was commonplace at the time. The word was used in "Rita, Sue and Bob Too" – set in Bradford, one of the first cities to have a large Pakistani community – and also in "East is East" – in which it is used by the mixed-race family as well as by racist characters. In the 2018 biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody", Freddie Mercury, who was Indian Parsi, is often addressed derogatorily as a "Paki" when he worked as a baggage handler at London Heathrow Airport in 1970.


title: Paki (slur)

text: In 2009, Prince Harry was publicly admonished and was made by the military to undergo sensitivity training when he was caught on video (taken years before) calling one of his fellow Army recruits "our little Paki friend."


title: Cumberland Gap

text: The Cumberland Gap is a pass through the long ridge of the Cumberland Mountains, within the Appalachian Mountains, near the junction of the U.S. states of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. It is famous in American colonial history for its role as a key passageway through the lower central Appalachians.


title: Cumberland Gap

text: Long used by Native American nations, the Cumberland Gap was brought to the attention of settlers in 1750 by Thomas Walker, a Virginia physician and explorer. The path was used by a team of frontiersmen led by Daniel Boone, making it accessible to pioneers who used it to journey into the western frontiers of Kentucky and Tennessee.


title: Cumberland Gap

text: It was an important part of the Wilderness Road and is now part of the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.


title: Cumberland Gap

text: The Cumberland Gap is one of many passes in the Appalachian Mountains, but the only one in the continuous Cumberland Mountain ridgeline. It lies within Cumberland Gap National Historical Park and is located on the border of present-day Kentucky and Virginia, approximately northeast of the tri-state marker with Tennessee.


title: Cumberland Gap

text: The V-shaped gap serves as a gateway to the west. The base of the gap is about above the valley floor, even though the north side of the pass was lowered during the construction of Old U.S. Route 25E. To the south, the ridge rises above the pass, while to the north the Pinnacle Overlook towers above (elevation ).


title: Cumberland Gap

text: Because it is centrally located in the eastern United States, the region around Cumberland Gap experiences all four seasons. The summers are typically sunny, warm, and humid with average high temperatures in the mid to upper 80s °F (29-32 °C). In the winter months, January through March, temperatures range in the 30s to 40s °F (0s °C) and are generally mild with rain and few periods of snow.


title: Cumberland Gap

text: The nearest cities are Middlesboro, Kentucky, and Harrogate, Tennessee. The nearby town of Cumberland Gap, in Tennessee, is named after the gap.


title: Cumberland Gap

text: The gap was formed by the development of three major structural features: the Pine Mountain Thrust Sheet, the Middlesboro Syncline, and the Rocky Face Fault. Lateral compressive forces of sedimentary rocks from deep layers of the Earth's crust pushing upward 320 to 200 million years ago created the thrust sheet. Resistance on the fault from the opposing Cumberland Mountain to Pine Mountain caused the U-shaped structure of the Middlesboro Syncline. The once flat-lying sedimentary rocks were deformed roughly 40 degrees northwest. Further constriction to the northwest of Cumberland Mountain developed into a fault trending north-to-south called the Rocky Face Fault, which eventually cut through Cumberland Mountain. This combination of natural geological processes created ideal conditions for weathering and erosion of the rocks.


title: Cumberland Gap

text: The discovery of the Middlesboro impact structure has proposed new details in the formation of Cumberland Gap. Less than 300 million years ago a meteorite, "approximately the size of a football field", struck the earth, creating the Middlesboro Crater. One of three astroblemes in the state, it is a diameter meteorite impact crater with the city of Middlesboro, Kentucky built entirely inside it. Detailed mapping by geologists in the 1960s led many to interpret the geological features of the area to be the site of an ancient impact. In 1966 Robert Dietz discovered shatter cones in nearby sandstone, proving recent speculation. Shatter cones, a rock-shattering pattern naturally formed only during impact events, are found in abundance in the area. The presence of shatter cones found also helped confirm the origin of the impact. In September 2003, the site was designated a Distinguished Geologic Site by the Kentucky Society of Professional Geologists.


title: Cumberland Gap

text: Without the Rocky Face Fault, it would have been difficult for pack-horses to navigate this gap and the gap in Pine Mountain near Pineville, and it would be improbable that wagon roads would have been constructed at an early date. Middlesboro is the only place in the world where coal is mined inside an astrobleme. Special mining techniques must be used in the complicated strata of this crater.


title: Cumberland Gap

text: The passage through Cumberland Gap was originally created by herds of woodland buffalo that traveled across it over thousands of years, drawn by the abundance of salt in the region- The passage created by the gap was well traveled by Native Americans long before the arrival of European settlers.


title: Cumberland Gap

text: The earliest written account of Cumberland Gap dates to the 1670s, by Abraham Wood of Virginia. Some time before 1748 Samuel Stalnaker is believed to have passed through the gap while exploring the region.


title: Cumberland Gap

text: The gap was named for Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, son of King George II of Great Britain, who had many places named for him in the American colonies after the Battle of Culloden. The explorer Thomas Walker gave the name to the Cumberland River in 1750, and the name soon spread to many other features in the region, such as the Cumberland Gap. In 1769 Joseph Martin built a fort nearby at present-day Rose Hill, Virginia, on behalf of Walker's land claimants. But Martin and his men were chased out of the area by Native Americans, and Martin did not return until 1775.


title: Cumberland Gap

text: In 1775 Daniel Boone, hired by the Transylvania Company, arrived in the region leading a company of men to widen the path through the gap to make settlement of Kentucky and Tennessee easier. On his arrival, Boone discovered that Martin had already arrived in Powell Valley, where Martin and his men were clearing land for their own settlement – the westernmost settlement in English colonial America at the time. By the 1790s, the trail that Boone and his men built had been widened to accommodate wagon traffic and became known as the Wilderness Road.


title: Cumberland Gap

text: Several American Civil War engagements occurred in and around the Cumberland Gap and are known as the Battle of the Cumberland Gap. In June 1862, Union Army General George W. Morgan captured the gap for the Union. In September of that year, Confederate States Army forces under Edmund Kirby Smith occupied the gap during General Braxton Bragg's Kentucky Invasion. The following year, in a bloodless engagement in September 1863, Union Army troops under General Ambrose Burnside forced the surrender of 2,300 Confederates defending the gap, gaining Union control of the gap for the remainder of the war.


title: Cumberland Gap

text: It is estimated that between 200,000 and 300,000 European-American settlers passed through the gap on their way into Kentucky and the Ohio Valley before 1810. Today 18,000 cars pass beneath the site daily, and 1.2 million people visit the park on the site annually. The park features many hiking trails.


title: Cumberland Gap

text: U.S. Route 25E passed overland through the gap before the completion of the Cumberland Gap Tunnel in 1996. The original trail was then restored.


title: Cumberland Gap

text: The gap and associated historic resources were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district on May 28, 1980.


title: Cumberland Gap

text: Within the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park there are currently 855 known species of vascular plants identified, but that number is expected to increase with reports from National Park Service inventory and monitoring programs. There are 15 various vegetation communities throughout the park, with some of them in special locations, such as mountain bogs, low-elevation wetlands, and rocky bluffs.


title: Cumberland Gap

text: Of the 371 species of animals listed so far within the park, 33 are mammals, 89 are birds, 29 amphibians, 15 reptiles, 27 fish, and 187 are insects, however many others remain to be included. Visitors to the park can expect to see gray squirrels, white-tailed deer, cottontail rabbits, songbirds, hawks, snakes, turtles, and perhaps black bear or bobcat. Over 120 species of birds have been logged in the park on the website eBird.


title: Julian Rhind-Tutt

text: Julian Alistair Rhind-Tutt (born 20 July 1967) is an English actor, best known for playing Dr "Mac" Macartney in the comedy television series "Green Wing" (2004–2006).


title: Julian Rhind-Tutt

text: Rhind-Tutt was born in West Drayton, Middlesex, the youngest of five; there was a 10-year gap between him and his two brothers and two sisters. He attended the John Lyon School in Harrow, Middlesex, where he acted in school productions, eventually taking the lead in a school production of "Hamlet" that played at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the mid-1980s. After reading English and Theatre Studies at the University of Warwick, he attended the Central School of Speech and Drama in London where he won the 1992 Carleton Hobbs Award from BBC Radio Drama.


title: Julian Rhind-Tutt

text: Rhind-Tutt's first significant acting role was as the Duke of York in "The Madness of King George" (1994). This was followed by a succession of lesser television and film roles. He then landed a major role in William Boyd's First World War drama "The Trench" (1999), alongside Paul Nicholls and Daniel Craig. His first major recurring TV role was co-starring in the Graham Linehan-Arthur Mathews sitcom "Hippies" (1999), and he subsequently appeared in several other major British sketch and situation comedy series of the period including "Smack the Pony", "Absolutely Fabulous" and "Black Books". He starred in "Green Wing" from 2004 to 2006, and had a major role in cult American show "Keen Eddie" as Inspector Monty Pippin. He appeared as a duellist in the video for Roots Manuva's single "Too Cold". He has appeared in over 50 radio productions.


title: Julian Rhind-Tutt

text: In 2008, he narrated a short film for the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 2015 he appeared in the TV series "The Bastard Executioner" as Lord Pembroke. In 2018, he appeared as the Marquess of Blayne in the Hulu original series "Harlots".


title: Julian Rhind-Tutt

text: Rhind-Tutt is married to Slovenian make-up artist and yoga instructor Nataša Zajc. They have a son, Lucian.


title: Angel Gomes

text: Adilson Angel Abreu de Almeida Gomes (born 31 August 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Lille and the England under-21 national team.


title: Angel Gomes

text: He began his career with Manchester United at the age of six and progressed through the club's academy. When he made his first-team debut in May 2017, he became the youngest player to play for Manchester United since Duncan Edwards in 1953, as well as the first player born in the 2000s to appear in the Premier League. He made 10 appearances across four seasons for the Manchester United first-team, before being released at the end of his contract in 2020. He signed for Lille in August 2020 and was immediately loaned out to Boavista for a season.


title: Angel Gomes

text: Gomes is eligible to represent England, Angola or Portugal at international level. He has made more than 40 appearances for England's youth national teams, from under-16 to under-21 level. He was the captain of the England under-17 team that won the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.


title: Angel Gomes

text: Gomes started training with the Manchester United academy at the age of six. When he was 13, he represented the under-17s at a tournament in Slovakia in October 2013, and during the 2014–15 season, aged just 14, he was twice named on the bench for the under-18s before making his debut as a substitute against Middlesbrough in their final league match. In July 2015, Gomes captained the Manchester United under-15s at the Manchester United Premier Cup and was named Most Valuable Player, despite his team finishing in 12th place.


title: Angel Gomes

text: Gomes signed as an academy scholar ahead of the 2016–17 season, and on 27 August 2016, he became the youngest player to score a hat-trick for Manchester United at academy level since 2001, despite starting the game on the bench. He also became the third youngest player to achieve the feat in the club's history at . After sustaining an injury in April 2017, Gomes was forced to miss the Dallas Cup. With 12 goals in 19 starts he was the under-18s' top scorer that season, and in May 2017 he was voted as the Jimmy Murphy Player of the Year, the youngest player ever to receive the award. The following day, he trained with the first team ahead of possible inclusion in the squad for the final Premier League game of the season.


title: Angel Gomes

text: Gomes made his first-team debut on 21 May 2017, replacing Wayne Rooney in the 88th minute of a 2–0 home victory over Crystal Palace. At old, he became the youngest player to represent Manchester United since Duncan Edwards in 1953, as well as the first player born in the 2000s to appear in the Premier League.


title: Angel Gomes

text: On 13 December 2017, Gomes signed his first professional contract with Manchester United, and on 26 January 2018, he made his FA Cup debut, coming on as an 88th-minute substitute for Marcus Rashford in a 4–0 victory against Yeovil Town in the Fourth Round.


title: Angel Gomes

text: On 25 July 2019, Gomes scored his first senior goal in a 2–1 pre-season friendly win against Tottenham Hotspur. However, he found first-team opportunities hard to come by during the 2019–20 season, playing just six times in all competitions. Despite protracted negotiations, Manchester United were unable to sign Gomes to a contract extension, and he was released on 30 June 2020.


title: Angel Gomes

text: On 4 August 2020, Gomes signed a five-year contract with French club Lille, and was immediately loaned out to Portuguese club Boavista for the 2020–21 campaign. On his league debut for Boavista, Gomes registered a hat-trick of assists and was awarded man of the match in a 3–3 draw against C.D. Nacional. In a match against Moreirense on 2 October 2020, Gomes scored his first goal for the club, a wonder strike from the halfway line. On 2 November, Gomes won a penalty and then converted the spot-kick in a 3–0 win against Benfica.


title: Angel Gomes

text: Gomes began his international career in August 2015, when he made two appearances for England at under-16 level, both against the United States. He captained the under-16s on two occasions while making a further seven appearances.


title: Angel Gomes

text: He was called up to the England under-17 team in August 2016, and scored four minutes into his debut while captaining his nation to a 3–1 victory over Belgium. Gomes added another two goals and an assist in his second appearance; a 5–0 win over Croatia. In October, he scored again in an 8–1 win against Germany. Gomes also scored in qualification for the UEFA Under-17 Championship, but missed out on the tournament in May 2017 due to injury. Gomes scored the fourth goal in England's opening game of the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, with an 81st-minute free-kick as they beat Chile 4–0. He ultimately captained the team to their first U-17 World Cup title. Gomes made 13 appearances and scored six goals in total at under-17 level.


title: Angel Gomes

text: He made his debut at under-18 level on 1 September 2017, when he captained England in a 0–0 draw with Brazil. Three days later, he made his second and final appearance for the under-18 team, in a 2–1 loss against South Africa.


title: Angel Gomes

text: Gomes scored one goal in six appearances for the England under-19 team. He scored in a 4–1 victory over the Netherlands in a friendly on 5 September 2018.


title: Angel Gomes

text: Gomes made his England under-20 debut during a 0–0 draw against the Netherlands on 5 September 2019. He made six appearances in total for the under-20 team and scored two goals.


title: Angel Gomes

text: On 1 October 2021, Gomes received his first call up for the England under-21 squad and made his debut as a substitute during a 1–0 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification win away to Andorra on 11 October 2021. He has made 11 appearances so far at under-21 level.


title: Angel Gomes

text: Gomes' preferred position is as an attacking midfielder. His playing style has been compared to that of Ronaldinho due to his creativity, composure and dribbling. In January 2015, Nani described Gomes as Manchester United's next star. Manchester United graduate Danny Webber said: "Gomes is still very small, but he sees the game seconds before others. Angel is like Paul Scholes; he can dictate a game with his intelligence."


title: Angel Gomes

text: Gomes is the son of Angolan-born former Portugal under-21 international Gil Gomes, and was born in Edmonton, Greater London during his father's time at Hendon. The family moved to the Manchester area when Gil joined Middlewich Town, and settled in Salford, where Gomes grew up. Former Manchester United winger Nani is Gomes' godfather, and he has said that Nani's influence was "massive" as he was somebody he idolised as a youngster.


The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea is a 2000 animated direct-to-video musical fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation, and the second installment in "The Little Mermaid" trilogy. Directed by Jim Kammerud and Brian Smith, the story of the film takes place 12 years after the original, and focuses on Ariel and Eric's daughter , a human princess who longs to swim in the ocean despite her parents' law that the sea is forbidden to her.


title: The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea

text: Many voice actors from the original film returned for the sequel, including Jodi Benson as Ariel, Kenneth Mars as King Triton, Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian, and Buddy Hackett as Scuttle in his final film role before his death in June 2003. Pat Carroll, who voiced Ursula in the first film, returned as Ursula's sister Morgana, the sequel's new villain. Tara Charendoff joined the cast as Melody and Rob Paulsen replaced Christopher Daniel Barnes as Prince Eric.


text: The film received largely negative reviews with criticism directed at the plot, which many considered to be a generic rehash of the original film, though the animation and voice acting were mixed and the character of Melody along with Tara Charendoff's acting was praised. In 2008, Disney released a third film, "", which is a prequel to the first film.


text: Ariel and Eric celebrate the birth of their daughter on a ship at sea. Ariel's father King Triton presents Melody with a magic locket. The party is interrupted by Ursula's sister Morgana, who threatens to have Melody fed to her pet tiger shark, Undertow, unless Triton surrenders his trident to her. Morgana then announces her plan to use the trident to avenge Ursula and take over the ocean. Ariel and Eric work together to foil Morgana's plan, and Triton shrinks Undertow to the size of a piranha. Morgana escapes, eluding the attempts of King Triton's forces to capture her and declaring that she will someday exact her revenge on both Ariel and Triton and avenge Ursula's death. Fearing Morgana and remembering Ursula, Ariel decides that, until Morgana is captured, they will have to withhold all knowledge of the sea world and her heritage from Melody in order to protect her. Triton tosses the locket into the ocean, and a massive wall is built to separate the royal castle from the sea. Triton assigns Sebastian to watch over Melody.


text: Twelve years later, Melody remains unaware of her mother's mermaid heritage and is forbidden from ever going into the sea. However, she has been sneaking out of the castle regularly to swim, and one day finds the locket. Seeing her name on the locket, Melody questions her mother about it, but Ariel confronts Melody and forbids her to go into the sea. Frustrated with her mother's refusal to answer her questions, Melody steals a small boat and sails away from home. Melody is discovered by Undertow, who leads her straight to Morgana. In desperation, Sebastian tells Ariel and Eric that Melody went out to the sea. Meanwhile, Melody meets Morgana, who reveals that Melody's background is marine, and uses the remains of Ursula's magic to transform Melody into a mermaid. Triton prepares search parties, and is convinced by Ariel and Eric to use his trident to transform Ariel back into a mermaid in order to help in the search for Melody. Ariel searches the sea for Melody, regretting not sharing her heritage with her, while Melody explores her newfound abilities as a mermaid, and has a strong feeling that she was meant to be part of the sea.


text: Melody visits Morgana to thank her, only for Morgana to tell Melody that the spell was only temporary, and that she can only make the spell permanent if Melody retrieves the trident from Triton, which Morgana claims he stole from her. Melody decides to get the trident, and during her search befriends Tip and Dash, a penguin and walrus duo who join her. Melody succeeds in stealing the trident, and returns to Morgana, but before Melody can hand the trident over to Morgana, Ariel arrives and pleads for Melody not to give Morgana the trident. Melody refuses to listen to Ariel, having been angered by Ariel's decision to lie to her, and gives Morgana the trident. With the trident in her power, Morgana reveals her true intentions, and traps Melody in a cave by sealing the entrance with a thick layer of ice, while also informing her that her time as a mermaid is about to expire. Soon afterward, Morgana's spell on Melody wears off, causing her to revert into a human and nearly drown. Tip and Dash manage to free her and drag her to the shore.


text: Morgana uses the trident's magic to lord over the ocean, rising to the surface to gloat. Scuttle, Triton, Sebastian, and Eric arrive, and a battle ensues against Morgana and her minions. Melody manages to grab the trident and throws it back to Triton, who encases Morgana in a block of ice, which sinks underwater. Melody reunites with her family, and Triton offers his granddaughter the choice of becoming a mermaid permanently. Instead, Melody uses the trident to destroy the wall separating her home from the sea, reuniting the humans and the merpeople.


text: The film was released directly to video on September 19, 2000. It was released on May 7, 2001, in the UK. On November 6, 2006, the film was released in a bundle together with the original film in the Region 2 release. The original DVD release was later discontinued and a special edition DVD with a deleted song, "Gonna Get My Wish", and a new game was released on December 16, 2008. A package called "The Little Mermaid Trilogy", which includes all three "Little Mermaid" films, was released on the same day. This film, along with "", was released in a 2-Movie collection on DVD and Blu-ray on November 19, 2013.


text: Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 17% of 6 critics gave the film a positive review, and the average rating is 3.8/10. In 2011, "Total Film" ranked it as 27th among the 50 worst children's films ever made.


text: Unlike the film and even her mother Ariel, for whom the latter was generally mixed, , the main character, was generally well received by both critics and "Little Mermaid" fans, who praised her emotional relationship with Ariel, character growth, likability, and Tara Charendoff's performance. In 2019, Screen Rant put her at #9 on Disney's Unoffcial Princesses, Ranked.


text: Melody is one of Tara Charendoff's favorite characters to voice, as she was a big fan of the 1989 film growing up.


text: The film was the tenth-most-successful direct-to-video release of 2000, with retail revenues of $121 million. The film sold VHS and DVD units in 2000.


text: The film's official soundtrack was released on September 19, 2000, and again on October 31, 2000, in a special edition double pack with the original film's soundtrack. Additionally, two limited-edition two-tracked CD samples were released as a promotion for the soundtrack.


text: The film's ending credits play a new recording of Part of Your World, performed by country singer Chely Wright. Another version of the song, performed by Ann Marie Boskovich, was used in some international releases of the film.


title: John W. Raymond

text: John William Raymond (born April 30, 1962) is a retired United States Space Force general who served as the first chief of space operations from 2019 to 2022. The first guardian, he served as commander of the United States Space Command from 2019 to 2020.


title: John W. Raymond

text: Raised in a military family, Raymond was commissioned into the United States Air Force in 1984 after graduating from Clemson University. A career missile and space operations officer, he has commanded the 5th Space Surveillance Squadron, 30th Operations Group, Fourteenth Air Force, Joint Force Space Component Command, and Air Force Space Command. He has been deployed to serve in the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War.


title: John W. Raymond

text: In 2016, Raymond assumed command of the Air Force Space Command and, in 2019, assumed additional duties as unified combatant command commander following the reestablishment of the U.S. Space Command. When the U.S. Space Force was established, he became the first chief of space operations. He also became the first member of the Space Force, ending his over 35 years of service in the Air Force.


title: John W. Raymond

text: For his work in leading the initial building of the Space Force, Raymond has been described as the "father of the Space Force". As the first chief of space operations, he oversaw the standup of new Space Force organizations, transfer of personnel from other military branches, consolidation of space units from other services, and setting its culture. He relinquished his post as chief of space operations in 2022 and retired from military service in 2023.


title: John W. Raymond

text: Born in Monterey County, California, and raised in Alexandria, Virginia, John William Raymond is the son of Barbara Ryan and retired United States Army Colonel John Allen Raymond (1935–2016). Since 1865, his family has had graduates from United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, including his great great grandfather, great grandfather, grandfather, and father. His great great grandfather, Army Brigadier General Charles Walker Raymond, graduated as the top cadet of his class in 1865. As an Army captain, civil engineer Charles Raymond commanded a delegation that went to Northern Tasmania to time the transit of Venus in December 1874. His father was a 1958 graduate of West Point, where he once taught astronomy.


title: John W. Raymond

text: Raymond graduated from Clemson University in 1984 with a B.S. degree in administrative management before he was commissioned in the United States Air Force. He later earned an M.S. degree from the Central Michigan University in 1990 and an M.A. degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College in 2003. He also attended Squadron Officer School in 1990, Air Command and Staff College in 1997, and the Joint Forces Staff College in 2007. He also completed Air University's Combined Force Air Component Commander Course and Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course.


title: John W. Raymond

text: Raymond was commissioned in the Air Force in 1984 as a second lieutenant following his graduation from Clemson University. The following year, he was assigned to the 321st Strategic Missile Wing as a missile combat crew commander at Grand Forks Air Force Base. From 1989 to 1993, Raymond was an operations center officer controller with the 1st Strategic Aerospace Division and executive officer of the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg Air Force Base. In 1993, he was assigned to Air Force Space Command as chief of commercial space lift operations and assistant chief of current operations and, in 1996, as deputy director for commander-in-chief's action group.


title: John W. Raymond

text: In 1997, after attending Air Command and Staff College, Raymond was stationed at the Pentagon first as a space and missile Force programmer at the Air Force headquarters and then as chief of expeditionary aerospace force space and program integration. He remained there until 2000, at which time he assumed command of the 5th Space Surveillance Squadron located at RAF Feltwell in England. The following year, Raymond returned to the United States and became deputy commander of the 21st Operations Group. From 2002 to 2003, he studied at Naval War College. For two years after that, he was assigned as a transformation strategist to the Office of the United States Secretary of Defense. In 2005, he returned to Vandenberg Air Force Base and assumed command of the 30th Operations Group. He held that position until 2007, when he was named Commander of the 21st Space Wing.


title: John W. Raymond

text: In 2009, Raymond was reassigned to Air Force Space Command as director of plans, programs, and analyses. From December 2010 to July 2012, he served as vice commander of the Fifth Air Force and deputy commander of the Thirteenth Air Force at Yokota Air Base, Japan. From July 2012 to January 2014, he served as director of plans and policy of the United States Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base.


title: John W. Raymond

text: Raymond was promoted to lieutenant general on January 31, 2014, and assumed command of the Fourteenth Air Force and the Joint Functional Component Command for Space at Vandenberg. He replaced Lieutenant General Susan Helms who was retiring after her failed nomination as Air Force Space Command vice commander. He relinquished command to Lieutenant General David J. Buck on August 14, 2015, to return to the Pentagon and serve as the deputy chief of staff for operations of the U.S. Air Force.


title: John W. Raymond

text: Raymond was nominated for promotion to the rank of general and to the command of Air Force Space Command on September 8, 2016. This nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 15. He assumed command of the Air Force Space Command on October 27, 2016, replacing John E. Hyten who was then tapped to become the commander of United States Strategic Command. On December 1, 2017, the Joint Functional Component Command for Space was restructured as the Joint Force Space Component Command and Raymond was dual-hatted as commander of the newly reorganized unit under U.S. Strategic Command.


title: John W. Raymond

text: By 2018, plans were made to reestablish the United States Space Command and Raymond was tasked to plan for its standup. He asked five planners to help him plan such standup, including U.S. Army Brigadier General Thomas L. James and U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Shawn Bratton, and then-Brigadier General David N. Miller to lead a task force that did the detailed planning. On March 22, 2019, he was nominated to lead that unified combatant command, and was then confirmed by the United States Senate on June 27. He assumed command of the newly reestablished U.S. Space Command on August 29, 2019, while retaining command of Air Force Space Command.


title: John W. Raymond

text: Raymond is a proponent for declassifying space capabilities and intelligence as a way for deterring adversaries opening more dialogue about space threats. Along with Admiral Philip S. Davidson and seven other combatant commanders, he signed a memo—called informally as the "36-star memo"—addressed to the United States Intelligence Community that called for declassifying space-related intelligence.


title: John W. Raymond

text: In February 2020, Raymond called out Russia for "threatening behavior" in outer space, threatening a U.S. national security satellite. This was the first time the U.S. military has publicly identified a direct threat to a specific American satellite by an adversary.


title: John W. Raymond

text: While being the chief of the new military service, he continued serving as commander of the U.S. Space Command until August 20, 2020, when he relinquished command to his deputy, General James H. Dickinson. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, which also created the Space Force, included a provision which allowed the chief of space operations to concurrently serve as commander of the combatant command for one year.


title: John W. Raymond

text: When the creation of the Space Force or space corps was debated, Raymond initially did not support the idea of creating a separate space corps. In 2017, he wrote in a Defense One article that while he applauded the increased focus on space as a warfighting domain, what is needed instead is deeper integration and more resources. By April 2019, he reversed his position, supporting the Trump administration's proposal to establish the Space Force under the Department of the Air Force.


title: John W. Raymond

text: On December 20, 2019, the U.S. Space Force was established by redesignating the Air Force Space Command as a separate service. Raymond, then commander of Air Force Space Command, was appointed as the first chief of space operations. According to President Donald Trump, "With today's signing I will proudly appoint Gen. Jay Raymond the first chief of space operations and he will become the very first member of the Space Force and he will be on the Joint Chiefs." By becoming the first member of the Space Force, he left the Air Force after over 35 years of military service. He was officially sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence on January 14, 2020.


title: John W. Raymond

text: In November 2020, Raymond released the "Chief of Space Operations' Planning Guidance" where he outlined his five priorities as the service chief of the Space Force: building a lean and agile service, developing joint warfighters, delivering new capabilities, expand international cooperation, and creating a digital service. He also ordered the creation of the Space Warfighting Analysis Center and National Space Intelligence Center.


title: John W. Raymond

text: The law that created the Space Force stated that the chief of space operations will become a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff only a year after its enactment, but Raymond was allowed to join the Joint Chiefs immediately because then-Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley viewed it important to national security. In December 2020, Raymond became an official member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, his office becoming the 8th member of the Joint Chiefs. Together with other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Raymond denounced the 2021 United States Capitol attack.


title: John W. Raymond

text: Raymond, and almost all the other Joint Chiefs of Staff members, went into quarantine in October 2020 after coming into contact with Admiral Charles Ray, who tested positive for COVID-19.


title: John W. Raymond

text: Raymond pushes for international norms of behavior for the space domain. Without those norms of behavior, he likened space as the "Wild, Wild West." This "rules of the road" for space is what he wants to pass on to his successors. In November 2021, he wrote an opinion piece for the Washington Post, detailing what the Space Force is doing to establish international norms and standards of behavior in space.


title: John W. Raymond

text: On November 2, 2022, Raymond transferred responsibility as chief of space operations to B. Chance Saltzman. During the ceremony, Secretary Frank Kendall III called Raymond the "father of the Space Force". He will retire from active duty on January 1, 2023, after 38 years of service.


title: John W. Raymond

text: Raymond is married to Mollie Raymond from Saint Paul, Minnesota, whom he met during his first assignment at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota and while she was studying at the University of North Dakota. They got married in June 1987 after Mollie graduated from college. They have three children.


title: James Shaffer

text: James Christian Shaffer (born June 6, 1970), also known by his stage name "Munky", is an American musician best known as co-founder and guitarist of the nu metal band Korn. He has cited Steve Vai, Eddie Van Halen, and Randy Rhoads as some of his influences.


title: James Shaffer

text: Shaffer set up the side-project band Fear and the Nervous System in 2008 and is also the founder of Emotional Syphon Recordings, who have signed acts like Monster in the Machine and Droid.


title: James Shaffer

text: Shaffer was ranked at No. 26 of Guitar World's 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time. Shaffer's work with Korn has resulted in over 40 million albums sold.


title: James Shaffer

text: Shaffer was born June 6, 1970, in Rosedale, California. Shaffer and the other members of Korn grew up in an agricultural town of Bakersfield, California, two hours north of Los Angeles. When trying to sneak out to a party, the tip of one of his fingers was severed by the chain on his three-wheeler, and, as part of his rehabilitation, Shaffer picked up a guitar. During high school, Shaffer met fellow guitarist Brian Welch and the two would often jam together.


title: James Shaffer

text: Shaffer, along with fellow future Korn members, David Silveria and Reginald Arvizu formed a band called L.A.P.D. with singer Richard Morill. When the band moved from Bakersfield, California to Los Angeles, Silveria dropped out of high school and Shaffer stayed in Bakersfield. When Shaffer reunited with the band, they found a manager and released an EP entitled Love and Peace Dude in 1989 through Triple X Records. L.A.P.D. released their first full-length studio album on May 3, 1991, which consisted of eleven tracks. The album was entitled Who's Laughing Now. After releasing two albums, L.A.P.D. broke up. They were also briefly known as Creep, recording a demo with a singer named Corey until Shaffer, Arvizu, and Silveria enlisted Brian Welch and Jonathan Davis to form the band that went on to become Korn.


title: James Shaffer

text: When thinking of a band name, someone suggested "corn", but the band rejected that name, so Shaffer had the idea to spell the name with both a "K" instead of a "C", and a backwards "R", so the band's name would appear as "KoЯn". The idea of using a backwards "R" came from the logo of toy retailer Toys R Us, for which many of the band members had previously worked.


title: James Shaffer

text: On February 22, 2005, Brian "Head" Welch left the band. Shaffer accepted his friend's choice and the two remained on good terms. When drummer David Silveria left the band, Munky said in an interview that he had a strong friendship with him and was very sad to hear that he had to leave.


title: James Shaffer

text: On an interview about Welch's departure, Shaffer said he felt pressure because they were always working together, writing songs, and creating albums. But when Welch left, he had to write all the guitar parts into one part, so Korn could play live, and he continued to play like that until Korn got a backing guitarist. Welch officially returned to the band on May 2, 2013, to work on the album The Paradigm Shift that was released in October 2013.


title: James Shaffer

text: On March 4, 2008, it was announced that Shaffer would be releasing a solo record on August 8, 2008, with his solo band Fear and The Nervous System which would feature Munky doing vocals and guitars, Brooks Wackerman of Bad Religion (who also performed on Korn's eighth album) on drums, Leopold Ross on guitars and programming, Bill Gould of Faith No More fame, and Zac Baird (Korn's keyboardist) on keyboards and programming. The record would be produced by Munky and Ross Robinson. Guitarist and friend Wes Borland originally recorded guitars for two songs on the album but they would not make the final cut. Borland also created cover art that would still be used on the album. The band's debut album was originally due out August 8, 2008, but was pushed back multiple times until its release in 2011.


title: James Shaffer

text: On Modlife in October 2009 (Korn.com), Shaffer explained that he would not be doing vocals on the Fear and the Nervous System album because he is not "very good at singing." It was later announced that Steve Krolikowski of Repeater would be handling vocal duties.


title: James Shaffer

text: In 2006, Shaffer founded Emotional Syphon Records to give daring and diverse bands a chance to be heard. The first bands to be signed were Droid and Monster In The Machine, however Shaffer says he does not want to limit himself to only releasing metal acts but to create a multi-genre label.


title: James Shaffer

text: On January 15, 2000, Shaffer married Stephanie Roush. Together, they had a daughter, Carmella Star Shaffer (born on June 23, 2001). In 2004, Shaffer and Roush got divorced. Shaffer then started to date the Albanian American actress and model Evis Xheneti in 2005. They were married on January 2, 2012, in Paris, France. They have three children together: D'Angelo DraXon Shaffer (born on November 7, 2012), Rocky Rebel Shaffer (born on August 20, 2015), and Heart Hera Shaffer (Born on August 7, 2019).


title: James Shaffer

text: Shaffer predominantly uses Ibanez guitars, most often his signature model the Ibanez Apex 7-string model and Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier & Diezel guitar amplifier. Like Head, he uses many pedals and effects to shape the distinct Korn sound. Munky describes his live pedal board as a "spaceship" because of the large, diverse quantity of effects he uses.


title: ICANN

text: The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN ) is an American multistakeholder group and nonprofit organization responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of several databases related to the namespaces and numerical spaces of the Internet, ensuring the network's stable and secure operation. ICANN performs the actual technical maintenance work of the Central Internet Address pools and DNS root zone registries pursuant to the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) function contract. The contract regarding the IANA stewardship functions between ICANN and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the United States Department of Commerce ended on October 1, 2016, formally transitioning the functions to the global multistakeholder community.


title: ICANN

text: Much of its work has concerned the Internet's global Domain Name System (DNS), including policy development for internationalization of the DNS, introduction of new generic top-level domains (TLDs), and the operation of root name servers. The numbering facilities ICANN manages include the Internet Protocol address spaces for IPv4 and IPv6, and assignment of address blocks to regional Internet registries. ICANN also maintains registries of Internet Protocol identifiers.


title: ICANN

text: ICANN's primary principles of operation have been described as helping preserve the operational stability of the Internet; to promote competition; to achieve broad representation of the global Internet community; and to develop policies appropriate to its mission through bottom-up, consensus-based processes.


title: ICANN

text: ICANN's creation was announced publicly on September 17, 1998, and it formally came into being on January 15, 1997, incorporated in the U.S. state of California. Originally headquartered in Marina del Rey in the same building as the University of Southern California's Information Sciences Institute (ISI), its offices are now in the Playa Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles.


title: ICANN

text: Before the establishment of ICANN, the IANA function of administering registries of Internet protocol identifiers (including the distributing top-level domains and IP addresses) was performed by Jon Postel, a Computer Science researcher who had been involved in the creation of ARPANET, first at UCLA and then at USC-ISI. In 1997 Postel testified before Congress that this had come about as a "side task" to this research work. The Information Sciences Institute was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, as was SRI International's Network Information Center, which also performed some assigned name functions.


title: ICANN

text: As the Internet grew and expanded globally, the U.S. Department of Commerce initiated a process to establish a new organization to perform the IANA functions. On January 30, 1998, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, issued for comment, "A Proposal to Improve the Technical Management of Internet Names and Addresses." The proposed rule making, or "Green Paper", was published in the Federal Register on February 20, 1998, providing opportunity for public comment. NTIA received more than 650 comments as of March 23, 1998, when the comment period closed.


title: ICANN

text: The Green Paper proposed certain actions designed to privatize the management of Internet names and addresses in a manner that allows for the development of competition and facilitates global participation in Internet management. The Green Paper proposed for discussion a variety of issues relating to DNS management including private sector creation of a new not-for-profit corporation (the "new corporation") managed by a globally and functionally representative board of directors. ICANN was formed in response to this policy. ICANN managed the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) under contract to the United States Department of Commerce (DOC) and pursuant to an agreement with the IETF.


title: ICANN

text: ICANN was incorporated in California on September 30, 1998, with entrepreneur and philanthropist Esther Dyson as founding chairwoman. It is a nonprofit public benefit corporation "organized under the California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable and public purposes." ICANN was established in California due to the presence of Jon Postel, who was a founder of ICANN and was set to be its first Chief Technology Officer prior to his unexpected death. ICANN formerly operated from the same Marina del Rey building where Postel formerly worked, which is home to an office of the Information Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California. However, ICANN's headquarters is now located in the nearby Playa Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles.


title: ICANN

text: Per its original by-laws, primary responsibility for policy formation in ICANN was to be delegated to three supporting organizations (Address Supporting Organization, Domain Name Supporting Organization, and Protocol Supporting Organization), each of which was to develop and recommend substantive policies and procedures for the management of the identifiers within their respective scope. They were also required to be financially independent from ICANN. As expected, the regional Internet registries and the IETF agreed to serve as the Address Supporting Organization and Protocol Supporting Organization respectively, and ICANN issued a call for interested parties to propose the structure and composition of the Domain Name Supporting Organization. In March 1999, the ICANN Board, based in part on the DNSO proposals received, decided instead on an alternate construction for the DNSO which delineated specific constituencies bodies within ICANN itself, thus adding primary responsibility for DNS policy development to ICANN's existing duties of oversight and coordination.


title: ICANN

text: On July 26, 2006, the United States government renewed the contract with ICANN for performance of the IANA function for an additional one to five years. The context of ICANN's relationship with the U.S. government was clarified on September 29, 2006, when ICANN signed a new memorandum of understanding with the United States Department of Commerce (DOC). This document gave the DOC oversight over some of the ICANN operations.


title: ICANN

text: During July 2008, the DOC reiterated an earlier statement that it has "no plans to transition management of the authoritative root zone file to ICANN". The letter also stresses the separate roles of the IANA and VeriSign.


title: ICANN

text: On September 30, 2009, ICANN signed an agreement with the DOC (known as the "Affirmation of Commitments") that confirmed ICANN's commitment to a multistakeholder governance model, but did not remove it from DOC oversight and control.


title: ICANN

text: On March 10, 2016, ICANN and the DOC signed a historic, culminating agreement to finally remove ICANN and IANA from the control and oversight of the DOC. On October 1, 2016, ICANN was freed from U.S. government oversight.


title: ICANN

text: On March 18, 2002, publicly elected At-Large Representative for North America board member Karl Auerbach sued ICANN in Superior Court in California to gain access to ICANN's accounting records without restriction. Auerbach won.


title: ICANN

text: During September and October 2003, ICANN played a crucial role in the conflict over VeriSign's "wild card" DNS service Site Finder. After an open letter from ICANN issuing an ultimatum to VeriSign, later endorsed by the Internet Architecture Board, the company voluntarily ended the service on October 4, 2003. After this action, VeriSign filed a lawsuit against ICANN on February 27, 2004, claiming that ICANN had exceeded its authority. By this lawsuit, VeriSign sought to reduce ambiguity about ICANN's authority. The antitrust component of VeriSign's claim was dismissed during August 2004. VeriSign's challenge that ICANN overstepped its contractual rights is currently outstanding. A proposed settlement already approved by ICANN's board would resolve VeriSign's challenge to ICANN in exchange for the right to increase pricing on .com domains. At the meeting of ICANN in Rome, which took place from March 2 to 6, 2004, ICANN agreed to ask approval of the U.S. Department of Commerce for the Waiting List Service of VeriSign.


title: ICANN

text: On May 17, 2004, ICANN published a proposed budget for the year 2004–05. It included proposals to increase the openness and professionalism of its operations, and greatly increased its proposed spending from US$8.27 million to $15.83 million. The increase was to be funded by the introduction of new top-level domains, charges to domain registries, and a fee for some domain name registrations, renewals and transfers (initially US$0.20 for all domains within a country-code top-level domain, and US$0.25 for all others). The Council of European National Top Level Domain Registries (CENTR), which represents the Internet registries of 39 countries, rejected the increase, accusing ICANN of a lack of financial prudence and criticizing what it describes as ICANN's "unrealistic political and operational targets". Despite the criticism, the registry agreement for the top-level domains and includes a US$2 fee on every domain the licensed companies sell or renew.


title: ICANN

text: After a second round of negotiations during 2004, the TLDs , , , , , and were introduced during 2005.


title: ICANN

text: On February 28, 2006, ICANN's board approved a settlement with VeriSign in the lawsuit resulting from SiteFinder that involved allowing VeriSign (the registry) to raise its registration fees by up to 7% a year. This was criticised by a few members of the U.S. House of Representatives' Small Business Committee.


title: ICANN

text: During February 2007, ICANN began procedures to end accreditation of one of their registrars, RegisterFly amid charges and lawsuits involving fraud, and criticism of ICANN's management of the situation. ICANN has been the subject of criticism as a result of its handling of RegisterFly, and the harm caused to thousands of clients as a result of what has been termed ICANN's "laissez faire attitude toward customer allegations of fraud".