title: Unethical human experimentation

text: From 1946 to 1948 U.S. scientific researchers in Guatemala infected hundreds of mental patients with sexually transmitted diseases (STD). Researchers from the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) conducted experiments on approximately 1,500 male and female patients housed at Guatemala's National Mental Health Hospital. The scientists injected the patients with gonorrhea and syphilis—and encouraged many of them to pass the disease on to others. The experiments were done in cooperation with the Guatemalan government. The PHS carried out the experiments under the guise of syphilis inoculations. In 2010 these experiments were revealed by Susan Reverby of Wellesley College, who was researching a book on the Tuskegee syphilis experiments. The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued an official apology to Guatemala. President Barack Obama apologized to President Álvaro Colom, who had called these experiments "a crime against humanity".


title: Unethical human experimentation

text: The Vipeholm experiments were a series of human experiments where patients of Vipeholm Hospital for intellectually disabled in Lund, Sweden, were fed large amounts of sweets to provoke dental caries between 1945 and 1955. The experiments were sponsored both by the sugar industry and dentist community, in an effort to determine whether carbohydrates affected the formation of cavities. The experiments provided extensive knowledge about dental health and resulted in enough empirical data to link the intake of sugar to dental caries. However, today they are considered to have violated the principles of medical ethics.


title: Unethical human experimentation

text: De-classified documents from The National Archives revealed that during the 20th century, scientists from Porton Down conducted experiments on British and Indian soldiers to test the effects of mustard gas. From 1916 until 1989, more than 20,000 British servicemen were subjected to chemical warfare trials. The experiments on Indian servicemen were conducted in Rawalpindi, British India during the 1930s and 1940s. It is unclear whether the Indian trial subjects, some of whom were hospitalised by their injuries, were all volunteers. In the 1950s, Royal Air Force engineer Ronald Maddison was killed when he was exposed to 200 milligrams of sarin at Porton Down. He had believed that he was testing a cure for the common cold, and in 2004 a High Court judgement ruled that his death was "unlawful".


title: Unethical human experimentation

text: Between 1940 and 1979, the Ministry of Defence secretly dispersed potentially dangerous chemicals and micro-organisms across much of the country to evaluate readiness against a biological attack from the Soviet Union. They dropped zinc cadmium sulphide from aeroplanes and dispersed it by land to track the spread of fluorescent particles, and also spread "e.coli", "bacillus globigii", and "serratia marcescens" bacteria.


title: Unethical human experimentation

text: Since the late 19th century, numerous human experiments were performed in the United States, which were later characterized as unethical. They were often performed illegally, without the knowledge, consent, or informed consent of the test subjects. Examples have included the deliberate infection of people with deadly or debilitating diseases, exposing people to biological and chemical weapons, human radiation experiments, injecting people with toxic and radioactive chemicals, surgical experiments, interrogation/torture experiments, tests involving mind-altering substances, and a wide variety of others. Many of these tests were performed on children and mentally disabled individuals. In many of the studies, a large number of the subjects were poor, racial minorities, and/or prisoners. Often, subjects were sick or disabled people, whose doctors told them that they were receiving "medical treatment". They were used as the subjects of harmful and deadly experiments, without their knowledge or consent. In reaction to this, interest groups and institutions have worked to design policies and oversight to ensure that future human subject research in the United States would be ethical and legal.


title: Unethical human experimentation

text: During World War II, Fort Detrick in Maryland was the headquarters of US biological warfare experiments. Operation Whitecoat involved the injection of infectious agents into military forces to observe their effects in human subjects.


title: Unethical human experimentation

text: Public outcry over the discovery of government experiments on human subjects led to numerous congressional investigations and hearings, including the Church Committee, Rockefeller Commission, and Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments, amongst others. These inquiries have not resulted in prosecutions. Not all subjects involved in the trials have been compensated or notified that they were subjects of such trials.


title: Unethical human experimentation

text: In the 1950s and 1960s, Chester M. Southam injected HeLa cancer cells into healthy individuals, cancer patients, and prison inmates from the Ohio Penitentiary. This experiment raised many bioethical concerns involving informed consent, non-maleficence, and beneficence. Some of Southam's subjects, namely those that already had cancer, were unaware that they were being injected with malignant cells. Additionally, in one of these patients, the cells metastasized to her lymph nodes.


title: Unethical human experimentation

text: In 1962, the Kefauver-Harris Drug Amendment was passed by the United States Congress. This amendment made changes to the Federal Food Drug & Consumer Act by requiring drug companies to prove both safety and effectiveness of their products. Consequently, drugs were required to have Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval before being marketed to consumers. Additionally, informed consent became a participation requirement and rules were put into place. This regulation was influenced by the results of 1950 use of thalidomide in Western Europe for pregnant women. They were prescribed the sedative thalidomide, which was inaccurately marketed as a morning sickness treatment. Women gave birth to more than 12,000 infants born with deformities due to effects from the drug in utero.


title: Unethical human experimentation

text: In the Tuskegee syphilis experiment from 1932 to 1972, the United States Public Health Service contracted with the Tuskegee Institute for a long-term study of syphilis. During the study, more than 600 African-American men were studied who were not told they had syphilis. In an effort to better understand the disease, researchers denied the men access to the known treatment of the antibiotic penicillin. They recorded observations of the effects of the disease over time. Under the impression they were being treated for "bad blood", the participants were given free healthcare by the government. As ineffective treatment was given to the subjects, two-thirds of the group had died by the end of the 40-year experiment. A leak in 1972 led to cessation of the study and severe legal ramifications. It has been widely regarded as the "most infamous biomedical research study in U.S. history". Because of the public outrage, in 1974 Congress passed the National Research Act, to provide for protection of human subjects in experiments. The National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research was established. It was tasked with establishing the boundary between research and routine practice, the role of risk-benefit analysis, guidelines for participation, and the definition of informed consent. Its "Belmont Report" established three tenets of ethical research: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.


title: Unethical human experimentation

text: Project MKUltra — sometimes referred to as the "CIA's mind control program" — was the code name given to an illegal program of experiments on human subjects, designed and undertaken by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Experiments on humans were intended to identify and develop drugs and procedures to be used in interrogations and torture, in order to weaken the individual to force confessions through mind control. Organized through the Scientific Intelligence Division of the CIA, the project coordinated with the Special Operations Division of the U.S. Army's Chemical Corps. The program began in the early 1950s, was officially sanctioned in 1953, was reduced in scope in 1964, further curtailed in 1967 and officially halted in 1973. The program engaged in many illegal activities; in particular it used unwitting U.S. and Canadian citizens as its test subjects, which led to controversy regarding its legitimacy. MKUltra used numerous methodologies to manipulate people's mental states and alter brain functions, including the surreptitious administration of drugs (especially LSD) and other chemicals, hypnosis, sensory deprivation, isolation, verbal and sexual abuse, as well as various forms of torture.


title: Unethical human experimentation

text: In a 1966 paper, Harvard anesthesiologist Henry K. Beecher described 22 published medical studies in which patients had been subjects with no expected benefit to the patient of the experiment. This has been characterized as unethical. For example, patients infused with live cancer cells had been told in one study that they were receiving "some cells", without being told this was cancer. Though identities of the authors and institutions had been stripped, the 22 studies were later identified as having been conducted by mainstream researchers and published in prestigious journals within approximately the previous decade. The 22 cases had been selected from a set of 50 that Beecher had collected. He presented evidence that such unethical studies were widespread and represented a systemic problem in medical research rather than exceptions.


title: Unethical human experimentation

text: Beecher had been writing about human experimentation and publicizing cases that he considered to be bad practice for nearly a decade. His 1965 briefing to science writers and his 1966 paper gained widespread news coverage and stimulated public reaction. The paper has been described as "the most influential single paper ever written about experimentation involving human subjects." The United States Office for Human Research Protections credits Beecher through this paper as "ultimately contributing to the impetus for the first NIH and FDA regulations."


title: Unethical human experimentation

text: Beecher was instrumental in developing solutions to such abuses. He noted that a common element in these studies was that some experimental subjects, such as military personnel or mentally handicapped children in institutions, were not in a position to freely decline consent. Beecher believed that rules requiring informed consent were not alone sufficient, as truly informed consent was an unattainable ideal. He worked both to define the rules and conditions for informed consent, and to establish institutional review boards as an additional layer of oversight regarding research protocols.


title: Unethical human experimentation

text: Since the late 20th century, African nations have often been the sites of clinical testing by large international pharmaceutical companies. In some cases, rural communities have developed iatrophobia (fear of doctors) after undergoing or learning of highly controversial medical experimentation. The fundamental distrust lies in the potential confrontation of Hobson's choice: "Experimental medicine or no medicine at all". Multiple cases of ethically questionable experiments have been documented.


title: Unethical human experimentation

text: In the late 20th century, Depo-Provera was clinically tested on Zimbabwean women. Once approved, the drug was used as a population control measure in the 1970s. Commercial farm owners put pressure on native women workers to accept the use of Depo-Provera. Population control interests motivated many of the family planning programs. This led to its eventual ban in Zimbabwe.


title: Unethical human experimentation

text: A 1996 clinical trial in Kano, Nigeria involving the Pfizer drug Trovan to treat meningitis resulted in 200 children being disabled and the deaths of 11. Because of these casualties, the Nigerian government sued Pfizer over whether it had appropriately obtained informed consent. Pfizer argued in court that it had met all regulations for drug testing. Many Nigerians mistrust the use of medical vaccines and also refuse to participate in medical trials.


title: Unethical human experimentation

text: In 1994 United States drug companies began conducting trials of the drug AZT on HIV-positive African subjects with the goal of developing treatments to reduce the transmission of HIV/AIDS during childbirth. With funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the program tested over 17,000 Zimbabwean women for the efficacy of AZT in preventing transmission of HIV/AIDS during childbirth. Half of the women were given a placebo rather than the drug, and the subjects were not informed of the potential dangers of the treatment. According to Peter Lamptey, the head of the AIDS Control and Prevention Program, "if you interviewed the people in the study, most wouldn't understand to what they had actually consented." An estimated 1000 newborns of women in the study contracted HIV/AIDS, although this could have been avoided by treating the women with known drugs. The testing was ceased in 1998 when the CDC claimed to have obtained sufficient data from experiments in Thailand.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: On 8 April 2013, former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, died of a stroke at the Ritz Hotel, London, at the age of 87. On 17 April, she was honoured with a ceremonial funeral. Due to polarised opinion about her achievements and legacy, reaction to her death was mixed across the UK and included contrasting praise, criticism, and celebration of both her life and death.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: The funeral, including a formal procession through Central London that was followed by a church service at St Paul's Cathedral attended by Queen Elizabeth II, cost around £3.6 million, including £3.1 million for security. Thatcher's body was subsequently cremated at Mortlake Crematorium.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Her ashes were buried at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, London, in a private ceremony on 28 September 2013, alongside those of her husband Denis.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Thatcher suffered several small strokes in 2002 and was advised by her doctors not to engage in any more public speaking. On 23 March she announced the cancellation of her planned speaking engagements and that she would accept no more. Despite her illness she pre-recorded a eulogy for the funeral of Ronald Reagan in June 2004, and attended her 80th birthday celebration in 2005 with the Queen and 650 other guests in attendance. However, her health continued to decline; she was briefly hospitalised in 2008 after feeling unwell during a dinner, and again after falling and fracturing her arm in 2009. In June 2009, her daughter Carol spoke to the press of her mother's struggle with dementia.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Baroness Thatcher died at 11:28 BST (10:28 UTC) on 8 April 2013, at the Ritz Hotel in Piccadilly after suffering a stroke. She had been staying in a suite there since December 2012, after having difficulty using the stairs at her house in Chester Square. She had been invited to stay at the Ritz by its owners David and Frederick Barclay, who were long-time supporters. Lord Bell, Thatcher's spokesman, confirmed her death to the Press Association, who issued the first wire report to newsrooms at 12:47 BST (11:47 UTC). The Union Flag was flown at half-mast at Downing Street, Buckingham Palace, Parliament and other palaces, and flowers were laid outside her home.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Planning for the funeral began in 2009. The committee was originally chaired by Sir Malcolm Ross, former Master of the Royal Household. Following the 2010 general election that brought the coalition government into power, Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude was made the new chairman of the committee; the codename given to the plans was changed to "True Blue" from "Iron Bridge" to give it "a more Conservative feel".


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Details of Thatcher's funeral had been agreed with her in advance. She had chosen the hymns, among them Charles Wesley's "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling", which reflected her Methodist upbringing. She also stipulated that the prime minister of the day would read a lesson from the Bible.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Thatcher had previously vetoed a state funeral; reasons included cost, parliamentary deliberation, and that it suggested similar stature to Winston Churchill (with which she disagreed). Instead, with her and her family's agreement, she received a ceremonial funeral, including military honours, a guard of honour, and a service at St Paul's Cathedral, London. The arrangements were similar to those for Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 2002 and for Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997, except with greater military honours as she had been a former head of government. Thatcher's body was cremated after the funeral, in accordance with her wishes.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Some of Thatcher's supporters expressed disappointment that she would not be given a full state funeral. However, Peter Oborne in "The Daily Telegraph" argued that the scale of the ceremony amounted to a "de facto" state funeral and disagreed with the status of a ceremonial funeral. Oborne contended that the Queen's attendance might be seen as "partisan" since she had not attended Labour prime minister Clement Attlee's funeral.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: The scale and the cost to the taxpayer of the funeral, inaccurately estimated before the event at up to £10 million in total, was also criticised by public figures including the Bishop of Grantham, Tim Ellis; Lord Prescott and George Galloway. Thatcher's family agreed to meet part of the cost of the funeral, with the government funding the remainder. After the event, it was reported by 10 Downing Street that in fact the total public spending on the funeral was £3.6 million, of which £3.1 million (86 per cent) had been the costs of police and security.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Anticipating possible protests and demonstrations along the route, police mounted one of the largest security operations since the 2012 Summer Olympics. Against the backdrop of the bombings at the Boston Marathon two days earlier, it was announced that over 4,000 police officers would be deployed. In the event, the crowds were peaceful, with supporters drowning out most of the scattered protests with cheers and applause. A few hundred people turned up to protest at Ludgate Circus, some shouting and others turning their backs, with other protesters picketing along the route.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Flags along Whitehall were lowered to half-mast at 08:00, and as a rare mark of respect the chimes of the Palace of Westminster's Great Clock, including Big Ben, were silenced from 09:45 for the duration of the funeral. At the Tower of London, a 105 mm gun fired every 60 seconds during the procession. Muffled bells tolled at St Margaret's Church at Westminster Abbey, and at St Paul's.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: The funeral cortège commenced at the Houses of Parliament, where Thatcher's coffin had lain overnight in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft beneath St Stephen's Hall at the Palace of Westminster. The funeral procession was as follows:


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: The bidding (introductory words) was given by the Dean of St Paul's, David Ison. Amanda Thatcher gave the first Bible reading; the second reading was given by the prime minister, David Cameron. The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, also gave an address.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: It was expected that there would be about 2,300 mourners within St Paul's for the funeral. Invitations were decided by the Thatcher family and their representatives, together with the government and the Conservative Party. The guest list included her family and friends; former colleagues, including former British Cabinet members; and personal staff who worked closely with her. Invitations were also sent to representatives of some 200 countries, and to all five living presidents of the United States and all four living British prime ministers. Two current heads of state, 11 serving prime ministers, and 17 serving foreign ministers were present.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Queen Elizabeth II led mourners at the funeral. It marked only the second time in the Queen's reign that she attended the funeral of one of her prime ministers, the only other time was for that of Churchill in 1965. Her presence at the funeral was interpreted by some as having elevated "the status [of the funeral] to that of state funeral in all but name". The Queen and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, were led in and out of the cathedral by the Lord Mayor of London, Roger Gifford, bearing the Mourning Sword. The sword had last been used at Churchill's funeral.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Following the church service, the coffin was taken by motor hearse from St Paul's to Mortlake Crematorium, where Denis Thatcher had been cremated nearly a decade before. The cremation service was only attended by the immediate family. On 28 September 2013, a private and unpublicised service for Thatcher was held in the All Saints Chapel of the Royal Hospital Chelsea's Margaret Thatcher Infirmary. Afterwards, Thatcher's ashes were interred in the hospital's grounds, next to those of her husband.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: On 10 April, two days following Thatcher's death, her son Mark spoke of his mother's death on the steps of her Chester Square home. He told a gathering of journalists that his family was "proud and equally grateful" that her funeral service would be attended by the Queen, whose presence he said his mother would be "greatly honoured as well as humbled by". He expressed gratitude for all the messages of support and condolences from far and wide. Three days later on 13 April her daughter Carol thanked US president Barack Obama and others for their tributes and all those who had sent messages of sympathy and support.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: A Buckingham Palace spokesman reported the Queen's sadness on hearing the news of her death and that she would be sending a private message to the family.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader David Cameron cut short a visit to Spain and ordered flags to be flown at half-mast. He issued a statement lamenting Britain's loss of "a great prime minister, a great leader, a great Briton". The deputy prime minister and leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, eulogised Thatcher as having defined modern British politics and that, while she may have "divided opinion" during her time, there would be scant disagreement about "the strength of her personality and the radicalism of her politics".


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Leader of the Opposition and Labour Party leader Ed Miliband said that she would be remembered for having "reshaped the politics of a whole generation [and moving] the centre ground of British politics" and for her stature in the world. He said that, although the Labour Party had disagreed with much of what she did, "we can disagree and also greatly respect her political achievements and her personal strength".


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Sir John Major, her successor as prime minister, credited Thatcher's leadership with turning Britain around in large measure: "Her reforms of the economy, trades union law, and her recovery of the Falkland Islands elevated her above normal politics." Former Labour prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown said that even those who disagreed with her would admire her strength of character, her convictions, her view of Britain's place in the world and her contribution to British national life.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Scottish first minister and SNP leader Alex Salmond acknowledged that "Margaret Thatcher was a truly formidable prime minister whose policies defined a political generation". Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood, while expressing sympathy to her family, criticised her policies' effects on Wales.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas voiced regret that, although Thatcher was the first female prime minister, "she did little for women either inside or outside the House of Commons". UKIP leader Nigel Farage expressed his sympathy in a tweet, paying homage to "a great patriotic lady".


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: The House of Commons was recalled in order to hold a special session discussing Thatcher's legacy. While current and former cabinet ministers struck a conciliatory tone in their speeches, some in the Labour Party attacked Thatcher's legacy. Over half of all Labour MPs chose to boycott the tribute to Thatcher, with many saying it would have been hypocritical for them to honour her as their constituents continued to suffer from some of the decisions she made. Former MP Tony Benn, former London mayor Ken Livingstone and Paul Kenny, general-secretary of the GMB trade union, stated that her policies were divisive and her legacy involved "the destruction of communities, the elevation of personal greed over social values and legitimising the exploitation of the weak by the strong", however Benn did acknowledge some of her personal qualities.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Many reactions were unsympathetic, particularly from her former opponents. Residents in Orgreave, South Yorkshire, site of the Battle of Orgreave between striking coal miners and police in June 1984, declared that their village had been "decimated by Thatcher". The Associated Press quoted a number of miners as responding to her death simply with "good riddance". Chris Kitchen, general-secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, stated that miners would "not be shedding a tear for her". A mock funeral was held in the pit village of Goldthorpe in South Yorkshire, in which an effigy of Thatcher was burned alongside the word "scab" spelled out in flowers.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Spontaneous street parties were held by some across Britain, comparable to the enthusiasm shown for the assassination of sitting prime minister Spencer Perceval in 1812; celebrations of her death took place in Glasgow, Brixton, Liverpool, Bristol, Leeds, Belfast, Cardiff and elsewhere; Glasgow City Council advised citizens to stay away from street parties organised without their involvement or consent out of safety concerns. A larger demonstration with around 3,000 protesters took place at Trafalgar Square in London on 13 April. Graffiti was posted calling for her to "rot in hell". Left-wing film director Ken Loach suggested privatising her funeral and tendering it for the cheapest bid. The "Daily Telegraph" website closed comments on all articles related to her death due to spamming by online trolls.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: The issue of whether to fly the flag at half-mast for her funeral caused controversy for some councils where local feelings remained hostile. The government's national flag protocol dictates that union flags should be lowered to half mast on the funeral days of all former prime ministers; however most Scottish councils did not lower the flag for the funeral. Councils in England that refused to lower the flag included Barnsley, Sheffield and Wakefield in Yorkshire, as well as Coventry in the West Midlands.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Whilst business leaders, including Alan Sugar, Richard Branson, Archie Norman and CBI chief John Cridland, credited her for creating a climate favourable to business in Britain, and lifting the UK "out of the economic relegation zone", the Premier League and the Football League rejected having a minute's silence around the country's football grounds, a move backed by the Football Supporters' Federation and the Hillsborough Family Support Group, the latter in reaction to her perceived lack of interest in uncovering abuse committed by the police during the 1989 disaster. However, Saracens and Exeter Chiefs held a minute's silence for her before their Premiership rugby union games.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Along with the eulogies and expressions of condolence, there were less than sympathetic reactions in Argentina, due to her role in the Falklands War, and in South Africa, given her support for constructive engagement with apartheid South Africa.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, described Thatcher as "a great model as the first woman Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, who not only demonstrated her leadership but has given such great hope for many women for equality, gender equality in Parliament". The message from Pope Francis "recalls with appreciation the Christian values which underpinned her commitment to public service and to the promotion of freedom among the family of nations".


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Irish president Michael D. Higgins extended his condolences, saying: "She will be remembered as one of the most conviction-driven British prime ministers" and that "her key role in signing the Anglo-Irish Agreement will be recalled as a valuable early contribution to the search for peace and political stability". Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Enda Kenny said he was "saddened" to learn of Thatcher's death, while Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams criticised "the great hurt done to the Irish and British people during her time as British prime minister", adding: "Here in Ireland, her espousal of old draconian militaristic policies prolonged the war and caused great suffering".


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: French president François Hollande and German chancellor Angela Merkel remarked that Thatcher left "a deep impression on her country's history". Merkel went on to hail Thatcher's belief in the freedom of the individual as having contributed to "overcoming Europe's partition and the end of the Cold War".


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy hailed her as a 20th-century landmark and said it was a sad day for Europe.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Romanian president Traian Băsescu and the premier and foreign minister of Bulgaria, Marin Raykov, cited her influence on them and sent their condolences. They recognised Thatcher as a central figure in modern European history, and that her application of the law and economically liberal principles contributed to the downfall of communism in the Eastern Bloc. Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski said she was a "fearless champion of liberty".


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper acknowledged Thatcher as having "define[d] the age in which she served [as well as] contemporary conservatism itself".


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: US president Barack Obama lamented the loss of "a true friend". His statement praised her as "an unapologetic supporter of our transatlantic alliance, she knew that with strength and resolve we could win the Cold War and extend freedom's promise".


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: New Zealand prime minister John Key praised Thatcher's determination and expressed his "[sadness] for her family and Great Britain".


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu lamented losing "a true friend of the Jewish people and Israel".


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: At the wishes of Thatcher's family, Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was not invited to the funeral. Argentine foreign minister Héctor Timerman said that any invitation would have been "just another provocation". The Argentine ambassador, Alicia Castro, was invited in line with diplomatic protocol, but declined the invitation.


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh, Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari, and South African president Jacob Zuma expressed condolences, as did Russian president Vladimir Putin, who said that Thatcher was "a pragmatic, tough and consistent person". Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev expressed sadness at the loss of a "great" politician "whose words carried great weight".


title: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

text: Social media played a significant role in the aftermath of her death, with celebrities channelling polarised views about Thatcher on Twitter, and endorsing campaigns and demonstrations. Anti-Thatcher sentiment prompted a campaign on social media networks to bring the song "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" from "The Wizard of Oz" into the UK Singles Chart, followed by a counter-campaign adopted by Thatcher supporters in favour of the 1979 tongue-in-cheek punk song "I'm in Love with Margaret Thatcher" by the Notsensibles, which had been started by the band's lead singer. On 12 April 2013, "Ding-Dong!" charted at number 2 across the UK (it made number 1 in Scotland), and "I'm in Love with Margaret Thatcher" at number 35. BBC Radio 1 controller Ben Cooper said that the station's chart show would not play the No. 2 song but that a portion of it would be aired as part of a news item. Cooper explained that its delicate compromise balanced freedom of speech and sensitivity for a family grieving for a loved one yet to be buried.


title: Sophie Gradon

text: Sophie Hannah Gradon (25 October 1985 – 20 June 2018) was an English model. In 2008, she won Miss Newcastle. In 2009, Gradon won the title Miss Great Britain. In 2016, she was a contestant on the second series of ITV2's "Love Island".


title: Sophie Gradon

text: Gradon was born in Newcastle. She was educated at Dame Allan's School where she completed GCE Advanced Levels. She obtained a degree in media, culture and society from Northumbria University.


title: Sophie Gradon

text: In 2008, Gradon won the Miss Newcastle title. In 2009, she won the Miss Great Britain title. Gradon worked as a marketing manager. She was a promoter of the NE1 campaign in Newcastle City Centre, through which she raised money for charities. In this capacity, Gradon successfully solicited financial support from Calum Best for the Great North Run in 2011. Thousands of pounds were raised to send children with cancer on a trip to Crete. "Chronicle Live" reported that Calum agreed to support this charity after he saw the work Gradon did for the Sara's Hope Foundation. In 2011, Gradon appeared on Sky Sports in support of the campaign "The Great North Fitness Revolution".


title: Sophie Gradon

text: She was a contestant on "Love Island" in 2016. During her time on the reality TV series, "Love Island", Gradon began a relationship with barman Tom Powell before coupling up with glamour model Katie Salmon, "Love Island" first same-sex pairing. She decided to walk from the villa on Day 39.


title: Sophie Gradon

text: In 2018, Gradon was part of a talk on social media and its impact on children. In a March 2018 interview with Radio Aire, Gradon revealed that she was the victim of intense cyberbullying and internet trolls.


title: Sophie Gradon

text: "It was horrific. I think when you get so many comments on the scale we did coming out of thousands of followers."She added: "There are fans and positive comments but people would focus on the negatives. Sometimes I would look for it...There would be so many negative comments. They are commenting on the way you look, the way you talk. They would come up with an opinion of you on a TV show where they've watched you for 45 minutes."


title: Sophie Gradon

text: In 2013, Gradon dated rugby player Danny Cipriani. In 2016, reports stated that Gradon was "openly bisexual". She was widely known among the social scene in Newcastle.


title: Sophie Gradon

text: Gradon was found dead at her parents house in Medburn on 20 June 2018. She was 32. A spokesperson for the Northumbria Police reported that there did not appear to be suspicious circumstances and a cause of death was not initially revealed. Officials later stated the cause of death was likely suicide; Gradon had hanged herself. Her death sparked a response among media outlets, with the organisation of Miss Great Britain and several members of the cast of "Love Island" expressing condolences. Her funeral was held on 5 July 2018.


title: Sophie Gradon

text: According to an inquest in April 2019, Gradon committed suicide after taking cocaine and alcohol. About 20 days after her death, Gradon's boyfriend Aaron Armstrong also died by suicide.


title: Rhonda Byrne

text: Rhonda Byrne ( ; née Izon; born 1951, Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian television writer and producer. Her book "The Secret" is based on the belief of the pseudoscientific law of attraction, which claims that thoughts can change a person's life directly. She wrote several sequels to the book, including "The Power" and "The Magic."


title: Rhonda Byrne

text: Byrne was born in 1951, Melbourne, Australia, to parents Ronald and Irene Izon. She worked as an executive producer for television, with credits including "Oz Encounters: UFO's in Australia" (1997), "Sensing Murder: Easy Street" (2003), "Loves Me, Loves Me Not" (2003), and "The World's Greatest Commercials" (1995–2004).


title: Rhonda Byrne

text: After the death of her father in 2004, Byrne became very depressed. At the instigation of her daughter Hayley, she read "The Science of Getting Rich" (1910) by Wallace D. Wattles. She began to work on "The Secret."


title: Rhonda Byrne

text: Byrne claims that all great men in history knew about the Law of Attraction (New Thought), suggesting Abraham Lincoln, Ludwig van Beethoven, Winston Churchill and others. She asserts that current proponents of the laws of attraction include author Jack Canfield, minister Michael Beckwith, self-help speaker James Arthur Ray, author Joseph Vitale, and author John Gray.


title: Rhonda Byrne

text: Byrne found success with both the DVD and the book of "The Secret". "The Secret" was published in 2006, and by the spring of 2007 had sold more than 19 million copies in more than 40 languages, and more than two million DVDs. "The Secret" book and film have grossed $300 million.


title: Rhonda Byrne

text: In 2007 Byrne was featured in "Time Magazine"s "TIME 100: The Most Influential People". She gained mainstream popularity and commercial success after appearing on "The Oprah Winfrey Show".


title: Rhonda Byrne

text: Byrne wrote a sequel to "The Secret" called "The Power" after answering several thousand letters from readers of "The Secret". On 17 August 2010 "The Power" was published as both a hardcover edition and audio CD. In 2012 Byrne published a third book called "The Magic".


title: Rhonda Byrne

text: More of Byrne's published works include "Hero" (2013), "How The Secret Changed My Life" (2016), and "The Greatest Secret" (2020).""


title: Hallucigenia

text: Hallucigenia is a genus of Cambrian animal resembling worms, known from articulated fossils in Burgess Shale-type deposits in Canada and China, and from isolated spines around the world. The generic name reflects the type species' unusual appearance and eccentric history of study; when it was erected as a genus, "H. sparsa" was reconstructed as an enigmatic animal upside down and back to front. "Hallucigenia" was later recognized as a lobopodian, a grade of Paleozoic panarthropods from which the velvet worms, water bears, and arthropods arose.


title: Hallucigenia

text: "Hallucigenia" is a long tubular animal with up to ten pairs of slender legs (lobopods). The first 2 or 3 leg pairs are slender and featureless, while the remaining 7 or 8 pairs each terminate with 1 or 2 claws. Above the trunk region are 7 pairs of rigid conical sclerites (spines) corresponding to the 3rd–9th leg pairs. The trunk is either featureless ("H. sparsa") or divided by heteronomous annulations ("H. fortis" and "H. hongmeia"). The "head" and "tail" end of the animal are difficult to identify; one end extends some distance beyond the legs and often droops down as if to reach the substrate. Some specimens display traces of a simple gut.


title: Hallucigenia

text: Research in the mid-2010s clarified that the longer end is a head with anteroventral mouth and at least a pair of simple eyes. The shape of head differs between species – elongated in "H. sparsa", rounded in "H. fortis", while those of "H. hongmeia" remain unknown. At least in "H. sparsa", the head possesses radial teeth and pharyngeal teeth within the front of the gut.


title: Hallucigenia

text: "Hallucigenia" spines are made up of one to four nested elements. The spine surface of "H. sparsa" is covered in an ornament of minute triangular 'scales', while the spine surface of "Hallucigenia hongmeia" is a net-like texture of microscopic circular openings, which can be interpreted as the remains of Papillae.


title: Hallucigenia

text: "Hallucigenia" was originally described by Charles Walcott as a species of the polychaete worm "Canadia". In his 1977 redescription of the organism, Simon Conway Morris recognized the animal as something quite distinct, establishing the new genus. No specimen was available that showed both rows of legs, and as such Conway Morris reconstructed the animal walking on its spines, with its single row of legs interpreted as tentacles on the animal's back. A dark stain at one end of the animal was interpreted as a featureless head. Only the forward tentacles could easily reach to the 'head', meaning that a mouth on the head would have to be fed by passing food along the line of tentacles. Conway Morris suggested that a hollow tube within each of the tentacles might be a "mouth". This raised questions, such as how it would walk on the stiff legs, but it was accepted (with reservations) as the best available interpretation.


title: Hallucigenia

text: An alternative interpretation considered "Hallucigenia" to be an appendage of a larger, unknown animal. There had been precedent for this, as "Anomalocaris" had been originally identified as three separate creatures before being identified as a single huge (for its time) creature.


title: Hallucigenia

text: In 1991, Lars Ramskold and Hou Xianguang, working with additional specimens of a "hallucigenid", "Microdictyon", from the lower Cambrian Maotianshan shales of China, reinterpreted "Hallucigenia" as a lobopodian, a legged worm-like taxon which were still thought to be exclusively related to onychophoran (velvet worm) at that time. They inverted it, interpreting the tentacles, which they believe to be paired, as walking structures and the spines as protective. Further preparation of fossil specimens showed that the 'second legs' were buried at an angle to the plane along which the rock had split, and could be revealed by removing the overlying sediment. Ramskold and Hou also believe that the blob-like 'head' is actually a stain that appears in many specimens, not a preserved portion of the anatomy. This stain may be an artifact of decomposition.


title: Hallucigenia

text: Since the revisions around 1990s, "Hallucigenia" is unquestionably a lobopodian panarthropod, although the relationship with other panarthropods remain controversial. "Hallucigenia" has long been interpreted as a stem-group onychophoran (velvet worms) – a position that has found support from multiple phylogenetic analysis. A key character demonstrating this affinity is the cone-in-cone construction of "Hallucigenia" claws, a feature shared only with modern onychophorans. On the other hand, some analysis rather support the position of "Hallucigenia" as a basal panarthropod outside of onychophoran stem-group. Under this scenario, the cone-in-cone structure shared between "Hallucigenia" and onychophorans represent panarthropod plesiomorphy. "Hallucigenia" also exhibits certain characters inherited from the ancestral ecdysozoan, but lost in the modern onychophorans – in particular its distinctive foregut armature.


title: Hallucigenia

text: In 2002, Desmond Collins informally suggested that new "Hallucigenia" fossils from the Burgess Shale showed male and female forms, one with "a rigid trunk, robust neck and a globular head" and the other thinner, and with a small head.


title: Hallucigenia

text: Three species of "Hallucigenia" have been described. The first specimen, "Hallucigenia" "sparsa", was discovered in Canada. Two other species, "H. fortis" and "H. hongmeia", are represented by the Maotianshan Shales' fossils of Chengjiang.


title: Hallucigenia

text: "Hallucigenia" was first described from the Burgess Shale in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. 109 specimens of "Hallucigenia" are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise 0.3% of the community. "Hallucigenia" also forms a minor component of Chinese lagerstätten. Isolated hallucigeniid spines, however, are widely distributed in a range of Cambrian deposits, preserved both as carbonaceous and mineralized fossils.


title: The Avalanches

text: The Avalanches are an Australian electronic music group formed in Melbourne in 1997. They are known for their studio albums "Since I Left You" (2000), "Wildflower" (2016), and "We Will Always Love You" (2020), as well as their live and recorded DJ sets. The group currently consists of Robbie Chater, Tony Di Blasi and Andy Szekeres.


title: The Avalanches

text: Three future Avalanches members formed Alarm 115 in Melbourne in 1994 as a noise punk outfit inspired by Drive Like Jehu, The Fall, and Ultra Bide. The line-up was Robbie Chater on keyboards, Tony Di Blasi on keyboards, bass and backing vocals, and Darren Seltmann on vocals. By 1995, Manabu Etoh joined on drums. The group bought instruments, recording gear and numerous old vinyl records by the crate at second-hand shops. When Etoh was deported and Alarm 115 disbanded, these records became the core of a new project. Chater was a film student at RMIT University and had access to a recording studio, which he and Seltmann used to turn the records into a 30-song demo tape labelled "Pan Amateurs". In 1997 a new group consisting of Chater, Di Blasi, Seltmann, and Gordon McQuilten on keyboards was assembled to play the tracks live. Chater, Di Blasi and McQuilten had all been school mates in Maryborough. Starting in July, their first four shows were played under different names: Swinging Monkey Cocks, Quentin's Brittle Bones, and Whoops Downs Syndrome. The group became "The Avalanches" at their fifth gig, borrowing the new band name from an American surf rock band, which recorded only one album, "Ski Surfin' with the Avalanches", in 1963.


title: The Avalanches

text: After playing the support slot for Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, they rose to prominence quickly. Trifekta Records released the debut single "Rock City" in September 1997. This was followed in December by their seven-track extended play, "El Producto", on Steve Pavlovic's Wondergram Records. Around this time, DJ Dexter Fabay joined the group on turntables and keyboards. Based on "El Producto"'s success, Pavlovic signed the Avalanches to his new Modular Recordings label in May 1998. Leo Silvermann signed them to his label, Rex Records, for the exclusive United Kingdom four-track EP "Undersea Community", which released in March 1999. The group's profile grew with support slots on tours by the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, Stereolab, and Beck. The band also played at the Tibetan Freedom Concert at Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush Bay, Sydney. James Dela Cruz was added to the live line-up on turntables and keyboards, and made his debut with the band at The Palace, St Kilda, supporting Public Enemy. In September 1999 Modular Recordings issued a four-track EP "Electricity" in Australia (12") and a two-track UK (7") version.


title: The Avalanches

text: From mid-1998, the Avalanches had been recording their debut album, initially under the working title "Pablo's Cruise". In February 2000 they finished mixing it at Sing Sing Studios in Melbourne. Its initial launch date in 2000 was delayed due to the need for sample clearances and overseas interest. By July, with the album, now titled "Since I Left You", overdue, Chater's "Gimix" cassette was made available. This mixtape blended previews of forthcoming album tracks with some band favourites. Chater estimated that "Since I Left You" was assembled from approximately 3,500 vinyl samples. The first Australian single from the album, "Frontier Psychiatrist", was issued in August, which peaked in the top 50 on the ARIA Singles Chart. It reached No. 6 in Triple J's 2000 Hottest 100 countdown, the world's largest annual radio music poll. In October the band undertook their first Australian headline tour, appearing in all capital cities. All dates were completely sold out. Seltmann broke his leg in Brisbane in an on-stage collision with bassist and singer Di Blasi.


title: The Avalanches

text: In November 2000, "Since I Left You" was launched in Melbourne with a boat cruise party aboard the Victoria Star, through Port Phillip Bay, with "The Face" and other UK media flying to Australia to cover the event. The band won six Australian Dance Music Awards. They travelled to the UK for a three-week promotional stint, including DJ sets at the Social and Fabric Nightclubs, while their remix of Badly Drawn Boy's "The Shining" was released in the UK. "Since I Left You" contained numerous samples, including a sample of Madonna's "Holiday" on the track "Stay Another Season".


title: The Avalanches

text: The UK version of "Since I Left You" was released by XL Recordings in 2001, which debuted at No. 8 on the UK Albums Chart in April, and quickly topped 200,000 sales in the UK. Also that month, the first UK single from the album, the title track "Since I Left You", was released and debuted at No. 16 on the UK Singles Chart.


title: The Avalanches

text: The "Since I Left You" video won Video of the Year at the MTV Europe Music Awards. In July 2001 the second UK single, "Frontier Psychiatrist", debuted at No. 18. The video for "Frontier Psychiatrist" was later awarded the runner-up prize at Soho Shorts Film Festival in the UK. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2001, the group won four categories, Best New Artist – Album and Best Dance Release for "Since I Left You", Best New Artist – Single for "Frontier Psychiatrist", and Producer of the Year for Bobbydazzler (production name for Chater and Seltmann). They were also nominated in five additional categories, Album of the Year and Best Group for "Since I Left You", Single of the Year for "Frontier Psychiatrist", Engineer of the Year by Tony Espie and Bobbydazzler and Best Cover Art by Bobbydazzler for "Since I Left You".


title: The Avalanches

text: London-Sire Records released the United States version in November 2001. When the label dissolved in 2003, the Avalanches switched to Elektra. The album was also released in Japan, with bonus track "Everyday". The "At Last Alone" EP (rescheduled tour EP with revised track listing) was also issued in Japan. In the United States, the album peaked at No. 31 on "Billboard"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Heatseekers chart and No. 10 on "Billboard"s Top Electronic Albums chart. In the US, a promotional "Since I Left You" 12" featuring remixes from Stereolab and Prince Paul was released, and the Avalanches' remix of the Manic Street Preachers' "So Why So Sad" was issued worldwide.


title: The Avalanches

text: Professional critics included "Since I Left You" on their "Best of 2000s" lists. The album was placed at No. 4 in "Juice" magazine's 'Best Australian albums of all time' list, and No. 10 in Pitchfork Media's top albums of the decade. In its review, Pitchfork Media bestowed the album with a high 9.5 score. In October 2010, the album was listed at No. 10 in the book "100 Best Australian Albums". In 2011, American hip hop artist Questlove named "Since I Left You" in his top ten albums list.


title: The Avalanches

text: The Avalanches had been working on their second album since at least 2005. Seltmann had said the album was starting out as "ambient world music", but it was still moving in different directions and would feature both samples and live music. Chater later revealed that Seltmann had left the group by 2006, "we stopped working together... I was always making stuff and getting on with it, and the new record wasn't materialising quickly. He had a kid, a family, and I guess he realised before I did that it was going to take a long time."


title: The Avalanches

text: Subsequent announcements were made of the album's release, however, it had not appeared by December 2011. Other artists began to announce having worked with the band on tracks around that time. In February 2014 Modular Recordings confirmed Seltmann had left, stating "officially the band is Robbie Chater and Tony Di Blasi right now." The band's official Facebook page was updated in 2015, listing James Dela Cruz had rejoined.


title: The Avalanches

text: In April 2016 the Avalanches added new images of a gold butterfly on black cloth to their social media accounts and official website. On 24 May, the group posted a video poking fun at their long hiatus since their last album and the continued speculation of a follow-up release. On 2 June 2016 the lead single, "Frankie Sinatra", from their second album, was premiered on Australian radio station Triple J. The title of the album was revealed the same day to be "Wildflower". It appeared in the following month, with Chater and Di Blasi as co-producers.


title: The Avalanches

text: At the ARIA Music Awards of 2016 the group received six more nominations, Album of the Year, Best Dance Release and Best Group for "Wildflower"; Producer of the Year for Chater and Di Blasi; Engineer of the Year for Chater and Espie; and Best Cover Art for Lost Art (Chater). At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, it received an average score of 83, based on 33 reviews, indicating critical acclaim. It peaked at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart.


title: The Avalanches

text: On 11 February 2020, the Avalanches posted a photo of a promotional billboard in Melbourne advertising a website. On the website, a video played containing several faint voices, followed by a Morse code message stating 'WWALY'. On 14 February, the website was updated with a second video containing another morse code message, this time spelling "20 FEB". Two days later on 16 February, the Avalanches posted a photo of a second billboard in London.


title: The Avalanches

text: On 20 February 2020, the Avalanches released a single, "We Will Always Love You" featuring Blood Orange. With this release, they also confirmed their third studio album. On 18 March, they released another single, "Running Red Lights" featuring Pink Siifu and Rivers Cuomo from Weezer. The song is dedicated to David Berman and features lyrics from the Purple Mountains song "Darkness and Cold".


title: The Avalanches

text: On 9 September, the band confirmed via an Instagram post that the title of their third album is "We Will Always Love You". The album was released on 11 December 2020 and features contributions from Denzel Curry, Tricky and Jamie xx.


title: The Avalanches

text: The Avalanches, initially, played live using samplers, analogue keyboards, bass guitar, drum kit, and theremin. Their set-up later included four turntables, a percussion stand, and a battery of MIDI-controlled special effects.


title: The Avalanches

text: The band performed at festivals during 2000–2001, including the Big Day Out, Falls Festival and V1. For their European live tour, Peter "Snakey" Whitford was used as a touring percussionist, he had previously played in the Afro Psych band Prophecy throughout the Indonesian islands. Seltmann broke his ankle during the band's Electric Ballroom show in London, while Dela Cruz suffered a concussion on-stage at the V2001 festival. The remaining live dates were DJ sets with Chater only. Despite this, the band eventually received the Best Live Act 2001 award from "MUZIK" magazine. This format continued for the United States and Japan Since I Left You Tours. Chater, Dela Cruz and Fabay also took the DJ show around Australia, calling themselves the Magic Midgets.


title: The Avalanches

text: Brains was a monthly club-night held outdoors behind the tiny Melbourne bar St Jeromes', and featured regular DJ sets from the Avalanches' Chater, Seltmann and Di Blasi. St Jeromes' was shut down in March 2009. Their Brains' performances were usually soca-inspired DJ sets, but included anything from the Highlife guitar music of West Africa to unusual re-edits of 1980s acid house tracks, and sometimes new Avalanches material. Far from a typical world music DJ set, the Brains' nights were extremely loud and celebratory, with people overflowing into Caledonian Lane, the band bringing in a special P.A. system to cope with the extra crowd. The Brains' experience toured Australia in early 2005, and spilled over into the band's DJ sets at that year's St Jerome's Laneway Festival and Meredith Music Festival. The Avalanches continued DJing at Australian festivals such as Golden Plains and Splendour in the Grass throughout 2006 and into 2007, although these sets were a return to a heavier, club sound and markedly different from the previous Brains' DJ sets.


title: The Avalanches

text: The group returned to live performances in 2016, with a performance at Australian music festival Splendour in the Grass. Their live setup feature Chater on bass and Di Blasi on turntables, alongside guest musicians Paris Jeffree on drums, Spank Rock as MC, and Eliza Wolfgramm on vocals.


title: The Avalanches

text: In May 2017 The Avalanches curated "The Avalanches – Since I Left You Block Party" as part of Sydney's Vivid LIVE festival. Playing outdoors at the Sydney Opera House, The Avalanches headlined and were joined by 'special guests' DJ Shadow, Briggs, Sampa the Great, Jonti and DJ JNETT. While The Avalanches set was billed as ""Since I Left You" being performed live in full at Vivid LIVE for the first time since 2001", the show drew criticism from some fans as they mostly played tracks from "Wildflower".


title: The Avalanches

text: The ARIA Music Awards are annual awards, which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. The Avalanches have been nominated for 15 awards and won four.


title: The Avalanches

text: The Australian Music Prize (the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. They commenced in 2005.


title: The Avalanches

text: The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005.


title: The Avalanches

text: The Music Victoria Awards, are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2005.


title: The Avalanches

text: The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: Firearms in Canada are federally regulated through the "Firearms Act" and related provisions of the "Criminal Code". Regulation is largely about licensing and registration of firearms, including air guns with a muzzle velocity of more than and muzzle energy greater than .


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: Handgun registration became law in 1934, and automatic firearms registration was added in 1951. In 1969, laws classified firearms as "non-restricted," "restricted," and "prohibited." Starting in 1979, people who wished to acquire firearms were required to obtain a firearms acquisition certificate (FAC) from their local police agency. From 1995 to 2012, all firearms owners were required to possess a firearms licence—either a possession and acquisition licence (PAL), a possession-only licence (POL), a FAC, or a minor's licence—and all firearms were required to be registered. In April 2012, the Parliament of Canada enacted the "Ending the Long-gun Registry Act" to eliminate the requirement to register non-restricted firearms. The requirement for all firearms owners to possess a valid firearms licence remained law.


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: A 1996 study showed that Canada was in the mid-range of firearm ownership when compared with eight other western nations. Nearly 22% of Canadian households had at least one firearm, including 2.3% of households possessing a handgun. In 2005, almost 3% of households in Canada possessed handguns, compared to 18% of U.S. households that possessed handguns. Also in 2005, almost 16% of households in Canada possessed firearms of some kind. As of September 2010, the Canadian Firearms Program recorded a total of 1,831,327 valid firearm licences, which is roughly 5.4% of the Canadian population. The four most licensed provinces are Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, and British Columbia.


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: On May 1, 2020, in the wake of a mass killing in Nova Scotia, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the Government of Canada would immediately ban around 1,500 models of "military-grade assault-style weapons", mostly rifles, via an order in council under the authority of the "Criminal Code". In May 2022, Trudeau announced new legislation that would ban the ownership of "military-style assault weapons" in a mandatory buyback program, and impose restrictions banning the sale, purchase, importation or transfer of handguns. The legislation would also limit magazine capacity and ban toys – such as airsoft guns – that look like guns. On October 21, 2022, the Government of Canada implemented a freeze on handgun sales and proposed a gun buyback program.


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: In Canada, controls on civilian use of firearms date from the early days of Confederation, when justices of the peace could impose penalties for carrying a handgun without reasonable cause. Amendments to the Criminal Code between the 1890s and the 1970s introduced a series of minor controls on firearms. In the late 1970s, controls of intermediate strength were introduced. In the mid-1990s, significant increases in controls occurred.


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: All licensing and registration is managed by the RCMP's Canadian Firearms Program (CFP), under the Deputy Commissioner Policing Support Services (PSS). There are three classes of firearms and firearm licences: non-restricted, restricted, and prohibited. Prohibited firearms are not forbidden outright, as the name might imply, but their legal possession and acquisition are dependent upon their registration history and an individual's firearm licence. As of December 1, 1998, the prohibited clause must be grandfathered to acquire or possess prohibited firearms. See Classification of firearms below for complete details on prohibited, restricted and non-restricted firearms.


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: Individuals who wish to possess or acquire firearms in Canada must have a valid possession-acquisition, or possession-only, licence (PAL/POL); either of these licences allows the licensee to purchase ammunition. The PAL is distributed exclusively by the RCMP and is generally obtained in the following three steps:


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: Licences are typically valid for five years and must be renewed prior to expiry to maintain all classes. Once licensed, an individual can apply for a firearm transfer; and an authorization to transport (ATT) for restricted firearms. People may hunt with firearms in Canada only with non-restricted firearms, and this requires an additional "Hunting with Firearms" course.


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: Magazines designed to contain centre-fire cartridges and designed or manufactured for use in a semiautomatic handgun are limited to 10 cartridges. The capacity is measured by the kind of cartridge the magazine was designed to contain. In some cases the magazine will be capable of containing more than 10 rounds of a different calibre; however, that is not relevant in the determination of the maximum permitted capacity.


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: The maximum permitted capacity of a magazine is determined by the kind of firearm it is designed or manufactured for and not the kind of firearm that might actually use it. As a consequence, the maximum permitted capacity remains the same regardless of which firearm it might be used in. Example: The Marlin Camp Carbine chambered for .45 ACP uses magazines designed and manufactured for the M1911 pistol, therefore the seven- and eight-round capacities are permitted. A similar example is the 10-round capacity magazine for the Rock River Arms LAR-15 pistol, regardless of the kind of firearm it is actually used in.


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: Many common magazines are manufactured to hold more rounds than law allows in Canada. These magazines must be permanently altered so they no longer hold more than the number of rounds allowed by law. Acceptable ways to alter a magazine are set out in the Criminal Code Regulations.


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: By law, a potential customer must be 18 years of age or older to purchase a firearm or legally maintain possession of one. People under the age of 18 but over the age of 12 may procure a minor's licence, which does not allow them to purchase a firearm but allows them to borrow a firearm unsupervised and purchase ammunition. Children under the age of 12 that are found to need a firearm to hunt or trap may also be awarded the minor's licence. This is generally reserved for children in remote locations, primarily aboriginal communities that engage in subsistence hunting.


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: As of January 1, 2001, all firearms in Canada were required to be registered with the Canadian Firearms Registry. Unlike other restricted weapons, in order to legally own a fully automatic firearm in Canada the long-gun needs to not only have a current registration but must also have been registered prior to 1978.


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: The repeal of the long-gun registry had been a long-standing campaign promise of the Conservative Party. In early 2006, the Conservative Party became the largest party in the House of Commons, and the new government announced an amnesty period of one year (later extended by a further year) in which licensed or previously licensed long-gun owners would not be punished for not registering their long guns. The legal requirement to register as set forth by law was not revoked; legislation to revoke the requirement to register long guns was introduced by the government during the 39th Parliament but was not brought to a vote. It was opposed by the Opposition parties who together had a majority of seats in the House of Commons. Similar legislation was again brought forward in the form of private member's Bill C-391 during the 40th Parliament but was narrowly defeated on September 22, 2010. During the 41st Parliament the newly formed Conservative majority government again introduced legislation to repeal the requirement to register non-restricted firearms and to destroy the registry database. Bill C-19, known as the "Ending the Long-gun Registry Act", passed both the House and Senate and received royal assent on April 5, 2012. Following the 2012 changes to the law, Canadians were no longer required to register non-restricted firearms. Further, existing public records kept by the Canadian Firearms Registry with regards to owners of non-restricted firearms were purportedly expunged. The requirement for all firearms owners to possess a valid firearms licence remained law.


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: Though the "Ending the Long-gun Registry Act" applied across Canada, implementation of the law was temporarily delayed in Quebec, after the provincial government challenged the repeal in the courts. In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled against Quebec, entirely eliminating non-restricted registry records. However, the government of Quebec received a partial copy of the deleted federal firearms registry, and created a provincial firearms registry. The government of Quebec gave residents until January 29, 2019, to register non-restricted firearms within the province with the Quebec Firearms Registration Service (SIAF).


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: Following the 2020 Nova Scotia attacks, the minority Liberal government under Justin Trudeau, announced a nationwide ban on "military style weapons" and "all assault rifles". Neither of these two classifications had existed previously under Canadian law, but the policy effectively moved around 1500 types of firearms from the restricted and non-restricted categories to the prohibited column alongside automatic long-guns. Though a buyback program is being formulated for these types of weapons, it is not currently expected to be mandatory.


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: The issue of the legality of self-defence with a firearm in Canada has been the subject of controversy. While self-defence is legal, it is very restricted. The Criminal Code recognizes self-defence with a firearm. The "Firearms Act, 1995" provides a legal framework wherein an individual may acquire, possess, and carry a restricted or (a specific class of) prohibited firearm for protection from other individuals when police protection is deemed insufficient. This situation is extremely rare: the RCMP authorization-to-carry application refers only to protection of life during employment that involves handling of valuable goods or dangerous wildlife.


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: While self-defence is rarely considered a legal reason for attaining a PAL, the use of force with a firearm is legal as long as the accused can prove that their life was in danger. Sections 34 and 35 of the Criminal Code provide the legal framework of the use of force against intruders.


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: Like licences, firearms are classified into prohibited, restricted and non-restricted categories, as defined by Part III of the "Criminal Code".


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: Canada's federal laws severely restrict the ability of civilians to transport restricted or prohibited (grandfathered) firearms in public. Section 17 of the "Firearms Act, 1995" makes it an offence to possess prohibited or restricted firearms other than at a dwelling-house or authorized location, but there are two exceptions to this prohibition found in sections 19 and 20 of the act. Section 19 allows for persons to be issued an authorization to transport, or ATT, authorizing the transport of a firearm outside the home for certain purposes, such as for its transfer to a new owner, going to and from a range, a training course, repair shop or gun show, or when the owner wishes to change the address where the firearm is stored. Such firearms must be transported unloaded, equipped with a trigger lock and stored in secure, locked containers. In rarer cases, section 20 of the act allows individuals to receive an authorization to carry, or ATC, granting permission to carry loaded restricted firearms or (section 12(6)) prohibited handguns on their persons for certain reasons specified in the act. These reasons are as follows: if the person is a licensed trapper and carries the firearm while trapping, if the person is in a remote wilderness area and needs the firearm for protection against wildlife, if the person's work involves guarding or handling money or other items of substantial value, or if the person's life is in imminent danger and police protection is inadequate to protect the person. The authorities almost never issue an ATC on the basis that a person's life is in imminent danger and police protection is inadequate. As of October 2018, only two permits for protection of life were actively issued in the country. The vast majority of ATC's issued are to employees of armoured car companies to allow carry of a company owned firearm only while working. Restrictions are as follows:


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: A category that includes several different categories of firearm designed before 1898, although not all firearms built before this cutoff date are eligible for antique classification. Guns considered antiques are not legally considered firearms, and can be purchased and owned without a PAL. The following types of firearm are classified as antiques if they were both designed and manufactured before 1898:


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: The following guns are considered antiques if they were designed before 1898, regardless of manufacture date, making modern replicas free to possess:


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: In the years immediately following the introduction of firearms licensing in Canada in 1976, the overall homicide rate did not significantly decline. Increases were seen in the proportion of murders committed by methods other than shooting; but these homicides were less likely to involve multiple victims. From 1977 to 2003, Canada firearm homicide has declined from 1.15 to 0.5 per 100,000, while other mechanisms declined from 1.85 to 1.23 per 100,000.


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: A comprehensive review of firearm control legislation found that studies on the effects of the 1977 bill C-51 and bill C-68 from 1995 on firearm homicide rates came to differing conclusions, but generally found that bill C-17 from 1991 was not associated with an overall reduction of firearm homicide. A 2011 study found no significant associations between gun laws passed and firearm homicide rates in Canada from 1974 to 2008. A 2020 study examining laws passed from 1981-2016 found no significant changes in overall homicide or suicide rates following changes in legislation. In addition, it also found that firearm ownership by province was not correlated to overall suicide rates by province.


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: As of 2010, shooting and stabbing represented the two most common mechanisms for homicide in Canada, each accounting for approximately one-third of murders.


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: Overall suicide in Canada peaked in 1978 at 14.5 per 100,000, declining by 22% (11.3 per 100,000) by 2004. Several studies have found that the 1977 bill C-51 was linked to lower suicide and firearm suicide rates in Canada. Several studies examining the effect of bill C-17 (primarily using data from Quebec) found that it was associated with a decline in firearm suicides, but that the rate of overall suicides did not change, largely because of a rise in suicides due to hanging, suggesting a substitution of suicide methods.


title: Firearms regulation in Canada

text: Accidental death, of any kind, claimed 27.9 people per 100,000 in 2000. Of these, firearms accidents accounted for 0.3% (0.1 per 100,000), ranking below the 37% for transportation (10.2 per 100,000), 28% for unspecified (7.7 per 100,000), 18% for falls (5.1 per 100,000), and 11% for poisoning (3.1 per 100,000). Two studies by Leenaars and Lester using national data from 1969 to 1985 find that bill C-51 was associated with a reduced accidental death rate from firearms.


title: The Sky Is Everywhere (film)

text: The Sky Is Everywhere is a 2022 American coming-of-age romantic drama film directed by Josephine Decker and written by Jandy Nelson, based on her novel of the same name.


title: The Sky Is Everywhere (film)

text: In August 2015, Warner Bros. Pictures acquired film adaptation rights to the book. In October 2019, it was announced A24 and Apple TV+ would produce the film, with Josephine Decker directing, and Nelson writing the screenplay. In July 2020, Grace Kaufman joined the cast of the film, in the lead role of Lennie. In September 2020, Jason Segel and Cherry Jones joined the cast of the film. In October 2020, Jacques Colimon joined the cast of the film. In January 2021, Ji-young Yoo joined the cast of the film. Principal photography began in Eureka, California in October 2020. Filming concluded on November 22, 2020.


title: Gretchen Corbett

text: Gretchen Hoyt Corbett (born August 13, 1945) is an American actress and theater director. She is primarily known for her roles in television, particularly as attorney Beth Davenport on the NBC series "The Rockford Files", but has also had a prolific career as a stage actress on Broadway as well as in regional theater.


title: Gretchen Corbett

text: A native of Oregon and the great-great-granddaughter of Oregon U.S. Senator Henry W. Corbett, she spent her early life in Camp Sherman and Portland, where she graduated from the Catlin Gabel School. Corbett studied drama at Carnegie Mellon University before making her stage debut in a production of "Othello" at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She subsequently appeared in lead roles on Broadway in "After the Rain" (1967) and "Forty Carats" (1968), opposite Julie Harris. She also starred off-Broadway in the title role of "Iphigenia in Aulis" (1968), and as Joan la Pucelle in Shakespeare's "Henry VI", staged at Central Park's Delacorte Theater in 1970. She starred as Jeanne d'Arc in "The Survival of St. Joan" between 1970 and 1971.


title: Gretchen Corbett

text: She made her feature film debut in the comedy "Out of It" (1969), followed by a supporting role in the cult horror film "Let's Scare Jessica to Death" (1971). In 1972, Corbett signed a contract with Universal Studios, and appeared in numerous television films and series for the studio, while simultaneously working in summer stock theater on the East Coast. Between 1974 and 1978, she starred as the idealistic attorney Beth Davenport on the NBC series "The Rockford Files", opposite James Garner. Corbett subsequently starred in the horror film "Jaws of Satan" (1981), and the drama "Million Dollar Infield" (1982), directed by Hal Cooper.


title: Gretchen Corbett

text: For the majority of the 1980s, Corbett appeared in guest-starring roles on numerous television series, including "Cheers" (1983) and "Magnum, P.I." (1981–1983), and starred in the short-lived "Otherworld" (1985). In 1988, she starred in the original workshop stage production of "The Heidi Chronicles" for the Seattle Repertory Theatre. She later had minor parts in the films "Without Evidence" (1995) and "A Change of Heart" (1998). Since the 2000s, Corbett has served as the artistic director of the Portland-based Haven Project, a theater project serving underprivileged children, and appeared in numerous stage productions at the Portland Center Stage as well as the city's Third Rail Repertory. She returned to television with a recurring character on the IFC series "Portlandia" in 2013, and had a guest-starring role on the Hulu series "Shrill" in 2019.


title: Gretchen Corbett

text: Gretchen Hoyt Corbett was born August 13, 1945. Corbett's year of birth is variously given as 1947 and 1945. in Portland, Oregon to Henry Ladd Corbett, Jr. and Katherine Minahen (née Coney) "Kay" Corbett. She is a great-great-granddaughter of Oregon pioneer, businessman, and Senator Henry Winslow Corbett, and granddaughter of Henry Ladd Corbett, a Portland civic leader, businessman, and politician. The community of Corbett, Oregon is named for her great-great-grandfather. Through her paternal ancestry, she is of English descent, with ancestors originating from Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk. Corbett has two brothers and one sister.


title: Gretchen Corbett

text: Corbett's father, tired of the city, relocated the family to rural Camp Sherman, Oregon, where she spent her early life. "I rode my horse to school every day, four miles each way," she recalled in a 1985 interview. "I hated it then, but, in retrospect, it was a marvelous life and a great way to grow up." The family eventually returned to Portland in her later childhood, where her mother worked as an administrator at the University of Portland. At age seven, Corbett was inspired to become an actress after attending the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.


title: Gretchen Corbett

text: Corbett attended the Catlin Gabel School in Portland, and as a teenager apprenticed with the Carnival Theatre camp at the University of Oregon. She studied drama at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Tech (before its merger with the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research to form Carnegie Mellon University in 1967), but dropped out after her first year of studies to begin working as a full-time actress.


title: Gretchen Corbett

text: Corbett made her stage debut as Desdemona in a production of "Othello" at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 1966. She subsequently appeared in productions with the New Orleans Repertory Theater in 1967. This same year, she was cast as Sonya Banks in the Broadway production of "After the Rain" with Alec McCowen. In 1968, she appeared in "The Bench" at the Gramercy Arts Theatre, and in the title role in "Iphigenia in Aulis" at the Circle in the Square Theatre, opposite Irene Papas. She subsequently co-starred with Julie Harris in the Broadway production of "Forty Carats", staged at the Morosco Theatre.


title: Gretchen Corbett

text: One of Corbett's first television roles was on ABC's short-lived police detective show, "N.Y.P.D.", in 1968; in the episode, "The Case of the Shady Lady", Corbett played a dancer who tries to make her husband's suicide into a murder for the insurance money. Corbett made her feature film debut in the comedy "Out of It" (1969), co-starring with Jon Voight. She then appeared in the cult horror film "Let's Scare Jessica to Death" (1971). Meanwhile, between 1970 and 1971, Corbett starred as Jeanne d'Arc in a New York production of "The Survival of St. Joan". She also appeared in "The Government Inspector" with David Dukes and John Glover at The Phoenix Theatre.


title: Gretchen Corbett

text: Corbett moved to Los Angeles under contract to Universal Studios, as one of the last contract players. Her first role under contract was in the pilot episode of "Kojak" (1973). The same year, she appeared in stage productions of Tennessee Williams's "Summer and Smoke", and Shakespeare's "As You Like It" (portraying Rosalind), held at Drew University in New Jersey. Under her Universal contract, Corbett guest-starred in numerous network series in 1974, including "Columbo", "Gunsmoke", and "Banacek".


title: Gretchen Corbett

text: In 1974, Corbett joined the cast of NBC's "The Rockford Files" where she played Beth Davenport, the beleaguered lawyer and sometimes lover of series lead Jim Rockford, a private investigator portrayed by James Garner. She appears in 33 episodes (including one uncredited voice-over). The following year, in the summer of 1975, Corbett survived a house fire at her residence in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which destroyed nearly all of her belongings and left her with minor injuries. After completing the first season of "The Rockford Files", Corbett starred in a televised production of the play "Knuckle" (1975), part of PBS's Hollywood Television Theater, as well as guest-starring on the series "Hawaii Five-O" and "McMillan & Wife". On September 13, 1975 she appeared in the television series "Emergency!" as flight stewardess Sue Hickman who started a relationship with Gage after an in flight emergency brought the two together. She also appeared in "Marcus Welby, M.D.", playing the stepmother of a young boy molested by his teacher.


title: Gretchen Corbett

text: Corbett appeared as Penny in another PBS televised play, George Kelly's "The Fatal Weakness", opposite Eva Marie Saint and Dennis Dugan.


title: Gretchen Corbett

text: Corbett left "The Rockford Files" at the end of the fourth season over a dispute between the show's producers and Universal, who owned Corbett's contract as a contract player.


title: Gretchen Corbett

text: Corbett starred in the horror film "Jaws of Satan" (1981), playing a doctor implicated in a preacher's battle with a snake which is Satan incarnate. In 1982, she starred as Roxane in a production of "The Carome Brothers' Italian Food Products Corp.'s Annual Pasta Pageant" at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1985, she starred in the science fiction series "Otherworld". In 1988, Corbett starred in the original workshop production of Wendy Wasserstein's "The Heidi Chronicles" at the Seattle Repertory Theatre.


title: Gretchen Corbett

text: Corbett reprised her role of Beth Davenport in the "Rockford Files" television films of the 1990s, including "Friends and Foul Play", "If the Frame Fits..." (both 1996) and "If It Bleeds... It Leads" (1999).


title: Gretchen Corbett

text: Between 2013 and 2014, Corbett appeared in a recurring guest role on the IFC series "Portlandia". In 2014, she directed a production of the play "Bo-Nita" at Portland Center Stage. In 2019, she appeared in the Hulu series "Shrill", opposite Luka Jones and Aidy Bryant. In late 2019, Corbett began filming the independent drama "Pig", starring Nicolas Cage, Adam Arkin, and Alex Wolff. She also appeared in "Lorelei", starring Pablo Schreiber and Jena Malone, which was released in 2021.


title: Gretchen Corbett

text: In the 2000s, Corbett served as Artistic Director of the Haven Project, a theatre project for underprivileged children in Portland, Oregon, a replication of New York's 52nd St. Project.


title: Divisions of Bangladesh

text: Divisions are the first-level administrative divisions in Bangladesh. As of 2022, there are eight divisions of Bangladesh, each named after the major city within its jurisdiction that also serves as the administrative seat of that division. Each division is divided into several districts which are further subdivided into upazilas, then union councils.


title: Divisions of Bangladesh

text: Following the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, the country had four divisions: Chittagong Division, Dacca Division, Khulna Division, and Rajshahi Division. In 1982, the English spelling of the Dacca Division (along with the name of the capital city) was changed into Dhaka Division to more closely match the Bengali pronunciation.


title: Divisions of Bangladesh

text: In 1993, Barisal Division was off from Khulna Division, and in 1995, Sylhet Division was split off from Chittagong Division. On 25 January 2010, Rangpur Division was split off from Rajshahi Division. On 14 September 2015, Mymensingh Division was split off from Dhaka Division and added as the eighth division. In 2015, the process started to create two more divisions: Comilla Division and Faridpur Division. In October 2021, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced the formation of two new divisions, Meghna and Padma, named after the eponymous rivers, in the places of Comilla and Faridpur Divisions.


title: Divisions of Bangladesh

text: Divisional Commissioner is the administrative head of a division. Divisional Commissioner is appointed by the government from an Additional Secretary level officer of Bangladesh Civil Service (B.C.S.) Administration Cadre. The role of a Divisional Commissioner's office is to act as the supervisory head of all the government offices (except the central government offices) situated in the division. A Divisional Commissioner is given the direct responsibility of supervising the revenue and development administration of a division. The Divisional Commissioner is assisted by the several Additional Divisional Commissioners, Senior Assistant Commissioners and other bureaucratic officials.


title: Divisions of Bangladesh

text: The following table outlines some key statistics about the eight divisions of Bangladesh as found in the 2011 Population and Housing Census conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (B.B.S.).


title: Divisions of Bangladesh

text: Two more divisions have been proposed to ease down administrative work load due to increase in population:


title: Kursk (film)

text: Kursk (UK: Kursk: The Last Mission, US: The Command) is a 2018 disaster drama-thriller film directed by Thomas Vinterberg, based on Robert Moore's book "A Time to Die", about the true story of the 2000 "Kursk" submarine disaster. It stars Matthias Schoenaerts, Léa Seydoux, Peter Simonischek, August Diehl, Max von Sydow, and Colin Firth. It was the last film featuring von Sydow to be released before his death in March 2020.


title: Kursk (film)

text: The Russian Navy's Northern Fleet begins an exercise in the Barents Sea. The fleet deployed includes "Kursk", an Oscar-class submarine. At sea, weapons officer Pavel reports that the interior temperature of a HTP torpedo is increasing rapidly, indicating a potential hydrogen peroxide leak. The captain however ignores Pavel's concerns and moments later the torpedo prematurely explodes, killing the weapons room crew. A secondary explosion of the remaining torpedoes rips a hole through the submarine's forward hull, sending the ship to the sea bed.


title: Kursk (film)

text: The surviving crew members rally at the aft-most compartment, now rapidly taking on water. The crew desperately await rescue, while on dry land the sailor's wives begin to hear rumours regarding the submarine. Royal Navy Commodore David Russell detects the seismic events and deduces that Kursk has had an accident. Admiral Grudzinsky, commander of the Northern Fleet, initially believes there are no survivors, but once tapping is heard through the hull of the submarine, the Russians immediately deploy a rescue submersible. The old and poorly maintained craft can not form a seal on the Kursk's hull, and is forced to return to the surface and wait for a 12-hour battery recharge.


title: Kursk (film)

text: Meanwhile, the survivors begin to run low on air, requiring two crew members to swim into a flooded compartment to retrieve oxygen cartridges. Another rescue attempt is made, but the submersible again cannot form a seal on the hull. On land, the sailors' families, wives and friends grow resentful of the repeated stone-walling by the Russian Admiralty, who also reject foreign offers of help in fear of exposing Russian naval secrets. Despite this, Admiral Grudzinsky accepts an earlier offer from Russell, but Grudzinsky is relieved of command shortly afterwards. The Russian Navy orders Russell, along with British and Norwegian divers, not to approach the Kursk. A third Russian attempt to rescue the survivors is made, but again the Russian submersible still cannot force a seal, and the Russians ultimately and finally agree to foreign assistance.


title: Kursk (film)

text: Aboard the Kursk, the crew in an attempt to raise morale, enjoy a "breakfast buffet", during which a crew member accidentally knocks an oxygen cartridge into the water, causing a flash fire that consumes the remaining oxygen. With minutes of breathable air, the crew say their goodbyes whilst singing "The Sailor's Band". Russell's divers arrive too late at the submarine, finding the entire hull flooded and the crew dead. At the funeral, Misha, son of one of the sailors on board, refuses to shake Admiral Petrenko's hand. A land-based member of the crew gives Misha his father's maritime watch, who had earlier sold it to pay for a champagne for a wedding.


title: Kursk (film)

text: On 17 August 2015, it was announced that EuropaCorp was developing a film based on the 2000 K-141 Kursk submarine disaster, and that Martin Zandvliet had been hired to direct the film from a script by Robert Rodat, based on Robert Moore's 2002 book "A Time to Die". "Kursk" would have been Zandvliet's first English-language film. On 21 January 2016, it was reported that Zandvliet was no longer attached and that EuropaCorp had hired Thomas Vinterberg to direct the film.


title: Kursk (film)

text: On 2 March 2016, Matthias Schoenaerts was announced in the cast, reteaming with Vinterberg after "Far from the Madding Crowd" (2015). Colin Firth joined the cast on 26 May 2016. Léa Seydoux joined the cast on 7 February 2017, in the role of Tanya, the wife of Mikhail Averin, a Russian Navy captain-lieutenant played by Matthias Schoenaerts. Rachel McAdams was once in talks for the role of Tanya. "Deadline Hollywood" also reported that Firth would play David Russell, a British naval commander going against Russia's warnings to try to save the men on the "Kursk".


title: Kursk (film)

text: On 15 March 2017, it was reported that Vladimir Putin's character had been cut from the film before an actor was cast for the role. According to "The Hollywood Reporter", EuropaCorp's president, Luc Besson, wanted to shift the story's focus to the rescue mission rather than the politics behind the disaster. One theory noted by "The Hollywood Reporter" is that nobody at EuropaCorp wanted to be hacked. (The film "The Interview" had angered Kim Jong-un and was believed to have sparked the Sony hack in 2014.) Putin had been Russian president for eight months when the tragedy had occurred. He was supposed to appear as a supporting character in at least five scenes and was sympathetically portrayed in the original "Kursk" script, which highlighted why he had taken the tragedy personally (Putin's father had been a submariner).


title: Kursk (film)

text: On 8 May 2017, Peter Simonischek, Max von Sydow and Michael Nyqvist were announced in the cast. However, Nyqvist died on 27 June.


title: Kursk (film)

text: Alexandre Desplat composed the movie score. The crew includes Catherine Marchand as the costume designer, Anthony Dod Mantle as the director of photography, Thierry Flamand as the production designer and Valdis Oskardottir as the film's editor.


title: Kursk (film)

text: Subject matter experts such as journalist Robert Moore (author of the novel upon which the film is based), David Russell (British Royal Navy commodore who had tried to save the men from the "Kursk"), and submarine expert Ramsey Martin acted as advisors for the film.


title: Kursk (film)

text: The project was produced by France's EuropaCorp with Belgium's Belga Productions and Luxembourg's VIA EST.


title: Kursk (film)

text: Shooting was scheduled to start in September 2016, but it had to be postponed due to Russia's defense ministry not issuing a permit for shooting in the country, which would run for about a month. According to "The Hollywood Reporter", Russia's defense ministry originally promised cooperation with the crew to provide realism to the movie. However, later it reportedly grew concerned about granting access to classified information and sensitive locations. On 7 February 2017, "ScreenDaily.com" reported that shooting was scheduled to start in April.


title: Kursk (film)

text: Filming started at the Naval base of Toulon, France, on 26 April 2017. Some scenes were filmed with Colin Firth at the commercial port of Brest, France, between 2 May and 6 May 2017, including scenes aboard the rescue ship Atlantic Tonjer, serving as the Seaway Eagle. On 8 May 2017, it was reported that shooting would take place not only in France but also in locations throughout Europe, including Belgium and Norway. On 12 July 2017, the crew was in Jette (Brussels) and scenes were filmed in "Salle Excelsior" (Place Cardinal Mercier).


title: Kursk (film)

text: The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September 2018, where Thomas Vinterberg (director) and Artemiy Spiridonov (actor) presented the film in English and Russian languages. The film was scheduled to be released through DirecTV Cinema on 23 May 2019, before being released in a limited release on 21 June 2019, by Saban Films.


title: Kursk (film)

text: On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of , based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's consensus reads, ""The Command" plumbs the depths of real-life disaster to tell an uneven yet reasonably diverting story of lives caught between bureaucracy and certain doom." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100, based on results from 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: Little Caesars Arena

text: Little Caesars Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Midtown Detroit. Opened on September 5, 2017, the arena, which cost $862.9 million to construct, replaced Joe Louis Arena and The Palace of Auburn Hills as the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), respectively.


title: Little Caesars Arena

text: The arena features a unique, clear plastic roofed concourse connecting it to offices and shops surrounding it. It was designed to be the flagship of a new $2.1 billion sports and entertainment district, The District Detroit, with mixed-use neighborhoods with new residential and retail outlets located around the Cass Corridor, Ford Field, and Comerica Park.


title: Little Caesars Arena

text: Little Caesars Arena was designed by HOK, and features a unique "deconstructed" layout. Buildings housing retail outlets, including several restaurants, the arena's box office, and the offices of the Red Wings are built outside the arena, but a glass roof is erected between the buildings and the arena itself. The roof forms an indoor "street" that serves as the arena's concourse. The concourse will remain open year-round, even if an event is not occurring inside the arena, allowing it to also be used as a venue of its own. There is also an outdoor plaza with a large video display.