title: Lemon Demon

text: On December 22, 2005, Lemon Demon and animator Shawn Vulliez released the Flash music video "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny" on Newgrounds. The video features cartoon versions of dozens of real-life celebrities and fictional characters, largely from 1980s and 1990s pop culture, in a large century-long brawl where "...only one will survive." It gained a cult following among web enthusiasts. and became the "user's choice" on December 28, 2005, on Newgrounds where it has been viewed over 13.1 million times. It appeared on several other websites including Albino Blacksheep.


title: Lemon Demon

text: On June 1, 2010, Cicierega released a video titled "Brodyquest" onto his main YouTube channel which pictured famous actor Adrien Brody going about his daily life in a comedic manner. The video became a famous meme and was released as a single and placed on the "Nature Tapes" EP. The video would be brought up by Stephen Colbert during his interview with Adrien Brody in a 2016 episode of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert". It has since been viewed on YouTube over 11.7 million times.


title: Meatball

text: A meatball is ground meat rolled into a ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. There are many types of meatballs using different types of meats and spices. The term is sometimes extended to meatless versions based on vegetables or fish; the latter are also commonly known as fishballs.


title: Meatball

text: Early recipes included in some of the earliest known Persian cookbooks generally feature seasoned lamb rolled into orange-sized balls and glazed with egg yolk and sometimes saffron. This method was taken to the West and is referred to as gilding. Many regional variations exist, including the unusually large "kufte Tabrīzī" from Iran's northwestern region, with an average diameter of .


title: Meatball

text: Various recipes of meatballs can be found across Europe and Asia. From Iberia and Sweden to the Indian subcontinent, there is a large variety of meatballs in the kofta family.


title: Meatball

text: Most meatball recipes found in the Americas are derived from European cuisine influences, notably Italian, Sicily, Iberian (Portuguese-Spanish), and Nordic (Swedish) cuisines.


title: Meatball

text: "Kofta" is a type of meatball or dumpling that is widely distributed in Middle Eastern, South Asian, Mediterranean and Balkan (Central and Eastern Europe) cuisines. The word "kofta" is derived from Persian "kūfta": In Persian, کوفتن (kuftan) means "to beat" or "to grind" or 'meatball'. In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls or fingers of minced or ground meat – usually beef or lamb – mixed with spices and/or onions and other ingredients. The vegetarian variety is popular in India. They can be grilled, fried, steamed, poached, baked or marinated, and may be served with a rich spicy sauce.


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: Sardar is an 2022 Indian Tamil-language espionage action film written and directed by P. S. Mithran, with produced by S. Lakshman Kumar, under the banner of Prince Pictures. The film stars Karthi in a dual role with Raashii Khanna, Rajisha Vijayan, Chunky Panday, Laila, Rithvik, Munishkanth, Yugi Sethu, Avinash and Balaji Sakthivel in prominent roles. The film music composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, with cinematography doned by George C. Williams, and film edited by Ruben. The film marks Hindi film actor Chunky Panday's debut in Tamil cinema, and Laila's comeback into films after 16 years.


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: The film was announced on November 2020, and shootings were started on April 2021, filming and production are delayed for 1 year, due to COVID 19 pandemics, with shoots resumed on January 2022, filming took places on Chennai, Mumbai, Mysore, Azarbaijan and Georgia, with shootings wrapped up on June 2022, and moved into post-production working on July 2022. "Sardar" was released by theatrically on 21 October 2022, prior to the Diwali week, and received highly positive reviews from critics and audience, with praising the performance of the star cast (particularly Karthi, Raashii, Chunky and Rithvik). The film was a criticall and commerciall success at the box-office, with grossing over worldwide. A sequel is in development, with main cast of the film.


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: Inspector Vijay Prakash is a publicity-hungry officer, who loves to be in the media limelight as he wants to undo hurdles in his profession due to the reputation of his absconding father Chandra Bose- a former spy who gets framed as a national traitor. Vijay is raised by his uncle Paavadaisaami, who is also a cop by profession, as his entire extended family commits suicide out of shame when the news of his father's treason goes public. Vijay tries to woo his friend Shalini, a lawyer, for all time, but she refuses to accept him due to his fame-seeking attitude.


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: Meanwhile, Vijay is assigned the mission of catching a mastermind, who has stolen a highly classified file in Rajaji Bhavan, which containing background information of agents that have been working in the RAW since the 1980s. Viewing this as a golden opportunity to build his reputation, Vijay starts investigating the case and learns that a social activist named Sameera Thomas has stolen the file. Vijay tries to find Sameera with the help of her son, Timothy "Timmy" but finds that Sameera's corpse has been found and she was declared a national traitor. Taking the case personally, Vijay investigates and learns that Sameera was interrogated about a person named Sardar, but she did not reveal anything.


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: Through Sameera's laptop, Vijay finds that Sameera has been protesting against a water packaging company, run by a former NSA officer Maharaj Rathore, whose project "One India One Pipeline" is expected to unify and control the supply of potable water across India. As per the research information obtained from Sameera's laptop, the company has been producing toxic water, as a by-product, which contains carcinogens and other harmful chemicals. As a result of the drinking water, Timmy was diagnosed with sarcoidosis. Heartbroken, Vijay and Shalini learn that Sameera was heading to a train station to meet an accomplice. He finds her accomplice at the train station and manages to capture him, but the accomplice gets killed.


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: Amongst his belongings, Vijay checks a book that contains a destination address (which Vijay had previously seen with Timmy as he posted a letter to their relative Victor on the advice of Sameera) at the Chittagong prison in Bangladesh. Meanwhile, the RAW agency receives information about Sameera's letter, which is named "CODE RED". Rathore contacts the NIA and tries to get the warden to finish off Sardar, but he manages to escape from the prison. Vijay finds a location from the accomplice's belongings, which is a petrol bunk with a secret tunnel. Vijay finds a file after a brawl with an assassin, who also came to retrieve the file. Going through the file, Vijay learns that Sardar is actually Chandra Bose.


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: Past: In 1985, Sardar is working incognito, as a spy for RAW, by disguising himself as a drama artist and lives happily with his family. Sardar falls in love with Indhra Rani (who also loved him, but later learns about his profession) and they get married, and their son Vijay is born. One day, Sardar receives his next assignment to investigate the India-Pakistan border, where the agency learns about suspicious activities lurking at the border. Being a master-of-disguise, Sardar manages to escape with a photo and a type-written translated copy of a file, written in Chinese.


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: After detailing the file to his superior officers Rathore and Victor, they learn about China's plan to spread false news about poisoning the country's water through Pakistan and implementing pipelines to monopolize India's water supply through "One India One Pipeline". They also learn that a mole, codenamed "Laughing Buddha", in their agency, is helping China with the mission. Rathore and Victor sends Sardar to track down Laughing Buddha. Sardar gets in contact with another agent codenamed "Cockroach", and deduces that the NSA Chief, P. K. Abraham, is actually "Laughing Buddha". They manages to capture him in Bangladesh. However, Rathore gets consumed by greed and decides to eliminate Abraham.


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: Sardar tells Rathore that he will eliminate Abraham, to which he agrees, and Sardar gets imprisoned for 32 years in Bangladesh prison under the account of falsely holding multiple passports, while Rathore falsely frames Sardar as a national traitor and resigns himself from RAW. Afterwards, Rathore secretly joins China and became the head of "One India One Pipeline". After learning about Rathore's treachery, Sardar gets enraged, but remembers that he has stored the copies of the file and hidden them in a safe locker. Through Sameera, Sardar decides to finish the mission.


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: Present: Rathore heads to the RAW's vault and tries to track the person who posted the letter to Sardar, while Vijay learns that Paavaidaisaami is one of Rathore's men, where he is brought to the RAW vault. Under the orders of Chief Chandra Mohan, the RAW agents try to secure Victor and bring him into the headquarters, while Rathore sends his men to kill Victor, but Sardar arrives and kills all of them. Accompanied by Timmy to the headquarters and in the guise of Victor, Sardar and Timmy arrive at the headquarters and defeat the other agents. Inside the vault, RAW agents try to hold back Sardar unsuccessfully.


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: Rathore confronts Sardar and reveals that he had killed the latter's family after he came to know that Rani had eavesdropped on their conversation using the secret frequency of Sardar and Rathore, after killing them all he staged it like a suicide, but left Vijay alive deliberately to make people believe that his family committed suicide out of disgrace and to make him bear his father's disgrace. Vijay also learns about this and gets enraged. Sardar, along with Timmy escapes in a truck filled with sodium. Rathore learns this and deduces that Sardar is planning to destroy the pipeline, and heads to the water plant, to stop him.


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: Sardar manages to reach and defeat the guards at the water plant. He destroys the pipeline and stops the hazardous water from flowing through villages. Upon finally killing Rathore, Sardar meets Vijay and tells him that he cannot live a peaceful life as he is committed to being a spy for the country and leaves. Sameera is proven innocent, while Sardar heads towards another mission and the Central Government cancels the "One India One Pipeline". However, Vijay is suspended from the police force, for his inability in nabbing Sameera and Sardar alive.


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: In a post-credits scene, Chandra Mohan reveals to Vijay that he was the one who pulled the strings, in his suspension from the police force, and appoints Vijay to work as a spy, for RAW. Vijay is given a mission in Cambodia, with a codename.


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: In October 2020, sources claimed that Karthi is reported to star in new film helmed by P. S. Mithran, who directed the Vishal's "Irumbu Thirai" (2018) and Sivakarthikeyan's "Hero" (2019). The film officially announced on 14 November 2020 (on Diwali), coinciding puja at the Prince Pictures.


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: In April 2021, Raashii Khanna was announced as a lead actress to star opposite Karthi, with Simran being signed to play a social activist role in the film. The makers announced that Chunky Panday was cast as the main antagonist in the film, which marks his debut in Tamil cinema. In May, Rajisha Vijayan was announced as second female lead. In March, Simran opt out the project due to her sitting schedule conflicts. Instead, actress Laila signed the project in same month, marking her returning to cinema industry after 16 years break.


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: Then, the first day shooting was started on 26 April 2021. Due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the shooting halted on 29 April 2021 after two day's shoot at Chennai. The shoots resumed on January 9, 2022. The makers constructed a set worth of 2 crores, planning to shoot major portions of the film on the sets in the meantime. Raashii Khanna joins the sets on February 5, 2022. And second schedule begins on March 19, 2022. her portions filmed for 12 days in Chennai , Mumbai and Mysore. Chunky Panday's major portions were filmed in Parliament building, Azarbaijan and Georgia so far the makers spend more 4 crore for the sets.


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: The music of the film is composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, replacing Mithran's norm composer Yuvan Shankar Raja and working with Karthi for the third time. The first single of the film titled "Yaerumayileri" sung by Karthi himself was released on 2 October 2022.


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: "Sardar" was released on 21 October 2022 on the eve of Diwali along with Sivakarthikeyan's "Prince", with official announcement made on Karthi's birthday.


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: Distribution rights of the film for Tamil Nadu region were acquired by Red Giant Movies. The Telugu states distribution rights bagged by Annapurna Studios. The Karnataka region distribution rights were acquired by AV Media Consultancy.


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: The post-theatrical streaming rights of the film were bought by Aha. The satellite rights of the film were sold to Kalaignar TV, even before the shootings. The film had its digital premiere on the streaming platform from 18 November 2022.


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: Kirubhakar Purushothaman of "The Indian Express" gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "However, with the speed at which things proceed in the film, you forget and forgive those shortcomings". Tanmayi Sharma of "Pinkvilla" gave the film’s rating 3.5/5 and wrote "On the whole, Sardar is definitely a hit this festive season and something every audience would love to watch on the big screen." Avinash Ramachandran of "Cinema Express" rated 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote that "Mithran's propensity for promising us a franchise of sorts is known, and with Sardar, he has definitely delivered a film with the potential to finally fulfill that promise". M. Suganth of "The Times of India" gave 3/5 rating for this film and wrote "Sardar is a solid spy movie, nothing more nothing less".


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: Priyanka Sundar of "Firstpost" rated the film 3 out of 5 and wrote "A spy film has to be stylish, sharp and slick if it is set in the present. Since Sardar is partly set in the 80s, the stunts in the film are more brutal and physically intimate". Srivatsan S of "The Hindu" wrote that "Karthi is enjoyable in this generic and message-heavy thriller”. Janani K of "India Today" rated 2.5 out of 5 stars and called it "A solid film with a strong core idea. With a few misses here and there, the film makes for a compelling watch." Sowmya Rajendran of "The News Minute" rated 1.5/5 stars and wrote that "The film moves across time periods, shifts from one country to another, and never tires of its ambition to drill information into our brains". A critic for "Behindwoods" rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote that "Karthi proves he's a bankable star at box office with yet another hit-film that will complete your festival celebrations."


title: Sardar (2022 film)

text: The sequel of the film was officially announced by the production house, on the film's success meet, which was held on 27th October 2022. It is tentatively titled as "Sardar 2".


title: British Aerospace

text: British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi Electronic Systems, the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc, to form BAE Systems.


title: British Aerospace

text: The company has its origins in the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977, which called for the nationalisation and merger of the British Aircraft Corporation, Hawker Siddeley Aviation, Hawker Siddeley Dynamics and Scottish Aviation. On 29 April 1977, the new entity was formed in the United Kingdom as a statutory corporation.


title: British Aerospace

text: Under the provisions of the "British Aerospace Act 1980" on 1 January the statutory corporation was transferred to a limited company, which then re-registered as a public limited company (plc), under the name "British Aerospace Public Limited Company", on 2 January 1981. BAe was privatised in two main phases, the first in February 1981, involving 51.6% shares of the company, during which the public sale was 3.5 times subscribed and at the end of the first day's trading, share prices were 14% above the original offer price. The second phase occurred in May 1985, in which 48.4% shares were sold; this sale was 5.4 times subscribed and the first day closing price was 11% above the initial offer price. Despite this privatisation, the British Government maintained a £1 golden share, which allowed it to veto foreign control of the board or company.


title: British Aerospace

text: Prior to the formation of British Aerospace, its predecessors were involved in several aircraft programmes. Scottish Aviation was working on a project for a 19-seat turboprop airliner, an upgraded version of the Handley Page Jetstream. BAe continued development and placed the Jetstream 31 into production after the first flight of the prototype in March 1980. At the same time, production of Hawker Siddeley’s HS 125 business jet, Harrier VTOL jet fighter and HS 748 turboprop airliner continued under BAe, as did the that of the Trident jet airliner for a short time. Similarly, low-rate production of the British Aircraft Corporation‘s One-Eleven jet airliner and Strikemaster two-seat military jet trainer/attack aircraft — and the iconic Concorde supersonic airliner — also continued.


title: British Aerospace

text: On 29 July 1976, less than a year prior to BAe's formation, the contract for production of the first batch of the Panavia Tornado, an advanced nuclear-capable fighter bomber, was signed. It was developed and produced via a multinational company, Panavia Aircraft GmbH, of which BAe was one of several companies to be heavily involved. On 10 July 1979, the maiden flight of a production Tornado occurred. On 5 and 6 June 1979, the first aircraft were delivered to the RAF and German Air Force respectively. On 25 September 1981, the first Italian Tornado was delivered.


title: British Aerospace

text: The Tornado would be produced in large numbers, the 500th aircraft to be completed was delivered to West Germany on 19 December 1987. Production of the Tornado ended in 1998, the final batch being delivered to the Royal Saudi Air Force, that had ordered a total of 96 IDS Tornados. Aviation author Jon Lake noted that "The Trinational Panavia Consortium produced just short of 1,000 Tornados, making it one of the most successful postwar bomber programs".


title: British Aerospace

text: In 1978, BAe relaunched the BAe 146, a short-haul regional airliner that had been previously worked on by Hawker Siddeley. The company marketed it as a quiet and economic turbofan-powered compact airliner that could replace the previous generation of turboprop-powered feeder aircraft. In 1982, the first completed aircraft made its first flight. Upon its launch into service the following year, it was hailed as being "the world's quietest jetliner". In 1993, an upgraded model of the BAe 146, referred to as the "Avro RJ" series, superseded the original; changes included the replacement of the original Lycoming ALF 502 turbofan engines by higher-thrust LF 507 turbofan engines, which were housed in redesigned nacelles. The Avro RJ series also featured a modernised cockpit with EFIS replacing the analogue ADI, HSI, and engine instrumentation. Production of the Avro RJ ended with the final four aircraft being delivered in late 2003; a total of 173 Avro RJ aircraft was delivered between 1993 and 2003.


title: British Aerospace

text: BAe developed several advanced models of the Harrier family. In 1978, the Royal Navy received the first BAe Sea Harrier of an initial order for 24. The Sea Harrier was declared operational three years later, being initially embarked on both the first "Invincible" class aircraft carrier HMS "Invincible", and the older HMS "Hermes". Following their decisive role in the 1982 Falklands War, several of the lessons learnt from the conflict shaped a new upgrade programme for the fleet authorised in 1984, resulting in the "Sea Harrier FRS.2" (later known as "FA2"). The first flight of the prototype took place in September 1988 and a contract was signed for 29 upgraded aircraft in December of that year. The Sea Harrier FA2 was fitted with the Blue Vixen radar, which was described as one of the most advanced pulse doppler radar systems in the world.


title: British Aerospace

text: In August 1981, BAe and the American aircraft manufacturer McDonnell Douglas signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II. Under this agreement, BAe was effectively a subcontractor rather than a full partner, receiving 40 percent of the airframe's work-share in terms of man-hours. Production took place at McDonnell Douglas' facilities in suburban St. Louis, Missouri, and manufacturing by BAe at its Kingston and Dunsfold facilities in Surrey, England. The variant procured for the RAF, which was known as the BAe Harrier II, featured many differences, including avionics fit, armaments and equipment; the wing of the GR5 featured a stainless steel leading edge, giving it different flex characteristics from the AV-8B. In December 1989, the first RAF squadron to be equipped with the Harrier II was declared operational.


title: British Aerospace

text: In 1979, BAe officially joined the multinational aircraft manufacturer Airbus and acquired a 20% share in the venture, the move effectively reversed a decision made ten years prior in which the UK government had withdrawn its support for the Airbus consortium. Airbus' first aircraft, the A300, had been received with little initial demand, but orders for the airliner had picked up in the late 1970s. By 1979, the consortium had 256 orders for A300, and Airbus had launched its second airliner, the A310, less than 12 months prior to BAe formally joining the consortium. As time went on, it was becoming clear that Airbus was no longer a temporary collaboration to produce a single design as per its original mission statement; it had become a long-term brand for the development of further aircraft. By the late 1980s, work had begun on a pair of new wide-body airliners, the biggest to be produced at this point under the Airbus name; these would be launched in the 1990s as the Airbus A330 and the Airbus A340.


title: British Aerospace

text: During the 1983 Paris Air Show, the launch of the "Experimental Aircraft Programme" (EAP) to develop and fly an advanced fighter technology demonstrator was announced; at this point, the effort was intended to be a partnership between Britain and several of its European neighbours, including West Germany and Italy. The resulting aircraft, the British Aerospace EAP, ended up being primarily developed by BAe as a private venture; it formed the basis for the multinational Eurofighter Typhoon. In 1986, in conjunction Alenia Aeronautica, CASA and DASA, BAe formed Eurofighter GmbH for the development and production of the Eurofighter. The multinational organisation's head office was established in Hallbergmoos, Bavaria, Germany. The maiden flight of the Eurofighter prototype took place in Bavaria on 27 March 1994, flown by DASA chief test pilot Peter Weger. On 30 January 1998, the first production contract for the Eurofighter was signed between Eurofighter GmbH, engine manufacturer Eurojet and the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency, the organisation set up to manage the procurement of the aircraft.


title: British Aerospace

text: On 26 September 1985, the UK and Saudi Arabian governments signed the Al-Yamamah arms deal with BAe as prime contractor. The contracts, extended in the 1990s and never fully detailed, involved the supply of Panavia Tornado strike and air defence aircraft, BAe Hawk trainer jets, Rapier missile systems, infrastructure works and naval vessels. The Al Yamamah deals are valued at anything up to £20 billion and still continue to provide a large percentage of BAE Systems' profits.


title: British Aerospace

text: On 22 April 1987, BAe acquired Royal Ordnance, the British armaments manufacturer, for £190 million. Subsequently, the German armaments specialist Heckler & Koch was folded into this division following its acquisition by BAe four years later.


title: British Aerospace

text: In 1988, BAe purchased the Rover Group from the British government of Margaret Thatcher for £150 million. The sale was controversial due to opaque financial arrangements between the government and BAe; however the House of Commons Trade and Industry Committee was said to believe that "in spite of a catalogue of complaints, the committee concludes that the sale to BAe may well have been the best solution for the government."


title: British Aerospace

text: In 1991, BAe acquired a 30% interest in Hutchison Telecommunications through a stock swap deal, where Hutchison was given a controlling stake of 65% in BAe's wholly owned subsidiary – Microtel Communications Ltd. In August 1991, BAe formed a naval systems joint venture, BAeSEMA, with the Sema Group. BAe acquired Sema's 50% share in 1998. That year also saw BAe begin to experience major difficulties. BAe saw its share price fall below 100p for the first time. On 9 September 1991, the company issued a profits warning and later that week "bungled" the launch of a £432 million rights issue. On 25 September 1991 BAe directors led by CEO Richard Evans ousted the Chairman Professor Sir Roland Smith in a move described by "The Independent" as "one of the most spectacular and brutal boardroom coups witnessed in many years." Evans described the troubles as a confluence of events:


title: British Aerospace

text: In mid-1992, BAe wrote off £1 billion of assets, largely as part of redundancies and restructuring of its regional aircraft division. This was the largest asset write-off in UK corporate history. General Electric Company (GEC), later to sell its defence interests to BAe, came close to acquiring BAe at this time. BAe cut 47% of its workforce (60,000 out of 127,000), 40,000 of which were from the regional aircraft division.


title: British Aerospace

text: Evans decided to sell non-core business activities which included The Rover Group, Arlington Securities, BAe Corporate Jets, BAe Communications and Ballast Nedam. Although the rationale of diversification was sound (to shield the company from cyclical aerospace and defence markets) the struggling company could not afford to continue the position: "We simply could not afford to carry two core businesses, cars and aerospace. At one point Rover was eating up about £2 billion of our banking capacity." BAe Corporate Jets Ltd and Arkansas Aerospace Inc were sold to Raytheon in 1993. In 1994, the Rover Group was sold to BMW and British Aerospace Space Systems was sold to Matra Marconi Space. In 1998, BAe's shareholding of Orange plc was reduced to 5%. The Orange shareholding was a legacy of the 30% stake in Hutchison Telecommunications (UK) Ltd.


title: British Aerospace

text: In 1994, BAeSEMA, Siemens Plessey and GEC-Marconi formed UKAMS Limited as part of the Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS) consortium. UKAMS would become a wholly owned subsidiary of BAe Dynamics in 1998. In 1995, Saab Military Aircraft and BAe signed an agreement for the joint development and marketing of the export version of the JAS 39 Gripen. In 1996, BAe and Matra Defense agreed to merge their missile businesses into a joint venture called Matra BAe Dynamics. In 1997, BAe joined the Lockheed Martin X-35 Joint Strike Fighter team. The following year, BAe acquired the UK operations of Siemens Plessey Systems (SPS) from Siemens, while DASA purchased SPS' German assets.


title: British Aerospace

text: In the 1990s, BAe was the largest exporter based in the United Kingdom; a Competition Commission report released in 2005 calculated a ten-year aggregate figure of £45 billion, with defence sales accounting for approximately 80%.


title: British Aerospace

text: In the late 1990s, European defence consolidation became a prevailing practice; European governments wished to see the merger of their defence manufacturers into a single entity, a European Aerospace and Defence Company. This ambition led to numerous reports linking various European defence groups – mainly with each other but also with American defence contractors. In July 1998, merger discussions began between BAe and DASA. Terms for such a merger had been reportedly agreed between British Aerospace Chairman Richard Evans and DASA CEO Jürgen Schrempp in December 1998. However, when the British General Electric Company (GEC) put its defence electronics business Marconi Electronic Systems (MES) up for sale on 22 December 1998, BAe's management opted to abandon the DASA merger in favour of purchasing its British rival. During 2004, Evans stated that his fear was that an American defence contractor would acquire MES and challenge both British Aerospace and DASA.


title: British Aerospace

text: Schrempp was angered by BAe's reversal, and opted to pursue other partner companies for DASA to merge with. On 11 June 1999, the Spanish aircraft company CASA a memorandum of understanding for such a merger. On 14 October 1999, DASA agreed to merge with Aérospatiale-Matra to create the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS). 10 July 2000 was "day one" for the new company, which became the world's second-largest aerospace company after Boeing and the second-largest European arms manufacturer after BAE Systems.


title: British Aerospace

text: The GEC merger to create a solely British company, compared to the prospective Anglo-German company that would have resulted from merging with DASA, was promoted as having superior prospects for further penetration of the lucrative defence market of the United States. The newly combined company, which was initially referred to as "New British Aerospace", was officially formed on 30 November 1999; it is named BAE Systems.


title: British Aerospace

text: There have been allegations that the Al Yamamah contracts were a result of bribes ("douceurs") to members of the Saudi royal family and government officials. Some allegations suggested that the former Prime Minister's son Mark Thatcher may have been involved; he has strongly denied receiving payments or exploiting his mother's connections in his business dealings. The National Audit Office investigated the contracts and has so far never released its conclusions – the only NAO report ever to be withheld. The BBC's "Newsnight" observed that it is ironic that the once classified report analysing the construction of MI5's Thames House and MI6's Vauxhall Cross headquarters has been released, but the Al Yamamah report is still deemed too sensitive.


title: British Aerospace

text: The 2007 documentary film "Welcome Aboard Toxic Airlines" contained evidence that vital data was withheld from a 1999–2000 Australian Senate Inquiry into the health and flight safety issues relating to oil fumes on the British Aerospace 146. The film also contains an Australian Senator’s speech about money being paid by BAe for silence on the fumes issue.


title: Rules of basketball

text: The rules of basketball are the rules and regulations that govern the play, officiating, equipment and procedures of basketball. While many of the basic rules are uniform throughout the world, variations do exist. Most leagues or governing bodies in North America, the most important of which are the National Basketball Association and NCAA, formulate their own rules. In addition, the Technical Commission of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) determines rules for international play; most leagues outside North America use the complete FIBA ruleset.


title: Rules of basketball

text: On 15 January 1892, James Naismith published his rules for the game of "Basket Ball" that he invented: The original game played under these rules was quite different from the one played today as there was no dribbling, dunking, three-pointers, or shot clock, and goal tending was legal.


title: Rules of basketball

text: Naismith's original 1892 manuscript of the rules of basketball, one of the most expensive manuscripts in existence, is publicly displayed at Allen Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Kansas. Naismith was the first coach in the history of Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball.


title: Rules of basketball

text: Naismith's original rules did not specify how many players were to be on the court. In 1900, five players became standard, and players that were substituted were not allowed to re-enter the game. Players were allowed to re-enter a game once from 1921, and twice from 1934; such restrictions on substitutions were abolished in 1945 when substitutions became unlimited. Coaching was originally prohibited during the game, but from 1949, coaches were allowed to address players during a time-out.


title: Rules of basketball

text: Originally a player was disqualified on his second foul. This limit became four fouls in 1911 and five fouls in 1945, still the case in most forms of basketball where the normal length of the game (before any overtime periods) is 40 minutes. When the normal length is 48 minutes (this is the case with the National Basketball Association in the United States and Canada) a player is accordingly disqualified on his sixth foul.


title: Rules of basketball

text: The first time restriction on possession of the ball was introduced in 1933, where teams were required to advance the ball over the center line within ten seconds of gaining possession. This rule remained until 2000, when FIBA reduced the requirement to eight seconds, the NBA following suit in 2001. The NCAA retains the 10-second rule for men's play, and adopted this rule for women's play starting with the 2013–14 season. U.S. high schools, whose rules are drafted by NFHS, also use the 10-second rule for both sexes.


title: Rules of basketball

text: In 1936 the three-second rule was introduced. This rule prohibits offensive players from remaining near their opponents' basket for longer than three seconds (the precise "restricted area" is also known as the "lane" or the "key"). A game central to this rule's introduction was that between the University of Kentucky and New York University. Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp did not take one of his referees with him, despite being warned of discrepancies in officiating between the Midwest and East by Notre Dame coach George Keogan, and the game became especially rough. Because of this game and others, Kentucky All-American center Leroy Edwards is generally recognized as the player responsible for the three-second rule.


title: Rules of basketball

text: While the rule was originally adopted to reduce roughness in the area between big men, it is now considered to prevent tall offensive players from gaining an advantage by waiting close to the basket. When the NBA started to allow zone defense in 2001, a three-second rule for defensive players was also introduced.


title: Rules of basketball

text: The shot clock was first introduced by the NBA in 1954, to increase the speed of play. Teams were then required to attempt a shot within 24 seconds of gaining possession, and the shot clock would be reset when the ball touched the basket's rim or the backboard, or the opponents gained possession. FIBA adopted a 30-second shot clock two years later, resetting the clock when a shot was attempted. Women's basketball adopted a 30-second clock in 1971. The NCAA adopted a 45-second shot clock for men while continuing with the 30-second clock for women in 1985. The men's shot clock was then reduced to 35 seconds in 1993, and further reduced to 30 seconds in 2015. FIBA reduced the shot clock to 24 seconds in 2000, and changed the clock's resetting to when the ball touched the rim of the basket. Originally, a missed shot where the shot clock expired while the ball is in the air constituted a violation. In 2003 the rule was changed so that the ball remains live in this situation, as long as it touched the rim. If the ball touches the rim and slightly bounces over the basketball hoop it will be called as a loose ball.


title: Rules of basketball

text: Dribbling was not part of the original game, but was introduced in 1901. At the time, a player could only bounce the ball once, and could not shoot after he had dribbled. The definition of dribbling became the "continuous passage of the ball" in 1909, allowing more than one bounce, and a player who had dribbled was then allowed to shoot.


title: Rules of basketball

text: Running with the ball ceased to be considered a foul in 1922, and became a violation, meaning that the only penalty was loss of possession. Striking the ball with the fist has also become a violation. From 1931, if a closely guarded player withheld the ball from play for five seconds, play was stopped and resumed with a jump ball; such a situation has since become a violation by the ball-carrier. Goaltending became a violation in 1944, and offensive goaltending in 1958.


title: Rules of basketball

text: Free throws were introduced shortly after basketball was invented. In 1895, the free throw line was officially placed from the backboard, prior to which most gymnasiums placed one from the backboard. From 1924, players that received a foul were required to shoot their own free throws. One free throw shot is awarded to a player who was fouled while making a successful field goal attempt. If the field goal attempt is unsuccessful, two free throw shots are awarded (three if the player was attempting a three-point field goal). If an offensive player is fouled while not in the act of shooting, or if a player is fouled in a loose-ball situation, the penalty varies by level of play and the number of fouls accumulated by the opposing team in a given period.


title: Rules of basketball

text: A player has 10 seconds to attempt a free throw. If the player does not attempt a free throw within 10 seconds of receiving the ball, the free throw attempt is lost, and a free throw violation is called. A free throw violation also occurs if a free throw misses the backboard, rim, and basket. If a free throw violation is assessed on the last free throw awarded to a player in a given situation, possession automatically reverts to the opposing team.


title: Rules of basketball

text: A charge is physical contact between an offensive player and a defensive player. In order to draw an offensive charge the defensive player must establish legal guarding positioning in the path of the offensive player. If contact is made, the officials would issue an offensive charge. No points will be allowed and the ball is turned over. The defensive player may not draw an offensive charge in the "restricted zone" (see below for more details).


title: Rules of basketball

text: Blocking is physical contact between the offensive player and the defensive player. Blocking fouls are issued when a defensive player interferes with the path of the offensive player in the shooting motion. Blocking fouls are easily called when the defensive player is standing in the "restricted zone".


title: Rules of basketball

text: Restricted zone: In 1997, the NBA introduced an arc of a radius around the basket, in which an offensive foul for charging could not be assessed. This was to prevent defensive players from attempting to draw an offensive foul on their opponents by standing underneath the basket. FIBA adopted this arc with a radius in 2010.


title: Rules of basketball

text: Initially, basketball was played with an "ordinary association football (soccer ball), although the sport now uses its own ball. The goal is placed above the court. Originally a basket was used (thus "basket-ball"), so the ball had to be retrieved after each made shot. Today a hoop with an open-bottom hanging net is used instead.


title: Rules of basketball

text: Originally, there was one umpire to judge fouls and one referee to judge the ball; the tradition of calling one official the "referee" and the other one or two the "umpires" has remained (the NBA, however, uses different terminology, referring to the lead official as "crew chief" and the others as "referees"). Today, both classes of officials have equal rights to control all aspects of the game. The NBA added a third official in 1988, and FIBA did so afterward, using it for the first time in international competition in 2006. The use of video evidence to inform referee's decisions has always been banned, except in the case of determining whether or not the last shot of a period was attempted before time expired. This exception was introduced by the NBA in 2002 and adopted by FIBA in 2006. The NCAA, however, has permitted instant replay for timing, the value of a field goal (two or three points), shot clock violations, and for purposes of disqualifying players because of unsportsmanlike conduct. The NBA changed its rules starting in 2007 to allow officials the ability to view instant replay with plays involving flagrant fouls, similar to the NCAA. In Italy's Serie A, an American football-style coach's challenge is permitted to challenge (at the next dead ball) an official's call on any situation similar to the NCAA.


title: Rules of basketball

text: The center jump ball that was used to restart a game after every successful field goal was eliminated in 1938, in favor of the ball being given to the non-scoring team from behind the end line where the goal was scored, in order to make play more continuous. The jump ball was still used to start the game and every period, and to restart the game after a held ball. However, the NBA stopped using the jump ball to start the second through fourth quarters in 1975, instead using a quarter-possession system where the loser of the jump ball takes the ball from the other end to start the second and third periods, while the winner of that jump ball takes the ball to start the fourth period from the other end of the court.


title: Rules of basketball

text: In 1976, the NBA introduced a rule to allow teams to advance the ball to the center line following any legal time-out in the final two minutes of the game. FIBA followed suit in 2006.


title: Rules of basketball

text: In 1981, the NCAA adopted the alternating possession system for all jump ball situations except the beginning of the game, and in 2003, FIBA adopted a similar rule, except for the start of the third period and overtime. In 2004, the rule was changed in FIBA that the arrow applies for all situations after the opening tap.


title: Rules of basketball

text: The most recent international rules of basketball were approved 2 February 2014 by FIBA and became effective 1 October of that year.


title: Rules of basketball

text: There are eight rules encompassing 50 articles, covering equipment and facilities, regulations regarding teams, players, captains and coaches, playing regulations, violations, fouls and their penalties, special situations, and the officials and table officials. The rules also cover officials' signals, the scoresheet, protest procedure, classification of teams and television timeouts.


title: Sofia Milos

text: Sofia Milos (; , born 27 September 1969) is a Swiss-born actress. She is best known for her role as Yelina Salas on "". She has also had a role on "The Sopranos" as Camorra boss Annalisa Zucca, as well as roles in TV series such as "Curb your Enthusiasm", "Friends" and "ER".


title: Sofia Milos

text: Milos was born in Zurich, Switzerland, to an Italian father and a Greek mother. The family moved to Rome when she was a child. When she was 14, she entered a local beauty pageant, and after winning first prize went on to win the provincial, regional and national contests as well, receiving the title Junior Lady Italy.


title: Sofia Milos

text: Milos studied business and economics at a school in Switzerland, and she studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse under acting coach Milton Katselas.


title: Sofia Milos

text: When she was 15, Milos became a professional model to pay for her education in Switzerland. Her film debut came in "Inside Out", an independent feature starring Kris Kristofferson and Lesley-Anne Down. Her television debut occurred in the NBC comedy "Café Americain".


title: Media literacy

text: Media literacy is an expanded conceptualization of literacy that includes the ability to access and analyze media messages as well as create, reflect and take action, using the power of information and communication to make a difference in the world. Media literacy is not restricted to one medium and is understood as a set of competencies that are essential for work, life, and citizenship. Media literacy education is the process used to advance media literacy competencies, and it is intended to promote awareness of media influence and create an active stance towards both consuming and creating media. Media literacy education is part of the curriculum in the United States and some European Union countries, and an interdisciplinary global community of media scholars and educators engages in knowledge and scholarly and professional journals and national membership associations.


title: Media literacy

text: Education for media literacy often uses an inquiry-based pedagogic model that encourages people to ask questions about what they watch, hear, and read. Media literacy moves beyond the traditional no print text and moves to examining more contemporary sources. Some examples of media literacy include, but are not limited to television, video games, photographs, and audio messages. Media literacy education provides tools to help people develop receptive media capability to critically analyze messages, offers opportunities for learners to broaden their experience of media, and helps them develop generative media capability to increase creative skills in making their own media messages. Critical analyses can include identifying author, purpose and point of view, examining construction techniques and genres, examining patterns of media representation, and detecting propaganda, censorship, and bias in news and public affairs programming (and the reasons for these). Media literacy education may explore how structural features—such as media ownership, or its funding model—affect the information presented.


title: Media literacy

text: As defined by The Core Principles of Media Literacy Education, "the purpose of media literacy education is to help individuals of all ages develop the habits of inquiry and skills of expression that they need to be critical thinkers, effective communicators and active citizens in today’s world." Education about media literacy can begin in early childhood by developing a pedagogy around more critical thinking and deeper analysis and questioning of concepts and texts. As students age and enter adulthood, the use of learning media literacy will be impactful in identifying ethical and technical standards in media as well as understanding how media ties to their cognitive, social, and emotional needs.


title: Media literacy

text: In North America and Europe, media literacy includes both empowerment and protectionist perspectives. Media literate people can skillfully create and produce media messages, both to show understanding of the specific qualities of each medium, as well as to create media and participate as active citizens. Media literacy can be seen as contributing to an expanded conceptualization of literacy, treating mass media, popular culture and digital media as new types of 'texts' that require analysis and evaluation. By transforming the process of media consumption into an active and critical process, people gain greater awareness of the potential for misrepresentation and manipulation, and understand the role of mass media and participatory media in constructing views of reality.


title: Media literacy

text: Media literacy education is sometimes conceptualized as a way to address the negative dimensions of media, including media manipulation, misinformation, gender and racial stereotypes and violence, the sexualization of children, and concerns about loss of privacy, cyberbullying and Internet predators. By building knowledge and competencies in using media and technology, media literacy education may provide a type of protection to children and young people by helping them make good choices in their media consumption habits, and patterns of usage.


title: Media literacy

text: Some scholars see media literacy as a dialogical process for social and environmental justice that incorporates Paulo Freire's (1970) notion of praxis, "reflection and action upon the world in order to transform it" (p. 36). This pedagogical project questions representations of class, gender, race, sexuality and other forms of identity and challenges media messages that reproduce oppression and discrimination. Proponents of media literacy education argue that the inclusion of media literacy into school curricula promotes civic engagement, increases awareness of the power structures inherent in popular media and aids students in gaining necessary critical and inquiry skills. Media can have a positive or negative impact on society, but media literacy education enables the students to discern inescapable risks of manipulation, propaganda and media bias. A growing body of research has begun focusing on the impact of media literacy on youth. In an important meta-analysis of more than 50 studies, published in the "Journal of Communication", media literacy interventions were found to have positive effects on knowledge, criticism, perceived realism, influence, behavioral beliefs, attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavior. Media literacy also encourages critical thinking and self-expression, enabling citizens to decisively exercise their democratic rights. Media literacy enables the populace to understand and contribute to public discourse, and, eventually, make sound decisions when electing their leaders. People who are media literate can adopt a critical stance when decoding media messages, no matter their views regarding a position. Likewise, the use of mobile devices by children and adolescents is increasing significantly; therefore, it is relevant to investigate the level of advertising literacy of parents who interact as mediators between children and mobile advertising.


title: Media literacy

text: Digitalisation and the expansion of information and communication technologies at the beginning of the 21st century have substantially modified the media and their relationship with users, which logically modifies the basic principles of media education. It is no longer so much a question of educating critical receivers as of training citizens as responsible prosumers in virtual and hybrid environments. Media education currently incorporates phenomena such as social networks, virtual communities, big data, artificial intelligence, cyber-surveillance, etc., as well as training the individual in the critical use of mobile devices of all kinds.


title: Media literacy

text: A variety of scholars have proposed theoretical frameworks for media literacy. In 2010, Renee Hobbs developed the AACRA model (access, analyze, create, reflect and act) and identifies three frames for introducing media literacy to learners: authors and audiences (AA), messages and meanings (MM), and representation and reality (RR), synthesizing the scholarly literature from media literacy, information literacy, visual literacy and new literacies. This model explicitly conceptualizes media literacy as an expanded conceptualization of literacy.


title: Media literacy

text: David Buckingham offers "a theoretical framework which can be applied to the whole range of contemporary media and to 'older' media as well, as part of the practice of media education: Production, Language, Representation, and Audience." Elaborating on the concepts presented by David Buckingham, Henry Jenkins discusses the emergence of a participatory culture and stresses the significance of "new media literacies"—a set of cultural competencies and social skills that young people need in the new media landscape.


title: Media literacy

text: Douglas Kellner and Jeff Share have categorized four different approaches to media education: the protectionist approach, media arts education, media literacy movement, and critical media literacy. The protectionist approach views audiences of mass media as vulnerable to cultural, ideological or moral influences, and needing protection by means of education. The media arts education approach focuses on creative production of different media forms by learners. The media literacy movement is an attempt to bring traditional aspects of literacy from the educational sphere and apply it to media. Critical media literacy aims to analyze and understand the power structures that shape media representations and the ways in which audiences work to make meaning through dominant, oppositional and negotiated readings of media. "The goal of critical media literacy is to engage with media through critically examining representations, systems, structures, ideologies, and power dynamics that shape and reproduce culture and society. It is an inquiry-based process for analyzing and creating media by interrogating the relationships between power and knowledge. Critical media literacy is a dialogical process for social and environmental justice that incorporates Paulo Freire's (1970) notion of praxis, "reflection and action upon the world in order to transform it" (p. 36). This pedagogical project questions representations of class, gender, race, sexuality and other forms of identity and challenges media messages that reproduce oppression and discrimination. It celebrates positive representations and beneficial aspects of media while challenging problems and negative consequences, recognizing media are never neutral. Critical media literacy is a transformative pedagogy for developing and empowering critical, caring, nurturing, and conscientious people.”


title: Media literacy

text: The scholarly knowledge community publishes research in the Journal of Media Literacy Education and other journals, and a robust global community of media literacy scholars has emerged since the European Commission set an ambitious objective for Europe to advance its knowledge economy while being more culturally inclusive. Empirical research on media literacy education is carried out by social science researchers generally falls into three major categories, focusing on (a) health outcomes; (b) curriculum and instruction; and (c) political attitudes, media use and behavior. Meta-analysis of a large number of these studies has found that the average effect size was strong and positive for outcomes including media knowledge, criticism, perceived realism, influence, attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavior. In two recent nationally-representative surveys of U.S. residents, media literacy competencies were associated with health-related decision making in the context of COVID-19, and the study found that media literacy skills promote the adoption of recommended health behaviors. Health interventions have also explored issues such as media violence, stereotypes in the representation of gender and race, materialism and consumer culture, and the glamorization of unhealthy behavior, including smoking. Research shows that media literacy is associated with increased resilience in children and youth that is effective in a wide variety of contexts and learning environments.


title: Media literacy

text: Media literacy competencies are frequently measured using self-report measures, where people rate or agree with various statements. These measures are easy to administer to a large group of people. Some researchers use performance- or competency-based measures to examine people's actual ability to critically analyze news, advertising, or entertainment. Media literacy programs that focus on political attitudes and behavior are thought to provide the cognitive and social scaffolding needed for civic engagement. Research on high school students has shown that participation in a media literacy program was positively associated with information-seeking motives, media knowledge, and news analysis skills. Experimental research has shown that young people ages 15 - 27 who had received media literacy education in schools were better able to evaluate the accuracy of political content, even when it aligned with their existing political beliefs.


title: Media literacy

text: Media literacy education is actively focused on the instructional methods and pedagogy of media literacy, integrating theoretical and critical frameworks rising from constructivist learning theory, media studies, and cultural studies scholarship. This work has arisen from a legacy of media and technology use in education throughout the 20th century and the emergence of cross-disciplinary work at the intersections of media studies and education. The oldest organization studying Media Literacy is the National Telemedia Council, based in Madison Wisconsin and led by Marieli Rowe for over 50 years. The Voices of Media Literacy, a project through the Center for Media Literacy, sponsored by Tessa Jolls, included first-person interviews with 20 media literacy pioneers active prior to the 1990s in English-speaking countries. The project provided historical context for the rise of media literacy from individuals who helped influenced the field.


title: Media literacy

text: UNESCO has investigated which countries were incorporating media studies into different schools' curricula as a means to develop new initiatives in the field of media education. Relying on 72 experts on media education in 52 countries around the world, the study identified that (1) media literacy occurs inside the context of formal education; (2) it generally relies of partnerships with media industries and media regulators; and (3) there is a robust research community who have examined the needs of educators and obstacles to future development. Although progress around the world is uneven, all respondents realized the importance of media education, as well as the need for formal recognition from their government and policymakers.


title: Media literacy

text: In recent years, a wide variety of media literacy education initiatives have increased collaboration in Europe and North America, Many cultural, social, and political factors shape how media literacy education initiatives are believed to be significant. Mind Over Media is an example of an international collaboration in media literacy education: it is a digital learning platform that relies on crowdsourced examples of contemporary propaganda shared by educators and learners from around the world. For educators who are developing media literacy programs, the study of propaganda has become increasingly important, especially with the rise of fake news and disinformation.


title: Media literacy

text: Media literacy programs may emphasize these components: "Critical thinking:" understanding how the media industry works and how media messages are constructed; questioning the motivations of content producers in order to make informed choices about content selection and use; recognizing different types of media content and evaluating content for truthfulness, reliability and value; recognizing and managing online security and safety risks;


title: Media literacy

text: "Creativity:" advancing competencies through activities that involve creating, building and generating media content, often through collaboration;


title: Media literacy

text: "Intercultural dialogue": practices of human communication, empathy and social interaction, including those that challenge radicalization, violent extremism and hate speech;


title: Media literacy

text: "Participation and civic engagement:" active participation in the economic, social, creative, cultural aspects of society using media in ways that advance democratic participation and fundamental human rights.


title: Media literacy

text: In North America, the beginnings of a formalized approach to media literacy as a topic of education is often attributed to the 1978 formation of the Ontario-based Association for Media Literacy (AML). Before that time, instruction in media education was usually the purview of individual teachers and practitioners. Canada was the first country in North America to require media literacy in the school curriculum. Every province has mandated media education in its curriculum. For example, the new curriculum of Quebec mandates media literacy from Grade 1 until final year of secondary school (Secondary V). The launching of media education in Canada came about for two reasons. One reason was the concern about the pervasiveness of American popular culture and the other was the education system-driven necessity of contexts for new educational paradigms. Canadian communication scholar Marshall McLuhan ignited the North American educational movement for media literacy in the 1950s and 1960s. Two of Canada's leaders in Media Literacy and Media Education are Barry Duncan and John Pungente. Duncan died on June 6, 2012. Even after he retired from classroom teaching, Barry had still been active in media education. Pungente is a Jesuit priest who has promoted media literacy since the early 1960s.


title: Media literacy

text: Media literacy education has been an interest in the United States since the early 20th century, when high school English teachers first started using film to develop students' critical thinking and communication skills. However, media literacy education is distinct from simply using media and technology in the classroom, a distinction that is exemplified by the difference between "teaching with media" and "teaching about media." In the 1950s and 60s, the ‘film grammar’ approach to media literacy education developed in the United States. Where educators began to show commercial films to children, having them learn a new terminology consisting of words such as: fade, dissolve, truck, pan, zoom, and cut. Films were connected to literature and history. To understand the constructed nature of film, students explored plot development, character, mood and tone. Then, during the 1970s and 1980s, attitudes about mass media and mass culture began to shift around the English-speaking world. Educators began to realize the need to “guard against our prejudice of thinking of print as the only real medium that the English teacher has a stake in.” A whole generation of educators began to not only acknowledge film and television as new, legitimate forms of expression and communication, but also explored practical ways to promote serious inquiry and analysis—- in higher education, in the family, in schools and in society. In 1976, Project Censored began using a service learning model to cultivate media literacy skills among students and faculty in higher education.


title: Media literacy

text: Media literacy education began to appear in state English education curriculum frameworks by the early 1990s, as a result of increased awareness in the central role of media in the context of contemporary culture. Nearly all 50 states have language that supports media literacy in state curriculum frameworks. Additionally, an increasing number of school districts have begun to develop school-wide programs, elective courses, and other after-school opportunities for media analysis and production.


title: Media literacy

text: Founded in 2008, the News Literacy Project initially offered curricular materials and other resources for educators who taught U.S. students in grades 6-12 (middle school and high school), focusing primarily on helping students learn to sort fact from fiction in the digital age. (In 2020 NLP expanded its work to include audiences of all ages and made all of its resources free of charge.) Similar programs for students and adults are also offered by the Poynter Institute (MediaWise) and the Stanford History Education Group at Stanford University (Civic Online Reasoning). Assessments of students who have taken such programs and those who have not have shown that the students with media literacy training can more easily recognize false or misleading content and determine whether a source of information is credible.


title: Media literacy

text: Interdisciplinary scholarship in media literacy education is emerging. Stony Brook University's Center for News Literacy, founded in 2007 by Howard Schneider, the dean of the university's journalism school, grew out of his collaboration "with hard science, social science and humanities experts ... to build a course that helps students understand their own biases as well as the importance of reliable information to their inherited role as stewards of a democracy." In 2009, a scholarly journal, the Journal of Media Literacy Education, was launched to support the work of scholars and practitioners in the field. Universities such as Appalachian State University, Columbia University, Ithaca College, New York University, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, the University of Texas-Austin, The University of Rhode Island and the University of Maryland offer courses and summer institutes in media literacy for pre-service teachers and graduate students. Brigham Young University offers a graduate program in media education specifically for in-service teachers. Since 2011, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Graduate School of Education and Information Studies' Teacher Education Program has required all new teachers take a 4-unit course on Critical Media Literacy.


title: Media literacy

text: The UK is widely regarded as a leader in the development of media literacy education. Key agencies that have been involved in this development include the British Film Institute, the English and Media Centre Film Education the Centre for the Study of Children, Youth and Media at the Institute of Education, London, and the DARE centre (Digital Arts Research Education), a collaboration between University College London and the British Film Institute. The ‘promotion' of media literacy also became a UK Government policy under New Labour, and was enshrined in the Communications Act 2003 as a responsibility of the new media regulator, Ofcom. After an initial burst of activity, however, Ofcom's work in this regard was progressively reduced in scope, and from the Coalition government onwards, the promotion of media literacy was reduced to a matter of market research – what Wallis & Buckingham have described as an ‘undead' policy.


title: Media literacy

text: In the Nordics, media education was introduced into the Finnish elementary curriculum in 1970 and into high schools in 1977. The concepts devised at the Lycée franco-finlandais d'Helsinki became the standard nation-wide in 2016. Media education has been compulsory in Sweden since 1980 and in Denmark since 1970.


title: Media literacy

text: France has taught film from the inception of the medium, but it has only been recently that conferences and media courses for teachers have been organized with the inclusion of media production.


title: Media literacy

text: Germany saw theoretical publications on media literacy in the 1970s and 1980s, with a growing interest for media education inside and outside the educational system in the 80s and 90s.


title: Media literacy

text: In the Netherlands media literacy was placed in the agenda by the Dutch government in 2006 as an important subject for the Dutch society. In April, 2008, an official center has been created (mediawijsheid expertisecentrum = medialiteracy expertisecenter) by the Dutch government. This center is a network organization consisting of different stakeholders with expertise on the subject.


title: Media literacy

text: In Russia, the 1970s-1990s brought about the first official programs of film and media education, increasing interest in doctoral studies focused on media education, as well as theoretical and empirical work on media education by O.Baranov (Tver), S.Penzin (Voronezh), G.Polichko, U.Rabinovich (Kurgan), Y.Usov (Moscow), Alexander Fedorov (Taganrog), A.Sharikov (Moscow) and others. Recent developments in media education in Russia are the 2002 registration of a new ‘Media Education’ (No. 03.13.30) specialization for the pedagogical universities, and the 2005 launch of the "Media Education" academic journal, partly sponsored by the ICOS UNESCO ‘Information for All’.


title: Media literacy

text: Montenegro became one of the few countries in the world that have introduced media education into their curriculums, when in 2009 “media literacy” was introduced as an optional subject for 16 and 17-year-old students of Gymnasium high schools.


title: Media literacy

text: In Ukraine, media education is in the second stage (2017–2020) of development and standardization. Main centres of media education include the Ivan Franko University of Lviv (led by Borys Potyatynyk), Institute of Higher Education of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine (Hanna Onkovych), Institute of Social and Political Psychology of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine (Lyubov Naidyonova).


title: Media literacy

text: In Spanish legislation, digital competence is considered as an umbrella term that "includes information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, media education, digital content creation (including programming), security (including digital wellbeing and cybersecurity skills), digital citizenship issues, privacy, intellectual property, problem solving, and computational and critical thinking".


title: Media literacy

text: Media literacy education is not yet as widespread or as advanced in Asia, comparative to the U.S. or Western countries. Beginning in the 1990s, there has been a shift towards media literacy in East Asia. In recent years, media literacy education is growing in Asia, with several programs in place across countries throughout the Asian Pacific region.


title: Media literacy

text: Teachers in Beijing, China, are recognizing the importance of media literacy education in primary schools based on their own level of concern for the need of media literacy in education. Other programs in China include "Little Masters", a Chinese publication created by children that reports on a variety of issues, helping children learn journalism and basic teamwork and communication skills. Studies have been done to test levels of media literacy among Chinese-speaking students in China and Taiwan, but further research is needed. Information literacy is highly regarded in education, but media literacy less recognized.


title: Media literacy

text: In India, the Cybermohalla program started in 2001 with the aim to bring access to technology to youths.


title: Media literacy

text: In Vietnam, the Young Journalists Group (YOJO) was created in 1998 in collaboration with UNICEF and the Vietnamese National Radio to combat false accounts by the media.


title: Media literacy

text: In Singapore, the Media Development Authority (MDA) defines media literacy and recognizes it as an important tool for the 21st century, but only from the reading aspect of the term.


title: Media literacy

text: Beginning in the 2017 school year, children in Taiwan study a new curriculum designed to teach critical reading of propaganda and the evaluation of sources. Called "media literacy," the course provides training in journalism in the new information society.


title: Media literacy

text: In Iran, Nasra is a movement aiming to meet the learning needs of all children, youth, and adults in 2018. This social movement focuses on digital media use and mental health and increases the skills of using the media for the public.


title: Media literacy

text: Jordan is moving forward in fostering media and information literacy, which is crucial to fighting extremism and hate speech, Jordan Media Institute is working on spreading the concepts and skills of positive interaction with the media and tools of communication technology and digital media, and to reduce their disadvantages.


title: Media literacy

text: An academy in Beirut, Lebanon opened in 2013, called the Media and Digital Literacy Academy of Beirut (MDLAB) with the goal for students to be critical media consumers.


title: Media literacy

text: Visual stereotypes continue to surround Middle Eastern cultures in visual media. Third and Fourth graders in Kuwait are learning to address these stereotypes through media literacy education. Through this kind of education, Arab people can challenge representation in all media.


title: Media literacy

text: In Australia, media education was influenced by developments in Britain related to the inoculation, popular arts, and demystification approaches. Key theorists who influenced Australian media education were Graeme Turner and John Hartley who helped develop Australian media and cultural studies. During the 1980s and 1990s, Western Australians Robyn Quin and Barrie MacMahon wrote seminal textbooks such as "Real Images", translating many complex media theories into classroom appropriate learning frameworks. At the same time Carmen Luke connected media literacy with feminism promoting a more critical approach to media education. In most Australian states, media is one of five strands of the Arts Key Learning Area and includes "essential learnings" or "outcomes" listed for various stages of development. At the senior level (years 11 and 12), several states offer Media Studies as an elective. For example, many Queensland schools offer Film, Television and New Media, while Victorian schools offer VCE Media. Media education is supported by the teacher professional association Australian Teachers of Media. With the introduction of a new Australian National Curriculum, schools are beginning to implement media education as part of the arts curriculum, using media literacy as a means to educate students how to deconstruct, construct and identify themes in media.


title: Media literacy

text: People are avid media users in Australia with various social platforms to choose from. Western Sydney University conducted a study in 2020 involving 3,510 Australian adults on all media activities. This study showed that Australians use various types of media and are very confident in their abilities, but not as confident in their media literacy education. This study also showed that an increase in media literacy can also provide benefits for civic engagement.


title: Nopal

text: Nopal (from the Nahuatl word for the pads of the plant) is a common name in Spanish for "Opuntia" cacti (commonly referred to in English as prickly pear), as well as for its pads.


title: Nopal

text: There are about 114 known species in Mexico, where it is a common ingredient in numerous Mexican cuisine dishes. The nopal pads can be eaten raw or cooked, used in marmalades, soups, stews and salads, as well as being used for traditional medicine or as fodder for animals. Farmed nopales are most often of the species "Opuntia ficus-indica" or "Opuntia matudae" although the pads of almost all "Opuntia" species are edible. The other part of the nopal cactus that is edible is the fruit, called the in Spanish and the "prickly pear" in English.


title: Nopal

text: Nopales are generally sold fresh in Mexico, cleaned of thorns, and sliced to the customer's desire on the spot. They can also be found canned or bottled as nopalitos, and less often dried, especially for export. Cut into slices or diced into cubes, nopales have a light, slightly tart flavor, like green beans, and a crisp, mucilaginous texture. In most recipes, the mucilaginous liquid they contain is included in the cooking. They are at their most tender and juicy in the spring.


title: Nopal

text: Nopales are most commonly used in Mexican cuisine in dishes such as "huevos con nopales" "eggs with nopal", "carne con nopales" "meat with nopal", "tacos de nopales", in salads with tomato, onion, and queso panela (panela cheese), or simply on their own as a side vegetable. Nopales have also grown to be an important ingredient in New Mexican cuisine and in Tejano culture of Texas.


title: Nopal

text: Per US cup serving, nopal fruit is an excellent source of the dietary mineral manganese (20% of the Daily Value, DV) and a good source of vitamin C (13% DV), magnesium (11% DV) and calcium (14% DV), with nutrient content improving as the plant matures. Its calcium may not be biologically available because it is present as calcium oxalate, a non-absorbable complex in the small intestine.


title: Nopal

text: The nopal cactus grows extensively throughout Mexico, being especially abundant in the central Mexican arid and semi arid regions. In Mexico there are over of land used to cultivate nopal. There are three typical ways to cultivate nopal cacti — commercial plantations, family farms and gardens, or in the wild. Approximately are used to produce prickly pear fruit, for the pads production, and to cochineal production. In 1996 there were prickly pear farmers, as well as around 8000 general nopal farmers, with all of the people involved in the processing industries and in cochineal production, employing a significant number of the Mexican population. Nopal is grown in eighteen of the Mexican states with 74% in the Distrito Federal, with an annual yield of tons of both the "tuna" and the pads. The farming of nopal provides many subsistence communities with employment, food, income, and allows them to remain on their land.


title: Nopal

text: Detection of the cactus-eating moth "Cactoblastis cactorum" in Mexico in 2006 caused anxiety among the country's phytosanitary authorities, as this insect can be potentially devastating for the cactus industry. In 1925, the same insect was successfully used in Australia to control the quickly growing population of cactus, which had become an invasive species after its introduction.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: Belinda Bencic (, ; born 10 March 1997) is a Swiss professional tennis player. She has a career-high ranking of No. 4 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) which she achieved in February 2020. Bencic has won six singles titles, including a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and two doubles titles on the WTA Tour.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: Born in Switzerland to Slovak parents at a time when another Slovak-Swiss player Martina Hingis was one of the best tennis players in the world, Bencic began playing tennis at the age of two. Her father arranged for her to train with Hingis's mother and coach daily from the age of seven. By the time she was 16, Bencic became the No. 1 ranked junior in the world and won two junior Grand Slam singles titles at the French Open and Wimbledon. On the professional tour, she made her top 100 debut shortly after turning 17. Her first big breakthrough came at the 2014 US Open, where she became the youngest quarterfinalist since Hingis in 1997. Bencic won her first two WTA Tour titles in 2015, including the Canadian Open where she defeated four of the top six players in the world. She then made her top-ten debut the following year while still 18 years old.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: From 2016 through 2018, Bencic struggled with a variety of injury issues, most notably needing to have wrist surgery in 2017 that kept her out for five months and saw her drop outside the top 300 in the WTA rankings. Nonetheless, she rebounded quickly and rose back into the top 50 within a year of her comeback. She then posted her best season to date in 2019, winning her second Premier-5 title at the Dubai Championships reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open, qualifying for her first WTA Finals where she reached the semifinals, and finishing the year inside the top 10 for the first time, which helped her win the WTA Comeback Player of the Year award.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: Bencic was born in Flawil in northeastern Switzerland to Dana and Ivan Benčič. Her parents were both born in Czechoslovakia, but her father's family emigrated to Switzerland in 1968 to escape from the Warsaw Pact invasion by the Soviet Union. Her father was a professional hockey player in the Swiss National League A and National League B before becoming an insurance broker. Her mother was a high-level handball player. Bencic hit her first tennis balls at the age of two and began training with her father, who was also a recreational tennis player, for one hour per day at the age of four. She entered her first national tournament at that age, losing to an opponent six years older in straight sets without winning a game. Bencic would regularly face much older opponents as a child and was encouraged by her father to try to win two games per set.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: When Bencic was five years old, her father contacted fellow Czechoslovak immigrant Melanie Molitor, the mother and coach of world No. 1 Swiss tennis player, Martina Hingis, for coaching advice. Hingis becoming the top player in the world around the time Bencic was born was also one reason her father was inspired to introduce her to the sport of tennis. Molitor agreed to gauge Bencic's abilities, which led to Bencic working with Molitor once a week for about a year. At the age of six, Bencic also spent six months at Nick Bollettieri's academy in Florida, winning several under-10 tournaments. Around this time, her father also asked Marcel Niederer, a childhood friend and fellow hockey player who had become an entrepreneur, if he could help sponsor his daughter's career. Niederer agreed to invest in Bencic, which gave her father the ability to quit his job so he could spend more time traveling with and coaching his daughter while she competed at tournaments. In 2004, when Bencic was seven years old, her family moved to Wollerau, where Molitor had just opened up her own academy, so that she could train there every day. She continued to work with Molitor through her teenage years, and has also occasionally worked with Hingis.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: Bencic is a former world No. 1 junior. She began competing on the ITF Junior Circuit in 2010 at the age of 13, reaching the final in her debut event at the lowest-level Grade 5 Luzern Junior Competition in Switzerland. In early 2012, Bencic won two high-level Grade 1 events at the Czech International Junior Indoor Championships and the Open International Junior de Beaulieu-sur-Mer in France, the first of which coming at 14 years old. She also made her junior Grand Slam debut, playing in all of the major tournaments except the Australian Open. Although she won just two matches in total in singles, she finished runner-up in doubles at both Wimbledon and the US Open. She lost to the American team of Taylor Townsend and Gabrielle Andrews at both events, partnering with Ana Konjuh at the former and Petra Uberalová at the latter. Bencic closed out the year by winning her first Grade A title at the Abierto Juvenil Mexicano, losing just 15 games in six matches.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: Bencic did not play again on the junior tour until May 2013, instead opting to focus on professional events. When she returned to the juniors, she won her first five tournaments of the year and extended her win streak in singles to 39 matches. All of her titles were Grade 1 or higher, including three Grade A titles at the Trofeo Bonfiglio and two Grand Slam events, the French Open and Wimbledon. She defeated Antonia Lottner in the French Open final and Townsend in the Wimbledon final. The victory over Townsend was a rematch of their quarterfinal at the French Open, which finished 9–7 in the third and final set. Bencic became the first player to win the girls' singles titles at the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year since Amelie Mauresmo in 1996. She was also the first Swiss girl to win a junior Grand Slam singles title since Martina Hingis in 1994, who won the same two titles that year. Bencic's win streak was ended at the European Junior Championships by Barbora Krejčíková in the semifinals. Lottner then defeated her at the US Open in the quarterfinals in her last tournament of the year. She also had a third Grand Slam runner-up finish in doubles at the US Open, losing to the Czech team of Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková alongside Sara Sorribes Tormo. With her success, Bencic became the world No. 1 junior in June and finished the season with the top ranking to earn the title of ITF Junior World Champion.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: Bencic entered her first professional tournament on the ITF Women's Circuit in March 2011 in Fällanden, Switzerland, shortly after her 14th birthday. She reached the quarterfinals as a qualifier, recording her first ITF main-draw win over compatriot Tess Sugnaux. Bencic made her WTA Tour qualifying draw debut at the Luxembourg Open towards the end of the year in October, losing in three sets to Yulia Putintseva. She received a wildcard into the main draw at the following year's event, where she lost her WTA Tour main-draw debut to Venus Williams. The tournament came a few weeks after Bencic had won her first two ITF singles titles in back-to-back weeks at Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, also winning the doubles title in the first week. In 2013, Bencic progressed from $10k to $25k and $50k tier events. Her best results in the first half of the year were a singles semifinal at the $50K Indian Harbour Beach Pro Tennis Classic in the United States and a doubles title at the $25k event in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Bencic played in three WTA Tour main draws in the second half of the year. After losing at the Swedish Open in July, she won her first career WTA main draw match as a wild card at the Pan Pacific Open against Daria Gavrilova. She also won a match the following week at the Japan Women's Open. In her last event of 2013, Bencic reached the semifinals of the $75k Dunlop World Challenge in Tokyo to break into the top 200 for the first time. She finished the year ranked at No. 184, a vast improvement from her ranking of No. 612 in January.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: Despite beginning 2014 well outside of the top 100, Bencic only played in WTA Tour-level events throughout the year. She made her Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open, qualifying for the main draw. She defeated Kimiko Date-Krumm in the first round in a matchup of the oldest and second-youngest players in the draw before losing to the eventual champion Li Na in her next match. Bencic did not win another main-draw match until April when she made it to the semifinals as a qualifier at the Charleston Open in her first clay court event of the year. She defeated four top 100 players at the tournament, including No. 29 Maria Kirilenko and No. 11 Sara Errani. With this result, she also made her top-100 debut less than a month after turning 17. Her clay-court season ended at Roland Garros with another loss to No. 29 Venus Williams. Bencic improved on that result at each of her next two Grand Slam events. After reaching the third round at Wimbledon, she made it to the quarterfinals at the US Open. During the tournament, she recorded the first two top-ten victories of her career over No. 7, Angelique Kerber, and No. 10, Jelena Janković, to become the youngest quarterfinalist at the US Open since Hingis in 1997. Her success at the Grand Slam tournaments helped her rise to No. 33 in the world at the end of the event. Bencic closed out the year by reaching her first career WTA tournament final at the Tianjin Open, where she finished runner-up to Alison Riske. At the end of the season, she was named WTA Newcomer of the Year.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: Bencic struggled in the first half of 2015. Through the French Open at the end of May, she won multiple matches in the same event only twice, reaching the fourth round at both the Indian Wells Open and the Miami Open. At Indian Wells, she notably won a match against No. 5 Caroline Wozniacki, the highest-ranked player she had ever defeated at the time. Bencic lost in the opening round at the Australian Open and the second round at the French Open. She began to turn her year around during the grass court season. In the lead-up to Wimbledon, she made her second and third career WTA finals. After finishing runner-up to Camila Giorgi at the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, she won the Eastbourne International over Agnieszka Radwańska for her maiden WTA title. Bencic then improved on her previous year's result at Wimbledon by reaching the fourth round.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: At the Premier-level Canadian Open in August, Bencic produced her best performance of the year to win the title. During her run, she defeated six of the top 25 players in the world, including four of the top six, and her third victory of the year against No. 5, Caroline Wozniacki. In the last two rounds, she recorded her first victory over a current world No. 1 player in Serena Williams before beating No. 3 Simona Halep in the final after Halep needed to retire in the third set due to heat illness. Serena had entered the tournament with only one loss on the season, having won the first three Grand Slam tournaments of the year. With the title, Bencic rose to No. 12 in the world. She ended the summer with a third round loss at the US Open to Venus Williams. Bencic reached another final later that month at the Pan Pacific Open. During the event, she recorded two more top ten victories, including a fourth over Wozniacki, before finishing runner-up to Radwanska in their second final of the year. In early October, Bencic ended her season early due to leg and hand injuries. As a result, she withdrew from the WTA Elite Trophy, the second-tier year-end championship, despite qualifying for the event.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: Bencic returned to the tour for the Australian hardcourt season. She had a strong start to the year, reaching the semifinals at the Sydney International and losing in the fourth round at the Australian Open to No. 5 Maria Sharapova. At the St. Petersburg Trophy, Bencic was the top seed and finished runner-up to Roberta Vinci. This performance helped her enter the top 10 for the first time while still 18 years old, making her the first teenager in the top 10 of the WTA rankings since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009. After St. Petersburg, Bencic began to struggle. She retired from her second round match at the Miami Open and was forced to miss nearly the entire clay-court season due to a back injury, including the French Open. Bencic returned for the grass-court season, but could not match her level of success prior to being injured. She recorded multiple wins at just two more events the rest of the year, the Rosmalen Championships where she reached the semifinals and the US Open where she reached the third round. She also had to retire from her second-round match at Wimbledon due to a wrist injury. As a result, Bencic fell to No. 43 in the rankings by the end of the season.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: Bencic continued to struggle at the beginning of 2017. She recorded just one WTA Tour singles match win through the first four months of the year. In late April, she underwent surgery on her left wrist that was expected to keep her out for several months. She did not return until September, at which point her ranking had dropped to No. 312 in the world. Bencic was able to rise back into the top 200 in just one week after winning her first comeback tournament, the $100k Neva Cup. She then received a wildcard to play at the Linz Open and made the quarterfinals in her only WTA event before the end of the season. Bencic finished the year by winning three tournaments in a row in Asia. She won two WTA 125 events in back-to-back weeks in November at the Hua Hin Championships and the Taipei Challenger before also winning the $100k Al Habtoor Challenge in Dubai one month later. With these three titles, she moved back into the top 100, ending the year at No. 74 in the world.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: Bencic made her return to the Grand Slam tournaments at the Australian Open. After upsetting the previous year's runner-up No. 5 Venus Williams, she was upset by qualifier Luksika Kumkhum in the next round. For the third consecutive year, Bencic was forced to miss a few consecutive months due to injury. A stress fracture in her foot sidelined her from mid-March to late May. Although she missed the rest of the clay-court season, she made her return at the French Open and made it to the second round. She did better at Wimbledon, matching her career-best result of a fourth-round appearance highlighted by a first-round upset of No. 6, Caroline Garcia, and saving four match points in her second-round win against Alison Riske. This performance put her back in the top 50. Later that summer, Bencic lost her opening round match at the US Open. In the last stage of the season, Bencic reached her only WTA final of the year, finishing runner-up to top seed and world No. 9, Julia Görges, at the Luxembourg Open as a qualifier. After the end of the WTA Tour season, she entered several ITF and WTA 125 events to try to defend some of her rankings points from the previous year. Bencic won the $80k title at the Red Rock Pro Open in Las Vegas, but still dropped from inside the top 40 to No. 54 by the start of 2019.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: Despite being back outside of the top 50, Bencic had a strong start to 2019. She reached the semifinals at the Hobart International and made it to the third round at the Australian Open, losing to eventual finalist Petra Kvitová. Her next breakthrough came at the Dubai Tennis Championships. As an unseeded player, she defeated four top-ten players in last four matches to win her third WTA singles title and second at the Premier 5 level. In order, she recorded wins over No. 9 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 2 Simona Halep, No. 6 Elina Svitolina, and No. 4 Petra Kvitová, all in three sets and two of which in a final set tiebreak. The title helped her rise from No. 45 to world No. 23. Bencic continued her win streak with a semifinal appearance at the Indian Wells Open. She defeated two more top-ten players in No. 1, Naomi Osaka, and No. 5 Karolina Plíšková before losing to No. 8, Angelique Kerber. In the lead-up to the French Open, Bencic produced another Premier Mandatory semifinal at the Madrid Open. She recorded another world-number-one win over Osaka, but could not defeat Halep in a tight three-set match. After the tournament, she moved up to No. 15. At the French Open, she advanced to the third round for the first time, where she was defeated by No. 24 Donna Vekić. During the grass court season, Bencic made her second WTA final of the year at the Mallorca Open. After defeating top seed and world No. 6 Kerber, she finished runner-up to Sofia Kenin despite having three match points in the second set. Like at the Australian Open and the French Open, she lost in the third round at Wimbledon.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: Bencic only played the two Premier 5 tournaments in the lead-up to the US Open, with her best result a third round appearance at the Canadian Open. At the US Open, Bencic produced the best Grand Slam result of her career to date. In the fourth round, she defeated defending champion and world No. 1 Osaka for the third time this season. She went on to make the semifinals, where she lost to eventual champion Bianca Andreescu. This result put her back in the top 10 for the first time since June 2016. Bencic then finished the season strong by winning her second title of the year at the Kremlin Cup as a wildcard. She defeated hometown favourite Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the final, which helped her jump ahead of Kiki Bertens and Serena Williams to qualify for the WTA Finals for the first time. At the year-end championships, Bencic was grouped with Ashleigh Barty, Petra Kvitová, and Naomi Osaka, the latter of whom was replaced by Bertens after one match. After losing her opening match to Barty, Bencic defeated Kvitová and Bertens to advance to the knockout rounds. Her season came to an end with a semifinal loss to Elina Svitolina. She finished the year at No. 8 in the world. At the end of the season, Bencic won the WTA Comeback Player of the Year for her return to the top 10.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: In February 2021, she reached the final of the WTA 500 Adelaide International event. At the German Open, Bencic reached her second final in the season but lost, after a stunning comeback from the qualifier Liudmila Samsonova. She had not won a title on the WTA 500-level in two years since she won the title in Moscow in 2019.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Bencic beat Jessica Pegula, Misaki Doi, French Open champion Barbora Krejčíková and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to reach the semifinals. A three-set victory over Elena Rybakina guaranteed Bencic a medal. She defeated Markéta Vondroušová in the final, to become the first Swiss woman to win the gold medal in singles.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: Bencic reached the quarterfinals of the US Open. Seeded 11th, Bencic beat Arantxa Rus, Martina Trevisan, Jessica Pegula, and Iga Świątek without dropping a set, before losing in straight sets to eventual champion Emma Raducanu.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: Bencic started her season at Sydney, she defeated Beatriz Haddad Maia, Océane Dodin to reach the quarterfinals. Then she lost to eventual champion Paula Badosa.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: In St. Petersburg, she defeated Veronika Kudermetova, Kaja Juvan before she lost to eventual champion Anett Kontaveit in the quarterfinals. At Doha, she lost to Clara Tauson in the first round.


title: Belinda Bencic

text: Bencic entered the Indian Wells Open, and as the 22nd seed received a bye in first round, but then lost to Kaia Kanepi in second. She played in Miami seeded 22nd again, where she defeated Marta Kostyuk, Heather Watson, and Aliaksandra Sasnovich to reach her first Miami quarterfinal. Then she beat Daria Saville to made her first ever Miami semifinal. In the semifinal, she lost to Naomi Osaka.