title: John Tavares

text: On September 9, 2013, Tavares was named as the 14th captain in New York Islanders history, replacing former Islander Mark Streit of the Philadelphia Flyers, who served as team captain since 2011. On February 19, 2014, during the 2014 Winter Olympics, Tavares suffered a torn medial collateral ligament (MCL) and a torn meniscus in his knee during the quarterfinal game against Latvia, forcing him to miss the remainder of the Olympics as well as the remainder of the Islanders' season. At the time of his injury, Tavares ranked third in the NHL with 66 points in 59 games. The following season, he was selected for the 2015 NHL All-Star Game, along with teammate Jaroslav Halák. Tavares finished the 2014–15 NHL season as runner up for the Art Ross Trophy with 86 points, one point behind the recipient, Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn. Additionally, Tavares was named a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy for the second time in his career; ultimately ceding the award to Carey Price.


title: John Tavares

text: On April 19, 2015, Tavares scored 15 seconds into overtime against Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals of the 2015 playoffs. The goal, which gave the Islanders a 2–1 victory, was the first game-winning overtime goal in the playoffs for the Islanders since 1993. Despite this, the Capitals won the series in seven games.


title: John Tavares

text: Tavares scored the first regular season goal for the Islanders at Barclays Center in a 3–2 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks during the first game of the 2015–16 NHL season. On March 12, 2016, Tavares scored his 200th career NHL goal in a game against the Boston Bruins. That season, he was also named to the NHL All-Star Game for the third time in his career and was voted captain of the Metropolitan Division.


title: John Tavares

text: On April 24, 2016, Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Florida Panthers, trailing 1–0 in the final minute of play, assisted by Nikolay Kulemin and Nick Leddy, Tavares scored the game-tying goal off a loose puck in the crease with 53.2 seconds left in regulation. He finished the job by scoring the series-clinching goal in double overtime, winning a playoff series for the Islanders for the first time since 1993.


title: John Tavares

text: On January 13, 2017, in a game against Florida, Tavares scored his 500th NHL point in his 550th career NHL game, making him the first player from his draft class to reach the milestone.


title: John Tavares

text: Tavares' contract with the Islanders was set to expire following the completion of the 2017–18 season, during which he recorded 84 points in 82 games. With Tavares set to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career, he decided to test the free-agent market by meeting with six teams in the days leading up to the opening of the signing window on July 1, including a meeting with the Islanders to contemplate re-signing before hitting free agency. Although many analysts predicted that Tavares would sign a new contract with New York before he hit the open market, the re-sign deadline passed without a new contract being signed, and Tavares officially became a free agent at noon (EDT) on July 1. Many publications called Tavares the biggest free agent in the modern history of the NHL. Just before 1 pm, almost one hour into the free agency period, it became public knowledge that Tavares had informed the Islanders he would be leaving the team and signing with Toronto.


title: John Tavares

text: On July 1, 2018, it was announced that Tavares had signed a seven-year, $77 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Tavares cited "Toronto's chances as a Stanley Cup contender, as well as living out his childhood dream to play for his hometown team", as his reason for signing the contract. Tavares rejected higher-paying offers in favour of joining the Maple Leafs, including a seven-year, $91 million offer from the San Jose Sharks that would've made Tavares the highest-paid player in the NHL. Tavares' decision to sign with the Maple Leafs proved to be divisive. Many were critical of the signing due to Tavares' decision to leave the Islanders despite the then-recent hirings of Hall of Fame general manager Lou Lamoriello and Stanley Cup-winning head coach Barry Trotz. Many argued Tavares abandoned the team that drafted him after coming to the conclusion he could not win with them, and decided to leave after telling GM Garth Snow he did not want to be traded at the 2018 trade deadline, implying he would re-sign with the Islanders after the season concluded. Others countered with the notion that the Islanders had never put competent rosters and management around Tavares to give him the chance to win, and by the time they attempted to change the culture of the organization with the Lamoriello and Trotz hirings, it was too late to change Tavares' mind. Regardless, the signing was, and continues to be, one of the most controversial free-agent signings in league history. Sentiment in the Islanders organization continued to be bitter regarding the signing, as evidenced by Tavares' former number with the Islanders, 91, being retired in honor of Butch Goring, in 2020.


title: John Tavares

text: In his debut for the Maple Leafs on October 4 against the Montreal Canadiens, Tavares scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 overtime win. On October 7, Tavares recorded his ninth career NHL hat-trick (and first for Toronto) in a 7–6 overtime victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Tavares made his first return to Long Island to play the Islanders on February 28, 2019, in a highly-publicized, sold-out game. Tavares was relentlessly booed and heckled by Islanders fans throughout the match, including during his tribute video, and items were thrown at Tavares on the ice. The Islanders would win the game 6–1, scoring six unanswered goals after Toronto initially scored early in the game. On March 17, Tavares recorded his 700th career NHL point with his 40th goal of the season in a 6–2 loss to the Ottawa Senators; in scoring that goal, Tavares also became the third player in Maple Leaf history to record 40 goals in his first season with the team. On March 26, Tavares recorded his tenth career NHL hat-trick (and first four-goal game) in a 7–5 win over the Florida Panthers. In so doing, he became just the third player in modern team history (since 1943) to record multiple hat-tricks in his debut season with the club, following Wilf Paiement and Daniel Marois. In the Maple Leafs' next game against the Islanders, Tavares recorded his 87th point of the season (a new career-high and his first point against his former team) in the 2–1 win, which clinched a playoff berth for Toronto.


title: John Tavares

text: Prior to the 2019–20 season, Tavares was granted leave from the teams first pre-season game in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador to spend with his wife and newborn son. On October 2, 2019, just before the first game of the NHL season, Tavares was named the 25th captain in the history of the Maple Leafs, filling a position that had been vacant for more than years since the trade of Dion Phaneuf.


title: John Tavares

text: On April 5, 2021, Tavares recorded his 800th career NHL point with an assist in the Maples Leafs' 5–3 win over the Calgary Flames.


title: John Tavares

text: On May 20, 2021, in the Leafs' opening Stanley Cup Playoff game against the Canadiens, Tavares was upended by Canadiens defencemen Ben Chiarot. Canadiens forward Corey Perry attempted to jump over Tavares as he fell to the ice, however, Perry's knee clipped Tavares in the head. Ultimately, Tavares was stretchered off the ice and was transported to the hospital. After the game, Perry felt remorse for his role on the incident: "I don’t know what else to do there. I tried to jump. I know Johnny pretty well and just hope he’s OK." Tavares was taken to St. Michael's Hospital, and was discharged the following day, but was ruled out indefinitely with a concussion. In his absence, the Leafs would rally to win three games in a row, but would ultimately lose the series to the Canadiens in seven games, surrendering a 3–1 series lead in the process.


title: John Tavares

text: During his rookie season in the OHL, Tavares competed for Team Ontario in the 2006 World U-17 Hockey Challenge in Saskatchewan as a 15-year-old, but failed to medal. Later that year, at the end of the 2005–06 season, he was selected to join Canada's under-18 team for the 2006 IIHF World U18 Championships in Sweden, but failed to medal once more, falling to the Czech Republic in the bronze medal game. Later in the off-season, he was invited to the under-18 team's summer training camp to prepare for the 2006 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, though an injury ultimately prevented him from participating.


title: John Tavares

text: During the following season, Tavares was invited to Canada's national junior selection camp in preparation for the 2007 World Junior Championships, but was not named to the final roster. After completing his second OHL season, however, Tavares was named to the Canada's junior team for the 2007 Super Series against Russian junior players. He scored four goals and one assist as Canada won the series 7–0–1.


title: John Tavares

text: Tavares earned another invite to the selection camp for the 2008 World Junior Championships and made the final roster for the tournament on his second attempt. He scored four goals to help Canada to its fourth-straight gold medal in the competition. Returning the next year, along with Zach Boychuk, P. K. Subban and Thomas Hickey from the previous year's gold medal-winning team, Tavares was selected to compete in the 2009 World Junior Championships in Ottawa, Ontario. He scored three points in the first round-robin game against the Czech Republic, an 8–1 win, and was named Player of the game. In the final round-robin game against the United States, Tavares scored a hat-trick for his 12th career goal of the tournament to tie Eric Lindros and Jeff Carter for the all-time Canadian junior record. In doing so, Tavares helped propel Canada to a 7–4 win that gave them the top spot in their pool and a subsequent bye to the tournament semifinal. He was also named Player of the game for the second time in the tournament for his performance on the night. Meeting Russia in the semifinal and down 5–4 with less than ten seconds left in regulation, Tavares fought off two Russian players along the boards and backhanded a shot towards the goal. The shot was blocked by defenceman Dmitri Kulikov a few feet in front of the net, but after the puck came loose, teammate Jordan Eberle retrieved it and sent it into the right side of the net to dramatically tie the game with 5.4 seconds left. Then, as the game was forced into a shootout, Tavares scored to put Canada up 2–0 in the tie-breaker and into the gold medal game against Sweden. Recording an assist in the final, he helped Canada defeat the Swedes 5–1 to capture their fifth-straight gold medal. Tavares finished the tournament with eight goals and seven assists for 15 points in six games, second only to teammate Cody Hodgson in tournament scoring. Tavares was also named one of the top three players on the Canadian team by its coaching staff, as well as a tournament All-Star, Top Forward and MVP.


title: John Tavares

text: As the New York Islanders failed to qualify for the playoffs in Tavares' rookie season in the NHL, he was selected to the Canadian men's team for the 2010 IIHF World Championship in Germany. Canada General Manager Mark Messier made a specific effort to assemble a young team; as a result, Tavares was one of five teenagers on the final roster. With seven goals in seven games, Tavares led all tournament players in goal-scoring. Despite recording no assists, he ranked fifth in points. He helped Canada to the quarterfinal against Russia, where they were defeated 5–2.


title: John Tavares

text: The following year, Tavares returned to the national team for the 2011 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia. He improved to nine points over seven games with five goals and four assists to lead Canada in scoring; he ranked fifth among all tournament players for the second consecutive year. As Canada again reached the quarterfinal, they were eliminated once more by Russia, losing 2–1. Tavares was chosen by coaches as one of the three best players on Team Canada, along with defenceman Alex Pietrangelo and forward Andrew Ladd.


title: John Tavares

text: Tavares played for SC Bern in Switzerland during the 2012–13 NHL lock-out and quickly became the PostFinance Top Scorer, tallying 42 points—including 17 goals—in just 28 games. He also played for Team Canada at the 2012 Spengler Cup, which the nation ultimately won after defeating HC Davos in the final.


title: John Tavares

text: At the 2014 Winter Olympics, Tavares injured his knee in Canada's quarterfinal match, rendering him unable to play for the remainder of the tournament as well as the 2013–14 NHL season.


title: John Tavares

text: On 26 April 2019, it was announced that Tavares had committed to play for Team Canada at the 2019 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia. However, shortly before the first game of the tournament, it was announced on 9 May 2019 that Tavares had suffered an oblique injury and would be returning to Toronto.


title: John Tavares

text: Tavares has been praised by his coaches for his ability to anticipate the play since he joined the OHL. A lack of speed had been the most common criticism of Tavares' play, something he spent his junior career attempting to improve. Tavares' skating speed is something he greatly improved since turning professional.


title: John Tavares

text: The media hype he has encountered has led Tavares to remain guarded when speaking to the media, while his teammates and family attempt to shield him from the spotlight where they can. However, Tavares is regarded as a natural leader on the ice, and a player who puts his team first. The Oshawa Generals named Tavares their team captain in 2008, while he also served as the alternate captain with the Canadian junior team in 2009.


title: 2022 Washington Commanders season

text: The 2022 season is the Washington Commanders' 91st in the National Football League (NFL) and their third under head coach Ron Rivera. This is the team's first season under the Commanders branding, with new logos and uniforms being introduced after temporarily playing as the Washington Football Team for the previous two seasons following the retirement of the Redskins branding in 2020.


title: 2022 Washington Commanders season

text: The team traded for Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carson Wentz during the offseason. However, after going 2–4 under Wentz, he would be placed on injured reserve due to a finger injury after a Week 6 win over the Chicago Bears. They have since gone 5–2–1 with Taylor Heinicke returning to the starting role as well as a strong defense and running game, having improved upon their 7–10 record from the previous season after a Week 13 tie against the New York Giants.


title: 2022 Washington Commanders season

text: In their first ever game as the Washington Commanders, Carson Wentz threw for 313 yards and four touchdowns, including two to first-round rookie WR Jahan Dotson, who was named Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week. Washington opened a 14–3 half time lead thanks to TD's from Curtis Samuel and Dotson. The Jaguars then scored 19 unanswered points thanks to two TD's from James Robinson and a couple of field goals. This was aided by two interceptions thrown by Wentz on consecutive pass attempts, the second caught by 2022 first overall draft pick Travon Walker. Wentz responded by leading the Commanders on two TD drives to win the game 28–22.


title: 2022 Washington Commanders season

text: The Commanders 22–0 halftime deficit was too much to overcome despite their valiant efforts in the second half. Jahan Dotson scored a touchdown for the second consecutive game, but Joey Slye missed the extra point to make it a one-possession game and sealed the victory for the Lions. Carson Wentz threw for 337 yards and 3 touchdowns. Amon-Ra St. Brown had two touchdown receptions for the Lions and set an NFL record with his 6th consecutive game with 8+ catches.


title: 2022 Washington Commanders season

text: In his first game against the Eagles since being traded away from them, Carson Wentz was sacked nine times and the Commanders had only 47 yards of total offense and trailed 24–0 at halftime. Daron Payne tacked Boston Scott for a safety to make the score 24–2. Antonio Gibson scored a touchdown in the final two minutes to make the final score 24–8.


title: 2022 Washington Commanders season

text: Washington overcame a 16–7 fourth quarter deficit to spoil Indianapolis Colts quarterback Sam Ehlinger's first career NFL start. Late in the fourth quarter with Washington trailing 16–10, Taylor Heinicke led a 9-play, 89-yard touchdown drive to win the game. This included a 33-yard completion to Terry McLaurin, who won a contested ball against Stephon Gillmore to set up Washington on the Indianapolis 1-yard line. Heinicke would then run a quarterback sneak to score the winning touchdown. Washington's defense also forced two fumbles on Ehlinger and Jonathan Taylor.


title: 2022 Washington Commanders season

text: Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins made his first return to Washington since leaving the team following the 2017 season. Cousins previously played for Washington, then known as the Redskins, from 2012–2017, was their primary starter from 2015–2017 and earned a Pro Bowl berth once in that span. Vikings head coach and former Redskins quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell previously mentored Cousins in the nation's capital during the 2017 season, Cousin's final season in the burgundy and gold. Washington was unable to hold onto a 17–7 fourth quarter lead as Kirk Cousins led the Minnesota Vikings to a 20–17 victory on a last-second Greg Joseph field goal. In the fourth quarter, Taylor Heinicke threw a critical interception to safety Harrison Smith that set up Minnesota deep in Washington territory. This led to Cousins throwing a touchdown to Dalvin Cook to tie the game at 17. After Washington failed to score on their next drive, Cousins led the Vikings into the Washington red zone. On fourth and goal with less than 2 minutes in the game, the Vikings took the lead on a field goal, but Washington backup defensive lineman John Ridgeway committed a personal foul that granted the Vikings a first down. The Vikings then kicked a winning field goal with less than 15 seconds left.


title: 2022 Washington Commanders season

text: In a road divisional "Monday Night Football" matchup against the 8–0 Philadelphia Eagles, Washington had 40 minutes of time of possession to the Eagles 20, converted 12 of 21 third downs, and forced 4 turnovers to hand the them their first loss of the season, avenging their Week 3 loss to Philadelphia and picking up their fourth win in five games. It marked the second time in three seasons that Washington defeated the last undefeated team; they also defeated the 11–0 Pittsburgh Steelers in 2020. With Washington leading 26–21 less than two minutes remaining in the game, Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham committed a personal foul on a late hit on quarterback Taylor Heinicke that allowed Washington to convert a third down and run the game clock down, before sealing the 32–21 upset victory with a fumble return touchdown by Casey Toohill on the game's final play. Running backs Antonio Gibson and Brian Robinson Jr. each scored a rushing touchdown, and Terry McLaurin contributed 128 receiving yards. Kicker Joey Slye also had a large impact, making four field goals including from 58 (a career-long) and 55 yards. This win also marked the first time since 2014 that Washington had split their season series with Philadelphia.


title: 2022 Washington Commanders season

text: Washington carried its momentum from their upset win over Philadelphia the prior week and dominated the struggling Houston Texans for their fifth win in their past six games. The Commanders dominated on defense in the first half, restricting the Houston offense to a total of 5 yards at halftime. Washington had a 20–0 half time thanks to a Kendall Fuller 37 yard pick 6 on the first Houston drive (the first of his career), a 10 yard Curtis Samuel run and two field goals. The second half was a turgid affair with Houston eventually getting on the board and ending up scoring with a Davis Mills 4 yard TD run.


title: 2022 Washington Commanders season

text: Despite giving up 167 rushing yards in the game, the Commanders held off the Falcons with a late interception for their sixth win in seven games. Brian Robinson Jr., who had his first 100-yard rushing game in his career, caught the first touchdown of the game to give Washington a 7–3 lead. Atlanta reclaimed the lead in the 2nd before Washington answered with a 30-yard field goal by Joey Slye to tie the game 10–10 before halftime. In the third, Taylor Heinicke threw his second touchdown of the game to John Bates to give Washington a 16–10 lead they would never relinquish. After both teams traded field goals to make it 19–13, Atlanta drove down to the Washington 4-yard line to try and win the game, but Mariota had his pass deflected at the line of scrimmage by Daron Payne before Kendall Fuller intercepted it in the endzone, sealing the victory for the Commanders.


title: 2022 Washington Commanders season

text: The Commanders tied for the first time since 2016, when the team was known as the Redskins. They dropped to 7–5–1.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: Bertrand Isidore Traoré (born 6 September 1995) is a Burkinabé professional footballer who plays as a forward for Süper Lig club İstanbul Başakşehir, on loan from Premier League club Aston Villa and the Burkina Faso national team.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: After beginning his career at Auxerre, he finished his development at Chelsea, and made his debut in a one-and-a-half-year loan at Vitesse in the Eredivisie. After a season in the Premier League with Chelsea, he was loaned back to the Netherlands to play for Ajax in 2016, and a year later signed for Lyon for €10 million.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: A full international from the age of 15, Traoré represented Burkina Faso at four Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: In August 2010, it was reported that Traoré had joined the Chelsea Academy from French club Auxerre, rejecting Manchester United in the process.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: In January 2011, however, Traoré had not yet signed for the club, and in January 2012 the club confirmed that Traoré was not and had never been a Chelsea player, but had appeared once for the club's youth team in a friendly as part of a six-week trial earlier in the season. On 17 July 2013, however, he made his debut, as a trialist, in a pre-season friendly against the Singha All Stars.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: On 31 October 2013, Traoré officially signed a four-and-half-year contract with Chelsea. He signed a contract for Chelsea's senior team in December 2013, and completed the transfer on 1 January 2014.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: On 2 January 2014, Traoré signed on loan for Eredivisie side Vitesse. On 26 January, he made his debut, coming on in the 67th minute for fellow Chelsea loanee Lucas Piazon. On 29 March 2014, Traoré scored his first goal, against Heerenveen. He replaced Mike Havenaar after half-time; in the 67th minute, he scored Vitesse's second goal of the game which was assisted by fellow Chelsea loanee, Christian Atsu. On 6 April, Traoré scored his second goal of the season in a home match against Ajax which ended in a 1–1 draw. On 12 April, Traoré put Vitesse in the lead for the first time in the match against Cambuur, although Vitesse lost the game 4–3 in the end.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: On 7 July 2014, it was confirmed that Traoré would stay at Vitesse on loan for the 2014–15 season. Traoré scored his first goal of the season in a 4–1 victory over Willem II on 18 October. While he primarily played on the right wing during his first loan to Vitesse, around December, Traoré made the switch from the right to being the lone striker up top leading up to him scoring on 14 December in a 1–1 draw against Groningen. In the following games, Traoré scored his first brace in a 4–0 win over Ajax in the KNVB Cup, then three days later scored his first league brace in a 3–0 win over Heracles.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: On 22 June 2015, Traoré received a work permit and therefore clearance to play for Chelsea for the 2015–16 season onwards. He was given the number 14 shirt, previously worn by André Schürrle. On 16 September, Traoré made his Chelsea debut in a 4–0 victory against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the UEFA Champions League group stage, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute for Ruben Loftus-Cheek. His Premier League debut came on 5 December, playing the final seven minutes of a 0–1 home loss to AFC Bournemouth.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: Traoré scored four goals in five matches in early 2016. On 31 January 2016, Traoré scored his first Chelsea goal in a 5–1 victory at Milton Keynes Dons in the FA Cup, confirming the result five minutes after coming on in place of Diego Costa. Two weeks later, after again replacing Costa, he scored his first Premier League goal in a game of the same result against Newcastle United. On 5 March, with Costa rested ahead of a Champions League game, Traoré was given a start in a home Premier League match against Stoke City and scored from 20 yards to open a 1–1 draw, but his performance was described as "mixed" due to "failing to control the ball in the box on a couple of occasions and being caught offside needlessly".


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: On 12 August 2016, Traoré signed a new three-year contract with Chelsea and joined Ajax on loan for the 2016–17 campaign, which reunited him with former Vitesse manager, Peter Bosz. On the following day, Traoré made his league debut off the bench, replacing Kasper Dolberg in a 2–2 home draw against Roda JC. On 16 August, Traoré made his first start in a Champions League play-off round against Rostov, a 1–1 draw.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: On 15 September, Traoré scored his first Ajax goal in a Europa League group stage tie against Panathinaikos, scoring Ajax's equaliser in a 2–1 win. Just over a week later, he scored his first league goal in a 5–1 win over PEC Zwolle.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: On 3 November 2016, Bosz criticised Traoré in an interview stating that there's "nothing wrong with his attitude, but his form is not good".


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: Traoré scored four goals in the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, including two goals in the first leg of the semi-final against his future club Olympique Lyonnais. He played every minute of the final, with Ajax losing to Manchester United 2–0.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: On 26 June 2017, Traoré signed for Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyonnais on a five-year contract for an initial transfer fee of €10 million (£8.8 million), plus potential add-ons. Chelsea reportedly inserted a buy-back clause into Traoré's contract and would receive 15 per cent of any profit made by Lyon on the fee should they sell Traoré in the future. Chelsea would also have first refusal should Traoré move again.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: In his first season in France, Traoré formed an attacking trio with Mariano Díaz and Memphis Depay, all of whom reached double figures in league goals. He was sidelined with knee ligament injury from November 2017 until January, when he returned and scored a free kick for the reserve team in a 3–2 home loss to SC Schiltigheim in the fourth tier.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: In the 2020 Coupe de la Ligue Final on 31 July, the last match in the competition, Traoré was the only player to miss in the penalty shootout as Paris Saint-Germain won 6–5 after a goalless draw; his attempt was saved by Keylor Navas.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: On 19 September 2020, Traoré signed for Premier League side Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee, believed to be £17 million. He scored on his debut five days later, in a 3–0 away victory in the EFL Cup against Bristol City. On 20 December, he scored his first Premier League goal in four years in a 3–0 away victory over local rivals West Bromwich Albion.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: On the 23 May 2021, the final day of the Premier League season, Traore scored the first goal at Villa Park with fans in attendance since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in a 2–1 win over former club Chelsea.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: Traoré participated at the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup and 2011 African U-17 Championship, and helped Burkina Faso beat Rwanda 2–1 in the continental final.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: At the age of 15, Traoré made his debut for the Burkina Faso senior national team on 3 September 2011 in a friendly match against Equatorial Guinea. He made his first appearance at an Africa Cup of Nations finals in the 2012 edition, becoming one of the youngest players to do so. He came on as a 66th-minute substitute for Narcisse Yaméogo in the 2–1 loss to Sudan in their final group stage match with Burkina Faso already eliminated from the tournament after losing their first two group stage matches.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: Traoré scored his first goal for the senior national team on 14 August 2013, opening the scoring in a 2–1 friendly away win over Morocco. At the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, he played all three of the team's games in another group stage exit, starting the first two.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: Burkina Faso came third at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. Traoré scored in a 2–0 win over Guinea-Bissau in Marrakesh, sending his country to the quarter-finals.


title: Bertrand Traoré

text: Traoré's father, Feu Traoré Isaï, was also a footballer. He played for RC Bobo and also represented Burkina Faso at international level. Bertrand is the youngest of four children. The second-eldest, Alain, is also a footballer. He is the cousin of Shakhtar striker Lassina Traoré.


title: 12 Feet Deep

text: 12 Feet Deep (originally titled The Deep End) is a 2017 American psychological horror-thriller film written and directed by Matt Eskandari and starring Alexandra Park, Nora-Jane Noone, Tobin Bell and Diane Farr. It was distributed by Mar Vista Entertainment. The film was released on June 20, 2017.


title: 12 Feet Deep

text: Bree (Nora-Jane Noone) decides to go for a swim at the Ketea Aquatic Center. The pool manager, McGradey (Tobin Bell), later hangs signs around the pool mentioning that the pool is closing up for the holiday. Bree is later joined by her sister, Jonna (Alexandra Park), who was a former drug addict and 3 months clean. In the pool, the two sisters connect over a competition in college. Meanwhile, the janitor of the aquatic center, Clara (Diane Farr), an ex-convict on parole is caught by McGradey attempting to steal from the lost and found. She is later laid off and is told to clean up before leaving. McGradey then eagerly tells all swimmers to leave as they prepare to close. Bree and Jonna reluctantly do so. While packing up, Bree realizes that her engagement ring is missing, after attempting to show Jonna. Jonna sees the ring stuck in the metal grate at the bottom of the pool and both dive in to retrieve it. McGradey thinks everyone has left the pool and decides to close up, failing to notice the women in the deep end of the pool. He engages the pool cover and leaves for the day with the two women trapped inside the pool.


title: 12 Feet Deep

text: The women are terrified and unsuccessfully attempt to escape. Shortly afterward, Jonna reveals that she is secretly jealous of Bree's successful lifestyle and recent engagement and that she pulled the ring from Bree's bag and threw it in the pool. Bree is initially angry with her sister but her anger is short-lived. Bree also talks about her past with her abusive alcoholic and drug addicted father. She also opens up about the fire which led to his death. Bree reveals that she is diabetic and requires a shot, or there is a possibility that she might slip into a diabetic coma.


title: 12 Feet Deep

text: Clara, preparing to leave, is surprised to see the two women trapped underneath the pool cover. Leading the women to believe she is going to help them, she picks up Bree's bag, taking her cash, smartphone and credit card. Clara then proceeds to blackmail her for the password to her phone and her credit card pin number. She later turns the water heater off. The girls have no choice but to wait out the night. Jonna talks about the deep mental damage from her abusive father with Bree saying, "Just keep reminding yourself that he's dead." Clara comes back in the morning teasing the sisters again. Jonna, angry at her, leads Clara to place her ear onto the small hole in the pool cover, subsequently stabbing her in the ear with a sharp shard of tile. Clara then turns on the automatic pool cleaning system, causing the girls to begin suffocating in chlorine. After a few minutes, she turns this off, realizing the danger in her action. When Clara leaves again, Jonna apologizes to Bree for her jealousy and keeps blaming herself for the situation they're in. Bree comforts her and forgives her for her wrongdoings. Bree reveals that during the accident which killed their father, she actually prevented her dad from escaping, saying "I killed that monster". Clara comes back, realizing the error of her ways. She decides to open up the pool cover to let Bree and Jonna out but the pass code she was given by McGradey no longer works, leaving the women to remain trapped. She tells the sisters they're on their own and leaves.


title: 12 Feet Deep

text: Bree soon grows very weak and cold, passing in and out of consciousness. After initially refusing Bree's offer to try, Jonna spends her last bits of energy trying to rip off the metal grill on the bottom of the pool, something her sister failed to do. After succeeding, Jonna smashes the fiberglass of the pool cover, allowing them to escape. She then pulled Bree, unconscious, out of the pool and gives her the insulin shot, unsure whether she will survive. Clara appears in front of them with a gun. She threatens to kill Bree and Jonna after thinking about what might happen if they didn't die in the pool, not wanting to go to prison again. Clara instead feels sympathetic for the sisters and puts the gun down and gives them their belongings back. Jonna, after calling the police, tells her to leave. Paramedics arrive at the aquatic center and tend to Bree. Jonna gives her engagement ring back, which Clara blackmailed Bree for with the intention of pawning it. Bree asked how she got it back to which Jonna replies, "I killed the monster", referring back to what Bree said about killing their father.


title: 12 Feet Deep

text: "12 Feet Deep" received generally positive reviews from critics, JoBlo.com called it a "well crafted-entertaining thriller," and gave it 8/10 stars. That Moment In gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars and said it was "well-directed and engrossing... less a shocker than an intense human drama."


title: Pornography in India

text: Pornography in India is available in print magazines, but is mainly consumed using the internet. This consumption is increasing with the increased prevalence of smartphones and the internet. Despite the increased access, public discourse and attitudes on pornography remain muted and a taboo in many parts of India. Publishing pornographic material is illegal in India.


title: Pornography in India

text: Studies have found that print media is less widely accessible than internet media in India. A randomized survey of 96 random vendors, such as video stores, mobile downloads/recharge stores and cybercafés, in Haryana, India found that 17% displayed pornography openly, 34% displayed it semi-openly, and 49% kept it hidden. It is possible that cultural taboos and legal issues (such as those described below) make it more desirable to view pornography in India through internet mediums, such as computers or smartphones, for more privacy.


title: Pornography in India

text: Internet pornography has become very popular in India with from 30% up to 70% of total traffic from porn websites. It has become a major portion of traffic and source of data revenue for telecom companies. A popular porn site released viewership data and national capital Delhi recorded up to 40% of all traffic.


title: Pornography in India

text: One self reporting survey found that 63% of youths in urban areas such as Haryana reported watching pornography, with 74% accessing it through their mobile phones. As smartphone and internet access in India continues to increase, more people will be able to privately view pornography. Quartz has found that 50% of Indian IP addresses accessed popular pornography websites on mobile phones. Online erotic comics have also become popular in India as the internet becomes more readily available to the common citizen.


title: Pornography in India

text: In July 2015 the Supreme Court of India refused to allow the blocking of pornographic websites and said that watching pornography indoors in the privacy of one's own home was not a crime. In August 2015 the Government of India issued an order to Indian ISPs to block at least 857 websites that it considered to be pornographic. In 2015 the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had asked internet service providers to take down 857 websites in a bid to control cyber crime, but after receiving criticism from the authorities it partially rescinded the ban. The ban from the government came after a lawyer filed a petition in the Supreme Court arguing that online pornography encourages sex crimes and rapes.


title: Pornography in India

text: In February 2016 the Supreme Court asked the Indian Government to suggest ways of banning all forms of child pornography.


title: Pornography in India

text: In October 2018 the government directed Internet service providers to block 827 websites that host pornographic content following an order by the Uttarakhand High Court. The court cited the rape of a 10th standard girl from Dehradun by four of her seniors. The four accused told police that they raped the girl after watching pornography on the Internet.


title: Pornography in India

text: The Supreme Court of India, in "Khoday Distilleries Ltd. and Ors. v. State of Karnataka and Ors. - (1995) 1 SCC 574", held that there is no fundamental right to carry on business of exhibiting and publishing pornographic or obscene films and literature.


title: Pornography in India

text: Kamlesh Vaswani vs. Union of India and ors in 2013 (diary 5917, 2013), a PIL petition was filed in the Supreme Court of India seeking a ban on pornography in India. The Court issued a notice to the central government of India and sought its response. The government informed the Court that the Cyber Regulation Advisory Committee constituted under Section 88 of the IT Act, 2000 was assigned with a brief with regard to availability of pornography on the Internet and it was looking into the matter.


title: Pornography in India

text: On 26 January 2016, the Supreme Court in written order, instructed govt "to suggest the ways and means so that these activities are curbed. The innocent children cannot be made prey to these kind of painful situations, and a nation, by no means, can afford to carry any kind of experiment with its children in the name of liberty and freedom of expression. When we say nation, we mean each member of the collective".


title: Pornography in India

text: Prajwala Letter dated 18.2.2015 VIDEOS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND RECOMMENDATIONS, a suo moto PIL was admitted in Supreme Court (Diary No.- 6818 - 2015). Prajwala NGO pleaded to court to stop rampant circulation of rape videos through mobile application WhatsApp. Supreme court has ordered CBI probe to find and arrest the culprits clearly visible in the rape videos.


title: Pornography in India

text: Many sex related topics, such as pornography, are considered taboo in traditional Indian households. This trend seems to be rapidly changing, especially in urbanized cities. Researchers have found that the primary sex education of youth born in the 1990s onwards in India comes from pornography and conversations amongst their peers, which has been known to cause long term sexual anxiety and frustration in other cultures where youth learn sexual attitudes from pornography. However, due to the internet and increased access for the common citizen, pornography has slowly entered the public discourse, most notably with the outrage towards a 2015 government order to censor 857 websites that contained explicit materials.


title: Pornography in India

text: Homosexual pornography is not widely available in print, due to the socio-culture taboo surrounding both pornography and homosexuality (see LGBT culture in India). However, Indian IP addresses access both lesbian and gay porn using the internet, with a 213% increase in searches for gay porn from 2013 to 2014. Additionally, the most popular search for pornography amongst females in India, centers on lesbian and gay pornography.


title: Pornography in India

text: Important people in media have argued that censoring pornography would decrease rapes in India. There has not been a link between pornography being a significant factor in the rate of crime and violence in India. On the contrary, in other countries, increased availability of porn has been correlated with lower rates of sexual violence.


title: Pornography in India

text: Some studies have speculated that pornography influences sex work in India. For instance, one study of 555 female sex workers found that 45% self-reported pornographic influence driving clientele desire for anal sex. In another study, female sex workers reported being asked to perform new sexual acts such as anal sex, masturbation and different sex positions, requests that they believed were due to an increased exposure to pornography. The implications of such work is currently unclear for public health policy in India.


title: Billy Gray (actor)

text: William Thomas Gray (born January 13, 1938) is an American actor, competitive motorcycle racer and inventor.


title: Billy Gray (actor)

text: Gray was born in Los Angeles, to William H. and Beatrice Gray. His mother was an actress, and both had appeared in "Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff" (in separated scenes), a 1949 horror comedy. He acted in more than 200 movies. He acted with stars such as Humphrey Bogart, Doris Day, Bob Hope, William Holden, Michael Rennie, Judith Anderson, Pat O'Brien and Barbara Stanwyck. He did not attend school and was educated by teachers hired by the film studios, often having class in tents set up on studio lots. He portrayed a young Jim Thorpe in "Jim Thorpe – All-American" and starred in the science fiction film "The Day the Earth Stood Still". He portrayed Tagg "Bull's Eye" Oakley, younger brother of Annie Oakley in the pilot episode of "Annie Oakley". He starred in the television series "Father Knows Best" and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. His father died when he was 16, while he was working on the show. He was cast as Plato in "Rebel Without a Cause" but because a delay in shooting interfered with his commitment to "Father Knows Best" he had to give up the role. He was arrested for marijuana possession in 1962 and served 45 days in jail, which effectively ended his acting career. From 1970 to 1995 he was a Class A motorcycle speedway racer and race promoter. He then turned to inventing and entrepreneurship. He is a motorcycle collector and businessman. Gray was married to and divorced from Helena Kallianiotes (1967–1969) and Donna Wilkes (1981–1981). , Gray lives in Topanga, California in the same house he bought in 1957 while working on "Father Knows Best".


title: Political positions of the Republican Party

text: The platform of the Republican Party of the United States is generally based on American conservatism, contrasting with the modern liberalism of the Democratic Party. The positions of the Republican Party have evolved over time. Currently, the party's fiscal conservatism includes support for lower taxes, free market capitalism, deregulation of corporations, and restrictions on labor unions. The party's social conservatism includes support for gun rights outlined in the Second Amendment, and other traditional values, often with a Christian foundation, including restrictions on abortion. In foreign policy, Republicans usually favor increased military spending and unilateral action. Other Republican positions include restrictions on immigration, more specifically opposition to illegal immigration, opposition to drug legalization, and support for school choice.


text: The Republican Party since the 1920s has adhered to an ideology of fiscal conservatism. Republicans strongly believe that free markets and individual achievement are the primary factors behind economic prosperity. To this end, they advocate in favor of laissez-faire economics, limited government, free markets, tax cuts, reduced government spending, privatization, and the reduction of government run welfare programs in favor of private-sector nonprofits and encouraging personal responsibility.


text: Historically the party always had strong bases in the local business community, as well as the national Big Business corporations that emerged in the Gilded Age after the Civil War. That has been changing in the 21st century, as much of Big Business has moved left. Ross Douthat explains the shift:The Republican Party in the Trump era remained a mostly pro-business party in its policies but its constituencies and rhetoric have tilted more working class and populist, with many Romney Republicans drifting into the Democratic coalition...much of corporate America has swung culturally into liberalism’s camp. That process was well underway a decade ago, but it’s been accelerated by anti-Trump backlash, the more left-leaning commitments of big business’s younger customers and (especially) younger employees, and the relative ease with which the radical-sounding language of identity politics can be assimilated to corporate management techniques. As a consequence, today’s G.O.P. is most clearly now the party of local capitalism — the small-business gentry, the family firms... Much of the party elite wish to continue doing business with big business as before. But the party’s base regards corporate institutions — especially in Silicon Valley, but extending to more traditional capitalist powers — as cultural enemies, with too much consolidated power and too much interest in pressuring, censoring, and propagandizing against socially conservative views and policy.


text: A leading economic theory advocated by modern Republicans is supply side economics. Some fiscal policies influenced by this theory were popularly known as Reaganomics, a term popularized during the Ronald Reagan administration. This theory holds that reduced income tax rates increase GDP growth and thereby generate the same or more revenue for the government from the smaller tax on the extra growth. This belief is reflected, in part, by the party's long-term advocacy of tax cuts. Many Republicans consider the income tax system to be inherently inefficient and oppose graduated tax rates, which they believe are unfairly targeted at those who create jobs and wealth. They also believe private spending is usually more efficient than government spending. Republicans generally oppose the estate tax.


text: Between the 19th century and the early-20th century, Republicans favored tariffs to protect and encourage American industry and industrial workers. In 1896, the GOP platform pledged to "renew and emphasize our allegiance to the policy of protection, as the bulwark of American industrial independence, and the foundation of development and prosperity. This true American policy taxes foreign products and encourages home industry. It puts the burden of revenue on foreign goods; it secures the American market for the American producer. It upholds the American standard of wages for the American workingman."


text: The Republican Party opposes government run welfare programs for the poor, believing it encourages laziness and dependence on the government. They instead advocate personal responsibility and self-reliance to empower citizens to take responsibility for their own lives. Republicans introduced and strongly supported the welfare reform of 1996, which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton and limited eligibility for welfare, successfully allowing many former welfare recipients to find jobs.


text: Most Republicans support school choice through charter schools and school vouchers for private schools; many have denounced the performance of the public school system and the teachers' unions. The party has insisted on a system of greater accountability for public schools, most prominently in recent years with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The act received bi-partisan support in Congress and was signed by President George W. Bush. Many Republicans, however, opposed the creation of the United States Department of Education when it was initially created in 1979.


text: The party opposes a government-run single-payer health care system, claiming it constitutes socialized medicine. It favors a personal or employer-based system of insurance supplemented by Medicare for the elderly and Medicaid which covers approximately 40% of the poor. In 2003, Congress passed the Medicare Modernization Act with bipartisan support creating Medicare Part D covering prescription drugs. It was signed into law by President George W. Bush.


text: Republicans have a mixed record of supporting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Congressional Republicans and the Bush administration supported to reduce Medicaid's growth rate; however, congressional Republicans expanded Medicare, supporting a new drug plan for seniors starting in 2006.


text: In 2011, House Republicans overwhelmingly voted for a proposal known as The Path to Prosperity and for major changes to Medicare, Medicaid, and the 2010 health care legislation known as Obamacare. Many Republicans support increased health insurance portability, laws promoting coverage of pre-existing medical conditions, a cap on malpractice lawsuits, implementing a streamlined electronic medical records system, an emphasis on preventative care rather than emergency room care, and tax benefits aimed to make health insurance more affordable for the uninsured and to promote universal access. They generally oppose government funding for elective abortions.


text: Since the 1920s Republicans have generally been opposed to labor unions, which comprise a major component of the Democratic New Deal coalition. Although unions have lost membership in the private sector since the 1970s, they have gained among public sector unions (such as school teachers). Republicans at the state level generally support various right to work laws that weaken unions. At the national level Republicans supported the Taft–Hartley Act of 1947, one of the most immensely anti-labor acts which gives workers the right not to participate in unions, as opposed to a closed shop, which prohibits workers from choosing not to join unions in workplaces. Most Republicans are opposed to increases in the minimum wage, believing that such increases hurt many businesses by forcing them to cut jobs and services, export jobs overseas, and raise the prices of goods to compensate for the decrease in profit. As Taylor Dark has emphasized in his analysis of the enduring alliance between labor unions and the Democrats, the unions' "most virulent opponents have moved into the Republican Party".


text: Republicans elected with Tea Party support in 2010, most notably Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin, have launched major efforts against public sector unions due in part to state government pension obligations along with the allegation that the unions are too powerful. Walker was challenged by a coalition of unions and Democrats, but beat back a recall effort and was reelected in 2014.


text: Historically, more progressive leaders in the Republican party supported environmental protection. For example, Republican President Theodore Roosevelt was a prominent conservationist whose policies eventually led to the creation of the modern National Park Service. Republican President Richard Nixon was responsible for establishing the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970.


text: In 2006, Arnold Schwarzenegger, then the Republican Governor of California, signed into law a set of carbon emission regulations that were the country's first cap on greenhouse gases, and included vehicle emissions standards higher than those of the Federal Government. These regulations were opposed by the Bush administration. President George W. Bush publicly opposed ratification of the Kyoto Protocols on the grounds that they unfairly targeted Western industrialized nations such as the United States while favoring major polluters such as China and India.


text: In 2000, the Republican Party adopted as part of its platform support for the development of market-based solutions to environmental problems. According to the platform, "economic prosperity and environmental protection must advance together, environmental regulations should be based on science, the government's role should be to provide market-based incentives to develop the technologies to meet environmental standards, we should ensure that environmental policy meets the needs of localities, and environmental policy should focus on achieving results processes."


text: The Bush administration, along with several of the candidates that sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, supported increased Federal investment into the development of clean alternative fuels, increased nuclear power, as well as fuels such as ethanol, as a way of helping the U.S. achieve energy independence, as opposed to supporting less use of carbon dioxide-producing methods of generating energy. The Republican party rejects cap-and-trade policy. Some Republicans support increased oil drilling in protected areas such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a position that has drawn sharp criticism from some activists.


text: Republicans are deeply divided over the human causes of climate change and global warming. Since 2008, many members of the Republican Party have been criticized for being anti-environmentalist and promoting climate change denial in opposition to the general scientific consensus, making them unique even among other worldwide conservative parties.


text: Younger Republicans express higher levels of concern about climate change. When the College Republican National Committee proposed an anti-carbon tax resolution at its 2019 annual meeting, 25 presidents of state-wide college Republican groups responded by forming "an advocacy organization to lobby Congress for conservative solutions to the climate crisis."


text: Green conservatism manifested itself as a movement in groups such as ConservAmerica, which seeks to strengthen the Republican Party's stance on environmental issues and support efforts to conserve natural resources and protect human and environmental health. Nevertheless, because it requires 67 votes in the Senate, the US is the only UN member state which has not ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity.


text: The Republican Party has generally associated with socially conservative policies, although it does have dissenting centrist and libertarian factions. Social conservatives advocate for laws that uphold traditional family values, often rooted in Christianity. Such laws include opposition to abortion, same-sex marriage, transgender rights, comprehensive sex education, and recreational drug use. Most conservative Republicans also oppose gun control, affirmative action, and illegal immigration.


text: A majority of the party's national and state candidates are at the very least moderately anti-abortion and oppose elective abortion on religious or moral grounds. However, many hold exceptions in the case of rape, incest or the mother's life being at risk while others may accept early-stage abortions (firmly opposing "partial-birth" abortion still). When Congress voted on the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in 2003, Congressional Republicans voted overwhelmingly to support the ban. Recently, many republicans have shifted their position and now hold exceptions only if the mother's life is at risk.


text: Although Republicans have voted for increases in government funding of scientific research, some members actively oppose the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research beyond the original lines because it involves the destruction of human embryos, while arguing for applying research money into adult stem cell or amniotic stem cell research. The stem cell issue has garnered two vetoes on research funding bills from President Bush, who said the research "crossed a moral boundary".


text: The text of the 2012 party platform specifically stated that "the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed." It also opposed using public revenues to promote abortions, to perform them, or to fund organizations that do either such things.


text: Not all Republicans support abortion restrictions and the human life amendment. Though anti-abortion planks have been part of the party platform since 1976., before 1988 there was little difference between Republicans and other voters regarding abortion, and in 2015, 40 percent of Republicans supported legal abortion. Despite their divergence from the party platform, pro-abortion rights Republicans are unlikely to switch parties. Pro-abortion rights ideology has been present in the Republican Party since before the "Roe v. Wade" decision in 1973, and the pro-abortion rights ideology is still present today.


text: According to some pro-abortion rights Republican groups, the Republican belief in limited government and individualism should extend to social issues, such as abortion rights. Research indicates that supporters of pro-abortion rights Republican organizations are motivated by libertarianism. Supporters of pro-abortion rights organizations may hold less conservative views on abortion, but tend to hold relatively conservative views on other political issues.


text: Pro-abortion rights ideology and support for abortion rights ranges. The 1992 American National Election study asked respondents about their support for the legal rights of abortion. Respondents either believe abortion should only be allowed in cases of rape, incest, and to save the mother's life, abortion should be allowed if there is a "clear need," or that abortion should not be restricted in any way.


text: There are several organizations and Political Action Committees that support pro-abortion rights republican candidates. The most prominent are Republican Majority for Choice, Republicans for Choice, and The Wish List. These organizations provide money, endorsements, and training to candidates who support abortion rights. Republican Main Street Partnership has shown support for pro-abortion rights legislation.


text: The Republican Party's shift to an anti-abortion stance was a gradual change and was not caused by one election or event.


text: Early abortion laws only allowed the procedure when the woman's life was in danger. At this time many Republicans and Democrats as well were for less strict abortion laws. Between 1974 and 1978, studies showed that political ideology had a very weak correlation with support for abortion rights. The correlation between political party identification and support for abortion rights was even weaker. Mary Louise Smith, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee from 1974 to 1977, was pro-abortion rights. Justice Blackmun wrote the Supreme Courts decision on "Roe v. Wade." Blackmun had been conservative Justice appointed by President Nixon, who came out against abortion. After Roe v. Wade, though, Blackmun gradually evolved into a liberal. Some say this issue was the symbolic move of Blackmun to becoming a liberal.


text: During his presidency, President Gerald R. Ford took a moderately conservative stance on abortion, despite First Lady Betty Ford's urges for him to take a liberal stance on the issue. Ford believed abortions should be allowed in certain circumstances, such as rape and incest, and opposed a human life amendment to the Constitution. After winning the primary, Ford stated he was also unconditionally anti-abortion and fully supported the Republican platform in 1976. Still, Ford later stated that he was pro-abortion rights after he had left office and Betty Ford was supportive of the decision made by the court in "Roe v. Wade".


text: The 1976 Republican Party Platform was the first to include an anti-abortion stance. This came during the same year that the Hyde Amendment Was passed. Ronald Reagan's run in the primary for the nomination played a role in getting an anti abortion plank along with some other positions on other issues into the platform.


text: Democrat and Republican Party elites and elected officials became more divided on the issue of abortion in the 1980s. Still, Ronald Reagan ran and won the election in 1980, stating he was against all abortions except for saving the life of the mother. He firmly supported Roe v. Wade being overturned and a constitutional amendment banning abortion. Robert Dole, who ran in the primary for president in 1980, also firmly opposed abortion. George H. W. Bush, who also ran in the primary, was firmly pro-abortion rights. Bush wound up being Reagan's vice presidential running mate and after that, he distanced himself from that issue. It was not until after Republicans in Congress started consistently voting against abortion in the 1980s that polls showed Republican opposition to abortion.


text: Until 1988 there was little difference in pro-abortion rights attitudes among Democrat and Republican voters. George H.W. Bush entered politics with a reputation as a moderate on social issues. However, during a 1988 presidential debate he stated after some reflection he came to the conclusion abortion was morally wrong and should only be legal for rape, incest, and to save the life of the mother. He chose Dan Quayle as his running mate, who also opposed abortion.


text: During the 1992 election, President Bush and Vice President Quayle tended to downplay the importance of abortion during the election so they would not risk turning away Republican voters who supported abortion rights. A substantial number of Pro-abortion rights republicans in the 1992 election did not vote for President Bush because of his stance on abortion. Most of these pro-abortion rights Republicans voted for Perot. While President Bush and the Republican Party took an anti-abortion stance in 1992, First Lady Barbara Bush stated that she believed abortion to be a "personal choice."


text: In an interview in 2001, First Lady Laura Bush stated that she believed "Roe v. Wade" should not be overturned and later stated that abortion should remain legal because she believes "it's important for people, for medical reasons and other reasons." George W Bush though stated he was still anti-abortion and while he would be appointing conservative judges abortion would not be used as a litmus test.


text: In 2005, The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act was passed by congress with the help of the Republican Main Street Partnership. However, President George W. Bush vetoed this legislation in 2006.


text: After the 2012 election, Senator John McCain, who is anti-abortion, advised his fellow Republicans to "leave the issue [abortion] alone." He warned against going beyond stating one's anti-abortion belief and actions could hurt the Republican party with women voters and young voters. Like Bush I & II, Dole, Reagan, and Ford, McCain promised conservative constructionist judges but again stated he would not use abortion as a litmus test. Mitt Romney as governor of Massachusetts was firmly pro-abortion rights but he became anti-abortion running for president in 2012 and stated the same thing about conservative judges but not using abortion as a litmus test.


text: In 2016, though Donald Trump abruptly shifted his position on abortion. For decades as a Democrat and independent he was firmly pro-abortion rights, but by at least 2011 (when he was considering running for president), Trump was claiming to be anti-abortion. Unlike the previous candidates, Trump made a promise during his debate with Hillary to appoint "pro life judges" to the US Supreme Court as well as to lower courts. He later had to take that statement back saying he was not even allowed to ask a judge what his personal position on abortion or any other issue was. He still affirmed he would appoint judges that interpret the law not make law and on abortion they would hopefully see it as a constitutional issue turning the rulings over to the states and overturning Roe. Trump did state he believed in exceptions of rape and incest as well as to saving the life of the mother on his anti abortion stance.


text: Republicans, especially Republican women, are generally against affirmative action for women and some minorities, often describing it as a 'quota system', and believing that it is not meritocratic and that it is counter-productive socially by only further promoting discrimination. Many Republicans support race-neutral admissions policies in universities, but support taking into account the socioeconomic status of the student.


text: The Republican Party supports strong law and order policies to control crime. The vast majority of Republicans support capital punishment. Official party platforms have consistently argued that the death penalty is an effective deterrent to crime and ensures safer neighborhoods, citing the rising crime rates in recent decades. Republicans do not view capital punishment as cruel and unusual punishment nor unconstitutional, therefore opposing any attempts at criminal justice reform aimed at repealing the penalty.


text: Republicans generally support gun ownership rights and oppose laws regulating guns and other related topic areas such as bump stocks and large-capacity magazines. However, recently, some moderate Republicans have started to be an exception to this. On the evening of Wednesday, November 28, 2018, President Donald Trump announced that his administration would be banning bump stocks. Some Republicans support this and some do not, causing some divide within the party.


text: Republicans have historically supported the War on Drugs and oppose the legalization of drugs. In recent years, the opposition to the legalization of marijuana is not as strong as it used to be, with some Republicans members of Congress advocating for decriminalization or legalization of marijuana, as well as criminal justice reform in the context of drug crimes.


text: Republicans are divided on how to confront illegal immigration between a platform that allows for migrant workers and easing citizenship guidelines, and border enforcement-first approach. In general, pro-growth advocates within the Republican Party and it support more immigration, and traditional or populist conservatives oppose it. In 2006, the White House supported and Republican-led Senate passed comprehensive immigration reform that would eventually allow millions of illegal immigrants to become citizens, but the House, also led by Republicans, took an enforcement-first approach, and the bill failed to pass the conference committee.


text: Lately, after the defeat in the 2012 presidential elections, and considering the low percent of Latino Americans that voted for Republicans, several Republicans are advocating a friendlier approach to immigrants. Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez is promoting the creation of a SuperPAC for immigration reform.


text: Proposals calling for systematic reform of the U.S. immigration system such that residents that have come into the U.S. illegally have a pathway to legal citizenship have attracted broad Republican support in some polls. For example, the Public Religion Research Institute found in late 2013 that 60% of Republicans supported the pathway concept, compared to 63% of Americans as a whole.


text: The Republican platform, as of 2016, is officially opposed to same-sex marriage and other LGBT rights.


text: Groups advocating for LGBT issues inside the party include the Log Cabin Republicans, Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry, and College Republicans.


text: In the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in "Obergefell v. Hodges" that ended bans on same-sex marriage nationwide, the Republican Party is divided as to whether to accept the ruling or to fight it by measures such as a possible amendment to the Constitution. Individuals such as 2016 Presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Scott Walker have supported an amendment to re-expand government and re-ban same-sex marriages, while other Republican figures such as Jeb Bush (also a 2016 Presidential candidate) have disagreed. The 2016 platform, however, condemned the Supreme Court's ruling and defined marriage as "natural marriage, the union of one man and one woman."


text: A November/December 2013 Public Religion Research Institute poll sponsored by the Ford Foundation found that Republicans are divided in their perceptions of their own party: 45% think Republicans are friendly toward LGBT people, while 41% think the party is unfriendly toward them.


text: A May 2012 poll found that 37% of Republicans supported a constitutional amendment defining marriage between a man and a woman. A November/December 2013 poll found that 63% of Republicans believe same-sex marriage should be left up to individual states to decide. In 2017, Pew Research polling found that for the first time a majority of Republicans weren't opposed to same-sex marriage, with 48% against and 47% in favour.


text: The 1992 Republican Party platform adopted support for continuing to exclude homosexuals from the military as a matter of good order and discipline. The support for the exclusion of homosexuals from military service would remain in the Republican Party platform until the 2012 Republican Party platform, which removed that language from it.


text: A May 2012 United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll found that only 41% of Republicans supported restoring the prohibition against gays serving openly in the military.


text: The 1992 Republican Party platform adopted opposition to including sexual preference into anti-discrimination statutes. The 2000 Republican Party platform included the statement: "We support the First Amendment right of freedom of association and stand united with private organizations, such as the Boy Scouts of America, and support their positions." The 2004 Republican Party platform removed both parts of that language from the platform and stated that the party supports anti-discrimination legislation. The 2008 and 2012 Republican Party platform supported anti-discrimination statues based on sex, race, age, religion, creed, disability, or national origin, but both platforms were silent on sexual orientation and gender identity.


text: A November/December 2013 Public Religion Research Institute poll sponsored by the Ford Foundation found that 61% of Republicans support laws protecting gay and lesbian people against employment discrimination, with only 33% opposing such laws. A 2007 Gallup poll showed 60% of Republicans supported expanding federal hate crime laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity, with only 30% opposing such laws.


text: The Republican Party supports school prayer, which has been banned in public schools ever since Engel v. Vitale. They have continued to challenge such decisions for pushing Christianity out of America's public schools. Many also support the right of teachers to teach creationism or intelligent design alongside evolution to public school students.


text: In modern times, the Republican Party has been militaristic and nationalistic in its foreign policy. Republicans, in general, tend to be more pro-military than their Democrat counterparts, however, the factions of the Republican party do not see eye-to-eye on this. Neoconservative Republicans and subscribers to other such ideologies tend to advocate for a more interventionist foreign policy, a bigger military, and using the military to promote American values around the world, while the more libertarian and paleoconservative factions of the party advocate for non-interventionism. Libertarian Republicans call for less government spending on defense, but paleoconservatives usually are pro-strong national defense, and therefore sometimes are in favor of more defense spending.


text: Republicans supported Woodrow Wilson's call for American entry into World War I in 1917, complaining only that he was too slow to go to war. Republicans in 1919 opposed his call for entry into the League of Nations. A majority supported the League with reservations; a minority opposed membership on any terms. Republicans sponsored world disarmament in the 1920s, and isolationism in the 1930s. Most Republicans staunchly opposed intervention in World War II until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. By 1945, however, internationalists became dominant in the party which supported the Cold War policies such as the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and NATO.


text: Many intellectual liberal Democrats in the 1960s and 1970s who became disenchanted with the leftward movement of their party often became "neoconservatives" ("neocons"). Many became politically prominent during the five presidential terms under Reagan, and the father-son presidency from the Bush family. They played a major role in promoting and planning the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, while not identifying themselves as neoconservatives, listened closely to neoconservative advisers regarding foreign policy, especially the defense of Israel, the promotion of democracy in the Middle East, and the buildup of American military forces to achieve these goals. Neocons show a preference for unilateral American activism, along with skepticism regarding the United Nations. The neocons had little influence in the Obama White House, but neoconservatism remains a staple in Republican Party arsenal. Neoconservatives were more likely than other Republicans to oppose the presidency of Donald Trump.


text: Many in the Republican Party support unilateralism on issues of national security, believing in the ability and right of the United States to act without external support in matters of its national defense. In general, Republican thinking on defense and international relations is heavily influenced by the theories of neorealism and realism, characterizing conflicts between nations as struggles between faceless forces of international structure, as opposed to being the result of the ideas and actions of individual leaders. The realist school's influence shows in Reagan's Evil Empire stance on the Soviet Union and George W. Bush's Axis of evil.


text: Republicans secured gains in the 2002 and 2004 elections, with the War on Terror being one of the top issues favoring them. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, some in the party support neoconservative policies with regard to the War on Terror, including the 2001 war in Afghanistan and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.


text: The doctrine of preemptive war, wars to disarm and destroy potential military foes based on speculation of future attacks rather than in defense against actual attack, has been advocated by prominent members of the Bush administration, but the war within Iraq has undercut the influence of this doctrine within the Republican Party. Rudy Giuliani, mayor of New York at the time of the September 11 terrorist attacks, and a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, has stated his support for that policy, saying America must keep itself "on the offensive" against terrorists.


text: The George W. Bush administration took the position that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to unlawful combatants, saying they apply to soldiers serving in the armies of nation states and not terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda. The Supreme Court overruled this position in "Hamdan v. Rumsfeld", which held that the Geneva Conventions were legally binding and must be followed in regards to all enemy combatants. Some prominent Republicans such as John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz and Ron Paul strongly oppose the use of enhanced interrogation techniques, which they view as torture.


text: The party, through former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, has advocated reforms in the United Nations to halt corruption such as that which afflicted the Oil-for-Food Program. Most Republicans oppose the Kyoto Protocol. The party promotes free trade agreements, most notably North American Free Trade Agreement (and its comprehensive update, the US Mexico Canada Agreement), Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement and an effort to go further south to Brazil, Peru and Colombia, although some have a protectionist view of trade.


text: The 2012 Republican Party platform opposes the Obama administration from attempting to impose what it considers a "cultural agenda", including a "homosexual rights agenda" in other countries by restricting foreign aid. However, Republicans themselves have also frequently advocated for restricting foreign aid as a means of asserting the national security and immigration interests of the United States.


text: Republicans support the construction of the Keystone Pipeline, which would connect the Athabasca oil sands in Canada to refineries in the United States. American and Canadian environmentalists have strongly opposed the pipeline's construction, although the Canadian government has lobbied for it.


text: The Republican Party generally supports a strong alliance with Israel and efforts to secure peace in the Middle East between Israel and its Arab neighbors.


text: The 2016 Republican Party Platform declares: "We support the right of the United States citizens of Puerto Rico to be admitted to the Union as a fully sovereign state. We further recognize the historic significance of the 2012 local referendum in which a 54 percent majority voted to end Puerto Rico's current status as a U.S. territory, and 61 percent chose statehood over options for sovereign nationhood. We support the federally sponsored political status referendum authorized and funded by an Act of Congress in 2014 to ascertain the aspirations of the people of Puerto Rico. Once the 2012 local vote for statehood is ratified, Congress should approve an enabling act with terms for Puerto Rico's future admission as the 51st state of the Union".


text: The Republican party argues that with Russia, the U.S must show resilience and patience. It also argues that Russia must stop encouraging the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The party stresses the common interests of the two countries, which include ending terrorism, combating nuclear proliferation, promoting bilateral trade. Leading Republicans have been split on how to respond to the Russian military interventions in Ukraine and Syria, with some advocating a more hawkish approach, and others urging a more cautious and conciliatory response.


text: Democrats chose A over B by 65%-32%; Republicans chose A over B by 56% to 39%; Independents chose A over B by 67% to 29%.


text: Many contemporary Republicans voice support of strict constructionism or textualism, the judicial philosophy that the Constitution should be interpreted narrowly and as close to the original intent as is practicable rather than a more flexible "living Constitution" model. Most Republicans point to "Roe v. Wade" as a case of judicial activism, where the court overturned most laws restricting abortion on the basis of a right to privacy inferred from the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Some Republicans have actively sought to block judges whom they see as being activist judges and have sought the appointment of judges who claim to practice judicial restraint. The issue of judicial deference to the legislature is a matter of some debate—like the Democrats, most Republicans criticize court decisions that overturn their own (conservative) legislation as overstepping bounds and support decisions that overturn opposing legislation. Some commentators have advocated that the Republicans take a more aggressive approach and support legislative supremacy more firmly.


text: The Republican Party has supported various bills within the last decade to strip some or all federal courts of the ability to hear certain types of cases, in an attempt to strengthen the power of individual state's rights. These jurisdiction stripping laws have included removing federal review of the recognition of same-sex marriage with the Marriage Protection Act, the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance with the Pledge Protection Act, and the rights of detainees in Guantanamo Bay in the Detainee Treatment Act. The Supreme Court overruled the last of these limitations in "Hamdan v. Rumsfeld".


text: Compared to Democrats, many Republicans believe in a more robust version of federalism with greater limitations placed upon federal authorities and a larger role reserved for those of the individual States. Following this view on federalism, Republicans often take a less expansive reading of congressional power under the Commerce Clause, such as in the opinion of William Rehnquist in "United States v. Lopez". Many Republicans on the more libertarian wing wish for a more dramatic narrowing of Commerce Clause power by revisiting, among other cases, "Wickard v. Filburn", a case that held that growing wheat on a farm for consumption on the same farm fell under congressional power to "regulate commerce ... among the several States".


text: President George W. Bush was a proponent of the unitary executive theory and cited it within his Signing statements about legislation passed by Congress. The administration's interpretation of the unitary executive theory was called seriously into question by "Hamdan v. Rumsfeld", where the Supreme Court ruled 5–3 that the President does not have sweeping powers to override or ignore laws through his power as commander in chief, stating "the Executive is bound to comply with the Rule of Law that prevails." Following the ruling, the Bush administration sought Congressional authorization for programs started only on executive mandate, as was the case with the Military Commissions Act, or abandoned programs it had previously asserted executive authority to enact, as in the case of the National Security Agency domestic wiretapping program.


text: Ideologically, the GOP typically supports a smaller federal government. Historically, this translated into keeping power in the hands of powerful state governments, as in the cases of civil rights, abortion laws, regulations on marriage, and mapping of voting districts. However, some conservatives in recent years have demanded federal intervention to oppose state laws with respect to the Federal Marriage Amendment, the Terri Schiavo case, the "Kelo" case regarding eminent domain, and in cases involving assisted suicide laws and medical marijuana.


text: To a certain extent, this is contingent upon the faction in question. For example, the paleoconservative and social conservative factions would be far more inclined to favor federal drug regulations trumping states rights, while the libertarian faction would be more inclined to see such power devolved to the states or even further.


text: In 2020, the Republican Party decided not to write a platform for that presidential election cycle, instead simply expressing its support for Donald Trump's agenda and criticizing "the media" for biased reporting. This was cited by critics as an example of how the Republican Party "became a cult of personality".


title: Stock keeping unit

text: In inventory management, a stock keeping unit (abbreviated as SKU and pronounced or ) is the unit of measure in which the stocks of a material are managed. Or to put it another way; is a distinct type of item for sale, purchased, or tracked in inventory, such as a product or service, and all attributes associated with the item type that distinguish it from other item types. (For a product, these attributes can include manufacturer, description, material, size, color, packaging, and warranty terms.) When a business records the inventory of its stock, it counts the quantity it has of each unit, or SKU.


title: Stock keeping unit

text: SKU can also refer to a unique identifier or code, sometimes represented via a barcode for scanning and tracking, that refers to the particular stock keeping unit. These identifiers are not regulated or standardized. When a company receives items from a vendor, it has a choice of maintaining the vendor's SKU or creating its own. This makes them distinct from Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), which are standard, global, tracking units. Universal Product Code (UPC), European Article Number (EAN), and Australian Product Number (APN) are special cases of GTINs.


title: The Emirates Group

text: The Emirates Group () is a state-owned Dubai-based international aviation holding company headquartered in Garhoud, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, near Dubai International Airport. The Emirates Group comprises dnata, an aviation services company providing ground handling services at 126 airports, and Emirates Airline, the largest airline in the Middle East. Emirates Airlines flies to over 150 destinations across 6 continents, operating a fleet of over 250 wide-bodied aircraft.


title: The Emirates Group

text: The Emirates Group has a turnover of approximately US$28.3 billion and employs over 105,000 employees across all its business units and associated firms, making it one of the biggest employers in the Middle East. The company is wholly owned by the Government of Dubai directly under the Investment Corporation of Dubai and as part of Dubai Inc.


title: The Emirates Group

text: The airline's head office is in the Emirates Group building in Al-Garhoud, Dubai. The building is located on Airport Road, across from the site of the Emirates Engineering Centre in 2007. A tunnel connects the building to Dubai International Airport. Construction of the building cost AED 700 million (US$191 million). Construction began in 2004 and was scheduled to end in 2007. Emirates self-financed the construction. Over 6,000 employees work in the building. Previously the airline's head office was the Airline Centre along the clock tower Roundabout in Dubai.


title: The Emirates Group

text: As the British pulled out of Dubai in the late 1950s, Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum al Maktoum decreed an open seas, open skies, and open trade policy, to develop the country. He also required all government agencies to make a profit. The country was aiming to eliminate its dependence on its finite oil reserves within 50 years.


title: The Emirates Group

text: The Dubai National Air Transport Association (DNATA) was formed in 1959, and by the mid-1980s, it was employing 2,500 employees. It consisted of three business segments: Dnata Airport Operations, Dnata Cargo and Dnata Agencies.


title: The Emirates Group

text: In addition to providing support services at Dubai International Airport, the company served as a sales agent for 26 airlines. Dubai had been used as a stopover on routes between Europe and the Far East since the days of Imperial Airways, which landed its flying boats there en route to Australia. The open skies policies kept its airport among the busiest in the Middle East.


title: The Emirates Group

text: During the mid-1980s, Gulf Air began to cut back it services to Dubai. As a result, Emirates was conceived in March 1985 with backing from Dubai's royal family, whose Dubai Royal Air Wing provided two of the airline's first aircraft, used Boeing 727-200/Advs. It was required to operate independently of government subsidies, apart from $10  million in start-up capital. It also leased a new Boeing 737-300 from Pakistan International Airlines which was returned in 1987. Maurice Flanagan was named managing director of the new airline. Formerly of the Royal Air Force, British Airways, and Gulf Air, Flanagan had been seconded to DNATA in 1978 on a two-year assignment as assistant general sales manager.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Chairman was Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, nephew of the Ruler of Dubai, became chairman of Department of Civil Aviation and DNATA itself. Tim Clark joined the management team.


title: The Emirates Group

text: The first flight of the airline was, Dubai-Karachi on 25 October 1985. The airline leased an Airbus 300B4-200, from Pakistan International Airlines. Bombay and Delhi were the next destinations for the airline.


title: The Emirates Group

text: The Emirates Group became profitable within its first nine months. During its first year, the airline carried about 260,000 passengers and 10,000 tons of freight. By 1986, the airline was adding new destinations such as Colombo, Dhaka, Amman, and Cairo to its route network.


title: The Emirates Group

text: In its second year the group posted a loss, but growth continued even as the region was experiencing a downturn a year later. The Gulf War and the laying off of expatriate workers as the main factors. In its second year, competitors had accused Emirates of starting a price war, something the airline's competitors still accuse Emirates of doing. On 3 July 1987, Emirates received its first bought Airbus A310-304, from Toulouse. Within the first 38 months of operating, Emirates was serving 12 destinations.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Emirates Sky Cargo, which operated as a separate entity, carried 25,000 tons of freight in fiscal 1989. Emirates expanded its route network into the Far East in 1990, and expanded its European operations in the summer of 1992.


title: The Emirates Group

text: The Group also launched Marhaba in December 1991 as a premium meet and greet service for passengers travelling through Dubai International Airport.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Emirates airline had become one of the world's fastest growing airlines by the early 1990s. Revenues increased by about $100 million each year, approaching $500 million in 1993. It carried 68,000 tons of cargo and 1.6 million passengers in the same year. The Gulf War had helped Emirates by keeping other airlines out of the area. Emirates was the only airline to continue flying in the last ten days of the war. By the winter of 1991, the Emirates fleet was grounded for several days, as the liberation of Kuwait begun. Operations resumed weeks later.


title: The Emirates Group

text: The airline saw the arrival of another Airbus A300-600R, taking its fleet to nine, Emirates ordered seven Boeing 777s, with an option for seven more, in a US$645.5 million deal in the same year.


title: The Emirates Group

text: As the airline celebrated its sixth anniversary, 25,000 passengers a week were being flown to 23 destinations. A year later, Emirates opened their own US$2 million terminal at Dubai Airport.


title: The Emirates Group

text: A partnership agreement with US Airways entered in the fall of 1993 allowed Emirates to offer services around the world. It previously had cooperation agreements with Cyprus Airways. By 1994, the airline was connecting 32 destinations with its 15 aircraft. At this time Emirates was the sixth largest airline in the Middle East.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Emirates took in revenues of $643.4 million in the year ending 30 March 1994. The airline had 4,000 employees and carried two million passengers a year between 34 destinations with a fleet of 18 Airbus aircraft. In spite of the large capital expenditures, the Dubai government had laid out only $50 million since the airline's inception. In October 1995, the Emirates Group launched Mercator an IT solutions company.


title: The Emirates Group

text: A total of 92 air carriers were flying to Dubai Airport and Emirates faced intense competition at its home base. It carried about three million passengers a year to Dubai International Airport in the mid-1990s. Emirates continued to expand during the late 1990s. The growing cargo business accounted for 16 percent of the airline's total revenues. By 1995, it has a fleet flying to 34 locations in the Middle East, Far East and Europe. Emirates also opened its own Flight Training Centre in 1995, and in 2017, its own Flight Training Academy.


title: The Emirates Group

text: In 1997, Emirates was flying a dedicated freighter to Amsterdam, a point not on its network of passenger routes, in cooperation with KLM. It carried about three million passengers during the year. The same year, Emirates made a $2 billion order for 16 Airbus A330-200s, and carried over three million passengers and 150,000 tonnes of cargo. The airline also took delivery of six Boeing 777-200s, giving it new long-haul capabilities.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Emirates opened a, $65 million training center in January 1997. The airline was then able to provide simulator training for its crew members and flight and maintenance personnel.


title: The Emirates Group

text: A record group profit of AED 371 million was achieved in 1997–98. Emirates executives planned a slowdown in the airline's growth in the late 1990s to stabilize its expansive route network.


title: The Emirates Group

text: In May 1998, Emirates paid the Government of Sri Lanka $70 million for a 40 percent stake in SriLankan Airlines (formerly known as Air Lanka). As part of the deal, Emirates received a 10-year contract to manage SriLankan. In January 2008, Emirates announced that it would give back management of SriLankan Airlines to the Government of Sri Lanka, effective April 2008. Emirates sold its stake in SriLankan Airlines to the Government of Sri Lanka during June 2010.


title: The Emirates Group

text: In 1998, the airline opened a $540  million Terminal 2 at Dubai International Airport, and increased its capacity by 26 per cent as passenger figures hit 3.7 million, while cargo levels went up to 200,000 tonnes. Galileo Emirates (now known as Emquest), was established to consolidate the distribution of travel solutions, primarily the Galileo Reservation System, in the existing markets of the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.


title: The Emirates Group

text: In 1999, Emirates opened its own hotel – The Al Dossa Desert Resort. Emirates Group's workforce totaled 11,000 that year, and Dnata entered the South East Asian airport services market with the launch of Dnata Philippines Inc.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Emirates SkyCargo also launched a new system called Skychain developed by Mercator, which provided access via the Internet and email to everyone involved in moving a cargo.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Emirates announced an order in April 2000 as the first launch customer for the Airbus A3XX (later named Airbus A380), the largest civil aircraft ever built. The deal comprised five Airbus A380-800s and two Airbus A380-800F. The deal was confirmed on 4 November 2001 and Emirates announced orders for 15 more A380-800s at the same time. Also announced was an order for 6 Boeing 777s. Emirates justified its order by saying that purchasing the 481- to 656-passenger super jumbo to was to maximize its use of scarce takeoff and landing slots at crowded airports like London Heathrow.


title: The Emirates Group

text: In the same year the new Sheikh Rashid Terminal opened, increasing the capacity at Dubai International to 22 million passengers a year. The loyalty program of Emirates, Skywards was also launched. Sheikh Ahmed also announced that Dubai Government is to invest $500–600m in the new Terminal 3 – with a capacity for 20  million passengers a year.


title: The Emirates Group

text: Towards the end of 2000, Emirates Airline was planning to start ultra-long-haul service to the East Coast and West Coast of the United States as well as nonstop flights to Australia and Argentina. Traffic continued to grow at a rate of 20 percent in 1999–2000.


title: The Emirates Group

text: In 2001, Emirates SkyCargo Centre opened with a capacity to handle 400,000 tonnes a year. Emirates was also voted airline of the year by research consultancy Skytrax. Emirates took delivery of its 18th Airbus A330-200 and ordered two more, making it the biggest A330 operator in the world. The airline also announced an order worth $15 billion for 15 A380s, eight A340-600s, three A330s and 25 Boeing 777s.


title: The Emirates Group

text: A year later, the airline was again named airline of the year by Skytrax. Passenger level on Emirates in the 2001–02 financial year reached 6.3 million passengers, and cargo crossed 400,000 tonnes. The Group also announced a $275 million investment in new hangar complex at the Emirates Engineering Centre. Galileo Emirates was further expanded when the business acquired the distribution rights for Sudan and Tunisia.


title: The Emirates Group

text: In early 2003, the Emirates flight catering was formed out of Emirates Abela Catering Company. Emirates flight catering employed over 5,400 staff. In its first year, the catering company produced over 16 million meals with a daily average of 45,000 meals.


title: The Emirates Group

text: In the financial year ending March 2003, Emirates carried 8.5 million passengers, an increase of 26%, and the airline posted an increase in profits of 94 per cent to Dhs907 million from Dhs468 million from the previous year. Dnata also launched its services in Kuwait.


title: The Emirates Group

text: In 2004, Emirates ordered four Boeing 777-300ERs, with nine options, in a $2.96 billion deal. The SkyCargo fleet is increased with three Airbus A310-300s added to its six Boeing 747s. Emirates also signed a £100 million deal with English Premiership side Arsenal, which included the naming rights to its new stadium for 15 years and shirt sponsorship for eight years, starting from the 2006/07 season. By the end of 2003, Dnata began operations in Kuwait.


title: The Emirates Group

text: In 2005 the Emirates Group workforce totaled 25,000, making it Dubai's largest employer. Passenger traffic also continued to rise with 12.5 million recorded that year. Emirates ordered 42 Boeing 777s in a deal worth $9.7 billion, the largest Boeing 777 order in history at the Dubai Airshow in 2005.