title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: There is absolutely no evidence that Gregory was a fool, and much to prove that he was intelligent and accomplished. Moreover, Gregory Cromwell was not created Baron Cromwell by letters patent until December 1540 and did not receive any royal grants before February 1541. His courtesy title of Lord Cromwell was forfeit after his father's arrest, although he did continue to receive the profits from the property alienated to his use and his heirs by his father in November 1538. This property included the manors and lordships of Oakham and Langham (Rutland), Clapthorne, Hackleton and Piddington (Northamptonshire), and Blaston (Leicestershire), with the advowson of Blaston church, and the manors of North Elmham and Beetley (Norfolk). Gregory was still receiving the profits from Langham in April 1541, his entitlement was then being questioned and which was later resolved in his favour.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: Hilles' comments can be dismissed as unsubstantiated gossip, although there is always the possibility that the mercurial Henry VIII promised Cromwell, while he was in the Tower, to be a "good and gracious lord" to his son.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: Cromwell's letter had moved the king, who had asked for it to be read to him three times. However, it was not enough to save his life. Thomas Cromwell was beheaded on Tower Hill on 28 July 1540. Since Thomas was attainted, Gregory could not succeed his father as Earl of Essex and Baron Cromwell (of Wimbledon in the County of Surrey).


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: Gregory and Elizabeth were not implicated, although it took many months before their desperate situation was to be resolved. Their lives were still in danger from an increasingly paranoid king. It is unknown if Gregory and his family were present at Thomas Cromwell's execution or if permission was given by the king to bury his beloved father with dignity, as Sir Thomas More's family had, under the floor in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula in the Tower.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: Among those who genuinely mourned Thomas Cromwell, beside Gregory and his family, were his protégés and close friends: Sir Ralph Sadler had lived in Cromwell's household as a boy, was educated by him and had known Gregory Cromwell since he was born. Thomas Cromwell was godfather to Sadler's first two sons. It was Sadler who managed to acquire Holbein's and keep it hidden during the remaining years of the reign of Henry VIII.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: The poet Sir Thomas Wyatt penned an eloquent lamentation of his personal loss. The sonnet speaks of a man who was not only his patron, but his friend, and confidant.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: The pillar perish'd is whereto I leant,The strongest stay of my unquiet mind;The like of it no man again can find,From east to west still seeking though he went,To mine unhap. For hap away hath rentOf all my joy the very bark and rind:And I, alas, by chance am thus assign'dDaily to mourn, till death do it relent.But since that thus it is by destiny,What can I more but have a woful heart;My pen in plaint, my voice in careful cry,My mind in woe, my body full of smart;And I myself, myself always to hate,Till dreadful death do ease my doleful state.Sir Thomas Wyatt


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: At the time of his arrest in 1540, Thomas Cromwell was one of the wealthiest landowners in England. This was "the end result of an active decade buying and selling lands, augmented by large monastic and other royal grants." Gregory as his sole heir should have inherited a vast fortune. Instead, over the next few years his father's lands and property were distributed by the king to others. Gregory Cromwell, his wife and their children faced an uncertain future.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: For several months after Thomas Cromwell's execution, Henry VIII remained convinced of his late chief minister's guilt and anyone who had been closely associated with the late Earl of Essex was regarded with suspicion and closely watched. Tensions within the court were running high.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: Matters came to a head on the evening of 17 January 1541, when Ambassadors Eustace Chapuys and Charles de Marillac reported to their masters that Sir Thomas Wyatt, Sir Ralph Sadler and unnamed others had been arrested. The following morning, they were taken from Hampton Court, with their hands bound, and accompanied by 24 archers, to the Tower. Marillac wrote to Montmorency that Thomas Wyatt "was led to the Tower so bound and fettered that one must think ill, for the custom is to lead them to prison free" noting that it "must be some great matter for he has for enemies all who leagued against Cromwell, whose minion he was."


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: Sir Ralph Sadler was able to clear himself and was released in a few days. Sir Thomas Wyatt was set free the following March, at the request of Queen Catherine Howard.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: Sadler must have provided some very persuasive evidence to his interrogators in the Tower, sufficient not only to secure his own release, but enough to convince the king to question his late chief minister's fate.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: The French ambassador, Marillac was to write to Montmorency on 3 March 1541 that Henry VIII had reproached his ministers for Cromwell's death, "saying that, upon light pretexts, by false accusations, they made him put to death the most faithful servant he ever had." It appears that Henry VIII no longer considered Thomas Cromwell to have been guilty of the charges against him, that he had been misled by his councillors and now regretted the loss of an able minister.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: On 18 December 1540, less than five months after his father's execution, Gregory Cromwell was created Baron Cromwell by letters patent, and summoned to Parliament as a peer of the realm. This title was a new creation, rather than a restoration of his father's forfeited barony. The arms he adopted were: quarterly, per fess, indented, azure and or, four lions passant counterchanged and his motto, ""Faire mon devoir"".


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: He was now Lord Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell in his own right. When Thomas Cromwell was created Earl of Essex on 17 April 1540, his son, Gregory had assumed the courtesy title of Lord Cromwell from his father's secondary title, Lord Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell (of Wimbledon in the County of Surrey). Gregory Cromwell was never created Baron Cromwell (of Wimbledon in the County of Surrey) in his own right and only held the courtesy title for a few weeks until his father's arrest and subsequent attainder, when the title was forfeited.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: Henry VIII granted Oakham to Thomas Cromwell in July 1538 under the old title of the castle, lordship and manor, yet the grant seems to have referred only to the manor of Oakham with certain judicial rights in the soke and not to the dependent manors and fees of the barony. In November 1538 the manor was settled on Gregory and his wife Elizabeth, to hold for their lives, with remainder to their son, Henry. In this way it escaped forfeiture at the time of Thomas Cromwell's attainder and execution, and was held by his descendants.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: The following February Gregory received a royal grant of lands that had been owned by his late father. The grant included the house and site of the former priory of Launde, in Launde and Loddington, Leicestershire and lands specified in Loddington, Tilton on the Hill, and Launde as well as "lands enclosed within the said site, called 'Whadborowgh' or 'Wateborogh', belonging to the late monastery of St. James near Northampton", and a water-mill in Launde, the manor of Loddington, parcel of the possessions of the said late priory and also the rectory and advowson of the vicarage of Loddington.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: Launde Abbey in Leicestershire was to become the main family estate. It is a manor house built on the site of an Augustinian Priory founded in 1119. Thomas Cromwell had bought Launde Abbey for £1500 but did not live to take up residence. Gregory completed the building of the manor house on the site of the priory and lived there with his family from 1541 until his death in 1551.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: Gregory Cromwell was created a Knight of the Bath at the coronation of King Edward VI, on 20 February 1547.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: Gregory Cromwell managed to avoid the pitfalls of the Tudor nobility. He did not participate in court politics and for the last ten years of his life he combined managing his estates and shire administration with attendance in the House of Lords where he had an excellent attendance record.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: He remained close to his cousin, Sir Richard Cromwell, his former preceptor Henry Dowes, Sir Ralph Sadler and William Cecil, who had been one of the Duke of Somerset's personal secretaries and Master of Requests in the Duke's household. Sir Richard Cromwell died only four years after Thomas Cromwell. Gregory Cromwell had become a very wealthy man, having accumulated vast amounts of land, in addition to the land given to him by his father in 1538, through several royal grants.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: In 1541, Gregory received a grant of property in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire of the "house and site, &c., of the late priory of Launde, in Launde and Lodyngton, Leic., and lands specified in Lodyngton, Tylton, and Launde; also lands enclosed within the said site, called "Whadborowgh" or "Wateborogh," belonging to the late monastery of St. James near Northampton, a water-mill in Launde, and the manor of Lodyngton, parcel of the possessions of the said late priory; also the rectory and advowson of the vicarage of Lodyngton."


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: In Rutland, Gregory held the castle and the Manor of Oakham, the Manor of Langham, two windmills, three other mills, sixty messuages, twenty cottages with their appurtenances in Oakham, Langham and Flitteris, of the King in Capite, by Knights Service in Fee. Also the Manor of Lyddington, and land belonging to the late chantry at Manton, with their appurtenances in Lyddington, Belton and Wardley, Stoke Dry, and Snelston, with the advowson of Wardley, of the King, by the rent of 14l 3 s 5 d ob. per annum for all services as appeared by Letters Patents granted by Edward VI. This last mentioned estate was for the lives of himself and Elizabeth his wife.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: In addition, from 1538, he owned the manors of Clapthorne, Piddington and Hackleton in Northamptonshire as well as the manors of North Elmham and Beetley in Norfolk,and from 1545, held the lease of a moiety of the manor of Rompney in the lordship of Newport, South Wales in survivorship (formerly granted to his father.)


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: Though not very long, Gregory Cromwell's life was eventful. He lived through the last turbulent years of Henry VIII's reign, saw his queens and courtiers come and go, he survived the execution of his father, witnessed epidemics of plague and sweating sickness take away his friends and relations and lived through much political, social and religious upheaval. Although his exemption from attending the king in the war in France in 1544 might suggest illness or injury, he appears to have made a full recovery.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: During his time in the House of Lords, he participated in several high-profile proceedings, notably the attainders of Catherine Howard on 8 February 1542, as well as Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey and Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, in January 1547.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: In 1547 he participated in the funeral of Henry VIII, as one of the lords carrying the canopy over the late king's coffin. On 28 February 1549 he was present in the House of Lords when the bill of attainder was passed on his wife's brother Thomas Seymour and again in January 1550 during proceedings against his brother-in-law and patron Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: Gregory Cromwell died of sweating sickness on 4 July 1551 at his home, Launde Abbey, Leicestershire, and on 7 July 1551 was buried in a magnificent tomb in the chapel there. His wife was also ill but survived. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Henry. Henry's grandson, Thomas, 4th Baron Cromwell, later 1st Viscount Lecale, was created Earl of Ardglass in the Irish peerage on 15 April 1645. The Barony of Cromwell was held by the 1st Viscount Lecale from 22 November 1624 and by the Earls of Ardglass from 15 April 1645 until 26 November 1687, when, on the death of Vere Essex Cromwell, 4th Earl of Ardglass and 7th Baron Cromwell, both titles became extinct. Lady Cromwell subsequently married, between 10 March and 24 April 1554, Sir John Paulet, later Lord St. John, eldest son of Sir William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester. She died 19 March 1568, and was buried 5 April in St Mary's Church, Basing, Hampshire.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: Gregory Cromwell was played by actor Jack West in the Season 3 finale of Showtime cable television show "The Tudors". In "Wolf Hall", a novel by Hilary Mantel, which offers a sympathetic portrayal of the rise of Thomas Cromwell, Gregory is depicted as a childlike, slightly inept but lovable young man.


title: Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell

text: In "Bring Up the Bodies", Mantel's acclaimed sequel to "Wolf Hall", the portrayal is of a young man coming of age with confidence – still naive, but with potential; he is played in the BBC television adaptation by Tom Holland. In the stage production of "Wolf Hall Part Two", Gregory (played by Benedict Hastings) is an intelligent young man who understands why his father must be sometimes ruthless but is still young enough to be horrified by his father's actions, especially in the disposal of Anne Boleyn's "lovers".


title: Touring car racing

text: Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition with heavily modified road-going cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States.


title: Touring car racing

text: While the cars do not move as fast as those in formula or sports car races, their similarity both to one another and to fans' own vehicles makes for entertaining, well-supported racing. The lesser use of aerodynamics means following cars have a much easier time passing than in open-wheel racing, and the more substantial bodies of the cars makes the subtle bumping and nudging for overtaking much more acceptable as part of racing.


title: Touring car racing

text: As well as short "sprint" races, many touring car series include one or more endurance races, which last anything from 3 to 24 hours and are a test of reliability and pit crews as much as car, driver speed, and consistency.


title: Touring car racing

text: Touring car racing started in the mid twentieth century as a long-format style of competition that took place on public roads between numerous towns. The cars were crewed by a driver and, because of their unreliability, a mechanic who carried tools and spares. The legacy of these beginnings can still be seen in modern touring and GT cars - the driver sits offset from the centreline of the car and there is space for a second seat (although they are rarely fitted any more).


title: Touring car racing

text: While rules vary from country to country, most series require that the competitors start with a standard car body, but virtually every other component may be allowed to be heavily modified for racing, including engines, suspension, brakes, wheels and tires. Aerodynamic aids are sometimes added to the front and rear of the cars. Regulations are usually designed to limit costs by banning some of the more exotic technologies available (for instance, many series insist on a "control tire" that all competitors must use) and keep the racing close (sometimes by ballast weight where winning a race requires the winner's car to be heavier for subsequent races).


title: Touring car racing

text: Touring cars share some similarity with American stock car racing governed by NASCAR. However, touring cars are, at least notionally, derived from production cars while today's NASCAR vehicles are based on a common design. Touring car racing is also referred to as "saloon car racing".


title: Touring car racing

text: For the casual observer, there can be a great deal of confusion when it comes to classifying closed-wheel racing cars as 'touring cars' or 'sports cars' (also known as GT cars). In truth, there is often very little technical difference between the two classifications, and nomenclature is often a matter of tradition.


title: Touring car racing

text: Touring cars are usually based upon family cars (such as hatchbacks, sedans or estates), while GT racing cars are based upon powerful sports cars, such as Ferraris or Lamborghinis (and are thus usually coupés). Underneath the bodywork, a touring car is often more closely related to its road-going origins, using many original components and mountings, while some top-flight GT cars are purpose-built tube-frame racing chassis underneath a cosmetic body shell. More recently, there has been an increasing push to make GT cars closer to the road cars with the GT3 set of regulations. Many touring car series, such as the BTCC and the now-defunct JTCC distinguish themselves from sports car racing by featuring front-wheel drive, four-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive cars with smaller engines. Most sports car championships only allow rear-wheel drive cars.


title: Touring car racing

text: When sports car racing was created in the inter-war period of the 20th century however, sports cars fulfilled the role touring cars do today, as the production car variant of racing compared to the specialised vehicles competing in Grand Prix racing. Over time touring cars has drifted from its role as racing cars based on modern road cars with categories like NASCAR and DTM having little to no connection to road cars. This in turn has led to the rise of production car racing to fulfil the role once performed by touring cars and sports cars before that.


title: Touring car racing

text: Modern World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) started in 2005, evolving from the reborn European Touring Car Championship. The series merged with the TCR International Series and became the World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) starting from 2018.


title: Touring car racing

text: Running at major international racing facilities, this series is supported by BMW, SEAT and Chevrolet. The latter fields a works team, whereas the other two only sell racing kits to be installed on their cars, providing technical support to their customers. In 2011 Volvo also entered the championship, fielding a one-car team as an evaluation for a possible heavier commitment to the series. The World Touring Car Championship features 1.6-litre cars built to "Super 2000" regulations based on FIA Group N.


title: Touring car racing

text: In 2011 the rules concerning the engine capacity have changed, switching from 2000 cc to 1600 cc turbo engines. Cars equipped with the old 2000 cc engines are still eligible in the championship. Many technologies that have featured in production cars are not allowed, for example: variable valve timing, variable intake geometry, ABS brakes and traction control.


title: Touring car racing

text: The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) currently competes at nine circuits in the UK with cars built to Next Generation Touring Car specification, with ballast being used to equalise performance. From 2011, cars that ran to the BTCC's own Next Generation Touring Car specification were eligible to compete in a phased move away from Super 2000 regulations. Cars are 2.0-litre saloons, station wagons and hatchbacks with over and can be front or rear-wheel drive. During the 2016 season manufacturer team entries came from BMW, Subaru, MG and Honda. Since BTCC budgets have been kept relatively low, there is a strong independent and privateer presence in the championship. Manufacturers represented by privateers include Vauxhall, Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen, Chevrolet and Audi.


title: Touring car racing

text: Prior to 2001 the BTCC was contested by cars built to 2.0-litre supertouring regulations and had in its heyday up to nine different manufacturers. Joachim Winkelhock stated on several occasions that it was the best touring car championship in the world, and many champions of that era now race in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC). Between 2002 and 2006 the BTCC ran its own Touring class with Super Production/Super 2000 cars making up the numbers; the Touring class was phased out (only privateers are eligible to run old Touring cars) with the intention of a pure Super 2000 series. The introduction of the Next Generation Touring Car specification, from 2011, started a phased transition from Super 2000 cars in an effort to cut costs and improve the sport.


title: Touring car racing

text: The DTM series, the initials standing for "Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft" until 1996, then following a hiatus, revived as "Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters" in 2000, features advanced purpose built 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-powered space frame machines, covered with largely carbon fibre bodyshapes resembling the manufacturers' road machine (although the roof and roof pillars do originate from the production car). In order to lower costs, the engine power is limited to , and transmissions, brakes and tyres (Hankook) are standard parts for all. Also, dimensions and aerodynamics are equalised. The approx. (without driver) DTM cars corner incredibly quickly and wear spectacular bodykits incorporating huge wheel arches and diffusers, plus a drag-reduction system (DRS) designed to encourage overtaking.


title: Touring car racing

text: More than 20 works-backed entries of the Opel Astra, Audi TT and Mercedes-Benz CLK contested the revived 2000 DTM series but a serious issue developed for the series when Opel pulled out ahead of the 2006 season. BMW would eventually replace Opel as the series' third manufacturer for 2012, while Mercedes-AMG withdrew at the end of 2018. Mercedes-AMG was replaced by a privately funded Aston Martin Vantage program that did not last beyond the 2019 season.


title: Touring car racing

text: For the 2019 season, major technical changes occurred. Turbochargers were reintroduced in accordance with new regulations impacting engines and power outputs, as all cars are now required to have 2.0-litre 4-cylinder single turbo engines, replacing the 4.0L V8s that had been used since the series' revival in 2000. Engine power was increased from ~500 hp to 610 hp, with an extra 30 hp available as part of a push-to-pass system available to drivers for the first time. Downforce levels were also reduced to encourage overtaking and increase top speeds to 300 km/h (186 mph) in order to improve the racing spectacle.


title: Touring car racing

text: In 2019, DTM formed a partnership with the Japanese touring car series Super GT which runs a near identical set of rules and regulations in its GT500 class. Honda, Toyota - represented via Lexus, and Nissan each entered a wildcard entry for the final race of the 2019 season at the Hockenheimring. The cars entered were a Nissan GT-R (R35), a Lexus LC 500 and a Honda NSX (second generation). For the weekend of the 22nd-24 November, DTM sent three BMW M4s and four Audi RS5s to take part in a non-championship race at Fuji Speedway along with the full GT500 grid, labelled the 'SUPER GT x DTM Dream Race'. Aston Martin withdrew from the event as they intended to focus on developing the Vantage package for 2020, however this never eventuated as the program was ended.


title: Touring car racing

text: Audi announced in late April 2020 that they would be discontinuing their involvement in the series after the end of the 2020 season, following the same path Mercedes-Benz did after the end of the 2018 season; focusing on electric motorsport, most notably Formula E. This will leave BMW as the sole manufacturer left, putting the series' future in serious jeopardy.


title: Touring car racing

text: Since 1997, and nowadays still on the over long famous old Nürburgring and other circuits worldwide, in average over 150 touring cars compete in the NLS series of ten typically four-hour-long races. Cars range from old road legal compacts to Porsche 996 and even modified DTM cars (). Most entrants of the 24 Hours Nürburgring collect experience here.


title: Touring car racing

text: Between 1996 and 2010 the Swedish Touring Car Championship contained various races in Sweden and a few in Denmark. The most successful car makes were Volvo, BMW, Audi and Nissan. In 2010 the championship merged with the Danish Touringcar Championship to form the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship. The 2010 champion was Robert Dahlgren, because he had achieved the best results from selected races in the Danish and Swedish championships. Rickard Rydell and Johan Kristoffersson won the championship in 2011 and 2012, in a Chevrolet and a VW, respectively. In 2013 the series merged with the TTA – Racing Elite League to form the 2013 STCC – Racing Elite League season, starring 17 drivers for Volvo, BMW, Saab, Citroën, Dacia and Honda.


title: Touring car racing

text: Formerly the Australian Touring Car Championship, Supercars are recognised internationally as the 'fastest touring cars in the world' racing at speeds that can reach nearly 300 km/h. They are also the most expensive touring cars in the world with each car costing in excess of $1 million (AUD) which includes bespoke $250,000 (AUD) 5.0-litre V8 engines producing approximately 635 hp (473 kW). The current formula was devised in 1993 (based on Group A regulations) and branded as 'V8 Supercars' in 1997 and 'Supercars' in 2016. The series features grids of approximately 25 cars, although selected events feature wildcard entries which add to the grid. The cars are currently based on the Ford Mustang GT and Holden Commodore (ZB) The minimum weight for a Supercar including driver is . The Commodore will be replaced by a Chevrolet Camaro in 2022. The race cars themselves are derived from production body panels and space frame chassis. Both body styles feature an aerodynamic package incorporating large front and rear wings designed to ensure equal aerodynamic performance between the two vehicle types.


title: Touring car racing

text: The series incorporates the world famous Bathurst 1000 race as a championship round. Because of the longer distance, regulations require two drivers per car for this race. This also applies to The Bend 500 & the Gold Coast 600. These events make up the Pirtek Enduro Cup, which is a championship-within-a-championship where the driver combination with most points collected over these three endurance races wins a trophy.


title: Touring car racing

text: In Australia, Supercars enjoys a strong support base that is still driven in large part by the tribal Ford versus Holden battle. Over 200,000 total spectators attend the four-day Adelaide 500 and Bathurst 1000 events, and the 2019 Bathurst 1000 drew a maximum of 2.36 million television viewers across the country. This compares favourably with other major sporting events such as the AFL Grand Final with 2.2 million TV viewers in 2019. Supercars is also popular in New Zealand, with a regular round formerly held in the country (previously held at Pukekohe) being the only international event on the series calendar. Attempts at further international expansion were made in China, Malaysia, the Middle East, and the United States during the 2000s and 2010s, none of which have survived.


title: Touring car racing

text: As the series has grown, major international motorsport organisations have become involved such as Team Penske, Andretti Autosport, United Autosports and Triple Eight Race Engineering.


title: Touring car racing

text: Both Ford and Holden financially and technically supported their favoured teams and took an active role in promotion of the series from its beginning, but began to wind back and ultimately withdraw their financial commitments approximately in line with the decline in sales and eventual discontinuation of the Falcon in 2016 and Commodore in 2020 (the two models that exclusively competed in the V8 formula from 1993 to 2012). Ford withdrew all financial support after 2015, and Holden cut most of its support back to only the Red Bull Holden Racing Team from 2017. Holden was shut down as a brand during 2020, ending its factory involvement in Supercars after the 2020 season, while Ford returned for the 2019 season with the Mustang project. The Commodore will be replaced with a Chevrolet Camaro, which will be sold in Australia by General Motors Specialty Vehicles.


title: Touring car racing

text: Other manufacturers have also appeared in the series, including Nissan with Kelly Racing, Volvo with Garry Rogers Motorsport, and Mercedes-Benz in a non-factory-supported program from Erebus Motorsport. With Kelly Racing's switch to Ford Mustangs for 2020 after a year of running its Nissan Altimas privately, Supercars reverted to a two-make Ford vs. Holden competition.


title: Yolanda Adams

text: Yolanda Yvette Adams (born August 27, 1961) is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million albums worldwide. In addition to achieving multi-platinum status,


title: Yolanda Adams

text: she has won four Grammy Awards, four Dove Awards, five BET Awards, six NAACP Image Awards, six Soul Train Music Awards, two BMI Awards and sixteen Stellar Awards. She was the first Gospel artist to be awarded an American Music Award.


title: Yolanda Adams

text: She is known as the "Queen of Contemporary Gospel Music", the "First Lady of Modern Gospel", while "Variety" dubbed her the "Reigning Queen of Urban Gospel".


title: Yolanda Adams

text: Adams was named by "Billboard", in 2009, as the No. 1 gospel artist of the decade, driven by the sales of her No. 1 album "Mountain High...Valley Low". In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for her volunteer service.


title: Yolanda Adams

text: In 2018, she became the first gospel artist nominated for a Tony Award for her work on SpongeBob SquarePants. In 2019, she received the Soul Train Music Awards Lady of Soul Award, and received critical acclaim for officially opening Super Bowl LIV with her performance of "America the Beautiful". Billboard listed her as one of the Top Gospel Artist of the 2010s. She has scored five number one albums on Billboard's Top Gospel Album. Adams was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame in 2022.


title: Yolanda Adams

text: The eldest of six siblings, Adams was born in Houston, Texas. She graduated from Sterling High School in Houston in 1979. After graduating from Texas Southern University, she began a career as a schoolteacher and part-time model in Houston. Eventually, she gave up teaching to perform full-time as a lead singer.


title: Yolanda Adams

text: Adams first attracted the attention of Thomas Whitfield and Sound of Gospel Records as a lead singer with Houston's Southeast Inspirational Choir affiliated with the Church of God in Christ, under the direction of Carl Preacher, Brenda Waters, and Shirley Joiner. The choir released the single "For My Liberty" in 1982 with her as the featured vocalist. In 1986, Adams was featured on the Edwin Hawkins Music and Arts Seminar Choir released "Give Us Peace", with a performance entitled "My Trust Lies in You". Later, she signed a recording contract with Sound of Gospel which yielded her first album "Just As I Am" in 1987. In 1990, she was discovered by producer/keyboardist Ben Tankard, and signed to his independent label Tribute Records and released "Through The Storm". Tankard's goal with Tribute Records during this time was to develop an audience for a smoother gospel/jazz sound. He featured Adams' vocals on his album and concept video single "You Bring Out The Best in Me" on his 1994 release "Play Me in Your Key". The collaboration received positive response from gospel, jazz and "quiet storm" formats.


title: Yolanda Adams

text: One year later, Adams followed with "Save the World", which included her first signature song "The Battle Is The Lord's". Her next release was 1995's "More Than a Melody", which featured more production work from Tankard with contributions from O'Landa Draper, and BeBe Winans. The single "Gotta Have Love", from that album featuring Tony Terry on background vocals, gained mainstream notoriety and was her first single and music video. "Yolanda... Live in Washington", released the following year, featured versions of material from her first three albums. The footage from this recording was released as a collection of two videos on VHS initially, and later as a single set on DVD and CD. During this time Tribute Records' parent company Diadem Music Group merged with Benson Music Group, which was eventually bought by New York-based Zomba/Verity Records.


title: Yolanda Adams

text: "Songs from the Heart" was her final release for Verity Records, including "Only Believe", which was a popular song on contemporary radio. The album also included "Still I Rise", a dedication to Rosa Parks, which was inspired by the Maya Angelou poem of the same name.


title: Yolanda Adams

text: Adams' first significant attention outside the urban contemporary gospel arena came with the release of "Mountain High... Valley Low" in 1999 on Elektra Records. Several mainstream artists and producers helped in the production of this album including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (Janet Jackson, Boyz II Men), James "Big Jim" Wright (Mariah Carey, Nicole C. Mullen), Warryn Campbell (Mary Mary, Brandy), and Keith Thomas (BeBe & CeCe Winans). The album went 2× Platinum in 2000 and won Adams a Grammy Award. Notable singles from the album include ""Yeah"", "Fragile Heart", and "Open My Heart".


title: Yolanda Adams

text: In 2000, Adams released a Christmas album, and in 2001 she released a live album ("The Experience"). "The Experience" netted Adams a second Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album. "Believe", which included the hit "Never Give Up" was released in 2001 and reached gold status according to the RIAA. She would later go on to perform this song at "The Salute to Gospel Music" at the White House during President George W. Bush's administration. In 2001, Adams also released a compilation CD entitled "The Divas of Gospel"; it included the legendary Grammy Award winner Albertina Walker, who was popularly referred to as the "Queen of Gospel Music" until her death in 2010.


title: Yolanda Adams

text: Adams recorded a song for the 2003 film "Honey" entitled "I Believe", which played during the last scene in the final dance.


title: Yolanda Adams

text: Adams was also a judge for the 2nd annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers. She is also credited as the Queen of Contemporary Gospel Music.


title: Yolanda Adams

text: After nearly four years without releasing an album, Adams returned in 2005 with "Day By Day". Although charting higher than "Mountain High...Valley Low" on the Billboard 100 and Billboard R&B Albums chart, it did not receive RIAA certification. The album featured the singles "Be Blessed", "Someone Watching Over You", "This Too Shall Pass", and "Victory" (which was prominently featured in the movie "The Gospel").


title: Yolanda Adams

text: After ending her long association with Atlantic Records, Atlantic released a greatest hits collection entitled "The Best of Me" in May 2007.


title: Yolanda Adams

text: Adams signed with Columbia Records in 2007. Columbia released "What a Wonderful Time", her second holiday collection, in October 2007. "Hold On" was released as the lead single.


title: Yolanda Adams

text: After the release of "What a Wonderful Time", Adams embarked on the radio career with "The Yolanda Adams Morning Show" which was aired in over 26 radio markets within two years. Her radio show featured Marcus D. Wiley as Bishop Secular. The syndicated show aired for ten years before ending in 2016. It relaunched in September 2019 from Texas Southern University's KTSU-FM 90.9.


title: Yolanda Adams

text: On December 25, 2009, Adams performed on BET's "The Mo'Nique Show", where she sang "Already Alright", from her 1999 "Mountain High...Valley Low" album. Mo'Nique stated that the song is one of her favorites.


title: Yolanda Adams

text: In 2010, Adams released her book "Points of Power", based on one of the segments of her radio show "Points of Power".


title: Yolanda Adams

text: Adams appeared on the 2011 BET Honors to sing her signature song "The Battle Is the Lord's" in honor of Cicely Tyson. Later, Adams appeared at the 53rd Grammy Awards, taking part in a tribute to Aretha Franklin along with Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera, Florence Welch from Florence and the Machine, and Martina McBride. Adams performed "Spirit in the Dark" – Franklin's classic from 1970. On several occasions, Franklin stated that she "especially loved" Adams' performance. On May 29, 2011, Adams sang at the prestigious National Memorial Day Concert in Washington, DC, to honor the U.S. soldiers.


title: Yolanda Adams

text: Adams' eleventh studio album, "Becoming", was released on May 3, 2011, produced by Steve Bracey. The new single, "Be Still", by Drathoven, debuted on Tuesday, April 19 on "The Yolanda Adams Morning Show". "Becoming" was released by Walmart as an exclusive deal. At The BET Awards 2012, Adams' won the award for Best Gospel Artist for the 4th time in her career having won the most since the first BET Awards in 2001.


title: Yolanda Adams

text: On an April 2013 episode of BET's "Lift Every Voice", Adams announced that she was working on her twelfth studio album. The album title and release date has yet to be announced, but she announced songwriting and producing credits from the likes of super gospel producers Donald Lawrence, Israel Houghton & Kirk Franklin. She also mentioned a song and studio session with Grammy, "Billboard" & ASCAP award-winning global hit songwriter Diane Warren (Whitney Houston, Patti Labelle, Tina Turner, Elton John).


title: Yolanda Adams

text: Adams released her first book "Points of Power" in 2010. It is a Christian book in reference to living a pure, spirit-filled Christian life.


title: Yolanda Adams

text: Adams was married to Troy Mason from 1987 until 1990. Adams said spousal abuse was the reason for their divorce. In 1997, Adams married former NFL player Tim Crawford. The couple divorced in August 2004 after seven years. Adams and Crawford have one daughter, Taylor Adams Crawford, born in 2001.


title: Yolanda Adams

text: Adams served as a spokesperson for the FILA Corporation's "Operation Rebound", a program that addressed the concern of inner-city schoolchildren.


title: Yolanda Adams

text: In total, Adams has won four Grammy Awards, sixteen Stellar Gospel Music Awards, four of the Gospel Music Association's Dove Awards, one American Music Award, seven NAACP Image Awards, one Soul Train Music Award, and five BET Awards. In 2022, she was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.


title: Marcus Smith (rugby union)

text: Marcus Sebastian Smith (born 14 February 1999) is an English professional rugby union player who plays at fly-half for Premiership Rugby side Harlequins. He has played for England since 2021 and was selected as a replacement for the 2021 Lions tour to South Africa.


title: Marcus Smith (rugby union)

text: Born in the Philippines to a British father and a Filipina mother, Smith started playing rugby union at the age of seven for Centaurs RFC when his family moved to Singapore. He moved to the United Kingdom at the age of thirteen and subsequently received a sports scholarship to attend Brighton College, where he captained the school's 1st XV. The young fly-half was named Player of the Tournament at the 2016 St Joseph's Rugby Festival.


title: Marcus Smith (rugby union)

text: During the 2016–17 season, as part of the Harlequin Elite Player Development Group (EPDG), Smith played five fixtures for the Harlequin U18s Academy side, scoring two tries; one each against London Irish and Saracens and contributing ten points from the tee in Harlequins U18s Academy Final win over Sale Sharks U18s.


title: Marcus Smith (rugby union)

text: Smith was named in the 12-man senior squad, alongside another Brighton College graduate Calum Waters, for the 2017 Singha Premiership Rugby Sevens at Franklin's Gardens. Smith scored two tries against London Irish on the first day and assisted Harlequins in reaching the club semi-final before losing out to Newcastle Falcons.


title: Marcus Smith (rugby union)

text: On 2 September 2017 Smith made his professional debut wearing the number 10 jersey for the senior Harlequins side in the Premiership Rugby London Double Header fixture against London Irish at Twickenham Stadium. Two weeks later, Smith gave a Man-of-the-Match performance against Wasps, helping to end the home side's 20-match winning streak at Ricoh Arena.


title: Marcus Smith (rugby union)

text: He started in the Premiership final against Exeter Chiefs on 26 June 2021 as Harlequins won the game 40–38 in the highest scoring Premiership final ever, which included four conversions from Smith's boot.


title: Marcus Smith (rugby union)

text: In the Heineken Champions Cup match between Harlequins and Castres Olympique on 21/01/22, Smith scored the final conversion after Alex Dombrandt scored the final try, giving Harlequins a win of 36 to 33.


title: Marcus Smith (rugby union)

text: Smith started his first England appearance with a try in an under-16s match victory against Wales in April 2015. In February 2017 Smith represented the England under-20 team against Italy in the 2017 Six Nations Under 20s Championship and then in April 2017 scored a try for the England under-18 team against Ireland.


title: Marcus Smith (rugby union)

text: In May 2017, Smith took part in a training session with the elite senior England squad, during their 3-day camp at Brighton College, in preparation for the Old Mutual Wealth Cup match against the Barbarians and their summer tour to Argentina.


title: Marcus Smith (rugby union)

text: In July 2017 Smith was named in the England U18s squad for a tour of South Africa in August but was withdrawn prior to the tour and instead on 3 August 2017 Smith was named in Eddie Jones' pre-season senior England training squad. Eddie Jones described Smith's inclusion in the senior squad as part of the plan to develop young players as well as to give pressure on experienced players such as Owen Farrell and George Ford.


title: Marcus Smith (rugby union)

text: On 22 September 2017, Smith was named in the 33-man England training squad for a camp in Oxford ahead of the Autumn internationals, although England coach Eddie Jones said he would be "treated like an apprentice". In the following month on 26 October, Smith was called into the England squad for the Autumn international series. He was also part of the training squad during the 2018 Six Nations Championship.


title: Marcus Smith (rugby union)

text: Smith was named in the England U20 squad for the 2018 World Rugby Under 20 Championship in France and scored tries in pool games against Argentina and Italy. He started at fly-half for the semi-final against South Africa and defeat in the final against France as England finished runners up to the hosts. Smith declined selection for the 2019 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.


title: Marcus Smith (rugby union)

text: After declining to join the 2019 U-20 team, Smith instead made his non-capped England debut on 2 June 2019 against the Barbarians. During the game, Smith contributed 26 points, including a try towards a 51–43 victory for England and was awarded Man-of-the-Match for his performance.


title: Marcus Smith (rugby union)

text: On 4 July 2021, Smith made his full England test debut against the United States, contributing 13 points, including a try, in a 43–29 victory. He earned his second start against Canada six days later, with a faultless kicking display in a 70–14 win for England.


title: Marcus Smith (rugby union)

text: In the 2021 Autumn rugby union internationals Smith scored a try as a second-half replacement against Tonga on 6th November, and kicked five conversions. He started the match against Australia the following week as fly-half but often stood outside Owen Farrell until Farrell went off injured in the second half. He played a full match at fly-half against South Africa on 20th November, kicking three conversions and two penalties, one in the last minute to give England the victory by a single point.


title: Marcus Smith (rugby union)

text: England's 2022 Six Nations season opened with the Calcutta Cup fixture away at Murrayfield in Edinburgh on 5 February. In the absence of Owen Farrell through injury and George Ford not in the original squad, Smith started at number 10 and his performance was highly praised. However many were surprised that, despite this and England's early dominance, coach Eddie Jones decided to replace Smith after 60 minutes despite scoring a try and four successful kicks. In the subsequent Six Nations game against Italy Smith played for the full 80 minutes and scored England's first try and was awarded Man of the Match, an accolade he was again awarded in their next game against Wales. Smith was the highest point scorer for the 2022 Six Nations Championship.


title: Marcus Smith (rugby union)

text: On 10 July, Smith was called up to the 2021 British and Irish Lions squad as injury cover for Finn Russell.


title: Marcus Smith (rugby union)

text: On 17 July, Smith made his British and Irish Lions debut, playing at fly-half for the full 80 minutes against the Stormers. He converted all 7 tries successfully for a 49–3 win for the Lions.


title: Way 2 Sexy

text: "Way 2 Sexy" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake featuring American rappers Future and Young Thug. Released on September 3, 2021 as the lead single from Drake's sixth studio album "Certified Lover Boy", it is a bass-heavy take on Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy" (1991), which it interpolates throughout the chorus and refrain. A comedic music video was released on the same day as the song and sees the artists pay homage to numerous pop culture events and icons. "Way 2 Sexy" received polarized responses from critics, with some deeming it an album highlight due to its upbeat sound, while others criticizing it as "cringey".


title: Way 2 Sexy

text: The song began impacting US pop, rhythmic, and urban radio stations as the album's lead single simultaneously with "Certified Lover Boy"'s release.


title: Way 2 Sexy

text: "Way 2 Sexy" was initially rumored to be released on August 27, 2021, to challenge Kanye West's "Donda" album; DJ Akademiks posted footage of the video shoot and claimed it would coincide with West's release, amid West and Drake's feud. Although that release failed to materialize, on September 13, 2021, "Billboard" magazine reported that the song had begun to impact US pop, rhythmic and R&B/hip-hop radio stations as the album's lead single.


title: Way 2 Sexy

text: Drake, Future, and Thug previously collaborated on Drake's "D4L" from his mixtape "Dark Lane Demo Tapes" (2020).


title: Way 2 Sexy

text: A bass-heavy track, it samples British band Right Said Fred's 1991 single "I'm Too Sexy", a former number one Billboard hit. Future performs the chorus, reworking the sampled track's hook, rapping about how he is "too sexy for your girl, too sexy for the world, his fame, and his chain". Drake delivers lines about safe sex, and questions a "thotty" about her motives. Future's verse contains "toxic rhymes about ghosting women", with Thug closing the track, boasting about how he is able to spoil his girlfriend with expensive gifts. The song is in the key of E minor with a tempo of 136 BPM with a time signature of 4/4 in common time.


title: Way 2 Sexy

text: HipHopDX called the track a stand-out from the album. Referencing the trio's previous collaboration, "D4L", "Billboard"s Heran Mamo said they "come back hotter than ever to flip Right Said Fred's 1991 "Billboard" Hot 100 No. 1 hit 'I'm Too Sexy'. "GQ" said it "has the most club banger energy" on "Certified Lover Boy", but acknowledged that the song and its video received mixed reactions. "Pitchfork"s Matthew Strauss named it among the early standouts on "Certified Lover Boy", pointing out how Drake "is having fun the way he did on his "Scary Hours 2" EP and Smiley's "Over the Top". "The A.V. Club"s Nina Hernandez wrote positively: "besides sampling Right Said Fred to great effect, [the song] also succeeds by including well-deployed appearances from Young Thug and Future". Brandon Yu of "Variety" said "Way 2 Sexy" is "perhaps the album's most polarizing track: the beat is glorious and boisterous, while the core sample (Right Said Fred's 'I'm Too Sexy') and Future's chorus are immediately cringey, even as the naturally zanier Young Thug slides in with ease".


title: Way 2 Sexy

text: Noting Drake's refrain as "perfectly catchy and entirely ridiculous", Alexandra Pauly of "Highsnobiety" called the song "catchy yet cringe-y", and referencing the video, stated: "As funny as Drake's 'Way 2 Sexy' video is, there's something unsettling about a man in his mid-30s using his 'nice guy' image — which he never hesitates to milk — as a way to prop up his ego and sexual appeal". "NME"s Luke Morgan Britton wrote: "[...] even worse than the sample itself, and the purposely corny video, are the song's lyrics", further opining that "the usually-brilliant Young Thug serves up regrettable lines". Will Dukes of "Rolling Stone" labeled the song a "no-brainer anthem", writing that "despite a sticky Future hook, there's something that rings a bit hollow: Drake deliberately lags behind the track, sounding sluggish, rather than sui generis (as on 2017's triumphant 'Gyalchester')". "NME"s Rihan Daly said "It is, quite frankly, one of the worst songs of the year". "Complex"s Jessica McKinney said "Way 2 Sexy' is intentionally corny and sleazy", countering that "sometimes that works for Drake, and those songs (and videos) go viral on social media, but I think he went a little too far this time. It comes off too gimmicky".


title: Way 2 Sexy

text: On the week of September 18, 2021, "Way 2 Sexy" became the 56th song to debut at number one on the US "Billboard" Hot 100. The song became Drake's ninth number-one hit on the chart, as well as Future's first and Young Thug's third. With this release, Drake extended his record as the rapper with the most #1 songs in history, and Future broke the record for the longest wait to have a #1 hit, this being his 126th entry. During this week, Drake had singles from his album that held the entire top-five, matching


title: Way 2 Sexy

text: The Beatles record of simultaneously occupying the top 5 slots on the Hot 100 chart dated April 4, 1964,


title: Way 2 Sexy

text: with the only song not performed by Drake on the top-ten listing being "Stay" by The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber, which was at #6 during the charting week.


title: Way 2 Sexy

text: Furthermore, with Drake and Future's, "What a Time to Be Alive" previously topping the "Billboard" 200 on October 10, 2015, it was the first time where two individual acts, had shared a #1 single and album together.


title: Way 2 Sexy

text: The video for "Way 2 Sexy" was released on the same day as the song and its parent album, directed by Dave Meyers, who also directed Drake's "Laugh Now Cry Later". Considered a "tongue-in-cheek" video, the visual opens with a faux warning from OVO that reads, "Repeat viewing may lead to pregnancy". Drake is seen alternating between various characters, starting by parodying Eric Prydz’s Call on Me music video, as a masculine workout instructor in the form of Popeye, while also appearing on romance novel covers, walking shirtless on the beach in a fat suit, and portraying an action hero, as he shows off his "guns" in "Drambo: Thirst Blood", a parody of "". In all-white attire, Drake, Future and Thug form a boyband, recreating the videos to Boyz II Men's "Water Runs Dry" and Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way", with a cameo from basketball player Kawhi Leonard. Drake also channels Michael Jackson's dance moves from 1991's "Black or White", Future wears a Prince outfit seen in Prince and the New Power Generation's 1992 video "Sexy M.F.", while Young Thug shows off his seasonal looks in a calendar photoshoot. Drake later interrupts the video for a fake black-and-white commercial announcing a new fragrance called "Wet by Drake". Uproxx's Aaron Williams summarized the video as "Drake lampoons pop culture's ideals of sex appeal through the decades".


title: Panchatanthiram

text: Panchatanthiram () is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language comedy film directed by K. S. Ravikumar and written with Kamal Haasan, with the dialogues by Crazy Mohan. The film stars Kamal Haasan, Jairam, Ramesh Aravind, Seeman, Yugi Sethu, Sriman, Ramya Krishnan, Urvashi, Aishwarya, Sanghavi, Vidhya Venkatesh, Devayani and Nagesh in supporting roles.


title: Panchatanthiram

text: The film released on 28 June 2002. It opened to positive reviews from critics. Jayaram won Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Tamil at the 50th South Filmfare Awards in 2003.


title: Panchatanthiram

text: Ramachandramurthy alias Ram. C. M. is a Canada-based Indian pilot and a playboy. One day in the course of an aircraft hijacking, he meets a passenger named Mythili. Ram and Mythili stop the hijacking and save the passengers. Soon after, they fall in love and get married. Ram's four closest friends, Ayyapan Nair, Vedhantham Iyengar alias Vedham, Ganesh Hegde, and Hanumant Reddy attends their wedding reception.


title: Panchatanthiram

text: After marriage, Ram quits his playboy character and remains faithful to Mythili. One day, when Ram prevents Hegde's ex-girlfriend, Nirmala, from committing suicide, Mythili misinterprets the situation as Ram having an affair with Nirmala. She then leaves him to be with her parents. Further misunderstanding occurs when he sets out to meet Mythili, drunk, in the middle of the night and enters the wrong room.


title: Panchatanthiram

text: To take his mind off Mythili for a while, Ram's friends drive him down to Bangalore and rent a room to hire a call girl, Maragathavalli alias Maggie on Ram's birthday. Ram, who is still not able to forget Mythili and does not wish to betray her, gets into a fight with Maggie. To salvage the situation, Vedham hurries back to Maggie's room, only to find Maggie dead. Panicking, Nair, Vedham, Hegde, and Reddy decide to discreetly dispose of the body in spite of Ram's pleas to call the police. They manage to roll the body in a blanket, dispose it in a dry river and drive back to Chennai to return to their normal lives.


title: Panchatanthiram

text: Ram discovers a cache of diamonds inside Maggie's mobile phone. He does not report about it to the police, fearing he would be arrested for murdering Maggie, which he did not commit. A few days after, the friends get very nervous when they learn of a news article regarding the discovery of a corpse in the same area where they disposed Maggie's body. At that time, the wives of Ram's four friends plan to unite Ram and Mythili by holding a party on the traditional festival of Ugadi in Reddy's house. The wives invite Mythili to the party to be reunited with Ram.


title: Panchatanthiram

text: At the party, Maggie appears, demanding her diamonds back. Maggie then reveals the truth behind her death. The diamonds belong to a smuggler, and that she stole it from him for her own personal gain. She chose to merely fake her death as she realised that the diamonds would be temporarily safe in Ram's possession. She also blackmails Ram that she would reveal the truth about their rendezvous in Bangalore to Mythili and their wives if he does not give the diamonds back. The smuggler then arrives and kidnaps Maggie, Ram, and his friends. Mythili spots Ram and Maggie together. She again believes that Ram has not changed his ways. Mythili, along with an undercover police inspector, follows them.


title: Panchatanthiram

text: While the smuggler demands his diamonds back, Mythili appears. Upon seeing Ram and Maggie together, she believes that Ram is hugging Maggie along with his friends, when in reality Ram, Maggie and his friends are kidnapped and tied up by the smuggler. She swallows some sleeping pills, which turns out to be where Ram hid the diamonds. Mythili decides to commit suicide and runs away. Ram and his friends save her and help the undercover police inspector arrest Maggie and the smuggler. Mythili, on being informed by Ram of all that happened, promises to reform her suspicious ways. The two then reunite.


title: Panchatanthiram

text: The film marked the debut production of director K. S. Ravikumar's manager P. L. Thenappan, and the team initially planned a film starring Kamal Haasan with music composed by A. R. Rahman. Though recordings had taken place, Thenappan became apprehensive of the budget and chose to make a smaller budget film, meaning Deva replaced Rahman. Hence "Panchathanthiram", a comedy about five friends, materialised instead. Originally Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Maadhu Balaji were considered to portray the role of Vedhantham Iyengar, before Yugi Sethu was finalised. Sethu signed on revealing that Kamal Haasan had approached him to be a part of his two previous films, "Thenali" (2000) and "Pammal K. Sambandam" (2002) too, which he did not take up. Simran was signed after appearing alongside Kamal Haasan in "Pammal K. Sambandam", with which the latter was impressed.


title: Panchatanthiram

text: The film started shoot in February 2002 and shot in Canada for seventeen days. In April 2002, Kamal Haasan was prevented from boarding a Los Angeles-bound flight in Toronto during the making of the film, with the security preventing him from passing due to his Islamic-sounding surname. In June 2002, the five friends in the film along with Deva took part in a promotional tour to publicise the soundtrack in Bangalore. The film faced trouble during censorship and parts of a song featuring Ramya Krishnan were subsequently cut.


title: Panchatanthiram

text: The soundtrack of the film was composed by Deva, with lyrics written by Vairamuthu. The song "Vai Raja Vai" incorporates lyrics from the Hindi song "Aana Meri Jaan" from "Shehnai" (1947), while "Manmatha Leelai" was partly influenced by Linkin Park's "Points of Authority".


title: Panchatanthiram

text: The film released on 28 June 2002. Malathi Rangarajan from The Hindu said that Crazy Mohan's dialogue was "the mainstay", describing the film as "completely entertaining". She also praised the film's performances claiming that "with suitable slapstick, apt body language and timing and modulation that tickle, the veteran (Kamal Haasan) makes a mark yet again." Furthermore, reviewers from "Screen" magazine dubbed the film as a "clean comic-entertainer", adding that "director KS Ravikumar deserves a pat for weaving out a good screenplay based on Kamal Haasan's story idea and creating a laugh riot". Tulika of Rediff labelled the film as "a barrel of laughs". Visual Dasan of "Kalki" felt Jayaram's talent was underused, and gave the film an "average" verdict.


title: Panchatanthiram

text: The film was blockbuster and remained a cult classic in the comedy genre. Kamal Haasan distributed the film himself in the Karnataka region. A sequel to the film was planned and Ravikumar had hoped to film scenes on a cruise liner, but the project failed to take off. Ravikumar instead set his 2010 film "Manmadan Ambu", which also featured Haasan, on a cruise liner. Lokesh Kanagaraj also considered making a sequel, but dropped the idea and instead collaborated with Haasan on "Vikram" (2022). The core plot of the movie was reported to be inspired by the 1998 black comedy film "Very Bad Things".


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: Zamboanga Peninsula (; ; ) is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region IX. It consists of three provinces (Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Sur) including four cities (Dapitan, Dipolog, Pagadian, Isabela) and the highly urbanized Zamboanga City. The region was previously known as "Western Mindanao" before the signing of Executive Order No. 36 of 2001. The city of Zamboanga was designated as the regional center until Pagadian was designated as its new regional center, although Zamboanga City remains the region's cultural, economic, and educational center.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: During the ancient era, the Zamboanga peninsula was a vast territory home to various ethnic groups – the largest of which was the Subanen people. Later on, the southern coastal areas of the region were under the influence of the Javanese Majapahit Empire, although the empire never did conquer the area.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: In the 14th century, the Sultanate of Sulu ruled the southwestern sections of the peninsula. By the late 15th century and early 16th century, Malay missionaries further spread Islam in the southern Philippines. Sharif Kabungsuwan, a Johore-born missionary of Malay and Arab descent established the Sultanate of Maguindanao, which the entire island of Mindanao is named after. The sultanate also occupied the entire island except present-day Caraga region and eastern portions of Davao region, stretching from the Zamboanga Peninsula to modern-day Davao City, while the Sultanate of Sulu lost its territories in Zamboanga. Magauindanao's sultans provided Mindanao fierce armed resistance against the Spanish occupation, especially under the lead of Muhammad Kudarat. They soon allied themselves with the Sulu sultanate. The Muslim natives of the region were collectively known as Moros by the Spanish, meaning "Moor", though the Iberian Moors and the Philippine Muslims had little cultural connection outside of following Islam. A large chunk of the Spanish–Moro conflict, the war between the Spanish and Mindanao's Muslim natives took place in the Zamboanga Peninsula.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: In 1569 Zamboanga was chosen as the site of the Spanish settlement and garrison on La Caldera (now called Barrio Recodo). Zamboanga was one of the main strongholds in Mindanao, supporting colonizing efforts in the south of the island and making way for Christian settlements. It also served as a military outpost, protecting the island against foreign invaders and Moro pirates and their Chinese allies. The province, named and centered on Zamboanga City was partly founded by Peruvian soldiers brought by Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: The Zamboanga Peninsula played a central role in the Spanish–Moro conflict. It was the site of constant battling between Spanish soldiers and Moro pirate raids. While the Spanish successfully established churches in the region, they suffered heavily at the hands of Moro raiders, and had to repeatedly withdraw from the region. While the Spanish achieved a tactical victory by launching several attacks against the Sultanate of Sulu, constant fighting and attacks persisted, giving the Moros a psychological victory.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: After the United States annexed the Spanish East Indies in 1898, the peninsula hosted a briefly independent state called the Republic of Zamboanga. It was incorporated by the Insular Government into the Moro Province, which consisted of the central and western parts of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. The name and status of Moro Province were changed to the Department of Mindanao and Sulu on August 16, 1916, causing Zamboanga to become a separate province.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: In 1942, the Zamboanga Peninsula along with the rest of the Philippine Islands was occupied by the Empire of Japan at the beginning of the Second World War. The Peninsula was liberated in 1945 by joint American and Philippine Commonwealth forces fighting against the Imperial Japanese Army.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: On June 6, 1952, the province was partitioned into Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur, while the chartered city of Zamboanga became part of Zamboanga del Sur.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: Together with the Sulu Archipelago, the provinces that formerly made up Zamboanga Province were re-organised into Region IX by order of Presidential Decree No. 1 as part of the Integrated Reorganization Plan of President Ferdinand Marcos, that was signed on September 24, 1972.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: From 1975 to 1989, the old Region IX (Western Mindanao) was further divided into two sub-regions by Presidential Decree No. 8233 dated August 21, 1975. Sub-Region IX-A consisted of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi with Jolo, Sulu, as the sub-regional center, while Sub-Region IX-B consisted of the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay, with the chartered city of Zamboanga City as the sub-regional centre.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: In 2001, Zamboanga Sibugay, was created from the province of Zamboanga del Sur with Ipil as the seat of government with the virtue of Republic Act No. 8973.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: In the same year, the residents of Basilan opted to join the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in a plebiscite. However, the citizens of the capital, Isabela, did not want to join so the city remained a part of this region as a result of Executive Order No. 36 last until 2014 only.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: In 2004, Pagadian officially became the Regional Center for Region XVI- Zamboanga Peninsula, despite opposition from Zamboanga City, the former Regional Center.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: In 1978, Presidential Decree No. 1555 transferred Region IX's regional center from Jolo, Sulu to Zamboanga City.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: Executive Order (EO) No. 429 was issued in 1990 by President Corazon Aquino which provided for the reorganization of the administrative regions in Mindanao. It declared that Western Mindanao would comprise Zamboanga City, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Basilan, and the cities comprising those provinces. It also declared that Pagadian City shall serve as the new regional center.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: In 1996, President Fidel Ramos issued EO No. 325 which reorganized the Regional Development Councils (RDCs). The Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of EO No. 325 also declared Pagadian City as the regional center in Western Mindanao.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: In 2001, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed EO No. 36 which reorganized and renamed Western Mindanao to Zamboanga Peninsula. It was silent on the issue of regional government centers. Memorandum Circular No. 75, signed in 2004 by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, directed the transfer of regional offices from Zamboanga City to Pagadian citing EO 429 as its legal basis.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: A moratorium on the transfer under Memorandum Circular No. 11 was issued on December 22, 2010, citing the high economic and social costs that the employees were experiencing in maintaining two residences and in fully transferring to Pagadian. It further directed all regional offices that are already in Pagadian to continue their operations.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: On March 3, 2011, the Regional Development Council IX endorsed Zamboanga City as the regional center of Zamboanga Peninsula. This endorsement remains unacted to date.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: National Economic and Development Authority Regional Director Arturo Valero stated that “even if Zamboanga City is not the regional center, the city will still grow” and that the city should better focus on being a commercial and industrial center.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: On June 30, 2020, Malacañang, under President Rodrigo Duterte, lifted Memorandum Circular No. 11 (issued by previous administration), allowing the remaining regional offices to transfer to Pagadian after almost 15 years. However, the departments of Trade and Industry, Tourism, and Labor and Employment will remain in Zamboanga City, being the region's center of commerce and industry.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: The region is located on the western part of the island of Mindanao, that lies between the Moro Gulf (part of the Celebes Sea) and the Sulu Sea. Along the shores of the peninsula are numerous bays and islands of varying sizes. The peninsula is connected to the rest of Mindanao through an isthmus situated between Panguil Bay and Pagadian Bay. The region consists of the three Zamboanga provinces and the highly urbanized independent city of Zamboanga, and the boundary between the peninsula and mainland is artificially marked by the border between the provinces of Zamboanga del Sur and Lanao del Norte.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: Zamboanga Peninsula comprises 3 provinces; 1 independent, chartered and highly urbanized city; 3 component cities; 67 municipalities and 1,904 barangays.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: Isabela is a component city and the former capital of the province of Basilan. In 2017, the seat of Basilan's government was moved to Lamitan. Isabela continues to be under the jurisdiction of Basilan for the administration of provincially devolved services and functions, but for the administration of regional services, the city is part of the Zamboanga Peninsula Region while the rest of Basilan is under the authority of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: Isabela was the southernmost outpost of the Spanish in the Philippines until the fall of Jolo in 1878. It hosted Catholic residents since 1637, and a Spanish Fort (destroyed in World War II) since 1848, It also was the primary naval base of the Spanish in Mindanao until 1899. Named after Queen Isabella II, the city is the southernmost predominantly Christian enclave of the Philippines, and serves as an entry point for trade and commerce of Basilan island.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: Dapitan is also known as the "Shrine City in the Philippines" because it was the place where José Rizal, the National Hero, was exiled. It is also known for the old St. James Parish and the beach resort of Dakak.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: Dipolog, capital of Zamboanga del Norte, is known for their abundance of orchids, thus it is called "Orchid City of the South" or "Orchid City". They have their nature spots and historical spots, such as Dipolog Cathedral, Dipolog Boulevard, Cogon Park, Japanese Park, Plaza Magsaysay, the Sungkilaw Falls, and the 3,003 steps to Linabo Peak.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: Pagadian is known as the "Little Hong Kong of the South" because of its topographical feature that is reminiscent of Hong Kong. It also has an affluent Chinese community that officially celebrates the Chinese Lunar New Year.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: Zamboanga City is the only Independent, chartered city and highly urbanized city in the region. The city is the lone member of BIMP-EAGA in the Zamboanga Peninsula. Zamboanga City generates more than half of the economy of the region. It also has the largest airport and seaport and the city in the region with most investors.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: It has the first export-processing zone in Mindanao. Farming and fishing are the main economic activities of the region. It also has rice and corn mills, oil processing, coffee berry processing and processing of latex from rubber. Its home industries include rattan and furniture craft, basket making, weaving and brass work. Dipolog City is home to a number of Bottled Sardines Companies which are being exported abroad. Dakak Park and Beach Resort can be found in Dapitan it is one of the most visited places in the region along with Gloria's Fantasyland the first and only theme park in Vismin.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: The region has vast forest resources and previously used to export logs, lumber, veneer and plywood. Mineral deposits include gold, chromite, coal, iron, lead, and manganese. Among its non-metallic reserves are coal, silica, salt, marble, silica sand, and gravel. Its fishing grounds are devoted to commercial and municipal fishing. It has also aqua farms for brackish water and freshwater fishes.


title: Zamboanga Peninsula

text: The economic fulcrum of the region lies at the center of the peninsula that is the area connecting Ipil and Liloy. Along with its premiere towns of Sindangan and Molave, it has the fastest economic activity of the region. The 50-kilometer link between the north and the south would act as the main artery of economy in the region.


title: Cardinal Health

text: Cardinal Health, Inc. is an American multinational health care services company, and the 14th highest revenue generating company in the United States. Its headquarters are in Dublin, Ohio and Dublin, Ireland (EMEA). The company specializes in the distribution of pharmaceuticals and medical products, serving more than 100,000 locations. The company also manufactures medical and surgical products, including gloves, surgical apparel, and fluid management products. In addition, it operates one of the largest networks of radiopharmacies in the U.S. Cardinal Health provides medical products to over 75 percent of hospitals in the United States.


title: Cardinal Health

text: Founded in 1971 as Cardinal Foods by Robert D. Walter, the company was initially a food wholesaler. After acquiring the Bailey Drug Company in 1979, it began whole selling drugs. The company went public on the NASDAQ stock exchange in 1983.


title: Cardinal Health

text: In 1988, Walter sold Cardinal Health's food operations to Roundy's. From 1991 to 1996, the company's sales grew from $1.2 billion to $8.9 billion. The company changed its name to Cardinal Health in 1994, and became the third-largest pharmaceutical wholesaler in the United States.


title: Cardinal Health

text: R. Kerry Clark, a former executive and vice chairman at Procter & Gamble, was appointed president and CEO in April 2006, with Robert D. Walter retaining Chairmanship of the board. In September 2008, the company announced Clark and Walter would retire and George S. Barrett would become the chairman and CEO.


title: Cardinal Health

text: In 2009, Cardinal Health completed the spin-off of its clinical and medical products businesses into an independent medical technology company called CareFusion with David Schlotterbeck as CEO. Cardinal Health is now traded on the NYSE under symbol CAH.


title: Cardinal Health

text: In December 2013, it was announced that Cardinal Health would partner with CVS Caremark to form a generic drug sourcing operation in the United States. The venture was named Red Oak Sourcing and began operations in July 2014.


title: Cardinal Health

text: Between 2014 and 2016, Cardinal, alongside McKesson Corporation, and AmerisourceBergen, spent $13 million lobbying Congress to pass Congressman Tom Marino's "Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act". The bill, which increases the burden of proof enforcers need to show against drug distributors, was signed into law by President Barack Obama in April 2016.


title: Cardinal Health

text: In 2019, Cardinal was one of several drug distributors named in lawsuits related to the opioid crisis in the US. In July 2021, Cardinal Health and other pharmaceutical companies agreed to participate in a $26 billion settlement. Cardinal will pay $6.4 billion over 18 years.


title: Cardinal Health

text: In May 2020, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter sued Cardinal Health in Bryan County District Court, Oklahoma. The lawsuit alleged that he company's actions helped fuel Oklahoma's opioid crisis. The suit was filed along with lawsuits against AmerisourceBergen and McKesson, and the three lawsuits allege that the three companies provided "enough opioids to Bryan County that every adult resident there could have had 144 hydrocodone tablets."


title: Cardinal Health

text: As of August 2021, it is ranked 14 on the Fortune 500 list with FY2020 annual revenue of $152.9 billion. The firm employs 48,000 people worldwide.


title: Cardinal Health

text: In 1995, Medicine Shoppe International, the country's largest franchiser of retail pharmacies, was acquired. The merger represented the first non-distribution acquisition by Cardinal Health.


title: Cardinal Health

text: In 1996, Cardinal Health acquired Pyxis Corporation, a company that developed automated pill dispensers for hospitals, for $867 million.


title: Cardinal Health

text: In 1997, Cardinal Health planned to purchase Bergen Brunswig Corp., to which McKesson Corporation responded with a bid to purchase Amerisource. Instead, Amerisource and Bergen merged into AmerisourceBergen. Later that year, Cardinal Health completed the acquisition of Owen Healthcare, the second-largest provider of pharmacy management services in the U.S. at the time.


title: Cardinal Health

text: In 1999, the firm acquired the Chicago-based medical products manufacturer and distributor, Allegiance Healthcare (formerly a division of Baxter Healthcare). In 2001, the company acquired Bindley Western Industries, a wholesale distributor of pharmaceuticals based in Indianapolis.


title: Cardinal Health

text: In April 2006, Cardinal Health purchased Niagara Falls-based ParMed Pharmaceuticals for $40.1 million. In June 2007, the firm announced the completion of a tender offer for VIASYS Healthcare.


title: Cardinal Health

text: In June 2010, Cardinal Health announced plans to purchase Healthcare Solutions Holding, a specialty pharmaceutical services company, for $517 million. In December 2010, the company acquired Kinray, an independent pharmaceutical wholesaler, increasing Cardinal Health's presence in the independent pharmacy market by 40 percent. From 2010 to 2014, Cardinal Health acquired 18 companies including Yong Yu, a Chinese drug distributor. Cardinal sold Yong Yu in 2017 to Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co. Ltd. for $1.2 billion.


title: Cardinal Health

text: In July 2014, Cardinal Health and CVS formed Red Oak Sourcing, the largest generic drug sourcing operation in the United States. The companies started buying generic drugs around the world to sell in U.S. markets.


title: Cardinal Health

text: In March 2015, Cardinal Health signed an agreement to acquire Johnson & Johnson's Cordis (medical) division, a cardiology and endovascular device manufacturer, for $1.94 billion. The acquisition was completed on October 4, 2015. Cardinal sold the division in August 2021 to Hellman & Friedman, a private equity firm, for $1 billion.


title: Cardinal Health

text: In April 2017, Cardinal Health announced the plan to acquire the patient product portfolio from Medtronic for $6.1 billion. The acquisition was completed on July 30, 2017.


title: Cardinal Health

text: For the fiscal year 2020, Cardinal Health reported an annual revenue of $152.9 billion an increase of 5.1% over the previous fiscal cycle. Cardinal Health's shares traded at over $51 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at over US$14.97 billion in August 2021.


title: Cardinal Health

text: In September 2004, Cardinal Health announced plans to restate past results for fiscal 2001, 2002, 2003, and the first three quarters of 2004 downward, after an accounting review and an ongoing federal investigation. In 2005, in connection with the Audit Committee's conclusions reached in September and October 2004, the company made certain reclassification and restatement adjustments to its fiscal 2004 and prior historical consolidated financial statements. According to "The Wall Street Journal", "Analysts called the restatement decision troubling, yet limited in scope."


title: Cardinal Health

text: In August 2006, Cardinal Health ceased production of its Alaris SE infusion pump after approximately 1300 units were seized by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In February 2007, Cardinal Health signed a consent decree with the FDA which promised procedures to guarantee the safety of the Alaris SE. After FDA inspections, Cardinal Health entered into a further consent agreement with the FDA in 2009.


title: Cardinal Health

text: In 2008, Cardinal Health agreed to pay $34 million in civil penalties to settle DEA allegations that it failed to report suspicious orders of hydrocodone. The fine followed a 10-month DEA suspension of a Lakeland, Florida distribution facility and two others in New Jersey and Washington. On February 2, 2012, the Drug Enforcement Administration again suspended the license of the firm's Lakeland distribution center to distribute controlled substances on charges that it had allowed four Florida pharmacies to purchase excessive amounts of controlled substances, in particular oxycodone.


title: Cardinal Health

text: Cardinal Health obtained a restraining order against the suspension, but the suspension was upheld on February 29 by a Federal district court because the court agreed with the DEA that Cardinal Health's activities represented an "imminent danger to the public." The company stated that it blocked two of the pharmacies, (Brooks Pharmacy in Bonita Springs, Florida, and Gulf Coast Medical in Panama City, Florida), and notified the corporate owners of the two pharmacies that were part of national chains, two CVS stores in Sanford, Florida.


title: Cardinal Health

text: In February 2012, Joseph Rannazzisi, chief of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Office of Diversion Control, issued immediate suspension orders against Cardinal's supply of oxycodone to suspected pill mills. These orders were filed after Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole met with Rannazzisi to ask if he had met with Cardinal about the investigation. Cole stated that he believed “it made good sense to listen to what Cardinal had to say” regarding the investigation. That year, Cardinal and the DEA reached a settlement that suspended Cardinal's facility in Lakeland, Florida from selling pain killers or other drugs for two years. In 2016, Cardinal was fined $44 million for after the investigation concluded.


title: Cardinal Health

text: In January 2022, Cardinal Health, Johnson & Johnson, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen agreed to pay $26 billion to settle with all but five of the states suing them. Had the states gone to court, the companies could have faced up to $95 billion in penalties.


title: Cardinal Health

text: The Cardinal Health Foundation is the charitable arm of Cardinal Health. The company makes annual product donations of over $9 million through international relief organizations and provides up to $1,000 in matching funds for every Cardinal Health employee that makes a charitable donation. In 2008, the foundation established its E3 Grant Program. Over the past seven years, the Foundation has invested more than $7.15 million in funding to 241 hospitals, health systems or other health-related organizations.


title: Cardinal Health

text: Cardinal Health also supports organizations such as Ronald McDonald House Charities, and was named Benefactor of the Year at the 2011 Corporate Caring Awards. In 2015, the foundation contributed $3 million to the Solutions for Patient Safety project, which has raised over $11 million nationally for efforts to improve safety initiatives in children's hospitals.


title: Buddhist calendar

text: The Buddhist calendar is a set of lunisolar calendars primarily used in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand as well as in Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam by Chinese populations for religious or official occasions. While the calendars share a common lineage, they also have minor but important variations such as intercalation schedules, month names and numbering, use of cycles, etc. In Thailand, the name Buddhist Era is a year numbering system shared by the traditional Thai lunar calendar and by the Thai solar calendar.


title: Buddhist calendar

text: The Southeast Asian lunisolar calendars are largely based on an older version of the Hindu calendar, which uses the sidereal year as the solar year. One major difference is that the Southeast Asian systems, unlike their Indian cousins, do not use apparent reckoning to stay in sync with the sidereal year. Instead, they employ their versions of the Metonic cycle. However, since the Metonic cycle is not very accurate for sidereal years, the Southeast Asian calendar is slowly drifting out of sync with the sidereal, approximately one day every 100 years. Yet no coordinated structural reforms of the lunisolar calendar have been undertaken.


title: Buddhist calendar

text: Today, the traditional Buddhist lunisolar calendar is used mainly for Theravada Buddhist festivals. The Thai Buddhist Era, a renumbered Gregorian calendar, is the official calendar in Thailand.


title: Buddhist calendar

text: The calculation methodology of the current versions of Southeast Asian Buddhist calendars is largely based on that of the Burmese calendar, which was in use in various Southeast Asian kingdoms down to the 19th century under the names of Chula Sakarat and Jolak Sakaraj. The Burmese calendar in turn was based on the "original" "Surya Siddhanta" system of ancient India (believed to be Ardharatrika school). One key difference with Indian systems is that the Burmese system has followed a variation of the Metonic cycle. It is unclear from where, when or how the Metonic system was introduced; hypotheses range from China to Europe. The Burmese system, and indeed the Southeast Asian systems, thus use a "strange" combination of sidereal years from Indian calendar in combination with the Metonic cycle better for tropical years.


title: Buddhist calendar

text: In all Theravada traditions, the calendar's epochal year 0 date was the day in which the Buddha attained "parinibbāna". However, not all traditions agree on when it actually took place. In Burmese Buddhist tradition, it was 13 May 544 BCE (Tuesday, Full moon of Kason 148 Anjanasakaraj). But in Thailand, it was 11 March 545 BCE, the date which the current Thai lunisolar and solar calendars use as the epochal date. Yet, the Thai calendars for some reason have fixed the difference between their Buddhist Era (BE) numbering and the Christian/Common Era (CE) numbering at 543, which points to an epochal year of 544 BCE, not 545 BCE. In Myanmar, the difference between BE and CE can be 543 or 544 for CE dates, and 544 or 543 for BCE dates, depending on the month of the Buddhist Era (as the Buddhist calendar straddles the Gregorian calendar—currently from April to April).


title: Buddhist calendar

text: The calendar recognizes two types of months: synodic month and sidereal month. The Synodic months are used to compose the years while the 27 lunar sidereal days (Sanskrit: "nakshatra"), alongside the 12 signs of the zodiac, are used for astrological calculations. (The Burmese calendar also recognizes a solar month called "Thuriya Matha", which is defined as 1/12th of a year. But the solar month varies by the type of year such as tropical year, sidereal year, etc.)


title: Buddhist calendar

text: The days of the month are counted in two halves, waxing and waning. The 15th of the waxing is the civil full moon day. The civil new moon day is the last day of the month (14th or 15th waning). Because of the inaccuracy of the calendrical calculation systems, the mean and real (true) New Moons rarely coincide. The mean New Moon often precedes the real New Moon.


title: Buddhist calendar

text: As the Synodic lunar month is approximately 29.5 days, the calendar uses alternating months of 29 and 30 days.


title: Buddhist calendar

text: Various regional versions of Chula Sakarat/Burmese calendar existed across various regions of mainland Southeast Asia. Unlike Burmese systems, Kengtung, Sipsongpanna, Lan Na, Lan Xang and Sukhothai systems refer to the months by numbers, not by names. This means reading ancient texts and inscriptions in Thailand requires constant vigilance, not just in making sure one is correctly operating for the correct region, but also for variations within regions itself when incursions cause a variation in practice.


title: Buddhist calendar

text: The Buddhist calendar is a lunisolar calendar in which the months are based on lunar months and years are based on solar years. One of its primary objectives is to synchronize the lunar part with the solar part. The lunar months, normally twelve of them, consist alternately of 29 days and 30 days, such that a normal lunar year will contain 354 days, as opposed to the solar year of ~365.25 days. Therefore, some form of addition to the lunar year (of intercalation) is necessary. The overall basis for it is provided by cycles of 57 years. Eleven extra days are inserted in every 57 years, and seven extra months of 30 days are inserted in every 19 years (21 months in 57 years). This provides 20819 complete days to both calendars. This 57-year cycle would provide a mean year of about 365.2456 days and a mean month of about 29.530496 days, if not corrected.


title: Buddhist calendar

text: As such, the calendar adds an intercalary month in leap years and sometimes also an intercalary day in great leap years. The intercalary month not only corrects the length of the year but also corrects the accumulating error of the month to extent of half a day. The average length of the month is further corrected by adding a day to Nayon at irregular intervals—a little more than seven times in two cycles (39 years). The intercalary day is never inserted except in a year which has an intercalary month. The Hindu calendar inserts an intercalary month at any time of year as soon as the accumulated fractions amount to one month. The Burmese calendar however always inserts the intercalary month at the same time of the year, after the summer solstice while the Arakanese calendar inserts it after the vernal equinox.


title: Buddhist calendar

text: The Cambodian, Lao and Thai lunisolar calendars use a slightly different method to place the intercalary day. Instead of it in a leap year as in the Burmese system, the Thai system places it in a separate year. Thus, the Thai small leap year has 355 days while the Thai great leap year has 384 days.


title: Buddhist calendar

text: Since the main purpose of Buddhist calendar is to keep pace with the solar year, the new year is always marked by the solar year, which falls at the time when the Sun enters Aries. The date, which at the present falls on the 17th of April, has slowly drifted over the centuries. In the 20th century, the New Year's Day fell on April 15 or 16th but in the 17th century, it fell on April 9 or 10th. Thailand and Cambodia no longer use the traditional lunisolar calendar to mark the New Year's Day.


title: Buddhist calendar

text: The Cambodian, Lao and Thai systems give animal names to the years from a cycle of 12. The practice also existed in Burma in the Pagan period but later died out.


title: Buddhist calendar

text: The Cambodian calendar also maintains a 10-year naming cycle (numbered one to ten). Cambodians use multiple systems to identify a given year. For instance, 2017 is identified as 2561 Buddhist Era, the year of Rooster, Nuppasak (Year 9). The Thai lunar calendar also uses a similar numbered 10-year cycle. Each number in the cycle corresponds to the last digit of the year in the "Chula Sakarat" calendar.


title: Buddhist calendar

text: The Southeast Asian Buddhist calendars use lunar months but try to keep pace with the solar year, by inserting intercalary months and days on the Metonic cycle (in the case of the Burmese calendar, on a modified Metonic cycle). However, the solar year as defined by the Buddhist calendars is really a sidereal year, which is nearly 24 minutes longer than the actual mean tropical year. Therefore, like all sidereal-based calendars, the lunisolar calendars are slowly drifting away from the seasons. The calendars are drifting one day approximately every 60 years and 4 months.


title: Buddhist calendar

text: The accumulating drift against the seasons means the New Year's Day which used to fall on 22 March (near the vernal equinox) in 638 CE now falls on 17 April in 2013 CE. There is no known internationally concerted effort to stop this drift. Thailand has moved its "Buddhist Era" to the Gregorian calendar under the name of Thai solar calendar. In Myanmar, Burmese calendarists have tried to deal with the issue by periodically modifying the intercalation schedule in the Metonic cycle. One major downside of this approach is that it is not possible to publish future calendars more than a few years (often even a year) ahead.


title: Buddhist calendar

text: The Buddhist Era was first introduced to Southeast Asia along with Buddhism in the early centuries CE. It was not a separate calendar but simply a year numbering system that employed the organization and calculation methods of the prevailing lunisolar calendars in use throughout the region. In the early centuries CE, the reference civil calendar of the Buddhist calendar prevalent in Southeast Asia was the Saka Era (Mahāsakaraj Era), which is said to have been adopted by the Pyu state of Sri Ksetra in 80 CE. The Saka Era was gradually replaced by the Burmese Era or Culāsakaraj, first in Myanmar in 640 CE, and in other Theravada kingdoms of Southeast Asia between the 13th and 16th centuries. Theravada Buddhist tradition also recognizes pre-Buddhist Anjana Sakaraj (Añjana's Era) since the events of the Buddha's life are recorded in that era.


title: Buddhist calendar

text: The tradition of using different reference calendars continued in Siam in 1912 when King Vajiravudh decreed that the Buddhist Era would now track the Thai solar calendar, the Siamese version of the Gregorian calendar with the New Year's Day of 1 April. Therefore, the Thai Buddhist Era year of 2455 began on 1 April 1912 (as opposed to 15 April 1912 according to the lunisolar calendar). The Thai Buddhist Era was further realigned to the Gregorian calendar on 6 September 1940 when Prime Minister Phibunsongkhram decreed 1 January 1941 as the start of the year 2484 BE. As a result, the Year 2483 was only 9 months long, and the Thai Buddhist Era equals that of the Common Era plus 543 years.


title: Buddhist calendar

text: The lunisolar calendar is used to mark important Buddhist holidays. Many of the holidays are celebrated as public holidays.


title: Buddhist calendar

text: The Thai-style "Buddhist calendar", which is the Gregorian calendar with the Buddhist era, is supported in Java 8, iOS, and macOS.


title: Al-Assad family

text: The al-Assad family ( '), also known as the Assad dynasty, has ruled Syria since General Hafez al-Assad became President of Syria in 1971 under the Ba'ath Party. After his death, in June 2000, he was succeeded by his son Bashar al-Assad.


title: Al-Assad family

text: The Assads are originally from Qardaha, near Latakia, in north-west Syria. They are members of the minority Alawite sect and belong to the Kalbiyya tribe. The family name Assad goes back to 1927, when Ali Sulayman (1875–1963) changed his last name to al-Assad, Arabic for "the lion", possibly in connection with his social standing as a local mediator and his political activities. All members of the extended Assad family stem from Ali Sulayman and his second wife Naissa, who came from a village in the Syrian Coastal Mountains.


title: Al-Assad family

text: Family connections continue to be important in Syrian politics. Several close family members of Hafez al-Assad have held important positions in the government since his rise to power and continuing after his death. Hafez Al-Assad built his regime as a bureacracy that was marked by a distinct cult of personality, uncharacteristic in modern Syrian history. Images, portraits, quotes and praises of Assad are displayed everywhere from schools to public markets and government offices; and Hafez al-Assad is referred as the "Immortal Leader" and the ""al-Muqaddas" (Sanctified One)" in official Assadist ideology. Hafez re-organised the Syrian society in militaristic lines and persistently invoked conspiratorial rhetoric on the dangers of foreign-backed plots abetted by fifth columnists and promoted the armed forces as a central aspect of public life. Following the death of Hafez; the personality cult was inherited by his son and successor Bashar al-Assad who is hailed by the party as the "Young Leader" and "Hope of the People". Highly influenced by the model of the North Korean Kim dynasty, official propaganda ascribes divine features to the Assad dynasty; and reveres the Assad patriarchs as the founding fathers of modern Syria.