title: Water potential

text: In many cases, the absolute value of matrix potential can be relatively large in comparison to the other components of water potential discussed above. Matrix potential markedly reduces the energy state of water near particle surfaces. Although water movement due to matrix potential may be slow, it is still extremely important in supplying water to plant roots and in engineering applications. The matrix potential is always negative because the water attracted by the soil matrix has an energy state lower than that of pure water. Matrix potential only occurs in unsaturated soil above the water table. If the matrix potential approaches a value of zero, nearly all soil pores are completely filled with water, i.e. fully saturated and at maximum retentive capacity. The matrix potential can vary considerably among soils. In the case that water drains into less-moist soil zones of similar porosity, the matrix potential is generally in the range of −10 to −30 kPa.


title: Water potential

text: At a potential of 0 kPa, soil is in a state of saturation. At saturation, all soil pores are filled with water, and water typically drains from large pores by gravity. At a potential of −33 kPa, or −1/3 bar, (−10 kPa for sand), soil is at field capacity. Typically, at field capacity, air is in the macropores and water in micropores. Field capacity is viewed as the optimal condition for plant growth and microbial activity. At a potential of −1500 kPa, soil is at its permanent wilting point, at which plant roots cannot extract the water through osmotic diffusion. Soil water way still evaporate at more negative potentials down to a hygroscopic level, at which soil water is held by solid particles in a thin film by molecular adhesion forces.


title: Water potential

text: In contrast, atmospheric water potentials are much more negative—a typical value for dry air is −100 MPa, though this value depends on the temperature and the humidity. Root water potential must be more negative than the soil, and the stem water potential must be an intermediate lower value than the roots but higher than the leaf water potential, to create a passive flow of water from the soil to the roots, up the stem, to the leaves and then into the atmosphere.


title: Water potential

text: A tensiometer, electrical resistance gypsum block, neutron probes, or time-domain reflectometry (TDR) can be used to determine soil water potential energy. Tensiometers are limited to 0 to −85 kPa, electrical resistance blocks are limited to −90 to −1500 kPa, neutron probes are limited to 0 to −1500 kPa, and a TDR is limited to 0 to −10,000 kPa. A scale can be used to estimate water weight (percentage composition) if special equipment is not on hand.


title: Tekken Tag Tournament

text: "Tekken Tag Tournament" was released as an arcade game in 1999, before becoming a North American and European launch title for the PlayStation 2 in 2000. The arcade version operated similarly, but ran on a 32-bit graphics engine like "Tekken 3". It received upgraded graphics when it was ported to the PlayStation 2. Its sequel "Tekken Tag Tournament 2" was released in 2011. A remastered version of the game titled "Tekken Tag Tournament HD" was released for the PlayStation 3 in November 2011, as part of "Tekken Hybrid".


title: Tekken Tag Tournament

text: Continuing the fighting mechanics from "Tekken 2 and 3", "Tekken Tag Tournament" sees players battling in teams of two characters. At any point in the match, the player can hit a tag button to swap out with their other fighter, allowing the resting fighter to recover some lost health. The tag can be implemented in many ways, such as in between combos or utilizing special throws. At times when a resting fighter's lifebar is flashing, that character can be tagged in to be given a temporary boost in strength. Unlike other tag games such as Capcom's "Vs." series, players are defeated when only one of their fighters lose all of their health, requiring players to be strategic about tagging their fighters. In the event of a timeout, the team with the most accumulative health remaining wins the round.


title: Tekken Tag Tournament

text: The game features over 35 characters that previously appeared in "Tekken 2" and "Tekken 3". In addition, there is a boss character, Unknown, who is similar to "Tekken 3's" Mokujin in that she can randomly imitate any character's fighting style, albeit she is able to change her style any time during the fight. The PlayStation 2 version added enhanced graphics and various modes, including 1-on-1 mode, in which players only choose one fighter each, and Team Battle, where players choose up to eight battles and play with the tag rules, with each new character replacing the one that was defeated (the remaining fighter must fight on his/her own). Also featured is the "Tekken Bowl" mode, a bowling minigame where each character has different attributes.


title: Tekken Tag Tournament

text: The arcade and console versions of "Tekken Tag Tournament" differ slightly. The arcade version ran on a 32-bit engine, utilizing the graphics engine of "Tekken 3". These graphics ran using the "Tekken 3" PCB board, based on the PlayStation hardware. The console version ran on a highly updated engine, utilizing the PlayStation 2's graphics processor. The game does not run on a 32-bit engine, instead running on a new and updated engine highly similar to that found on "Tekken 4". The background designs and BGMs differed too, as the console version has new updated tracks, while the arcade version was based on MIDI tracks with an instrumental backing. Unknown is not playable on the arcade version, yet the character is on the PlayStation 2 version. The arcade version also allows players to only select the alternative colors that have been added to the costumes at first, while the normally colored ones are unlocked when the bonus characters are. There are also crucial differences concerning the playability of the characters, as some moves or attacks are much more efficient in the arcade version than in the console version and vice versa.


title: Tekken Tag Tournament

text: If Unknown is chosen in the arcade version of "Tekken Tag Tournament" even though the stages were at random, all of those 8 stages were always Unknown. Completing arcade mode as Unknown goes straight to the credits.


title: Tekken Tag Tournament

text: As the game was made to be a compilation of previous games, the game includes nearly every character from the original "Tekken" up to "Tekken 3", including those who were canonically missing in the current canonical game "Tekken 3". All of them have improved appearance and movesets to make them on par with the "Tekken 3" characters.


title: Tekken Tag Tournament

text: Additionally, the game adds two new characters, both of them being mimic characters: Tetsujin and Unknown. Unknown also serves as the final boss of the game. Both characters seldom appear in future games, with Unknown resuming her role as final boss in the sequel "Tekken Tag Tournament 2", while Tetsujin is featured as a boss in the free-to-play "Tekken Revolution" and the mobile game "Tekken".


title: Tekken Tag Tournament

text: The only absent characters in the game that were playable in previous entries of the series are the original Jack, the first King, the first Kuma, Marshall Law, Dr. Bosconovitch, and Gon (he is a guest character in "Tekken 3" and didn't appear in this game and any future games due to Namco's contract to have Gon present was only for Tekken 3 at that time).


title: Tekken Tag Tournament

text: "Tekken Tag Tournament HD" is a remastered version of "Tekken Tag Tournament", released in November 2011 for the PlayStation 3. The game comes on the same Blu-ray Disc as the 3D movie "" and is accessible if the disc is loaded on a PlayStation 3 (the entire package is referred to as "Tekken Hybrid" which also includes "Tekken: Blood Vengeance" and a demo version of "Tekken Tag Tournament 2"). It is based on the PlayStation 2 version and features updated HD visuals and Trophy support. A limited edition version of "Tekken Hybrid" was released alongside the standard version, which included an art book, selected soundtracks of both "Tag Tournament" and "Tag Tournament 2", and PlayStation Home content.


title: Tekken Tag Tournament

text: "Tekken Tag Tournament" received highly positive reviews from critics. It has an aggregate score of 85/100 on Metacritic, and a score of 86% at GameRankings. Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot gave it a 9.6 out of 10 described it as "delivering the same solid gameplay that Tekken fans crave in large doses" but added "wait for Tekken 4 to find that out". IGN gave it an 8.7 out of 10, praising its graphics and character moves. Prince Paul of "GamePro" praised "Tekken Tag Tournament" for its visuals "where you could see individual blades of grass!" In Japan, "Famitsu" scored the PlayStation 2 version of the game a 38 out of 40.


title: Tekken Tag Tournament

text: Frank O'Connor reviewed the PlayStation 2 version of the game for "Next Generation", rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "The only thing preventing "Tekken Tag" from receiving a perfect score is its lack of innovation – it's basically a prettier "Tekken 3". However, that still makes it the best "Tekken" yet."


title: Tekken Tag Tournament

text: Frank O'Connor reviewed the PlayStation 2 version of the game for "Next Generation", rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "A densely packed, gloriously rendered, and very playable fighting game. Almost but not quite a killer app."


title: Tekken Tag Tournament

text: In Japan, "Game Machine" listed "Tekken Tag Tournament" on their August 15, 1999 issue as being the second most-successful arcade game of the month. It went on to become the highest-grossing arcade game of 2000 in Japan. By 2000, it had sold 19,000 arcade units worldwide, including 9,000 in Japan and 10,000 overseas.


title: Tekken Tag Tournament

text: The PlayStation 2 version sold more than 400,000 copies in its first four days of release. The game was added to the list of Sony Greatest Hits games on March 1, 2002. By July 2006, "Tekken Tag Tournament" had sold 1.4 million copies and earned $48 million in the United States. "Next Generation" ranked it as the 35th highest-selling game launched for the PlayStation 2, Xbox or GameCube between January 2000 and July 2006 in that country. Combined sales of "Tekken" games released in the 2000s reached 3 million units in the United States by July 2006. It received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom. The game sold 457,340 units in Japan, 1.61 million units in the US, and 300,000+ units in the UK, for a total of more than 2.367 million units sold worldwide.


title: Tekken Tag Tournament

text: The game was nominated for "Console Fighting Game of the Year" and "Outstanding Achievement in Animation" by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, which went to "Dead or Alive 2" and "Final Fantasy IX". It was a runner-up for GameSpot's annual "Best PlayStation 2 Game" and "Best Fighting Game" awards, which went to "SSX" and "", respectively. In 2007, IGN listed "Tekken Tag Tournament" as the 23rd best game on the PlayStation 2. In 2008, "PSM" stated ""Tekken Tag" is regarded as the best installment in the series".


title: Tekken Tag Tournament

text: A sequel for "Tekken Tag Tournament", titled "Tekken Tag Tournament 2", was announced at the Tokyo Game Show 2010 on September 18, 2010. The game expanded on the original's tag mechanics, allowing for more flowing tag combos and combined moves, inherited some gameplay mechanics from "Tekken 6", and featured characters from more recent "Tekken" games. It was released as an arcade cabinet in Japan on September 14, 2011, with an "unlimited" revision following on March 27, 2012. PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in all territories in the week of September 11, 2012, and a Wii U port followed in November 2012. A free "Tekken Bowl" app based on the original "Tekken Tag"'s bonus mode was released on iOS on July 23, 2011.


title: Pyramidion

text: A pyramidion (plural: pyramidia) is the uppermost piece or capstone of an Egyptian pyramid or obelisk. Speakers of the Ancient Egyptian language referred to pyramidia as "benbenet"  and associated the pyramid as a whole with the sacred benben stone. During Egypt's Old Kingdom, pyramidia were generally made of diorite, granite, or fine limestone, then covered in gold or electrum; during the Middle Kingdom and through the end of the pyramid-building era, they were built from granite. A pyramidion was "covered in gold leaf to reflect the rays of the sun"; during Egypt's Middle Kingdom pyramidia were often "inscribed with royal titles and religious symbols".


title: Pyramidion

text: Very few pyramidia have survived into modern times. Most of those that remain are made of polished black granite, inscribed with the name of the pyramid's owner. Four pyramidia – the world's largest collection – are housed in the main hall of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Among them are the pyramidia from the so-called Black Pyramid of Amenemhat III at Dahshur and of the Pyramid of Khendjer at Saqqara.


title: Pyramidion

text: A badly damaged white Tura limestone pyramidion, thought to have been made for the Red Pyramid of Sneferu at Dahshur, has been reconstructed and is on open-air display beside that pyramid; it presents a minor mystery, however, as its angle of inclination is steeper than that of the edifice it was apparently built to surmount.


title: Pyramidion

text: During the New Kingdom, some private underground tombs were marked on the surface by small brick pyramids that terminated in pyramidia. The four lateral sides included texts and scenes related to the cult of the Sun God (as the representation of Pharaoh).


title: Pyramidion

text: The scenes typically depict the course of the sun, rising on one lateral face, setting on the opposite face, and traveling, through the night, through the underworld, ruled by Osiris.


title: Pyramidion

text: The pyramidion of Mose (mes,s, New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, c. 1250 BC, "limestone", 53 cm tall) depicts himself making an offering, with his name on two opposite faces. The adjacent opposite faces feature a baboon: "Screeching upon the rising of the Sun, and the Day". (The baboon is also the god-scribe representation of the Scribe, for the god Thoth.)


title: Pyramidion

text: The pyramidion of Ptahemwia (19th Dynasty, Ramesside Period, c. 1200 BC, "limestone", 28 cm wide, 42 cm tall) likewise displays sun-related scenes. The Sun God, Re-Horakhti, and the god of the Underworld, Osiris, are shown on one lateral face.


title: Pyramidion

text: Facing the two gods, on the adjacent lateral face, is the deceased Ptahemwia, standing in an offering pose, facing three columns of hieroglyphs.


title: Hondo (film)

text: Hondo is a 1953 Warnercolor 3D Western film directed by John Farrow and starring John Wayne and Geraldine Page. The screenplay is based on the 1952 "Collier's" short story "The Gift of Cochise" by Louis L'Amour. The book "Hondo" was a novelization of the film also written by L'Amour, and published by Gold Medal Books in 1953. The supporting cast features Ward Bond, James Arness and Leo Gordon.


title: Hondo (film)

text: The shoot went over schedule, and Farrow had to leave the production as he was contractually obligated to direct another movie. The final scenes featuring the Apache attack on the circled wagons of the Army and settlers were shot by John Ford, whom Wayne had asked to finish the film; Ford was uncredited for this work.


title: Hondo (film)

text: Homesteader Angie Lowe (Geraldine Page) and her 6 year-old son Johnny (Lee Aaker) are doing chores when Hondo Lane (John Wayne) arrives, carrying his saddle bags and rifle, accompanied by his dog Sam. He was riding dispatch for the US Army Cavalry, had an encounter with Indians and lost his horse. Hondo offers to work for awhile to earn a horse and Angie agrees. After stating several times that her husband is simply away herding cattle, Hondo confronts her with evidence that he must have been gone a long time, judging by the condition of the ranch and horses. He encourages her to pack up and return with him to the Army fort, since the treaty with the Apache has been broken and they are planning a war; Angie believes her long-standing friendship with the Apache will keep her safe. That night, she notices Hondo's name on his rifle case and remembers hearing he killed 3 men. She threatens him with an unloaded gun; he loads it for her.


title: Hondo (film)

text: As Hondo prepares to leave, he mentions that he once lived among the Apache and had a squaw wife. He tells Angie that she reminds him of his wife and kisses her before he goes. She is confused and upset because she is married, but Hondo insists that people ought to do what they feel is right. He leaves for the fort. Shortly thereafter, the Apaches come to the ranch, led by Chief Vittoro (Michael Pate) and Silva (Rodolfo Acosta). When Vittoro touches Angie, Johnny gets the gun Hondo loaded and shoots at Silva. Though he misses, Vittoro is impressed with his bravery and makes him a blood-brother. Vittoro insists that a brave child should have a father, and leaves.


title: Hondo (film)

text: Hondo returns to the fort and sees Buffalo Baker (Ward Bond), a fellow scout. He reports to the major that C Troop was wiped out by Apaches and has an encounter with a settler angry that the cavalry is not better protecting the settlers. In a saloon, Hondo gets into a fight with the same settler. Baker later tells Hondo the man is "Ed Lowe" (Leo Gordon); whom he realizes is Angie's absentee husband. Meanwhile, Vittoro, sure that Angie's husband is dead, gives her an ultimatum to take an Apache husband by the rainy season.


title: Hondo (film)

text: The next morning, Ed Lowe accuses Hondo of stealing his horse, seeing the "EL" brand. His friends defend Hondo, who immediately leaves to return the horse to the ranch. Upset about the fight and horse, Ed follows Hondo to bushwhack him. While camped, Hondo is set upon by Apache, who also attack Ed. In the confusion, Hondo saves Ed's life, but when he turns his back, Ed draws on him, and Hondo kills him. He finds Ed was clutching a photograph of Johnny, which he takes. In the ensuing chase, the Apache capture and torture Hondo for information about the cavalry's movements. When Vittoro sees the photo of his blood-brother, he decides to subject Hondo to a one-on-one fight to the death with Silva, whose brother Hondo killed. Hondo is victorious, but lets Silva live; the Apache drop Hondo off at the ranch where Angie lies about him being her husband.


title: Hondo (film)

text: Hondo and Angie grow close as he recuperates. Hondo attempts to reveal the truth of her husband's death, but is interrupted by Vittoro's return. The chief tells them that the pony soldiers will soon come. He asks Hondo to mislead the cavalry as a test; Hondo refuses to lie, and Vittoro is satisfied. Angie admits she loves Hondo and they kiss. The next day, the cavalry arrive at the ranch and expect Angie to leave. She and Hondo refuse. While camping, another scout blackmails Hondo for his Winchester rifle - he says he will tell Angie how Hondo killed Ed if he doesn't give him the rifle. Hondo punches him, but Angie overhears. The cavalry eventually leave and Hondo stays behind.


title: Hondo (film)

text: Hondo prepares to go, but first tells Angie the truth about her husband's death. He also wants to tell Johnny, but she persuades him not to, admitting that she did not love her husband any longer. She says it would be unkind to tell the boy the truth of his father's death and that the secret will not follow them to Hondo's ranch in California. Hondo responds to her emotional plea with an Indian word that seals a squaw-seeking ceremony, "Varlabania", which he tells her means "forever".


title: Hondo (film)

text: The cavalry return to the ranch, having killed Vittoro in a battle but having their commanding officer badly wounded. While the Apache regroup, Hondo, Angie and Johnny join the wagon train and head for the fort. The Apaches catch up and the cavalry, led by Hondo, circle the wagons and counter-attack. Hondo kills Silva (their new leader) and the Apache scatter, giving the settlers and soldiers a chance to escape. The wagon train regroups and proceeds to the fort with Hondo remaining in command.


title: Hondo (film)

text: Wayne's newly formed production company Wayne-Fellows Productions (later Batjac) purchased the rights to Louis L'Amour's short story "The Gift of Cochise" in 1952, and set Wayne's friend and frequent collaborator James Edward Grant to write the adaptation, which expanded the original story, introduced new characters, and added the cavalry subplot. L'Amour was given the rights to write the novelization of the film, which became a bestseller after the film's release. The film shoot was scheduled for the summer of 1953 in the Mexican desert state of Chihuahua in the San Francisco de Conchos


title: Hondo (film)

text: region. Today, this region is known for its tourist attractions like Lago Colina and spring pools like Los Filtros. It is a green area region with plenty of fishing and agriculture growth.


title: Hondo (film)

text: Wayne and his producing partner Robert Fellows wanted to shoot the film in the trend-setting 3D format. Warner Brothers supplied the production with the newly developed "All Media Camera," which could shoot in any format, including 3-D, using twin lenses placed slightly apart to produce the stereoscopic effect necessary for it. Despite the fact that they were smaller than the twin camera process used previously for 3D, the All-Media Cameras were still bulky and made the film shoot difficult, causing delays when transporting the cameras to remote desert locations. Further, the director John Farrow and director of photography Robert Burks were unfamiliar with the new technology and had trouble adjusting to using it, while the cameras were frequently broken due to wind blowing sand into the mechanism or from other inclement weather conditions. Farrow used the technology to produce fewer gimmicks than other 3D films did at the time, with only a few scenes showing people or objects coming at the camera, such as gunfire or knives. Instead he preferred to use it to increase the depth of the expansive wide shots of the Mexican desert, or when showing figures against a landscape.


title: Hondo (film)

text: The casting of Geraldine Page as the female lead was considered quite puzzling to many in Hollywood at the time. Though "Hondo" was not her first film, she had been known primarily as a Broadway stage actress and employed the Method acting style deemed too introspective for film, and especially for Westerns. However, she delivered what many consider a nuanced performance completely appropriate to her character which later garnered her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, the first of only two acting nominations ever for a film shot or presented in 3D. (The award went to Donna Reed for "From Here to Eternity.")


title: Hondo (film)

text: John Ford shot the final scenes of the wagon train attack as a favor for Wayne when Farrow had to leave the film before its completion due to a conflicting contractual obligation to begin another film. Ford accepted no credit for directing the last sequence of the film.


title: Hondo (film)

text: John Wayne later said John Farrow "didn't really have a great deal to do with" the film. "Everything was set up before he came on it...It was written and I went out and looked for locations and picked the locations where each scene would be shot. I went back and brought the cameraman, and they said there's no color here. I said wait until I show you, and within seventeen miles of town I had white molten rock, blue pools of water, black buttes, big chalk-white buttes. We were using 3-D. We made it in 3-D but then it was never released in that, because Warner Brothers decided to give up and use the Fox system."


title: Hondo (film)

text: Even with the production troubles that came with the location shooting in 3D, the studio thought it was a worthwhile venture since 3D pictures were at the height of popularity at the time of the film's development. However, by the time the film was completed, public interest in 3D had started to wane. The distributing studio Warner Brothers did everything it could to promote its new 3D camera process and how it went beyond the typical gimmicks used by other popular 3D films at the time such as "House of Wax", producing a richer sense of perspective.


title: Hondo (film)

text: "Hondo" was released on November 27, 1953, and was presented in the 3D format in most first-run theaters. However, by 1954, there were a greater number of smaller theaters that were unable to show the film in the stereoscopic format because the Polaroid 3D projection system required a brighter and more light-reflective screen, referred to as a "silver screen," which was an added cost these theater owners were reluctant to pay.


title: Hondo (film)

text: The film has an intermission, which comes right after Hondo is captured by the Apaches. This is included on the DVD version.


title: Hondo (film)

text: The film ended up becoming quite popular with audiences, eventually grossing $4.1 million at the box office and placing it in the top 20 money-makers for that year.


title: Hondo (film)

text: An initial restoration of "Hondo" was overseen by Wayne's son Michael, head of Batjac Productions, in the late 1980s culminating in a syndicated broadcast of the film in June 1991 on American over-the-air stations in anaglyph 3D. 3D glasses were sold to viewers, with proceeds going to charity.


title: Hondo (film)

text: A frame-by-frame digital restoration by Prasad Corporation of the film was later completed, and the DVD of it was released on October 11, 2005.


title: Hondo (film)

text: A restored 3D theatrical version was exhibited for a week in 2015 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and projected the following year at New York's Film Forum, introduced at both venues by Michael Wayne's wife Gretchen Wayne.


title: Hondo (film)

text: Part of a 1988 episode of "Married... with Children", titled "All in the Family", has Al Bundy readying himself to watch "Hondo" in peace during a three-day weekend, but Peggy's family comes to visit, and their ensuing problems prevent him from seeing the film, just as their antics prevented him from seeing "Shane" the previous year. A 1994 episode of "Married... with Children", titled "Assault and Batteries", has a subplot in which Al is desperate not to miss a television airing of "Hondo" because, as he explains, it is the best John Wayne movie and it only airs "once every 17 years". Al does miss this airing at the end of the episode and will have to wait until February 18, 2011 to see it again. Al holds the film in very high esteem, once telling Peggy's family members "Your lives are meaningless compared to "Hondo"!"


title: Hondo (film)

text: Two later John Wayne Westerns contain subtle references to "Hondo." In "Rio Lobo" (1970), a wanted poster for Hondo Lane can be seen on a wall in the sheriff's office. In the 1973 film "The Train Robbers", the chief male and female characters (played by Wayne and Ann-Margret) are Lane and Mrs. Lowe, the same names as in "Hondo".


title: Hondo (film)

text: In "Men in Black 3" (2012), Agent K refers to Agent J as "Hondo" when J stares at him as he drives, "You lose something over here, Hondo?"


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: The 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship was the inaugural edition of the ICC World Test Championship of Test cricket. It started on 1 August 2019 with the first Test of the 2019 Ashes series, and finished with the Final at the Rose Bowl, Southampton in June 2021.


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: It came nearly a decade after the International Cricket Council (ICC) first approved the idea for a World Test Championship in 2010, and following two cancelled attempts to hold the inaugural competition in 2013 and 2017.


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: It featured nine of the twelve Test playing nations, each of whom was scheduled to play a Test series against six of the other eight teams. Each series consisted of between two and five matches, so although all teams were to play six series (three at home and three away), they were not scheduled to play the same number of Tests. Each team were able to score a maximum of 120 points from each series and the two teams with the most points at the end of the league stage would contest the final. In the case of a draw or a tie in the final, the two teams playing the final would be declared joint champions. However, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted on the Championship, with several rounds of matches being postponed or cancelled. In November 2020, the ICC announced that the finalists would be decided by percentage of points earned.


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: Some of the Test series in this Championship were part of a longer ongoing series, such as the 2019 Ashes series. Also, some of these nine teams would play additional Test matches during this period which were not part of this Championship, as part of the ICC Future Tours Programme for 2018–23, mainly to give games to the three Test playing sides not taking part in this competition. On 29 July 2019, the ICC officially launched the World Test Championship.


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: On 2 February 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia postponed their away series against South Africa, resulting in a guaranteed berth in the final for New Zealand. On 6 March 2021, India also confirmed their berth for the final, after beating England by 3–1 in a home Test series. The final saw New Zealand win by eight wickets, securing their second global cricket title after their 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy win.


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: The tournament was played over two years. Each team were scheduled to play six other opponents, three at home and three away. Each series consisted of between two and five Test matches. Therefore, all participants did not play the same number of Tests, but played the same number of series. At the end of the league stage the top two teams played in the final. Each match is scheduled for a duration of five days.


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: The ICC decided that the same number of points would be available from each series, regardless of series length, so that countries that played fewer Tests were not disadvantaged. It also decided that points would not be awarded for series results, but for match results only. These would be split equally between all the matches in the series, regardless of whether or not a match was a dead rubber, so that every match counted. In a five-match series, therefore, 20% of the points would be available each match, while in a two-match series, 50% of the points would be available each match.


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: Therefore, depending on whether the series is 2, 3, 4 or 5 matches long, the number of points awarded for a single match win would be a half, a third, a quarter, or a fifth of the maximum possible from the series. The ICC also decided that a tie should be worth half of a win and that a draw should be worth a third of a win. This all meant that after each match, a side could be awarded a half, a third, a quarter, a fifth, a sixth, an eighth, a ninth, a tenth, a twelfth or a fifteenth of the total points available from the series, depending on the result and how many matches the series happened to consist of. Ultimately, this meant a figure for the total points available from the series needs to be picked very carefully, as not many numbers give all integers when split into all these different fractions (360 does). Being a highly composite number, when 120 was split into all these fractions, an integer was obtained in all cases except one – the points awarded for a draw in a 3-match series should be 13 (a third of a third of 120), but the had been dropped.


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: A team that was behind the required over rate at the end of a match would have two competition points deducted for each over it was behind. In January 2020, South Africa became the first team to be docked World Test Championship points, after a slow over-rate in the fourth Test against England.


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: Since each team played only six of the eight possible opponents, the ICC announced that India and Pakistan would not play against each other in the first and second editions of the tournament.


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: These were the three lowest ranked full members of the ICC. They had been included in the ICC Future Tours Programme; they played a number of Test matches during this period against Championship participants and each other but these did not have bearing on the Championship.


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: The schedule for the World Test Championship was announced by the ICC on 20 June 2018, as part of the 2018–2023 Future Tours Programme.


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: Rather than being a full round-robin tournament in which everyone played everyone else equally, each team played only six of the other eight.


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: Therefore, the total number of matches played by each team (home and away) in this tournament, and the two countries that each side did not face in this tournament, were as follows. (Note: This was not the total Test matches played by each team during this period, as some countries did play further matches during this period which were not part of this Championship, as part of the ICC Future Tours Programme for 2018–23. Some of these may be against the opponents they did not play in this Championship.)


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: All the series were mutually agreed between the two nations involved; this had led to allegations that the schedule has been agreed based on what would provide the biggest television audiences, and therefore television receipts, rather than selecting an even spread of teams.


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: Since each team played a different set of opponents, they can be considered as having an easier or harder schedules.


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted on international cricket fixtures, including matches in the Championship. In March 2020, the second Test match between Pakistan and Bangladesh was postponed due to the pandemic. Later the same month, the two-match series between Sri Lanka and England was also postponed. The following month saw Australia's tour to Bangladesh and the West Indies tour to England being postponed. In June 2020, the two-match series between Bangladesh and New Zealand and the three-match series between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were both postponed. South Africa's tour of the West Indies was postponed, after the fixtures clashed with the West Indies rescheduled tour to England.


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: On 29 July 2020, the ICC confirmed that their attention had moved to the fixtures in the World Test Championship, with their priority on rescheduling the six Test series that had been postponed. The ICC ultimately accepted several series would not take place as part of the Championship and changed the points system to account for the variation in the number of series played per team.


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: The International Cricket Council declared a total prize money pool of US$3.8 million for the tournament. The prize money was allocated according to the performance of the team as follows:


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: The winning team also got the ICC Test Championship Mace, previously presented to the top team in ICC Men's Test Team Rankings at the April cutoff-date of a year between 2003 and 2019.


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: The second match was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to a busy schedule, the match would be postponed until the 2021–22 season and outside the Championship season.


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: This series did not take place as originally scheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and could not be a part of the Championship season.


title: 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship

text: This series originally comprised three Test matches and was scheduled for July–August 2020, then postponed to October 2020, but was rescheduled again due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Panzer VII Löwe

text: The Panzerkampfwagen VII Löwe (Lion) was a design for a super-heavy tank created by Krupp for the German government during World War II. The project, initially code-named VK 70.01 (K), never left the drawing board, and was dropped on 5–6 March 1942, in favor of Porsche's heavier Panzer VIII "Maus".


title: Panzer VII Löwe

text: The "Löwe" was designed in two variants, unofficially designated "Leichter Löwe" (light lion) and "Schwerer Löwe" (heavy lion), both with a crew of five:


title: HMS Ark Royal (R09)

text: HMS "Ark Royal" (R09) was an aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy and, when she was decommissioned in 1979, was the Royal Navy's last remaining conventional catapult and arrested-landing aircraft carrier. She was the first aircraft carrier to be equipped with angled flight deck at its commissioning; her sister ship, , was the Royal Navy's first angle-decked aircraft carrier after modification in 1954. "Ark Royal" was the only non-United States vessel to operate the McDonnell Douglas Phantom at sea.


title: HMS Ark Royal (R09)

text: "Ark Royal" was the sister ship to , which was initially named HMS "Audacious", hence the name of the class. Four "Audacious"-class ships were laid down, but two (HMS "Africa" and the original HMS "Eagle") were cancelled when the Second World War ended, and construction of the other two was suspended for several years. Both surviving ships were extensively upgraded throughout their lifetimes.


title: HMS Ark Royal (R09)

text: A contract was placed with Cammell Laird on 19 March 1942 to build the first ship of the class. While it had been originally planned to name the ship "Irresistible", this was changed to "Ark Royal" before ordering to commemorate the aircraft carrier lost in 1941. The ship, which was the largest warship ever to be built by Cammell Laird, was laid down at Laird's Birkenhead shipyard on 3 May 1943 as yard number 1119. Construction was slow, and was suspended after the end of the Second World War to allow the ship's design to be updated to better suit her for the operation of modern aircraft. "Ark Royal" was launched by Queen Elizabeth, wife of King George VI, on 3 May 1950. She was completed on 25 February 1955, and commissioned the next day at Devonport.


title: HMS Ark Royal (R09)

text: In this time, she underwent redesign and, when completed, she was markedly different from her sister ship. Shortly before her launch from the Cammell Laird shipyard, an image of the ship painted with her white undercoat was captured by the pictorialist photographer E. Chambré Hardman. This has been exhibited many times under the name 'Where Great Ships Are Built' and later 'Birth of the Ark Royal'. When commissioned, she had a 5.5° partially angled flight deck, two steam catapults capable of launching aircraft weighing up to , a deck-edge lift on the port side (the first British ship to be fitted with such a device), modified armament, and the new mirror landing system. "Ark Royal" was the first ship to be constructed with an angled flight deck and steam catapults, as opposed to having them added after launching. These innovations allowed aircraft to land and take off from the carrier at the same time. Her flight deck as built was .


title: HMS Ark Royal (R09)

text: About a year after commissioning, her forward port guns were removed to improve aircraft operations over the angled deck. Four years later, the port deck-edge lift and the forward starboard 4.5-inch guns were also removed. After the 1964 refit only one twin 4.5-inch gun mount remained aft on port and starboard side. From 1967 to February 1970, she underwent a refit which was a major rebuild to her structure, but only an austere update to her electronic equipment, and was confined to changes needed to operate the RN's version of the Phantom. Prior to, and during the refit, concerns over costs, the age of the hull and changing political opinions over naval requirements threatened the refit and even a possibility that the ship could be scrapped however convincing arguments to retain and upgrade the carrier won through.


title: HMS Ark Royal (R09)

text: The refit cost around £30 million, far less than the modernisation of "Eagle", but also added several improvements, which allowed her to comfortably operate the larger Phantom and Buccaneer Mk.2 aircraft. Her modifications included a full 8.5° angled flight deck, new and far more powerful steam catapults, bridle-catchers, heavy-grade jet-blast deflectors (both of which "Eagle" did not receive), and heavy-weight arrestor cables. Twelve hundred miles of new cabling was installed, but the ship was not completely rewired and retained old DC electrics. A modified island (with a different arrangement from "Eagle") and a partially new electronic suite were also added, though some of her original radars, such as 983 heightfinders were retained and she did not receive the 3-D air-search radar set that her sister had fitted, instead two double-array 966 versions of the standard RN 965 long-range system were fitted and one of the new 986 sets. Significantly, "Ark Royal" was the first and only RN carrier fitted with a USN carrier approach system, the AN-SPN 35 radar, increasing night aircraft operational capability and safety. Her flight deck size was increased port aft, giving her extra deck-park space for her airgroup that "Eagle" did not have. She was also fitted for four Seacat missile launchers, which were never installed, so she emerged from refit with no defensive armament except for Corvus decoy launchers. Significantly, there was little more than an overhaul of her steam turbines and boilers, meaning that mechanically she was very dated; however, the stripping-out of "Eagle" meant that for a time essential spares were available. "Ark Royal" was then scheduled for at the most only five years' more service by a new government policy to scrap the carriers by 1975. Intensive maintenance as well as a new programme of continuous servicing and repair (with RN maintenance ships always in her task groups) kept her going until late 1978, though increasing mechanical and electrical failures led to her decommissioning in early 1979.


title: HMS Ark Royal (R09)

text: At her entry into service the ship had a complement of up to 50 aircraft, comprising Sea Hawks, Sea Venoms, Gannets, Skyraiders and various helicopters. As later aircraft types grew in size and complexity, her air group fell to below 40 when she left service in 1978.


title: HMS Ark Royal (R09)

text: "Ark Royal" participated in many exercises as part of the British fleet and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) squadrons, but saw no combat duty. She was not involved in the Suez Crisis in Egypt of 1956, about a year after her commissioning; she was on her way there when she ran a main propeller shaft bearing, and had to return to Devonport for a major refit. "Eagle" replaced her at Suez. In 1963, she carried out trials for a new type of Vertical/Short Take Off and Landing (V/STOL) aircraft, the Hawker P.1127, which later developed into the Hawker Siddeley Harrier. The same aircraft, now having been redesigned and developed as the British Aerospace Sea Harrier, was later accepted as the primary strike capability of the future third and last "Ark Royal" from 1980 onwards.


title: HMS Ark Royal (R09)

text: She was part of the Beira Patrol enforcing the naval blockade of Rhodesia in 1965. The 1966 Defence White Paper planned the end of British aircraft carriers in the early 1970s, but she went into dock for her refit to head off dockyard redundancies and the likely political issues. A new government re-examined the case for carriers, finding that shore-based aircraft could not provide adequate cover for British concerns "East of Suez".


title: HMS Ark Royal (R09)

text: On 9 November 1970, whilst in the Mediterranean to participate in a NATO exercise, "Ark Royal" collided with "Bravyy", a Soviet Navy which was shadowing her (a common practice during the Cold War). "Ark Royal" was slightly damaged, while the Soviet destroyer sustained minor damage and two missing crew. "Ark Royal"s commanding officer, Captain Raymond Lygo, was cleared of blame at the subsequent court-martial.


title: HMS Ark Royal (R09)

text: The ship featured in the 1960s British television series "Not Only... But Also" starring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. When commissions ended, items were fired off the catapult into the sea, including pianos and once a toilet complete with paying-off pennant.


title: HMS Ark Royal (R09)

text: By 1970, "Ark Royal" had a complement of 39 aircraft. This typically comprised 12 Phantom FG MK.1s, of 892 Naval Air Squadron, 14 Buccaneer S MK.2s of 809 Squadron, 4 Gannet AEW (Airborne Early Warning) Mk.3s of B Flight 849 Squadron, 6 Sea King HAS Mk.1s of 824 Squadron, 2 Wessex HAR Mk.1s of the Ship's Flight and one Gannet COD Mk.4. later replaced by an AEW3. The Buccaneers doubled as tanker aircraft, using buddy refuelling pods, and as long-range reconnaissance aircraft with bomb bay-mounted camera packs. In July 1976, she represented Britain at the United States Bicentennial Celebration in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.


title: HMS Ark Royal (R09)

text: In 1972, the Buccaneers aboard "Ark Royal" took part in a long-range strike mission over British Honduras in Central America shortly before its independence as a constitutional monarchy named Her Majesty's Government of Belize to deter a possible invasion by Guatemala, which had long-standing territorial claims.


title: HMS Ark Royal (R09)

text: In 1977, under the flag of Admiral Sir Henry Leach KCB Commander-in-Chief Fleet, "Ark Royal" led the Royal Navy's tribute to and celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee at Spithead.


title: HMS Ark Royal (R09)

text: In the mid-1970s the ship made a return to television. A major BBC documentary series, one of the earliest fly on the wall documentaries, "Sailor" was made, showing life on board the ship during a February-to-July 1976 Western Atlantic deployment. Her commanding officer at this time was Captain Wilfred Graham, a later Flag Officer Portsmouth and the ship's Commander (executive officer) was Commander David Cowling. The theme tune for the programme was "Sailing" by Rod Stewart – a song that came to be associated with the ship and her successor. She visited Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from 30 May until 14 June 1978.


title: HMS Ark Royal (R09)

text: She entered HMNB Devonport on 4 December 1978 and decommissioned on 14 February 1979. Like her sister "Eagle", she had a relatively short (24-year) life, and when the White Ensign lowered for the last time the Royal Navy no longer had fixed-wing aircraft at sea, a situation that persisted until the commissioning of the Invincible-class light aircraft carriers, with their complements of Sea Harrier VTOL aircraft, in the early 1980s. On 29 March 1980, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) announced that she would be sold for scrap – and so ended plans to preserve her. She left Devonport on 22 September 1980 under tow to be scrapped at Cairnryan near Stranraer in Scotland, arriving on 28 September. When arriving at the breakers, her sister ship "Eagle" was in the final process of being broken up there. Breaking-up of "Ark Royal" took until 1983. During this period many former crew travelled to the breakers' jetty at the remote corner of Loch Ryan to pay their last respects; some were reduced to tears when seeing the ship being torn to pieces. However, various parts of the ship remain as souvenirs or memorials; for instance, an anchor (along with an anchor from her sister ship "Eagle") outside the Fleet Air Arm Museum at RNAS Yeovilton. One of her other anchors is in Armada Way, Plymouth near Plymouth Hoe.


title: HMS Ark Royal (R09)

text: While "Ark Royal"s career spanned 24 years from the time of her commissioning (her name was a household word), she spent as much time in refit; repair and reserve and modernisation as in commissioned service (12 years). It required a lot of effort from her engineers to keep her serviceable between yard periods. "Ark Royal" had been poorly preserved during her lengthy construction from 1942 to 1955, and much of her machinery was obsolete by her completion, including her dated DC electrics, supplemented later by some AC systems, resulting in a ship that experienced regular defects and mechanical failure. "Eagle" was a more reliable and well-built ship, and spent far more time at sea than her sister. The scrapping of "Ark Royal" in 1980, two years after "Eagle", marked the end of conventional fixed-wing aircraft operations aboard Royal Navy carriers. She had borne so many innovations, yet her replacement was not equipped with any of these. There was some discussion about preserving her as a museum ship, and some private funds were raised; the MOD would not sanction these efforts. The Fleet Air Arm Museum has subsequently mimicked the ship's island and flight deck in its central hall as an "Aircraft Carrier Experience" exhibition.


title: HMS Ark Royal (R09)

text: The remained in service after her, but had been converted to a helicopter commando carrier in 1971 and then as a V/STOL carrier. The much smaller could carry only vertical/short takeoff and landing aircraft and helicopters. The two new carriers, which were commissioned in 2017 and 2019, were originally designed to operate V/STOL aircraft. Despite expert advice, and in an attempt to reduce costs, the UK government requested that the new carriers be modified to operate conventional CATOBAR (catapult-assisted takeoff and barrier/arrested recovery) aircraft. Fitting electromagnetic catapults would have required huge structural changes and an upgrade of the ships' energy generation, which proved unfeasible and resulted in a decision to return to the original configuration.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Religions with the belief in a future judgment, a resurrection of the dead or a purgatory often offer prayers on behalf of the dead to God.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: For most funerals that follow the tradition of Chinese Buddhism, common practices include chanting the name of Amitabha, or reciting Buddhist scriptures such as the Sutra of The Great Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Amitabha Sutra, Diamond Sutra or a combination of classic Buddhist scriptures, such as the Great Compassion Mantra, the Heart Sutra, the Amitabha Pure Land Rebirth Mantra and Sapta Atitabuddha Karasaniya Dharani (or "Qi Fo Mie Zui Zhen Yan" 七佛滅罪真言).


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Other practices include Ritsu offer refuge, Pure Land Buddhists nianfo or chant Pure Land Rebirth Dhāraṇī and Tibetan Buddhists chant Om mani padme hum repeatedly. Prayers such as Namo Ratnasikhin Tathagata are for animals.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: A passage in the New Testament which is seen by some to be a prayer for the dead is found in , which reads as follows:


title: Prayer for the dead

text: As with the verses from 2 Maccabees, these verses reflect the deep-felt desire that God will deal mercifully with the deceased "on that day" (perhaps Judgement Day, see also Eschatology). It is not stated that Onesiphorus, for whom Saint Paul or the writer of the epistle prayed, was dead, though some scholars infer this, based on the way this only refers to him in the past tense, and prays for present blessings on his household, but for him only "on that day". And towards the end of the same letter, in , we find a greeting to "Prisca and Aquila, and the house of Onesiphorus", distinguishing the situation of Onesiphorus from that of the still living Prisca and Aquila.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Prayer for the dead is well documented within early Christianity, both among prominent Church Fathers and the Christian community in general. In Eastern Orthodoxy Christians pray for "such souls as have departed with faith, but without having had time to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance". In the Catholic Church the assistance that the dead receive by prayer on their behalf is linked with the process of purification known as purgatory. While prayer for the dead continues in both these traditions and in those of Oriental Orthodoxy and of the Assyrian Church of the East, many Protestant groups reject the practice.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: The tomb of the Christian Abercius of Hieropolis in Phrygia (latter part of the 2nd century) bears the inscription: "Let every friend who observes this pray for me", i.e. Abercius, who throughout speaks in the first person.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: The inscriptions in the Roman catacombs bear similar witness to the practice, by the occurrence of such phrases as:


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Among Church writers Tertullian († 230) is the first to mention prayers for the dead: "The widow who does not pray for her dead husband has as good as divorced him". This passage occurs in one of his later writings, dating from the beginning of the 3rd century. Subsequent writers similarly make mention of the practice as prevalent, not as unlawful or even disputed (until Arius challenged it towards the end of the 4th century). The most famous instance is Saint Augustine's prayer for his mother, Monica, at the end of the 9th book of his "Confessions", written around 398.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: An important element in the Christian liturgies both East and West consisted of the diptychs, or lists of names of living and dead commemorated at the Eucharist. To be inserted in these lists was a confirmation of one's orthodoxy, and out of the practice grew the official canonization of saints; on the other hand, removal of a name was a condemnation.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: In the middle of the 3rd century, St. Cyprian enjoined that there should be no oblation or public prayer made for a deceased layman who had broken the Church's rule by appointing a cleric trustee under his will: "He ought not to be named in the priests prayer who has done his best to detain the clergy from the altar."


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Although it is not possible, as a rule, to name dates for the exact words used in the ancient liturgies, yet the universal occurrence of these diptychs and of definite prayers for the dead in all parts of the Christian Church, East and West, in the 4th and 5th centuries shows how primitive such prayers were. The language used in the prayers for the departed is asking for rest and freedom from pain and sorrow. A passage from the Liturgy of St James reads:


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Remember, O Lord, the God of Spirits and of all Flesh, those whom we have remembered and those whom we have not remembered, men of the true faith, from righteous Abel unto to-day; do thou thyself give them rest there in the land of the living, in thy kingdom, in the delight of Paradise, in the bosom of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, our holy fathers, from whence pain and sorrow and sighing have fled away, where the light of thy countenance visiteth them and always shineth upon them.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Public prayers were only offered for those who were believed to have died as faithful members of the Church. But Saint Perpetua, who was martyred in 202, believed herself to have been encouraged in a vision to pray for her brother, who had died in his eighth year, almost certainly unbaptized; and a later vision assured her that her prayer was answered and he had been translated from punishment. St. Augustine thought it needful to point out that the narrative was not canonical Scripture, and contended that the child had perhaps been baptized.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Eastern and Oriental Orthodox reject the term "purgatory". Prayer for the dead is encouraged in the belief that it is helpful for them, although "how" the prayers of the faithful help the departed is not elucidated. Eastern Orthodox simply believe that tradition teaches "that" prayers should be made for the dead.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Saint Basil the Great (379 CE) writes in his Third Kneeling Prayer at Pentecost: "O Christ our God ... (who) on this all-perfect and saving Feast, art graciously pleased to accept propitiatory prayers for those who are imprisoned in hades, promising unto us who are held in bondage great hope of release from the vilenes that doth hinder us and did hinder them, ... send down Thy consolation ... and establish their souls in the mansions of the Just; and graciously vouchsafe unto them peace and pardon; for not the dead shall praise thee, O Lord, neither shall they who are in Hell make bold to offer unto thee confession. But we who are living will bless thee, and will pray, and offer unto thee propitiatory prayers and sacrifices for their souls."


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Saint Gregory Dialogus († 604) in his famous "Dialogues" (written in 593) teaches that, "The Holy Sacrifice (Eucharist) of Christ, our saving Victim, brings great benefits to souls even after death, provided their sins (are such as) can be pardoned in the life to come." However, St. Gregory goes on to say, the Church's practice of prayer for the dead must not be an excuse for not living a godly life on earth. "The safer course, naturally, is to do for ourselves during life what we hope others will do for us after death." Father Seraphim Rose († 1982) says: "The Church's prayer cannot save anyone who does not wish salvation, or who never offered any struggle (podvig) for it himself during his lifetime."


title: Prayer for the dead

text: The various prayers for the departed have as their purpose to pray for the repose of the departed, to comfort the living, and to remind those who remain of their own mortality. For this reason, memorial services have an air of penitence about them.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: The Church's prayers for the dead begin at the moment of death, when the priest leads the "Prayers at the Departure of the Soul", consisting of a special Canon and prayers for the release of the soul. Then the body is washed, clothed and laid in the coffin, after which the priest begins the "First Panikhida" (prayer service for the departed). After the First Panikhida, the family and friends begin reading the Psalter aloud beside the casket. This reading continues and concludes until the next morning, in which usually the funeral is held, up until the time of the "orthros".


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Orthodox Christians offer particularly fervent prayers for the departed on the first 40 days after death. Traditionally, in addition to the service on the day of death, the memorial service is performed at the request of the relatives of an individual departed person on the following occasions:


title: Prayer for the dead

text: In addition to Panikhidas for individuals, there are also several days during the year that are set aside as special general commemorations of the dead, when all departed Orthodox Christians will be prayed for together (this is especially to benefit those who have no one on earth to pray for them). The majority of these general commemorations fall on the various "Soul Saturdays" throughout the year (mostly during Great Lent). On these days, in addition to the normal Panikhida, there are special additions to Vespers and Matins, and there will be propers for the departed added to the Divine Liturgy. These days of general memorial are:


title: Prayer for the dead

text: The most important form of prayer for the dead occurs in the Divine Liturgy. Particles are cut from the prosphoron during the Proskomedie at the beginning of the Liturgy. These particles are placed beneath the Lamb (Host) on the diskos, where they remain throughout the Liturgy. After the Communion of the faithful, the deacon brushes these particles into the chalice, saying, "Wash away, O Lord, the sins of all those here commemorated, by Thy Precious Blood, through the prayers of all thy saints." Of this action, Saint Mark of Ephesus says, "We can do nothing better or greater for the dead than to pray for them, offering commemoration for them at the Liturgy. Of this they are always in need. ...The body feels nothing then: it does not see its close ones who have assembled, does not smell the fragrance of the flowers, does not hear the funeral orations. But the soul senses the prayers offered for it and is grateful to those who make them and is spiritually close to them."


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Normally, candidates for sainthood, prior to their Glorification (Canonization) as a saint, will be commemorated by serving Panikhidas. Then, on the eve of their Glorification will be served an especially solemn Requiem, known as the "Last Panikhida".


title: Prayer for the dead

text: In the West there is ample evidence of the custom of praying for the dead in the inscriptions of the catacombs, with their constant prayers for the peace and refreshment of the souls of the departed and in the early liturgies, which commonly contain commemorations of the dead; and Tertullian, Cyprian and other early Western Fathers witness to the regular practice of praying for the dead among the early Christians.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: However, in the case of martyred Christians, it was felt that it was inappropriate to pray "for" the martyrs, since they were believed to be in no need of such prayers, having instantly passed to the Beatific Vision of Heaven. Theoretically, too, prayer for those in hell (understood as the abode of the eternally lost) would be useless. However, since there is no certainty that any particular person is in hell, prayers are offered for all the dead, except for those believed to be in heaven who are prayed to, not for. In , there is usually reference to them being in purgatory. In view of the certainty that by the process of purification and with the help of the prayers of the faithful they were destined for heaven, they are referred to as the "holy souls".


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Limits were placed on public offering of Mass for the unbaptised, non-Catholics, and notorious sinners, but prayers and even Mass in private could be said for them. The present Code of Canon Law of the Catholic Church states that, unless the person concerned gave some signs of repentance before death, no form of funeral Mass may be offered for notorious apostates, heretics and schismatics; for those who for anti-Christian motives chose that their bodies be cremated; and for other manifest sinners to whom a Church funeral could not be granted without public scandal to the faithful.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: On the other hand, "provided their own minister is not available, baptised persons belonging to a non-catholic Church or ecclesial community may, in accordance with the prudent judgement of the local Ordinary, be allowed Church funeral rites, unless it is established that they did not wish this."


title: Prayer for the dead

text: During the slaughter of the First World War, Pope Benedict XV on 10 August 1915 allowed all priests everywhere to say three Masses on All Souls' Day. The two extra Masses were in no way to benefit the priest himself: one was to be offered for all the faithful departed, the other for the Pope's intentions, which at that time were presumed to be for all the victims of that war. The permission remains.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Each Eucharistic Prayer, including the Roman Canon of the Order of Mass, has a prayer for the departed.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: In "Communio Sanctorum", the Lutheran and Catholic Churches in Germany agreed that prayer for the dead "corresponds to the communion in which we are bound together in Christ ... with those who have already died to pray for them and to commend them ... to the mercy of God." Likewise, in the United States, the Evangelical Lutheran Church and Catholic Church formulated a statement "The Hope of Eternal Life", which affirmed that "there is communion among the living and the dead across the divide of death. ...Prayerful commendation of the dead to God is salutary within a funeral liturgy. ...Insofar as the resurrection of the dead and the general final judgment are future events, it is appropriate to pray for God's mercy for each person, entrusting that one to God's mercy."


title: Prayer for the dead

text: To console women whose children were not born and baptized, Martin Luther wrote in 1542: "In summary, see to it that above all else you are a true Christian and that you teach a heartfelt yearning and praying to God in true faith, be it in this or in any other trouble. Then do not be dismayed about your child or yourself. Know that your prayer is pleasing to God and that God will do everything much better than you can comprehend or desire. 'Call upon me,' he says in Psalm 50. 'In the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.' For this reason, we ought not to condemn such infants. Believers and Christians have devoted their longing and yearning and praying for them." In the same year 1542 he stated in his "Preface to the Burial Hymns": "Accordingly, we have removed from our churches and completely abolished the popish abominations, such as vigils, Masses for the dead, processions, purgatory, and all other hocus-pocus on behalf of the dead".


title: Prayer for the dead

text: The Lutheran Reformers de-emphasized prayer for the dead, because they believed that the practice had led to many abuses and even to false doctrine, in particular the doctrine of purgatory and of the Mass as a propitiatory sacrifice for the departed. But they recognized that the early Church had practiced prayer for the dead, and accepted it in principle. Thus in the 1580 Book of Concord, the Lutheran Church taught:


title: Prayer for the dead

text: "... we know that the ancients speak of prayer for the dead, which we do not prohibit; but we disapprove of the application "ex opere operato" of the Lord's Supper on behalf of the dead."


title: Prayer for the dead

text: The largest Lutheran denomination in the United States, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, "remembers the faithful departed in the Prayers of the People every Sunday, including those who have recently died and those commemorated on the church calendar of saints". In Funeral rites of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, "deceased are prayed for" using "commendations: 'keep our sister/brother ... in the company of all your saints. And at the last ... raise her/him up to share with all the faithful the endless joy and peace won through the glorious resurrection of Christ our Lord.'" The response for these prayers for the dead in this Lutheran liturgy is the prayer of Eternal Rest: "Rest eternal grant him/her, O Lord; and let light perpetual shine upon him/her".


title: Prayer for the dead

text: On the other hand, the edition of Luther's "Small Catechism" widely used among communicants of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod recommends:This question and answer do not appear in Luther's original text, but reflect the views of the twentieth-century Lutherans who added this explanation to the catechism.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: The Church of England's 1549 Book of Common Prayer still had prayer for the dead, as (in the Communion Service): "We commend into thy mercy all other thy servants, which are departed hence from us with the sign of faith and now do rest in the sleep of peace: grant unto them, we beseech thee, thy mercy and everlasting peace." But since 1552 the Book of Common Prayer has no express prayers for the dead, and the practice is denounced in the Homily "On Prayer" (part 3). Nonjurors included prayers for the dead, a practice that spread within the Church of England in the mid-nineteenth century, and was authorized in 1900 for forces serving in South Africa and since then in other forms of service. Many jurisdictions and parishes of the Anglo-Catholic tradition continue to practice prayer for the dead, including offering the Sunday liturgy for the peace of named departed Christians and keeping All Souls' Day.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: The 1979 Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church (United States) includes prayers for the dead. The prayers during the Sunday Eucharistic Liturgy include intercessions for the repose of the faithful departed. Furthermore, most of the prayers in the burial rite are for the deceased, including the opening collect: O God, whose mercies cannot be numbered: Accept our prayers on behalf of thy servant "N.," and grant "him" an entrance into the land of light and joy, in the fellowship of thy saints; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.According to the Catechism in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, "We pray for (the dead), because we still hold them in our love, and because we trust that in God's presence those who have chosen to serve him will grow in his love, until they see him as he is." Although this statement indicates that prayer is typically made for those who are known to have been members of the Church ("those who have chosen to serve him"), prayer is also offered for those whose faith was uncertain or unknown – authorized options in the Prayer Book burial rite allow for prayers that thus entrust the deceased to the mercy of God while retaining integrity about what was known of the deceased's religious life. For example, following the intercessions, there are two options for a concluding prayer: the first begins, "Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to you our brother (sister) "N.," who was reborn by water and the Spirit in Holy Baptism . . ."; the second, however, would be appropriate for one whose faith and standing before God is not known:Father of all, we pray to you for "N.," and for all those whom we love but see no longer. Grant to them eternal rest. Let light perpetual shine upon them. May "his" soul and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, stated that: "I believe it to be a duty to observe, to pray for the Faithful Departed". He "taught the propriety of Praying for the Dead, practised it himself, provided "Forms" that others might." Two such prayers in the "Forms" are "O grant that we, with those who are already dead in Thy faith and fear, may together partake of a joyful resurrection" and also, "By Thy infinite mercies, vouchsafe to bring us, with those that are dead in Thee, to rejoice together before Thee." As such, many Methodists pray "for those who sleep." Shane Raynor, a Methodist writer, explains the practice saying that it is "appropriate to pray for others in the community, even across time and space", referencing the doctrine of Communion of Saints being a "community made up of all past, present, and future Christians". In a joint statement with the Catholic Church in England and Wales, the Methodist Church of Great Britain affirmed that "Methodists who pray for the dead thereby commend them to the continuing mercy of God."


title: Prayer for the dead

text: In its Easter liturgy, the Moravian Church prays for those "departed in the faith of Christ" and "give[s] thanks for their holy departure".


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Reformed churches are often opposed to prayer for the dead, because it is seen as useless. However the Presbyterian church USA has a "commemoration of those who have died in the faith", they are not petitions for the dead but reminders that the church on earth is a part of a larger company of saints with the church in heaven, other prayers combine thanksgivings for the dead with petitions for the living.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: The New Apostolic Church, the largest of the Irvingian Churches, practices prayer for the dead. Divine Services for the faithful departed take place thrice a year; additionally, "New Apostolic Christians also pray that souls who have died in an unredeemed state may find salvation in Christ."


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Prayer for the dead is not practiced by members of Baptist and nondenominational Christian churches. For example, members of the Baptist churches hold that "dead men receive no benefit from the prayers, sacrifices, &c. of the living."


title: Prayer for the dead

text: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a number of sacred ordinances and rituals that are performed for the dead. Among these are baptism for the dead and the sealing of the dead to families. These practices are based upon multiple New Testament scriptures, some of which are and .


title: Prayer for the dead

text: In Hinduism there are funeral speeches with prayers for the dead. Many of these funeral speeches are read out from the Mahabharata, usually in Sanskrit. Family members will pray around the body as soon as possible after death. People try to avoid touching the corpse as it is considered polluting.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: In Islam, Muslims of their community gather to their collective prayers for the forgiveness of the dead, a prayer is recited and this prayer is known as the Salat al-Janazah (Janazah prayer). Like Eid prayer, the Janazah prayer incorporates an additional (four) Takbirs, the Arabic name for the phrase Allahu Akbar, but there is no Ruku' (bowing) and Sujud (prostrating). Supplication for the deceased and mankind is recited. In extraordinary circumstances, the prayer can be postponed and prayed at a later time as was done in the Battle of Uhud.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Dogma states it is obligatory for every Muslim adult male to perform the funeral prayer upon the death of any Muslim, but the dogma embraces the practical in that it qualifies: when Janazah is performed by the few it alleviates that obligation for all.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: In addition, "Peace be upon him" (sometimes abbreviated in writing as PBUH) is a constantly repeated prayer for dead people such as prophet Mohammed.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Prayers for the dead form part of the Jewish services. The prayers offered on behalf of the deceased consist of: Recitation of Psalms; Reciting a thrice daily communal prayer in Aramaic which is known as "Kaddish". "Kaddish" actually means "Sanctification" (or "Prayer of Making Holy") which is a prayer "In Praise of God"; or other special remembrances known as "Yizkor"; and also a "Hazkara" which is said either on the annual commemoration known as the "Yahrzeit" as well on Jewish holidays. The form in use in England contains the following passage: "Have mercy upon him; pardon all his transgressions. ...Shelter his soul in the shadow of Thy wings. Make known to him the path of life."


title: Prayer for the dead

text: "El Maleh Rachamim" is the actual Jewish prayer for the dead, although less well known than the Mourner's Kaddish. While the Kaddish does not mention death but rather affirms the steadfast faith of the mourners in God's goodness, "El Maleh Rachamim" is a prayer for the rest of the departed. There are various translations for the original Hebrew which vary significantly. One version reads:


title: Prayer for the dead

text: A record of Jewish prayer and offering of sacrifice for the dead at the time of the Maccabees is seen being referred to in 2 Maccabees, a book written in Greek, which, though not accepted as part of the Jewish Bible, is regarded as canonical by Eastern Christianity and the Roman Catholic Church:


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Jacques Le Goff, French historian and agnostic, concluded: "At the time of Judas Maccabeus – around 170 B.C., a surprisingly innovative period – prayer for the dead was not practiced, but that a century later it was practiced by certain Jews.”


title: Prayer for the dead

text: This extract does not explain on what grounds Le Goff argued that prayer for the dead was not in use in the first half of the 2nd century BC. The account of the action of Judas Maccabaeus was written midway through the second half of the same century, in about 124 B.C., and in the view of Philip Schaff its mention of prayer for the dead "seems to imply habit".


title: Prayer for the dead

text: In Mandaeism, the masiqta is a lengthy ceremony for the dead performed over many days. Many prayers from the Qolasta and other Mandaean texts are recited during a masiqta, of which there are several types.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Followers of the Baháʼí Faith believe that the soul continues to progress toward God in the afterlife. In fact, the Baháʼí definition of heaven and hell are nearness and remoteness from God in the afterlife, respectively. The belief is that souls continue their journeys through can be aided in their progress by the saying of prayers for the departed. Here is a sample of one such prayer:


title: Prayer for the dead

text: The Prayer for the Dead is a particular prayer for the departed, said at Baháʼí funerals before interment.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Many spiritual traditions have prayers for the dead as part of their liturgy, whether these prayers are salutational, to welcome the spirits of the deceased, or to remember their names.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: African Traditional and Diasporic traditions often have incorporated ancestral veneration practices. In orisha based traditions, the mojuba is the praise chant which praises Olodumare, the orishas, the religious lineage, the blood lineage of ancestors, and the various other beings of the universe.


title: Prayer for the dead

text: Zoroastrians chant prayers for the dead in their funeral ceremonies, asking God to forgive the deceased.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: Despite scoring regular podium finishes in with Williams, and in and with BMW Sauber, Heidfeld never won a race after debuting in Formula One in . Heidfeld currently holds two Formula One records; most podium finishes without a Grand Prix win (13), and the most second-place finishes without a win (8).


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: In 2011, Heidfeld raced in Formula One for the Renault team as a replacement for the injured Robert Kubica, his former BMW Sauber teammate, before being replaced by Bruno Senna. He last drove for the Rebellion Racing team in the FIA World Endurance Championship and for Mahindra Racing Formula E Team in Formula E.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: Heidfeld was born in Mönchengladbach, West Germany on 10 May 1977, and began racing karts at the age of 11 in 1988. In 1994 he moved into the German Formula Ford series, gaining widespread attention by winning 8 of the 9 races to take the title that season. In 1995 he won the German International Formula Ford 1800 Championship, and came second in the Zetec Cup. This led to a drive in the German Formula Three Championship for 1996, where he finished third overall, after taking 3 wins. He entered the end of the season Macau Grand Prix and won the first heat of the race, attracting the attention of compatriot Norbert Haug, who later signed him up for the West Competition team.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: The following year Heidfeld won the German F3 Championship for Bertram Schäfer Racing, with support from McLaren/West, including a win at the Monaco Grand Prix Formula Three support race. In 1998, he won three races and was runner-up in the International Formula 3000 championship, with the West Competition team. At the final race of the season he was demoted to the back of the grid from pole position, after his team used non-compliant fuel. He finished the race ninth and out of the points, losing the championship by seven points to Juan Pablo Montoya. During that season, he was also the official test driver for the McLaren-Mercedes Formula One team. In 1999, he won the International Formula 3000 Championship. That year he also took the official track record at the Goodwood Festival of Speed which stood for 20 years. He was also a member of the Mercedes squad that raced at the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans, but the team withdrew after the Mercedes-Benz CLR back-flipped on the Mulsanne Straight while Mark Webber and Peter Dumbreck were driving.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: Heidfeld was signed as a race driver for the Prost Grand Prix F1 team for the 2000 season, alongside Formula One veteran Jean Alesi. Heidfeld struggled with his new car and suffered a string of retirements, as well as colliding with his teammate on more than one occasion.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: He departed Prost at the end of that season, before signing a three-year contract with Sauber for 2001. He was partnered with then rookie driver Kimi Räikkönen. Heidfeld scored his first podium with a third-place finish in the Brazilian Grand Prix. After the announcement of Mika Häkkinen's retirement, many thought that Heidfeld would replace him in the McLaren-Mercedes team, as he had Mercedes backing and had outscored the much more inexperienced Räikkönen by three points over the year. However, the McLaren seat went to Räikkönen, and Heidfeld stayed with Sauber for 2002 and 2003, where he racked up a number of points finishes. In 2002 he outperformed another rookie teammate, Felipe Massa, but was then beaten by his more experienced fellow countryman, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, in 2003.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: At the end of the 2003 season, Heidfeld was replaced at the Sauber team by Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella and looked to be without a race seat for the 2004 season. However, after impressing during a series of preseason tests, it was announced that Heidfeld would race with the financially strapped Jordan team, alongside rookie Giorgio Pantano. The EJ14 was an upgrade of the previous season's uncompetitive EJ13 and proved slow. Despite this, Heidfeld often outperformed the car, finishing ahead of more competitive vehicles. He finished seventh at the Monaco Grand Prix and eighth at the Canadian Grand Prix and finished the season with three points.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: During the winter of 2004–2005, Heidfeld tested with the Williams team, in a 'shootout' against Antônio Pizzonia for the second race seat alongside Mark Webber. At the Williams launch on 31 January 2005, it was announced that Heidfeld would be the race driver for the team in 2005, replacing the McLaren-bound Juan Pablo Montoya.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: He performed well throughout the season, often finishing ahead of teammate Webber. At the seventh race of the 2005 season at the Nürburgring circuit, his home Grand Prix, Heidfeld took his first and only pole position. In Monaco he finished second, which he equalled at the Nürburgring in the same season.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: Heidfeld missed the Italian and Belgian Grands Prix due to injuries suffered in a testing accident. Scheduled to come back for Brazil, he was injured again when hit by a motorbike when out cycling, and therefore forced to sit out the rest of the season.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: Heidfeld gained a contract with his then Williams' engine supplier, BMW, when they bought the Sauber team (BMW and Sauber merger) and entered Formula One as BMW Sauber for the 2006 season, replacing Felipe Massa who was bound for Ferrari.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: During 2006 Heidfeld scored points several times for his new team. At Melbourne he ran as high as second until the safety car came out. He eventually finished fourth. At Indianapolis, he was eliminated in a spectacular first lap accident which saw fellow drivers Scott Speed, Jenson Button, Kimi Räikkönen and Juan Pablo Montoya also go out. Heidfeld's car was launched into a quadruple barrel roll, but he and the other drivers all walked away unharmed. The Hungarian Grand Prix saw Heidfeld give BMW Sauber their first podium finish and best result of the year, when he finished third, even though he had only qualified tenth on the grid.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: At the end of 2006, Heidfeld was quoted attacking the media's saturation coverage of his teammate Robert Kubica, who had scored fewer points than him. This has happened two other times in the German's career; in 2001 when he was teammates with Kimi Räikkönen (whom he beat twelve points to nine) and in 2002, when he was teammates with Felipe Massa (whom he beat by seven points to four). Räikkönen and Massa later formed the 2007 Ferrari driver line-up.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: Heidfeld started the 2007 season strongly. In Bahrain, he chased down and overtook reigning world champion Fernando Alonso around the outside, finishing half a minute ahead of his BMW teammate Kubica. He scored three fourth places in the opening three races, a sixth in Monaco, and a second place at the Canadian Grand Prix, where he also out-qualified both Ferraris, equalling his best ever Grand Prix finish. After retiring from fifth place at Indianapolis, he was outscored by teammate Kubica at both Magny-Cours and Silverstone. At an eventful European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, Heidfeld's home circuit, where he collided with Kubica on the opening lap, he recovered and overtook Kubica on the final lap to finish sixth, despite making six pitstops during the race. Heidfeld returned to form in Hungary, qualifying second and finishing third to score his and BMW's second podium of the season. He finished fourth at the Turkish and Italian Grand Prix, and fifth in the Belgian Grand Prix. He eventually finished a career-best fifth in the championship with 61 points, outpointing Kubica by 22 points.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: On 28 April 2007, Heidfeld drove three demonstration laps around the Nürburgring's legendary 14 mile Nordschleife track, which made him the first driver in 31 years to pilot a current F1 car there. About 45,000 spectators attended the event, which was held after a four-hour VLN endurance race.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: Heidfeld began the 2008 season strongly, finishing second in Australia after qualifying fifth. In Malaysia, he qualified fifth but dropped down to tenth at the first corner after being pushed wide by Jarno Trulli. He got back up to sixth, also setting his first ever fastest lap in the process. In Bahrain he started from sixth place but he did not gain a place at the start, but passed Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen to climb up to fourth. He finished there and this fourth gave him second in the championship.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: After a few disappointing qualifying sessions and races in the following weeks (after which the German press started to call him "Leidfeld", with "Leid" meaning "misery" in German), Kubica and Heidfeld made BMW Sauber history by securing the third-year team's first victory, and first one-two finish respectively in Canada. Heidfeld was positioned eighth on the grid and after losing a place at the start, before gaining it back, was sitting comfortably in eighth place once again before a safety car situation saw the top 7 cars enter the pits in what was to soon become a bizarre series of errors that left Heidfeld and Kubica battling for the top two places. Heidfeld was switched to a one-stop fuel strategy and came out of his stop ahead of Kubica, but considerably heavier on fuel. Not long afterwards, Heidfeld moved off the racing line allowing Kubica to make an easy pass, which then allowed the lighter BMW Sauber to build up a considerable lead on Heidfeld, who was occupied with preventing Fernando Alonso, also in a lighter car, from chasing Kubica. The gap built by Kubica allowed him to rejoin the race comfortably in the lead after his final pitstop with no threats behind him. Heidfeld finished the race second, solidifying his fifth-place position in the driver's points although his post-race body language suggested he was unhappy to have ceded a potential win for the benefit of the team. Heidfeld had a disappointing race in France, failing to score any points. He came back strongly at the British Grand Prix, starting fifth and finishing second in the wet conditions. Another strong performance, where he set the fastest lap of the race for the second time this season, was his home grand prix at the Hockenheimring showed that, for the time being, he had reversed the performance deficit to his teammate. Another second-place finish at the Belgian Grand Prix, followed by 5th and 6th-place finishes in Italy and Singapore respectively put him just one point behind current World Champion Kimi Räikkönen with just three races remaining.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: It was confirmed on 6 October that both Heidfeld and teammate Kubica would remain at the BMW Sauber team for the season.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: In the last three races Heidfeld scored four points, ending in sixth place in the standings after being passed by Fernando Alonso at the last round of the season. However, Heidfeld became only the second driver to finish 18 races in a single season, after Tiago Monteiro completed the same feat with Jordan in 2005. Heidfeld also became the first driver to finish every single race in a season since Michael Schumacher in 2002.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: Heidfeld began in Australia by qualifying in 11th place and finishing 10th in the race. At the Malaysian Grand Prix, Heidfeld again qualified in 11th, but started 10th as Sebastian Vettel was issued a 10 place drop (for an incident caused in Australia with Heidfeld's teammate Kubica). The race was stopped due to torrential rain on the 33rd lap, when Heidfeld was third, but as set out in the regulations, the result was taken at the end of the penultimate completed lap, when Heidfeld had been running second. Because less than 75% of the race distance had been covered, the drivers only received half points. He scored a further 2 points at the , and finished 5th at Spa to score another 4 points. A seventh-place finish at Monza added a further 2 points to his 2009 tally. Nevertheless, four points-scoring finishes in the final six races secured him thirteenth position in the Drivers' Championship, two points ahead of Kubica.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: In Singapore, Heidfeld's run of 41 consecutive classified finishes was brought to an end due to a collision with Force India's Adrian Sutil.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: Following BMW's decision to withdraw from the sport at the end of the 2009 season, Heidfeld's future in Formula One was uncertain. It was mentioned that he was considered to drive for Mercedes GP alongside fellow German Nico Rosberg but the team signed another German in Michael Schumacher instead. McLaren was also a potential destination however these negotiations came to nothing as well. Heidfeld was then tipped for a seat at Sauber alongside Kamui Kobayashi but they decided to go with Pedro de la Rosa. Heidfeld was then in the running for a Renault seat alongside fellow BMW Sauber refugee Robert Kubica, but on 4 February, Heidfeld was confirmed as the test and reserve driver for Mercedes.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: At the Australian Grand Prix, Heidfeld was chosen to succeed Pedro de la Rosa as Chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association. He left the position upon taking the role of Pirelli's test driver ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, and was replaced by Rubens Barrichello.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: In August 2010, with Heidfeld not yet having driven the Mercedes MGP W01 car, the team released him from his contract so that he could become the Pirelli tyre company's test driver. Heidfeld tested a Toyota TF109 car fitted with Pirelli tyres on a number of occasions in 2010, ahead of the firm's replacement of Bridgestone as the sport's sole tyre supplier in . Heidfeld completed three tests for Pirelli in Mugello, Paul Ricard and Jerez before being released from his duties to join Sauber, with his place being taken by Romain Grosjean.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: In September 2010, Heidfeld returned to the Formula One grid, replacing Pedro de la Rosa at the Sauber team for the remainder of the 2010 season. This marked his third spell with them. On 4 October 2010, Sauber confirmed their driver line-up for 2011 as Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Pérez, seemingly leaving Heidfeld without a drive for 2011, before replacing Robert Kubica at Renault, who was injured in a rally accident on 6 February 2011.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: On 9 February, Lotus Renault GP confirmed that Heidfeld would be sharing testing duties with Bruno Senna on the Saturday and Sunday of the four-day test at Jerez, to evaluate the drivers in preparation of replacing the injured and former BMW Sauber teammate Robert Kubica, who had suffered long-term injuries to his arm and hand in a crash whilst rallying in Italy, for the season. On the Saturday, Heidfeld set the quickest time of the day, stating that he enjoyed his day's running – 86 laps – with the team, and had fun driving the car. Heidfeld was confirmed as Kubica's replacement on 16 February 2011. In Australia, the first race of the season following the cancellation of the , Heidfeld qualified 18th and ended 12th after suffering significant damage to his car due to another competitor driving into him at the start of race. On 10 April 2011, Heidfeld finished third, after starting sixth, in the at Sepang, breaking Stefan Johansson's record of 12 podiums without a win. He added another 12th place in China, before a seventh-place finish in Turkey after a close battle with teammate Petrov. Two eighth places in Spain and Monaco were followed by a retirement at the , after running into the back of Kamui Kobayashi and causing damage to his front wing, which broke under acceleration and collapsed under the car. He was forced to retire after his car caught fire after exiting the pit lane on lap 25 in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Heidfeld was replaced by Bruno Senna ahead of the . Heidfeld officially parted company with the team on 2 September 2011.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: In 2016, in an academic paper that reported a mathematical modeling study that assessed the relative influence of driver and machine, Heidfeld was ranked the 23rd best Formula One driver of all time.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: On 1 February 2012, it was confirmed that Heidfeld would join the Rebellion Racing team to contest both the Le Mans 24 Hours and selected races of the FIA World Endurance Championship. In addition to Le Mans, he also raced at the Sebring 12 Hours and Spa 6 Hours, sharing a Lola-Toyota LMP1 car with teammates Neel Jani and Nicolas Prost. The car finished 32nd overall and seventh in class at Sebring after encountering problems, before leading home a Rebellion one-two in the unofficial privateer class at Spa, finishing fifth overall behind the four works Audis. At Le Mans, Heidfeld and his teammates went one better by finishing fourth, splitting the Audis after a fast and problem-free run.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: On 26 June 2014, Heidfeld signed up for the inaugural season of Formula E for Venturi Grand Prix. In the first race at the 2014 Beijing ePrix, he had a spectacular accident at the final corner on the final lap with e.Dams Renault driver Nicolas Prost whilst fighting for the lead. Prost later accepted the blame for the accident. At the 2014 Putrajaya ePrix, he retired from the race after a collision this time with Franck Montagny but to add insult to injury, he was excluded from the 19th position finish for changing his car outside the permitted area during his pit stop, meaning he cannot count the race as a round where he drops a score.


title: Nick Heidfeld

text: Heidfeld lives in Stäfa, Switzerland with his fiancée, daughter (born 2005), and sons (born 2007, 2010). He has an elder brother, Tim, and a younger brother, Sven, a former racing driver who is now a motorsport commentator for German television.


title: Matias Varela

text: Varela was born and grew up in Södermalm on the south side of Stockholm. Both of his parents are from Galicia and he did not learn Swedish until he started school. During middle school, he became friends with Gustaf Skarsgård, son of actor Stellan Skarsgård. Varela did not then know of the famous Skarsgård family because he mostly watched Spanish satellite television. When his friend Skarsgård applied to a selective upper secondary school, Södra Latin's drama program near where both boys lived, Varela wanted to do the same. The elder Skarsgård gave the young Varela a few hours of acting instructions and he was accepted by the school. Varela said he was surprised, because he had shown up in a track suit and looked more like a chav than an aspiring actor.


title: Matias Varela

text: After a brief appearance in the soap opera "Nya tider", he left Sweden for a while and on returning worked as a construction worker with small acting jobs for a sideline. After reading the bestselling Swedish crime novel "Snabba Cash" and hearing that a film production company Tre Vänner was adapting the book for the big screen he set his sights on starring as the Swedish-Chilean drug dealer Jorge Salinas. Varela convinced the director Daniel Espinosa to give him a screen test. Espinosa, who himself is of Chilean descent, had stated he wanted someone with roots in Chile, and Varela would eventually land the role.


title: Matias Varela

text: "Easy Money" was a success and Varela went on to star in both sequels: "" (2012) and "" (2013). He also got the part of Police Detective Jorge Chavez in the big budget TV series "Arne Dahl". In series 2 Alexander Salzberger replaced him.


title: Matias Varela

text: Varela had his first international role in an episode of "Covert Affairs" as a Basque terrorist. In 2013 he was in several episodes of Showtime's "The Borgias" in the prominent part of Ferdinand II of Naples.


title: Matias Varela

text: Among his projects in 2015 and 2016 were Johan Renck's quirky crime drama "Ettor och nollor" alongside his old friend Gustaf Skarsgård, the 2015 remake "Point Break", and the video game adaptation "Assassin's Creed", with Michael Fassbender.


title: Matias Varela

text: In 2017, he starred as Jorge Salcedo Cabrera, the head of security for the Cali Cartel in season three of the Netflix series "Narcos". In 2020, he reprised the role in the second season of "".