title: Centre Party (Norway)

text: In 1959, the party briefly changed its name to the Norwegian Democratic Party – Democrats ("Norsk Folkestyreparti – Demokratene"), but it soon had to change the name again due to election technicalities. In June 1959, the name was changed to the current Centre Party. This happened out of the need to attract an additional electorate with the continuing decline of the agrarian share of the population. The party's membership numbers peaked at 70,000 in 1971. From 1927 to 1999, the party published the newspaper "Fylket".


title: Centre Party (Norway)

text: In local elections, the party has enjoyed strong support in several small municipalities, where the party has a strong influence. After the 2007 Norwegian local elections, 83 of the mayors in Norway represented the Centre Party. Only the Labour Party had more mayors and the Centre Party had more mayors than any other, relative to party size.


title: Centre Party (Norway)

text: The Centre Party had been a part of both centrist and centre-right coalition governments from 1963 to 2000 and in six governments, one of which were led by a Prime Minister from the party. Since the 2005 Norwegian parliamentary election, the party ran for government together with the Labour Party and the Socialist Left Party as the red–green coalition, with the Centre Party constituting the green part of the alliance. The coalition was successful in winning the majority of the seats in the Storting and negotiations followed with the aim of forming a coalition cabinet led by the Labour Party's leader Jens Stoltenberg. These negotiations succeeded and the Centre Party entered the Second Stoltenberg Cabinet on 17 October 2005 with four ministers. The Red–Greens were re-elected to government in the 2009 Norwegian parliamentary election. It has been argued that the party's ideology moved more towards social democracy at the end of the 1980s.


title: Centre Party (Norway)

text: The party is known for its support of high toll tariffs on foreign cheese and meat called "toll protection" as well as their proposal to shoot all wolves in Norway. However, this has lately been rejected as the party's policy by Sandra Borch, the predator policies spokesperson of the Centre Party, who in an 2020 interview given on the debate program to Dagsnytt 18 on NRK1 stated that "[t]he Centre Party has never proposed to exterminate the wolf. We want substainable management of predators", adding that "[w]hat the Centre Party has been a part of, together with the Liberal Party in a broad agreement in the Storting, is that we will have 4-6 breeding wolf packs in Norway."


title: Centre Party (Norway)

text: The party was also in charge of implementing the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats in 1986. The Centre Party's Rakel Surlien was Minister of the Environment when Norway ratified the Berne Convention, so that protection of wolves became Norwegian law. The Berne Convention was otherwise adopted by a unanimous Storting, which also included all MPs from the Centre Party.


title: Centre Party (Norway)

text: In late 2012, the Centre Party caused controversy in Norway when it emerged that the party had demanded higher import tariffs on meat and hard cheeses to protect Norwegian farmers from foreign competition. This included increased duties of 429% on lamb, 344% on beef and 277% on all but 14 exempted hard cheeses.


title: Centre Party (Norway)

text: Since the leadership of Trygve Slagsvold Vedum during years in opposition, the party has been described as populist by several sources.


title: South African Special Forces

text: The South African Special Forces Brigade, colloquially known as the Recces, is South Africa's principal special operations unit, specialising in various types of operations including; counter-insurgency, long-range-reconnaissance, unconventional-warfare, special operations, hostage-rescue, and direct-action operations. The brigade operates with two active-duty groups, with 4 Special Forces Regiment focusing on maritime operations, and 5 Special Forces Regiment focusing on land and airborne operations. Only about 8% of recruits who undergo South African special forces training pass the course.


title: South African Special Forces

text: The South African Special Forces Brigade has its roots in the Hunter Group, which was formed in 1968 as an elite counter-insurgency unit of the South African Army. The success of this unit culminated in the subsequent formation of five reconnaissance units, known widely as "Recces", during the 1970s. South African special forces carried out a number of combat operations during the Rhodesian Bush War, the South African Border War, and the Mozambican Civil War.


title: South African Special Forces

text: The Special Forces Brigade's current structure is the result of extensive restructuring related to the integration of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) between 1992 and 1996. Elements of the brigade are expanded into two additional groups; though termed "regiments", they consist only of small numbers of operators who are secretive, seldom photographed, and expertly trained. The current regiments include 4 Special Forces Regiment based at Langebaan in Western Cape Province, and 5 Special Forces Regiment based at Phalaborwa in the northern part of the province of Limpopo.


title: South African Special Forces

text: Special forces are directly under the command of the Joint Operations Division of the SANDF, and unlike other similar forces worldwide, is not a part of the South African Army nor the South African Navy, but is rather operated as its own branch/service within the SANDF.


title: South African Special Forces

text: The first South African Special Forces unit, 1 Reconnaissance Commando, was established in the town of Oudtshoorn, Cape Province on 1 October 1972. On 1 January 1975, this unit was relocated to Durban, Natal, where it continued its activities as the airborne specialist unit of the special forces.


title: South African Special Forces

text: Many white members of the Rhodesian special forces were recruited into the SADF in 1980 as part of Operation Winter and served with the South African Special Forces.


title: South African Special Forces

text: On 1 January 1981, a re-organisation of Special Forces took place, as part of which the Reconnaissance Commandos and other special forces were transformed into an independent formation, directly under the command of the (then) South African Defence Force (instead of the South African Army). As part of the re-organisation, the various Reconnaissance Commandos were also given the status of regiments. In the latter part of the same decade, a Special Forces headquarters and a Special Forces stores depot were also added to the Special Forces structure.


title: South African Special Forces

text: Between the years 1981 and 1990, Special Forces was home to unconventional operations such as Project Barnacle, the Civil Cooperation Bureau and other operations conducted under the aegis of 7 Medical Battalion Group.


title: South African Special Forces

text: In 1991, the structure of the special forces underwent another change, when the special forces headquarters was disbanded and a Directorate Reconnaissance, reporting directly to the Chief of the Army, was established instead.


title: South African Special Forces

text: Another organisational change followed in 1993, when the Directorate Reconnaissance became 45 Parachute Brigade. As a result of this, all the units were renamed: 1 Reconnaissance Regiment became 452 Parachute Battalion, 4 Reconnaissance Regiment became 453 Parachute Battalion and 5 Reconnaissance Regiment became 451 Parachute Battalion.


title: South African Special Forces

text: As part of the military rationalization process, 1 Special Forces Regiment was disbanded in 1996. Its personnel were incorporated into the other Special Forces Regiments.


title: South African Special Forces

text: In 1997, the Special Forces School was transferred to 5 Special Forces Regiment upon the retirement of 1 Special Forces Regiment where the School had previously been based. The Special Forces School was transferred out of 5 Special Forces Regiment in 2002, to become a stand-alone unit.


title: South African Special Forces

text: Based in Pretoria. The General Officer Commanding (GOC) Special Forces commands, controls and coordinates the activities of the various SF Regiments from a headquarters (HQ) located in the Swartkop Park nature reserve on the southwestern outskirts of Pretoria. Colloquially called "Speskop", the headquarters also houses the Special Forces' operational planning as well as administrative support staffs.


title: South African Special Forces

text: 4 Special Forces Regiment is based in Langebaan, Saldanha Bay, on the west coast north of Cape Town. It provides South Africa its seaward Special Forces capability. The unit was established at Langebaan in 1978. The Regiment consists of three operational commandos (companies) as well as a Special Forces Amphibious and Urban School.


title: South African Special Forces

text: 5 Special Forces Regiment is based in Phalaborwa in the east of the northern Limpopo Province, and was established in Durban in 1976. After a sojourn at Duku Duku in northern KwaZulu-Natal, the unit moved into its present lines in 1980. Its post-2002 structure provides for two operational commandos and a training wing. It specialises in overland operations, especially long-range infiltration, intelligence gathering and airborne operations.


title: South African Special Forces

text: Retired Special Forces personnel form part of the Special Forces Reserve. They are assigned to the various Special Forces Regiments as required.


title: South African Special Forces

text: Based in Murrayhill, the South African Special Forces School is responsible for the presentation of the Special Forces Pre-Selection and Selection courses and ongoing training.


title: South African Special Forces

text: The South African Special Forces Supply Unit provides logistical support and is based in Walmansthal, North of Pretoria.


title: South African Special Forces

text: In the Special Forces regiments, leadership positions, especially at team (section) and group (platoon) level, have traditionally been dictated more by ability and experience than rank. This has, on occasion, resulted in Operators more senior in rank being assigned to groups or teams commanded by Operators junior to them in rank but more seasoned in operational experience or actual command.


title: South African Special Forces

text: The Ultimate Challenge, as South African Special Forces Selection is often called, is considered one of the most difficult special forces selection courses in the world. A soldier must meet very high requirements to even attend Special Forces Selection. In accordance with SANDF regulations, only South African citizens under a certain age are permitted to apply.


title: South African Special Forces

text: This includes all aspects of psychological and physical tests. For the psychological tests, soldiers are given written tests and oral interviews with Special Forces NCOs. A soldier must be self-controlled and mature. Soldiers are ejected from the course if there is any suggestion of mental instability. The Physical Test includes for example 50 continuous push ups without breaking rhythm, 67 sit ups in two minutes, 175-metre fireman's lift run within 65 seconds, 5-kilometre run within 24 minutes, a rope climb and 40 six-metre shuttle runs in 95 seconds. A student must also scale a wall, complete a fifteen-kilometre march in less than 120 minutes and perform 120 shuttle kicks.


title: South African Special Forces

text: All Special Forces candidates who aren't already parachute-qualified have to attend, and pass, the Basic Parachute School.


title: South African Special Forces

text: Selection is an event during which candidates are placed in an extremely mentally and physically demanding set of situations and circumstances, through which they must pass. It is in duration approximately a week.


title: South African Special Forces

text: For the duration of Selection, the candidates do not sleep or eat, and have no rest period at all. Only an extremely small percentage of those who begin Selection ever pass it. In some years, no-one has managed to pass Selection, and there are other cases where only 1 or 2 out of an entire Selection group of approximately 120 have passed.


title: South African Special Forces

text: Once past the Selection process, an aspiring operator will be placed on a training cycle to acquire the skills required. These include: air co-operation, water orientation, obstacle crossing, bushcraft, tracking and survival, demolitions and tactics in urban as well as rural areas.


title: South African Special Forces

text: Advanced Airborne Training: a recruit will attend courses in military free-fall such as HALO and HAHO. They will also learn about helicopter operations – how to descend by means of a rope out of helicopters (fast-roping and rappel ). Combat extraction is also taught, along with learning how to set up a Landing Zone.


title: South African Special Forces

text: Land training consists of many things: including sniping, demolitions and reconnaissance. Bushcraft and survival is also taught. Climbing and photography are taught to new recruits. Urban and rural combat is perhaps the newest training – developed quite recently, this training provided South Africa with a new counter-terrorist force. Medical and communications training is also given to those who wish to become qualified in these fields.


title: South African Special Forces

text: Maritime training consists of the use of small boats, underwater demolitions, swimming, combat diving, diving, beach reconnaissance and navigation.


title: South African Special Forces

text: The South African "Recces" were deployed to many local hot spots during the late 1970s and early 1980s, particularly Angola.


title: South African Special Forces

text: The main enemy then was South West Africa's People Organization whose armed wing PLAN, was a guerrilla organization fighting for an independent Namibia.


title: South African Special Forces

text: One of the "Recces"' most effective operations came in 1982: Operation Mebos penetrated deep into Angola and destroyed the SWAPO Headquarters. In Operation Askari, in the winter of 1984, the "Recces" cut off almost all supply lines to and from the SWAPO in Angola. In May 1985, a "Recce" team undertook the controversial Operation Argon, a failed attempt to sabotage Angolan oil installations run by Gulf Oil.


title: South African Special Forces

text: In early summer of 1985, another "Recce" team under the command of SADF Captain André Diedericks crossed into Angola's Cuando Cubango province, and with UNITA's help, protection and escort was secretly deployed around Menongue area. The team had at their disposal the 9K31 "Strela-1" AA system manned and operated by the team members. The Team's mission was to carry out covert combat operations, code names "Catamaran 1," "Catamaran 2" and "Cerberus" with the goal of disrupting air traffic in Cuando Cubango province by shooting down air transports, combat aircraft and gunships using the AA system.


title: South African Special Forces

text: On 11 June 1985, roughly from Menongue, the team shot down an Angolan airplane, a light utility aircraft, Britten-Norman BN-2 "Islander". The "Islander", en route from Menongue to Cuito Cuanavale with a crew of 2 and 5 passengers, was also carrying 69 million kwanzas (Angola's currency), several months of salary for FAPLA's 16th Brigade's personnel based in Cuito Cuanavale. When the "Islander" fell to the ground the money was stolen and the remains of the dead passengers had been pillaged by UNITA soldiers attached to protect the "Recce" team.


title: South African Special Forces

text: On 25 November 1985, the same "Recce" team had also shot down an "Aeroflot" Antonov AN-12 of the Soviet Air Force. The AN-12 transport, which was "en route" from Cuito Cuanavale to Luanda carrying 8 crew members and 13 passengers, crashed approximately south-east of Menongue. All people on board (twelve Soviet and nine Angolan nationals) died in the crash.


title: South African Special Forces

text: Operators of the South African Special Forces were involved in direct action against the Séléka rebels in the Fight for Bangui during the South African military assistance to the Central African Republic. No South African Special Forces operators were killed in the operation. All casualties were attributed to 1 Parachute Battalion which lost 13 soldiers, with a further 27 injured, during pitched battles on the outskirts of the capital, Bangui.


title: South African Special Forces

text: An operator of the South African Special Forces, as part of the Force Intervention Brigade, made the 8th longest recorded sniper kill in history with a confirmed distance of using a South African made Denel NTW-20 anti-materiel rifle in its configuration.


title: South African Special Forces

text: SASF teams were deployed to Cabo Delgado Province under Operation Vikela. On 20 December 2021 an operator, Corporal Tebogo Edwin Radebe, was killed in action.


title: South African Special Forces

text: All members who complete all the required qualifications to become a Special Forces Operator, are awarded an "Operator's Badge". Each badge is numbered and a register of the numbers and who they have been awarded to is kept.


title: South African Special Forces

text: The badge consists of an inverted Commando Knife within a laurel wreath, which is meant to symbolise both special forces (the knife) and victory (the wreath).


title: South African Special Forces

text: Standard operator badges are silver, but a gold badge with an embedded diamond is awarded to Operators with more than 10 years of active service.


title: South African Special Forces

text: New badges have been designed for wear on the camouflage combat dress. These are black embossed plastic on a thatch green background.


title: Rogue (TV series)

text: Rogue is a police drama television series starring Thandiwe Newton. Though set in Northern California, the series was filmed in Vancouver. A Canadian-British-American co-production, the series was co-commissioned by DirecTV's Audience network, and the Canadian premium services The Movie Network and Movie Central.


title: Rogue (TV series)

text: Grace Travis begins as a San Jose police officer working undercover in Oakland to bring down Jimmy Laszlo's criminal enterprise. After Grace's son is murdered, she and Jimmy discover they have a common purpose.


title: Rogue (TV series)

text: In the second season, Grace takes a new job as a handler for an FBI task force investigating corporate espionage in San Francisco. When a female undercover operative goes missing, Grace is forced undercover where she meets Ethan, a charming and enigmatic security consultant who might be responsible for the disappearance, or even death, of the operative.


title: Rogue (TV series)

text: In the third season, Grace is convinced that Ethan is key to her survival and goes to Chicago. There, Ethan infiltrates the firm of notorious attorney and power broker, Marty Stein, whose dealings are shown to extend into one of Chicago's most feared gangs. Meanwhile, Ethan meets Marlon Dinard, a respectable, high-end store owner, who also seems to have more going on than meets the eye. Ethan tracks him and his half-sister Talia. When a reporter who nearly discovers the depths of Marty's empire winds up dead, Federal Agent Harper Deakins investigates his death. Grace and Ethan work together to bring down those who murdered her son and have Ethan under their thumb. A powerful conspiracy that connects the white-collar boardrooms to the gangs of Chicago is ultimately revealed.


title: Rogue (TV series)

text: The series' ten-episode second season aired from May 28 through July 30, 2014. On August 12, 2014, DirecTV renewed the series for 20 additional episodes. On August 1, 2016 "Rogue" was renewed for a fourth and final season by Audience, which premiered March 22, 2017.


title: Rogue (TV series)

text: Thandie Newton discussed her traumatic experiences with "Rogue" in "Vulture" in 2020; she was upset by being the token Black person for a show set in Oakland, California, was forced into a topless scene, and wasn't released from her second-season contract. When Newton declined to do the nude scene, she stated that Matthew Parkhill, the showrunner and executive producer, asked her scene partner to pull down her top forcibly without consent. Newton was written off the show in the third season, with her character's body in a "Westworld Garbage Disposal" container, a nod to her next show, "Westworld"'.


title: Rogue (TV series)

text: "Rogue" received mixed reviews. Review aggregator site, Metacritic, gave the first season a "mixed or average" score of 47 out of 100, based on 14 critics. On another review aggregator site, Rotten Tomatoes, it held a 38% rating with an average rating of 4.9 out of 10, based on eight reviews.


title: Rogue (TV series)

text: In Australia, the series premiered on 3 August 2015 on SoHo, while in Bulgaria it premiered on 11 April 2017 on VIVACOM Arena, VIVACOM's own 24/7 movie channel.


Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport (Arabic: مطار رفيق الحريري الدولي بيروت, (previously known as Beirut International Airport) () is the only operational commercial airport in Lebanon, which is located in the Southern Suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, from the city center. It is the hub for Lebanon's national carrier, Middle East Airlines (MEA) and was the hub for the Lebanese cargo carrier TMA cargo and Wings of Lebanon before their respective collapses.


title: Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport

text: The airport is named after former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri in 2005, who was assassinated earlier that year.


text: It is the main port of entry into the country along with the Port of Beirut. The airport is managed and operated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which operates within the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. The DGCA is also responsible for operating the air traffic control (ATC) at the airport as well as controlling Lebanon's airspace. DGCA duties include maintenance and general upkeep ranging from cleaning the terminal to de-rubberising the runways.


text: The airport opened on 23 April 1954, replacing the much smaller Bir Hassan Airfield which was located a short distance north. At the time of its opening, the terminal was very modern and it featured an excellent spotters terrace with a café. The airport consisted of two asphalt runways at the time. Runway 18/36 at was used primarily for landings from the 18 end while runway 03/21 at was used primarily for take-offs from the 21 end and from the Sami end.


text: The airport grew to become a premier hub in the Middle East, thanks to limited competition from neighbours, with fast and steady growth by the country's four carriers at the time, Middle East Airlines (MEA), Air Liban, Trans Mediterranean Airways (TMA), and Lebanese International Airways (LIA), and numerous other foreign carriers.


text: In response to an attack on El Al Flight 253 two days earlier in Athens, on the night of 28 December 1968, Israeli commandos mounted a surprise attack on the airport and destroyed 14 civilian aircraft operated by the Lebanese carriers, Middle East Airlines (Air Liban had merged with MEA by this time), Trans Mediterranean Airways, and Lebanese International Airways. This caused serious devastation to the Lebanese aviation industry. Middle East Airlines managed to rebound quickly, but Lebanese International Airways went bankrupt and its employees were transferred to MEA.


text: The airport lost its status as one of the premier hubs of the Middle East with the start of the 15-year-long Lebanese Civil War in April 1975 and lost virtually all of its airline services with the exception of two Lebanese carriers, Middle East Airlines and Trans Mediterranean Airways. Both airlines continued operating with the exception of certain periods of time when the airport itself was completely closed. Despite the conflict, the terminal was renovated in 1977, only to be badly damaged five years later by Israeli shelling during the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. The airport was the site of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing, in which 241 American servicemen were killed. The airport's runways were renovated in 1982 and 1984.


text: By the time war finally came to an end in 1990, the airport needed to launch a massive reconstruction program. A ten-year reconstruction program was launched in 1994 which included the construction of another terminal, two runways, a fire station, a power plant, a general aviation terminal, and an underground parking garage. Many structures, like the radar building, were rehabilitated.


text: In 1998 the first phase of the new terminal was completed. It was located immediately adjacent to the east of the old terminal and consists of gates 1–12. After it was inaugurated, the old terminal was demolished and construction on the western half began and was completed in 2000, however it was not inaugurated until 2002. This consists of gates 13–23. The new terminal can handle 6 million passengers annually and is expected to be expanded to handle 16 million passengers by 2035.


text: It was decided early on that the original runways were no longer sufficient. A new landing runway, 17/35 was constructed protruding at an angle out into the sea, with a length of . This seaward protrusion was built in order to move landing traffic away from the city in a bid to improve safety and reduce aircraft noise. A new take-off runway was constructed parallel to the old 03/21 at a length of making it the longest runway in the airport. The old 03/21 was converted to a taxiway for accessing the new runway 03/21. Unlike the old runways, the two new runways were constructed from concrete and feature more advanced lighting systems and instrument landing systems. In 2004, runway 17/35 was re-designated 16/34 and runway 18/36 was re-designated 17/35 after more accurate runway heading measurements were conducted. Despite being essentially replaced by and adjacent to the new runway 16/34, runway 17/35 is still open, although it is rarely used.


text: On 17 June 2005, the General Aviation Terminal was finally opened. It is located on the northwestern corner of the airport. All fixed-base operators and VIP charter providers have moved their operations to this state-of-the-art terminal.


text: On 13 July 2006 at approximately 6:00 a.m. local time, all three runways of the airport sustained significant damage from missile strikes directed at it by the Israeli Air Force as part of the 2006 Lebanon War. The Israeli Air Force claimed that the airport was a military target because Hezbollah was receiving weapons shipments there. The runways were rendered inoperative and the Lebanese Government declared that the airport was closed until further notice.


text: Shortly thereafter, MEA used one of the long taxiways at the airport to evacuate five of its aircraft (four Airbus A321s and one Airbus A330).


text: The airport reopened to commercial flights on 17 August 2006, with the arrival of a Middle East Airlines (MEA) flight around 1:10 p.m. local time from Amman, followed by a Royal Jordanian flight also from Amman. This marked the first commercial flight arrival at Beirut International Airport since the airport's closure almost five weeks before. All runways and taxiways at the airport have been successfully repaired and the airport is operating as it was before the hostilities.


text: On 7 September 2006, Israel ended its air blockade of Lebanon. The first plane to land at the airport after the end of the blockade was a Middle East Airlines flight at 6:06 p.m. local time. Soon after that, a Kuwait Airways flight landed at the airport. Over the next couple of days, more airlines resumed flights to the airport.


text: On 6 June 2007, U.S. President George W. Bush amended a ban on air traffic to Lebanon imposed since the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847 to allow flights by the U.S. Government. A press release issued by the White House said that the "prohibition of transportation services to Lebanon...is hereby further amended to permit U.S. air carriers under contract to the United States Government to engage in foreign air transportation to and from Lebanon of passengers, including U.S. and non-U.S. citizens, and their accompanying baggage; of goods for humanitarian purposes; and of any other cargo or materiel."


text: On 29 March 2018, Emirates operated a one-off Airbus A380 service to Beirut. It was a trial flight in order to test the airport's handling of the aircraft. The aircraft parked at gate 1, which is capable of handling the Airbus A380. This marked the first time the A380 had landed in Lebanon.


text: On 1 June 2019, the airport launched the new renovated and expanded departures and arrivals terminals. New customs counters were installed for both the departures and arrivals terminals. The airport is going to improve security by using newer equipment, relocate most of the security checkpoints, install an improved baggage handling system and inaugurate a fast track system for business and first class passengers by the end of the summer.


text: On 4 August 2020, a massive explosion in Beirut resulted in the airport sustaining moderate damage to the terminal buildings. Doors and windows were destroyed, and ceiling tiles were shaken loose by the shockwave, severing electrical wires. Despite the damage, flights to the airport resumed following the explosion.


text: The terminal consists of two wings: the East and West Wing, which are connected together by the main terminal, forming a U‑shaped building, with each wing being parallel to the other, and the main terminal connecting the wings. The modern terminal consists of 23 gates, 19 of which have jetways, two of which are dual jetway gates for large aircraft, and two are bus gates which have been decommissioned. Smoking is prohibited in almost all areas inside the terminal, with a few exceptions (see East and West Wing section below).


text: The main terminal includes the bulk of the duty-free, some other shops, restaurants, and the lounges. The main terminal has four levels:


text: Each wing contains its own departure gates, as well as two cafés (one of which features a smoking section), a newsstand, a tourism shop, and smaller duty-free shopping areas in each wing. The East Wing, which opened in 1998, has gates 1–12 and the West Wing, which opened in 2002, has gates 13–23. Gates 2 and 3 are dual jetway gates for large aircraft. Gates 4 and 22 are bus boarding gates, however these are almost never used. The only way to move from one wing to the next is through the main terminal.


text: The airport also includes banks, a post office, massage chairs, prayer rooms, and a tourist information centre. The airport is the first in the region to offer 5G wireless internet services available for free for 2 hours.


text: Passenger use and aircraft movements have increased each year since 1990 with the exception of 2006, which saw a sharp decrease in both. Total cargo has trended upwards since 1990 but also experienced a significant decrease in 2006.


text: Public transportation to the airport does not exist, except for taxis. These tend to be more expensive than regular service taxis, however.


text: LCC Bus Route 1 takes passengers from the airport roundabout, which is located one kilometer from the terminal, to Rue Sadat in Hamra, whereas Route 5 takes to the Charles Helou bus station. OCFTC buses number seven and ten also stop at the airport roundabout, en route to central Beirut.


text: Airport services, like much else in Lebanon, are often divided and delegated based upon sectarian allegiance. Such as the Shia party Hezbollah, other groups, including Sunnis and Maronites, have their own fiefs within the airport's provision of services.


text: The airport has two ground handling operators, Middle East Airlines Ground Handling (MEAG) Lebanese Air Transport (LAT).


text: Middle East Airlines Ground Handling (MEAG) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the national carrier, MEA. It provides ground handling services for the national carrier, MEA, as well as most of the carriers serving the airport, including the cargo carriers. MEAG handles nearly 80% of the traffic at the airport.


text: Lebanese Air Transport (LAT) is a smaller ground handling operator that conducts ground handling operations for a number of carriers serving the airport. LAT specialises in handling charter flights, but does have contracts with a number of scheduled carriers such as British Airways.


text: MEAG recently launched its own FBO services with the opening of the new General Aviation Terminal called the Cedar Jet Centre, now regarded as the airport's top FBO. Another leading FBO is Aircraft Support & Services, which specialises in fixed-base operator services for private and executive aircraft. In addition, they operate two executive jets that can be chartered to various places. JR Executive operates a fleet of small propeller aircraft that can be chartered or leased. They also have a flight school, and conduct maintenance on light aircraft while offering fixed-base operator services. Cirrus Middle East, a member of the German Cirrus Group, partnered up with Universal Weather and Aviation to create a fixed-base operator and VIP charter service, which was launched on 15 October 2012. The company will initially be called Universal/Cirrus Middle East, but will eventually become Universal Aviation Beirut. They aim to become one of the top FBOs in the Middle East and will cater aircraft as large as Boeing 747s.


text: LAT offers limited fixed-base operator services for private and executive aircraft. Executive Aircraft Services offers aircraft charter services, ground handling services, aircraft management, and aircraft acquisition and sales.


text: The airport is the home base of MidEast Aircraft Services Company (MASCO), an aircraft maintenance provider that specialises in Airbus maintenance, particularly the A320 and A330 series. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the national carrier, MEA. MASCO has JAR 145 approval and as a result can maintain any aircraft registered in Europe.


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: Āstika and nāstika are concepts that have been used to classify Indian philosophies by modern scholars, as well as some Hindu, Buddhist and Jain texts. The various definitions for "āstika" and "nāstika" philosophies have been disputed since ancient times, and there is no consensus. In current Indian languages like Telugu, Hindi and Bengali, "āstika" and its derivatives usually mean 'theist', and "nāstika" and its derivatives denote an 'atheist'; however, the two terms in ancient- and medieval-era Sanskrit literature do not refer to 'theism' or 'atheism'. The terms are used differently in Hindu philosophy. For example, "Sāṃkhya" is both a non-theistic (as it does not explicitly affirm the existence of God in its classical formulation) and "āstika" (Vedic) philosophy, though “God” is often used as an epithet for consciousness (purusha) within its doctrine. Similarly, though Buddhism is considered to be "nāstika", Gautama Buddha is considered an avatar of Vishnu in some Hindu traditions.


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: Āstika (; from Sanskrit: "asti", 'there is, there exists') means one who believes in the existence of a Self or Brahman, etc. It has been defined in one of three ways:


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: Nāstika (Sanskrit: "na", 'not' + ""), by contrast, are those who deny all the respective definitions of "āstika"; they do not believe in the existence of Self.


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: The six most studied Āstika schools of Indian philosophies, sometimes referred to as orthodox schools, are Nyāyá, Vaiśeṣika, Sāṃkhya, Yoga, Mīmāṃsā, and Vedānta. The four most studied "Nāstika" schools of Indian philosophies, sometimes referred to as heterodox schools, are Buddhism, Jainism, Chārvāka, and Ājīvika. However, this orthodox-heterodox terminology is a construct of Western languages, and lacks scholarly roots in Sanskrit. Recent scholarly studies state that there have been various heresiological translations of Āstika and Nāstika in 20th century literature on Indian philosophies, but many are unsophisticated and flawed.


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: "Āstika" is a Sanskrit adjective and noun that derives from "asti" ('there is or exists'), meaning 'knowing that which exists' or 'pious.' The word "Nāstika" ("na", not, + "") is its negative.


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: One of the traditional etymologies of the term "āstika"—based on Pāṇini's "Aṣṭādhyāyī" 4.4.60 (""astināstidiṣṭam matiḥ"")—defines the concept as ‘he whose opinion is that Īśvara exists’ ("asti īśvara iti matir yasya"). According to Sanskrit grammarian Hemachandra, "āstika" is a synonym for ‘he who believes’. Other definitions include:


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: As used in Hindu philosophy, the differentiation between "āstika" and "nāstika" does not refer to theism or atheism. The terms often, but not always, relate to accepting Vedic literature as an authority, particularly on their teachings on Self. The Veda and Hinduism do not subscribe to or include the concept of an almighty that is separate from oneself i.e. there is no concept of God in the Christian or Islamic sense. N. N. Bhattacharya writes:


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: "Āstika" is also a name, such as that of a Vedic scholar born to the goddess Mānasā ('Mind') and the sage Jaratkaru.


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: A list of six systems or "ṣaḍdarśana"s (also spelled "Sad Darshan") consider Vedas as a reliable source of knowledge and an authoritative source. These are the Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mīmāṃsā and Vedanta schools of Hinduism, and they are classified as the "āstika" schools:


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: These are often coupled into three groups for both historical and conceptual reasons: Nyāyá-Vaiśeṣika, Sāṃkhya-Yoga, and Mimāṃsā-Vedanta.


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: The main schools of Indian philosophy that reject the Vedas were regarded as heterodox in the tradition:


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: The use of the term "nāstika" to describe Buddhism and Jainism in India is explained by Gavin Flood as follows:


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: Tantric traditions in Hinduism have both "āstika" and "nāstika" lines; as Banerji writes in ""Tantra in Bengal"":


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: Manusmriti, in verse 2.11, defines Nāstika as those who do not accept "Vedic literature in entirety based on two roots of science of reasoning (Śruti and Smriti)". The 9th century Indian scholar Medhatithi analyzed this definition and stated that Nāstika does not mean someone who says "Vedic literature are untrue", but rather one who says "Vedic literature are immoral". Medhatithi further noted verse 8.309 of Manusmriti, to provide another aspect of the definition of Nāstika as one who believes, "there is no other world, there is no purpose in giving charity, there is no purpose in rituals and the teachings in the Vedic literature."


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: Manusmriti does not define, or imply a definition for Astika. It is also silent or contradictory on specific rituals such as animal sacrifices, asserting Ahimsa (non-violence, non-injury) is dharma in its verses such as verse 10.63 based on Upanishadic layer of Vedic literature, even though the older layer of Vedic literature mention such sacrifices unlike the later layer of Vedic literature. Indian scholars, such as those from Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya and Vedanta schools, accepted Astika to be those that include "Śabda" (; or "Aptavacana", testimony of Vedic literature and reliable experts) as a reliable means of epistemology, but they accepted the later ancient layer of the Vedic literature to be superseding the earlier ancient layer.


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: In contrast to "Manusmriti", the 6th century CE Jain scholar and doxographer Haribhadra, provided a different perspective in his writings on Astika and Nāstika. Haribhadra did not consider "reverence for Vedas" as a marker for an Astika. He and other 1st millennium CE Jaina scholars defined Astika as one who "affirms there exists another world, transmigration exists, virtue ("punya") exists, vice ("paapa") exists."


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: The 7th century scholars Jayaditya and Vamana, in "Kasikavrtti" of Pāṇini tradition, were silent on the role of or authority of Vedic literature in defining Astika and Nāstika. They state, "Astika is the one who believes there exists another world. The opposite of him is the Nāstika."


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: Similarly the widely studied 2nd-3rd century CE Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna, in Chapter 1 verses 60-61 of Ratnāvalī, wrote Vaiśeṣika and Sāṃkhya schools of Hinduism were Nāstika, along with Jainism, his own school of Buddhism and Pudgalavadins ("Vātsīputrīya") school of Buddhism.


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: Astika, in some texts, is defined as those who believe in the existence of "Atman" (Self), while Nastika being those who deny there is any "Self" in human beings and other living beings. All six schools of Hinduism classified as Astika philosophies hold the premise, "Atman exists". Buddhism, in contrast, holds the premise, "Atman does not exist." Asanga Tilakaratna translates "Astika" as 'positivism' and Nastika as 'negativism', with Astika illustrated by Brahmanic traditions who accepted "Self and God exists", while Nastika as those traditions, such as Buddhism, who denied "Self and God exists."


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: According to G. S. Ghurye, the Jain texts define "na"+"astika" as one "denying what exists" or any school of philosophy that denies the existence of the Self. The Vedanta sub-traditions of Hinduism are "astika" because they accept the existence of Self, while Buddhist traditions denying this are referred to as "nastika".


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: One of the earliest mentions of "astika" concept in Jain texts is by Manibhadra, who states that an "astika" is one who "accepts there exist another world ("paraloka"), transmigration of Self, virtue and vice that affect how a Self journeys through time".


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: The 5th–6th century Jainism scholar Haribhadra, states Andrew Nicholson, does not mention anything about accepting or rejecting the Vedas or god as a criterion for being an "astika" or "nastika". Instead, Haribhadra explains "nastika" in the manner of the more ancient Jain scholar Manibhadra, by stating a nastika to be one "who says there is no other worlds, there is no purpose in charity, there is no purpose in offerings". An "astika", to Haribhadra, is one who believes that there is a purpose and merit in an ethical life such as "ahimsa" (non-violence) and ritual actions. This exposition of the word "astika" and "nastika" by Haribhadra is similar to one by the Sanskrit grammarian and Hindu scholar Pāṇini in section 4.4.60 of the "Astadhyayi".


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: The 12th century Jaina scholar Hemachandra similarly states, in his text "Abithana Chintamani", that a "nastika" is any philosophy that presumes or argues there is "no virtue and vice."


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: The 4th century Buddhist scholar Asanga, in "Bodhisattva Bhumi", refers to nastika Buddhists as "sarvaiva nastika", describing them as who are complete deniers. To Asanga, "nastika" are those who say "nothing whatsoever exists," and the worst kind of "nastika" are those who deny all designation and reality. Astika are those who accept merit in and practice a religious life. According to Andrew Nicholson, later Buddhists understood Asanga to be targeting Madhyamaka Buddhism as "nastika", while considering his own Yogachara Buddhist tradition to be "astika". Initial interpretations of the Buddhist texts with the term "astika" and "nastika", such as those composed by Nagarjuna and Aśvaghoṣa, were interpreted as being directed at the Hindu traditions. However, states John Kelly, most later scholarship considers this as incorrect, and that the "astika" and "nastika" terms were directed towards the competing Buddhist traditions and the intended audience of the texts were Buddhist monks debating an array of ideas across various Buddhist traditions.


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: The charges of being a "nastika" were serious threat to the social standing of a Buddhist, and could lead to expulsion from Buddhist monastic community. Thus, states Nicholson, the colonial era Indologist definition of astika and nastika schools of Indian philosophy, was based on a narrow study of literature such as a version of "Manusmriti", while in truth these terms are more complex and contextually apply within the diverse schools of Indian philosophies.


title: Āstika and nāstika

text: The most common meaning of astika and nastika, in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism was the acceptance and adherence to ethical premises, and not textual validity or doctrinal premises, states Nicholson. It is likely that astika was translated as orthodox, and nastika as heterodox, because the early European Indologists carried the baggage of Christian theological traditions and extrapolated their own concepts to Asia, thereby distorting the complexity of Indian traditions and thought.


title: Chess tactic

text: In chess, a tactic is a sequence of moves that each makes one or more immediate threats ─ that is, a check, a material threat, a checkmating sequence threat, or the threat of another tactic ─ which culminates in the opponent being unable to respond to all of the threats without conceding an immediate benefit to the opponent. Most often, the immediate benefit takes the form of a material advantage or checkmating attack; however, some tactics are used for defensive purposes and can salvage material that would otherwise be lost, or to induce stalemate in an otherwise lost position. Tactics are usually contrasted with strategy, whereby the individual moves by themselves don't make indefensible threats, and the cumulative advantage of the moves takes longer to be capitalised on. In rough terms, the dichotomy can be summarised as tactics concerning short-term play and strategy concerning long-term play. Examples of strategic advantages are weaknesses in, compromised pawn structure in, and sustained pressure on, the opponent's position. Often, to dichotomize strategy and tactics, sequences of moves that make strategic instead of tactical threats or use tactical threats to obtain a strategic advantage are also classified as tactics.


title: Chess tactic

text: Tactics usually follow one of a number of repeating patterns; these include forks, skewers, batteries, discovered attacks, undermining, overloading, deflection, pins, and interference. The "Encyclopedia of Chess Middlegames" gives the following tactics categories: Annihilation of Defense, Blockade, Decoying, Deflection, Demolition of Pawns, Discovered Attack, Double Attack, Interception, Intermediate Move, Overloading, Passed Pawn, Pawns Breakthrough, Pin, Pursuit (perpetual attack), Space Clearance, and X-ray Attack.


title: Chess tactic

text: A piece is said to "attack" (or threaten) an opponent's piece if, on the next move, it could capture that piece. A piece is said to "defend" (or protect) a piece of the defender's color if, in case the defended piece were taken by the opponent, the defender could immediately recapture. Attacking a piece usually, but not always (see Sacrifice), forces the opponent to respond if the attacked piece is undefended, or if the attacking piece is of lower value than the one attacked.


title: Chess tactic

text: When the attacked piece is not a king, a player may have additional options, beyond the ones listed above:


title: Chess tactic

text: When a player is able to capture the opponent's piece(s) without losing any of their own (or losing a piece of lesser value), the player is said to have "won "; i.e., the opponent will have fewer (or less valuable) pieces remaining on the board. The goal of each basic tactic is to win material. At the professional level, often the mere threat of material loss (i.e., an anticipated tactic) induces the opponent to pursue an alternative line. In amateur games, however, tactics often come to full fruition – unforeseen by the opponent and resulting in material gain and a corresponding, perhaps decisive, advantage. Material gain can be achieved by several different types of tactics.


title: Chess tactic

text: A "discovered attack" is a move which allows an attack by another piece. A piece is moved away so as to allow the attack of a friendly bishop, rook or queen on an enemy piece. If the attacked piece is the king, the situation is referred to as a "discovered check". Discovered attacks are powerful since the moved piece may be able to pose a second threat.


title: Chess tactic

text: A special case of a discovered check is a "double check", where both the piece being unmasked and the piece being moved attack the enemy king. A double check always forces the opponent to move the king, since it is impossible to defend attacks from two directions in any other way.


title: Chess tactic

text: A "fork" is a move that uses one piece to attack two or more of the opponent's pieces simultaneously, with the aim to achieve material advantage, since the opponent can counter only one of the threats. Knights are often used for forks, with their unique moving and jumping ability. A common situation is a knight played to c2 or c7, threatening both the enemy rook and king. Such forks checking a king are particularly effective, because the opponent is forced by the rules of chess to immediately remove the check to their king. The opponent cannot choose to defend the other piece, or use a "zwischenzug" to complicate the situation. Pawns can also be effective in forking. By moving a pawn forward, it can attack two pieces—one diagonally to the left, and another diagonally to the right.


title: Chess tactic

text: The queen is also an excellent forking piece, since she can move in eight different directions. However, a queen fork is only useful if both pieces are undefended, or if one is undefended and the other is the enemy's king. The queen is the most valuable attacking piece, so it is usually not profitable for her to capture a defended piece.


title: Chess tactic

text: Fork attacks can be either "relative" (meaning the attacked pieces comprise pawn[s], knight[s], bishop[s], rook[s], or queen[s]), or "absolute" (one of the attacked pieces is the enemy king, in check). The targets of a fork do not have to be pieces, although this is known as a "double attack". One or more of the targets can be a mate threat (for example, forking a loose knight and setting up a battery of queen and bishop that creates a mate threat as well) or implied threat (for example, a knight move that forks a loose bishop and also threatens to fork enemy queen and rook).


title: Chess tactic

text: A "pin" is a move that inhibits an opponent piece from moving, because doing so would expose a more valuable (or vulnerable) piece behind it. Only bishops, rooks, and queens can perform a pin, since they can move more than one square in a straight line. If the pinned piece cannot move because doing so would produce check, the pin is called "absolute". If moving the pinned piece would expose a non-king piece, the pin is called "relative".


title: Chess tactic

text: A "skewer" is a move which attacks two pieces in a line, similar to a pin, except that the enemy piece of greater value is in front of the piece of lesser value. After the more valuable piece moves away, the lesser piece can be captured. Like pins, only queens, rooks, and bishops can perform the skewer, and skewer attacks can be either "absolute" (the more valuable piece in front is the king, in check) or "relative" (the piece in front is a non-king piece).


title: Chess tactic

text: Pawns are the least valuable chess piece, so are often used to capture defended pieces. A single pawn typically forces a more powerful piece, such as a rook or a knight, to retreat. The ability to fork two enemy pieces by advancing a pawn is often a threat. Or a simple pawn move can reveal a discovered attack. When pawns are arranged on a diagonal, with each pawn guarded by the pawn behind it, they form a wall or "" protecting any friendly pieces behind them. A weak pawn structure, with unprotected or isolated pawns ahead of more valuable pieces, can be a decisive weakness. A pawn that has advanced all the way to the opposite side of the board is promoted to any other piece except a king.


title: Chess tactic

text: A "sacrifice" of some material is often necessary to throw the opponent's position out of balance, potentially gaining positional advantage. The sacrificed material is sometimes later offset with a consequent material gain. Pawn sacrifices in the opening are known as gambits; they are usually not intended for material gain, but rather to achieve a more active position.


title: Chess tactic

text: Direct attacks against the enemy king are often started by sacrifices. A common example is sacrificing a bishop on h2 or h7, checking the king, who usually must take the bishop. This allows the queen and knight to develop a fulminant attack.


title: Chess tactic

text: "Zugzwang" (German for the "compulsion to move") occurs when a player is forced to make an undesirable move. The player is put at a disadvantage because he would prefer to pass and make no move, but a move has to be made, all of which weaken their position. Situations involving zugzwang occur uncommonly, but when they do occur, it is almost always in the endgame, where there are fewer choices of available moves.


title: Chess tactic

text: "Zwischenzug" (German for "intermediate move") is a common tactic in which a player under threat, instead of directly countering, introduces an even more devastating threat. The tactic often involves a new attack against the opponent's queen or king. The opponent then may be forced to address the new threat, abandoning the earlier attack.


title: Chess tactic

text: The concept of a zwischenzug is often listed as a tactic, but might properly be called a counter-tactic instead. The effect of a zwischenzug is to change the status quo before a tactic can come to fruition. The near ubiquity of the zwischenzug makes long combinations all the more rare and impressive.


title: Suttree

text: Suttree is a semi-autobiographical novel by Cormac McCarthy, published in 1979. Set in Knoxville, Tennessee, over a four-year period starting in 1950, the novel follows Cornelius Suttree, who has repudiated his former life of privilege to become a fisherman on the Tennessee River. The novel has a fragmented structure with many flashbacks and shifts in grammatical person. "Suttree" has been compared to James Joyce's "Ulysses" and John Steinbeck's "Cannery Row", and called "a doomed "Huckleberry Finn"" by Jerome Charyn. "Suttree" was written over a 20-year span and is a departure from McCarthy's previous novels, being much longer, more sprawling in structure, and perhaps his most humorous.


title: Suttree

text: The novel begins with Suttree observing police as they pull a suicide victim from the river. Suttree is living alone in a houseboat, on the fringes of society on the Tennessee River, earning money by fishing for the occasional catfish. He has left a life of luxury, rejecting his parents' influence, and abandoning his wife and young son.


title: Suttree

text: A large cast of characters, largely composed of misfits and grotesques, is introduced, one of which is a dimwitted young man named Gene Harrogate, whom Suttree meets during a short stint in a work camp-style prison. Harrogate was sent to prison after being caught "violating" a farmer's watermelons. Suttree attempts to help Harrogate stay out of trouble after he is released, but this task proves to be in vain as Harrogate sets off on a series of misadventures, including using poisoned meat and a slingshot to kill bats ("flitter-mice" as Harrogate calls them) to earn a bounty on them, and using dynamite in an attempt to tunnel underneath the city and burgle the treasury. Other prominent characters are prostitutes, hermits, alcoholics, and an aged Geechee witch.


title: Suttree

text: His relationships with women all come to bad ends. One prostitute-girlfriend terminates the relationship in a moment of madness, smashing up the inside of their new car. He becomes involved with a teenage girl from a destitute family, but awakens in the night to find her crushed to death by a landslide that falls on their homeless encampment. Suttree was also married before the book begins with a woman he apparently met at university. He left his wife with a young son, who dies of an illness early on in the book. He watches the funeral from afar, and proceeds to bury the boy alone once the other mourners leave.


title: Suttree

text: Towards the novel's end, Suttree falls ill with typhoid fever and suffers a lengthy hallucination. This occurs after a black friend of Suttree is killed in a fight with the police and Harrogate is arrested in a failed robbery attempt. In the end, he feels his identity as an individual is affirmed by his time living in destitution, and he leaves Knoxville, seeking a new life.


title: Suttree

text: Novelist Nelson Algren argued that the novel was "a memorable American comedy by an original storyteller." Estimable reviews by such noted writers and literary critics as Anatole Broyard, Jerome Charyn, Guy Davenport, and Shelby Foote were followed by the "Times Literary Supplement" review which saw the novel as "Faulknerian in its gentle wryness, and a freakish imaginative flair reminiscent of Flannery O'Connor." The influential profile writer and music journalist Stanley Booth observed that "Suttree" was "probably the funniest and most unbearably sad of McCarthy's books...which seem to me unsurpassed in American literature." Late in life, after losing much of his physical sensing, film critic Roger Ebert wrote, "I began to live through this desperate man's sad life."


title: Schmuck (pejorative)

text: Schmuck, or shmuck, is a pejorative term meaning one who is stupid or foolish, or an obnoxious, contemptible or detestable person. The word came into the English language from Yiddish (, "shmok"), where it has similar pejorative meanings, but where its literal meaning is a vulgar term for a penis.


title: Schmuck (pejorative)

text: In the German language, the word "" means "jewelry, adornment". It is a nominalization of the German verb "schmücken" "to decorate" and is unrelated to the word discussed in this article.


title: Schmuck (pejorative)

text: Because of its generally being considered a vulgarity, the word is often euphemized as "schmoe", which was the source of Al Capp's cartoon strip creature the shmoo. Other variants include "schmo" and "shmo".


title: Schmuck (pejorative)

text: Leo Rosten writes in "The Joys of Yiddish" that schmuck is commonly viewed among Jews as an obscene word that should not be said lightly. Lenny Bruce, a Jewish stand-up comedian, wrote that the use of the word during his performances in 1962 led to his arrest on the West Coast, "by a Yiddish undercover agent who had been placed in the club several nights running to determine if [his] use of Yiddish terms was a cover for profanity".


title: Schmuck (pejorative)

text: Although schmuck is considered an obscene term in Yiddish, it has become a common American idiom for "jerk" or "idiot". It can be taken as offensive, however, by some Jews, particularly those with strong Yiddish roots. Allan Sherman explained in his book "The Rape of the A*P*E*" that, if a word is used frequently enough, it loses its shock value and comes into common usage without raising any eyebrows.


title: Schmuck (pejorative)

text: The term was notably used in the 2010 comedy film "Dinner for Schmucks", in which the plot centered on a competition among businessmen to see who could invite the biggest idiot to a monthly dinner. In her review of the film for the "New York Times", film critic Debbie Schlussel took issue with the movie's use of the term "schmuck", and with its use of Yiddish at all, adding: “The more correct title would have been ‘Dinner for Schlemiels'.” She added, "At "The New York Times", where the word is still considered potentially offensive, the title of [the] film may be mentioned only sparingly. Still, advertisements for the movie would probably pass muster", and suggested that the main characters in the film might be more appropriately called "shmendriks".


title: Schmuck (pejorative)

text: In bodybuilding culture, the term "schmoe", or "smos", is used to describe a person, often a wealthy man who is less muscular and weaker than bodybuilders, who pays bodybuilders money for private posing sessions, wrestling, and prostitution.


title: Sebaceous filament

text: A sebaceous filament is a tiny collection of sebum and dead skin cells around a hair follicle, which usually takes the form of a small, yellow to off-white hair-like strand when expressed from the skin.


title: Sebaceous filament

text: These filaments are naturally occurring, and are especially prominent on the nose. They are typical among those with naturally oily skin and large pores, even if those individuals have ceased to produce acne. They are not a sign of infection or any other ailment including acne, and are commonly mistaken for, though cannot form blackheads. Expression, or squeezing, is discouraged as sebaceous filaments are a natural part of healthy human skin. As such, squeezing can lead to unintentional unnecessary harm, such as scarring or inflammation. They help to channel the flow of sebum within a given pore, allowing it to seep gradually to the surface. David A. Whiting described them in his review in the "Western Journal of Medicine" as "a loose, porous mass of horny detritus".


title: Covina massacre

text: The Covina massacre occurred on December 24, 2008, in Covina, a city in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California, United States. Nine people were killed, either by gunshot wounds or in an arson fire inside a house at 1129 East Knollcrest Drive, where a Christmas Eve party was being held. The perpetrator, 45-year-old Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, who had entered the house wearing a Santa suit, died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head at his brother's residence in the early hours of the morning after the attack. Authorities cited marital problems as a possible motive for the violence; reports indicated that Pardo's divorce had been finalized on December 18, one week before the massacre. Three people, including Pardo's ex-wife and his former in-laws, were initially declared missing pending identification of their bodies.


title: Covina massacre

text: At approximately 11:30 p.m. PST, Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, dressed in a Santa Claus suit, knocked on the door of his former in-laws' house, occupied by about 25 people, with a gift-wrapped package containing a rolling air compressor converted to deliver gasoline from it and at least four 9mm semi-automatic handguns. Moments after the door opened, Pardo pulled out the handguns and immediately shot his 8-year-old niece Katrina Yuzefpolsky, the daughter of Leticia Yuzefpolsky, a sister of Sylvia Pardo, as she ran to greet him, injuring her in the face. He then fired indiscriminately at fleeing party-goers. Police speculate that Pardo may have stood over and pointedly executed some of the victims, using the other handguns.


title: Covina massacre

text: After the shootings, Pardo unwrapped the package containing the compressor, and used it to spray gasoline to set the home ablaze. Nine people died from either gunfire or flames, and three others were wounded: Yuzefpolsky was shot in the face with severe but non-life-threatening injuries, a 16-year-old girl shot and wounded in the back, and a 20-year-old woman who suffered a broken ankle jumping out of the second-floor window. One survivor escaped during the attack and ran to a neighbor's house, where they called authorities. The resulting fire soared approximately and took 80 firefighters an hour-and-a-half to extinguish. Due to the intensity of the fire, identification of the victims was done with dental and medical records.


title: Covina massacre

text: After setting the home on fire, Pardo put on his street clothes and drove his Dodge Caliber rental car to his brother's house in Sylmar about 30 miles away from the crime scene, where he was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His brother was not present in the home at the time of Pardo's death. It was initially believed that Pardo intended to flee to Canada by plane since he had bought an airline ticket for a flight on Air Canada. However, it was subsequently discovered that the flight itinerary, on Northwest Airlines, was from Los Angeles to Moline, Illinois (with a layover in Minnesota). Pardo had called days before to tell a high school friend that he was planning to visit but investigators were unsure if he actually intended to visit or if the flight was to fool investigators. He had visited the friend before in October 2008. Other reports stated that the Santa suit had melted during the flamethrower portion of the attack and had adhered to his skin so not all of it could be removed.


title: Covina massacre

text: However, suffering from severe third-degree burns on his arms stemming from the blaze, Pardo decided to go against the initial plan. Police found $17,000 in cash cling-wrapped on his legs inside a girdle. His rental car, parked one block from his brother's house, had remnants of his Santa suit. Also recovered from the scene were four 13-round capacity handguns that were empty, and at least 200 rounds of ammunition. Suggesting that what had been inside the car was being treated as a threat, a bomb squad while attempting to remove a portion of the


title: Covina massacre

text: Santa suit with a robot, accidentally started a fire in the vehicle, burning and destroying it. At Pardo's house in Montrose, police had recovered five empty boxes for semiautomatic handguns, a Benelli M2 Tactical shotgun and a container for high-octane fuel tank gasoline. They also found what was described as a "virtual bomb factory" in his home.


title: Covina massacre

text: At least three victims' deaths were caused by gunshot wounds alone, while four others died from a combination of both gunshot wounds and fire. Two other deaths stemmed from the fire alone. Some of the bodies were burned and had to be identified by dental records. At least thirteen children were orphaned after the massacre, and two others lost one parent. The victims include:


title: Covina massacre

text: Pardo lived in the San Fernando Valley and was a graduate of John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley, Los Angeles, and California State University, Northridge. He worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge. He met Sylvia Pardo, previously Sylvia Ortega, in 2004.


title: Covina massacre

text: Police speculate that the motive of the attack was related to marital problems. Pardo's wife of one year had finalized their divorce the week prior to the attack. However, Pardo held no criminal record and had no history of violence. He had been fired from his job as an electrical engineer at ITT Electronic Systems, Radar Systems in July. There is some speculation that the divorce may have been caused by Pardo concealing a child from a previous relationship. This child was severely injured in a swimming pool accident several years prior. He did not pay child or spousal support.


title: Covina massacre

text: The couple wed in January 2006, but soon grew apart after their marriage, when Pardo refused to open a joint account with Sylvia; he also expected his wife to take care of her own three children with her own finances.


title: Covina massacre

text: In June 2008, divorce court had ordered Pardo to pay $1,785 a month in spousal support. During the divorce proceeding, Pardo had confided to a friend his wife was "taking him to the cleaners." In July, Pardo was fired for billing false hours and the court suspended the support payments due to job hardship.


title: Covina massacre

text: Pardo was required to pay Sylvia $10,000 as part of the divorce settlement, according to court documents. Sylvia kept the wedding ring and the family dog. In a court declaration, Pardo complained that Sylvia was living with her parents, not paying rent, and had spent lavishly on a luxury car, gambling trips to Las Vegas, meals at fine restaurants, massages, and golf lessons.


title: Owen McDonnell

text: Owen McDonnell (born 1974) is an Irish actor best known for playing Garda Sergeant Jack Driscoll in RTÉ Television's "Single-Handed" and Niko Polastri in BBC's "Killing Eve".


title: Owen McDonnell

text: McDonnell was born in Galway in Ireland. He attended the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, England, moving to the city in 1996. Before breaking into film and television, McDonnell did a lot of theatre in Ireland and the United Kingdom.


title: Owen McDonnell

text: McDonnell had a role in the 2003 feature film "Conspiracy of Silence". It was RTÉ Television's police drama "Single-Handed" that was McDonnell's television career break. He starred in all four series of the programme and was nominated for an IFTA Award for the role in 2011. McDonnell was given the lead role of Garda Sergeant Jack Driscoll after receiving a call from casting director Maureen Hughes. Appearing onstage in "The Lieutenant of Inishmore" in Galway Town Hall at the time, McDonnell, alongside two other cast members, left for Dublin to read the script for the original "Single-Handed" director Colm McCarthy. He was given the lead role a day later.


title: Owen McDonnell

text: McDonnell appeared in RTÉ's "Wild Decembers", MI5 thriller "Spooks" on BBC One, crime thriller "Silent Witness" also on BBC One, and the first two series of sitcom "Mount Pleasant" on Sky1.


title: Owen McDonnell

text: In 2014 McDonnell starred as Inspector Fiachra Greene in the Irish language movie "An Bronntanas" (The Gift), screened at the Galway Film Fleadh and later put forward as Ireland's submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 87th Academy Awards (2015). The film is edited from the five-episode television series of the same name, screened on TG4 in October and November 2014.


title: Owen McDonnell

text: In 2015 McDonnell starred in the hit TG4 series "An Klondike", a western set in the Klondike gold rush. In 2016 he starred in "Wrecking the Rising", about time travelling gobdaws who accidentally kill PH Pearse before the Easter Rising, and in the short film "An Béal Bocht" based on Flann O'Brien's satirical novel.


title: Owen McDonnell

text: In 2018, McDonnell first appeared as Niko Polastri, husband to Sandra Oh's title character in "Killing Eve". Upon meeting him at the first script read-throughs, Oh immediately felt that their on-screen relationship would be believable, and would serve as an important grounding force for her character.


title: Guru Har Rai

text: Guru Har Rai (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਰਾਇ, pronunciation: ; 16 January 1630 – 6 October 1661) revered as the "seventh Nanak", was the seventh of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He became the Sikh leader at age 14, on 3 March 1644, after the death of his grandfather and the sixth Sikh leader Guru Hargobind. He guided the Sikhs for about seventeen years, till his death at age 31.


title: Guru Har Rai

text: Guru Har Rai is notable for maintaining the large army of Sikh soldiers that the sixth Sikh Guru had amassed, yet avoiding military conflict. He supported the moderate Sufi influenced Dara Shikoh instead of conservative Sunni influenced Aurangzeb as the two brothers entered into a war of succession to the Mughal Empire throne.


title: Guru Har Rai

text: After Aurangzeb won the succession war in 1658, he summoned Guru Har Rai in 1660 to explain his support for the executed Dara Shikoh. Guru Har Rai sent his elder son Ram Rai to represent him. Aurangzeb kept Ram Rai as hostage, questioned Ram Rai about a verse in the Adi Granth – the holy text of Sikhs at that time. Aurangzeb claimed that it disparaged the Muslims. Ram Rai changed the verse to appease Aurangzeb instead of standing by the Sikh scripture, an act for which Guru Har Rai is remembered for excommunicating his elder son, and nominating his younger son Har Krishan to succeed him. Har Krishan became the eighth Guru at age five after Guru Har Rai's death in 1661. Some Sikh literature spell his name as Hari Rai.


title: Guru Har Rai

text: Guru Har Rai was born to Nihal Kaur and Baba Gurditta into a Sodhi household. His father died while he was 8 years old. At age 10, in 1640, Guru Har Rai was married to Mata Kishan Kaur (sometimes also referred to as Sulakhni) the daughter of Daya Ram. They had two children, Ram Rai and Har Krishan, the latter of whom became the eighth Guru.


title: Guru Har Rai

text: Guru Har Rai had brothers. His elder brother Dhir Mal had gained encouragement and support from Shah Jahan, with free land grants and Mughal sponsorship. Dhir Mal attempted to form a parallel Sikh tradition and criticised his grand father and sixth Guru, Hargobind. The sixth Guru disagreed with Dhir Mal, and designated the younger Har Rai as the successor.


title: Guru Har Rai

text: Authentic literature about Guru Har Rai life and times are scarce, he left no texts of his own and some Sikh texts composed later spell his name as "Hari Rai". Some of the biographies of Guru Har Rai written in the 18th century such as by Kesar Singh Chhibber, and the 19th-century Sikh literature are highly inconsistent.


title: Guru Har Rai

text: Guru Har Rai provided medical care to Dara Shikoh, possibly when he had been poisoned by Mughal operatives. According to Mughal records, Guru Har Rai provided other forms of support to Dara Shikoh as he and his brother Aurangzeb battled for rights to succession. Ultimately, Aurangzeb won, arrested Dara Shikoh and executed him on charges of apostasy from Islam. In 1660, Aurangzeb summoned Guru Har Rai to appear before him to explain his relationship with Dara Shikoh.


title: Guru Har Rai

text: In the Sikh tradition, Guru Har Rai was asked why he was helping the Mughal prince Dara Shikoh whose forefathers had persecuted Sikhs and Sikh Gurus. Guru Har Rai is believed to have replied that if a man plucks flowers with one hand and gives it away using his other hand, both hands get the same fragrance.


title: Guru Har Rai

text: He appointed his 5-year-old youngest son Har Krishan as the eighth Guru of the Sikhs before his death.


title: Guru Har Rai

text: He started several public singing and scripture recital traditions in Sikhism. The "katha" or discourse style recitals were added by Guru Har Rai to the "sabad kirtan" singing tradition of Sikhs. He also added the "akhand kirtan" or continuous scripture singing tradition of Sikhism, as well as the tradition of "jotian da kirtan" or collective folk choral singing of scriptures.


title: Guru Har Rai

text: The third Sikh leader Guru Amar Das had started the tradition of appointing "Manji" (zones of religious administration with an appointed chief called "sangatias"), introduced the "dasvandh" ("the tenth" of income) system of revenue collection in the name of Guru and as pooled community religious resource, and the famed "langar" tradition of Sikhism where anyone, without discrimination of any kind, could get a free meal in a communal seating.


title: Guru Har Rai

text: The organisational structure that had helped Sikhs to grow and resist the Mughal persecution had created new problems for Guru Har Rai. The donation collectors, some of the Masands (local congregational leaders) led by Dhir Mal – the older brother of Guru Har Rai, all of them encouraged by the support of Shah Jahan, land grants and Mughal administration – had attempted to internally split the Sikhs into competing movements, start a parallel guruship, and thereby weaken the Sikh religion. Thus a part of the challenge for Guru Har Rai was to keep Sikhs united.


title: Guru Har Rai

text: He appointed new masands such as Bhai Jodh, Bhai Gonda, Bhai Nattha, Bhagat Bhagwan (for eastern India), Bhai Pheru (for Rajathan), Bhai Bhagat (also known as Bairagi), as the heads of Manjis.


title: Guru Har Rai

text: The common Sikh belief is that Guru Hargobind, Guru Har Rai and Guru Harkrishan did not contribute to any Bani at all. This is not entirely true as Guru Har Rai is said to have wrote the Salok Mahalla Satvaan.


title: Guru Har Rai

text: This mahalla is in the Kiratpuri Bir of the Guru Granth Sahib. Although it is clearly marked as a composition of Guru Har Rai the seventh Mina Guru Miharban also used the marker leaving open the possibility of mistaken attribution. The Salok does not appear in any of the texts containing the writings of Miharban. At the same time no text about the Sikh Gurus lives reference Guru Har Rai writing Bani. It cannot therefore be securely attributed to Guru Har Rai. Gurus each had their own way of starting poems or couplets.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: Mark Allen (born 22 February 1986) is a Northern Irish professional snooker player from Antrim. He won the World Amateur Championship in 2004, turned professional the following year, and took only three seasons to reach the top 16. In his fourth professional season, he beat the defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan en route to the semi-finals of the 2009 World Championship, where he lost to the eventual winner John Higgins.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: Allen reached his first ranking event final at the 2011 UK Championship, losing to Judd Trump. He won his first ranking title the following year at the 2012 World Open. He has won eight ranking titles to date, most recently the 2022 UK Championship. He captured his first Triple Crown title at the 2018 Masters.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: A prolific break-builder, Allen has compiled more than 550 century breaks in professional competition. He has made two maximum breaks, achieving his first in the 2016 UK Championship and his second in the 2021 Northern Ireland Open qualifying round.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: At a young age, Allen considered a career in football, having trials with Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest before concentrating on snooker. Playing out of the Fountain Club in Antrim, he was Northern Ireland U14 champion in 2000, the U16 champion in 2001, before winning the Irish U16, U18 and U19 titles in one weekend in 2002, becoming the first player to win all three tournaments. By the age of 16 he had recorded his first maximum break and was a winner of the Golden Waistcoat, a tournament for the best U19 players from around the world.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: He began his professional career by playing Challenge Tour in 2003, at the time the second-level professional tour. Before entering the Main Tour for the 2005–06 season, Allen won the European Championship and the IBSF World Championship, plus Northern Ireland Championship at under-14, under-16, and under-19 levels. His early career was aided by National Lottery funding.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: By chance, an invitational Northern Ireland Trophy was staged shortly after Allen turned professional. As a local player, he was invited and made an immediate impact, defeating Steve Davis and John Higgins to reach the quarter-finals, before losing to Stephen Hendry. In his first year on the tour, he reached the last 32 of the 2005 UK Championship and the 2006 Welsh Open, losing 2–5 to the then World Champion Shaun Murphy after leading 2–0. He also got to the final qualifying round of the 2006 World Championship, losing 7–10 to Andy Hicks, after leading 7–4.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: In March 2007 he qualified for the World Championship for the first time, winning three matches, culminating in a 10–4 win over Robert Milkins. In April 2007 he beat former world champion Ken Doherty 10–7 in the first round held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, but lost to Matthew Stevens 9–13 in the second round. This was his first run to the last 16 of a tournament and helped him into the top 32 of the rankings (at no. 29).


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: In the 2007 Grand Prix, in a match with Ken Doherty, he was involved in an incident that led to his opponent branding him "a disgrace". Unhappy that the black would not go back on its spot after potting it, Allen struck the side cushion of the table with his fist. The referee told him that he would be warned if he did that again. Allen was not warned, and ended up winning the match. Doherty said, "He was a disgrace. For such a relative newcomer to the pro game, he's got a serious attitude problem". Allen later commented: "It was entirely my own fault and if there are going to be any repercussions then so be it." Allen did not reach the knockout stage of the tournament.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: In the 2007 Northern Ireland Trophy he beat Graeme Dott and Ryan Day, 5–3 in each case, to reach his first ever quarter-final. There he defeated Gerard Greene 5–3 to reach the semi-final, where he lost 3–6 to Fergal O'Brien. In the following UK Championship he defeated Stephen Hendry in the last 32. He opened his last-16 match against Mark Williams with two centuries in the first three frames, building a 5–1 lead, but Williams fought back and he lost 5–9. He then reached the quarter-finals in the 2008 China Open before losing to Shaun Murphy. At the 2008 World Championship he led Stephen Hendry 6–3, 7–4 and 9–7 before losing 9–10. However, first-round defeats for all his rivals for a top-16 place ensured that he finished the season at number 16 in the rankings.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: After a consistent season, Allen was back at the Crucible the following year where he beat Martin Gould in his opening match. He faced Ronnie O'Sullivan in the second round; confident and unaffected by his opponent's reputation, Allen beat the defending champion 13–11 for a quarter-final place in the 2009 World Championship. He then defeated Ryan Day by the same scoreline to reach the semi-finals, where he lost 13–17 to John Higgins, despite making a determined fightback from 3–13 down. Soon after his run in the World Championship, Allen won his first professional tournament, the 2009 Jiangsu Classic beating home favourite Ding Junhui 6–0 in the final.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: During the 2010 Masters, Allen beat the World Champion, John Higgins, by 6–3 in the last 16, but lost 5–6 to eventual champion Mark Selby in the quarter-finals.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: On the first day of the 2010 World Championship on 17 April 2010, Allen came close to recording his first ever maximum break in his first round match against Tom Ford after potting 15 reds with blacks, and the yellow, before breaking down on the green. Five days later, Allen made the first 146 break in World Championship history, and the second of his career after defeating Mark Davis 13–5 in the second round. He was defeated 12–13 in the quarter-final by Graeme Dott, having led 12–10.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: At the 2010 UK Championship, Allen reached the semi-finals for the first time, where he was beaten 9–5 by eventual champion John Higgins. In the Masters, Allen again reached the semi-finals, and led Marco Fu 4–1 before Fu reeled off five frames in a row to win 6–4. At the 2011 World Championship, Allen entered as the 11th seed and played Matthew Stevens in the first round, recovering from 9–6 down and seeing Stevens miss a pot on the final pink to win the match 10–7, before winning 10–9. In the second round, Allen defeated Barry Hawkins 13–12. He reached the quarter-finals for the second year in a row but lost to Mark Williams 5–13.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: The season began with Allen ranked world number 12 and he began it at the inaugural Australian Goldfields Open, where he beat Ryan Day and Marcus Campbell. Into the quarter finals, Allen was beaten by his rival Stuart Bingham 5–3. The next ranking event was the Shanghai Masters where Allen reached the second round and held a 4–2 advantage over Shaun Murphy before losing the next 3 frames and being edged out of the match 5–4. His steady start to the season meant that he maintained his world ranking of 12 after the first cut-off point.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: Allen made it to his first ranking event final at the 2011 UK Championship by beating Adrian Gunnell, Ali Carter, Marco Fu and Ricky Walden.<ref name="2011/12"></ref> It was his first success in a ranking event semi-final, after having lost in all five prior attempts. In the final he played Judd Trump with whom he held a 2–1 advantage in the previous meetings between the pair. Allen opened up a 3–1 lead early in the best of 19 frames match, but subsequently lost the next seven frames to trail 3–8. However, such a deficit brought out the best in Allen as he won five of the next six frames, which included three centuries. The comeback was not quite completed though, as Trump secured the frame he required to take an 8–10 victory. Allen said after the final, "I knew it was going to be hard the way he was playing, he scores so heavy and so quickly and I didn't feel I was playing too bad but Judd played so well and it was hard to compete." Allen made five centuries during the tournament, the most of anyone in the event.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: Allen lost the last four frames in the first round of the Masters to Neil Robertson having led 3–2 and stated afterwards that he had "completely lost interest" in the match. He accused the Australian of employing slow tactics and said that at times he didn't want to watch him play. He then exited the German Masters in the second round and lost to Shaun Murphy in the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: In March, Allen won his first ever ranking event as he captured the World Open title in Haikou, China. He beat qualifier Jimmy Robertson in the first round, before exacting revenge over Judd Trump for his defeat in York, by coming back from 0–3 down to triumph 5–4. He comfortably beat Mark King 5–1 in the quarter-finals, before producing another comeback from 2–5 down against world number 1 Mark Selby to win 6–5 and reach his second ranking final of the season. Allen played Stephen Lee in the final and dominated the encounter from start to finish as he won by 10 frames to 1. His season finished in disappointment, however, as he exited both the China Open and World Championship in the first round, to end the year where he started it, ranked world number 12.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: Allen began the season with second round losses to Mark Williams at the Wuxi Classic and Judd Trump in the Shanghai Masters.<ref name="2012/13"></ref> His first title of the year soon followed at the minor-ranking Antwerp Open, by making three centuries in a 4–1 win over Mark Selby in the final. Allen then beat Robert Milkins and Cao Yupeng both 6–2 in the inaugural International Championship, before being edged out 5–6 by Trump in the quarter-finals. Marco Fu at the UK Championship beat Allen 6–3. At the Masters Allen came past Mark Davis 6–2, but was then narrowly beaten 5–6 by Neil Robertson in a high-quality encounter in the quarter-finals. At the Snooker Shoot-Out, the tournament where each match is decided by a 10-minute frame, Allen won through to the final where he lost to Martin Gould. He suffered successive second round defeats at the German Masters and the Welsh Open to Barry Hawkins and Ding Junhui respectively, before he travelled to China in an attempt to defend his World Open title from 2012. Allen comfortably won every match he played at the event as he beat Ryan Day 5–2, Robert Milkins 5–2, Ricky Walden 5–1, John Higgins 6–2 and Matthew Stevens 10–4 in the final to capture his second ranking title. Allen's Antwerp Open win from earlier in the season helped him finish eighth on the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit to qualify for the Finals where he lost 3–4 in the quarter-finals to Ding, who made a 147 and two further centuries during the match. Robertson beat Allen 5–1 in the second round of the China Open, and then Allen was the victim of a first round shock at the World Championship for a second year in a row as he lost to world number 30 Mark King 8–10, having led 8–6. Despite this, he climbed five spots in the rankings during the year to finish it ranked world number seven.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: After losing in the first round of the opening two ranking events of the year, Allen won the minor-ranking Ruhr Open in Mülheim, Germany, by beating Ding Junhui 4–1 in the final.<ref name="2013/14"></ref> He also won the next European Tour event, the Kay Suzanne Memorial Cup by battling past former world champions Neil Robertson and Graeme Dott in the quarter-finals and semis respectively. He beat Judd Trump 4–1 in the final to become the first player to win back-to-back events since they were introduced in 2010. In the last 16 of the UK Championship, Allen and Judd Trump both struggled for consistency during their match, with Allen giving Trump a hug when the pair missed a succession of easy balls. Allen went on to win 6–4 to reach his first major quarter-final of the season, where he lost 6–2 to Ricky Walden. Allen came close to recording a hat-trick of World Open titles as he won through to the semi-finals, but was beaten 6–4 by Shaun Murphy. His two titles earlier in the season meant Allen was the number one seed for the PTC Finals where he lost in the quarter-finals 4–2 against Gerard Greene. Allen was 9–7 behind against Neil Robertson after the second session of his last 16 match at the World Championship and lost all four frames in the next session to be defeated 13–7. Afterwards, Allen tipped Robertson for the title saying he had faced perfect snooker from the Australian.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: In August 2014, he reached the final of the Riga Open but lost 4–3 to Mark Selby. Two weeks later Allen won the Paul Hunter Classic defeating Judd Trump 4–2 in the final. He advanced to the final of the Shanghai Masters where he was beaten 10–3 by Stuart Bingham. At the International Championship, Allen led Mark Williams 7–4 by producing some of his best snooker which included a total of eight breaks above 50. However, Williams fought back to lead 8–7 before Allen came from 71–0 down and requiring two snookers to steal the next frame 73–71. Williams missed a tricky final red in the decider to allow Allen in to reach the final. In this match with Ricky Walden, there were never more than two frames between the players until from 7–7 Walden raced away to take the last three frames and condemn Allen to a second ranking event final defeat of the season. Despite taking a 3–0 lead over Rod Lawler with two centuries, Allen was knocked out 6–4 in the third round of the UK Championship.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: He eliminated John Higgins and Joe Perry both 6–4 to play in the semi-finals of the Masters for the second time. Allen won the opening two frames against Shaun Murphy, but then lost six frames in a row. The rest of the season would prove to be disappointing for Allen as he couldn't advance beyond the last 16 of any event and after he lost the last five frames against Barry Hawkins in the second round of the World Championship to be beaten 13–11, he stated that the match had summed up his year as he was great in patches but overall came up short. He had not been coached by Terry Griffiths this season and Allen said that he was hopeful his form would improve next year by working with him again.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: Allen reached the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters with a 5–1 victory over Mark Davis, but was beaten 6–1 by Kyren Wilson. In the quarter-finals of the International Championship he compiled a 118 break to send the match into a deciding frame, but Thepchaiya Un-Nooh won it. Allen swept to the final of the Bulgarian Open by whitewashing Mark Williams 4–0 and did not drop a frame against Ryan Day either as he took home the title, his first in 15 months. The win qualified Allen for the Champion of Champions and he knocked out Barry Hawkins, Stephen Maguire and Wilson to reach another final, where he lost 10–5 to Neil Robertson. Robertson was also the victor when the pair met in the semi-finals of the Welsh Open, this time 6–4.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: Allen came from 4–2 down against Shaun Murphy to win 6–4 and reach his first ranking event final of the season at the PTC Finals. He was 3–1 down to Ricky Walden, but a crucial run of six successive frames would be key as Allen won 10–6. He became the first Northern Irishman to win a ranking event in the UK since Dennis Taylor won the world title in 1985. Allen lost the opening seven frames against Kyren Wilson in the second round of the World Championship and was also 11–5 behind. He closed the gap to 11–9, but had left himself too much to do as he lost 13–9. Allen called the season a waste as he had not become the world champion.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: Allen lost in the last 16 of the Paul Hunter Classic and the European Masters 4–3 to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and 4–2 to Ronnie O'Sullivan respectively. He made three centuries to eliminate Mark Selby 6–5 at the inaugural China Championship 5–4, but was then heavily beaten 9–3 by John Higgins. A week later he defeated Selby by the same scoreline and stage at the Champion of Champions, before losing 6–2 to O'Sullivan.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: Allen's only ranking event quarter-final this season came at his home event the Northern Ireland Open, but he lost 5–2 to Anthony Hamilton. He made the first 147 of his career during his 6–4 win over Rod Lawler in the second round of the UK Championship and then recovered from 4–0 down to eliminate Ryan Day 6–5. Allen was knocked out 6–3 by John Higgins in the fourth round, losing the final four frames of the match. He exacted some revenge by edging out Higgins 6–5 in the opening round of the Masters, before being defeated 6–2 by Marco Fu. He met Higgins again in the second round of the World Championship and, though Allen made four centuries and seven other breaks above 50, he was beaten 13–9.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: Allen´s first tournament where he played was International Championship. He´s got to final on first try, but lost to Mark Selby 7-10. This was his first and last participation in a ranking final at the same time in this season. Later he added a semi-final in World open and other quarter-final in European Masters.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: However, Allen succeeded in the Masters beating Luca Brecel, Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins and runner-up Kyren Wilson 10-7. This was the only tournament victory for Allen in this season. In World championship, he finished in last 8. His opponent in quarter-final was Kyren Wilson again, but this time Allen was beaten 6-13 by him.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: Although Allen didn't succeed in the final of International championship in previous season, this time he did. In the final, he met with Neil Robertson and beat him comfortably 10-5 and also made a highest break (146). But after this triumph followed a few unsatisfactory results. Despite of them, Allen reached UK Championship final after a won decider in semi-final against Stuart Bingham at the start of December. His opponent was a defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, who won over Allen 10-6.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: Just after UK championship Allen added his 5th ranking victory by winning last tournament in year 2018 Scottish open by defeating Shaun Murphy in the final.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: But in the second half of the season, Allen wasn't able to get further than semi-final. Allen suffered a failure in World championship, because he lost in first round against Zhou Yuelong.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: Despite the negative outcomes, he won more than one ranking tournament in his career for the first time and reached his highest ranking, fifth, in March 2019.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: Allen could not reach a final in the first half of the season, he lost in all six semi-finals which he reached. In International Championship and Shanghai Masters Allen lost against Shaun Murphy, in English open against Mark Selby and in Champion of champions lost to Judd Trump. In the UK Championship, he suffered a whitewash from Stephen Maguire. Allen's attempt to regain his Scottish open title in 2018 ended in the decider of the semi-final match against Jack Lisowski. At the World Championship Allen equalled the record of making 5 centuries in a first round match against qualifier Jamie Clarke; however, he went on to lose the match against the Welsh number 89 - the lowest ranked player in the tournament- 8-10. He ended the season where he finished the last one, ranked number 5.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: Allen's most notable achievement during the 2020/2021 season was winning the 2020 Champion of Champions. He defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan in a contentious quarter-final that saw O'Sullivan accusing Allen of deliberately standing in his line of sight and Allen accusing O'Sullivan of being a 'bully'. Allen went on to defeat Judd Trump in the semi-finals and Neil Robertson 10–6 in the final.


title: Mark Allen (snooker player)

text: In the 2021/2022 season, Allen won his first Northern Ireland Open title, coming from 6–8 behind in the final to defeat John Higgins 9–8. Earlier in the tournament, in his qualifying round match against Si Jiahui, he made the second maximum break of his professional career.