title: Bucaramanga

text: The International Exhibition of Children's Fashion (EIMI) takes place in Bucaramanga. It is the only exhibition specialized in children's clothing in Latin America. The event is organized in the CENFER complex and 40% of the sales generated come from exported products.


title: Bucaramanga

text: In recent years, several major shopping centers and commercial buildings have been built in Bucaramanga. An example is the shopping center La Florida, a six-storey mall with two pedestrian bridges and one vehicular bridge. A newer shopping center, Megamall, was built in 2007, where the first store of the French multinational retailer Carrefour opened in the city.


title: Bucaramanga

text: In the following years, three more shopping centers were built in other areas of the city: Cacique, Parque Caracolí, and De la Cuesta. Another shopping district known as "Cabecera del Llano" includes five major shopping centers: Cabecera Etapa I, Etapa II and Etapa III, as well as the more recognized Cabecera Etapa IV and the shopping center "La Quinta" or V Etapa.


title: Bucaramanga

text: The Acropolis Shopping Center is located in an area known as Ciudadela Real de Minas, while the San Andresito commercial center and the traditional and renovated (2005) Cañaveral shopping center are located in the southern sector of the city along with the El Cacique shopping center, opened in November 2012 and considered one of the largest in Latin America.


title: Bucaramanga

text: In these shopping centers, there are several movie theaters of major companies such as Cine Colombia, Cine Royal and Cinemark, clothing stores like Adidas, Levi's, and national brands such as Arturo Calle, restaurants and cafes as Presto, El Corral, McDonald's, Crêpes & Waffles, Juan Valdez.


title: Bucaramanga

text: One of the largest hypermarket chains in Colombia, Exito, has five stores throughout the city and a distribution center for eastern Colombia.


title: Bucaramanga

text: Carrefour opened in 2007 the first store at Megamall, merging later with a local supermarket named Mercadefam. The chain now has seven stores in the city. Along with this, there are local small chain stores in Bucaramanga such as Mercomfenalco, Cootracolta, Cajasan, and others.


title: Bucaramanga

text: Historically, Bucaramanga has had one of the lowest rates of unemployment among Colombian cities. As of September 2010, according to DANE statistics between July and September 2010, the city had an unemployment rate of 11.8%, increasing by 3.3% compared to October and December 2009 which showed a rate of 8.5%.


title: Bucaramanga

text: Metrolínea is the Integrated Mass Transit System of Bucaramanga. Its construction began in 2006 during the administration of Mayor Honorio Galvis; its operation is currently in its first phase, which began on 22 December 2009. The six lines inaugurated in this phase are: Avenida del Libertador (Diagonal 15), autocentral, Prospero Finch Avenue (27th Avenue), La Cumbre, Highway Floridablanca Villabel Bucarica and which have 91 stopways. The administration is currently in the process of coupling the second phase, which will cover the areas of Piedecuesta, Ciudadela Real de Minas, the Avenue of the Americas (Race 33) and will have trunks at Autosur, Real de Minas and the Americas.


title: Bucaramanga

text: Bucaramanga is connected to the mainland by two main routes. The first is the National Route 66 which comes from Barrancabermeja and Cucuta communicates with and then into Venezuela, the second the Ruta Nacional 45A that comes from Bogotá and San Alberto comes up this road connects with the Colombian Caribbean region and major cities across the Ruta Nacional 45.


title: Bucaramanga

text: The international airport serving Bucaramanga is Palonegro International Airport, located on the hill of Palonegro, west of the metropolitan area and close to the town of Lebrija.


title: Bucaramanga

text: The airport opened in 1974, replacing the old airport Gómez Niño located in the Ciudadela Real de Minas. The airport currently operates under the administration of the Palonegro consortium Colombo-Korean SAS East Airports Group. There are daily flights from most major cities in Colombia, as well as international flights from the city of Panama.


title: Bucaramanga

text: Many important Colombian people are from Bucaramanga, such as Luis Carlos Galán, presidential candidate murdered in 1989, Carlos Ardila Lülle, one of the most important businessmen in Colombia, Claudia Florez and Ivan Garzón.


title: Bucaramanga

text: Colombian artist Oscar Rodríguez Naranjo came back from France during the Second World War and settled in Bucaramanga. Rodríguez Naranjo taught at the art school while he made a number of paintings that would build up his reputation in Colombia. In 1941 he became the Director of the Academia de Bellas Artes in Bucaramanga.


title: Bucaramanga

text: The Universidad Industrial de Santander is an official institution that offers 95 degrees and a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses within the health sciences, humanities, sciences, and engineering colleges. Also, it offers seven technological programs in different fields through the Distance Learning Institute. Nowadays, after 71 years of existence, there are nearly 14,000 students registered in undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as a total 22,000 alumni. It proudly stands as the leading higher education institution in the northeastern part of the country and ranks fourth among official universities nationwide. Also, the University has created affiliate branches in Barrancabermeja—home of the most important oil refinery in the country—El Socorro and Málaga. Recently it has extended its services to Barranquilla and Bogotá through the offer of its Graduate Programs.


title: Bucaramanga

text: Bucaramanga's culture has several expressions, from the visual arts such as painting, sculpture, photography, and recently also in experimental demonstrations that incorporate new technology for artistic communication, such as video. Throughout Bucaramanga's history, it has hosted many cultural offerings in various areas, causing arts groups to form within the city.


title: Bucaramanga

text: One of the main pillars of culture in Bucaramanga is literature, as in the past there was a local cultural movement that produced a number of writers.


title: Bucaramanga

text: In 1995, the administration of Mayor Luis Fernando Peña Cote decided to convert Gabriel Turbay Public Library to hold the newly created Municipal Institute of Culture, assigning the library building to Gabriel Turbay, who has overseen space management for the institute, which has meant the movement of areas of the library to use the administrative area of the Municipal Institute of Culture. The creation of the Municipal Institute of Culture was conceived in order to expand the possibilities for sponsoring culture in the metropolitan area. But as culture has not traditionally played a leading role in local government, colleges do not receive sufficient funding and incentives to fulfill their purposes.


title: Bucaramanga

text: The Institute provides library services, art workshops, and a variety of shows and cultural work from the different neighborhoods of the city. The city sponsors these cultural activities with private investment. Bucaramanga also features a cultural radio station (Station Cultural Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento) on 100.7 FM.


title: Bucaramanga

text: Typical dishes from Bucaramanga include Santander-mute (a soup made from various grains and accompanied by various types of meat), fricassee, a preparation of viscera and goat blood mixed with white rice, roasted meat, arepa de maize pelado, and tamales.


title: Bucaramanga

text: Also popular are candied celery, lemon, citron, rice, caramel, and pineapple. Most are produced in the Floridablanca neighboring. The Oblea, a large, communion-like wafer and bocadillo veleño (a type of fudge made from puréed fruit or pressed caramel, or dulce de leche (milk caramel) are examples of treats found in great quantity in Bucaramanga. Nevertheless, one of the exotic foods in this Colombian city is undoubtedly the "Hormiga Culona" or big-butt ants, which have made Bucaramanga famous nationally and internationally, eventually being exported to Tokyo and London. These ants have high protein content, and their consumption among local people dates from the prehispanic era. This delicacy is only available during certain time of the year, due to the fact that they only come out during the months of May and June.


title: Bucaramanga

text: A variety of tourism can be performed in Bucaramanga and its neighboring municipalities, such as ecological tourism through its parks, adventure tourism at the Ruitoque Plateau, and Paragliding at the "Voladero the Águilas", at just a 15 minute drive away from the city. The downtown area boasts colonial buildings like the churches of San Laureano, and the Dolores Chapel, among some widely recognised colonial houses such as the house of Simon Bolivar, and the Louis Peru de Lacroix' house. Other colonial buildings are located in the neighboring municipalities of the city. Bucaramanga's tourism diversity earned it the title of being one of the seven national pride tourism destinations through a voting process convened by Colombia is Passion and Bavaria.


title: Bucaramanga

text: Bucaramanga has wide hotel infrastructure composed by some of the best hotel chains in the country. Several areas of the city center have important restaurants and nightclubs.


title: Bucaramanga

text: Morrorico: Located east of Bucaramanga, the road to Cucuta, you can see a panorama of the city, here is the statue of Sacred Heart, which is visited at Easter time, and the inhabitants and parishioners sector have the belief that the statue does miracles. Also in this area is planned the construction of a cable car or cable metrocable called to transport the inhabitants of the sector.


title: Bucaramanga

text: Palonegro: On the road to the airport of the same name, where you can have a splendid view of the metropolitan area of Bucaramanga. in place encuentan whereabouts visited several nightclubs and especially on weekends.


title: Bucaramanga

text: " 'Chicamocha National Park"' (PANACHI): on the road that leads to Bogotá at the maximum height of the Cordillera Oriental in the municipality of ARATOCA, offers an exceptional view of the mighty river canyon Chicamocha, is equally Chicamocha National Park, from where you can appreciate at its best canons of rivers Chicamocha and Suarez.


title: Bucaramanga

text: Giron:: Located 9 km of Bucaramanga. Founded in 1631, the gold mines were important during the colonial era of tremendous architectural heritage, which made it a national monument. Stands the Museum of Religious Art, with valuable paintings and ancient liturgical objects, The Basilica of the Lord of Miracles, pilgrimage site, and the Chapel of Corregidor, on the outskirts.


title: Bucaramanga

text: Socorro: Located from Bucaramanga. Cradle of the uprising of the villagers, is located in the province Comunera, northeastern department of Santander. It was founded in 1681 and 1711 he was awarded the title of "Very Noble and Loyal Villa". In 1781 Manuela Beltrán broke the edict that raised taxes and contributions, which led to the revolt of the Communards. In the main square stand monuments to José Antonio Galán, leader of the uprising, and Antonia Santos. Other attractions are the house of culture and the cathedral.


title: Bucaramanga

text: Barichara: Located from the city of Bucaramanga, Barichara was founded by the Parra family Pradilla to serve the veneration of the Virgin of the Stone. In May 1975 the town received the title of "Cutest little town in Colombia" and by Resolution 005 of 30 June 1975 was declared a National Monument. Attractions in this village of cobblestone streets and wooden balconies include:


title: Bucaramanga

text: Other attractions are the San Gil Ragonessi ecological park, spa blue well, the Grotto Hill, Cerro de La Cruz and adventure sports like rafting, mountain climbing, mountain biking and motocross, among others.


title: Bucaramanga

text: Indersantander and Inderbu are the entities responsible for the management and development of local sport in Santander.


title: Bucaramanga

text: Bucaramanga has the Estadio Alfonso López, with a current capacity of 28,000. This stadium is the home of the local football teams Atlético Bucaramanga and Real Santander.


title: Bucaramanga

text: The Coliseo Bicentenario, built for the 2011 AMF Futsal World Championships held in Colombia, has a capacity of 8,000 spectators. It is currently the home stadium of the Búcaros Santander basketball team.


title: Bucaramanga

text: Another sports complex in the city is the Edmundo Luna Santos Coliseum, located in the Ciudadela Real de Minas area.


title: Bucaramanga

text: Bucaramanga has twice hosted the National Games in 1941 and 1996. The city also hosted the Pan American Cycling Championships in the year 2000.


title: Bucaramanga

text: The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Bucaramanga, for example to and from work, on a weekday, is 57 minutes. Ten percent of public transit riders, ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 14 minutes, while 19% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 5.6 km, while 10% travel for over 12 km in a single direction.


title: American Murderer

text: American Murderer is an American true-crime drama film, written and directed by Matthew Gentile (in his feature directorial debut). It stars Tom Pelphrey, Idina Menzel, Ryan Philippe, Jacki Weaver, Paul Schneider, Shantel VanSanten, Kevin Corrigan and Moisés Arias.


title: American Murderer

text: In December 2020, it was announced Tom Pelphrey, Idina Menzel, Ryan Philippe, Jacki Weaver, Paul Schneider, Shantel VanSanten, Kevin Corrigan and Moisés Arias had joined the cast of the film, with Matthew Gentile directing from a screenplay he wrote.


title: American Murderer

text: Principal photography began in Utah in December 2020 and wrapped in January of 2021 with pick-ups and second unit photography done in April 2021 .


title: American Murderer

text: "American Murderer" had its world premiere on June 27, 2022 at the Taormina Film Fest in Sicily. The film won the Artistic Director's Award at the San Diego International Film Festival in October 2022.


title: American Murderer

text: On July 19, 2022, it was announced in Variety that Saban Films bought the rights to distribute "American Murderer" in the United States and Canada. It is slated for a theatrical release on October 21st, 2022 and a digital release on October 28th, 2022.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Gordon Frederick Cummins (18 February 1914 – 25 June 1942) was a British serial killer known as the Blackout Killer, the Blackout Ripper and the Wartime Ripper, who murdered four women and attempted to murder two others over a six-day period in London in February 1942. He is also suspected of committing two earlier murders in October 1941.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Convicted of the murder of 34-year-old Evelyn Oatley, Cummins was sentenced to death for her murder and was hanged at HMP Wandsworth on 25 June 1942.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Cummins became known as the "Blackout Killer" and the "Blackout Ripper" due to the fact he committed his murders during the imposed wartime blackout and because of the extensive mutilations inflicted upon three of his victims' bodies. He is also known as the "Wartime Ripper" as his murders were committed at the height of World War II.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: The murders committed by Gordon Cummins have been described by one Detective Superintendent within the Metropolitan Police as "by far the most vicious" he ever investigated during his entire career.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Gordon Frederick Cummins was born in New Earswick, North Yorkshire on 18 February 1914, the first of four children born to John Cummins and his wife Amelia, née Lee. Cummins's father was a civil servant who ran a school for delinquent youths; his mother was a housewife. As a child, Cummins received a private education in Llandovery, South Wales, although contemporary reports from his years at the Llandovery County Intermediate Secondary School describe his academic performance as unremarkable, with teachers later recollecting Cummins was much more preoccupied with socializing than his studies. Nonetheless, Cummins did obtain a diploma in chemistry at age sixteen. After completing his schooling in 1930, Cummins attended Northampton College of Technology. He abandoned his studies on 1 November 1932.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: At age 18, Cummins moved to Newcastle, where he briefly worked as an industrial chemist. He was dismissed from this job after five months. In August 1933, Cummins obtained employment as a tanner in Northampton, although he was fired from this employment for poor timekeeping after thirteen months, thereafter alternating between part-time work and casual labour. In October 1934, Cummins relocated to London, obtaining a job as a leather dresser in a clothing factory, earning £3 a week. He later trained to become a foreman at this firm.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: While residing in London, Cummins developed a desire to live the life of an aristocrat. He frequented hotels and clubs in the West End of London, falsely claiming to acquaintances to be the illegitimate son of a peer and also claiming to receive an allowance from this fabled individual. To support this contention, Cummins refined his accent to imitate that of an Oxfordian, and insisted on being referred to as the Honourable Gordon Cummins. He also frequently engaged in acts of theft or embezzlement to financially maintain this facade, and regularly bragged to colleagues of his sexual excursions with local women. To his employers, his extravagant lifestyle impacted his work performance, and he was fired from his job on 8 February 1935. Shortly thereafter, Cummins moved into his brother's flat in Queens Mews, Bayswater, as he considered his next career move.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: In early 1935, Cummins volunteered to join the Royal Air Force (RAF). He enlisted at the Air Crew Reception Centre in Regent's Park, London, where both serving members of the RAF and new recruits were assessed for training. Cummins initially trained as a rigger, tasked with undertaking flight checks on aircraft. His superiors considered Cummins to be an ambitious individual, although his boastful attitude and claims of nobility made him unpopular with his fellow servicemen. These false claims to hail from an aristocratic background earned Cummins the derogatory nickname "the Duke". In May 1936, he became acquainted with Marjorie Stevens, the secretary of a West End theatre producer. The two first met at an Empire Air Day air show in the village of Henlow. Following a seven-month courtship, the couple married at the Paddington Register Office on 28 December. The couple had no children.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Initially, Cummins was stationed with the Marine and Armament Experimental Establishment at Felixstowe, Suffolk. Between 1936 and 1939, he relocated with this military research and test organisation to Scotland. On 25 October 1939, shortly after the outbreak of World War II, Cummins was transferred to Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire. He remained stationed in Dumbartonshire until April 1941, when he was posted to Colerne, Wiltshire. At this posting, Cummins reached the junior rank of leading aircraftman, although he held aspirations to become a Spitfire pilot.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: On 10 November 1941, Cummins was posted to Cornwall. At this new posting, his braggadocio among his fellow airmen earned him the nickname "the Count". While stationed in Cornwall, Cummins joined a Falmouth social club named the Blue Peter Club, and occasionally assisted the proprietress by tending the bar. However, he was relieved of his bartending duties within weeks when found to be serving free drinks to RAF personnel. Shortly thereafter, the proprietress discovered that approximately £35 worth of jewellery had been stolen from her apartment. Although both the proprietress and local police suspected Cummins of committing this theft, no evidence was found to prove his guilt.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: The following January, having accrued over 1,000 hours of flight experience, he appeared before the Royal Air Force selection board to take an aviation exam. His exemplary performance earned him a transfer to the Air Crew Receiving Centre in Regent's Park, where he was to be stationed with 300 other men. Cummins was ordered to report for duty at 10 a.m. on 2 February 1942.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Cummins is known to have murdered at least four women and to have attempted to murder two others over a period of six days in February 1942. He is also suspected of murdering two further women in October 1941. The majority of his known victims were women whom he encountered in or near to West End pubs and clubs and who engaged in prostitution—typically with servicemen.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: All of Cummins's known murders and attempted murders were committed during the city's imposed wartime blackout conditions, imposed in September 1939. By the time of his 1942 arrest, Cummins had neither a previous criminal record nor a known history of violence.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Cummins is suspected of committing his first two murders in October 1941. His first suspected victim was a 19-year-old clerk named Maple Churchyard, who was murdered on 13 October. Churchyard is known to have frequently engaged in casual sexual relations with servicemen. Her nude body was found by workmen in a bombed house on Hampstead Road the day after her murder. She had been strangled to death with her own camiknickers by an individual described by the pathologist who examined her body as being a left-handed individual, as the bruising around Churchyard's neck indicated her murderer had more strength in his left hand than his right. In addition, her handbag had been emptied, with several contents missing. Churchyard had not been sexually assaulted. Her death is believed to have occurred at approximately 9:15 p.m.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Four days later, on 17 October, a 48-year-old widow named Edith Eleanora Humphries was found lying upon her bed at her Regent's Park home. She had been extensively bludgeoned about the face and head before her assailant had attempted to strangle her before cutting her throat. Humphries had also suffered a single stab wound to her skull, which had penetrated her brain. Humphries was still alive, but died shortly after her admission to hospital. The door to her property was ajar, and investigators found no signs of a forced entry to her home. Several items of jewellery had been stolen.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: At the time of these two murders, Cummins was stationed in Colerne, Wiltshire, although when on leave, he is known to have frequently visited London, residing at an address in nearby St John's Wood.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: On Sunday 8 February 1942, Cummins left an RAF establishment in St John's Wood to visit his wife at the flat they rented in Southwark. He borrowed a £1 note from his wife (the equivalent of approximately £52 ), explaining that he intended to visit the West End for a "night on the town". Cummins left his home shortly after 6:30 p.m.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: The following morning, the body of 41-year-old pharmacist Evelyn Hamilton was discovered by an electrician named Harold Batchelor in a street-level air raid shelter in Montagu Place, Marylebone. Her clothes had been disarranged and her scarf wound about her head. Scuff marks on her shoes and broken sections of mortar scattered near her body indicated Hamilton had fiercely struggled with her attacker, who had raised her skirt above her hips, pulled her underwear below knee level, and exposed her right breast. Her handbag—containing approximately £80—had been stolen, although some of the contents were found strewn about the pavement outside the air raid shelter. Hamilton's empty handbag was later found by a police officer on nearby Wyndham Street. No fingerprints were recovered from any of her possessions. Her body was identified by her landlady, Catherine Jones, on 10 February.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: The day prior to her murder, Hamilton had resigned from her position managing a Hornchurch chemists, which had experienced financial hardships due to the onset of the war, and travelled to London via train. At 6:40 p.m. on 8 February, she is known to have informed a Mrs. Maud Yoxall of her plans to leave London and travel to Lincolnshire the following day, as she had been offered a manageress position at a pharmacy in Grimsby. She was last seen alive by a waitress at the Maison Lyons Corner House in Marble Arch shortly before midnight, drinking a glass of white wine to celebrate her 41st birthday. The location of her body led investigators to conclude she had been either accosted or attacked as she walked back to her boardinghouse in the early hours of the following morning. Hamilton's post-mortem revealed she had been manually strangled by a left-handed individual. She had not been sexually assaulted or mutilated, although numerous small cuts and scratches had been inflicted to her right breast and a cut measuring one inch had been inflicted to her left eyebrow.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Shortly after 8:30 a.m. on 10 February, two meter readers discovered the naked and mutilated body of 34-year-old Evelyn Oatley lying upon her bed in her flat at 153 Wardour Street, Soho. She had been beaten about the mouth and chest, then strangled into unconsciousness before a six-inch cut had been inflicted to her throat, severing her right carotid artery. Oatley's head hung over the edge of her bed. Her abdomen, genitals and thighs had been extensively sexually mutilated with a safety razor blade and a tin opener after death. Six of these wounds had been inflicted around her vaginal cavity, the jagged nature of which suggested they had been inflicted with the tin opener. Oatley had also been sexually violated with an electric torch, which protruded from her vagina. A pair of blood-smeared curling tongs was also found close to her body, and a bloodstained razor blade lay to the left of her head. In addition, the contents of Oatley's leather handbag were strewn across the floor of her bedroom, and seven unused Gillette safety razor blades were recovered from the small nightstand beside her bed. The door to her apartment had been closed, but not locked. No defensive wounds were found upon Oatley's hands, nails or arms.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Detective Chief Superintendent Frederick Cherrill was able to determine that fingerprints recovered from the bloodstained tin opener and upon the corner of a broken section of mirror found within Oatley's leather handbag which had also been used to mutilate her body indicated that her murderer was a left-handed individual. No match for this set of fingerprints could be found within the police fingerprint bureau, indicating Oatley's murderer had no police record.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Oatley was a married woman who, at the outbreak of World War II, had turned to prostitution, using the alias Nita Ward, to supplement the income she earned as a nightclub hostess. Three eyewitnesses later informed investigators Oatley had been approached by a young, clean-shaven and moustachioed airman with chestnut brown hair, approximately () in height, outside a restaurant in Shaftesbury Avenue late in the evening prior to her murder. According to these witnesses, when Oatley had asked this individual what his sexual preferences were, he had simply replied, "I like blondes." Oatley was last seen alive by a fellow tenant of 153 Wardour Street named Ivy Poole, who observed her enter the stairwell to the property in the company of this individual at approximately 11:40 p.m. According to Poole, shortly after midnight, she was awoken by the sudden increase in the volume of Oatley's wireless. She did not investigate this disturbance.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: In the early hours of Wednesday, 11 February, a 43-year-old prostitute named Margaret Florence Lowe was murdered in her flat at 11 Gosfield Street, Marylebone. She was last seen alive by her neighbour, Florence Bartolini, at approximately 1:15 a.m. walking along the corridor to her flat in the company of a client. Bartolini later heard the man exit Lowe's flat, walk down the corridor and onto Gosfield Street, whistling to himself. Lowe's body remained undiscovered until the afternoon of 13 February, when her 15-year-old daughter, Barbara, visited her mother only to be told by a neighbour her mother had not been seen for "two or three days" and that a parcel had remained unclaimed outside her door for the same length of time.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Lowe was found on her bed beneath the quilts, which were raised to just below her chin. She was on her back with her legs apart and her knees bent upwards. She had been extensively beaten, then strangled to death upon her divan bed with a silk stocking which was still knotted beneath the right side of her jaw. Froth was visible around her nose and mouth.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Upon examining Lowe's body, Forensic pathologist Sir Bernard Spilsbury remarked that the injuries inflicted by her murderer were "quite dreadful", adding that the perpetrator was "a savage sexual maniac" who "indulged in a wicked lust to perpetrate the most diabolical injuries on the women he killed". The mutilations inflicted to Lowe surpassed the savagery of those her murderer had inflicted upon Oatley, with some mutilations inflicted while the victim had still been alive, although at the point of death. Her body had been extensively slashed and mutilated with a variety of implements including a razor blade, a vegetable knife, a table knife and a poker, all of which were found protruding from or beside her body. Her abdomen had been opened, exposing her internal organs, with one further wound inflicted to the right side of her groin being "a deep, gaping wound" measuring ten inches in length. A large serrated bread knife protruded from a wound close to Lowe's groin, a wax candle had also been inserted six inches into her vagina, and her uterus had been slashed. Spilsbury was also able to determine the injuries inflicted to Lowe's body left little doubt her murderer had also been responsible for the death of Evelyn Oatley.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Forensic experts recovered fingerprints from the base of a glass candlestick holder standing upon the bedroom mantelpiece, plus a glass tumbler, and a half-drunk bottle of Hammerton's oatmeal stout also found at the crime scene. The fingerprints upon the glass candlestick holder were found to belong to the perpetrator's right hand, indicating the perpetrator was left-handed.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Lowe was a widowed mother of one who hailed from Southend-on-Sea. Following the death of her husband in 1932, Lowe had sold the family fancy-goods business. She later enrolled her daughter in a boarding school before relocating alone to London, where she obtained employment as a house cleaner in 1934. Shortly thereafter, using the alias Peggy Campbell, she began to engage in prostitution, although every third weekend, Barbara would travel to London from Southend via train to visit her mother, and Lowe would devote her weekend to social activities such as visiting the cinema and local landmarks with her daughter.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: On Thursday, 12 February, Cummins accosted a 25-year-old prostitute named Catherine Mulcahy in Regent Street. Mulcahy—who sold sex using the alias Kathleen King—agreed to take him to her flat in nearby Southwick Street. The two travelled to her flat via taxi, with Cummins giving her the agreed fee of £2 in advance. Upon entering her flat, Mulcahy lit her gas fire and began removing her clothes but did not remove her boots. She later stated a "strange smile" appeared on Cummins's face as she removed her clothing, lay upon her bed and beckoned him to join her. He removed his clothes, then approached Mulcahy, clambered atop her, slammed his knees into her stomach and attempted to strangle her as he pinned her body to the bed with his own weight. Mulcahy fought her attacker, kicking his stomach with her boot and breaking free of his grasp as Cummins fell to the floor beside her bed. Mulcahy then ran screaming from her flat to the house of a neighbour.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Possibly as a means of deterring Mulcahy from reporting the assault to police, Cummins partially dressed himself before approaching her neighbour's flat. He then gave her a further eight £1 notes, stating: "I'm sorry. I think I had too much to drink this evening" as Mulcahy repeatedly shrieked her belief he was a murderer. Cummins then grabbed his coat and fled, unwittingly leaving his RAF webbing belt at her address.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Shortly after his assault upon Mulcahy, Cummins encountered 32-year-old Doris Jouannet (also known as Olga). Jouannet was last seen alive at approximately 10:20 p.m. on 12 February by a friend named Beatrice Lang, with whom she drank a shot of whiskey at a corner-house tearoom. According to Lang, Jouannet stated she intended to visit a regular client whom she referred to as "The Captain". The two then parted company on Oxford Street. Shortly thereafter, Jouannet encountered Cummins, accepted his proposal, and took him to the two-room ground-floor flat at 187 Sussex Gardens, Bayswater, that she shared with her husband.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: The following evening, Doris's husband, Henri, returned to the flat he shared with his wife. Noting the bedroom door locked, he unsuccessfully attempted to pry the door open before phoning the police, who dispatched a constable named William Payne to the property.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Urging Henri to remain in the hallway, Payne pried the door open and turned on the light, discovering Jouannet's body—naked except for an open black nightgown—lying diagonally across the bed with her left hand placed between her legs. A silk stocking was knotted around her neck. Payne then exited the room, stating to Henri, "I must advise you not to go in that room". He then returned to the Paddington Police Station to request the station officer alert Scotland Yard's Criminal Investigation Department and the divisional surgeon to his discovery.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Divisional Detective Leonard Clare arrived at Sussex Gardens shortly after 8 p.m. His examination of the body at the crime scene revealed Jouannet's jaw had been broken before she had been strangled with the stocking knotted beneath the left side of her chin. Her abdomen, genitals, left breast, and thighs were extensively mutilated with a razor blade and knife in a similar manner to the bodies of Oatley and Lowe. One of the wounds inflicted was a six-inch vertical gash extending between her navel and genitalia; another wound inflicted to her vagina measured six-and-a-half inches. Furthermore, the flesh beneath her left breast had been carved away. The knife used to mutilate Jouannet had been placed on her thigh. Two used condoms lay on the floor beside the bed, and a gold watch and approximately £5 had been stolen from the flat.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Sir Bernard Spilsbury conducted Jouannet's autopsy at the Paddington Mortuary on 14 February. Via examining the spillage of blood from Jouannet's wounds, Spilsbury was able to determine the decedent had been strangled to the point of death before her murderer had first mutilated her breast and left thigh as she died. All other wounds had been inflicted after death. In reference to the nature of the wounds to the victim's body and the locations they had been inflicted, Spilsbury noted the murderer had exercised a degree of calculated restraint when disfiguring his victim above the navel, but that he had worked himself into an evident frenzy when mutilating her genitalia and thigh.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Jouannet was known to only occasionally resort to street level prostitution. She had married her husband—who had previously been a client of hers—in November 1935, and had remarked to other West End prostitutes that she would only sell sexual favours when she needed "a few extra shillings" to supplement the money given to her by her elderly husband, who managed a hotel in Sloane Square. She would engage in prostitution when her husband slept overnight at the hotel, as his employment frequently required him to do.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Due to wartime restrictions on newsprint, the murders committed by Cummins initially received only limited press coverage, largely because of the ongoing global conflict. Nonetheless, the murders quickly became the prime topic of conversation among West End prostitutes, many of whom became increasingly reluctant to offer their services to individuals they did not consider regular clients. On 13 February, the bodies of both Lowe and Jouannet were discovered just hours apart. Both murders were soon linked to the murder of Evelyn Oatley, and the perpetrator was dubbed by the press as the "Blackout Killer". The murders became nationwide headlines.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: On the evening of 13 February 1942, Cummins accosted a young married woman named Margaret Heywood in Piccadilly. After sharing a drink and a sandwich at the London Trocadero, the two walked in the direction of Haymarket. Heywood later stated that, at this point, Cummins became "unpleasantly forward" toward her: pushing her into a doorway near Piccadilly Circus and groping her waist as he attempted to persuade her to accompany him to a nearby air raid shelter. Heywood consented to a single kiss before informing Cummins she did not know of any nearby air raid shelters, stating, "In any case, I wouldn't go in one with you." Cummins then began fondling Heywood, who remonstrated against his actions as she struck at his wrists and pushed his hands away from her body, then attempted to leave. In response, Cummins seized her by the throat and pushed her back into the doorway. Heywood was then strangled into unconsciousness as Cummins repeatedly muttered the words, "You won't".


title: Gordon Cummins

text: As Cummins rifled through her handbag, he was disturbed by an 18-year-old delivery boy named John Shine, who was carrying bottles of drink into the nearby Captain's Cabin pub, forcing Cummins to flee the scene, leaving his RAF-issue gas mask and haversack in the doorway. Shine immediately ran to Heywood's assistance. Noting Heywood had regained consciousness, he then offered to accompany her to a hospital. En route, the couple encountered a policeman named James Skinner, who suggested the two accompany him to West End Central Police Station to provide witness statements detailing Heywood's attack before an officer accompanied her to a nearby hospital.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Immediately after his attack on Heywood, Cummins visited a nearby pub, where he realized he had left his gas mask and haversack at the site of the attempted murder, and that the service number printed inside his haversack could be traced to him. In an effort to concoct an alibi, he stole another airman's gas mask and haversack before returning to base.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Prior to providing his witness statement at the West End Central Police Station, John Shine handed the gas mask and haversack to investigators, explaining he had recovered the items from the doorway where he had found Heywood, who insisted the items had been in the possession of her assailant. A Detective Sergeant named Thomas Shepherd noted the RAF Regimental number (525987) printed on the inside of the haversack. Shepherd immediately contacted the Royal Air Force Police, who in turn contacted Cummins's regiment in Regent's Park. A staff sergeant quickly ascertained the gas mask and haversack had been issued to Cummins. This information was relayed to Detective Sergeant Shepherd at 11:30 p.m. on 13 February, with the staff sergeant adding Cummins was not at his billet.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Detective Sergeant Thomas Shepherd formally questioned Cummins on the morning of 14 February. He protested his innocence and claimed he had spent the evening drinking whiskey and bitter with a corporal whose name he could not recall at the Volunteer Public House in Baker Street before the two took a taxi to Shaftesbury Avenue. According to Cummins, he drank several shots of spirits at the bar before engaging in conversation with a woman. He further claimed to only hold hazy recollections of his conversations with this woman, due to his intoxication, although he did claim to have a "hazy recollection" of walking on the street in her company before realizing in the early hours he had violated his curfew, and immediately returned to his base. He claimed to have no memory of attacking Heywood, but expressed his regrets and offered to pay her compensation. Questioned as to why the knuckles upon his left hand were cut and bruised, Cummins claimed to have received the wounds while performing maintenance upon an airplane engine.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Immediately after Cummins provided a written statement of his account of the previous evening's events, he was arrested and held on remand upon a charge of causing grievous bodily harm.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: An examination of the entries within billet pass-book on 15 February indicated Cummins had reported back to the billet before 10:30 p.m. on the dates of the murders and attempted murders investigators had ascribed to the Blackout Killer. However, many entries had been written in lead pencil, meaning entries within the book could easily be manipulated. Furthermore, several of Cummins's entries for the month of February were incomplete, as although he had invariably signed the pass-book when leaving base, he had frequently failed to sign in upon his return. Questioning of Cummins's fellow airmen revealed they had been in the habit of vouching for each other's return to base, and that Cummins had spent extravagantly in the week prior to his arrest. Detective Chief Inspector Edward Greeno further discovered Cummins and another airman named Felix Sampson had left the billet via a fire escape after midnight on each of the dates in question, and both had not returned to base until the early hours of the morning.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: A search of Cummins's possessions revealed he had taken various items belonging to the four murder victims linked to the Blackout Killer as keepsakes. One of the items had been a white metal cigarette case engraved with the initials "L.W.", which had belonged to Evelyn Oatley. This cigarette case was discovered hidden inside a kitchenette, alongside a photograph of Oatley's mother.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Detective Chief Superintendent Frederick Cherrill was able to match the fingerprint of Cummins's left little finger and thumb with prints found upon the tin opener and broken mirror found near the body of Evelyn Oatley. Cherrill later confirmed fingerprints recovered from two other crime scenes belonged to Cummins. Two of the ten £1 banknotes Catherine Mulcahy's attacker had given her before and after he had assaulted her were brand new. Via tracing the serial number of these banknotes, Detective Chief Inspector Edward Greeno was further able to determine these two notes had been issued to Cummins on 12 February.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Both Heywood and Mulcahy were later asked to view a police lineup to identify their attacker. Mulcahy was unable to positively identify her attacker, although Heywood unhesitantly identified Cummins as the man who had assaulted her. Cummins continued to protest his innocence, claiming Heywood was mistaken and that another airman must have switched his own gas mask and haversack with his, and may have left the items at the site of the attempted murder in an effort to frame him.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: On 16 February, Edward Greeno drove to HM Prison Brixton to interview Cummins, who recounted his movements between 9 and 13 February. He insisted he had never encountered any of the murder victims, and claimed to be unable to recognise their photographs. When presented with the victims' personal belongings recovered among his own possessions, Cummins claimed the items had been "taken from a service respirator case I was carrying when arrested, but which was not mine". He then recounted his claim that he had either picked up the wrong haversack, or that another airman had switched his own gas mask and haversack with his. Unconvinced of Cummins's claims, Greeno informed him he was to be charged with the murders of Oatley, Lowe, and Jouannet the following morning. He was held on remand at HM Prison Brixton, to await trial.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Cummins was further charged with assaulting Heywood and Mulcahy on 20 February. On 27 March, Cummins again appeared before a judge at Bow Street Magistrates' Court. On this occasion, he was further charged with the murder of Evelyn Hamilton.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: The trial of Gordon Cummins for the murder of Evelyn Oatley began at the Old Bailey on 24 April 1942. He was tried before Mr Justice Asquith Cummins entered a plea of not guilty to the charge against him; the clerk then informed the jury: "The prisoner at the bar, Gordon Frederick Cummins, is charged upon indictment with the murder of Evelyn Oatley on the tenth day of February this year. To this indictment he has pleaded that he is not guilty. It is your charge to say, having heard the evidence, whether he be guilty or not."


title: Gordon Cummins

text: The prosecution consisted of Christmas Humphreys K.C. and G. B. McClure, K.C., with Denis Nowell Pritt K.C. initially appointed to defend Cummins. However, owing to a legal technicality on the first day of the trial (the presentation to the jury of crime scene photographs of victim Margaret Florence Lowe), the jury was excused from duty. The trial restarted before a new jury on 27 April, the defence now consisting of John Flowers K.C. and Victor Durand K.C. Cummins himself seemed uninterested in the legal proceedings; occasionally chatting in a light-hearted manner with his lawyers or turning from the bar to smile and wave at his wife, who steadfastly believed in his innocence.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: In his opening statement on behalf of the prosecution, Humphreys outlined the discovery of Oatley's body, the injuries inflicted to her body, the weapons her murderer had used to perform the mutilations, and the fingerprints recovered at the crime scene. Referring to the prosecution's intention to link Cummins to this murder by the fingerprints investigators had recovered, Humphreys stated: "You will hear from one of the greatest experts in the country upon fingerprints. He will tell you that there have been some half-million fingerprints taken in this time and there have never been two alike. The prosecution would ask you to say, each one of you, that you are satisfied, on the evidence which will be called before you, and nothing else, that this man is the man who murdered Mrs. Oatley on the tenth of February."


title: Gordon Cummins

text: The first witnesses to testify on behalf of the prosecution was Detective Chief Superintendent Frederick Cherrill, who stated he was prepared to publicly stake his reputation the fingerprints found upon the tin opener and broken mirror at the crime scene which had been used to extensively mutilate Oatley's body belonged to Cummins. Cherrill repeated this claim during cross-examination from John Flowers, who contended the fingerprint upon the tin opener was too faint to determine a precise identification, stating the quality of the fingerprint was typical for a fingerprint left upon a metal surface, and that any individual who touched the same surface would leave a fingerprint impression of the same quality. In response to further questioning as to discrepancies in the distance between points of identification upon the enlarged photographs of Cummins's fingerprints and those retrieved at the crime scene on display in the courtroom, Cherrill stated the points of discrepancy would appear "very great in an enlarged photograph", adding that original fingerprints can extend up to four millimetres depending on the degree of pressure to which they are subjected.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Sir Bernard Spilsbury followed Cherrill into the witness box to testify as to the autopsy he had conducted upon Oatley's body. Spilsbury testified the cause of death had been the deep cut to her throat, that Oatley would have bled to death in less than five minutes, and that death had occurred at approximately 12:30 a.m. on the morning of the discovery of her body, although the actual time of her death could have been up to two hours before or after this time.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Felix Sampson then testified that between 10:30 and 11 p.m. on the night of Oatley's disappearance, he and Cummins had accosted two prostitutes outside the Monico Restaurant in Piccadilly Circus. The two had agreed to reconvene outside the restaurant after "taking care of business". Sampson testified he had arrived back outside the restaurant at approximately 11:30 p.m. and had waited roughly 25 minutes for Cummins to appear before walking alone to a local pub. He had arrived back at St John's Wood at approximately 6 a.m., only to find Cummins asleep. When he later asked Cummins what time he had arrived back at the billet, Cummins had replied "about half-past three or four" in the morning, adding: "The woman I went with didn't satisfy me, so I went and found someone else."


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Cummins chose to testify in his own defence on 27 April. He denied any culpability in Oatley's murder; insisting he had been in the company of another woman on 10 February before returning to his billet. In reference to the previous testimony of Felix Sampson, Cummins admitted to having lied in his statement to Detective Chief Inspector Edward Greeno that he and Sampson had reconvened outside the Monico Restaurant at approximately 10 p.m., adding the primary reason was that he had been afraid because Greeno had intimidated him in his initial questioning on 16 February, stating to him: "We have a rope around your neck, and we are going to hang you with it" after he had admitted having been in Oatley's company shortly before her murder, but had insisted she had been alive and well when he had last seen her. He also claimed to have been too drunk on the evening of her death to recall the actual timing of his whereabouts or actions, adding: "I had not a watch, myself. And, of course, in the dark, one cannot see public clocks."


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Both counsels presented their closing arguments to the jury on 28 April. Upon completion of both counsels' closing arguments, Mr Justice Asquith delivered his final instructions to the jury. This address lasted for more than an hour, with the judge outlining key points presented by both prosecution and defence. At 4 p.m., the jury retired to consider their verdict.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: The jury returned their verdict at 4:35 p.m., having deliberated for just 35 minutes. Each juror avoided making eye contact with Cummins as they filed back into the courtroom. When asked by the court clerk as to their verdict, the foreman replied, "Guilty of murder." Cummins displayed no emotion as the verdict was read aloud, although his wife burst into tears. He was then asked whether he had any legal reason or cause as to why the court should not impose the penalty of death. In response, Cummins replied, "I am completely innocent, sir."


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Cummins was then formally sentenced to death by hanging. Upon imposing this sentence, Mr Justice Asquith stated: "Gordon Frederick Cummins, after a fair trial you have been found guilty, and on a charge of murder. As you know, there is only one sentence which the law permits me to pronounce, and that is you be taken from this place to a lawful prison, and thence to a place of execution, and that you there be hanged by the neck until you are dead. And may God have mercy on your soul."


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Following his conviction, Cummins was held in a condemned cell at Wandsworth Prison, to await execution. He voiced no concern over his predicament, although he did lodge an appeal against his conviction. His appeal was rejected by the Lord Chief Justice in early June 1942.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Gordon Cummins was executed by Albert Pierrepoint at Wandsworth Prison on 25 June 1942. Contemporary news reports indicate Cummins was given a glass of brandy to calm his nerves. He then walked stoically to the scaffold, flanked by two warders, without offering any resistance. The entire execution process lasted less than two minutes. Cummins's execution was conducted during a German air raid upon London. He is the only convicted murderer in British criminal history known to have been executed during an air raid.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Cummins protested his innocence to the end. His wife and family were unwavering in their belief of his innocence, and visited him on a frequent basis until the day of his execution. Cummins's body was buried within the confines of the prison.


title: Gordon Cummins

text: Charges relating to the other three Blackout Killer murders remained on the file. Scotland Yard investigators later stated they strongly believed Cummins had murdered all four women, in addition to the two women murdered in October 1941 while he had been stationed in Colerne prior to his November 1941 posting to Cornwall.


title: Catalan declaration of independence

text: The Catalan declaration of independence (; ) was a resolution that was passed by the Parliament of Catalonia on 27 October 2017, which declared the independence of Catalonia from Spain and the founding of an independent Catalan Republic. The declaration did not receive recognition from the international community.


title: Catalan declaration of independence

text: On October 10, in the aftermath of the 1 October 2017 Catalan independence referendum, a document declaring Catalonia to be an independent republic was signed by the members of Catalonia's pro-independence parliamentary majority. The same document was voted for on 27 October by a majority of 70 out of 135 MPs in a plenary session. 10 MPs voted against the declaration and 53 MPs refused to be present during the vote, after the legal counsels of the Catalan Parliament advised that it could not take place as the law on which it was based had been suspended by the Spanish Constitutional Court. On the same day, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain invoked Article 155 of the Constitution of Spain for the first time in history. This action dismissed Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and his cabinet, and called for fresh Catalan elections on 21 December 2017. The Deputy Prime Minister of Spain Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría was assigned to be the acting president of Catalonia until the December elections.


title: Catalan declaration of independence

text: The Law on the Referendum on Self-determination of Catalonia contained the provision that, in case of an outcome in favour of independence, independence was to be declared within 48 hours after all votes were counted. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont confirmed this on October 3 during an exclusive interview with the BBC, saying "we are going to declare independence 48 hours after all official results are counted".


title: Catalan declaration of independence

text: Final results were published by the Catalan government on October 6, and Puigdemont announced he would formally address the Parliament on October 10.


title: Catalan declaration of independence

text: Puigdemont was widely expected to declare the independence of Catalonia, which led to worldwide coverage of the parliament session.


title: Catalan declaration of independence

text: After saying that he considered the referendum valid and binding, Puigdemont chose to use the wording "I assume the mandate of the people for Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic", before adding that he would "ask Parliament to suspend the effects of the declaration of independence so that in the coming weeks we can undertake a dialogue".


title: Catalan declaration of independence

text: The speech left observers bewildered as they struggled to understand whether Puigdemont had just declared independence. While some commentators stated that independence had just been declared and put on hold, others stated that the declaration of independence had been postponed.


title: Catalan declaration of independence

text: After Puigdemont's speech, a document titled "Declaration from the Representatives of Catalonia" declaring Catalonia's independence was signed publicly by members of parliament belonging to pro-independence political parties in the auditorium of the Parliament. This document sought to establish Catalonia as an independent state, and called on the international community to recognize it. It was read publicly, but it was not voted on in the Catalan Parliament or published by the Catalan government's official journal.


title: Catalan declaration of independence

text: The immediate reaction from the Spanish government was that "it was inadmissible to declare independence implicitly and suspend it explicitly". Minister of Justice Rafael Catalá called it a "non-declaration of independence".


title: Catalan declaration of independence

text: Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy gave a short news conference on the following day, giving Puigdemont five days to confirm whether he had declared Catalonia’s independence or not. Were the answer to be affirmative, the document provided another deadline ending on Thursday, October 19, allowing for Catalan authorities to rectify and prevent the application of Section 155 of the Spanish Constitution, which would authorize Madrid to temporarily take over Catalonia’s internal affairs.


title: Catalan declaration of independence

text: According to Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs Alfonso Dastis, the written declaration was legally void, as it was not voted upon and it was signed outside of a parliamentary session.


title: Catalan declaration of independence

text: After the declaration of independence made by Carles Puigdemont, despite the lack of legal effects, the leakage of companies that decided to move their headquarters became massive. The day after the declaration of independence, the château de Montsoreau-Museum of Contemporary Art announced that it was repatriating its collection of Art & Language works on loan at Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) since 2010. The fear also extended to SMEs and savers, who due to the uncertainty decided to take their money to bank offices outside Catalonia.


title: Catalan declaration of independence

text: On 27 October 2017, a resolution based on the "Declaration of the representatives of Catalonia" declaring the independence of Catalonia was voted in the Parliament and was approved with 70 votes in favor, 10 against, and 2 blank votes. Fifty-three MPs from the opposition refused to be present during the voting after the legal services of the Catalan Parliament advised that the voting could not take place, as the law on which it was based had been suspended by the Spanish Constitutional Court. The two pro-independence parties, JxSí and CUP, had 72 seats, and the vote in favour of independence obtained 70.


title: Catalan declaration of independence

text: On the evening of 27 October 2017, the Senate of Spain approved the activation of article 155 of the Spanish Constitution for Catalonia in a 214-47 vote, with one abstention. Subsequently, on 28 October, Mariano Rajoy dismissed the Executive Council of Catalonia, dissolved the Parliament of Catalonia and called a snap regional election for 21 December 2017 and handed coordination over Generalitat of Catalonia functions to Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría.


title: Catalan declaration of independence

text: On 30 October, Parliament Speaker Carme Forcadell called off a parliamentary meeting scheduled for the next day because the chamber "had been dissolved", thus acknowledging Mariano Rajoy's order. Later that day, it transpired that Puigdemont and part of his dismissed cabinet had fled to Belgium in a move to avoid action from the Spanish judiciary, as the Spanish Attorney General José Manuel Maza announced a criminal complaint against them for rebellion, sedition and embezzlement. Concurrently, lack of civil unrest and work resuming as normal throughout Catalonia showed signs that direct rule from Madrid had taken hold, with Spanish authorities reasserting administrative control over Catalan territory with little resistance.


title: Catalan declaration of independence

text: By 31 October, the declaration of independence was fully suspended by the Constitutional Court of Spain and the dismissed Catalan government accepted the elections proposed by Mariano Rajoy. Puigdemont and part of his cabinet fled to Belgium in a self-imposed exile to avoid being prosecuted by the Spanish judiciary, having been formally accused of rebellion, sedition and embezzlement by the Spanish Attorney General.


title: Catalan declaration of independence

text: On 2 November, the judge Carmen Lamela of the Spanish National Court ordered that eight members of the deposed Catalan government including the ex-vice-president Oriol Junqueras be remanded in custody without bail. Additionally, Santi Vila, who was the Business Minister that resigned over the unilateral declaration of independence, was granted a €50,000 bail. The prosecution requested issuing European Arrest Warrants for Puigdemont and four other members who left Catalonia for Brussels shortly after the declaration.


title: Catalan declaration of independence

text: The Catalan elections were held on 21 December and parties supporting independence again won just over half the seats with just under half of the votes cast.


title: Catalan declaration of independence

text: On 23 March 2018, Spanish Judge Llarena jailed five more Catalan ministers. On 25 March, Puigdemont was detained in Germany but released some days later, after the state court in Schleswig rejected extraditing him for rebellion.


title: Catalan declaration of independence

text: On 21 June 2021, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a pardon for those involved in the secession attempt. Days earlier, a poll showed that over 60% of Spaniards opposed the pardons. Sánchez said it would ease tensions with Catalonia, whose regional government welcomed Sánchez's decision.


title: Catalan declaration of independence

text: Catalan independence has received no recognition from any sovereign nation. However, the partially recognized, non-UN-member states Abkhazia and South Ossetia claimed they were willing to offer formal recognition should they receive a request to do so from the Catalan government.


title: Montu

text: Montu was a falcon-god of war in ancient Egyptian religion, an embodiment of the conquering vitality of the pharaoh. He was particularly worshipped in Upper Egypt and in the district of Thebes.


title: Montu

text: Montu's name, shown in Egyptian hieroglyphs to the right, is technically transcribed as "mntw" (meaning "Nomad"). Because of the difficulty in transcribing Egyptian vowels, it is often realized as Mont, Monthu, Montju, Ment or Menthu.


title: Montu

text: A very ancient god, Montu was originally a manifestation of the scorching effect of Ra, the sun – and as such often appeared under the epithet Montu-Ra. The destructiveness of this characteristic led to him gaining characteristics of a warrior, and eventually becoming a widely revered war-god. The Egyptians thought that Montu would attack the enemies of Maat (that is, of the truth, of the cosmic order) while inspiring, at the same time, glorious warlike exploits. It is possible that Montu-Ra and Atum-Ra symbolized the two kingships, respectively, of Upper and Lower Egypt. When linked with Horus, Montu's epithet was "Horus of the Strong Arm".


title: Montu

text: Because of the association of raging bulls with strength and war, the Egyptians also believed that Montu manifested himself as a white, black-snouted bull named Buchis (hellenization of the original Bakha: a living bull revered in Armant) — to the point that, in the Late Period (7th-4th centuries BC), Montu was depicted with a bull's head too. This special sacred bull had dozens of servants and wore precious crowns and bibs.


title: Montu

text: In Egyptian art, Montu was depicted as a falcon-headed or bull-headed man, with his head surmounted by the solar disk (because of his conceptual link with Ra) and two feathers. The falcon was a symbol of the sky and the bull was a symbol of strength and war. He could also wield various weapons, such as a curved sword, a spear, bow and arrows, or knives: such military iconography was widespread in the New Kingdom (16th-11th centuries BC).


title: Montu

text: Montu had several consorts, including the little-known Theban goddesses Tjenenyet and Iunit, and a female form of Ra, Raet-Tawy. He was also revered as one of the patrons of the city of Thebes and its fortresses. The sovereigns of the 11th Dynasty (c. 2134–1991 BC) chose Montu as a protective and dynastic deity, inserting references to him in their own names. For example, four pharaohs of the 11th Dynasty were called "Mentuhotep", which means "Montu (Mentu) is satisfied":


title: Montu

text: The Greeks associated Montu with their god of war Ares – although that did not prevent his assimilation to Apollo, probably due to the solar radiance that distinguished him.


title: Montu

text: The cult of this military god enjoyed great prestige under the pharaohs of the 11th Dynasty, whose expansionism and military successes led, around 2055 BC, to the reunification of Egypt, the end of a period of chaos known today as the First Intermediate Period, and a new era of greatness for the country. This part of Egyptian history, known as the Middle Kingdom (c. 2055–1650 BC), was a period in which Montu assumed the role of supreme god — before then gradually being surpassed by the other Theban god Amun, destined to become the most important deity of the Egyptian pantheon.


title: Montu

text: From the 11th Dynasty onward, Montu was considered the symbol of the pharaohs as rulers, conquerors and winners, as well as their inspirer on the battlefield. The Egyptian armies were surmounted by the insignia of the "four Montu" (Montu of Thebes, of Armant, of Medamud, and of El-Tod: the main cult centers of the god), all represented while trampling and piercing enemies with a spear in a classic pugnacious pose. A ceremonial battle ax, belonging to the funeral kit of Queen Ahhotep II, Great Royal Wife of the warlike pharaoh Kamose (c. 1555–1550 BC), who lived between the 17th and 18th Dynasty, represents Montu as a proud winged griffin: an iconography clearly influenced by the same Syriac origin which inspired Minoan art.


title: Montu

text: Egypt's greatest general-kings called themselves "Mighty Bull", "Son Of Montu", "Montu Is with His Strong/Right Arm" ("Montuherkhepeshef": which was also the given name of a son of Ramesses II, of one of Ramesses III and one of Ramesses IX). Thutmose III (c. 1479—1425 BC), "the Napoleon of Egypt", was described in ancient times as a "Valiant Montu on the Battlefield". An inscription from his son Amenhotep II (1427–1401 BC) recalls that the eighteen-year-old pharaoh was able to shoot arrows through copper targets while driving a war chariot, commenting that he had the skill and strength of Montu. The latter's grandson, Amenhotep III the Magnificent (c.1388–1350 BC), called himself "Montu of the Rulers" in spite of his own peaceful reign. In the narrative of the Battle of Kadesh (c. 1274 BC), Ramesses II the Great — who proudly called himself "Montu of the Two Lands" — was said to have seen the enemy and "raged at them like Montu, Lord of Thebes".


title: Montu

text: The Temple complex of Montu in Medamud, the ancient Medu, less than five kilometers north-east of today's Luxor, was built by the great Pharaoh Senusret III (c. 1878–1839 BC) of the 12th Dynasty, probably on a pre-existing sacred site of the Old Kingdom. The temple courtyard was used as a dwelling for the living Buchis bull, revered as an incarnation of Montu. The main entrance was to the north-east, while a sacred lake was probably on the west side of the sanctuary. The building consisted of two distinct adjoining sections, perhaps a temple to the north and a temple to the south (houses of the priests). It was built in raw bricks, while the innermost cella of the deity was built of carved stone. The templar complex of Medamud underwent important restorations and renovations during the New Kingdom, and in the Ptolemaic and Roman period.


title: Montu

text: At Armant, the ancient Iuni, there was an impressive Temple of Montu at least since the 11th Dynasty, which may have been native of Armant. King Mentuhotep II is its first known builder, but the original complex was enlarged and embellished during the 12th Dynasty, the less well-known 13th Dynasty (c. 1803–1649 BC), and later in the New Kingdom (especially under King Thutmose III). Ramesses II (1279–1213 BC) and his son Merneptah (1213–1203 BC) of the 19th Dynasty added colossi and statues. It was dismantled, except for a pylon, in the Late Period (7th/4th century BC) — but a new temple was begun by King Nectanebo II (360–342 BC), the last native pharaoh of Egypt, and continued by the Ptolemies. In the 1st century BC, Cleopatra VII (51–30 BC) built a mammisi and a sacred lake there in honour of her son, the very young Ptolemy XV Caesarion. The building remained visible until 1861, when it was demolished to reuse its material in the construction of a sugar factory; however, etchings, prints and previous studies (for example the Napoleonic "Description de l'Égypte") show its appearance. Only the remains of the pylon of Thutmose III are still visible — in addition to the ruins of two entrances, one of which was built under the 2nd century AD Roman emperor/Pharaoh Antoninus Pius. In the large Armant complex, moreover, there was the Bucheum, necropolis of the Buchis sacred bulls. The first burial of a Buchis in this special necropolis dates back to the reign of Nectanebo II (c. 340 BC), while the final one took place at the time of the Emperor/Pharaoh Diocletian (c. 300 AD).


title: Montu

text: In the great Karnak Temple Complex, north of the monumental Temple of Amun, King Amenhotep III built a sacred enclosure to Montu. Another temple had been dedicated to him at the little-known fortress of Uronarti (near the Second Cataract of the Nile, specifically to the south of it) during the Middle Kingdom.


title: Jules Rimet

text: Jules Rimet (; 14 October 1873 – 16 October 1956) was a French football administrator who was the 3rd President of FIFA, serving from 1921 to 1954. He is FIFA's longest-serving president, in office for 33 years. He also served as the president of the French Football Federation from 1919 to 1942.


title: Jules Rimet

text: On Rimet's initiative, the first FIFA World Cup was held in 1930. The Jules Rimet Trophy was named in his honour. He also founded the French football club Red Star Saint-Ouen.


title: Jules Rimet

text: Jules Rimet was born in 1873 in the commune of Theuley, in the department of Haute-Saône in eastern France. His father was a grocer, and the family moved to Paris in 1884 when Jules was eleven years old. He became a lawyer, and in 1897 he started a sports club called Red Star which, due to Rimet's ideals, did not discriminate against its members on the basis of class. One of the sports played at the club was football, which was becoming popular. When he was 17, Pope Leo XIII released his encyclical on the dignity of work, "Rerum novarum", which would have a profound effect on the young Catholic Rimet, and sparked his efforts to promote these views.


title: Jules Rimet

text: Rimet was involved in the founding of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football, commonly abbreviated to FIFA) in 1904, and, while the fledgling organisation had plans for a global professional tournament, it instead was involved in running an amateur tournament as part of the 1908 Summer Olympics.


title: Jules Rimet

text: The First World War put Rimet's and FIFA's plans on hold. Rimet served in the French Army as an officer and was decorated with a Croix de Guerre.


title: Jules Rimet

text: Following the war in 1919, he became President of the French Football Federation, and then President of FIFA on 1 March 1921. He would hold the post until 1954 becoming the longest reigning President to date, taking the membership of the organisation from twelve up to 85 nations, despite losing the membership of the English, Welsh and Scottish Football Associations during the early years. After taking up the post he moved once again to start a global tournament, but was opposed by the amateur football associations and Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee.


title: Jules Rimet

text: In 1928 FIFA, under Rimet's leadership, went forward with plans for a "World Cup" which was held in Uruguay due to the nature of the professional game in South America, and in part because the Uruguayan Football Association offered to pay all travel costs. Rimet travelled to Uruguay for the World Cup on SS "Conte Verde" along with the competing European teams, all the while carrying the trophy in his bag.


title: Jules Rimet

text: However Rimet's decisions on where to host the first few World Cups led to criticism: European nations complained about the 1930 World Cup because players would be out of domestic tournaments for three months. This was the key reason why, of the European nations, only four (France, Belgium, Romania and Yugoslavia) accepted invitations to send teams to compete, and even then, they only did so because of Rimet's influence. The following World Cup was held in Italy under the Fascist rule of Benito Mussolini, which was used to promote the regime, something that Rimet was accused of ignoring.


title: Jules Rimet

text: Following the Second World War, the British football associations agreed to take part from the 1950 FIFA World Cup onwards, where Rimet himself handed over the trophy to the triumphant Uruguayan team when Uruguay won the tournament for the second time. Rimet's efforts in establishing the tournament earned him a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1956.


title: Jules Rimet

text: Rimet died in Suresnes, France in 1956, two days after his 83rd birthday. In 2004, he was posthumously made a member of the FIFA Order of Merit, which was collected by his grandson Yves Rimet. He is credited with being the inventor of the World Cup.


title: Jules Rimet

text: The original World Cup trophy was named the Jules Rimet Trophy in his honour. It was stolen just prior to the 1966 World Cup in England, but was found by the dog Pickles. Brazil won the tournament for the third time at the 1970 World Cup, and were awarded the trophy permanently. It was stolen again in Rio de Janeiro in 1983; while it is believed to have been melted down by the thieves, there is no conclusive proof of this. The Brazilian Football Confederation subsequently had a replica of the trophy made. Rumours of the various disappearances of the trophy, and its final resting place, still persist. A statue of Rimet stands in Theuley in the middle of a penalty box, complete with goal.


title: Jules Rimet

text: Rimet was portrayed by Academy Award-nominated French actor Gérard Depardieu in the 2014 biographical drama "United Passions".


title: There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back

text: "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" is a song recorded by Canadian singer Shawn Mendes. Written by Mendes, Teddy Geiger, Geoff Warburton and Scott Harris, and produced by Geiger and Andrew Maury, it was released as a single on April 20, 2017. The song was included in the reissue of his second studio album "Illuminate" (2016). An accompanying music video was released on June 20, 2017. The single reached the top 10 in several countries, including the US and the UK.


title: There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back

text: "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" is a "dance-y" pop rock track. A "Billboard" editor noted it features some electric guitar and "strained" vocals on the chorus. As the upbeat track progresses, it incorporates handclaps, funky guitar riffs, and foot-tapping bass. The pre-chorus was inspired by early works of Timbaland and Justin Timberlake.


title: There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back

text: Writing for "Billboard", Taylor Weatherby noted "the song's sound falls right in line with the guitar-laced goodness he brought on his sophomore effort, but this time bringing in a little more edge." Allison Bowsher for Much opined the sound "is a return to the earworms that launched Mendes' career back in 2015. Reminiscent of the high energy pop sensibilities of Mendes' "Something Big," today's new track plays with lifts and falls throughout, allowing Mendes to show off the strength of his voice." In MTV News, Madeline Roth thought the track is "more danceable than anything in his catalog. His voice is gritty and hoarse, especially on the passionate, aggressive hook."


title: There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back

text: "TIME" chose the song as a contender for one of the songs of the summer, commending the "smart use of both electric guitar and tropical house beat." "Billboard" considered it the 44th best song of the year, "CBC Music" named it the 5th.


title: There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back

text: "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" is featured on the Illuminate World Tour setlist. The singer performed the single on "The Graham Norton Show" on June 9, 2017, at Capital FM's Summertime Ball 2017 on June 10, "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" on June 19, at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards on August 27, and at the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards on 12 November 2017, in which "Billboard" named his performance the second best of the night. On May 18, 2018, Mendes was a special guest on Taylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour, and performed the song alongside Swift at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.


title: There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back

text: In the United States, the song has peaked at number 6, becoming Mendes' third top 10 single on the US Billboard Hot 100. In Canada, the song has reached a peak of 6, becoming his highest-charting single in his home country at the time. He has since surpassed this peak with his single "If I Can't Have You" which reached number 2 in May 2019. It has reached the top 5 in several other countries such as Australia, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Scotland, and the United Kingdom


title: There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back

text: The music video for the song was released on June 20, 2017, directed by Jay Martin, and produced by Cal Gordon. Filmed throughout various places in Europe, the video shows Mendes and his dating partner (played by an actress Ellie Bamber) exploring Paris, Amsterdam and the United Kingdom and racing through transportation hubs, ride trains, and trek along the coastline while additional footage is also shown with Mendes out on tour from his concerts. In July 2021, the music video reached the 1 billion view milestone, Harris' fourth video to do so.


title: There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back

text: The song is heard in the television series "The Good Doctor" at the closing of Season 1, Episode 4 in a scene set in a bar. It was also the song used by "Dancing with the Stars" season 25 winners Jordan Fisher and Lindsay Arnold in their first dance, a tango, and by season 24 finalist Normani in her final fusion dance with Val Chmerkovskiy. It can also be heard in national TV ads for Ford Motor Company of Australia. The Portuguese supermarket chain Continente used a Portuguese language cover of the song in its 2018 TV Christmas campaign.


title: There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back

text: It also appears in the movie "Little Italy" with Emma Roberts and Hayden Christensen. It is also featured in the 2021 film "Sing 2", as well as its trailer, and it was covered by Taron Egerton and Tori Kelly on the film's soundtrack.


title: Tom and Huck

text: Tom and Huck is a 1995 American adventure comedy-drama film based on Mark Twain's 1876 novel "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", and starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Brad Renfro, Mike McShane, Eric Schweig and Amy Wright. The film was directed by Peter Hewitt and produced/co-written by Stephen Sommers (who also worked on Disney's adaptation of Twain's 1884 novel, 1993's "The Adventures of Huck Finn"). The movie was released in North America on December 22, 1995.


title: Tom and Huck

text: In the film, mischievous young Tom Sawyer witnesses a murder by a vicious half-Native American criminal known as "Injun Joe". Tom befriends Huck Finn, a boy with no future and no family, and is forced to choose between honoring a friendship or honoring an oath, when the town drunk is accused of the murder.


title: Tom and Huck

text: One dark stormy night, Injun Joe goes to meet Doctor Jonas Robinson for some shady business. Meanwhile, a young boy name Tom Sawyer runs away from home with his friends to become steamboat men. This ultimately fails as their raft collides on a rock in the Mississippi River, throwing Tom into the water. His friends find him washed up on the shore, and Tom finds it was Huck Finn who carried him to safety. Tom later meets Huck discovering an unusual way to remove warts - by taking a dead cat to the graveyard at night. There they witness Injun Joe and Muff Potter, the town drunk, digging up the grave of Vic "One-Eyed" Murrell for Doctor Robinson. A treasure map is discovered and Doc assaults Muff and Injun Joe in an attempt to take it for himself. Doc manages to knock out Muff, but Injun Joe fights back by fatally stabbing Doc with Muff's knife.


title: Tom and Huck

text: The next morning, Muff is charged for the murder. Tom and Huck had signed an oath saying that if either of them came forward about it, they would drop dead and rot. The boys embark on a search for the treasure map Injun Joe has, so they can declare Muff innocent while preserving their oath. Eventually however, Joe finds the last treasure and asks his partner to hide the treasure in a cave before burning the map. With the only evidence to prove Muff's innocence destroyed, Tom and Huck's friendship starts to decline, and Huck eventually leaves Hannibal. Joe then discovers that Tom was a witness to the crime. He finds Tom and threatens he will kill him if he ever tells anyone about the murder.


title: Tom and Huck

text: At Muff Potter's trial, Tom decides that his friendship with Muff is more important than his oath with Huck and exposes the truth. Injun Joe in fury, unsuccessfully attempts to kill Tom before leaving Hannibal. The townspeople declare Tom as a hero for his bravery and plans to throw a festival to commemorate the occasion. Tom, however, knowing Joe is after him, refuses to attend. Huck later sneaks into Tom's bedroom one night, criticizing Tom for breaking their oath before leaving town again.


title: Tom and Huck

text: The next day during the festival, a group of children, including Tom and his love interest Becky Thatcher, enter the caves, where Tom and Becky become lost. Meanwhile, the judge is alerted by the sheriff that Joe ended up killing one of his partners. Huck, who secretly attends the festival, overhears all this and goes after Tom. They eventually stumble upon Injun Joe in McDougal's Cave. He traps them, but Tom and Becky manage to escape. Tom later discovers the spot where Joe hid his treasure. He then finds an opening in the cave and asks Becky to get her father.


title: Tom and Huck

text: Injun Joe ultimately finds Tom and attempts to kill him before Huck suddenly shows up. After a brief struggle, Injun Joe easily overpowers Huck. Just as Joe is about land a finishing blow, Tom quietly empties the contents from the treasure chest and threatens Joe by throwing the treasure chest over a chasm. Injun Joe then tries to get the chest from Tom, only to fall into the chasm to his death. The boys reconcile as they claim Joe's treasure and are declared heroes by the people. Tom is praised on the front page of the newspaper, and Widow Douglas adopts Huck Finn.


title: Tom and Huck

text: In its opening weekend, the film grossed $3,210,458 million in 1,609 theaters in the United States and Canada, debuting number 9 of box office. In its second week it rose to No. 8 grossed $6,789,871 million. The U.S. and Canada box office for "Tom and Huck" was $23,920,048.


title: Tom and Huck

text: The film received mixed to negative reviews, with a 'rotten' 25% on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes.


title: Tom and Huck

text: The film was released on VHS and LaserDisc on May 1, 1996, in DVD on May 6, 2003, on February 10, 2009 was released double feature with "The Adventures of Huck Finn" (1993) and also in Blu-Ray on July 13, 2021. It is also included on Disney's streaming service, Disney+.


title: Kevin Strootman

text: Kevin Johannes Willem Strootman (born 13 February 1990) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Italian club Genoa, on loan from French club Marseille.


title: Kevin Strootman

text: Born in Ridderkerk, Strootman began his career with Sparta Rotterdam, making his professional debut during the 2007–08 season. He signed a contract extension with the club in November 2008. After they were relegated at the end of the 2009–10 Eredivisie season, he played with Sparta in the Eerste Divisie.


title: Kevin Strootman

text: In the January transfer window of 2011, Strootman was signed by FC Utrecht. He played with Utrecht in the second half of the 2010–11 season, before moving to PSV in June 2011.


title: Kevin Strootman

text: Strootman was joined at PSV with fellow Utrecht recruit Dries Mertens. Strootman made his PSV debut in a 3–1 home win against AZ. He made 88 total appearances for the Eindhoven club.


title: Kevin Strootman

text: On 16 July 2013, PSV and Roma finalized a deal for Strootman's transfer to the Italian side, in a deal worth €17 million, with the fee potentially rising to €19 million through add-ons. He was given the number 6 shirt.


title: Kevin Strootman

text: In a pre-season friendly against the Major League Soccer (MLS) All-Stars, Strootman scored one goal and assisted another as Roma prevailed 3–1 at Sporting Park, Kansas City, Kansas. He scored his first competitive goal for Roma in 3–1 Serie A victory over Parma. He went on to score in matches against Torino, Atalanta, Milan and Livorno.


title: Kevin Strootman

text: On 9 March 2014, Strootman sustained a knee injury in Roma's 1–0 defeat to Napoli which made him miss the remainder of the 2013–14 season and the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where the Dutch selection finished third.


title: Kevin Strootman

text: On 9 November, Strootman made his first appearance for Roma in exactly eight months, appearing as an 84th-minute substitute in a 3–0 defeat of Torino at the Stadio Olimpico. His first start of the 2014–15 season came in a 2–2 draw with Sassuolo on 7 December. He assisted the first of captain Francesco Totti's two goals after appearing as a substitute in Roma's 2–2 draw with Lazio in the 175th Derby della Capitale on 12 January 2015.


title: Kevin Strootman

text: On 26 January 2015, Strootman was substituted in a Serie A fixture against Fiorentina after sustaining further damage to his anterior cruciate ligament. Three days later, it was confirmed that the player would again undergo knee surgery. On 26 August, it was reported that, in spite of failing to make a single appearance in seven months, Strootman's injury required further surgery which sidelined the player for the majority of the 2015–16 Serie A season. He made his first appearance of the season on 21 February 2016, as a substitute in a 5–0 home defeat of Palermo. On 2 May, he made his first start in over 15 months, playing the full 90 minutes in Roma's 3–2 win at Genoa. He ended the season with five appearances, including two starts. His only assist of the season came in a 3–1 final day victory over Milan at the San Siro.


title: Kevin Strootman

text: On 20 August 2016, Strootman captained Roma in the opening match of the 2016–17 Serie A season, a 4–0 home win against Udinese. In the team's second fixture, he scored his first goal since January 2014 as Roma drew 2–2 at Cagliari.


title: Kevin Strootman

text: On 28 August 2018, Olympique de Marseille agreed with A.S. Roma on a €25 million (plus €3 million of bonus) transfer fee and signed Strootman on a five-year contract. AS Roma published a thank you and confirmation of the transfer on their website. Strootman mentioned the club's history, ambitions as well as his close relationship with coach Rudi Garcia as motivating factors to join the club.


title: Kevin Strootman

text: On 10 January 2020, Strootman scored an 84th minute winner for Marseille after coming on as a substitute against Rennes.


title: Kevin Strootman

text: On 3 July 2021, Strootman was announced by Serie A club Cagliari, on loan until the end of the 2021–22 season, with an option to renew for the 2022–23 season included.


title: Kevin Strootman

text: Strootman made his senior international debut for the Netherlands against Austria in 2011 and scored his first international goal against Finland in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier. He was a member of the Netherlands' squad at Euro 2012 but did not appear in any matches as the Dutch were knocked out at the group stage.


title: Kevin Strootman

text: He appeared for the Netherlands U21 team at the 2013 UEFA Euro U21 Championship where the team reached the semi-finals, losing to Italy.


title: Kevin Strootman

text: Strootman was a regular in Louis van Gaal's side during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, but missed the tournament finals due to injury.


title: Kevin Strootman

text: On 27 May 2016, Strootman made his first international appearance in two years after missing both the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the entirety of the team's unsuccessful UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying campaign. He was selected to start in a friendly match against the Republic of Ireland, playing 70 minutes before being substituted for Marco van Ginkel.


title: Kevin Strootman

text: Strootman is said to be a dynamic and tough-tackling midfielder, who also possesses good vision, technique, and balance on the ball. A tall, physically strong and tactically intelligent left-footed player, he has been described as a "modern" midfielder, due to his wide range of skills. He is best used as a central or defensive midfielder, often serving as either a box-to-box midfielder or mezzala – due to his work-rate, ball-winning abilities, and ability to help out in both attack and defence – or as a deep-lying playmaker, due to his range of passing, awareness, and ability to create goalscoring opportunities for his teammates after winning back possession. He is also capable of contributing to his team's offensive play with goals, courtesy of his powerful and accurate striking ability from outside the area, as well as his ability to get on the end of his teammates' passes by making late attacking runs into the box from behind. Strootman has been compared to compatriot Mark van Bommel. During his first season with Roma (2013–14), he earned the nickname "la lavatrice" ("the washing machine", in Italian), for his ability to always clean up play by winning back the ball and then distributing it precisely to his teammates.


title: Hank Johnson

text: Henry Calvin Johnson Jr. (born October 2, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is anchored in Atlanta's inner eastern suburbs, including Decatur, Conyers, Lithonia, Lilburn and a sliver of Atlanta itself. Johnson is one of only three Buddhists to have served in the United States Congress. The others are Senator Mazie Hirono and former Representative Colleen Hanabusa, both of Hawaii.


title: Hank Johnson

text: Johnson grew up in Washington, D.C. His father worked for the Bureau of Prisons and was the director of classifications and paroles. Up to that time, he was the highest ranking African-American in the bureau.


title: Hank Johnson

text: Johnson received his B.A. degree from Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University) in 1976, is a member of Omega Psi Phi Kappa Alpha Alpha Chapter, Decatur, Georgia, and received his J.D. degree from Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston in 1979; he practiced law in Decatur, Georgia, for more than 25 years.


title: Hank Johnson

text: From 1989 to 2001, Johnson served as an associate judge of the DeKalb County magistrate's court. He was elected to the DeKalb County Commission in 2000 and served from 2001 to 2006.


title: Hank Johnson

text: In 2006, Johnson challenged Representative Cynthia McKinney in the Democratic primary for the 4th district—the real contest in this heavily Democratic, black-majority district. He forced McKinney into a runoff by holding her under 50% in the July 18 primary: McKinney got 47.1% of the vote; Johnson 44.4%, and a third candidate 8.5%.


title: Hank Johnson

text: In the August 8 runoff, although there were about 8,000 more voters, McKinney got about the same number of votes as in the July primary. Johnson won with 41,178 votes (59%) to McKinney's 28,832 (41%).


title: Hank Johnson

text: On October 6, 2006, "Congressional Quarterly"'s "On Their Way", which features promising candidates soon to arrive in Washington, featured Johnson.


title: Hank Johnson

text: In November, Johnson defeated the Republican nominee, Catherine Davis, with 76% of the vote—one of the largest percentages for a Democrat in a contested election, and the largest in the district's history. But he had effectively assured himself of a seat in Congress by winning the primary: with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+22, the 4th was the second-most Democratic district in Georgia (only the neighboring 5th, covering most of Atlanta, was more Democratic).


title: Hank Johnson

text: Johnson made aggressive use of the internet to court supporters and attract national attention to his primary challenge to McKinney. The "National Journal" wrote that of all Congressional candidates nationwide in 2006, "Johnson had the most unique blog strategy by far." The "National Journal" ranked Johnson's use of the internet to defeat McKinney—and the broader trend of challengers using the blogosphere to challenge entrenched incumbents—as the third most significant blog-related story of 2006. Johnson was the first Congressional candidate invited to blog for "The Hill"'s Congress Blog, typically reserved for members of Congress. "I'm tremendously excited about the opportunity to use this unique medium to strengthen democracy by increasing open interaction between constituents and candidates," Johnson wrote. "I hope to provide you with an inside view of this contested, high stakes runoff."


title: Hank Johnson

text: Johnson was unopposed for reelection in 2008, winning 99.9% of the vote against write-in candidates Loren Christopher Collins, Faye Coffield and Jacob Perasso.


title: Hank Johnson

text: On July 30, 2007, Johnson was the first Democratic congressman in Georgia to publicly endorse Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary.


title: Hank Johnson

text: Johnson was reelected over the Republican nominee, business owner Liz Carter, receiving 131,760 of 176,467 votes, or 74.67%. Carter, who is white, made headlines during the campaign by maintaining that she had been initially barred from appearing at a candidate forum hosted by Newsmakers Journal due to her race, an assertion the forum's organizers denied.


title: Hank Johnson

text: On November 18, 2008, the Democratic Caucus elected Johnson Regional Whip for the Eighth Region (GA, FL, MS, AL, U.S. Virgin Islands).


title: Hank Johnson

text: On January 25, 2007, Johnson responded to U.S. President George W. Bush's State of the Union address by criticizing the war in Iraq, saying, "This war has proven to be one of the gravest missteps in the recent history of our country. It is time for President Bush to face the music and respond to the urgent demands of a frustrated country."


title: Hank Johnson

text: On February 8, 2007, Johnson introduced his first bill: a resolution requesting that the Secretary of Defense Robert Gates take U.S. troops off of street patrol duty in Iraq. "There is no military solution for the civil war in Iraq", Johnson said. "It is time for Iraqi troops, who have been trained, to assume responsibility for patrolling their own streets. Clearly, deploying our troops this way has only escalated the number of U.S. casualties, and this must stop". According to the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution", Johnson's resolution was "interesting in that it goes beyond broad directives and proposes something very specific".


title: Hank Johnson

text: On March 23, 2007, Johnson voted to pass H.R. 1591 and attracted attention by blogging about his decision to vote for it. H.R. 1591 passed the House on March 23, 2007, and the Senate on April 26, but Bush, citing the Iraqi withdrawal timeline among the many particulars as being unacceptable, vetoed the bill on May 1; Congress tried to override the veto the next day but was unable to garner the votes.On May 24, 2007, Johnson voted to cut funding for the Iraq War unless provisions included binding requirements upon the Iraqi government. On May 25, 2007, a compromise bill, the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007, was enacted.


title: Hank Johnson

text: Johnson has been a critic of Israel's occupation policies and has not altered his stance despite criticism.