title: Third Person (film)

text: Third Person is a 2013 romantic drama film directed and written by Paul Haggis and starring an ensemble cast consisting of Liam Neeson, Mila Kunis, Adrien Brody, Olivia Wilde, James Franco, Moran Atias, Kim Basinger, and Maria Bello. The film premiered at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival.


title: Third Person (film)

text: The film tells three inter-connected love stories that take place in Paris, New York and Rome/Taranto.


title: Third Person (film)

text: "Paris": Michael, a writer who recently left his wife Elaine, receives a visit from his lover Anna. The story explores their very complicated on/off relationship due to her inability to commit because of a terrible secret.


title: Third Person (film)

text: "New York": Julia, an ex-soap opera actress turned hotel maid is accused of harming her young son, a charge which she firmly denies. As a result of these charges, he is now in the custody of her ex-husband Rick who is trying everything in his power to take the boy away from her. Meanwhile, she is trying at all costs to regain custody of her son.


title: Third Person (film)

text: "Rome and Taranto": Scott, an American business man on a trip to Italy, falls in love with a Romani woman, Monika. Scott is inevitably drawn into a plot where he tries to free Monika's daughter who has been kidnapped by an Italian gangster in Taranto city and is being held for ransom. Emotions run high as the viewer and Scott question whether this is a set up or not.


title: Third Person (film)

text: The first international trailer of the film was released on 15 April 2014, followed by a domestic poster the following day. The first US trailer was released on 18 April. The film was released in the United States on 20 June 2014.


title: Third Person (film)

text: "Third Person" had a limited release on June 20, 2014 and grossed $1,021,398 million in the United States and Canada and $1,603,363 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $2,624,761.


title: Third Person (film)

text: "Third Person" received negative reviews from critics. The film has a 25% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 106 reviews with an average rating of 4.39/10, with the consensus: ""Third Person" finds writer-director Paul Haggis working with a stellar cast and a worthy premise; unfortunately, he fails to fashion a consistently compelling movie out of the intriguing ingredients at his disposal." Metacritic gave the film a rating of 38/100, based on 33 reviews.


title: John Julius Norwich

text: John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich, (15 September 1929 – 1 June 2018), known as John Julius Norwich, was an English popular historian, travel writer, and television personality.


title: John Julius Norwich

text: Norwich was born at the Alfred House Nursing Home on Portland Place in Marylebone, London, on 15 September 1929. He was the son of Conservative politician and diplomat Duff Cooper, later Viscount Norwich, and of Lady Diana Manners, a celebrated beauty and society figure. He was given the name "Julius" in part because he was born by caesarean section. Such was his mother's fame as an actress and beauty that the birth attracted a crowd outside the nursing home and hundreds of letters of congratulations. Through his father, he was descended from King William IV and his mistress Dorothea Jordan.


title: John Julius Norwich

text: He was educated at Egerton House School in Dorset Square, London, later becoming a boarder at the school when it was evacuated to Northamptonshire before the outbreak of the Second World War. Because his father as Minister of Information was high on the Nazi enemies list of British politicians, Norwich's parents feared for their son's safety in the event of a German invasion of Britain. In 1940 they decided to send him away after the US ambassador to Britain, Joseph P. Kennedy, offered to bring him to the United States with other evacuee children on board the SS "Washington". He attended Upper Canada College, Toronto, Canada, while spending his holidays with the family of William S. Paley on Long Island in New York. In 1942 he returned to Britain, where he attended Eton College and the University of Strasbourg. He completed his national service in the Royal Navy before taking a degree in French and Russian at New College, Oxford.


title: John Julius Norwich

text: Joining the British Foreign Service after Oxford, John Julius Cooper served in Yugoslavia and Lebanon and as a member of the British delegation to the Disarmament Conference in Geneva. On his father's death in 1954, he inherited the title of Viscount Norwich, created for his father, Duff Cooper, in 1952. This gave him a right to sit in the House of Lords, though he lost this right with the House of Lords Act 1999.


title: John Julius Norwich

text: In 1964, Norwich left the diplomatic service to become a writer. His subsequent books included histories of Sicily under the Normans (1967, 1970), Venice (1977, 1981), the Byzantine Empire (1988, 1992, 1995), the Mediterranean (2006) and the Papacy (2011), amongst others (see list below). He also served as editor of series such as "Great Architecture of the World", "The Italian World", "The New Shell Guides to Great Britain", "The Oxford Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Art" and the "Duff Cooper Diaries".


title: John Julius Norwich

text: Norwich worked extensively in radio and television. He was host of the BBC radio panel game "My Word!" for four years (1978–82) and also a regional contestant on "Round Britain Quiz". He wrote and presented some 30 television documentaries, including "The Fall of Constantinople", "Napoleon's Hundred Days", "Cortés and Montezuma", "The Antiquities of Turkey", "The Gates of Asia", "Maximilian of Mexico", "Toussaint l'Ouverture of Haiti", "The Knights of Malta", "Treasure Houses of Britain", and "The Death of the Prince Imperial in the Zulu War".


title: John Julius Norwich

text: Norwich also worked for various charitable projects. He was the chairman of the Venice in Peril Fund, honorary chairman of the World Monuments Fund, a member of the General Committee of Save Venice, and a vice-president of the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies. For many years he was a member of the Executive Committee of the National Trust, and also served on the board of the English National Opera. Norwich was also a patron of SHARE Community, which provides vocational training to disabled people.


title: John Julius Norwich

text: "Christmas Crackers" were compiled from whatever attracted Norwich: letters and diaries and gravestones and poems, boastful "Who's Who" entries, indexes from biographies, word games such as palindromes, holorhymes and mnemonics, occasionally in untranslated Greek, French, Latin, German or whatever language they were sourced from, as well as such oddities as a review from the American outdoors magazine "Field and Stream" concerning the republication of "Lady Chatterley's Lover".


title: John Julius Norwich

text: His final "Christmas Cracker" was the 49th. It was put together during the early part of 2018 and he corrected the final proofs from his hospital bed before he died on 1 June 2018.


title: John Julius Norwich

text: Norwich's first wife was Anne Frances May Clifford, daughter of the Hon. Sir Bede Clifford; they had one daughter, the Hon. Artemis Cooper, a historian, and a son, the Hon. Jason Charles Duff Bede Cooper, an architect. After their divorce, Norwich married his second wife, the Hon. Mary (Makins) Philipps, daughter of The 1st Baron Sherfield.


title: John Julius Norwich

text: Norwich was also the father of Allegra Huston, born of his affair with the American ballet dancer Enrica Soma while she was married to the American film director John Huston.


title: John Julius Norwich

text: Norwich lived for much of his life in a large detached Victorian house in Warwick Avenue, in the heart of Little Venice in Maida Vale, London, very close to Regent's Canal.


title: John Julius Norwich

text: Norwich was appointed to the Royal Victorian Order as a Commander in 1992 by Elizabeth II, as part of the celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of her accession.


title: UCAS

text: The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS ) is a UK-based organisation whose main role is to operate the application process for British universities. It operates as an independent charity, funded by fees charged to applicants and universities, plus advertising income, and was formed in 1992 through the merger of the former university admissions system UCCA and the former polytechnics admissions system PCAS.


title: UCAS

text: Services provided by UCAS include several online application portals, several search tools, and free information and advice directed at various audiences, including students considering higher education, students with pending applications to higher education institutes, parents and legal guardians of applicants, school and further education college staff involved in helping students apply and providers of higher education (universities and HE colleges).


title: UCAS

text: While UCAS is best known for its undergraduate application service (the main UCAS scheme), it also operates a number of other admissions services:


title: UCAS

text: UCAS is based near Marle Hill in Cheltenham at the junction of the B4075 ("New Barn Lane") and the A435 ("Evesham Road"), near Cheltenham Racecourse and a park and ride. It is situated just inside the parish of Prestbury, Gloucestershire.


title: UCAS

text: UCAS was formed in 1992 by the merger of Universities Central Council on Admissions (UCCA) and Polytechnics Central Admissions System (PCAS) and the name UCAS is a contraction of the former acronyms UCCA and PCAS. An early proposal was made for the new merged body to be called PUCCA (Polytechnics and Universities Central Council on Admissions), but this was never adopted.


title: UCAS

text: UCCA was the older of the two bodies, having been formed in 1961 to provide a clearing house for university applications in the United Kingdom. It was created in response to concerns during the 1950s that the increase in University applications was unmanageable using the systems then in place, where each student applied individually to as many institutions as they chose. This concern led to the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals (CVCP) setting up an ad hoc committee in 1957 to review the matter; this committee in its Third Report of January 1961, recommended the setting up of a central agency, which subsequently became known as UCCA. Its First and Second Reports had already made several recommendations aimed at harmonising admissions procedures across different universities.


title: UCAS

text: The name UCCA referred originally to the management board (the Central Council) overseeing the new process but soon came to refer to the organisation responsible for its day-to-day operation. This was based initially in London, and moved to Cheltenham, Gloucestershire in 1968. The new scheme had a pilot year handling a subset of applications for entry in 1963, and its first full year of operation handled admissions for 1964.


title: UCAS

text: The scheme was essentially a collaborative venture between independent universities, and membership was voluntary. Most English universities joined from the start. Oxford and Cambridge joined (with slightly modified procedures) for the 1966 entry; the London medical and dental schools, as well as Belfast and Stirling for the 1967. In 1965, UCCA handled 80,033 applicants, rising to 114,289 in 1969. The acceptance rate of UCCA applicants by universities in 1969 stood at just over 50%.


title: UCAS

text: Initially, the processing of applications was carried out using punched card technology. In 1964, UCCA started using the services of a computer bureau with a Univac machine; in 1967 it installed its own Univac computer.


title: UCAS

text: Although the polytechnics were degree-teaching institutions, through the CNAA awards system, they were not eligible for admission to UCCA as it was reserved only for universities with degree-awarding powers. Despite this, the Polytechnics were involved as early as 1972 in discussions with UCCA and the Central Register and Clearing House about the possible future shape of one or more admissions systems. At this stage applicants dealt directly with each individual polytechnic, and the polytechnics themselves were strongly regional or local in their appeal. A study in 1977 found that between sixty and seventy per cent of those admitted to a polytechnic had applied to that institution only, and that forty percent of admissions to polytechnics resulted from applications made in August or September of the year of entry.


title: UCAS

text: In 1983 the Committee of Directors of Polytechnics began negotiations with UCCA to share its computing, technical and office facilities in Cheltenham to establish a course entrance system, based on the existing model used by UCCA. A grant of £210,000, from the British Department for Education and Science, was awarded to set up a new unified admissions system, provisionally called PUCCA. However, instead of a unified system for both the universities and polytechnics, a separate system for polytechnics emerged from the negotiations, modelled on UCCA, but known as PCAS. Applicants to courses were given the option to apply separately for universities or polytechnics, or both.


title: UCAS

text: The PCAS system came into effect in 1985. It was led by its first Chief Executive, Tony Higgins, and in the first year it handled around 140,000 applications to polytechnic courses, of whom 40,000 a year went on to study at polytechnics.


title: UCAS

text: Although many polytechnics offered art and design programmes, and some also offered teacher training courses, these admissions systems remained outside PCAS. Art and Design admissions worked to a later timetable as a result of the role Art Foundation courses had in developing a student's proposed specialism (painting, sculpture, graphic design, and so on). Work was furthermore generally submitted before a decision was made on whether to interview. However, means of absorbing the Art and Design Admissions Registry into UCAS were found by 1996.


title: UCAS

text: Although the aim to create a fully unified application system for universities and polytechnics was not achieved until 1994, from the '80s onwards Tony Higgins, the Chief Executive of PCAS, continued to push for the merger of PCAS with UCCA. In 1992, following the change of status and name of most polytechnics to universities, the two bodies combined under Higgins's leadership. Initially the application form was branded jointly UCCA/PCAS, but in 1994 the new merged body was officially renamed UCAS.


title: UCAS

text: In 2015, the Amsterdam Fashion Academy became the first non-UK educational establishment admitted to UCAS.


title: UCAS

text: Since the vast majority of UK universities and higher education colleges use the UCAS service, most students planning to study for an undergraduate degree in the UK must apply through UCAS – including home students and international students.


title: UCAS

text: To apply to university, students must submit a single application via UCAS's online Apply service. The application itself requires the student to register to the service, giving a "buzzword" if applying through a centre, fill in personal details, write a personal statement and choose up to five courses to apply to, in no order of preference. They must then pay an application fee and obtain a reference before submitting their application online by the appropriate deadline. The application is then forwarded by UCAS to the universities and colleges that the students have applied to. After following their internal policies, which may include an interview, the institutions then decide whether to make students an offer of a place. An institution can make a student either an unconditional offer, where the student is assured a place, or a conditional offer, where the student will receive a place subject to specific grades being met. In certain circumstances, the university may withdraw the application before interviews, though this usually only occurs by some action on the applicant's part (not replying to emails in time for example).


title: UCAS

text: For applications to universities in the UK, entry requirements for individual courses can either be based on grades of qualifications (e.g. AAA at GCE A-Level, a score of 43/45 in the IB International Baccalaureate Diploma, or a music diploma) or in UCAS points (e.g. 300 UCAS points from 3 A-Levels or an IB score equal to 676 UCAS points). To convert individual scores or grades of specific qualifications into UCAS points, UCAS has created tariff tables indicating indexes and ratios of UCAS points and results of qualifications. For example, an A* at A-level is worth 56 UCAS points, an A 48, a B 40, and so on. For the IB, a score of 45 equals 720 UCAS points, a score of 40 is 611 points, a score of 35 is 501 etc.


title: UCAS

text: Once logged into "Apply", applicants complete a number of personal details – including their current qualifications, employment, and criminal history, national identity, ethnic origin, and student finance arrangements. Applicants also have the option to declare if they have any individual needs – such as any disabilities; or if they are a care leaver.


title: UCAS

text: The personal statement is an integral part of the application. It gives candidates a chance to write about their achievements, their interest in the subject they are applying for, as well as their suitability, interest, and commitment to higher education. Personal statements can contain a maximum of 4,000 characters (including spaces) or 47 lines – whichever comes first, with a maximum of 94 characters per line. A research study conducted by UCAS with over 300,000 personal statements of students revealed that the personal statement (among the student's grades) is the most important part within the application process. Plagiarism in personal statements is common and UCAS uses Copycatch software to detect personal statements that are considered to have 30% or more "similarity" to statements submitted by others.


title: UCAS

text: The final part of the process involves paying an application fee and obtaining a written reference. The process varies depending on whether a student is applying through a school, college, or UCAS centre or as an individual.


title: UCAS

text: For the former, applications are sent to the school, college, or centre, who may ask applicants to pay their fee to them (which they then pass to UCAS) or pay UCAS directly, before they provide a reference and submit the form on the student's behalf. If applications are sent to the school, college, or centre, then they will attach a reference to send to UCAS. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their school, college, or centre submits the application before the appropriate deadline for their courses.


title: UCAS

text: Individual applicants should request their reference – from a teacher, adviser, or professional who knows them – before paying the fee and submitting the form themselves.


title: UCAS

text: For most current applications, the cost per student is £22 to apply for a single course or £26.5 for two or more courses (as of 2022 entry).


title: UCAS

text: Depending on the subject and on the university that they are applying for, candidates must submit their application by the relevant submission deadline to ensure their application is given equal consideration by the higher education providers they are applying to.


title: UCAS

text: It is possible for students to submit applications up until 30 June each year; but a late submission may not be given the same consideration as those submitted before the deadline. Applications received after 30 June are placed directly into Clearing.


title: UCAS

text: Students must adhere to the appropriate deadline for their course. Whilst UCAS advises universities and colleges to send their decisions by the end of March, the universities have the responsibility of responding to applicants and may operate in their timescale. Many universities (like the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge) require that applicants come to an interview before offers are received, or they may be asked to submit an additional piece of work before receiving an offer.


title: UCAS

text: Offers are made through the UCAS Track service by universities and are either unconditional or conditional, where the latter means that the student will receive a place dependent on exam performance. Applicants also find out if they have been rejected through UCAS Track.


title: UCAS

text: Once an applicant has received a reply from their choices, they must reply to their university before the deadline in May. Applicants normally choose two offers through UCAS, one as their firm choice and one as their insurance choice. A firm choice means that, if the student receives the grades required, then the student's conditional offer will be confirmed. An insurance choice means that, if the firm choice is a university that eventually rejects them due to their grades, then the student will get into that university if they have met the terms and conditions of the insurance choice's conditions. A student may only make an insurance choice if their firm choice is a conditional offer.


title: UCAS

text: Certain universities have engaged in the dubious practice of making a "conditional unconditional" offer, meaning that a student was advised by the university that they would get an unconditional offer (and not then need to meet grade targets), but only if they made that university their firm choice. This served to guarantee both that the student would have a place and that the place would not be turned down if the student hit the grades required for a better or preferred course. This practice was eventually banned in 2020.


title: UCAS

text: If an applicant uses all of their five choices and does not receive any offers, or they decide to decline the offers they receive, they can apply for additional courses using UCAS' Extra service. This allows them to keep applying, one course at a time until they receive an offer they're happy with. Extra runs between mid-February and the end of June. If they don't get an offer during this time, they have the option to enter into Clearing when it opens in July.


title: UCAS

text: When applicants receive their examination results, they will know if they have met the conditions of their firm and insurance choices. Universities give out unconditional offers and rejections when applicants receive their examination results.


title: UCAS

text: Those that do have their offers confirmed are invited to accept a place on the course they applied to, which is called "confirmation". Many universities and colleges still accept students that narrowly miss their offer conditions.


title: UCAS

text: Those that do not meet their "firm" and "insurance" offer conditions are eligible to use UCAS' Clearing service – which enables unplaced students to apply for courses with vacancies directly to the university. They do so by searching for an available course, using the UCAS search tool, and contacting each university or college concerned for a place.


title: UCAS

text: Although most available places are published following results days in August, it opens at the start of July each year and closes in October.


title: UCAS

text: Through what was known as "Adjustment", if applicants exceeded the conditions of their firm offer, they had the option to search for a place at another university or college while retaining their original offer. Adjustment was cancelled in 2022 and is no longer available.


title: UCAS

text: UCAS operates Conservatoires UK Admissions Service (formally known as CUKAS) in conjunction with Conservatoires UK, managing applications for both undergraduate and postgraduate music, dance, and drama courses at nine UK conservatoires:


title: UCAS

text: UCAS Teacher Training (UTT) is an application service for postgraduates that want to become teachers. UTT replaced UCAS' previous GTTR teacher training application service and expanded its remit to provide centralised admissions for School Direct and school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) programs.


title: UCAS

text: UTT programmes are either university/college-taught or school-based and typically last for one academic year; usually leading to a PGCE qualification.


title: UCAS

text: Students begin their application in the autumn for programmes starting in the following academic year. They start by using Apply 1 – which allows them to choose up to three programmes. Training providers then have 40 working days to make an offer. During this time they will invite candidates they're considering offering a place for an interview. At the end of the 40-day period, students will have responses from their three choices and will have 10 working days to reply to any offers.


title: UCAS

text: However, if students don't get offered a place using Apply 1, or they choose to decline all of the offers they receive, they can use Apply 2 to apply for new places, adding one choice at a time, until they receive an offer.


title: UCAS

text: UCAS Postgraduate (also known as UK PASS) is UCAS' postgraduate admissions service. It was introduced with the objective to offer students access to over 20,000 courses at 18 participating universities and colleges in England, Scotland and Wales – both taught and research courses leading to a variety of qualifications – including MA, MSc, MBA, and LLM.


title: UCAS

text: UCAS has launched UCAS Progress, a service enabling GCSE students to search and apply for post-16 work and education-based training courses – including academic and vocational courses (such as A levels and BTECs), as well as Apprenticeship and Traineeship programmes.


title: UCAS

text: The scheme is free for students to use and is implemented as a national service – listing post-16 opportunities from all across the UK.


title: UCAS

text: UCAS Progress also helps schools, colleges, and local authorities address recruitment issues and statutory obligations resulting from raising the age of participation in secondary education; an initiative that legally obliges students to remain in full-time education or work-based training until the end of the academic year that they turn 17. However, this is about to change after government reforms; when students will be required to remain in education or training until their 18th birthday.


title: UCAS

text: UCAS Media is a commercial enterprise that raises money by offering commercial organisations and education providers a channel to communicate with prospective students: in effect, it sells targeted advertising space. UCAS is a non-governmental and not-for-profit company. UCAS undergraduate admissions handled almost three million applications from 700,000 UK, EU and international students.


title: UCAS

text: UCAS Media does not disclose information about applicants to its advertising clients. However, it does send advertisements to applicants on behalf of its clients and can target specific groups such as 'early adopters' or those located in a specific location.


title: UCAS

text: All UCAS Media profits are fed back into the UCAS charity, much of which is gift aided. This reduces the fees paid by universities and by applicants for access to the UCAS service.


title: UCAS

text: UCAS Media has proven controversial among data privacy campaigners. In 2014 deputy director of Big Brother Watch, Emma Carr was quoted as saying:


title: UCAS

text: In 2019, Martin Lewis, the consumer finance expert, accused UCAS of abusing its position after it allowed a private debt company to promote high interest commercial loans to school leavers. UCAS had sent an email promoting loans by Future Finance, with interest rates of up to 23.7%, well above the current maximum of 5.4% on student loans and worse than most high street credit cards. In response, UCAS said: “UCAS is an independent charity...This helps us to keep the costs for students applying to university as low as possible.”


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: The Vakataka dynasty () was an ancient Indian dynasty that originated from the Deccan in the mid-3rd century CE. Their state is believed to have extended from the southern edges of Malwa and Gujarat in the north to the Tungabhadra River in the south as well as from the Arabian Sea in the west to the edges of Chhattisgarh in the east. They were the most important successors of the Satavahanas in the Deccan and contemporaneous with the Guptas in northern India.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: Little is known about Vindhyashakti (), the founder of the family. Territorial expansion began in the reign of his son Pravarasena I. It is generally believed that the Vakataka dynasty was divided into four branches after Pravarasena I. Two branches are known, and two are unknown. The known branches are the Pravarapura-Nandivardhana branch and the Vatsagulma branch. Gupta Emperor Chandragupta II married his daughter into Vakataka royal family and, with their support, annexed Gujarat from the Saka Satraps in 4th century CE. The Vakataka power was followed by that of the Chalukyas of Badami in Deccan.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: The Vakatakas are noted for having been patrons of the arts, architecture and literature. They led public works and their monuments are a visible legacy. The rock-cut Buddhist viharas and chaityas of Ajanta Caves (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) were built under the patronage of Vakataka emperor, Harishena.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: The founder of the dynasty was Vindhyashakti (250-270), whose name is derived from the name of the goddess Vindhyavasini. The dynasty may be originated there. Almost nothing is known about Vindhyashakti, the founder of the Vakatakas. In the Cave XVI inscription of Ajanta he was described as the "banner of the Vakataka family" and a "Dvija". It is stated in this inscription that he added to his power by fighting great battles and he had a large cavalry. But no regal title is prefixed to his name in this inscription. The Puranas say that he ruled for 96 years. He was placed variously at south Deccan, Madhya Pradesh and Malwa. K.P. Jayaswal attributes Bagat, a village in the Jhansi district as the home of Vakatakas. But after refuting the theory regarding the northern home of the Vakatakas, V.V. Mirashi points out that the earliest mention of the name Vakataka occurs in an inscription found on a fragment of a pillar at Amravati which records the gift of a "Grihapati" (householder) Vakataka and his two wives. This Grihapati in all probability was the progenitor of Vidhyashakti. It appears from the Puranas that Vindhyasakti was a ruler of Vidisha (in the present day Madhya Pradesh state) but that is not considered to be correct.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: As per Dr Mirashi, who has rejected the identification of Rudra deva in the Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudra Gupta with Rudra sena I. He has also pointed out there are no coins of Vakataka and there are no inscriptions of them in the north of Vindhyas. Hence, a south home of Vakatakas is correct. However, it is true that they have ruled on some of these places, since the epigraphs were available in MP etc.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: The next ruler was Pravarasena I (270-330), who maintained the realm as a great power, he was the first Vakataka ruler, who called himself a "Samrat" (universal ruler) and conducted wars with the Naga kings. He has become an emperor in his own right, perhaps the only emperor in the dynasty, with his kingdom embracing a good portion of North India and whole of Deccan. He carried his arms to the Narmada in the north and annexed the kingdom of Purika which was being ruled by a king named Sisuka. In any case, he certainly ruled from Bundelkhand in the north (though Dr Mirashi does not accept that he has crossed the Narmada) to the present Andhra Pradesh in the south. The puranas assign him a reign of 60 years.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: As per V.V. Mirashi, it is unlikely that he made any conquest in Northern Maharashtra, Gujarat or Konkan. But, he may have conquered parts of North Kuntala comprising Kolhapur, Satara and Solapur districts of Maharashtra. In the east, he may have carried his arms to Dakshina Kosala, Kalinga and Andhra. He was a follower of Vedic religion and performed several "Yajnas" (sacrifices) which include Agnishtoma, Aptoryama, Ukthya, Shodasin, Atiratra, Vajapeya, Brihaspatisava, Sadyaskra and four Asvamedhas. He heavily donated to the Brahmins during the Vajapeya sacrifice as per the Puranas. He also took up the title of "Dharmamaharaja" in addition to "Samrat". He called himself as "Haritiputra". His prime minister Deva was a very pious and learned Brahmin. The Puranas say that Pravarasena I had four sons. He married his son Gautamiputra to a daughter of King Bhavanaga of the powerful Bharashiva family, which might have proved to be helpful. However, Gautamiputra predeceased him and he was succeeded by his grandson Rudrasena I, the son of Gautamiputra. His second son, Sarvasena set up his capital at Vatsagulma (the present day Washim). Nothing is known about the dynasties set up by the other two sons.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: It is generally believed that the Vakataka ruling family was divided into four branches after Pravarasena I. Two branches are known and two are unknown. The known branches are the Pravarpura-Nandivardhana branch and the Vatsagulma branch.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: The Pravarapura-Nandivardhana branch ruled from various sites like Pravarapura (Paunar) in Wardha district and Mansar and Nandivardhan (Nagardhan) in Nagpur district. This branch maintained matrimonial relations with the Imperial Guptas.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: Not much is known about Rudrasena I, the son of Gautamiputra, who ruled from Nandivardhana, near Ramtek hill, about 30 km from Nagpur. There is a mention of Rudradeva in the Allahabad pillar inscription, bundled along with the other rulers of Aryavarta. A number of scholars, like A.S. Altekar do not agree that Rudradeva is Rudrasena I, since if Rudrasena I had been exterminated by Samudragupta, it is extremely unlikely that his son Prithivishena I would accept a Gupta princess (Prabhavatigupta) as his daughter-in-law. Secondly, no inscription of Rudrasena I has been found north of the Narmada. The only stone inscription of Rudrasena I's reign discovered so far was found at Deotek in the present-day Chandrapur district, so he can not be equated with Rudradeva of the Allahabad pillar inscription, who belonged to the Aryavarta.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: Rudrasena I was succeeded by his son named Prithivishena I (355-380), and Prithivishena I was succeeded by his son named Rudrasena II.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: Rudrasena II (380–385) is said to have married Prabhavatigupta, the daughter of the Gupta King Chandragupta II (375-413/15). This is now confirmed by the Kevala-Narasimha inscriptions of Ramtek, where it is announced that (Cā)mundā, a daughter of Queen Prabhavatigupta was given in marriage to the Prince Ghatotkachagupta (who was likely a son of Chandragupta II).


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: Rudrasena II died fortuitously after a very short reign in 385 CE, following which Prabhavatigupta (385 - 405) ruled as a regent on behalf of her two sons, Divakarasena and Damodarasena (Pravarasena II) for 20 years. During this period the Vakataka realm was practically a part of the Gupta Empire. Many historians refer to this period as the Vakataka-Gupta age. While this has been widely accepted more than 30 years ago, this line of argument has no proper evidence. Prabhavati Gupta's inscription mentions about one "Deva Gupta" who is her father and the historians equated him with Chandra Gupta II. However, there is no other source to prove that Deva Gupta is really Chandra Gupta II.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: Pravarasena II composed the "Setubandha" in Maharashtri Prakrit. A few verses of the "Gaha Sattasai" are also attributed to him. He shifted the capital from Nandivardhana to Pravarapura, a new city of founded by him. He built a temple dedicated to Rama in his new capital.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: The highest number of so far discovered copperplate inscriptions of the Vakataka dynasty (in all 17) pertain to Pravarasena II. He is perhaps the most recorded ruler of ancient India after Ashoka the Great. See: Shreenand L. Bapat, A Second Jamb (Khandvi) Copperplate Grant of Vakataka Ruler Pravarasena II (Shravana Shuddha 13, Regnal Year 21), Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. 91, pp. 1–31


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: Pravarasena II was succeeded by Narendrasena (440-460), under whom the Vakataka influence spread to some central Indian states. Prithivishena II, the last known king of the line, succeeded his father Narendrasena in c. 460. He was Defeated by Vishnukundina King Madhava Varma II, After his death in 480, his kingdom was probably annexed by Harishena of the Vatsagulma branch.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: The Vatsagulma branch was founded by Sarvasena, the second son of Pravarasena I after his death. King Sarvasena made Vatsagulma, the present day Washim in Washim district of Maharashtra his capital. The territory ruled by this branch was between the Sahydri Range and the Godavari River. They patronized some of the Buddhist caves at Ajanta.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: Sarvasena (c. 330 - 355) took the title of "Dharmamaharaja". He is also known as the author of "Harivijaya" in Prakrit which is based on the story of bringing the "parijat" tree from heaven by Krishna. This work, praised by later writers is lost. He is also known as the author of many verses of the Prakrit "Gaha Sattasai". One of his minister's name was Ravi. He was succeeded by his son Vindhyasena.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: Vindhysena (c. 355 - 400) was also known as Vindhyashakti II. He is known from the well-known Washim plates which recorded the grant of a village situated in the northern marga (sub-division) of Nandikata (presently Nanded) in his 37th regnal year. The genealogical portion of the grant is written in Sanskrit and the formal portion in Prakrit. This is the first known land grant by any Vakataka ruler. He also took the title of "Dharmamaharaja". Vindhyasena defeated the ruler of Kuntala, his southern neighbour. One of his minister's name was Pravara. He was succeeded by his son Pravarasena II.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: Pravarasena II (c. 400 - 415) was the next ruler of whom very little is known except from the Cave XVI inscription of Ajanta, which says that he became exalted by his excellent, powerful and liberal rule. He died after a very short rule and succeeded by his minor son, who was only 8 years old when his father died. Name of this ruler is lost from the Cave XVI inscription.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: This unknown ruler was succeeded by his son Devasena (c. 450 - 475). His administration was actually run by his minister Hastibhoja. During his reign, one of his servant Svaminadeva excavated a tank named "Sudarshana" near Washim in c. 458-59.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: Harishena (c. 475 - 500) succeeded his father Devasena. He was a great patron of Buddhist architecture, art and culture. The World Heritage monument Ajanta Caves is surviving example of his works. The rock cut architectural cell-XVI inscription of Ajanta states that he conquered Avanti (Malwa) in the north, Kosala (Chhattisgarh), Kalinga and Andhra in the east, Lata (Central and Southern Gujarat) and Trikuta (Nasik district) in the west and Kuntala (Southern Maharashtra) in the south. Varahadeva, a minister of Harishena and the son of Hastibhoja, excavated the rock-cut vihara of Cave XVI of Ajanta. Three of the Buddhist caves at Ajanta, two viharas - caves XVI and XVII and a chaitya - cave XIX were excavated and decorated with painting and sculptures during the reign of Harishena. According to an art historian, Walter M. Spink, all the rock-cut monuments of Ajanta excluding caves nos. 9,10,12,13 and 15A (Ref: Page No. 4, Ajanta-A Brief History and Guide - Walter M. Spink) were built during Harishena's reign though his view is not universally accepted.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: Harishena was succeeded by two rulers whose names are not known. The end of the dynasty is unknown. They were probably defeated by the Kalachuri of Mahismati.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: According to the eighth "ucchvāsaḥ" of the "Dashakumaracharita" of Dandin, which was written probably around 125 years after the fall of the Vakataka dynasty, Harishena's son, though intelligent and accomplished in all arts, neglected the study of the "Dandaniti" (Political Science) and gave himself up to the enjoyment of pleasures and indulged in all sorts of vices. His subjects also followed him and led a vicious and dissolute life. Finding this a suitable opportunity, the ruler of the neighbouring "Ashmaka" sent his minister's son to the court of the Vakatakas. The latter ingratiated himself with the king and egged him on in his dissolute life. He also decimated his forces by various means. Ultimately, when the country was thoroughly disorganised, the ruler of Ashmaka instigated the Kadamba ruler of Vanavasi (in the North Kanara district) to invade the Vakataka territory. The king called all his feudatories and decided to fight his enemy on the bank of the Varada (Wardha). While fighting with the forces of the enemy, he was treacherously attacked in the rear by some of his own feudatories and killed. The Vakataka dynasty ended with his death. This fact is also corroborated by a set of three copper plates of the Davanagere record of the Kadamba king Ravivarma dated 519 CE which state as per historian D. C. Sircar that the king's suzerainty extended over the whole of South India as far as the Narmada river in the north to the Kaveri river near Talakad (the then Western Ganga capital) in the south and that the people of these lands sought his protection. This implies that the Kadambas conquered the entire Vakataka kingdom and annexed it to their territory during Ravivarma's rule (485-519 CE) probably sometime after 500 CE.


title: Vakataka dynasty

text: Although the Vakatakas replaced the Satavahanas, it does not seem that they continued their coin-minting tradition. As of today, no Vakataka coins have ever been identified.


title: Education policy

text: Education policy consists of the principles and policy decisions that influence the field of education, as well as the collection of laws and rules that govern the operation of education systems. Education governance may be shared between the local, state, and federal government at varying levels. Some analysts see education policy in terms of social engineering.


title: Education policy

text: Education takes place in many forms for many purposes through many institutions. Examples of such educational institutions may include early childhood education centers, kindergarten to 12th grade schools, two- and four-year colleges or universities, graduate and professional education institutes,adult-education establishments, and job-training schemes. The educational goals of these institutions influence education policy. Furthermore, these education policies can affect the education people engage in at all ages.


title: Education policy

text: Examples of areas subject to debate in education policy, specifically from the field of schools, include school size, class size, school choice, school privatization, police in schools, tracking, teacher selection, education and certification, teacher pay, teaching methods, curricular content, graduation requirements, school-infrastructure investment, and the values that schools are expected to uphold and model.


title: Education policy

text: Issues in education policy also address problems within higher education. The Pell Institute analyzes the barriers experienced by teachers and students within community colleges and universities. These issues involve undocumented students, sex education, and federal-grant aides.


title: Education policy

text: Education policy analysis is the scholarly study of education policy. It seeks to answer questions about the purpose of education, the objectives (societal and personal) that it is designed to attain, the methods for attaining them and the tools for measuring their success or failure. Research intended to inform education policy is carried out in a wide variety of institutions and in many academic disciplines. For example, researchers are affiliated with schools and departments of education, public policy, psychology, economics, sociology, and human development. Additionally, sociology, political science, economics, and law are all disciplines that can be used to better understand how education systems function, what their impacts are, and how policies might be changed for different conditions. Education policy is sometimes considered a sub-field of social policy and public policy. Examples of education policy analysis may be found in such academic journals as "Education Policy Analysis Archives" and in university-policy centers such as the National Education Policy Center housed at the University of Colorado Boulder.


title: Education policy

text: Over the past 30 years, policymakers have made a steady increase at the state and federal levels of government in their involvement of US schools. According to the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, state governments have the main authority on education. State governments spend most of their budgets funding schools, whereas only a small portion of the federal budget is allocated to education. The federal government advances their role by building on state and local education policies. Over time, the role of the federal government grew through federal education policies that affected the funding and evaluation of education. For example, the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) was established in 1958 to increase federal funding to schools, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress was created to track and compare student performance in academic subjects across the states. Moreover, the United States Department of Education was created in 1979.


title: Education policy

text: Education reform is currently being seen as a "tangled web" due to the nature of education authority. Some education policies are being defined at either the federal, state or local level and in most cases, their authorities overlap one another. This manner of authority has led many to believe there is an inefficiency within education governance. Compared to other OECD countries, educational governance in the US is more decentralized and most of its autonomy is found within the state and district levels. The reason for this is that US citizens put an emphasis on individual rights and fear federal government overreach. A recent report by the National Center on Education and the Economy, believes that the education system is neither coherent nor likely to see improvements due to the nature of it.


title: Education policy

text: A critical race theory analysis of the history of education reform in the United States reveals the influence of systemic racism on educational policy. Historically, educational policy changes have resulted via progress from protest, and such progress met with pushback.


title: Education policy

text: In the state of Texas during the 84th Legislature, there were several education reform bills filed and sponsored by many education reform groups, such as Texans for Education Reform. Lawmakers want to create more involvement at the local level, and more transparency in our public schools. These groups are being pressured and opposed by teachers' unions saying that accountability and transparency policies are targeting educators, and that they are trying to hold them responsible for the education system.


title: Education policy

text: Teacher policy is education policy that addresses the preparation, recruitment, and retention of teachers. A teacher policy is guided by the same overall vision and essential characteristics as the wider education policy: it should be strategic, holistic, feasible, sustainable, and context-sensitive. Overall objectives and major challenges to be addressed, the funding to achieve these objectives, the demographic parameters of the learner population and the human resources required to achieve universally accessible quality education should all be addressed in a comprehensive teacher policy.


title: Education policy

text: Nine key dimensions are considered crucial to any comprehensive teacher policy: Teacher Recruitment and Retention, Teacher education (initial and continuing), Deployment, Career Structures/Paths, Teacher Employment and Working Conditions, Teach Reward and Remuneration, Teacher Standards, Teacher Accountability, and School Governance.


title: Education policy

text: An effective education system must have a safe way to attract, recruit and retain outstanding educators. There has been a growing demand for teachers but the supply continues to diminish and many of them leave their profession. This development is a threat to the "academic and economic welfare of students". It affects learning and drain taxpayers’ money. The federal and state governments along with the districts must invest in complete human capital systems. It is the best approach in preparing and retaining committed and capable mentors for the long-term. A reasonable strategy in talent management for the education sector must focus on recruitment, development, and retention of intelligent and efficient teachers.


title: Education policy

text: Teachers need to go back to school periodically to become better educators. Good mentors can become outstanding by going further than textbooks. This is the logic behind continuing education. Technology in the form of web-based workshops and lectures will be helpful. School administrators and district officials must push their teachers to make use of available resources and opportunities to continue the learning process. Conferences with workshops are also valuable because these activities provide teachers with tools for integration of technology in the classrooms and Continuing Professional Development Units in boosting their careers. School administrators must ensure that teachers are not only competent in classroom management but also in protecting students from harm such as bullying.


title: Education policy

text: Quality and timely data and evidence are key factors for policy-making, planning and the delivery to advance gender equality in and through education. They can help countries to identify and analyse gendered patterns and trends, and better plan and target resources to address gender inequalities. They can also help to identify and inform interventions that influence participation, learning and empowerment, from early childhood to tertiary education and beyond.


title: Education policy

text: Though the SDG 4 monitoring framework is a step forward in the policy process, a complete monitoring framework for gender equality in and through education should include indicators that consider: social and gender norms, values and attitudes (many of which can be influenced by education); education laws and policies, as well legislation and policies outside of the education system; resource distribution; and teaching and learning practices and environments. Efforts are also needed to track disparities in informal and non-formal learning contexts with a lifelong learning approach, and to ensure that data are collected on the most excluded.


title: Education policy

text: Information on education policy, OECD - Contains indicators and information about education policy in OECD countries.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: The COVID-19 pandemic in Russia is part of the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ().


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: The virus was confirmed to have spread to Russia on 31 January 2020, when two Chinese citizens in Tyumen (Siberia) and Chita (Russian Far East) tested positive for the virus, with both cases being contained. Early prevention measures included restricting the China–Russia border and extensive testing. The infection spread from Italy on 2 March, leading to additional measures such as cancelling events, closing schools, theatres, and museums, as well as shutting the border and declaring a non-working period which, after two extensions, lasted until 11 May 2020. By the end of March 2020, COVID-19 lockdowns were imposed by the majority of Federal subjects of Russia, including Moscow. By 17 April 2020, cases had been confirmed in all federal subjects. At the beginning of September 2020, the number of COVID-19 cases in Russia exceeded a million. The number of COVID-19 cases in the country also exceeded two million on 19 November 2020, three million on 26 December 2020, four million on 10 February 2021, five million on 23 May 2021, six million on 20 July 2021, seven million on 5 September 2021, eight million on 18 October 2021, nine million on 13 November 2021, ten million on 12 December 2021 and 20 million on 10 September 2022. At the end of 2020, there were nearly 3.2 million COVID-19 cases in Russia. On 3 April 2021, the number of COVID-19 deaths in the country exceeded 100,000. Several months later, on 22 September 2021, the number of COVID-19 deaths in Russia exceeded 200,000. On 20 December 2021, the number of COVID-19 deaths in the country exceeded the number of COVID-19 deaths in Mexico. Two days later, on 22 December 2021, the number of COVID-19 deaths in Russia exceeded 300,000. At the end of 2021, there were nearly 10.5 million cases and nearly 310,000 deaths in the country.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: Russia has the tenth-highest number of confirmed cases in the world, after the United States, India, France, Brazil, Germany, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan. According to detailed data published by the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat), 114,268 people with COVID-19 died between April and November 2020. However, over 300,000 excess deaths were reported in the same time period, suggesting that the official pandemic death tally greatly underestimated the true number of COVID-19 related deaths. Analysis of excess deaths from official government demographic statistics, based on births and deaths and excluding migration, showed that Russia had its biggest ever annual population drop in peacetime, with the population declining by 997,000 between October 2020 and September 2021, which demographer Alexei Raksha interpreted as being primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 12 January, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan, Hubei, China, who had initially come to the attention of the WHO on 31 December 2019. Compared to SARS of 2003, the case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower, but the incubation period and transmission have been significantly greater, resulting in a significant total death toll. On 31 January, the first two cases in the country were confirmed, one in Tyumen, Tyumen Oblast, and another one in Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai. Both were Chinese nationals.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 23 February, eight Russians from the cruise ship "Diamond Princess" were evacuated to Kazan, Tatarstan where they were hospitalised, including three confirmed cases. These cases were listed as occurring on international conveyance and not included in official Russian statistics by Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing. These eight people, including the three patients who recovered, were discharged from hospital on 8 March. Some of Russia's citizens abroad have been confirmed to be infected, on 28 February a Russian man tested positive in Azerbaijan after he had visited Iran. While some days later the Health ministry of the UAE announced that two Russians got the virus in the United Arab Emirates.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: There were no other confirmed cases until 2 March when the first case in Moscow was confirmed. The patient was a young man who fell ill on 21 February while on holiday in Italy, and returned to Russia on 23 February, staying at his house in Moscow Oblast. He showed up with symptoms at a clinic on 27 February, and was then hospitalised in Moscow. On 5 March, the first case in Saint Petersburg was confirmed. The patient was an Italian student who returned to Russia from Italy on 29 February, and was hospitalised on 2 March. On 6 March, six more cases were confirmed, with five of them being in Moscow and one of them being in Nizhny Novgorod. All of them were reported to be linked to Italy. On 19 March, the first death of a patient with confirmed COVID-19 was reported in Moscow. A 79-year-old woman was first hospitalised on 13 March and transferred to a private clinic the next day. Upon confirmation of COVID-19 she was transferred to intensive care. She also had numerous underlying health conditions and other diseases. However, her death was not counted as a coronavirus death. The first two confirmed deaths were recorded on 25 March in Moscow. The patients were 73 and 88 years old and had tested positive for the coronavirus. On 25 March, President Putin announced that the 2020 Russian constitutional referendum would be postponed due to the epidemic. He said that the next week starting on 30 March would be non-working nationwide and urged Russians to stay at home. Later, the non-working period was prolonged twice, lasting until 11 May. On 27 March, international flights were grounded after the government ordered the civil aviation authority to suspend all regular and charter flights to and from the country. On 29 March, Mayor of Moscow Sergey Sobyanin issued a stay-at-home order starting the next day. On 30 March, similar orders or recommendations were announced in numerous other federal jurisdictions, with many more announcing such restrictions over the next few days. The same day, the border was shut, with all border crossings closed.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 11 April, Moscow's mayor, Sobyanin, signed a decree introducing a digital pass system to enforce the coronavirus lockdown. Residents would require such a permit to travel around the city and Moscow Oblast using personal and public transport, with different types of passes including travelling to work, visiting hospitals and clinics, and private trips. Such permits would become mandatory on 15 April. On 29 April, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on social media that the city would start constructing temporary hospitals that would have a total of 10,000 hospital beds for coronavirus patients. Russia also indefinitely extended its entry ban for foreigners, which was originally set until 1 May, with Prime Minister Mishustin saying that the ban will be lifted when the coronavirus situation improved. On 30 April, Prime Minister Mishustin said that he tested positive for the virus.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 9 May, with the 2020 Moscow Victory Day Parade postponed, celebrations marking the 75th anniversary of the surrender of Nazi Germany were reduced. An air show took place in Moscow instead and President Putin laid flowers at the Eternal Flame outside the Kremlin. Authorities also urged citizens to stay at home instead. On 10 May, the World Health Organization's representative to Russia, Melita Vujnovic, said that day that Russia may have reached the plateau for the virus. On 11 May, President Putin announced the end of the national non-working period on 12 May and also announced additional support measures. He also said that regional leaders can choose to keep restrictions. On 26 May, Putin announced that the postponed 2020 Victory Day Parade would be held on 24 June. On 27 May, Sobyanin announced that some restrictions in Moscow would be eased on 1 June, with all non-food stores and some service sector businesses re-opening and residents would be able to go outside for walks and sport according to a schedule.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 1 June, the postponed referendum was announced to be held on 1 July. Reuters news agency also reported that Russia would roll out its first approved drug to treat COVID-19 in the next week. On 2 June, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said that the government would launch a 5 trillion ruble ($73 billion) recovery plan in the next month to counteract the pandemic's economic impact. On 8 June, Moscow's mayor, Sobyanin, said that the city would lift coronavirus restrictions. Self-isolation rules and travel permits would be waived on 9 June, with no more walking schedules. Residents would be able to freely travel around the city and visit public places. Places like beauty salons, hairdressers and veterinarian clinics would re-open, with other places like restaurants re-opening over the course of June. Residents were still required to wear face masks and gloves and were advised to maintain their distance from others. That day, Prime Minister Mishustin also announced the partial re-opening of the border for some travellers, saying that it would allow citizens to leave the country for work, studying, medical treatment or to take care of relatives. It would also allow foreign citizens to enter for medical treatment or those needing to care for relatives and family. On 22 June, Moscow's mayor, Sobyanin, announced further easing of restrictions on 23 June with cafes and restaurants reopening as well as fitness centres and swimming pools. Restrictions on libraries and kindergartens would be lifted. On 23 June, President Putin announced changes to the tax system and further state benefits. On 24 June, the Victory Day parade in Red Square took place while it was reported that 30 major cities in Russia had cancelled their parade.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 1 July, the main day for the vote on constitutional amendments took place. On 8 July, the governor of Moscow Oblast, Andrey Vorobyov, signed a decree easing some restrictions in the region including allowing restaurants, cafes, bars and other catering establishments to reopen from 25 July as well as a number of other places to reopen from 15 July. On 9 July, Moscow's authorities announced further easing of some restrictions with cinemas allowed to reopen and concerts allowed to be held from 1 August provided that they meet certain requirements. Attractions would be able to reopen and restrictions on places like parks and cultural centres would be removed on 13 July. Universities and schools would also be able to return to normal and the use of face masks and gloves outdoors would no longer be required except in public transport, shops and crowded areas. On 10 July, Tatyana Golikova said that starting on 15 July, authorities will start to gradually lift restrictions on flights abroad and will begin negotiations to restart international flights. On 15 July, the 14-day quarantine requirement for arrivals in the country was abolished with arrivals now requiring medical documents in English or Russian showing a negative test. Tatyana Golikova previously said that quarantines can be maintained for Russians returning from countries with high infection rates. On 16 July, Reuters reported that 30 million doses of the experimental vaccine would be produced domestically in Russia and the potential for 170 million to be manufactured abroad, according to the head of RDIF, Kirill Dmitriev. He also said that a Phase III trial involving several thousand people is expected to start in August. On 24 July, Tatyana Golikova said that the country plans to resume some international flights on 1 August.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 11 August, President Putin said in a meeting that the vaccine developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology was the first vaccine against the coronavirus to be registered. He said that one of his daughters was vaccinated. The previous day, the Association of Clinical Research Organisations, a union of pharmaceutical companies in Russia, urged the head of the Ministry of Health to delay the registration due to incomplete testing. The head of the RDIF stated that 20 countries had requested in total 1 billion doses of the vaccine, nicknamed Sputnik V. On 31 August, the head of Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, confirmed the beginning of the academic year at the next day on a full-time basis, saying the current epidemiological situation makes it possible to do so. The deputy prime minister Tatiana Golikova also previously said that higher education institutions would be able to postpone the start of the academic year by a maximum of two months, with 92% of universities starting normally.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 1 September, Russia's confirmed number of cases surpassed 1 million, becoming the fourth country to reach that mark. Flights to Egypt, the Maldives and the United Arab Emirates were added to the list of countries where flights are planned to be resumed. On 5 September, Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu reported his condition on state TV after being vaccinated. On 8 September, the health ministry's press service said that the first batches of the vaccine developed by the Gamaleya Centre had entered civilian circulation. On 13 September regional elections in Russia were held, with social distancing measures and sanitary requirements for polling stations. Voting was also extended to three days, taking place from 11 to 13 September, with the main voting day on the last day, as well as other changes. On 17 September, RBC reported that pharmacies in Russia would begin selling Coronavir and Areplivir for treatment of the virus. On 20 September, Prime Minister Mishustin signed a decree resuming flights with Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and South Korea. On 23 September, Rospotrebnadzor head, Anna Popova, signed a decree which requires Russian citizens who have returned from abroad by plane to stay home until they receive a negative test result. Also that day, it was reported that a State Duma deputy from the Communist Party, Vakha Agaev, had died from the virus, becoming the first death among State Duma members. On 28 September, Rospotrebnadzor head, Anna Popova, said that there was no need for new strict restrictions due to a rise in cases. She said that the situation had changed compared to the beginning of the year as well as the understanding of the virus, and attributed the rise in cases to the seasonality of the virus. On 29 September, the Chairman of the State Duma, Volodin, said that 18 deputies were in the hospital with the virus and that overall 60 deputies have been ill. The State Duma would also partially switch to working remotely.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 2 October, it was published that in total, more than 45,000 people had died to date with coronavirus in Russia. The fatality rate in Russia is 4.6% At the end of August 2020. On 4 October there were confirmed 10,499 and it was the highest number since May 2020. 13,634 were confirmed on 11 October. 15,150 were confirmed on 15 October and it was the highest number since the pandemic started. Also daily deaths have steadily been increasing. There are now 23,723 deaths in the country.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 6 November Russian statistics published that 55,671 people had died with coronavirus before 30 September 2020. The official death toll was 20,891. On 8 November 2020, Russia reported 20,498 new coronavirus infections and 286 coronavirus-related deaths. This brings the number of infected cases to a total of 1,774,334 and the death toll to 30,537.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 28 December, the Federal State Statistics Service said that the amount of recorded deaths from all causes between January and November had risen by 229,700 compared to 2019. Tatyana Golikova, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, said that more than 81% of these deaths could be attributed to COVID-19, meaning at least an estimated 186,000 Russians had died because of the virus.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: According to a Levada poll conducted in November 2021, percentage of those who are concerned about getting infected with COVID-19 is 48%, while those not concerned 50%, while 39% personally knew someone who survived COVID-19 infection in acute form and 27% knew someone who died as result. 61% believes that COVID-19 is a biological weapon, and that belief is much more widespread among 55+ respondents (68%) than among younger ones (43%).


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: The government of Russia initially responded to the pandemic with preventive measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, which involved imposing quarantines, carrying raids on potential virus carriers, and using facial recognition to impose quarantine measures. Measures to prevent a crisis in Russia include banning the export of medical masks, random checks on the Moscow Metro, and cancellation of large-scale events by schools. The Russian government has also taken measures to prevent foreign citizens from heavily affected countries from visiting Russia. Local governments have also responded to the pandemic by imposing their own preventive measures in their communities.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 28 March, Chechen authorities urged the population of the republic to stay at their places of permanent residence, and banned entry to Grozny for anyone except emergency services, food supplies, government officials, police, and journalists. On the next day, Chechnya closed its borders, with a full lockdown coming into effect on 30 March.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 29 March, Moscow issued a stay-at-home order for all residents starting on 30 March. Muscovites were not allowed to leave their homes except in cases of emergency medical care and other threats to life and health, to travel to work for those who are obliged to, to make purchases in the nearest shop or pharmacy, to walk pets at a distance not exceeding 100 metres from the place of residence, as well as to take out the garbage. People were instructed to keep a distance of 1.5 metres from other people. Those recently unemployed will receive 19,500 rubles a month. After that, a similar regime was introduced in Moscow Oblast at 20:00 MSK on 29 March.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 30 March, similar orders were announced in Adygea, the Komi Republic, Mari El, Tatarstan, Chuvashia, some districts of Yakutia, Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan, Belgorod, Irkutsk, Kaliningrad, Kursk, Lipetsk, Murmansk, Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod, Ryazan, Saratov, Sverdlovsk, Ulyanovsk and Vologda oblasts, the cities of Bryansk and Saint Petersburg. Leningrad Oblast banned movement of people between districts and introduced a lockdown in the town of Murino.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 31 March, the "self-isolation regime" was announced in republics of Altai, Bashkortostan, Buryatia, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Kalmykia, Karachay-Cherkessia, Karelia, Khakassia, Mordovia, Udmurtia and Tuva, Altai, Khabarovsk (for those over 65), Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Perm, Primorsky, Stavropol and Zabaykalsky krais, Bryansk, Chelyabinsk, Kaluga, Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma, Kurgan, Magadan, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Penza, Pskov (for those over 65), Rostov, Sakhalin, Samara, Smolensk, Tambov, Tomsk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Voronezh and Yaroslavl oblasts, Khanty-Mansi and Yamalo-Nenets autonomous okrugs, the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, the city of Sevastopol. Republics of Yakutia and Karelia limited the sale of alcohol.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 1 April, the "self-isolation regime" was announced in the disputed territory of Crimea and Sevastopol, the republic of North Ossetia–Alania, Kamchatka and Khabarovsk krais, Ivanovo and Orenburg oblasts. On 2 April, the measures were announced in Amur Oblast (for those over 65), Tyumen Oblast, and Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. On 3 April, the measures were announced in Oryol Oblast and Tula Oblast (for those over 65).


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: Mass vaccinations began in December 2020, starting with primarily doctors, medical workers and teachers. Vaccinations began in Moscow on 5 December and were expanded to all other regions by 15 December. In January 2021, the vaccination programme was extended to the entire population.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: As of 20 July 2021, 33.19 million people have received at least one dose, with 21.6 million people fully vaccinated.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 25 April 2020, it was reported that doctors had published and were updating a public list of colleagues who had died during the pandemic which, as of 19 November, has 838 names.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: The official national statistics include data by region. As of May 2020, some local governments were separately reporting their own data that differed from the national government's count.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 13 June, the Russian Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) published data on natural population changes in April. 2,712 people with COVID-19 died during April across Russia, including 1,660 as the primary cause of death. According to daily updates of the Emergency Operations Center, there were only 1,162 deaths from COVID-19. Rosstat's published death toll includes both those where the virus was determined to the main cause of death, as well as where the main cause of death was determined to be something else. 1,270 deaths are where the virus was determined to be the main cause, 435 deaths where the virus had a "significant influence", 617 deaths where the virus was present but did not play a major role, and 390 deaths where the person tested negative but it was later determined to be the main cause of death. Officials including Tatiana Golikova said that the changes in the counting method follows WHO recommendations. She also said that the figures represent a 2.6% death rate among those infected, and that the death rate for May will be higher.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: Pavel Malkov, the head of Rosstat, said in an interview with RBK published on 23 June that the statistics agency had published a higher death toll for April because it receives more complete data than the national coronavirus crisis centre and that it has a different calculation methodology, saying that the agency receives data from the Civil Registry Office and deals with death certificates that can take up to 45 days to complete following testing while the crisis centre publishes operational data manually entered into the system. He also said that "one of the biggest secrets in statistics is that it's practically impossible to manipulate" and that "if we're talking about a qualitative indicator with a developed methodology, then any attempt to affect the final numbers by distorting the input data will become immediately evident".


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 10 July, Rosstat published data which said that COVID-19 was confirmed or assumed to be the main cause of death for 7,444 people who died in May. An additional 5,008 people with a COVID-19 diagnosis were determined to have died from other diseases, with the virus being a catalyst for 1,530 of those deaths. The death toll reported by the coronavirus crisis centre for May was 3,633. The data also said that 172,914 people had died in Russia in May, an increase of more than 18,000 compared to the same month last year.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 7 August, Rosstat published mortality data for June which included 11,917 deaths for people with COVID-19, with the virus being determined or believed to have been the primary cause of death for 7,037 of them, with 1,589 without PCR verification. The total number of people with COVID-19 who died from April to June was therefore 27,411 according to Rosstat's data, with a death rate of 4.2% of confirmed cases.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 4 September, Rosstat published mortality data for July which included 10,079 deaths for people with COVID-19, with the virus determined or suspected to have been the primary cause of death for 5,922 of them. The death toll reported by the national coronavirus crisis centre for July was 4,522. Rosstat's data also showed that 181,479 deaths were registered in July, the highest monthly number of deaths since August 2010, compared to an average of around 150,000 over the past five years.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 2 October, Rosstat published mortality data for August which included 7,463 deaths for people with COVID-19, with the virus identified and determined to have been the main cause of death for 3,222 of them. The number of people with COVID-19 who died from April to August 2020 was 45,663 according to Rosstat's data.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 6 November, Rosstat published mortality data for September which included 9,798 deaths for people with COVID-19, with the virus identified and determined to have been the main cause of death for 4,329 of them. The number of people with COVID-19 who died from April to September 2020 was 55,671 according to Rosstat's data.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 10 December, Rosstat published mortality data for October which included 22,571 deaths for people with COVID-19, with the virus identified and determined to have been the main case of death for 11,630 of them. The number of people with COVID-19 who died from April to October 2020 was therefore 78,623 according to Rosstat's data. 47,000 more deaths in October were also recorded compared to the previous year.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 28 December, Rosstat published mortality data for November which included 35,645 deaths for people with COVID-19, with the virus identified or determined to have been the main cause of death for 19,626 of them. 78,541 more deaths in November were also recorded compared to the previous year, an increase of 55.6%, while the national task force reported only 11,905 coronavirus deaths over the month. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said that more than 80% of excess deaths were related to the coronavirus. In total, 230,000 more deaths were reported in 2020 compared to the previous year (including January–March).


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: Rosstat data showed 116,030 deaths can be attributed directly to the coronavirus by 28 December 2020, and over 200,000 by March 2021. On 2 April, the coronavirus related deaths enumerated 225,572 fatalities, and over 316,000 by August 2021.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 28 May, Moscow's health department said that the death toll for the city for April was 1,561 using a new methodology, where originally it was 636. It said that this included 756 people diagnosed with the virus but determined to have died of other causes and 169 people who tested negative but were suspected to have had the virus. The official death toll for the city or country had not been revised.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 3 June, the city of St. Petersburg reported a 32% higher death rate in May compared to the previous year. The city government said that 6,427 death certificates were issued, compared to 4,875 the previous year. For the same month, the official coronavirus death toll was 171 people.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: On 10 June, Moscow's health department increased the city's coronavirus death toll from 1,895 to 5,260 for May. It said that "COVID-19 as a main or an accompanying cause of death was registered in 5,260 cases". It also said that the difference was due to changes made by the Health Ministry in the approach of counting deaths, saying that "new recommendations allowed us to improve the calculation of cases where COVID was the main cause of the death and of those where it became, with a high degree of probability, a catalyst...for other illnesses".


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: In March 2020, there was some scepticism about the accuracy of Russia's reported infection figures. Anastasia Vasilyeva, leader of the Doctors' Alliance organisation loosely aligned to the Russian opposition and doctor for opposition figure Alexei Navalny, made a series of videos accusing the authorities of concealing the true number of coronavirus cases by using pneumonia and acute respiratory infection as a diagnosis instead. Health officials rejected the allegation. The WHO's representative to Russia, Dr. Vujnovic, expressed scepticism at the allegation. President Putin later addressed concerns about statistics, saying that the government is not covering up the number of cases, though might not have the full picture. Analysis of the statistical properties of the official Russian daily infection counts found that the preferred noise model of the Russian data through to May 2021 was sub-Poissonian, with a factor of about 10 to 100 less noise than for other countries with similarly high infection counts, and the fourth lowest 28-day noise level out of 78 countries.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: In May 2020, as Russia's mortality rate was much lower compared to other hard-hit countries, a number of media outlets including the Financial Times and New York Times said that the number of deaths in the country may have been under-reported, based on a spike in mortality rates officially reported in Moscow where approximately 1,800 more deaths were registered in April compared to the monthly average, while the Financial Times noted a similar surge in St. Petersburg, concluding that there could be around 70% more deaths than reported. The reported excess deaths were considerably smaller compared to other hard-hit areas in other countries. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the reports "disinformation" and said that letters demanding a retraction would be sent. Moscow's health department rejected the media reports, saying that autopsies were being conducted in all suspected coronavirus deaths, which was why "post-mortem diagnoses in Moscow and causes of death, in the end, are exceedingly accurate, and the mortality data absolutely transparent". It said that over 60% of deaths in the city with suspected coronavirus infections were ascribed to other causes. The World Health Organization's guidelines on reporting deaths, issued in mid-April, states that "deaths due to COVID-19" should be considered as such "unless there is a clear alternative cause of death that cannot be related to COVID disease." The Federal State Statistics Service's counting process runs contrary to the WHO's guidelines.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: Russian media have reported contradictory policy of Russia Today, whose Russian-language edition in 2021 started an intensive campaign in support for COVID-19 vaccination, while at the same time other language versions (German, Spanish, English etc.) run equally aggressive campaign against these vaccinations, sharing anti-vaccination misinformation targeted at these audiences. Lybov Sobol and other journalists pointed out even if RT leadership believes these news streams are targeted at separate audiences, Russian anti-vaccination community is promptly picking up stores published in foreign RT editions and translates them back into Russian and uses for domestic anti-vaccine propaganda.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: In June 2021 Deputy Digital Development Minister Oleg Kachanov quoted data from official record of recoveries in the context of its integration with database used for issuance of "COVID passport" certificates, and the database had 9 million recoveries recorded, which was almost twice as the official case statistics (5 million) at that time.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

text: Further analysis of crowdsourced recovery certificate numbers (which were sequentially numbered) by physicist Sergey Shpilkin indicated that the total number of recoveries in the register exceeds 29 millions, which is 4.5x higher than the official number of cases from the beginning of pandemics (6 million).


title: Charmaine Bingwa

text: Charmaine Bingwa (born 13 November 1985) is an Australian actress known for her role as Carmen Moyo in "The Good Fight". She stars in Antoine Fuqua's recently released Emancipation as Dodienne, wife of Peter (Will Smith), in which Variety has tipped her as one of their predictions for the 2023 Oscars. Bingwa is next set to appear as Isisa, a fierce and formidable warrior in King Shaka, also Executive Produced by Antoine Fuqua. She has also starred in "Black Box" as Miranda Brooks, part of Amazon's "Welcome to the Blumhouse" anthology film series. Bingwa won the 2018 Heath Ledger Scholarship award. She also voiced Felicia Cox in both seasons of QCode's successful podcast, The Burned Photo.


title: Charmaine Bingwa

text: Bingwa was born in Perth, Western Australia. She began her career as a singer, but when completing her Bachelor of Music at university, until she took acting as one of her final electives. She completed the acting course in addition to her music degree and signed with an acting agent soon after graduating. She won critical acclaim in the stage role "" starring as Mrs. Muller, for which she received a "Sydney Theatre Awards" nomination. In 2018, she won the Australian "Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance" Scholarship to study at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York and then won the Heath Ledger Scholarship, becoming the first woman of colour and openly gay recipient. Bingwa also starred, wrote, produced and co-directed the series "Little Sista", which won the LGBT Toronto Film Festival. Her role (Carmen Moyo) in The Good Fight was acclaimed as a "gust of chilly Chicago wind, quickly letting you know who's boss here"; she "made a splash upon joining Reddick & Associates", the fictional Chicago law firm in which she plays a talented, quick-witted, cool, gay, and morally complex junior lawyer.


title: Muscle Beach

text: Muscle Beach is the birthplace of the United States physical fitness boom, which started in 1934 with predominantly gymnastics activities on the south side of the Santa Monica Pier. Muscle Beach Venice is the contemporary title of the outdoor weightlifting platform constructed in Venice, California, a distinct neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, 18 years after Muscle Beach was established.


title: Muscle Beach

text: Muscle Beach dates back to the 1930s when the Works Progress Administration (WPA) installed exercise equipment immediately south of the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, California. Popular gymnastic and acrobatic exhibitions were routinely held there on city-provided equipment. A platform on the beach with weight lifting equipment provided a workout area for such famous bodybuilders as Vic Tanny, Jack LaLanne, and Joe Gold.


title: Muscle Beach

text: In 1989, the City of Santa Monica officially rededicated the original Muscle Beach and today it serves gymnasts, acrobats and youth with an extensive gymnastics training area. Meanwhile, the City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department has continued the primary barbell, weightlifting and bodybuilding aspects, and events of the original Muscle Beach fame at the Venice weight pen. In 1987, the City of Los Angeles officially dedicated "Muscle Beach Venice" with the added word of "Venice" in the title to distinguish it from the original "Muscle Beach" in Santa Monica.


title: Muscle Beach

text: Muscle Beach Venice was officially titled in 1987 by the City of Los Angeles with the distinguishing name "Venice" added to the location to honor the original Santa Monica site.


title: Muscle Beach

text: By the 1950s, Muscle Beach established worldwide fame and helped to popularize and bring legitimacy to physical culture with acrobatics and bodybuilding.


title: Muscle Beach

text: Today it is an open playground with a gated area that encloses weightlifting equipment. The second area is a sand box with gymnastic, rope climbing, and acrobatic bars. The City does charge a fee to use the outdoor gym.


title: WPIX

text: WPIX (channel 11) is a television station in New York City. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, it is operated under a local marketing agreement (LMA) by Nexstar Media Group, making it a "de facto" owned-and-operated station and flagship of The CW, which Nexstar acquired 75% ownership in October 2022. Since its inception in 1948, WPIX's studios and offices have been located in the Daily News Building on East 42nd Street (also known as "11 WPIX Plaza") in Midtown Manhattan. The station's transmitter is located at the Empire State Building.


title: WPIX

text: WPIX is also available as a regional superstation via satellite and cable in the United States and Canada. It is the largest CW affiliate by population of market size.


title: WPIX

text: The station first signed on the air on June 15, 1948; it was the fifth television station to sign on in New York City and was the market's second independent station. It was also the second of three stations to launch in the New York market during 1948, debuting one month after Newark, New Jersey-based independent WATV (channel 13, now WNET) and two months before WJZ-TV (channel 7, now WABC-TV). WPIX's call letters come from the slogan of the newspaper which founded the station, the "New York Daily News", whose slogan was "New York's Picture Newspaper". The "Daily News"s partial corporate parent was the Chicago-based Tribune Company, publishers of the "Chicago Tribune".


title: WPIX

text: Until becoming owned outright by Tribune in 1991, WPIX operated separately from the company's other television and radio outlets (including WGN-TV in Chicago, which signed-on two months before WPIX in April 1948) through the "News"-owned license holder, WPIX, Incorporated – which in 1963, purchased New York radio station, WBFM (101.9 FM) and soon changed that station's call letters to WPIX-FM. British businessman Robert Maxwell bought the "Daily News" in 1991. Tribune retained WPIX and WQCD; the radio station was sold to Emmis Communications in 1997 (it is now WFAN-FM). WPIX initially featured programming that was standard among independents: children's programs, movies, syndicated reruns of network programs, public affairs programming, religious programs and sports – specifically, the New York Yankees, whose baseball games WPIX carried from 1951 to 1998.


title: WPIX

text: To generations of New York children, channel 11 was also the home of memorable personalities. In 1955, original WPIX staffer and weather forecaster Joe Bolton, donned a policeman's uniform and became "Officer Joe," hosting several programs based around "Little Rascals", "Three Stooges", and later "Popeye" shorts. Another early WPIX personality, Jack McCarthy, also hosted "Popeye" and "Dick Tracy" cartoons as "Captain Jack" in the early 1960s, though he was also the longtime host of channel 11's St. Patrick's Day parade coverage from 1949 to 1992. WPIX aired a local version of "Bozo the Clown" (with Bill Britten in the role) from 1959 to 1964; comic performers Chuck McCann and Allen Swift also hosted programs on WPIX during the mid-1960s before each moved to other entertainment work in Hollywood. Jazz singer Joya Sherrill hosted a weekday children's show, "Time for Joya" (later known as "Joya's Fun School"). Channel 11 produced the "Magic Garden" series, which ran on the station from 1972 to 1984. Beginning in the late 1970s and continuing through spring 1982, the station aired "TV PIXX", a television video game show played during commercial breaks of afternoon programs. Kids would call into the station for the chance to control a video game via telephone in hopes of winning prizes.


title: WPIX

text: Another staple of WPIX's programming was its selection of movies; unlike many independent stations, WPIX's library went beyond the usual offerings from major studios and low-budget B-movies, to movies produced by Samuel Goldwyn and imports from Britain. The station also became famous to many area viewers for their various holiday broadcasts of films that became traditions at the station, such as the broadcast of the 1934 movie "March of the Wooden Soldiers" on Thanksgiving Day. This reputation for film programming (for much of the station's history, a movie ran at 8 p.m. every night in prime time; movies also made up much of the schedule on weekends) became so ingrained that the station frequently promoted itself as being "New York's Movie Station" during the late 1980s and 1990s. Another notable programming stunt was "Shocktober", where for the entire month of October, various horror and thriller films were played; this occurred for several years in the early 1990s, and became a cult favorite among area viewers.


title: WPIX

text: From its early years through the 1960s, WPIX, like the other two major independents in New York, WOR-TV (channel 9, now WWOR-TV) and WNEW-TV (channel 5, now WNYW), struggled to acquire other programming. In 1966, WPIX debuted "The Yule Log", which combines Christmas music with a film loop of logs burning inside a fireplace. Airing on Christmas Eve and/or Christmas morning initially until 1989, the film was made in 1966 and was shot at Gracie Mansion, with the cooperation of then Mayor John V. Lindsay. WPIX revived the "Yule Log" due to viewer demand in 2001, and has proven to be just as popular. Several of Tribune's other television stations (as well as WGN America and Antenna TV) have carried the WPIX version, complete with its audio soundtrack, on Christmas morning since the late 2000s, and is also streamed online on WPIX's website. Since 1977, Channel 11 has aired a live broadcast of Midnight Mass from St. Patrick's Cathedral every Christmas Eve.


title: WPIX

text: The station's "Circle 11" logo – predating the existence of the World Trade Center (which was not completed until 1973), which it closely resembled – was first unveiled in 1969 (an advertising billboard for WPIX with the "Circle 11" logo began appearing that year at Yankee Stadium). By the mid-1970s, WPIX emerged as the second highest-rated independent station in the area, behind WNEW-TV. WPIX dropped the "Circle 11" when it rebranded as "11 Alive" in September 1976, though it continued to appear during station editorials until around 1982 (the "Alive" slogan was popularized by such stations as Atlanta's WXIA-TV, which itself has branded as "11 Alive" ever since that point, with the exception of a brief removal in 1995); the "Circle 11" logo returned as part of the "11 Alive" branding in 1984, before being restored full-time in the fall of 1986. Its relaunch featured a series of humorous promos in which a fictional station employee, "Henry Tillman," was searching for a "big idea" for something uniquely New York in nature to serve as the perfect WPIX symbol. The running gag in these ads was the fact that Tillman was constantly surrounded by – but never noticed – objects resembling a giant "11", most notably the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.


title: WPIX

text: In 1978, WPIX was uplinked to satellite and became a superstation that was distributed to cable providers throughout the U.S. (many providers carried WPIX's signal until the early 1990s, when most systems outside of the Northeastern United States began replacing WPIX with the superstation feed of WGN-TV, though the station continues to be distributed through Dish Network domestically (which since it halted sales of the package to new subscribers in September 2013, is available only to grandfathered subscribers of its a la carte superstation tier) and on most cable and satellite providers throughout Canada). Two years later, WPIX began operating on a 24-hour programming schedule.


title: WPIX

text: During the late 1980s, WPIX fell to sixth place in the ratings among New York's VHF stations, behind WNYW (which was now owned by Fox) and a resurgent WWOR (then owned by MCA–Universal). After president Leavitt Pope stepped down as general manager (though he remained as president and CEO of WPIX), Michael Eigner was transferred from Los Angeles sister station KTLA to become WPIX's general manager in August 1989.


title: WPIX

text: Over the next few years the station engineered a slow turnaround that eventually resulted in WPIX becoming the leading independent station in the market. In 1994, the station became the exclusive home of the New York City Marathon, carrying the event for the next five years. It was during the initial broadcast of that event that WPIX unveiled a stylized serifed "11" logo; the new numerical look eventually became the full-time logo, augmented with The WB's logo after the station affiliated with that network in 1995.


title: WPIX

text: In mid-January 1994, the station began airing the "Action Pack" programming block with "TekWar" TV movie. WPIX earned the biggest ratings of all the stations airing the program, with an 11.7/17 rating.


title: WPIX

text: On November 2, 1993, the Warner Bros. Television division of Time Warner and the Tribune Company announced the formation of The WB Television Network. Due to the company's ownership interest in the network (initially a 12.5% stake, before expanding to 22%), Tribune signed the majority of its independent stations to serve as The WB's charter affiliates, resulting in WPIX becoming a network affiliate for the first time upon its January 11, 1995, debut.


title: WPIX

text: The station was verbally branded as "The WB, Channel 11" (simply adding The WB name to the "Channel 11" branding in use since 1986), until it was simplified to "The WB 11" in 1997, and further to "WB11" in 2000. Initially, WPIX's programming remained unchanged, as The WB had broadcast only prime time shows on Wednesday nights at its launch. As with other WB-affiliated stations during the network's first four years, WPIX ran feature films and select first-run scripted series prior to its 10:00 p.m. newscast on nights when The WB did not offer network programming.


title: WPIX

text: WB network and syndicated daytime programs (such as "Maury" and "Jerry Springer") became more prominent on channel 11's schedule starting in 1996 at the expense of most of its local-interest programming outside of news. By September 1999, when The WB completed its prime time expansion and the network began running its programming Sunday through Friday nights, movies were limited to Saturday evenings and weekend afternoons.