title: Lesotho

text: In 1869, the British signed a treaty at Aliwal North with the Boers that defined the boundaries of Basutoland. This treaty reduced Moshoeshoe's kingdom to half its previous size by ceding the western territories. Then, the British transferred functions from Moshoeshoe's capital in Thaba Bosiu to a police camp on the northwest border, Maseru, until eventually the administration of Basutoland was transferred to the Cape Colony in 1871. Moshoeshoe died on 11 March 1870, marking the beginning of the colonial era of Basutoland. In the Cape Colony period between 1871 and 1884, Basutoland was treated similarly to other territories that had been forcibly annexed, much to the humiliation of the Basotho, leading to the Basuto Gun War in 1880–1881. In 1884, the territory became a Crown colony by the name of Basutoland, with Maseru as its capital. It remained under direct rule by a governor, while effective internal power was wielded by tribal chiefs. In 1905, a railway line was built to connect Maseru to the railway network of South Africa.


title: Lesotho

text: Basutoland gained its independence from the United Kingdom and became the Kingdom of Lesotho in 1966. The Basotho National Party (BNP) ruled from 1966 until January 1970. What later ensued was a de facto government led by Leabua Jonathan until 1986 when a military coup forced it out of office.


title: Lesotho

text: In January 1970, the ruling BNP lost the first post-independence general elections, with 23 seats to the Basotho Congress Party's (BCP) 36. Prime Minister Jonathan refused to cede power to BCP, instead declaring himself prime minister and imprisoning the BCP leadership. BCP began a rebellion and then received training in Libya for its Lesotho Liberation Army (LLA) under the pretense of being Azanian People's Liberation Army soldiers of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). Deprived of arms and supplies by the David Sibeko faction of PAC in 1978, the 178-strong LLA was rescued from their Tanzanian base by the financial assistance of a Maoist PAC officer and launched a guerrilla war. A force was defeated in northern Lesotho, and later guerrillas launched more sporadic attacks. The campaign was compromised when BCP's leader, Ntsu Mokhehle, went to Pretoria. In the 1980s, some Basotho who sympathised with the exiled BCP were threatened with death and attacked by the government of Leabua Jonathan. On 4 September 1981, the family of Benjamin Masilo was attacked. In the attack his 3-year-old grandson died. Four days later, Edgar Mahlomola Motuba, the editor of the newspaper "Leselinyana la Lesotho", was abducted from his home, together with two friends, and murdered.


title: Lesotho

text: The Transitional Military Council that came to power granted executive powers to King Moshoeshoe II, who was until then a ceremonial monarch. In 1987 the king was forced into exile after coming up with a 6-page memorandum on how he wanted the Lesotho's constitution to be, which would have given him more executive powers than the military government had originally agreed to. His son was installed as King Letsie III in his place.


title: Lesotho

text: The chairman of the military junta, Major General Justin Metsing Lekhanya, was ousted in 1991 and replaced by Major General Elias Phisoana Ramaema who handed over power to a democratically elected government of BCP in 1993. Moshoeshoe II returned from exile in 1992 as an ordinary citizen. After the return to democratic government, King Letsie III tried unsuccessfully to persuade the BCP government to reinstate his father (Moshoeshoe II) as head of state. In August 1994, Letsie III staged a military-backed coup that deposed the BCP government, after the BCP government refused to reinstate his father, Moshoeshoe II, according to Lesotho's constitution. Member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) engaged in negotiations to reinstate the BCP government. One of the conditions Letsie III put forward for this was that his father should be re-installed as head of state. After protracted negotiations, the BCP government was reinstated and Letsie III abdicated in favour of his father in 1995, and ascended the throne again when Moshoeshoe II died at the age of 57 in a supposed road accident when his car plunged off a mountain road on 15 January 1996. According to a government statement, Moshoeshoe had set out at 1 am to visit his cattle at Matsieng and was returning to Maseru through the Maluti Mountains when his car left the road.


title: Lesotho

text: In 1997, the ruling BCP split over leadership disputes. Prime Minister Ntsu Mokhehle formed a new party, the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), and was followed by a majority of members of parliament, which enabled him to form a new government. Pakalitha Mosisili succeeded Mokhehle as party leader and LCD won the general elections in 1998. Opposition protests "intensified", culminating in a demonstration outside the royal palace in August 1998. While the Botswana Defence Force troops were welcomed, tensions with South African National Defence Force troops resulted in fighting. Incidences of rioting "intensified" when South African troops hoisted a South African flag over the Royal Palace. By the time the SADC forces withdrew in May 1999, much of the capital of Maseru "lay in ruins", and the southern provincial capital towns of Mafeteng and Mohale's Hoek had lost over a third of their commercial real estate.


title: Lesotho

text: An Interim Political Authority (IPA), charged with reviewing the electoral structure in the country, was created in December 1998. IPA devised a proportional electoral system to ensure that the opposition would be represented in the National Assembly. The new system retained the existing 80 elected Assembly seats, and added 40 seats to be filled on a proportional basis. Elections were held under this new system in May 2002, and LCD won, gaining 54% of the vote. There are irregularities and threats of violence from Major General Lekhanya. Nine opposition parties hold all 40 of the proportional seats, with BNP having the largest share (21). LCD has 79 of the 80 constituency-based seats. While its elected members participate in the National Assembly, BNP has launched legal challenges to the elections, including a recount.


title: Lesotho

text: On 30 August 2014, an alleged abortive military "coup" took place, forcing then Prime Minister Thomas Thabane to flee to South Africa for three days.


title: Lesotho

text: On 19 May 2020, Thomas Thabane formally stepped down as prime minister of Lesotho following months of pressure after he was named as a suspect in the murder of his ex-wife. Moeketsi Majoro, the economist and former Minister of Development Planning, was elected as Thabane's successor.


title: Lesotho

text: The Lesotho Government is a parliamentary or constitutional monarchy. The Prime Minister, Sam Matekane, is the head of government and has executive authority. The King of Lesotho, Letsie III, is the head of state and serves a "largely ceremonial function"; he no longer possesses any executive authority and is prohibited from actively participating in political initiatives.


title: Lesotho

text: The All Basotho Convention (ABC) leads a coalition government in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament. The upper house of parliament, the Senate, is composed of 22 principal chiefs whose membership is hereditary, and 11 appointees of the king, acting on the advice of the prime minister.


title: Lesotho

text: The constitution provides for an independent judicial system, made up of the High Court, the Court of Appeal, Magistrate's Courts, and traditional courts that exist predominantly in rural areas. All but one of the Justices on the Court of Appeal are South African jurists. There is no trial by jury; rather, judges make rulings alone or, in the case of criminal trials, with two other judges as observers.


title: Lesotho

text: The constitution protects some civil liberties, including freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of the press, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of religion. Lesotho was ranked 12th out of 48 sub-Saharan African countries in the 2008 Ibrahim Index of African Governance.


title: Lesotho

text: , the "People's Charter Movement" called for the practical annexation of the country by South Africa due to the HIV epidemic. Nearly a quarter of the population tests positive for HIV. The country has faced unemployment, economic collapse, a weaker currency, and travel documents restricting movement. An African Union report called for economic integration of Lesotho with South Africa and stopped short of suggesting annexation. In May 2010 the Charter Movement delivered a petition to the South African High Commission requesting integration. South Africa's home affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa rejected the idea that Lesotho should be treated as a special case. "It is a sovereign country like South Africa. We sent envoys to our neighbours – Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Lesotho – before we enforced the passport rule. When you travel from Britain to South Africa, don't you expect to use a passport?"


title: Lesotho

text: Lesotho is a member of some regional economic organisations, including the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). It is active in the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU), the Non-Aligned Movement, the Commonwealth, and other international organisations.


title: Lesotho

text: Lesotho has maintained ties with the United Kingdom (Wales in particular), Germany, the United States and other Western states. It broke relations with China and re-established relations with Taiwan in 1990, and later restored ties with China. It recognises the State of Palestine. From 2014 up until 2018 it recognised the Republic of Kosovo.


title: Lesotho

text: It was a public opponent of apartheid in South Africa and granted a number of South African refugees political asylum during the apartheid era. In 2019, it signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.


title: Lesotho

text: The Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) is charged with the maintenance of internal security and the defence of Lesotho. Its chief officer is designated "Commander".


title: Lesotho

text: The Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) is charged with the maintenance of law and order. Its chief officer is designated "Commissioner". LMPS provides uniformed policing, criminal detection, and traffic policing. There are specialist units dealing with high-tech crime, immigration, wildlife, and terrorism. The force has existed, with changes of name, continuously since 1872.


title: Lesotho

text: The Lesotho National Security Service (LNSS) is charged with the protection of national security. Its chief officer is designated "Director" by the Constitution. LNSS is an intelligence service, reporting directly to the Government. The power to appoint or dismiss a Director is vested directly in the Prime Minister.


title: Lesotho

text: Lesotho does not have a single code containing its laws; it draws them from a variety of sources including: Constitution, Legislation, Common Law, Judicial precedent, Customary Law, and Authoritative texts.


title: Lesotho

text: The Constitution of Lesotho came into force after the publication of the Commencement Order. Constitutionally, legislation refers to laws that have been passed by both houses of parliament and have been assented to by the king (section 78(1)). Subordinate legislation refers to laws passed by other bodies to which parliament has by virtue of section 70(2) of the Constitution validly delegated such legislative powers. These include government publications, ministerial orders, ministerial regulations and municipal by-laws.


title: Lesotho

text: While Lesotho shares with South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia and Zimbabwe a mixed general legal system which resulted from the interaction between the Roman-Dutch Civilian law and the English Common Law, its general law operates independently. Lesotho applies the common law, which refers to unwritten law or law from non-statutory sources, and excludes customary law. Decisions from South African courts are only persuasive, and courts refer to them in formulating their decisions. Decisions from some jurisdictions can be cited for their persuasive value. Magistrates' courts decisions do not become precedent since these are lower courts. They are bound by decisions of the High Court and the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal, the final appellate forum on all matters, has a supervisory and review jurisdiction over all the courts of Lesotho.


title: Lesotho

text: Lesotho has a dual legal system consisting of customary and general laws operating side by side. Customary law is made up of the customs of the Basotho, written and codified in the Laws of Lerotholi. The general law on the other hand consists of Roman Dutch Law imported from the Cape and the Lesotho statutes. The codification of customary law came about after a council was appointed in 1903 to advise the British Resident Commissioner on which laws would be best for governing the Basotho. Until this time, the Basotho customs and laws were passed down from generation to generation through oral tradition. The council was given the task of codifying them, and they came up with the Laws of Lerotholi which are applied by customary courts today (local courts). Written works of certain authors have persuasive value in the courts of Lesotho. These include writings of the "old authorities as well as contemporary writers from similar jurisdictions".


title: Lesotho

text: For administrative purposes, Lesotho is divided into 10 districts, each headed by a district administrator. Each district has a capital known as a "camptown".


title: Lesotho

text: Lesotho covers . It is the only independent state in the world that lies entirely above in elevation. Its lowest point of is thus the highest lowest point of any country in the world. Over 80% of the country lies above . Lesotho is the southernmost landlocked country in the world. It is the largest of the world's three independent states completely surrounded by the territory of another country, with Vatican City and San Marino being the other two. It is the only such state outside the Italian peninsula, and the only one that is not a microstate.


title: Lesotho

text: Lesotho lies between latitudes 28° and 31°S, and longitudes 27° and 30°E. About 12% of Lesotho is arable land which is vulnerable to soil erosion; it is estimated that 40 million tons of soil are lost each year due to erosion.


title: Lesotho

text: Because of its elevation, Lesotho remains cooler throughout the year than other regions at the same latitude. Most of the rain falls as summer thunderstorms. Maseru and surrounding lowlands may reach in summer. The temperature in the lowlands can get down to and the highlands to at times. Snow is more common in the highlands between May and September; the higher peaks may experience snowfalls year-round. Rainfall in Lesotho is variable regarding both when and where precipitation occurs. Annual precipitation can vary from 500mm annually in one area to 1200mm in another because of elevation. The summer season that stretches from October to April sees the most rainfall, and from December to February, the majority of the country receives over 100mm of rain a month. The least monthly rainfall in Lesotho occurs in June when most regions receive less than 15mm a month.


title: Lesotho

text: Periodic droughts have an effect on Lesotho's majority rural population as some people living outside of urban areas rely on subsistence farming or small scale agriculture as their primary source of income. Droughts in Lesotho are exacerbated by some agricultural practices. The World Factbook lists periodic droughts under the 'Natural Hazard' section of Lesotho's section of the publication.


title: Lesotho

text: In 2007, Lesotho experienced a drought and was advised by the United Nations to declare a state of emergency to get aid from international organizations. Famine Early Warning Systems Network reported that the rainy season of 2018/2019 not only started a month later than normal but also has recorded below-average amounts of rain. Data from the Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation Station (CHIRP) shows rainfall in Lesotho between October 2018 and February 2019 ranged from 55% to 80% below normal rates.


title: Lesotho

text: In March 2019, the Lesotho Vulnerability Assessment and Analysis Committee conducted a report that initially predicted that 487,857 people in the country need humanitarian assistance because of the effects of drought.


title: Lesotho

text: There are a variety of different ways drought in Lesotho has led to the need for humanitarian assistance. Some hygiene practices that result from "a lack of clean water" can cause cases of typhoid and diarrhea. Lack of available water indirectly leads to an "increased risk" for women and girls who collect water for household consumption as they must spend more time and travel longer distances while running the risk of being physically or sexually assaulted. Drought in Lesotho leads to both migration to more urban areas and immigration to South Africa for new opportunities and to escape food insecurity. The report found that between July 2019 and June 2020 640,000 people in Lesotho are expected to be affected by food insecurity as a result of "unproductive harvests as well as the corresponding rise in food prices because of the drought".


title: Lesotho

text: There are known to be 339 bird species in Lesotho, including 10 globally threatened species and two introduced species, 17 reptile species, including geckos, snakes and lizards, and 60 mammal species endemic to Lesotho, including the endangered white-tailed rat.


title: Lesotho

text: Lesotho's flora is Alpine, due to mountainous terrain. The Katse Botanical Gardens houses a collection of medicinal plants and has a seed bank of plants from the Malibamat'so River area. three terrestrial ecoregions lie within Lesotho's boundaries: Drakensberg alti-montane grasslands and woodlands, Drakensberg montane grasslands, and Highveld grasslands.


title: Lesotho

text: The economy of Lesotho is based on agriculture, livestock, manufacturing and mining, and depends on inflows of workers' remittances and receipts from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). The majority of households subsist on farming. The formal sector employment consists mainly of female workers in the apparel sector, male migrant labour, primarily miners in South Africa for 3 to 9 months, and employment by the Government of Lesotho (GOL). The western lowlands form the main agricultural zone. Almost 50% of the population earn income through informal crop cultivation or animal husbandry with nearly two-thirds of the country's income coming from the agricultural sector. The % of the population living below USD Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) US$1.25/day fell from 48% to 44% between 1995 and 2003. The country is among the "Low Human Development" countries (rank 160 of 187 on the Human Development Index as classified by UNDP, with 52 years of life expectancy at birth. Adult literacy is as high as 82%. Among the children below the age of 5 years, 20% are under weight.


title: Lesotho

text: Lesotho has taken advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to become the largest exporter of garments to the US from sub-Saharan Africa. US brands and retailers sourcing from Lesotho include: Foot Locker, Gap, Gloria Vanderbilt, JCPenney, Levi Strauss, Saks, Sears, Timberland and Wal-Mart. In mid-2004 its employment reached over 50,000, mostly female, marking the first time that manufacturing sector workers outnumbered government employees. In 2008 it exported goods worth 487 million dollars mainly to the US. Since 2004, employment in the sector has dwindled to about 45,000 in mid-2011 due to international competition in the garment sector. It was the largest formal sector employer in Lesotho in 2011. In 2007, the average earnings of an employee in the textile sector were US$103 per month, and the official minimum wage for a general textile worker was US$93 per month. The average gross national income per capita in 2008 was US$83 per month. The sector initiated a program to fight HIV/AIDS called Apparel Lesotho Alliance to Fight AIDS (ALAFA). It is an industry-wide program providing disease prevention and treatment for workers.


title: Lesotho

text: Water and diamonds are some of Lesotho's natural resources. Water is used through the 21-year, multibillion-dollar Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), under the authority of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority. The project commenced in 1986. LHWP is designed to capture, store, and transfer water from the Orange River system to South Africa's Free State and greater Johannesburg area. Completion of the first phase of the project has made Lesotho "almost completely self-sufficient" in the production of electricity and generated approximately US$70 million in 2010 from the sale of electricity and water to South Africa.


title: Lesotho

text: Diamonds are produced at the Letšeng, Mothae, Liqhobong, and Kao mines, which combined are estimated to produce 240,000 carats of diamonds in 2014, worth US$300 million. The Letšeng mine is estimated to produce diamonds with an average value of US$2172/carat, making it the world's richest mine on an average price per carat basis. The sector underwent a setback in 2008 as the result of the world recession, and rebounded in 2010 and 2011. Export of diamonds reached US$230 million in 2010–2011. In 1957, a South African adventurer, colonel Jack Scott, accompanied by Keith Whitelock, set out prospecting for diamonds. They found their diamond mine at 3,100 m elevation, on top of the Maluti Mountains in northeastern Lesotho, some 70 km from Mokhotlong at Letšeng. In 1967, a diamond (Lesotho Brown) was discovered in the mountains by a Mosotho woman. In August 2006, a white diamond, the Lesotho Promise, was discovered at the Letšeng-la-Terae mine. Another diamond was discovered at the same location in 2008.


title: Lesotho

text: Lesotho has progressed in moving from a predominantly subsistence-oriented economy to a lower middle-income economy exporting natural resources and manufacturing goods. The exporting sectors have brought "higher and more secure" incomes to a portion of the population. The global economic crisis make Lesotho underwent a loss of textile exports and jobs in this sector due somewhat to the economic slowdown in the United States, 1 of their export destinations. Reduced diamond mining and exports, including a drop in the price of diamonds and a drop in SACU revenues due to the economic slowdown in the South African economy contributed to the crisis. Reduction in worker remittances due to "weakening" of the South African economy and contraction of the mining sector and related job losses in South Africa contributed to in 2009, Lesotho's GDP growth slowing to 0.9%.


title: Lesotho

text: The official currency is the loti (plural: maloti) which can be used interchangeably with the South African rand. Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia, and South Africa form a common currency and exchange control area known as the Common Monetary Area (CMA). The loti is at par with the rand. 100 "lisente" (singular: "sente") equal 1 loti.


title: Lesotho

text: Lesotho has a population of approximately . The population distribution of Lesotho is 25% urban and 75% rural. It is estimated that the annual increase in urban population is 3.5%. 60.2% of the population is between 15 and 64 years of age.


title: Lesotho

text: Lesotho's ethno-linguistic structure consists mostly of the Basotho, a Bantu-speaking people: an estimated 99.7% of the people identify as Basotho. In this regard, Lesotho is part of a minority of African countries that are nation states with a single dominant cultural ethnic group and language; the majority of African nations' borders were drawn by colonial powers and do not correspond to ethnic boundaries or pre-colonial polities. Basotho subgroups include the Bafokeng, Batloung, Baphuthi, Bakuena, Bataung, Batšoeneng, and Matebele.


title: Lesotho

text: The population of Lesotho is estimated to be more than 95% Christian. Among these estimations, Protestants account for 18.2% of the population, Pentecostals 15.4%, Anglicans 5.3%, and other Christians an additional 1.8%. Catholics represent 49.4% of the population, served by the province of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Maseru and his three suffragans (the bishops of Leribe, Mohale's Hoek and Qacha's Nek), who form the national episcopal conference. Non-Christian religions represent 9.6% of the population, and those of no religion 0.2%.


title: Lesotho

text: According to estimates, 85% of women and 68% of men over the age of 15 are literate. As such, Lesotho holds "one of the highest literacy rates in Africa", in part because Lesotho invests over 12% of its GDP in education. Female literacy (84.93%) exceeds male literacy (67.75%) by 17.18%. According to a study by the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality in 2000, 37% of grade 6 pupils in Lesotho (average age 14 years) are at or above reading level 4, "Reading for Meaning." A pupil at this level of literacy can read ahead or backwards through parts of text to link and interpret information. While education is not compulsory, the Government of Lesotho is incrementally implementing a program for free primary education.


title: Lesotho

text: According to the International Telecommunication Union, 3.4% of the population use the Internet. A service from Econet Telecom Lesotho expanded the country's access to email through entry-level, low-end mobile phones and, consequently, improved access to educational information. The African Library Project works to establish school and village libraries in partnership with US Peace Corps Lesotho and the Butha Buthe District of Education.


title: Lesotho

text: Life expectancy at birth in Lesotho in 2016 was 51 years for men and 55 for women. Infant mortality is about 8.3%. In 2019, life expectancy was estimated at 52 years for men and women.


title: Lesotho

text: As of 2018, Lesotho's adult HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 23.6% was the second highest in the world, after Eswatini. In 2021, Lesotho had a 22.8% HIV prevalence rate among people between 15 and 49 years of age. The country has the highest incidence of tuberculosis in the world.


title: Lesotho

text: According to the Lesotho Census of 2006, around 4% of the population is thought to have some sort of disability. There are concerns regarding the reliability of the methodologies used and the real figure is thought to be closer to the global estimate of 15%. According to a survey conducted by the Lesotho National Federation of Organisations of the Disabled in conjunction with SINTEF, people with disability in Lesotho face social and cultural barriers which prevent them from accessing education, healthcare, and employment on an equal basis with others. On 2 December 2008 Lesotho became the 42nd country in the world to sign the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.


title: Lesotho

text: According to World Health Organization data, since 2008 Lesotho had the world's highest rate of suicide per capita.


title: Lesotho

text: According to UN, Lesotho has the highest rape rate of any country (91.6 per 100,000 people rate for reported rape in 2008). International data from UNODC found the incidence of rapes recorded in 2008 by the police to be the highest in Lesotho out of any country in the study. A study in Lesotho found that 61% of women reported having experienced sexual violence at some point in their lives, of which 22% reported being physically forced to have sexual intercourse. In the 2009 DHS survey 15.7% of men said that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife if she refuses to have sex with him, while 16% said a husband is justified to use force to have sex. In another study, researchers have concluded that "Given the high prevalence of HIV in Lesotho, programs should address women's right to control their sexuality." The "Married Persons Equality Act 2006" gives equal rights to wives in regard to their husbands, abolishing the husband's marital power. The World Economic Forum's 2020 Gender Gap Report ranks Lesotho 88th in the world for gender parity, while neighboring South Africa ranks 17th.


title: Lesotho

text: The national dish of Lesotho is Motoho, a fermented sorghum porridge. Some staple foods include pap or 'mealies', a cornmeal porridge covered with a sauce consisting of vegetables. Tea and locally brewed beer are choices for beverages. Lesotho is famed for its fermented ginger beer, of which, there are two types with and without raisins. These are regularly sold by people at roadsides thoroughout Lesotho. Sishenyama is regularly sold independently thoroughout Lesotho with side-dishes such as cabbage, pap and baked bean salad.


title: Lesotho

text: British influence in Lesotho is visible through the remnants of trading posts that were operated from the 18th century into the 20th century. These are in the villages Roma, Ramabantana, Ha Matela, Malealea and Semonkong. In the past these lodges were employed in the sale of fuel, grains, mealie meal and animals. Important in the times before the car was prevalent.


title: Lesotho

text: The national dress revolves around the Basotho blanket, a covering made originally of wool. Nowadays, the Basotho blanket is made out of acrylic fibres. The main manufacturer of the Basotho blanket is Aranda, of which, has a factory over the border in South Africa.


title: Lesotho

text: The Morija Arts & Cultural Festival is held annually in the town of Morija where missionaries arrived in 1833.


title: Lesotho

text: Examples of San rock art can be found in the mountains throughout Basutoland. There are examples in the village of Ha Matela.


title: Lesotho

text: The Basotho Pony is integral to the culture of Lesotho. The pony was historically ridden into battle and in the modern day used for transport and agriculture. The horsemanship of Lesotho is famed throughout Africa.


title: Lesotho

text: 2018 film "Black Panther" director Ryan Coogler stated that his depiction of Wakanda was inspired by Lesotho. Basotho blankets "became more known" as a result of the film. In November 2020, the film "This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection" became the first Lesotho film to be submitted for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film by the country.


title: Salaar

text: Salaar is an upcoming Indian Telugu-language action thriller film written and directed by Prashanth Neel, and produced by Vijay Kiragandur under Hombale Films. It stars Prabhas as the titular character alongside Prithviraj Sukumaran, Shruti Haasan and Jagapathi Babu.


title: Salaar

text: The film was announced in December 2020 with principal photography beginning in January 2021 near Godavarikhani, Telangana. The music is composed by Ravi Basrur while cinematography is handled by Bhuvan Gowda.


title: Salaar

text: "Salaar" was originally scheduled for a theatrical release on 14 April 2022 but was delayed due to production delays owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film is scheduled to be theatrically released on 28 September 2023.


title: Salaar

text: The film along with its title was announced on 2 December 2020. Touted to be an action thriller, the film marks the first collaboration between director Prashanth Neel and Prabhas, and the first Telugu venture of Neel. On his role, Prabhas stated: "my character is extremely violent, so this is something I haven’t really done before." A few reports claimed that the film is the remake of Neel's debut film "Ugramm," however, Neel clarified that "Salaar" is not a remake but an original story written for Prabhas.


title: Salaar

text: The film was formally launched in Hyderabad on 16 January 2021. Ravi Basrur is composing the music while Bhuvan Gowda is the cinematographer.


title: Salaar

text: Actress Shruti Haasan was cast in a leading role in January 2021. Kannada actor Madhu Guruswamy is set to play a pivotal role. In March, actress Easwari Rao was signed to play Salaar's mother. Later in August, Jagapathi Babu joined the cast, whose character is revealed as Rajamanaar.


title: Salaar

text: In October 2021, actor Prithviraj Sukumaran entered the talks to play a crucial role in the film. In March 2022, Prabhas said that Prithviraj is part of "Salaar" during a promotional event of his film "Radhe Shyam." Later in June, Prithviraj stated that he gave a nod to the script but was trying to adjust the dates to work in the film. Later in October 2022, Prithiviraj's role was confirmed and the film marks his return to Telugu cinema after 12 years, following his appearance in "Police Police" (2010). Sriya Reddy is also cast in a key role.


title: Salaar

text: The film's shoot began on 29 January 2021 in the coal mines near the city of Godavarikhani, Telangana. First schedule was completed by February 2021. Second schedule of the film began in August 2021 in Hyderabad.


title: Salaar

text: About 30% of the shoot was completed by March 2022. Filming was halted due to the release of Prabhas' "Radhe Shyam" and Neel's "," and was planned to be resumed in May. However, Prabhas underwent a knee surgery in March during his vacation in Spain, which further delayed the shoot. In June 2022, a new schedule began at Hyderabad's Ramoji Film City with Prabhas and Haasan joining the sets. The team also shot a 20-minute long action sequence in the middle of the sea, spending about 10 crore on the scene.


title: Salaar

text: "Salaar" reportedly employed Dark Centric Theme (DCT) technology to shoot the film, making it the first Indian film to do so. As a result the film's lighting pattern and color palette would be darker in color.


title: Salaar

text: "Salaar" is scheduled for a theatrical release on 28 September 2023 in Telugu and dubbed versions of Kannada, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam languages. The film is distributed by UV Creations in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana while KRG Studios in Karnataka state.


title: Salaar

text: Earlier in August 2021, it was announced that the film was going to release on 14 April 2022. The film was later postponed due to Neel and Hombale's film, "" which was scheduled to release on that date. In March 2022, producer Vijay Kiragandur in an interview with "Pinkvilla" stated that the film was postponed to the second quarter (April–June) of 2023 due to production delays owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2022, the release date was announced as 28 September 2023.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates ( DMG: "Ṭayarān Al-Imārāt") is one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Etihad). Based in Garhoud, Dubai, the airline is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group, which is owned by the government of Dubai's Investment Corporation of Dubai. , it was also the largest airline in the Middle East, operating over 3,600 flights per week from its hub at Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport. It operates to more than 150 cities in 80 countries across 6 continents through its fleet of nearly 300 aircraft. Cargo activities are undertaken by Emirates SkyCargo.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates is the world's fourth-largest airline by scheduled revenue passenger-kilometers flown, and the second-largest in terms of freight tonne-kilometers flown.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: During the mid-1980s, Gulf Air began to cut back its services to Dubai. As a result, Emirates was conceived on 15 March 1985, with backing from Dubai's royal family, with Pakistan International Airlines giving two of the airline's first aircraft. With $10 million in start-up capital, it was required to operate independently of government subsidy. Pakistan International Airlines provided free training facilities to Emirates' cabin crew at Karachi airport. The airline was headed by Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the airline's present chairman. In the years following its founding, the airline expanded both its fleet and its destinations. In October 2008, Emirates moved all operations at Dubai International Airport to Terminal 3.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates operates a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing wide-body aircraft, and is one of the few airlines to operate an all-wide-body aircraft fleet (excluding Emirates Executive). , Emirates is the largest Airbus A380 operator with 119 aircraft in service, and with one aircraft having been retired. Since its introduction, the Airbus A380 has become an integral part of the Emirates fleet, especially on long-haul, high-density routes. Emirates is also the world's largest Boeing 777 operator with 134 aircraft in service. The company slogans have included "Be good to yourself and fly Emirates"', "From Dubai to destinations around the world", "Fly Emirates Keep Discovering", "The finest in the sky", and "Hello Tomorrow" (also used recently); the current slogan is "Fly Emirates, Fly Better".


title: Emirates (airline)

text: The airline is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group, which itself is a subsidiary of the Dubai government's investment company, Investment Corporation of Dubai. The airline has recorded a profit every year, except its second year, and the growth has never fallen below 20% a year. In its first 11 years, it doubled in size every 3.5 years, and has every four years since.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: In 2015, Emirates paid dividends worth AED2.6 billion (US$708 million), compared to AED1 billion (US$272 million) in 2014. The government has received AED14.6 billion from Emirates since dividends started being paid in 1999 for having provided an initial start-up capital of US$10 million and an additional investment of about US$80 million at the time of the airline's inception. The Dubai government is the sole owner of the company, but it does not put any new money into it, nor does it interfere with running the airline.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates has diversified into related industries and sectors, including airport services, engineering, catering, and tour operator operations. Emirates has seven subsidiaries and its parent company has more than 50. At the end of the fiscal year on 31 March 2020, the company employed a total of 59,519 staff, of which 21,789 were cabin crew, 4,313 were flight deck crew, 3,316 were in engineering, 12,627 were listed as other, 5,376 employees were at overseas stations, and 12,098 were at subsidiary companies. The Emirates Group employed a total of 105,730 employees.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates provides its employees with benefits such as comprehensive health plans and paid maternity and sick leave. Another strategy employed by Emirates is to use profit sharing and merit pay as part of its competency-based approach to performance management.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: The airline claims to have lower emissions than other airlines because its fleet has an average fuel burn of less than 4 litres for every 100 passenger–kilometers. The cargo division of the airline uses a similar hub-and-spoke network of operations.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: In the financial year 2019–20, Emirates generated revenues of around AED 92.0 billion ($25.1 billion), which represented a decrease around 6% over the previous year's revenues of AED 97.9 billion. Passenger numbers also decreased from 58.6 million to 56.2 million over the same period, representing a decrease around 4%. Passenger seat factor increased by 1.7% to 78.5%. Cargo carried in 2019-20 also declined, by 10% to 2.4 million tonnes (2018-19: 2.7 million tonnes). The airline's profits for the 2019/20 fiscal year rose by 21% to AED 1.1 billion ($251 million) on the back of the lower oil prices and strong US dollar, although the 45-day runway closure at Dubai International and COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected results.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: As of March 2020, Emirates is using fuel price hedging. Fuel was 29.1% of total costs, and employee-related costs were 13.4% of total costs.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: The airline was the third-largest airline in the world in terms of international passengers carried, and the largest in the world in terms of scheduled international passenger-kilometers flown. It is also the second-largest in terms of scheduled freight tonne-kilometers flown (first in scheduled international freight tonne-kilometers flown).


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates' financial success has been attributed to rapid growth in demand for air travel in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia; the airline's investment in state-of-the-art aircraft; and the availability of airport capacity that can be used 24 hours a day.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: As stated by Emirates' Chairman and Chief Executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, passenger levels dropped by 70% in 2020. The airlines furloughed almost a quarter of its employees after witnessing losses amidst the pandemic.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Considering the dropping demand for air travel amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Emirates is likely to witness financial issues in 2021. Per the airline's president, Emirates might have to raise cash via equity. In 2020, it took $2 billion in equity from the Dubai government.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: In the 1990s, Emirates launched its first set of commercials with the slogan "So be good to yourself, Fly Emirates". In 1999, it launched a very rare A330-200 launch commercial with different pictures showing its aircraft with the original logo and the current logo (which was launched a few months before).


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Commercials have reappeared in 2002, though the airline would not adopt the slogan "Fly Emirates. Keep Discovering" until 2004. In 2008, Emirates launched a slogan mainly revolving around its route network of 100 destinations in 59+ countries across six continents – "Fly Emirates. Keep Discovering", "Fly Emirates. To over Six Continents", and "Hello Tomorrow". Emirates currently uses the slogan "Fly Better".


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates introduced a new design in August 2008 for its 16,000 uniformed staff, designed by Simon Jersey. The offboard uniform includes the Emirates hat, red kick-pleats in the skirts, more fitted blouses, and the return of red leather shoes and handbags. For the onboard uniform, male and female cabin crew wear service waistcoats in place of the previously worn service jackets and tabards. The male flight attendants wear a chocolate brown suit, featuring pinstripes, with a cream shirt and caramel, honey and red tie. Both male and female pursers wear this chocolate brown color, but with no red featured.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Since its formation in 1985, though to a limited extent until all were repainted, Emirates aircraft carried a section of the United Arab Emirates flag on the tail fins, a calligraphy of the logo in Arabic on the engines, and the "Emirates" logo on the fuselage both in Arabic and English. The colour scheme used since 1985 was changed in November 1999 to the one still in use today. This change had the modification of logotype, the enlargement and move of the English logo (the Arabic remaining smaller) towards the front of the aircraft, and a different, flowing flag on the tailfin.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: In 2022, Emirates launched two commercials featuring a "flight attendant" standing on the spire of the Burj Khalifa. The first commercial was about the UAE moving to the UK's Amber list in the wake of the COVID-19 travel restrictions. The second commercial was to promote the Expo 2020 event with an Airbus A380, painted in a special livery, circling the woman. The woman in the videos was actually a qualified stuntwoman dressed as an Emirates flight attendant.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: From 2011 until 2022, Emirates sponsored the Emirates Air Line cable car over the River Thames in East London.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Since 2015, Emirates has sponsored the England-based Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, on the south coast. The airline did have £3.5  million worth of plans to paint the landmark red, but after some discussion with the residents of Portsmouth and Southsea, Emirates agreed the tower was to be coloured blue and gold, with red lettering of the Emirates sponsor, for the pure reason that Portsmouth F.C. (the local football team) is coloured blue and rival football team Southampton F.C. is coloured red. It is now named "Emirates Spinnaker Tower".


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates sponsors Cricket Australia, Lord's Taverners, and Pro Arch Tournament. Its branding also features on international cricket umpires shirts. Emirates has also become an official partner of the International Cricket Council till date. This deal gives Emirates association with all major ICC tournaments, including the 2011, 2015 and 2019 ICC Cricket World Cups, ICC Champions Trophy and ICC World Twenty20.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates is the Twenty20 shirt sponsor of Durham County Cricket Club and hold the naming rights to the Riverside Ground, now known as Emirates Riverside, as well as the naming rights to the Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground, and is the shirt sponsor of Lancashire County Cricket Club. Emirates were also the major sponsor of the Kings XI Punjab (seasons two-four) and Deccan Chargers (season five) the teams of Indian Premier League, the largest domestic cricket tournament in the world.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates was a sponsor of FIFA and the FIFA World Cup, but stopped its sponsorship in early 2015 because of allegations of corruption and bribery within FIFA, as well as FIFA's controversial decision to award the 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Since the 2006–07 season, it has been the primary shirt sponsor of Arsenal, AC Milan since the 2010–11 season, Real Madrid since the 2013–14 season, Benfica since the 2015–16 season and Olympique Lyonnais since the 2020–2021 season. It is also the primary shirt sponsor of the New York Cosmos. Emirates is also the title sponsor of the FA Cup, Emirates Cup and Arsenal's Emirates Stadium. It was the primary shirt sponsor of Chelsea from August 2001 until May 2005, Paris Saint-Germain (until May 2019), and Hamburger SV until June 2020.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: In August 2009 the Scottish Junior Football Association announced that Emirates would sponsor its Scottish Cup competition. Emirates is the sponsor of Asian Football Confederation travel and play, in AFC Champions League and AFF Suzuki Cup.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Since 2014, Emirates has been the sponsor of Super League Rugby League team, the Warrington Wolves. It is a multi-year sponsorship and the cost has been touted as around £5m.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Since 2015, Emirates has been also the sponsor of Super Rugby South African team the Lions, as well as having the naming rights of the team and Ellis Park rugby stadium. It is also the main sponsor of USA Rugby.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: In horse racing, Emirates sponsors the Dubai International Racing Carnival. It sponsored the Australian Turf Club's Autumn and Spring Carnival until 2011, and the Melbourne Cup Carnival from 2003 until 2017.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates is also a regular sponsor of the equestrian sport showjumping, notably at events in Dubai with the CSI5* Emirates Airline Dubai Grand Prix, and with the Longines Masters series, which currently runs CSI5* competitions in Hong Kong, Paris, and New York (formerly held in Los Angeles).


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates is one of the main sponsors of the Australian and the French Opens at the start of the 2021 season after returning from the first signed the contract in 2016.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates is the major sponsor of the Emirates Team New Zealand, winners of the 35th America's Cup in sailing.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates was a sponsor of the British Formula One (F1) team McLaren in the 2006 season. It is also the Formula One official airline sponsor since the 2013 season. Emirates has been a main sponsors of the Japanese and the Brazilian grands prix since 2016.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Since the 2012 season, Emirates has sponsored the US Open Series, a six-week summer tennis season leading up to the US Open. Its sponsorship was to run until 2019.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates also sponsors Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League, and FC Dallas in Major League Soccer.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Since the 2016 season, Emirates is the official airline of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Since 2017, Emirates has been the sponsor of the UAE Team Emirates (former Team Lampre-Mérida), which is a UCI World Tour Cycling Team. Being World Tour, the team obtains automatic entry to the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and Vuelta a Espana, as well as all the major one-day races.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates became one of the official premier partners of the Expo 2020 event hosted by Dubai. To commemorate the event, Emirates unveiled a special livery in three colours (orange, green, and blue) to represent the three themes of the event, namely, Opportunity, Sustainability, and Mobility, respectively. One of its A380s was painted in a blue, nose-to-tail livery that said, "Join The Making of a New World". The sponsorship lasted from October 1, 2021 till the event's closure on 31 March 2022.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: In May 2015, Emirates operated over 3,000 flights every week across its network of over 150 destinations in over 70 countries across six continents from its hub in Dubai. Prior to suspensions due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Emirates' global network spanned 157 destinations in 83 countries.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates has collaborated with other airlines, but is not a member of any of the three global airline alliances – Oneworld, SkyTeam, or Star Alliance. In 2000, the airline briefly considered joining Star Alliance, but opted to remain independent. The reasoning for this was later revealed by senior vice president of the airline's commercial operations worldwide that, "Your ability to react in the marketplace is hindered because you need a consensus from your alliance partners".


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates SkyCargo is the air freight division of Emirates. It began operations in October 1985, the same year Emirates was formed, and launched its own aircraft services in 2001 with a Boeing 747 Freighter. It serves 10 exclusive cargo destinations, besides others in common with the Emirates passenger network. As of June 2019 it operated 11 Boeing 777 Freighters. During the 2020 pandemic, SkyCargo also began to operate 777-300ER and A380 passenger aircraft as preighters to expand their total cargo capacity.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates Executive was launched in 2013 for corporate and private charters. It operates a single Airbus ACJ319 business jet, accommodating 19 people. It features a mix of private suites and seating, a lounge, dining area, and bathrooms with full-height showers.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: As of January 2022, Emirates operates a fleet of 254 passenger aircraft and 10 cargo aircraft operated by Emirates SkyCargo. Emirates operates the largest fleet of both the Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft in the world, with one A319 as an executive jet. Emirates has had no narrow-body aircraft in its mainline fleet since 1995.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: In July 2014, Emirates finalized an order for 150 Boeing 777X aircraft (this number later reduced, see below), consisting of 35 777-8s and 115 777-9s, and, , was expected to become the launch operator for the 777X in mid-2020. In November 2017, it signed a commitment for 40 787-10s, but by early 2019, it was considering cancelling this order because engine margins were insufficient for the hot Dubai weather, in favour of the A350.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: In February 2019, Emirates signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for 40 A330-900s and 30 A350-900s, while reducing its total A380 order to eight (with the last one to be delivered in 2022) after which Airbus will cease production of the A380. Emirates received the final A380 built by Airbus on December 16, 2021. It was the 123rd A380 to join the fleet. The delivery officially closing the Airbus A380 production 14 years after the first delivery to Singapore Airlines in 2007.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: In November 2019, Emirates announced an order of 50 A350-900s worth US$16 billion that superseded the February memorandum of understanding. Also in November 2019, Emirates placed an order for 30 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners for a value of US$8.8 billion with deliveries to commence in 2023, while reducing its order of 777Xs from 150 to 126.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: In December, Emirates reduced further 777X orders from 126 to 115. Being the largest operator of the A380, Emirates maintains its fleet via the MRO subsidiary of Safran, OEMServices


title: Emirates (airline)

text: The current livery, which features a UAE flag on the vertical stabilizer and a white fuselage, with the golden word "Emirates" painted on the upper fuselage, was introduced in November 1999 on the Boeing 777-300 and on all Airbus A330/A340 aircraft that were delivered from November 1999. The livery rolled out shortly after in 2000 on the rest of the Emirates fleet, and Emirates repainted all aircraft to the current livery by 2005. The current livery also kept the Arabic company name, but the font size is smaller than the one from the old livery. The Emirates logo in Arabic is painted gold on all engines.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: The former livery of Emirates was similar to the current one, except that the company name "Emirates" was written in a different font; it was relatively smaller, located on the top of the windows; and it was followed by the company name in Arabic. All aircraft wearing the old livery were either repainted or retired. The old livery was retired by 2005 as the last aircraft with the old livery (an Airbus A310-300) was repainted to the current livery.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: The two types of first class seating are the fully enclosed suite with a floor-to-ceiling door and a private suite with doors that close, but do not extend to the ceiling. Both suites come complete with closing doors to ensure privacy, a minibar, a coat rack, and storage. They also feature the ICE system on a LCD screen in the private suites and a on the fully enclosed suite. The seat converts into a fully flat bed. Private suites are available on three-class Airbus A380-800 and three-class Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The fully enclosed suites are available on its newly delivered Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: On its newly delivered Airbus A380-800, first class features private suites, two shower-equipped lavatories and spa, and access to the first/business class bar area and lounge. Premium class seating is located on the entire upper deck of A380-800 aircraft.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates introduced a new first-class cabin for its Boeing 777-300ER fleet on 12 November 2017 and first flight to Brussels and Geneva on 1 December 2017. The new first-class cabin is configured with six suites on a 1-1-1 layout. The middle suites come with virtual windows that project live feed from the outside of the aircraft on real time. Both the middle suites are equipped with three virtual windows, which are high-definition LCD screens that relay real-time images using HD cameras on either side of the aircraft. Amenities include two minibars placed on either side of the entertainment screen, a 13-inch tablet with a front camera to communicate with the cabin crew and to order room service, and a panel to control the lighting and temperature inside the suite. Emirates has also introduced a new seat in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz, which features a new zero-gravity position. The suites are expected to resemble "a private bedroom on a luxury yacht".


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Business class on Boeing 777-200LRs and Boeing 777-300ERs feature seats with a pitch that recline to , angled lie-flat beds. Amenities include massage function, privacy partition, winged headrest with six-way movement, two individual reading lights, and an overhead light per seat; in-seat power supply, USB ports, and an RCA socket for laptop connection; and over 600 channels of entertainment on ICE, shown on a HD TV screen.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: On Airbus A380-800 aircraft, the seats recline to form a fully flat bed and are equipped with personal minibars. The unique staggered layout makes half of the business-class seats on Emirates A380 shorter than the others, at only long. Business class passengers also have access to an on-board bar at the rear of the aircraft.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Currently, only six Airbus A380 aircraft in Emirates' fleet have a premium economy class; the cabin is also set to be introduced alongside the delivery of Emirates' first Boeing 777X (around 2025). These seats are also set to be fitted on the airline's Boeing 777-300ERs. As of December 2020, it has now been officially announced by Tim Clark, Emirates CEO, that the premium economy cabins will be equipped with the Recaro PL3530 seats. Emirates has also introduced a new retrofit program scheduled to begin at the end of 2022; by the end of the program, 52 Airbus A380s and 53 Boeing 777s will be fitted with premium economy.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates economy class offers a seat pitch on Airbus aircraft and on Boeing aircraft, with standard seat width (except on the Boeing 777 fleet). Emirates has 10 seats per row on its Boeing 777 fleet. The seat features adjustable headrests, a 3000-channel ICE in-flight entertainment system, and in-seat laptop power outlets on newer aircraft and laptop recharging facilities in galleys in older aircraft. Additional recline is used on A380 economy-class seats.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Catering on Emirates flights from Dubai International is provided by Emirates Flight Catering, which operates one of the largest airline catering facilities in the world. Emirates also offers special meal options, in all classes, based on age, dietary restrictions and preference, and religious observance. Special meals must be ordered in advance, at least 24 hours before the flight departure time. All meals, however, are prepared according to Halal dietary guidelines.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: In June 2018, Emirates signed a $40 million joint venture with Oakland, California-based Crop One Holdings, to build and maintain the world's largest hydroponic growing facility. It will provide daily yields of roughly 3 tons of leafy greens per day to all flights, with a near 150,000 square foot indoor, vertical farm.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates became one of the first group of airlines in the world to introduce a personal entertainment system on a commercial aircraft in 1992, with Virgin Atlantic introducing a similar system throughout the cabins of its aircraft. All three classes feature a personal in-flight entertainment (IFE) system on Emirates aircraft. There are two types of entertainment system on Emirates: ICE and ICE Digital Widescreen.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: In 2012, Emirates introduced larger high-definition IFE screens in all classes. The new IFE is the first to be fully high definition, and in economy, the screens are the largest offered by any airline. The new IFE will only be installed on the Airbus A380 fleet and the newly delivered Boeing 777s.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: ICE (information, communication, entertainment) is the in-flight entertainment system operated by Emirates.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Introduced in 2003, ICE is available on all new aircraft and now features 4,000 channels (on most flights) to all passengers. ICE is found on the airline's Airbus A380-800, Boeing 777-200LR and Boeing 777-300ER.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: In July 2007, Emirates introduced ICE Digital Widescreen, an updated version of ICE. It offered over 1200 channels of selected entertainment available to all passengers. ICE Digital Widescreen is available on all new aircraft.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: In 2015, Emirates upgraded its ICE system to the new eX3 system, which includes new upgrades that improved passenger experience, such as handset with more controls, larger screens, new sockets, some 3,500 channels of movies, TV shows, music, and games, on demand and in multiple languages, new ICE features, such as a Voyager app, Bluetooth audio, and personal video playback. This is fitted in 2009 onward aircraft B777 and A380, as well as installed on new aircraft that will be delivered to the airline.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: According to Emirates, ICE has received more awards than any other airline in the world for inflight entertainment.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: The system is based on the 3000i system from Panasonic Avionics Corporation. ICE provides passengers with a direct data link to BBC News. ICE is the first IFE system to be connected directly to automatic news updates. This is complemented by ICE's "Airshow" moving-map software from Rockwell Collins. Exterior cameras located on the aircraft can be viewed by any passenger, through the IFE system, during takeoff, cruise, and landing. Emirates was also one of the first airlines to introduce high-speed, in-flight internet service along with Singapore Airlines, by installing the Inmarsat's satellite system and became the second airline in the world to offer live international television broadcasts using the same system.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: ICE has a link to an in-flight email server, which allows passengers to access, send, or receive emails for US$1 per message. ICE also supports a seat-to-seat chat service. In November 2006, the airline signed a deal with mobile communications firm AeroMobile to allow in-flight use of mobile phones to call or text people on the ground. The service was first introduced in March 2008.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: The ICE system includes movies, music, and video games. ICE offers over 600 on-demand movie titles, over 2000 video on demand and prerecorded television channels, over 1000 hours of music, and over 100 video-game titles. ICE can be accessed in more than 40 languages, including English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Urdu, Persian, Korean, Tamil, Thai, Dutch, Swedish, Italian, and Japanese. Since 2003, all entertainment options are available on demand to all classes with options to pause, forward, and rewind them.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates began to offer docking capability for Apple Inc.'s iPod portable music and video player in mid-2007. This allows the device's battery to be charged, and integrates with Emirates' in-flight entertainment (IFE) system. The IFE system can play music, television shows, or movies stored on the iPod, and function as a control system.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Passengers may check in between 2 and 24 hours prior to departure at Dubai International Airport, as well as at certain stations of the Dubai Metro. All Emirates flights are now operated exclusively from Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: First- and business-class passengers and Skywards Platinum and Gold members have access to 33 Emirates lounges in 32 cities. Skywards Silver members can use the lounges at Dubai Airport only. At airports in which Emirates does not operate a departure lounge, a third-party departure lounge is usually provided for first- and business-class passengers and Skywards Platinum and Gold members.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Complimentary chauffeur-driven airport transfers are available to business- and first-class passengers in over 75 cities to airports.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: In Dubai, Emirates uses the new BMW 5 Series Touring car for business-class passengers, and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan for first-class passengers.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: In other countries, the type of vehicle varies depending on the location and service provider that the airline has contracted.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates Skywards is the frequent-flyer program of Emirates launched in 2000. The program had over 16 million members as of 2016. The program uses two separate points systems – Skywards Miles as the currency that can be redeemed for benefits, and Tier Miles as the metric that determines a member's tier status.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: The four tiers are Blue, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Every new customer becomes a Blue member upon registration, which is free of charge. Silver tier requires 25,000 Tier Miles, Gold tier requires 50,000 Tier Miles, and Platinum tier requires 150,000 Tier Miles for qualification, respectively.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates Skywards has partners across airlines, banks, hotels, car rentals, and retail/lifestyle verticals.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: As of 2016, Emirates has frequent-flyer partnerships with Alaska Airlines, easyJet, Japan Airlines, Jet Airways, JetBlue, Jetstar, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, S7 Airlines, South African Airways, TAP Portugal, Virgin America, Air Mauritius, and GOL.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates Skywards has partnered with Starwood Preferred Guest (also known as SPG, the loyalty program of Starwood Hotels and Resorts) to bring its members Your World Rewards. This allows Emirates Skywards members to earn both Skywards Miles and Starpoints (the loyalty currency for SPG program) when they either fly with Emirates to over 150 destinations or stay at any of SPG's 1,200 Starwood Hotels and Resorts.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Another noteworthy partnership is Emirates Skywards partnership with Dubai Duty Free (DDF), which was launched in 2016. This partnership allows members to spend their Skywards Miles at participating DDF outlets when they travel through Dubai airports. Members can redeem their Skywards Miles for duty-free products at Dubai International airport and Al Maktoum International at Dubai South. Redemptions start from 4,500 Skywards Miles (worth AED 100), and members can instantly redeem Skywards Miles at the checkout. Each additional Dirham (AED) is equivalent to 45 Skywards Miles, with no upper limit to the number of Skywards Miles that can be spent.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: From 28 August 2016, Emirates Skywards enabled its members to use miles or a combination of cash and miles (Cash+Miles) to pay for an EK published fare as a form of payment.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: This benefit allows members to redeem a minimum of 2000 Skywards Miles and a maximum of total amount of base fare in Skywards Miles. Cash + miles is used as a form of payment for the base fare only and excludes taxes and carrier-imposed charges. This benefit is available on Emirates flights only and not available on any other airlines with which Emirates has a codeshare agreement.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Cash+Miles offers Emirates Skywards members more choice and flexibility when it comes to spending their Skywards Miles. This is available in all classes and is applicable to all fare types.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: The established network carriers in Europe and Australia, i.e. Air France-KLM, British Airways, Lufthansa, and Qantas, perceive Emirates' strategic decision to reposition itself as a global carrier as a major threat because it enables air travelers to bypass traditional airline hubs such as London-Heathrow, Paris-CDG, and Frankfurt on their way between Europe/North America and Asia/Australia by changing flights in Dubai, instead. These carriers also find it difficult to deal with the growing competitive threat Emirates poses to their business because of their much higher cost base.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Some of these carriers, notably Air France and Qantas, have accused Emirates of receiving hidden state subsidies and of maintaining too cozy a relationship with Dubai's airport authority and its aviation authority, both of which are also wholly state-owned entities that share the same government owner with the airline. Qantas' chairman claimed that Emirates can reduce its borrowing costs below market rates by taking advantage of its government shareholders' sovereign borrower status. Emirates' president disagrees and has also referred to United States airlines bankruptcy protection as being a tangible form of state assistance. The airline makes regular profits. In 2016, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and United Airlines made similar claims, as well as stating that Emirates violates Open Skies, but these conflicts were resolved in May 2018.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: In May 2010, Emirates executives refuted claims that the carrier does not pay taxes and receives substantial financial assistance from the Dubai government. They claimed that the airline received $80m in cash and kind in the 25 years since the airline was established and this was substantially lower than what other national carriers had received. Maurice Flanagan also claimed that Emirates incurred social costs of around $600m in 2009 and this included municipal taxes to the city of Dubai. The airline also paid a dividend of AED956m ($260m) in 2010, compared to AED2.9bn ($793m) in 2009, and each year the Government has received at least $100m in dividends.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: Emirates also faces competition from other Middle Eastern airlines, mainly Qatar Airways and Abu Dhabi–based Etihad Airways.


title: Emirates (airline)

text: On 15 June 2021, Emirates announced a loss of $5.5 billion over the year 2020-21 as revenue fell by more than 66% because of global travel restrictions sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. In more than three decades, this marks the first time that the Dubai-based airline's parent group has not churned out a profit.


title: Shinto

text: Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners "Shintoists", although adherents rarely use that term themselves. There is no central authority in control of Shinto, with much diversity of belief and practice evident among practitioners.


title: Shinto

text: A polytheistic and animistic religion, Shinto revolves around supernatural entities called the . The are believed to inhabit all things, including forces of nature and prominent landscape locations. The are worshiped at household shrines, family shrines, and "jinja" public shrines. The latter are staffed by priests, known as , who oversee offerings of food and drink to the specific enshrined at that location. This is done to cultivate harmony between humans and and to solicit the latter's blessing. Other common rituals include the dances, rites of passage, and seasonal festivals. Public shrines facilitate forms of divination and supply religious objects, such as amulets, to the religion's adherents. Shinto places a major conceptual focus on ensuring purity, largely by cleaning practices such as ritual washing and bathing, especially before worship. Little emphasis is placed on specific moral codes or particular afterlife beliefs, although the dead are deemed capable of becoming . The religion has no single creator or specific doctrine, and instead exists in a diverse range of local and regional forms.


title: Shinto

text: Although historians debate at what point it is suitable to refer to Shinto as a distinct religion, veneration has been traced back to Japan's Yayoi period (300 BCE to 300 CE). Buddhism entered Japan at the end of the Kofun period (300 to 538 CE) and spread rapidly. Religious syncretization made worship and Buddhism functionally inseparable, a process called "shinbutsu-shūgō". The came to be viewed as part of Buddhist cosmology and were increasingly depicted anthropomorphically. The earliest written tradition regarding worship was recorded in the 8th-century "Kojiki" and "Nihon Shoki". In ensuing centuries, was adopted by Japan's Imperial household. During the Meiji era (1868 to 1912), Japan's nationalist leadership expelled Buddhist influence from worship and formed State Shinto, which some historians regard as the origin of Shinto as a distinct religion. Shrines came under growing government influence, and citizens were encouraged to worship the emperor as a . With the formation of the Japanese Empire in the early 20th century, Shinto was exported to other areas of East Asia. Following Japan's defeat in World War II, Shinto was formally separated from the state.


title: Shinto

text: Shinto is primarily found in Japan, where there are around 100,000 public shrines, although practitioners are also found abroad. Numerically, it is Japan's largest religion, the second being Buddhism. Most of the country's population takes part in both Shinto and Buddhist activities, especially festivals, reflecting a common view in Japanese culture that the beliefs and practices of different religions need not be exclusive. Aspects of Shinto have been incorporated into various Japanese new religious movements.


title: Shinto

text: There is no universally agreed definition of Shinto. However, the authors Joseph Cali and John Dougill stated that if there was "one single, broad definition of Shinto" that could be put forward, it would be that "Shinto is a belief in ", the supernatural entities at the centre of the religion. The Japanologist Helen Hardacre stated that "Shinto encompasses doctrines, institutions, ritual, and communal life based on worship", while the scholar of religion Inoue Nobutaka observed the term "Shinto" was "often used" in "reference to worship and related theologies, rituals and practices". Various scholars have referred to practitioners of Shinto as "Shintoists", although this term has no direct translation in the Japanese language.


title: Shinto

text: Scholars have debated at what point in history it is legitimate to start talking about Shinto as a specific phenomenon. The scholar of religion Ninian Smart suggested that one could "speak of the religion of Japan, which lived symbiotically with organized Buddhism, and only later was institutionalized as Shinto." While several institutions and practices now associated with Shinto existed in Japan by the 8th century, various scholars have argued that Shinto as a distinct religion was essentially "invented" during the 19th century, in Japan's Meiji era. The scholar of religion Brian Bocking stressed that, especially when dealing with periods before the Meiji era, the term "Shinto" should "be approached with caution". Inoue Nobutaka stated that "Shinto cannot be considered as a single religious system that existed from the ancient to the modern period", while the historian Kuroda Toshio noted that "before modern times Shinto did not exist as an independent religion".


title: Shinto

text: Many scholars describe Shinto as a religion, a term first translated into Japanese as "shūkyō" around the time of the Meiji Restoration. Some practitioners instead view Shinto as a "way", thus characterising it more as custom or tradition, partly as an attempt to circumvent the modern separation of religion and state and restore Shinto's historical links with the Japanese state. Moreover, religion as a concept arose in Europe and many of the connotations that the term has in Western culture "do not readily apply" to Shinto. Unlike religions familiar in Western countries, such as Christianity and Islam, Shinto has no single founder, nor any single canonical text. Western religions tend to stress exclusivity, but in Japan, it has long been considered acceptable to practice different religious traditions simultaneously. Japanese religion is therefore highly pluralistic. Shinto is often cited alongside Buddhism as one of Japan's two main religions, and the two often differ in focus, with Buddhism emphasising the idea of transcending the cosmos, which it regards as being replete with suffering, while Shinto focuses on adapting to life's pragmatic requirements. Shinto has integrated elements from religions imported from mainland Asia, such as Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Chinese divination practices, and shares features like its polytheism with other East Asian religions.


title: Shinto

text: Scholars of religion have debated how to classify Shinto. Inoue considered it part of "the family of East-Asian religions". The philosopher Stuart D. B. Picken suggested that Shinto be classed as a world religion, while the historian H. Byron Earhart called it a "major religion". Shinto is also often described as an indigenous religion, although this generates debates over the different definitions of "indigenous" in the Japanese context. The notion of Shinto as Japan's "indigenous religion" stemmed from the growth of modern nationalism between the Edo and Meiji periods; this view promoted the idea that Shinto's origins were prehistoric and that it represented something like the "underlying will of Japanese culture". The prominent Shinto theologian Sokyo Ono, for instance, said worship was "an expression" of the Japanese "native racial faith which arose in the mystic days of remote antiquity" and that it was "as indigenous as the people that brought the Japanese nation into existence". Many scholars regard this classification as inaccurate. Earhart noted that Shinto, in having absorbed much Chinese and Buddhist influence, was "too complex to be labelled simply [as an] indigenous religion". In the early 21st century it became increasingly common for practitioners to call Shinto a nature religion, which critics saw as a strategy to disassociate the tradition from controversial issues surrounding militarism and imperialism.


title: Shinto

text: Shinto displays substantial local variation; the anthropologist John K. Nelson noted it was "not a unified, monolithic entity that has a single center and system all its own". Different types of Shinto have been identified. "Shrine Shinto" refers to the practices centred around shrines, and "Domestic Shinto" to the ways in which are venerated in the home. Some scholars have used the term "Folk Shinto" to designate localised Shinto practices, or practices outside of an institutionalised setting. In various eras of the past, there was also a "State Shinto", in which Shinto beliefs and practices were closely interlinked with the Japanese state. In representing "a portmanteau term" for many varied traditions across Japan, the term "Shinto" is similar to the term "Hinduism", used to describe varied traditions across South Asia.


title: Shinto

text: The term "Shinto" is often translated into English as "the way of the ", although its meaning has varied throughout Japanese history. Other terms are sometimes used synonymously with "Shinto"; these include ' (, "the way of the "), ' (, also written or , "the way of the from time immemorial"), ' (, "the ancient way"), ' (, "the great way"), and "" (, "the imperial way").


title: Shinto

text: The term "Shinto" derives from the combination of two Chinese characters: "shen" (), which means "spirit," and "dao" (), which means "way", "road" or "path". "Shendao" () was a term already used in the "Yijing" referring to the divine order of nature. Around the time of the spread of Buddhism in the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), it was used to distinguish indigenous Chinese religions from the imported religion. Ge Hong used it in his "Baopuzi" as a synonym for Taoism.


title: Shinto

text: The Chinese term "Shendao" was originally adopted into Japanese as "Jindō"; this was possibly first used as a Buddhist term to refer to non-Buddhist deities. Among the earliest known appearances of the term "Shinto" in Japan is in the 8th-century text, "Nihon Shoki". Here, it may be a generic term for popular belief, or alternatively reference Taoism, as many Taoist practices had recently been imported from mainland Asia. In these early Japanese uses, the word "Shinto" did not apply to a distinct religious tradition nor to anything uniquely Japanese; the 11th century "Konjaku monogatarishui" for instance refers to a woman in China practicing "Shinto", and also to people in India worshipping , indicating these terms were being used to describe religions outside Japan itself.


title: Shinto

text: In medieval Japan, -worship was generally seen as being part of Japanese Buddhism, with the themselves often interpreted as Buddhas. At this point, the term "Shinto" increasingly referred to "the authority, power, or activity of a , being a , or, in short, the state or attributes of a ." It appears in this form in texts such as "" and "Shintōshū" tales. In the "Japanese Portuguese Dictionary" of 1603, "Shinto" is defined as referring to " or matters pertaining to ." The term "Shinto" became common in the 15th century. During the late Edo period, the scholars began using the term "Shinto" to describe what they believed was an ancient, enduring and indigenous Japanese tradition that predated Buddhism; they argued that "Shinto" should be used to distinguish worship from traditions like Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. This use of the term "Shinto" became increasingly popular from the 18th century. The term "Shinto" has been commonly used only since the early 20th century, when it superseded the term ('great religion') as the name for the Japanese state religion.


title: Shinto

text: Shinto is polytheistic, involving the veneration of many deities known as , or sometimes as . In Japanese, no distinction is made here between singular and plural, and hence the term refers both to individual and the collective group of . Although lacking a direct English translation, the term has sometimes been rendered as "god" or "spirit". The historian of religion Joseph Kitagawa deemed these English translations "quite unsatisfactory and misleading", and various scholars urge against translating into English. In Japanese, it is often said that there are eight million , a term which connotes an infinite number, and Shinto practitioners believe that they are present everywhere. They are not regarded as omnipotent, omniscient, or necessarily immortal.


title: Shinto

text: The term is "conceptually fluid", being "vague and imprecise". In Japanese it is often applied to the power of phenomena that inspire a sense of wonder and awe in the beholder. Kitagawa referred to this as "the nature", stating that he thought it "somewhat analogous" to the Western ideas of the numinous and the sacred. are seen to inhabit both the living and the dead, organic and inorganic matter, and natural disasters like earthquakes, droughts, and plagues; their presence is seen in natural forces such as the wind, rain, fire, and sunshine. Accordingly, Nelson commented that Shinto regards "the "actual phenomena" of the world itself" as being "divine". This perspective has been characterised as being animistic.


title: Shinto

text: In Japan, have been venerated since prehistory. During the Yayoi period they were regarded as being formless and invisible, later coming to be depicted anthropomorphically under Buddhist influence. Now, statues of the are known as . are usually associated with a specific place, often a prominent landscape feature such as a waterfall, mountain, large rock, or distinctive tree. Physical objects or places in which the are believed to have a presence are termed ; objects inhabited by the that are placed in the shrine are known as . Objects commonly chosen for this purpose include mirrors, swords, stones, beads, and inscribed tablets. These are concealed from the view of visitors, and may be hidden inside boxes so that even the priests do not know what they look like.


title: Shinto

text: Although some are venerated only in a single location, others have shrines across many areas. Hachiman for instance has around 25,000 shrines dedicated to him, while Inari has 40,000. The act of establishing a new shrine to a who already has one is called ("dividing the spirit"). As part of this, the is invited to enter a new place, with the instalment ceremony known as a . The new, subsidiary shrine is known as a . Individual are not believed to have their power diminished by their residence in multiple locations, and there is no limit on the number of places a can be enshrined. In some periods, fees were charged for the right to enshrine a particular in a new place. Shrines are not necessarily always designed as permanent structures.


title: Shinto

text: Many have messengers, known as or , that generally take animal forms. Inari's messenger, for example, is a fox ("kitsune"), while Hachiman's is a dove.


title: Shinto

text: Shinto cosmology also includes spirits who cause malevolent acts, , a category including , , , , and . Japanese folklore also incorporates belief in the or , unquiet or vengeful spirits, particularly of those who died violently and without appropriate funerary rites. These are believed to inflict suffering on the living, meaning that they must be pacified, usually through Buddhist rites but sometimes through enshrining them as a . Other Japanese supernatural figures include the , animal-like creatures who can take human form.


title: Shinto

text: Although the narratives differ in detail, the origin of the and of Japan itself are recounted in two 8th-century texts, "Kojiki" and "Nihon Shoki". Drawing heavily on Chinese influence, these texts were commissioned by ruling elites to legitimize and consolidate their rule. Although never of great importance to Japanese religious life, in the early 20th century the government proclaimed that their accounts were factual.


title: Shinto

text: The "Kojiki" recounts that the universe started with , the separation of light and pure elements (, "heaven") from heavy elements (, "earth"). Three then appeared: Amenominakanushi, Takamimusuhi no Mikoto, and Kamimusuhi no Mikoto. Other followed, including a brother and sister, Izanagi and Izanami. The instructed Izanagi and Izanami to create land on earth. To this end, the siblings stirred the briny sea with a jewelled spear, from which Onogoro Island was formed. Izanagi and Izanami then descended to Earth, where the latter gave birth to further . One of these was a fire , whose birth killed Izanami. Izanagi descended to to retrieve his sister, but there he saw her body putrefying. Embarrassed to be seen in this state, she chased him out of , and he closed its entrance with a boulder.


title: Shinto

text: Izanagi bathed in the sea to rid himself from the pollution brought about by witnessing Izanami's putrefaction. Through this act, further emerged from his body: Amaterasu (the sun ) was born from his left eye, Tsukuyomi (the moon ) from his right eye, and Susanoo (the storm ) from his nose. Susanoo behaved in a destructive manner, to escape him Amaterasu hid herself within a cave, plunging the earth into darkness. The other eventually succeeded in coaxing her out. Susanoo was then banished to earth, where he married and had children. According to the "Kojiki", Amaterasu then sent her grandson, Ninigi, to rule Japan, giving him curved beads, a mirror, and a sword: the symbols of Japanese imperial authority. Amaterasu remains probably Japan's most venerated .


title: Shinto

text: In Shinto, the creative principle permeating all life is known as , and is associated with its own . Within traditional Japanese thought, there is no concept of an overarching duality between good and evil. The concept of encompasses misfortune, unhappiness, and disaster, although it does not correspond precisely with the Western concept of evil. There is no eschatology in Shinto. Texts such as the "Kojiki" and "Nihon Shoki" portray multiple realms in Shinto cosmology. These present a universe divided into three parts: the Plain of High Heaven (), where the live; the Phenomenal or Manifested World (), where humans dwell; and the Nether World (), where unclean spirits reside. The mythological texts nevertheless do not draw firm demarcations between these realms.


title: Shinto

text: Modern Shinto places greater emphasis on this life than on any afterlife, although does espouse belief in a human spirit or soul, the or , which contains four aspects. While indigenous ideas about an afterlife were probably well-developed prior to Buddhism's arrival, contemporary Japanese people often adopt Buddhist afterlife beliefs.


title: Shinto

text: Mythological stories like the "Kojiki" describe or as a realm of the dead, although this plays no role in modern Shinto. Modern Shinto ideas about the afterlife largely revolve around the idea that the spirit survives bodily death and continues to assist the living. After 33 years, it then becomes part of the family . These ancestral spirits are sometimes thought to reside in the mountains, from where they descend to take part in agricultural events. Shinto's afterlife beliefs also include the , restless spirits who died in bad circumstances and often seek revenge.


title: Shinto

text: A key theme in Shinto is the avoidance of "kegare" ("pollution" or "impurity"), while ensuring "harae" ("purity"). In Japanese thought, humans are seen as fundamentally pure. "Kegare" is therefore seen as being a temporary condition that can be corrected through achieving "harae". Rites of purification are conducted so as to restore an individual to "spiritual" health and render them useful to society.


title: Shinto

text: This notion of purity is present in many facets of Japanese culture, such as the focus it places on bathing. Purification is for instance regarded as important in preparation for the planting season, while performers of noh theatre undergo a purification rite before they carry out their performances. Among the things regarded as particular pollutants in Shinto are death, disease, witchcraft, the flaying alive of an animal, incest, bestiality, excrement, and blood associated with either menstruation or childbirth. To avoid "kegare", priests and other practitioners may engage in abstinence and avoid various activities prior to a festival or ritual.


title: Shinto

text: Various words, termed "imi-kotoba", are also regarded as taboo, and people avoid speaking them when at a shrine; these include "shi" (death), "byō" (illness), and "shishi" (meat).


title: Shinto

text: A purification ceremony known as "misogi" involves the use of fresh water, salt water, or salt to remove "kegare". Full immersion in the sea is often regarded as the most ancient and efficacious form of purification. This act links with the mythological tale in which Izanagi immersed himself in the sea to purify himself after discovering his deceased wife; it was from this act that other kami sprang from his body. An alternative is immersion beneath a waterfall. Salt is often regarded as a purifying substance; some Shinto practitioners will for instance sprinkle salt on themselves after a funeral, while those running restaurants may put a small pile of salt outside before business commences each day. Fire, also, is perceived as a source of purification. The "yaku-barai" is a form of harae designed to prevent misfortune, while the "oharae", or "ceremony of great purification", is often used for end-of-year purification rites, and is conducted twice a year at many shrines. Before the Meiji period, rites of purification were generally performed by onmyōji, a type of diviner whose practices derived from the Chinese yin and yang philosophy.


title: Shinto

text: Shinto incorporates morality tales and myths but no codified ethical doctrine, and thus no "unified, systematized code of behaviour". An ethical system nevertheless arises from its practice, with emphasis placed on sincerity ("makoto"), honesty ("tadashii"), hard work ("tsui-shin"), and thanksgiving ("kansha") directed towards the "kami". "Shojiki" is regarded as a virtue, encompassing honesty, uprightness, veracity, and frankness. Shinto sometimes includes reference to four virtues known as the "akaki kiyoki kokoro" or "sei-mei-shin", meaning "purity and cheerfulness of heart", which are linked to the state of "harae". Attitudes to sex and fertility tend to be forthright in Shinto. Shinto's flexibility regarding morality and ethics has been a source of frequent criticism, especially from those arguing that the religion can readily become a pawn for those wishing to use it to legitimise their authority and power.


title: Shinto

text: In Shinto, "kannagara" ("way of the kami") is the law of the natural order, with "wa" ("benign harmony") being inherent in all things. Disrupting "wa" is deemed bad, contributing to it is thought good; as such, subordination of the individual to the larger social unit has long been a characteristic of the religion. Throughout Japanese history, the notion of "saisei-itchi", or the union of religious authority and political authority, has long been prominent. In the modern world, Shinto has tended toward conservatism, as well as nationalism, an association that results in various Japanese civil liberties groups and neighboring countries regarding Shinto suspiciously. Particularly controversial has been the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, devoted to Japan's war dead. In 1979 it enshrined 14 men who had been declared Class-A defendants at the 1946 Tokyo War Crimes Trials, generating domestic and international condemnation, particularly from China and Korea.


title: Shinto

text: Shinto priests face ethical conundrums. In the 1980s, for instance, priests at the Suwa Shrine in Nagasaki debated whether to invite the crew of a U.S. Navy vessel docked at the port city to their festival celebrations given the sensitivities surrounding the 1945 U.S. use of the atomic bomb on the city. In other cases, priests have opposed construction projects on shrine-owned land; at Kaminoseki in the early 2000s, a priest was pressured to resign after opposing the sale of shrine lands to build a nuclear power plant.


title: Shinto

text: In the 21st century, Shinto has increasingly been portrayed as a nature-centred spirituality with environmentalist credentials; several shrines have collaborated with local environmentalist campaigns, while an international interfaith conference on environmental sustainability was held at the Ise shrine in 2014. Critical commentators have characterised the presentation of Shinto as an environmentalist movement as a rhetorical ploy rather than a concerted effort by Shinto institutions to become environmentally sustainable.


title: Shinto

text: Shinto focuses on ritual behavior rather than doctrine. The philosophers James W. Boyd and Ron G. Williams stated that Shinto is "first and foremost a ritual tradition", while Picken observed that "Shinto is interested not in "credenda" but in "agenda", not in things that should be believed but in things that should be done." The scholar of religion Clark B. Offner stated that Shinto's focus was on "maintaining communal, ceremonial traditions for the purpose of human (communal) well-being".


title: Shinto

text: It is often difficult to distinguish Shinto practices from Japanese customs more broadly, with Picken observing that the "worldview of Shinto" provided the "principal source of self-understanding within the Japanese way of life". Nelson stated that "Shinto-based orientations and values[…] lie at the core of Japanese culture, society, and character".


title: Shinto

text: Public spaces in which the kami are worshipped are often known under the generic term "jinja" ("kami-place"); this term applies to the location rather than to a specific building. "Jinja" is usually translated as "shrine" in English, although in earlier literature was sometimes translated as "temple", a term now more commonly reserved for Japan's Buddhist structures. There are around 100,000 public shrines in Japan; about 80,000 are affiliated with the Association of Shinto Shrines, with another 20,000 being unaffiliated. They are found all over the country, from isolated rural areas to dense metropolitan ones. More specific terms are sometimes used for certain shrines depending on their function; some of the grand shrines with imperial associations are termed "jingū", those devoted to the war dead are termed "shokonsha", and those linked to mountains deemed to be inhabited by kami are "yama-miya".


title: Shinto

text: Jinja typically consist of complexes of multiple buildings, with the architectural styles of shrines having largely developed by the Heian period. The inner sanctuary in which the kami lives is the "honden". Inside the honden may be stored material belonging to the kami; known as "shinpo", this can include artworks, clothing, weapons, musical instruments, bells, and mirrors. Typically, worshippers carry out their acts outside of the honden. Near the honden can sometimes be found a subsidiary shrine, the "bekkū", to another kami; the kami inhabiting this shrine is not necessarily perceived as being inferior to that in the honden. At some places, halls of worship have been erected, termed "haiden". On a lower level can be found the hall of offerings, known as a "heiden". Together, the building housing the honden, haiden, and heiden is called a "hongū". In some shrines, there is a separate building in which to conduct additional ceremonies, such as weddings, known as a "gishikiden", or a specific building in which the "kagura" dance is performed, known as the "kagura-den". Collectively, the central buildings of a shrine are known as the "shaden", while its precincts are known as the "keidaichi" or "shin'en". This precinct is surrounded by the "tamagaki" fence, with entry via a "shinmon" gate, which can be closed at night.


title: Shinto

text: Shrine entrances are marked by a two-post gateway with either one or two crossbeams atop it, known as "torii". The exact details of these torii varies and there are at least twenty different styles. These are regarded as demarcating the area where the kami resides; passing under them is often viewed as a form of purification. More broadly, torii are internationally recognised symbols of Japan. Their architectural form is distinctly Japanese, although the decision to paint most of them in vermillion reflects a Chinese influence dating from the Nara period. Also set at the entrances to many shrines are "komainu", statues of lion or dog like animals perceived to scare off malevolent spirits; typically these will come as a pair, one with its mouth open, the other with its mouth closed.