title: HAL Tejas

text: In April 2018, the IAF's entire fleet of Tejas Mark 1 aircraft participated in the Gagan Shakti 2018 exercise. It was the IAF's largest air exercise, involving 1,100 aircraft and 15,000 military personnel. During the exercise, the Tejas were deployed to forward bases and demonstrated their reliability and precision strike capability. In 2019, six Tejas fighter jets participated in the Vayu Shakti air exercise, where it has demonstrated its "swing role" capability.


title: HAL Tejas

text: According to the commanding officer of No. 45 Squadron – Group Captain Samrath Dhankhar, DASH IV HMDS enables the Tejas pilot to take full advantage of high off-boresight close combat missiles, such as – Python-5 and R-73.


title: HAL Tejas

text: On 18 August 2020, IAF deployed the No. 45 Squadron "Flying Dagger" on the western front along the Pakistani border (line of control). It was the first operational deployment of Tejas.


title: HAL Tejas

text: On 27 April 2021, Tejas Mark 1 successfully test fired Python-5 high off-boresight (HOBS) close combat missile and further validated enhanced capability of I-Derby ER (extended range) BVR missile. Both missiles scored direct hits on targets during the trial.


title: HAL Tejas

text: HAL proposed exporting the Tejas, with preliminary talks taking place with several friendly countries. It was reported in March 2020 that HAL is willing to set up logistic facilities in Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam as part of exporting the Tejas.


title: HAL Tejas

text: During the Dubai Airshow 2021, Egyptian officials expressed their interest in procuring 70 LCA Tejas to replace their 100 Chinese-made Hongdu JL-8 trainers. Following the Dubai Airshow 2021, HAL and Indian Air Force officials visited Cairo and discussions were going on. As of June 2022, India has offered to set up local production facilities for the LCA Tejas and also for the Light Utility and Light Combat Helicopters in Egypt.


title: HAL Tejas

text: Malaysia has frequently indicated that it may be interested in purchasing the HAL Tejas for the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), as part of its attempts to supplement its MiG-29 fleet; reports of Malaysian interest in procuring the aircraft date back to as early as 2019.


title: HAL Tejas

text: In March 2019, the HAL Tejas made its international debut at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA); its presence reportedly generated a great deal of interest, especially amongst the RMAF and then-Malaysian PM Mahathir bin Mohamad.


title: HAL Tejas

text: However, in mid-2019, HAL's prospects of exporting the HAL Tejas to Malaysia were severely blemished, owing to diplomatic tussles between India and Malaysia — most particularly Malaysia's contentious remarks over India's abrogation of Article 370 and India's retaliatory move of boycotting Malaysian-produced palm oil. The diplomatic skirmishes ceased in 2020, following Mahathir's resignation as PM and the restitution of the Indo-Malaysian palm oil trade.


title: HAL Tejas

text: In 2021, an RMAF delegation reportedly visited HAL's manufacturing-facility at [Bangalore]] to assess the suitability of the HAL Tejas, possibly in anticipation of a possible order — reaffirming Malaysia's interest in the aircraft.


title: HAL Tejas

text: In June 2021, the RMAF formally released a tender for the supply of 18 light combat-aircraft - dubbed as the "Fighter Lead In Trainer-Light Combat Aircraft" (FLIT/LCA), in an effort to supplant its ageing BAE Hawk 108/208 light-combat aircraft and its MB-339CM trainers. The RMAF later issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to nine different aircraft-manufacturing conglomerates in July, with a submission-deadline of September 2021 (this would later be extended to October 2021).


title: HAL Tejas

text: In October 2021, the RMAF confirmed that the HAL — offering the HAL Tejas MK1A, had submitted its bid for the FLIT/LCA tender, along with five other international firms — Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) (offering the KAI FA-50), China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC) (offering the HAIC L-15), Leonardo S.p.A. (offering the Aermacchi M-346), Turkish Aerospace Industries (offering the TAI Hürjet) and Rosoboronexport (offering the Mikoyan MiG-35). Coincidentally, the JF-17 — which was reported to be a leading choice for the RMAF, had not participated in the FLIT/LCA tender.


title: HAL Tejas

text: Later that year, HAL signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MMTC Ltd — a public sector firm, as a channelizing partner to facilitate the import of palm oil as a counter-trade to any potential sale of the HAL Tejas to the RMAF; this arrangement was initiated to fulfill a mandatory requirement of the RMAF — which stipulates that 50% of the total cost of the FLIT/LCA tender must be paid the winning contender through means of barter trade. HAL also signed another MOU with Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation (BHIC) — a major Malaysia-based defense contractor, to fulfill another mandatory condition of the RMAF — stipulating that the winning contender must locally procure at least 30% of products or services from Malaysian companies in the deal; the HAL-BHIC joint venture would offer a provision of "Depot Level Maintenance" i.e. providing reliability, availability, maintainability and supportability (RAMS) to the RMAF, should HAL win the FLIT/LCA tender.


title: HAL Tejas

text: In July 2022, HAL announced that Malaysia has picked the Tejas to potentially replace its MiG-29s as negotiations are in the final stage.


title: HAL Tejas

text: The Tejas has attracted interest from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with some discussions held during a visit by UAE Minister of State and Defence, Mohammed Ahmed Al Bowardi Al Falacy, during a state visit in October 2018, as part of growing defence relations between India and UAE. Although as of May 2022, there has been little follow-up on the aforementioned interest.


title: HAL Tejas

text: The Argentine Air Force (FAA) has periodically indicated its interest in possibly purchasing the HAL Tejas, as part of its modernization initiative. In October 2021, FAA chief-of-staff Brigadier Xavier Julian Isaac confirmed that HAL had offered the HAL Tejas to the FAA, amidst other offers of the JF-17 from China and the MiG-35 from Russia. Multiple sources have also indicated that the HAL Tejas may likely be a good option for the FAA.


title: HAL Tejas

text: However, any potential sale of the HAL Tejas to Argentina may likely be threatened by UK-imposed arms sanctions; the United Kingdom has barred any sale of military-equipment consisting of UK-manufactured parts to Argentina, ever since the British-Argentine Falklands War of 1982. Argentina's earlier efforts to procure other fighter aircraft, including the Mirage F1M, the IAI Kfir, the JAS 39 Gripen and the KAI FA-50 were scuttled due to UK-diplomatic pressure, since the aforementioned aircraft were found to contain UK-origin parts.


title: HAL Tejas

text: Given the nature of the Argentine-specific sanctions, the HAL Tejas would essentially be subject to UK-scrutiny, since it utilizes the British-origin MK16 IN16 GS Tejas ejection seat manufactured by Martin-Baker, along with other British-origin components — including an aerial-refueling probe and a quartz radome, both supplied by Cobham Limited. Nevertheless, HAL has reportedly offered a customised-variant of the HAL Tejas to the FAA, which includes a retrofit of about 50-specific components and the substitution of all major British-origin components — including the ejection seat and the aerial-refueling probe, with diplomatically suitable alternatives; however, any customisation to the HAL Tejas would encompass considerable changes to the aircraft's design and additional flight certification.


title: HAL Tejas

text: On September 21, 2022, there was an indication that the Argentine Air Force was willing to look at the JF-17 because of concerns that the time and money required to modify the Tejas to remove non-British parts was beyond what Buenos Aires wass willing to spend.


title: HAL Tejas

text: In December 2022, the Argentine government decided to abandon the decision to acquire new fighter aircraft. With President Alberto Fernandez stating in an interview that “Argentina has to allocate its resources to more important things than the purchase of military aircraft. We are in a very unequal continent, but there are no war problems and unity among countries is sought."


title: HAL Tejas

text: In July 2020, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) had issued a tender, seeking a new jet trainer to replace its fleet of BAE Hawk 127 trainer aircraft. According to HAL's "58th Annual Report" covering 2020–2021, HAL had offered the HAL Tejas in its "Lead in Fighter Trainer" (LIFT) configuration to Australia's Department of Defence (DoD) in July 2020. Other aircraft also reported to be participating in the tender are the Boeing-Saab T-7 Red Hawk, the Aermacchi M-346 Master and the KAI T-50.


title: HAL Tejas

text: However, the Australian Government rejected a government to government deal proposed by the Indian government for 35 Tejas LIFT aircraft for US $1 billion. The Indian Express reported Australia's lack of interest in the offer.


title: HAL Tejas

text: In February 2022, the Australian government decided to upgrade its BAE Hawks with new engines and avionics, extending their lifespan until 2032.


title: HAL Tejas

text: In May 2022, India and the Philippines signed an MOU, which mentioned the consideration of purchasing the Tejas and other Indian-made aircraft. On July 7, 2022, the Tejas was dropped from further consideration from the multi-role fighter jet (MRF) project. The F-16V Block 70/72 and the JAS-39 Gripen C/D+ are the main contenders for the Philippine Air Force's MRF project.


title: HAL Tejas

text: It has been reported that Sri Lanka has shown interest in purchasing the Tejas to replace its aging fleets of IAI Kfir and Chengdu J-7 aircraft. The programme is for the acquisition of 8 to 12 aircraft and is to be pursued through a government-government basic agreement. In 2021, it was decided to overhaul the Kfirs, instead of buying new aircraft, which would cost around $40 million per unit compared to $49 million in total for overhauling the five Kfirs.


title: HAL Tejas

text: In December 2020, in response to a Request for Information (RFI) from the United States Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), HAL offered the "Lead In Fighter Trainer" variant of the HAL Tejas — classified as the "HAL Tejas LIFT", to the United States Navy (USN), as part the latter's initiative to replace its fleet of T-45 Goshawk trainer aircraft, dubbed the "Undergraduate Jet Training System". Other aircraft participating in the UJTS, are the T-7 Red Hawk — offered by Boeing in partnership with Saab, and the KAI T-50A Golden Eagle — offered by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), in partnership with Lockheed Martin.


title: HAL Tejas

text: Despite being the only aircraft among the three to be reportedly capable of undertaking operations from an aircraft carrier, the prospects of the USN selecting the HAL Tejas LIFT are reputedly slim, according to multiple sources. Several reasons suggested as the cause of the LIFT's bleak prospects in the UJTS are attributed to the fact that HAL has refrained from partnering with a US-based company to offer the LIFT (unlike the consortiums of Boeing-Saab and KAI-Lockheed Martin, offering the T-7 and the T-50A, respectively), a lack of export orders for the type, and its delta-wing design — which makes it less-suitable for low-speed landing.


title: HAL Tejas

text: Aircraft already built and projected models to be built. Model designations, tail numbers and dates of first flight are shown.


title: HAL Tejas

text: Indian Air Force – 123 aircraft to be built. 40 Tejas Mark 1 ordered in March 2006 with deliveries beginning in 2016 (16 Mk1 IOC and 16 Mk1 FOC single-seater aircraft, 8 Mk1 FOC twin-seat trainers). 26 inducted by February 2022.


title: HAL Tejas

text: 83 aircraft ordered in February 2021 (73 Mk1A single-seater aircraft, 10 Mk1 FOC trainers), to be delivered in 2024-2028 timeframe.


title: Comoros

text: The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni. The religion of the majority of the population, and the official state religion, is Sunni Islam. As a member of the Arab League, it is the only country in the Arab world which is entirely in the Southern Hemisphere. Comoros proclaimed their independence on July 6, 1975. It is also a member state of the African Union, the "Organisation internationale de la Francophonie", the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Indian Ocean Commission. The country has three official languages: Chi Comori, French and Arabic.


title: Comoros

text: The sovereign state consists of three major islands and numerous smaller islands, all in the volcanic Comoro Islands with the notable exception of Mayotte. Mayotte voted against independence from France in a referendum in 1974, and has since then never been administered by an independent Comoros government, and continues to be administered by France as an overseas department. France has vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions that would affirm Comorian sovereignty over the island. Mayotte became an overseas department and a region of France in 2011 following a referendum which was passed overwhelmingly.


title: Comoros

text: At , the Comoros is the fourth-smallest African country by area. Its population is estimated at 850,886 residents as of 2019.


title: Comoros

text: The Comoros was likely first settled by Austronesian/Malagasy peoples, followed by Swahili peoples, Bantu speakers from East Africa, and seafaring Arab traders. It then became part of the French colonial empire during the 19th century, before its independence in 1975. Since then, it has experienced more than 20 coups or attempted coups, with various heads of state assassinated. Along with this constant political instability, it has one of the worst levels of income inequality of any nation, and ranks in the worst quartile on the Human Development Index. , about half the population lived below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day. The French insular region of Mayotte, the most prosperous territory in the Mozambique Channel, is a major destination for migrants from the Comoros.


title: Comoros

text: According to mythology, a jinni (spirit) dropped a jewel, which formed a great circular inferno. This became the Karthala volcano, which created the island of Grande Comore. King Solomon is also said to have visited the island.


title: Comoros

text: The first attested human inhabitants of the Comoro Islands are now thought to have been Austronesian settlers travelling by boat from islands in Southeast Asia. These people arrived no later than the eighth century AD, the date of the earliest known archaeological site, found on Mayotte, although settlement beginning as early as the first century has been postulated.


title: Comoros

text: Subsequent settlers came from the east coast of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf, the Malay Archipelago, and Madagascar. Bantu-speaking settlers were present on the islands from the beginnings of settlement, probably brought to the islands as slaves.


title: Comoros

text: Development of the Comoros is divided into phases. The earliest reliably recorded phase is the Dembeni phase (eighth to tenth centuries), during which there were several small settlements on each island. From the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries, trade with the island of Madagascar and merchants from the Swahili coast and the Middle East flourished, more villages were founded and existing villages grew. Many Comorians can trace their genealogies to ancestors from the Arabian peninsula, particularly Hadhramaut, who arrived during this period.


title: Comoros

text: According to legend, in 632, upon hearing of Islam, islanders are said to have dispatched an emissary, Mtswa-Mwindza, to Mecca—but by the time he arrived there, the Muslim Prophet Muhammad had died. Nonetheless, after a stay in Mecca, he returned to Ngazidja and led the gradual conversion of his islanders to Islam.


title: Comoros

text: Among the earliest accounts of East Africa, the works of Al-Masudi describe early Islamic trade routes, and how the coast and islands were frequently visited by Muslims including Persian and Arab merchants and sailors in search of coral, ambergris, ivory, tortoiseshell, gold and slaves. They also brought Islam to the people of the Zanj including the Comoros. As the importance of the Comoros grew along the East African coast, both small and large mosques were constructed. The Comoros are part of the Swahili cultural and economic complex and the islands became a major hub of trade and an important location in a network of trading towns that included Kilwa, in present-day Tanzania, Sofala (an outlet for Zimbabwean gold), in Mozambique, and Mombasa in Kenya.


title: Comoros

text: The Portuguese arrived in the Indian Ocean at the end of the 15th century and the first Portuguese visit to the islands seems to have been that of Vasco da Gama's second fleet in 1503. For much of the 16th century the islands provided provisions to the Portuguese fort at Mozambique and although there was no formal attempt by the Portuguese crown to take possession, a number of Portuguese traders settled.


title: Comoros

text: By the end of the 16th century the local rulers were beginning to push back and, with the support of the Omani Sultan Saif bin Sultan they began to defeat the Dutch and the Portuguese. His successor Said bin Sultan increased Omani Arab influence in the region, moving his administration to nearby Zanzibar, which came under Omani rule. Nevertheless, the Comoros remained independent, and although the three smaller islands were usually politically unified, the largest island, Ngazidja, was divided into a number of autonomous kingdoms ("ntsi").


title: Comoros

text: By the time Europeans showed interest in the Comoros, the islanders were well placed to take advantage of their needs, initially supplying ships on the route to India, particularly the English and, later, slaves to the plantation islands in the Mascarenes.


title: Comoros

text: In the last decade of the 18th century, Malagasy warriors, mostly Betsimisaraka and Sakalava, started raiding the Comoros for slaves and the islands were devastated as crops were destroyed and the people were slaughtered, taken into captivity or fled to the African mainland: it is said that by the time the raids finally ended in the second decade of the 19th century only one man remained on Mwali. The islands were repopulated by slaves from the mainland, who were traded to the French in Mayotte and the Mascarenes. On the Comoros, it was estimated in 1865 that as much as 40% of the population consisted of slaves.


title: Comoros

text: France first established colonial rule in the Comoros by taking possession of Mayotte in 1841 when the Sakalava usurper sultan (also known as Tsy Levalo) signed the Treaty of April 1841, which ceded the island to the French authorities.


title: Comoros

text: Meanwhile, Ndzwani (or Johanna as it was known to the British) continued to serve as a way station for English merchants sailing to India and the Far East, as well as American whalers, although the British gradually abandoned it following their possession of Mauritius in 1814, and by the time the Suez Canal opened in 1869 there was no longer any significant supply trade at Ndzwani. Local commodities exported by the Comoros were, in addition to slaves, coconuts, timber, cattle and tortoiseshell. French settlers, French-owned companies, and wealthy Arab merchants established a plantation-based economy that used about one-third of the land for export crops. After its annexation, France converted Mayotte into a sugar plantation colony. The other islands were soon transformed as well, and the major crops of ylang-ylang, vanilla, cloves, perfume plants, coffee, cocoa beans, and sisal were introduced.


title: Comoros

text: In 1886, Mwali was placed under French protection by its Sultan Mardjani Abdou Cheikh. That same year, Sultan Said Ali of Bambao, one of the sultanates on Ngazidja, placed the island under French protection in exchange for French support of his claim to the entire island, which he retained until his abdication in 1910. In 1908 the islands were unified under a single administration ("Colonie de Mayotte et dépendances") and placed under the authority of the French colonial Governor-General of Madagascar. In 1909, Sultan Said Muhamed of Ndzwani abdicated in favour of French rule. In 1912 the colony and the protectorates were abolished and the islands became a province of the colony of Madagascar.


title: Comoros

text: Agreement was reached with France in 1973 for the Comoros to become independent in 1978, despite the deputies of Mayotte voting for increased integration with France. A referendum was held on all four of the islands. Three voted for independence by large margins, while Mayotte voted against, and remains under French administration. On 6 July 1975, however, the Comorian parliament passed a unilateral resolution declaring independence. Ahmed Abdallah proclaimed the independence of the Comorian State ("État comorien"; دولة القمر) and became its first president. The French recognised the new state.


title: Comoros

text: The next 30 years were a period of political turmoil. On 3 August 1975, less than one month after independence, president Ahmed Abdallah was removed from office in an armed coup and replaced with United National Front of the Comoros (FNUK) member Said Mohamed Jaffar. Months later, in January 1976, Jaffar was ousted in favour of his Minister of Defence Ali Soilih.


title: Comoros

text: The population of Mayotte voted against independence from France in three referendums during this period. The first, held on all the islands on 22 December 1974, won 63.8% support for maintaining ties with France on Mayotte; the second, held in February 1976, confirmed that vote with an overwhelming 99.4%, while the third, in April 1976, confirmed that the people of Mayotte wished to remain a French territory. The three remaining islands, ruled by President Soilih, instituted a number of socialist and isolationist policies that soon strained relations with France. On 13 May 1978, Bob Denard, once again commissioned by the French intelligence service (SDECE), returned to overthrow President Soilih and reinstate Abdallah with the support of the French, Rhodesian and South African governments. Ali Soilih was captured and executed a few weeks later.


title: Comoros

text: In contrast to Soilih, Abdallah's presidency was marked by authoritarian rule and increased adherence to traditional Islam and the country was renamed the Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros ("République Fédérale Islamique des Comores"; جمهورية القمر الإتحادية الإسلامية). Bob Denard served as Abdallah Abderamane's first advisor; nicknamed the "Viceroy of the Comoros," he was sometimes considered the real strongman of the regime. Very close to South Africa, which financed his "presidential guard," he allowed Paris to circumvent the international embargo on the apartheid regime via Moroni. He also set up from the archipelago a permanent mercenary corps, called upon to intervene at the request of Paris or Pretoria in conflicts in Africa. Abdallah continued as president until 1989 when, fearing a probable coup, he signed a decree ordering the Presidential Guard, led by Bob Denard, to disarm the armed forces. Shortly after the signing of the decree, Abdallah was allegedly shot dead in his office by a disgruntled military officer, though later sources claim an antitank missile was launched into his bedroom and killed him. Although Denard was also injured, it is suspected that Abdallah's killer was a soldier under his command.


title: Comoros

text: A few days later, Bob Denard was evacuated to South Africa by French paratroopers. Said Mohamed Djohar, Soilih's older half-brother, then became president, and served until September 1995, when Bob Denard returned and attempted another coup. This time France intervened with paratroopers and forced Denard to surrender. The French removed Djohar to Reunion, and the Paris-backed Mohamed Taki Abdoulkarim became president by election. He led the country from 1996, during a time of labour crises, government suppression, and secessionist conflicts, until his death in November 1998. He was succeeded by Interim President Tadjidine Ben Said Massounde.


title: Comoros

text: The islands of Ndzwani and Mwali declared their independence from the Comoros in 1997, in an attempt to restore French rule. But France rejected their request, leading to bloody confrontations between federal troops and rebels. In April 1999, Colonel Azali Assoumani, Army Chief of Staff, seized power in a bloodless coup, overthrowing the Interim President Massounde, citing weak leadership in the face of the crisis. This was the Comoros' 18th coup, or attempted coup d'état since independence in 1975.


title: Comoros

text: Azali failed to consolidate power and reestablish control over the islands, which was the subject of international criticism. The African Union, under the auspices of President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, imposed sanctions on Ndzwani to help broker negotiations and effect reconciliation. Under the terms of the Fomboni Accords, signed in December 2001 by the leaders of all three islands, the official name of the country was changed to the Union of the Comoros; the new state was to be highly decentralised and the central union government would devolve most powers to the new island governments, each led by a president. The Union president, although elected by national elections, would be chosen in rotation from each of the islands every five years.


title: Comoros

text: Azali stepped down in 2002 to run in the democratic election of the President of the Comoros, which he won. Under ongoing international pressure, as a military ruler who had originally come to power by force, and was not always democratic while in office, Azali led the Comoros through constitutional changes that enabled new elections. A "Loi des compétences" law was passed in early 2005 that defines the responsibilities of each governmental body, and is in the process of implementation. The elections in 2006 were won by Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, a Sunni Muslim cleric nicknamed the "Ayatollah" for his time spent studying Islam in Iran. Azali honoured the election results, thus allowing the first peaceful and democratic exchange of power for the archipelago.


title: Comoros

text: Colonel Mohammed Bacar, a French-trained former gendarme elected President of Ndzwani in 2001, refused to step down at the end of his five-year mandate. He staged a vote in June 2007 to confirm his leadership that was rejected as illegal by the Comoros federal government and the African Union. On 25 March 2008 hundreds of soldiers from the African Union and the Comoros seized rebel-held Ndzwani, generally welcomed by the population: there have been reports of hundreds, if not thousands, of people tortured during Bacar's tenure.


title: Comoros

text: Some rebels were killed and injured, but there are no official figures. At least 11 civilians were wounded. Some officials were imprisoned. Bacar fled in a speedboat to Mayotte to seek asylum. Anti-French protests followed in the Comoros (see 2008 invasion of Anjouan). Bacar was eventually granted asylum in Benin.


title: Comoros

text: Following elections in late 2010, former Vice-President Ikililou Dhoinine was inaugurated as president on 26 May 2011. A member of the ruling party, Dhoinine was supported in the election by the incumbent President Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi. Dhoinine, a pharmacist by training, is the first President of the Comoros from the island of Mwali. Following the 2016 elections, Azali Assoumani, from Ngazidja, became president for a third term. In 2018 Azali held a referendum on constitutional reform that would permit a president to serve two terms. The amendments passed, although the vote was widely contested and boycotted by the opposition, and in April 2019, and to widespread opposition, Azali was re-elected president to serve the first of potentially two five-year terms.


title: Comoros

text: In January 2020, the legislative elections in Comoros were dominated by President Azali Assoumani's party, the Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros, CRC. It took an overwhelming majority in the parliament, meaning his hold on power strengthened. CRC took 17 out of 24 seats of the parliament.


title: Comoros

text: In 2021, Comoros signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, making it a nuclear-weapon-free state.


title: Comoros

text: The Comoros is formed by Ngazidja (Grande Comore), Mwali (Mohéli) and Ndzwani (Anjouan), three major islands in the Comoros Archipelago, as well as many minor islets. The islands are officially known by their Comorian language names, though international sources still use their French names (given in parentheses above). The capital and largest city, Moroni, is located on Ngazidja. The archipelago is situated in the Indian Ocean, in the Mozambique Channel, between the African coast (nearest to Mozambique and Tanzania) and Madagascar, with no land borders.


title: Comoros

text: At , it is one of the smallest countries in the world. The Comoros also has claim to of territorial seas. The interiors of the islands vary from steep mountains to low hills.


title: Comoros

text: Ngazidja is the largest of the Comoros Archipelago, with an area of 1,147 km. It is also the most recent island, and therefore has rocky soil. The island's two volcanoes, Karthala (active) and La Grille (dormant), and the lack of good harbours are distinctive characteristics of its terrain. Mwali, with its capital at Fomboni, is the smallest of the four major islands. Ndzwani, whose capital is Mutsamudu, has a distinctive triangular shape caused by three mountain chains – Shisiwani, Nioumakele and Jimilime – emanating from a central peak, ().


title: Comoros

text: The islands of the Comoros Archipelago were formed by volcanic activity. Mount Karthala, an active shield volcano located on Ngazidja, is the country's highest point, at . It contains the Comoros' largest patch of disappearing rainforest. Karthala is currently one of the most active volcanoes in the world, with a minor eruption in May 2006, and prior eruptions as recently as April 2005 and 1991. In the 2005 eruption, which lasted from 17 to 19 April, 40,000 citizens were evacuated, and the crater lake in the volcano's caldera was destroyed.


title: Comoros

text: The Comoros also lays claim to the "Îles Éparses" or "Îles éparses de l'océan indien" (Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean) – Glorioso Islands, comprising Grande Glorieuse, Île du Lys, Wreck Rock, South Rock, (three islets) and three unnamed islets – one of France's overseas districts. The Glorioso Islands were administered by the colonial Comoros before 1975, and are therefore sometimes considered part of the Comoros Archipelago. Banc du Geyser, a former island in the Comoros Archipelago, now submerged, is geographically located in the "Îles Éparses", but was annexed by Madagascar in 1976 as an unclaimed territory. The Comoros and France each still view the Banc du Geyser as part of the Glorioso Islands and, thus, part of its particular exclusive economic zone.


title: Comoros

text: The climate is generally tropical and mild, and the two major seasons are distinguishable by their raininess. The temperature reaches an average of in March, the hottest month in the rainy season (called kashkazi/kaskazi [meaning north monsoon], which runs from November to April), and an average low of in the cool, dry season (kusi (meaning south monsoon), which proceeds from May to October). The islands are rarely subject to cyclones.


title: Comoros

text: The Comoros constitute an ecoregion in their own right, Comoros forests. It had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.69/10, ranking it 33rd globally out of 172 countries.


title: Comoros

text: In December 1952 a specimen of the coelacanth fish was re-discovered off the Comoros coast. The 66 million-year-old species was thought to have been long extinct until its first recorded appearance in 1938 off the South African coast. Between 1938 and 1975, 84 specimens were caught and recorded.


title: Comoros

text: There are six national parks in the Comoros – Karthala, Coelocanth, and Mitsamiouli Ndroudi on Grande Comore, Mount Ntringui and Shisiwani on Anjouan, and Mohéli National Park on Mohéli. Karthala and Mount Ntrigui national parks cover the highest peaks on the respective islands, and Coelocanth, Mitsamiouli Ndroudi, and Shisiwani are marine national parks that protect the island's coastal waters and fringing reefs. Mohéli National Park includes both terrestrial and marine areas.


title: Comoros

text: Politics of the Comoros takes place in a framework of a federal presidential republic, whereby the President of the Comoros is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. The Constitution of the Union of the Comoros was ratified by referendum on 23 December 2001, and the islands' constitutions and executives were elected in the following months. It had previously been considered a military dictatorship, and the transfer of power from Azali Assoumani to Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi in May 2006 was a watershed moment as it was the first peaceful transfer in Comorian history.


title: Comoros

text: Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The preamble of the constitution guarantees an Islamic inspiration in governance, a commitment to human rights, and several specific enumerated rights, democracy, "a common destiny" for all Comorians. Each of the islands (according to Title II of the Constitution) has a great amount of autonomy in the Union, including having their own constitutions (or Fundamental Law), president, and Parliament. The presidency and Assembly of the Union are distinct from each of the islands' governments. The presidency of the Union rotates between the islands. Despite widespread misgivings about the durability of the system of presidential rotation, Ngazidja holds the current presidency rotation, and Azali is President of the Union; Ndzwani is in theory to provide the next president.


title: Comoros

text: The Comorian legal system rests on Islamic law, an inherited French (Napoleonic Code) legal code, and customary law (mila na ntsi). Village elders, kadis or civilian courts settle most disputes. The judiciary is independent of the legislative and the executive. The Supreme Court acts as a Constitutional Council in resolving constitutional questions and supervising presidential elections. As High Court of Justice, the Supreme Court also arbitrates in cases where the government is accused of malpractice. The Supreme Court consists of two members selected by the president, two elected by the Federal Assembly, and one by the council of each island.


title: Comoros

text: Around 80 percent of the central government's annual budget is spent on the country's complex administrative system which provides for a semi-autonomous government and president for each of the three islands and a rotating presidency for the overarching Union government. A referendum took place on 16 May 2009 to decide whether to cut down the government's unwieldy political bureaucracy. 52.7% of those eligible voted, and 93.8% of votes were cast in approval of the referendum. Following the implementation of the changes, each island's president became a governor and the ministers became councillors.


title: Comoros

text: In November 1975, the Comoros became the 143rd member of the United Nations. The new nation was defined as comprising the entire archipelago, although the citizens of Mayotte chose to become French citizens and keep their island as a French territory.


title: Comoros

text: The Comoros has repeatedly pressed its claim to Mayotte before the United Nations General Assembly, which adopted a series of resolutions under the caption "Question of the Comorian Island of Mayotte", opining that Mayotte belongs to the Comoros under the principle that the territorial integrity of colonial territories should be preserved upon independence. As a practical matter, however, these resolutions have little effect and there is no foreseeable likelihood that Mayotte will become "de facto" part of the Comoros without its people's consent. More recently, the Assembly has maintained this item on its agenda but deferred it from year to year without taking action. Other bodies, including the Organization of African Unity, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, have similarly questioned French sovereignty over Mayotte. To close the debate and to avoid being integrated by force in the Union of the Comoros, the population of Mayotte overwhelmingly chose to become an overseas department and a region of France in a 2009 referendum. The new status was effective on 31 March 2011 and Mayotte has been recognised as an outermost region by the European Union on 1 January 2014. This decision legally integrates Mayotte in the French Republic.


title: Comoros

text: The Comoros is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, the Arab League, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Indian Ocean Commission and the African Development Bank. On 10 April 2008, the Comoros became the 179th nation to accept the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Comoros signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.


title: Comoros

text: In May 2013 the Union of the Comoros became known for filing a referral to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding the events of "the 31 May 2010 Israeli raid on the Humanitarian Aid Flotilla bound for [the] Gaza Strip". In November 2014 the ICC Prosecutor eventually decided that the events did constitute war crimes but did not meet the gravity standards of bringing the case before ICC.


title: Comoros

text: The military resources of the Comoros consist of a small standing army and a 500-member police force, as well as a 500-member defence force. A defence treaty with France provides naval resources for protection of territorial waters, training of Comorian military personnel, and air surveillance. France maintains the presence of a few senior officers in the Comoros at government request, as well as a small maritime base and a Foreign Legion Detachment (DLEM) on Mayotte.


title: Comoros

text: Once the new government was installed in May–June 2011, an expert mission from UNREC (Lomé) came to the Comoros and produced guidelines for the elaboration of a national security policy, which were discussed by different actors, notably the national defence authorities and civil society. By the end of the programme in end March 2012, a normative framework agreed upon by all entities involved in SSR will have been established. This will then have to be adopted by Parliament and implemented by the authorities.


title: Comoros

text: Both male and female same-sex sexual acts are illegal in Comoros. Such acts are punished with up to five years imprisonment.


title: Comoros

text: The level of poverty in the Comoros is high, but "judging by the international poverty threshold of $1.9 per person per day, only two out of every ten Comorians could be classified as poor, a rate that places the Comoros ahead of other low-income countries and 30 percentage points ahead of other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa." Poverty declined by about 10% between 2014 and 2018, and living conditions generally improved. Economic inequality remains widespread, with a major gap between rural and urban areas. Remittances through the sizable Comorian diaspora form a substantial part of the country's GDP and have contributed to decreases in poverty and increases in living standards.


title: Comoros

text: According to ILO's ILOSTAT statistical database, between 1991 and 2019 the unemployment rate as a percent of the total labor force ranged from 4.38% to 4.3%. An October 2005 paper by the Comoros Ministry of Planning and Regional Development, however, reported that "registered unemployment rate is 14.3 percent, distributed very unevenly among and within the islands, but with marked incidence in urban areas."


title: Comoros

text: In 2019, more than 56% of the labor force was employed in agriculture, with 29% employed in industry and 14% employed in services. The islands' agricultural sector is based on the export of spices, including vanilla, cinnamon, and cloves, and thus susceptible to price fluctuations in the volatile world commodity market for these goods. The Comoros is the world's largest producer of ylang-ylang, a plant whose extracted essential oil is used in the perfume industry; some 80% of the world's supply comes from the Comoros.


title: Comoros

text: High population densities, as much as 1000 per square kilometre in the densest agricultural zones, for what is still a mostly rural, agricultural economy may lead to an environmental crisis in the near future, especially considering the high rate of population growth. In 2004 the Comoros' real GDP growth was a low 1.9% and real GDP per capita continued to decline. These declines are explained by factors including declining investment, drops in consumption, rising inflation, and an increase in trade imbalance due in part to lowered cash crop prices, especially vanilla.


title: Comoros

text: Fiscal policy is constrained by erratic fiscal revenues, a bloated civil service wage bill, and an external debt that is far above the HIPC threshold. Membership in the franc zone, the main anchor of stability, has nevertheless helped contain pressures on domestic prices.


title: Comoros

text: The Comoros has an inadequate transportation system, a young and rapidly increasing population, and few natural resources. The low educational level of the labour force contributes to a subsistence level of economic activity, high unemployment, and a heavy dependence on foreign grants and technical assistance. Agriculture contributes 40% to GDP and provides most of the exports.


title: Comoros

text: The government is struggling to upgrade education and technical training, to privatise commercial and industrial enterprises, to improve health services, to diversify exports, to promote tourism, and to reduce the high population growth rate.


title: Comoros

text: With fewer than a million people, the Comoros is one of the least populous countries in the world, but is also one of the most densely populated, with an average of . In 2001, 34% of the population was considered urban, but that is expected to grow, since rural population growth is negative, while overall population growth is still relatively high.


title: Comoros

text: Almost half the population of the Comoros is under the age of 15. Major urban centres include Moroni, Mitsamihuli, Fumbuni, Mutsamudu, Domoni, and Fomboni. There are between 200,000 and 350,000 Comorians in France.


title: Comoros

text: The islands of the Comoros are 97.1% ethnically Comorian, which is a mixture of Bantu, Malagasy, and Arab people. Minorities include Makua and Indian (mostly Ismaili). There are recent immigrants of Chinese origin in Grande Comore (especially Moroni). Although most French left after independence in 1975, a small Creole community, descended from settlers from France, Madagascar and Réunion, lives in the Comoros.


title: Comoros

text: The most common languages in the Comoros are the Comorian languages, collectively known as "Shikomori". They are related to Swahili, and the four different variants (Shingazidja, Shimwali, Shindzwani and Shimaore) are spoken on each of the four islands. Arabic and Latin scripts are both used, Arabic being the more widely used, and an official orthography has recently been developed for the Latin script.


title: Comoros

text: Arabic and French are also official languages, along with Comorian. Arabic is widely known as a second language, being the language of Quranic teaching. French is the administrative language and the language of most non-Quranic formal education.


title: Comoros

text: Sunni Islam is the dominant religion, followed by as much as 99% of the population. Comoros is the only Muslim-majority country in Southern Africa and the third southernmost Muslim-majority territory after Mayotte and the Australian territory of Cocos Islands.


title: Comoros

text: A minority of the population of the Comoros are Christian, both Catholic and Protestant denominations are represented, and most Malagasy residents are also Christian. Immigrants from metropolitan France are mostly Catholic.


title: Comoros

text: There are 15 physicians per 100,000 people. The fertility rate was 4.7 per adult woman in 2004. Life expectancy at birth is 67 for females and 62 for males.


title: Comoros

text: Almost all children attend Quranic schools, usually before, although increasingly in tandem with regular schooling. Children are taught about the Qur'an, and memorise it, and learn the Arabic script. Most parents prefer their children to attend Koran schools before moving on to the French-based schooling system. Although the state sector is plagued by a lack of resources, and the teachers by unpaid salaries, there are numerous private and community schools of relatively good standard. The national curriculum, apart from a few years during the revolutionary period immediately post-independence, has been very much based on the French system, both because resources are French and most Comorians hope to go on to further education in France. There have recently been moves to Comorianise the syllabus and integrate the two systems, the formal and the Quran schools, into one, thus moving away from the secular educational system inherited from France.


title: Comoros

text: Pre-colonization education systems in Comoros focused on necessary skills such as agriculture, caring for livestock and completing household tasks. Religious education also taught children the virtues of Islam. The education system underwent a transformation during colonization in the early 1900s which brought secular education based on the French system. This was mainly for children of the elite. After Comoros gained independence in 1975, the education system changed again. Funding for teachers' salaries was lost, and many went on strike. Thus, the public education system was not functioning between 1997 and 2001. Since gaining independence, the education system has also undergone a democratization and options exist for those other than the elite. Enrollment has also grown.


title: Comoros

text: In 2000, 44.2% of children ages 5 to 14 years were attending school. There is a general lack of facilities, equipment, qualified teachers, textbooks and other resources. Salaries for teachers are often so far in arrears that many refuse to work.


title: Comoros

text: Prior to 2000, students seeking a university education had to attend school outside of the country. However, in the early 2000s a university was created in the country. This served to help economic growth and to fight the "flight" of many educated people who were not returning to the islands to work.


title: Comoros

text: About 57 percent of the population is literate in the Latin script while more than 90 percent are literate in the Arabic script. Comorian has no native script, but both Arabic and Latin scripts are used.


title: Comoros

text: Traditionally, women on Ndzwani wear red and white patterned garments called "shiromani", while on Ngazidja and Mwali colourful shawls called "leso" are worn. Many women apply a paste of ground sandalwood and coral called "msinzano" to their faces. Traditional male clothing is a long white shirt known as a "nkandu", and a bonnet called a "kofia".


title: Comoros

text: There are two types of marriages in Comoros, the little marriage (known as "Mna daho" on Ngazidja) and the customary marriage (known as "ada" on Ngazidja, "harusi" on the other islands). The little marriage is a simple legal marriage. It is small, intimate, and inexpensive and the bride's dowry is nominal. A man may undertake a number of "Mna daho" marriages in his lifetime, often at the same time, a woman fewer; but both men and women will usually only undertake one "ada", or grand marriage, and this must generally be within the village. The hallmarks of the grand marriage are dazzling gold jewelry, two weeks of celebration and an enormous bridal dowry. Although the expenses are shared between both families as well as with a wider social circle, an ada wedding on Ngazidja can cost up to €50,000 (74,000 US dollars). Many couples take a lifetime to save for their ada, and it is not uncommon for a marriage to be attended by a couple's adult children.


title: Comoros

text: The "ada" marriage marks a man's transition in the Ngazidja age system from youth to elder. His status in the social hierarchy greatly increases, and he will henceforth be entitled to speak in public and participate in the political process, both in his village and more widely across the island. He will be entitled to display his status by wearing a "mharuma", a type of shawl, across his shoulders, and he can enter the mosque by the door reserved for elders, and sit at the front. A woman's status also changes, although less formally, as she becomes a "mother" and moves into her own house. The system is less formalised on the other islands, but the marriage is nevertheless a significant and costly event across the archipelago.


title: Comoros

text: The "ada" is often criticized because of its great expense, but at the same time it is a source of social cohesion and the main reason why migrants in France and elsewhere continue to send money home. Increasingly, marriages are also being taxed for the purposes of village development.


title: Comoros

text: Comorian society has a bilateral descent system. Lineage membership and inheritance of immovable goods (land, housing) is matrilineal, passed in the maternal line, similar to many Bantu peoples who are also matrilineal, while other goods and patronymics are passed in the male line. However, there are differences between the islands, the matrilineal element being stronger on Ngazidja.


title: Comoros

text: Twarab music, imported from Zanzibar in the early 20th century, remains the most influential genre on the islands and is popular at "ada" marriages.


title: Comoros

text: There are two daily national newspapers published in the Comoros, the government-owned "Al-Watwan", and the privately owned "La Gazette des Comores", both published in Moroni. There are a number of smaller newsletters published on an irregular basis as well as a variety of news websites. The government-owned ORTC (Office de Radio et Télévision des Comores) provides national radio and television service. There is a TV station run by the Anjouan regional government, and regional governments on the islands of Grande Comore and Anjouan each operate a radio station. There are also a few independent and small community radio stations that operate on the islands of Grande Comore and Mohéli, and these two islands have access to Mayotte Radio and French TV.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Amanda Lourenço Nunes (born May 30, 1988) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. She competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the current UFC Women's Featherweight Champion and two-time UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion. As of August 1, 2022, she is ranked #1 in the UFC women's pound-for-pound rankings.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Widely regarded as the greatest female mixed martial artist of all time, Nunes is the first woman to become a two-division UFC champion, and the third fighter to hold UFC titles in two weight classes simultaneously, after Conor McGregor and Daniel Cormier. She is also the first and only fighter to defend two UFC titles while holding both.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Amanda Lourenço Nunes was born on May 30, 1988, in Pojuca, a small town outside of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, as a daughter of Ivete and Sindoval Nunes. She has two older sisters, Valdirene and Vanessa. After her parents split up when she was 4, Nunes and her sisters remained with their mother. To support the family as a single parent, Mrs. Ivete sold hot-dogs, sweets and beauty products alongside her regular job as a school administrative assistant. According to Nunes, her father initially did not support her fighting career, but has since changed course.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes has described her mother as a loving but strict parent. "I was afraid of her! was scared to death. My mother was always a tough person, very strict, she just looked at me and I was already freezing. I had and still have a great deal of respect for her" she recalls. Ivete encouraged her daughter to get involved with sports, as a way to deal with her excess energy.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes initially aspired to become a professional soccer player, starting out in elementary school as a player on the local Pojuca team and later on the Salvador team. Eventually, she got the opportunity to try out for the Vitória football club, but was unable to accept due to her mother wanting her to focus on studies instead.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes's uncle, José Silva, was a Vale Tudo fighter. Her mother Ivete, who herself regularly trained boxing, cornered him during his fights. Nunes first attended capoeira classes at age five, after her school teacher complained that she was too hyperactive in class. She started learning karate at age seven.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: At the age of 16, following her sister Vanessa's invitation to a dojo, she began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. At this time, she also got involved with boxing. Despite being the only woman at the gym, she soon started dominating her training partners in sparring. After she had defeated all of her opposition, at age 17, she moved to Salvador to train at the Edson Carvalho academy under the tutelage of his brother, Ricardo Carvalho. There, she also started training in judo. She lived at an apartment with her sister, but because it was too far away from the gym, she accepted her coach's offer to move there. Because she was the only girl, and because the logo of the academy are two lions, her coach and other students started calling her "Leoa" (lioness in Portuguese), a nickname she still uses.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes soon started competing in BJJ tournaments. Among her biggest accomplishments in this sport are gold medal at the Pan American Jiu-Jitsu Championship in 2008 as a blue belt, gold medal at World Jiu-Jitsu Championship in 2009 as a purple belt and becoming a world champion of the North American Grappling Association (NAGA) in the lightweight and absolute divisions in 2012. She currently holds a black belt in BJJ and a brown belt in judo.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes started training MMA in 2007 at Edson Carvalho's gym. After moving to the US, she lived in New Jersey and trained at AMA Fight Club before moving to Miami to train at MMA Masters. She is currently training at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes made her professional debut on March 8, 2008, at Prime MMA Championship 2. She faced Ana Maria and was defeated by armbar submission in the first round.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes had won five straight fights, all by knockout prior to making her Strikeforce debut on January 7, 2011, at in Nashville, Tennessee. She defeated Canadian Julia Budd by knockout in just 14 seconds.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes was scheduled to fight Julie Kedzie at on June 18, 2011, in Dallas, Texas. The bout was cancelled after Nunes sustained a foot injury.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes fought Alexis Davis on September 10, 2011, at . She lost the fight via TKO late in the second round. In the first round, Nunes started strongly with heavy strikes, but quickly faded. By the second round, Nunes was exhausted from the start of the round. While attempting a takedown she was instantly reversed and Davis was able to obtain full mount to finish Nunes with strikes.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes signed to face Cat Zingano at on September 29, 2012, but the event was cancelled when Gilbert Melendez, who was set to defend his title against Pat Healy, sustained a knee injury in training that forced his withdrawal from the card.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes was scheduled to face Milana Dudieva at on July 28, 2012. Dudieva withdrew from the fight due to illness on July 9 and Nunes was then scheduled to face Leslie Smith instead. Smith also withdrew due to an injury and Nunes ultimately faced Raquel Pa'aluhi. Nunes won the fight via technical submission due to a rear-naked choke in the first round.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: On January 5, 2013, Nunes returned to Invicta FC to face Sarah D'Alelio at . Nunes lost the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes made her Octagon debut against Sheila Gaff at UFC 163 on August 3, 2013, in Brazil. She won the fight via TKO in the first round.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes made her second UFC appearance when she faced Germaine de Randamie at UFC Fight Night 31 on November 6, 2013. She won the fight via TKO in the first round.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: For her third fight with the promotion, Nunes was named the injury replacement for Shayna Baszler against Sarah Kaufman at . Nunes later pulled out of the bout with a dislocated thumb.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes faced Cat Zingano on September 27, 2014, at UFC 178. After nearly finishing Zingano with punches in the first round, she lost the next round before being finished via TKO in the third round.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes faced Shayna Baszler on March 21, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 62. She won the fight via TKO in the first round.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes faced Sara McMann on August 8, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 73. She won the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the first round, after knocking her opponent down with a three punch combination.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes faced Valentina Shevchenko on March 5, 2016, at UFC 196. She won the fight by unanimous decision (29–28, 29–27, and 29–27).


title: Amanda Nunes

text: After amassing a three-fight win streak, Nunes earned her first title shot in the UFC. She faced Miesha Tate for the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship on July 9, 2016, at UFC 200. Nunes stunned Tate early on with knees and punches and then won the fight by submission (rear-naked choke) in the first round. Her victory made her the first openly gay UFC champion.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: On December 30, 2016, Nunes made her first title defense against returning MMA superstar Ronda Rousey in the main event at UFC 207. Nunes won the fight via TKO due to punches 48 seconds into the first round.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: For her second title defense, Nunes was scheduled to face Valentina Shevchenko in a rematch at UFC 213 on July 8, 2017. The pair originally fought at UFC 196, with Nunes winning by unanimous decision. Nunes was hospitalized the morning of the fight with chronic sinusitis and the fight was cancelled. Joanna Jędrzejczyk offered to replace Nunes, but the Nevada State Athletic Commission could not clear her on such short notice. Nunes instead fought Shevchenko at UFC 215 on September 9 in Edmonton, Alberta. Nunes won the closely contested fight by split decision. Out of 22 media outlets, 10 scored it for Nunes, 10 for Shevchenko, and 2 scored it a draw.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes faced Raquel Pennington on May 12, 2018, at UFC 224. After a dominant performance, Nunes finished the fight with ground and pound at 2:36 of round five. This was the first UFC event headlined by two openly gay fighters.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes moved up in weight to face Cris Cyborg for the UFC Women's Featherweight Championship on December 29, 2018, at UFC 232. Nunes knocked Cyborg out in 51 seconds of the first round to become the new UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion. This made her the first woman in UFC to hold championship belts in different divisions simultaneously. This win also earned her the "Performance of the Night" award.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes returned to bantamweight to make her fourth title defense against former champion Holly Holm on July 6, 2019, at UFC 239. She won the fight via knockout in round one after dropping Holm with a head kick and following up with punches. This win earned her the "Performance of the Night" award.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes faced Germaine de Randamie on December 14, 2019, at UFC 245 to defend her UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship. After outgrappling her opponent in every round, she won the fight via unanimous decision (49–44, 49–46, and 49–45). This win meant Nunes had the most wins in women’s title fights in the UFC, with seven such wins.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes was expected to face Felicia Spencer on May 9, 2020, at then UFC 250. On April 9, Dana White, president of the UFC announced that this event was postponed The bout eventually took place on June 6, 2020, at UFC 250. Nunes won via unanimous decision (50–44, 50–44, and 50–45).


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes was expected to defend her featherweight title against Megan Anderson in December 2020 at UFC 256. It was announced on November 9 that Nunes pulled out due to an undisclosed injury and the bout was postponed to 2021. The pairing was rescheduled for March 6, 2021 at UFC 259. Nunes won the fight via triangle armbar in round one.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes was expected to defend her bantamweight title on August 7, 2021, at UFC 265 against Julianna Peña. Nunes tested positive for COVID-19 on July 29 and the bout was cancelled. The fight was rescheduled and eventually took place at UFC 269 on December 11, 2021. After dominating the first round, Nunes was outstruck in the second round, and eventually submitted via rear-naked choke, losing her bantamweight championship in a massive upset.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: On February 5, 2022, it was announced that Nunes and Julianna Peña will be the coaches for The Ultimate Fighter 30 at ESPN+ and the show will feature contestants at heavyweight and women's flyweight.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: A rematch against Julianna Peña for the UFC Women's Bantamweight title took place on July 30, 2022, at UFC 277. Nunes recaptured the title in a 5-round dominant unanimous decision victory over Peña, and became the first person in UFC history, of either gender to become double champ twice. Nunes received Crypto.com "Fan Bonus of the Night" awards paid in bitcoin of US$30,000 for first place for this fight.


title: Amanda Nunes

text: Nunes is the first openly lesbian UFC champion. She is married to former UFC fighter Nina Nunes (née Ansaroff), who competed in the strawweight division. She credits her UFC success to their relationship. On September 24, 2020, her wife gave birth to the couple's first child, daughter Raegan Ann Nunes.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series "Star Search" in 1984. After a series of television and film roles that introduced her to a larger national audience, O'Donnell hosted her own syndicated daytime talk show, "The Rosie O'Donnell Show", between 1996 and 2002, which won several Daytime Emmy Awards. During this period, she developed the nickname "Queen of Nice", as well as a reputation for philanthropic efforts.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: From 2006 to 2007, O'Donnell endured a controversial run as the moderator on the daytime talk show "The View", which included a public feud with Donald Trump and on-air disputes regarding the Bush administration's policies with the Iraq War. She hosted "Rosie Radio" on Sirius XM Radio between 2009 and 2011, and from 2011 to 2012 hosted a second, short-lived talk show on OWN, "The Rosie Show". O'Donnell returned to "The View" in 2014, leaving after a brief five-month run due to personal issues. From 2017 to 2019, she starred on the Showtime comedy series "SMILF".


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In addition to comedy, film, and television, O'Donnell has also been a magazine editor, celebrity blogger, and author of several memoirs, including "Find Me" (2002) and "Celebrity Detox" (2007). She used the "Find Me" $3 million advance to establish her For All foundation and promote other charity projects, encouraging celebrities on her show to take part.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: She has also been an outspoken advocate for lesbian rights and gay adoption issues. O'Donnell is a foster and adoptive mother. She was named "The Advocate" 2002 Person of the Year; in May 2003, she became a regular contributor to the magazine. O'Donnell also continues to be a television producer and a collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company R Family Vacations.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: O'Donnell, the third of five children, was born and raised in Commack, Long Island, New York. Her parents were homemaker Roseann Teresa (née Murtha; 1934–1973) and Edward Joseph O'Donnell (1933–2015), an electrical engineer who worked in the defense industry. Edward had immigrated from County Donegal, Ireland during his childhood, and her mother was Irish American. O'Donnell was raised Roman Catholic. Her older brother is Daniel J. O'Donnell, now a member of the New York State Assembly. On March 17, 1973, four days before her 11th birthday, O'Donnell lost her mother to breast cancer. While she attended Commack High School, O'Donnell was voted homecoming queen, prom queen, senior class president, and class clown. During high school, she began exploring her interest in comedy, beginning with a skit performed in front of the school in which she imitated Gilda Radner's character Roseanne Roseannadanna. After graduating in 1980, O'Donnell briefly attended Dickinson College, later transferring to Boston University before ultimately dropping out of college.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: O'Donnell toured as a stand-up comedian in clubs from 1979 to 1984. She got her first big break on "Star Search", explaining on "Larry King Live":


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: After this success, she moved on to television sitcoms, making her series debut as Nell Harper's neighbor on "Gimme a Break!" in 1986. In 1988, she joined music video station VH1's lineup of veejays. She started hosting a series for VH1, "Stand-up Spotlight", a showcase for up-and-coming comedians. In 1992, she starred in "Stand By Your Man", a Fox Network sitcom co-starring Melissa Gilbert. The show bombed, just as O'Donnell's movie career took off. O'Donnell made her feature film debut in "A League of Their Own" (1992) alongside Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, and Madonna. She was originally considered for the role of Mary Sanderson in Disney's "Hocus Pocus", but it was ultimately given to Kathy Najimy. O'Donnell claimed on her blog that she turned down the offer to work with Bette Midler because she refused to portray a frightening evil witch. Throughout her career, she has taken on an eclectic range of roles: she appeared in "Sleepless in Seattle" as Meg Ryan's character's best friend; as Betty Rubble in the live-action film adaptation of "The Flintstones" with John Goodman, Elizabeth Perkins, and Rick Moranis; as one of Timothy Hutton's co-stars in "Beautiful Girls"; as a federal agent comedically paired with Dan Aykroyd in "Exit to Eden"; as the voice of a tomboyish female gorilla named Terk in Disney's "Tarzan"; and as a baseball-loving nun in M. Night Shyamalan's "Wide Awake".


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In 1996, she began hosting a daytime talk show, "The Rosie O'Donnell Show", for her production company KidRo Productions. The show proved very successful, winning multiple Emmy Awards, and earning O'Donnell the title of "The Queen of Nice" for her style of light-hearted banter with her guests and interactions with the audience. As part of her playful banter with her studio audience, O'Donnell often launched koosh balls at the crowd and camera. She also professed an infatuation with Tom Cruise.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: With New York City as the show's home base, O'Donnell displayed her love of Broadway musicals and plays by having cast members as guests, encouraging the audience to see shows, premiering production numbers as well as promoting shows with ticket giveaways.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: After the Columbine shootings, O'Donnell became an outspoken supporter of gun control and a major figure in the Million Mom March. During the April 19, 1999, broadcast of her talk show, she stated, "You are not allowed to own a gun, and if you do own a gun, I think you should go to prison." O'Donnell previously had remarked, "I don't personally own a gun, but if you are qualified, licensed and registered, I have no problem." In May 1999, a month after the Columbine shootings, O'Donnell interviewed Tom Selleck, who was promoting "The Love Letter". O'Donnell interrogated him about his recent unpaid commercial for the National Rifle Association (NRA) and questioned him about the NRA's position on the use of "assault weapons". She said at the end of the segment the conversation had "not gone the way I had hoped" and added "if you feel insulted by my questions, I apologize because it was not a personal attack. It was meant to bring up the subject as it is in the consciousness of so many today." Ironically, O'Donnell at that time was a multi-million dollar paid spokesperson for 5 years for Kmart, which was the largest volume firearms retailer in the United States. Around the same time, the cast from "Annie Get Your Gun" was to appear on the show but refused O'Donnell's request to remove the line "I can shoot a partridge with a single cartridge" from the song "Anything You Can Do" and agreed to perform "My Defenses Are Down" instead.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: Later in 1999, O'Donnell discontinued her contract with Kmart as their spokeswoman, as gun enthusiasts complained that she should not be the spokesperson for the largest gun retailer. O'Donnell countered that Kmart sells hunting rifles, not handguns or assault weapons and does so legally, which she supports. Both Kmart and O'Donnell denied publicly that Kmart had terminated the contract. In May 2000, O'Donnell's bodyguard applied for a concealed firearm permit. O'Donnell stated that the security firm contracted by Warner Bros. requested the gun. O'Donnell stated that because of threats, she and her family need protection.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Broadway and tourism in New York City was down and many shows were in danger of closing. O'Donnell was among many in the entertainment field who encouraged viewers to visit and support the performing arts. She announced that she would donate 1 million dollars for aid in the rescue efforts and encouraged other celebrities and citizens alike to "give till it hurts".


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In 2002, she left her talk show. The show was replaced by "The Caroline Rhea Show", with comedian Caroline Rhea, which ran for one additional season.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In September 2006, O'Donnell replaced Meredith Vieira as a co-host and moderator of "The View", a daytime women-oriented talk show. Star Jones, a co-host on the show, quit, with some speculating Jones's conservative views would be in constant tension with O'Donnell's more liberal counterpoint. O'Donnell had also disputed Jones's route of rapid weight loss, alluding that it must have been through gastric bypass surgery, rather than dieting and exercise alone as Jones had insisted, which also fed speculation about certain tension between the two. (Jones later confirmed that surgery was involved.) O'Donnell is credited with keeping the show's "buzz factor up". She is also credited with making it more news-focused, though it still embraced the "fluff" of daytime TV talk shows (celebrities, fashion, and food). Despite an overall downward trend for most daytime broadcast shows, ratings rose by 27% during O'Donnell's first year on "The View". The show was the fourth-most-watched in all of daytime in the key demographic of women ages 18–49 and scored record ratings in the total viewer category with an average of 3.4 million viewers—up 15% versus the same time in 2005. O'Donnell moderated the opening "Hot Topics" portion of the show, where news items were discussed. O'Donnell gave the show a more political slant, and she and fellow comic Joy Behar often gave strong opinions against former President Bush's domestic and foreign policies, including the Iraq War. As a conservative counterpoint, Elisabeth Hasselbeck would usually support the Bush administration's policies and the two would get into an adversarial give-and-take.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: Encouraged by the show to be outspoken, O'Donnell sometimes provoked debate, at one time stating "radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam." On the February 24, 2003, episode of Phil Donahue's talk show, O'Donnell referred to the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Boston resulting in $157 million awarded to 983 claimants, stating "I hope the Catholic Church gets sued until the end of time. Maybe, you know, we can melt down some of the gold toilets in the Pope's Vatican and pay off some of the lawsuits because, the whole tenet of living a Christ-like life, has been lost in Catholicism."


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: O'Donnell joked about communion rituals alongside co-host Behar's drunk priest comments. On April 19, 2007, the panel discussed the Supreme Court of the United States's ruling in "Gonzales v. Carhart", a decision upholding the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. O'Donnell cited a Florynce Kennedy quote, "If men could get pregnant abortion would be a sacrament" and asked rhetorically "How many Supreme Court judges are Catholic?" and "How about separation of church and state?" Some conservative commentators deemed her statements "anti-Catholic bigotry" and suggested that such statements against other religions would not be tolerated. O'Donnell's outspokenness and spontaneousness sometimes led to her views being recirculated by other media outlets, often surprising "The View" co-hosts including O'Donnell. Frequently portrayed unfavorably by conservative media outlets and what she deemed as Republican pundits, O'Donnell lamented that they were focusing on her comments instead of more important national and world issues.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: On December 5, 2006, O'Donnell used a series of ching chongs to imitate newscasters in China. Vanessa Hua of the "San Francisco Chronicle" expressed disappointment in O'Donnell, given the comedian's championing of LGBT rights. On December 14, O'Donnell apologized to those she offended, explaining that "Some people have told me it's as bad as the n-word. I was like, really? I didn't know that." O'Donnell warned that "there's a good chance I'll do something like that again, probably in the next week, not on purpose. Only 'cause it's how my brain works." "Time" called it a "pseudo-apology". O'Donnell later wrote in "Celebrity Detox" that "I wish I had been a bit more pure in my public apology."


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In December 2006, O'Donnell criticized Donald Trump for holding a press conference to reinstate Miss USA Tara Conner, who had violated pageant guidelines, accusing him of using her scandal to "generate publicity for the Miss USA Pageant" (to which he owns the rights) by announcing he was giving her a second chance. O'Donnell commented that due to Trump's multiple marital affairs and questionable business bankruptcies, he was not a moral authority for young people in America. She stated, "Left the first wife, had an affair. Left the second wife, had an affair – but he's the moral compass for 20-year-olds in America." In response, Trump began a "vicious" mass media blitz in which he appeared on various television shows, either in person or by phone, threatening to sue O'Donnell (he never did). He called her names, threatened to take away her partner Kelli, and claimed that Barbara Walters regretted hiring her. Walters was stuck in the middle as a social acquaintance of Trump's, and said O'Donnell did not feel like Walters defended her enough, which led to what both women agreed was an unfortunate confrontation in one of the dressing rooms. "I had pain and hurt and rejection," O'Donnell said, "sometimes [my emotions] overwhelm me. Sometimes I get flooded." Walters denied that she was unhappy with O'Donnell, saying, "I have never regretted, nor do I now, the hiring of Rosie O'Donnell."


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: On April 25, 2007, ABC announced that O'Donnell would be leaving the show before the end of the year because of a failure to reach agreement on a new contract.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: O'Donnell condemned many of the Bush administration's policies, especially the war in Iraq and the resulting occupation. She also questioned the official explanation for the destruction of the World Trade Center, and stating in one episode, "I do believe that it's the first time in history that fire has ever melted steel". She consistently mentioned recent military deaths and news about the war and criticized the U.S. media for its lack of attention to these issues compared to media coverage throughout the world. This led to a series of heated exchanges with co-host Hasselbeck, as well as "the most-discussed moment of her professional life." On May 17, 2007, O'Donnell rhetorically asked, "655,000 Iraqi civilians dead. Who are the terrorists? ... if you were in Iraq and another country, the United States, the richest in the world, invaded your country and killed 655,000 of your citizens, what would you call us?" Conservative commentators criticized O'Donnell's statements, saying that she was comparing American soldiers to terrorists. On May 23, 2007, a heated discussion ensued, in part, because of what O'Donnell perceived as Elisabeth Hasselbeck's unwillingness to defend O'Donnell from the criticisms; O'Donnell asked Hasselbeck, "Do you believe I think our troops are terrorists?" Hasselbeck answered in the negative but also stated "Defend your own insinuations." O'Donnell was hurt and felt Hasselbeck had betrayed her friendship: "there's something about somebody being different on TV toward you than they are in the dressing room. It didn't really ring true for me." O'Donnell stated that Republican pundits were mischaracterising her statements and the right-wing media would portray her as a bully, attacking "innocent pure Christian Elisabeth" whenever they disagreed. O'Donnell decided to leave the show that day, but afterwards stated that the reason was not the argument itself, but rather the fact that she saw on the studio monitor that the camera had shown a split screen, with her and Hasselbeck on either side. O'Donnell felt that the show's director and producer "had to prepare that in advance ... I felt there was setup egging me into that position. The executive producer and I did not gel." O'Donnell and ABC agreed to cut short her contract agreement on May 25, 2007. ABC News reported that her arguments with Hasselbeck brought the show its best ratings ever.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In May 2007, "Time" magazine included O'Donnell in their annual list of the 100 most influential people. O'Donnell was named "The Most Annoying Celebrity of 2007" by a "PARADE" reader's poll, in response she said, "Frankly, most celebrities are annoying ... and I suppose I am the most annoying, but, whatever."


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In 2008, "The View" won an Emmy for "Outstanding Special Class Writing" for a specially themed Autism episode that O'Donnell helped create. Janette Barber, O'Donnell's longtime friend and producer/writer of "The Rosie O'Donnell Show", accepted the award on behalf of herself and the other two winners, Christian McKiernan and Andrew Smith.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In March 2007, O'Donnell started a video blog, "Jahero", on her website Rosie.com answering fans questions, giving behind the scenes information and serving as a video diary. Originally featuring only O'Donnell and her hair and make-up artist Helene Macaulay they were soon joined by her writer from "The Rosie O'Donnell Show", Janette Barber. Called "Jahero", a name composed of the first two letters of each of their first names, they occasionally had short cameo appearances by "View" co-hosts Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, and Barbara Walters. Jenny McCarthy appeared once briefly, as has Hasselbeck's mother-in-law and O'Donnell's mother-in-law, her (now) ex-wife Kelli's mother. Kathy Griffin also appeared, where she read some of the questions. It became so popular that O'Donnell and her creative team considered an "on the road" version of the video blog using fan-submitted suggestions. O'Donnell was the front runner for the "best celebrity blogger" category in the 2007 Blogger's Choice Awards which she won.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: O'Donnell expressed interest in replacing long-time host Bob Barker when he retired from CBS's game show "The Price Is Right". Barker was a frequent guest on her talk show and told reporters that she "would make a fine host." Although it was reported he had "endorsed" her as a "possible successor", Barker said that he had no role in choosing his replacement. In June 2007, she announced on her blog it was not going to happen and noted she was reluctant to uproot her family to move to California.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In 2008, O'Donnell starred in and executive produced "America", a Lifetime channel original movie in which she plays the therapist of the title character, a 16-year-old boy aging out of the foster care system. The film is based on the E.R. Frank book of the same name.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In November 2009, "Rosie Radio", a daily two-hour show with O'Donnell discussing news and events on Sirius XM Radio, premiered. O'Donnell said she was approached by the company after she appeared on Howard Stern's Sirius XM show. The radio show ended in June 2011.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In 2009, O'Donnell made another guest appearance on "Curb Your Enthusiasm", where she beat up Larry twice, in an episode titled Denise Handicapped.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In 2011, O'Donnell began producing material for the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). In May 2011, "The Doc Club with Rosie O'Donnell" premiered, a show where O'Donnell moderated live panel discussions following premieres of OWN Documentaries. She has hosted specials for "Becoming Chaz" in May 2011 and "Miss Representation" in October 2011.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In fall 2011, O'Donnell began full-time work on her new show, "The Rosie Show", for OWN. The show taped at the Chicago studio formerly home to "The Oprah Winfrey Show". The show debuted on October 10, 2011, to generally positive reviews.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: OWN canceled "The Rosie Show" on March 16, 2012, with the last show taped March 20, on the eve of O'Donnell's 50th birthday. The final show aired on OWN on March 29, 2012. In a statement, Oprah Winfrey said:


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In 2011, O'Donnell made another guest appearance on Curb Your Enthusiasm, competing for the affection of a bisexual woman with Larry in an episode called "The Bi-Sexual".


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In 2013, O'Donnell appeared in a number of television shows. First, she played "brash but astute" reporter Dottie Shannon in an episode of "Bomb Girls", followed by playing the voice of the Bouncing Bumble Queen in "Jake and the Never Land Pirates". After that, also in 2013, she appeared in two episodes of "Smash" as herself. That same year she also appeared as herself in an episode of "Impractical Jokers" called "Everything's Rosie".


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In 2014, O'Donnell landed a reoccurring role as Rita Hendricks on "The Fosters", "a tough yet compassionate woman who works for the foster care system and becomes a mentor to a member of the Foster family." The character lasted through their 2016 season.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In the fall of 2014, O'Donnell returned to "The View" as a co-host, with a newly re-vamped version of the show, along with Whoopi Goldberg returning as moderator and new co-hosts Rosie Perez and Nicolle Wallace. On February 6, 2015, representatives for O'Donnell confirmed she would once again exit the panel, citing her reasons as a "personal decision". In a statement, made to "The Hollywood Reporter", O'Donnell said, "[My health] got a little bit worse right before the holidays — [my doctor] was kind of concerned. ... I can't really fix [my personal life] right away, but I can fix [my job]."


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In 2015, O'Donnell made a cameo in "Pitch Perfect 2", playing a co-host on "The View". Deadline called the cameo "a bit that already seems dated." That same year, she appeared in an episode of "Empire", playing Pepper O'Leary, "a tough criminal who shared a cell for years with Cookie Lyon." In preparation for the role, she hired an acting coach and stated, "I prepared for this like I've never prepared for anything in my career, because I didn't want to disappoint and I understood the pace at which they work." O'Donnell also appeared as herself in two documentaries that same year. In April 2015, "Roseanne For President!" was released, a film about Roseanne Barr's presidential bid in 2012. O'Donnell appeared in the film alongside Michael Moore and Sandra Bernhard. In September 2015, the documentary "Everything Is Copy" was released, a film by Jacob Bernstein about his mother Nora Ephron. O'Donnell appeared in the documentary to help "bring his mother into focus" along with a number of other celebrities.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In 2016, O'Donnell made a two-episode appearance in the CBS series "Mom", playing Jeanine, "the ex-girlfriend of Bonnie (Allison Janney)". That same year, she was also a regular panelist on "Match Game" and appeared in one episode of "The $100,000 Pyramid", where she competed against Kathy Najimy. Later that year, O'Donnell also played the role of the gym teacher in "Hairspray Live!"


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In November 2016, Showtime announced she had joined the cast of the comedy pilot "SMILF". The series aired from November 5, 2017, until March 31, 2019, and O'Donnell received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Tutu.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: On April 3, 2019, it was announced that O'Donnell would play the role of Lisa Sheffer in the HBO television adaptation of Wally Lamb's "I Know This Much Is True".


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In 2021, O'Donnell guest starred on the series "Run the World" and "". On June 15, 2021, it was announced that she would star as Detective Sunday, alongside Jon Bernthal, in a series reboot of "American Gigolo" on Showtime, premiering in 2022.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In 2000, O'Donnell partnered with the publishers of "McCall's" to revamp the magazine as "Rosie's McCall's" (or, more commonly, "Rosie"). The magazine was launched as a competitor to fellow talk show hostess Oprah Winfrey's monthly magazine "O". "Rosie" covered issues including breast cancer, foster care, and other matters of concern to O'Donnell. In the September 2000 issue, she shared that "she has struggled with depression her entire life" and decided to start medications when she realized her fears were affecting her family. With a strong start and a circulation close to 3.5 million, things looked promising, but the magazine stumbled as conflicts emerged between O'Donnell and the editors. The contract gave O'Donnell control over editorial process and editorial staff but veto power remained with publisher Gruner+Jahr USA. O'Donnell quit the magazine in September 2002, following a dispute over editorial control. "If I'm going to have my name and my brand on the corner of a magazine, it has to be my vision" she told "People".


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: "Rosie" magazine folded in 2003. In late 2003, O'Donnell and the publishers each sued the other for breach of contract. The publishers said that, by removing herself from the magazine's publication, she was in breach of contract. The trial received considerable press coverage. O'Donnell would often give brief press interviews outside of the courtroom responding to various allegations. Of note was a former magazine colleague and breast cancer survivor who testified that O'Donnell said to her on the phone that people who lie "get sick and they get cancer. If they keep lying, they get it again". O'Donnell apologized the next day and stated, "I'm sorry I hurt her the way I did, that was not my intention." The judge dismissed the case, ruling that neither side should receive damages.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In 1997, Rosie released the children's book "Kids are Punny: Jokes Sent by Kids to the Rosie O'Donnell Show", which contained jokes she had received from children. A sequel titled "Kids are Punny 2: More Jokes Sent by Kids to the Rosie O'Donnell Show" was released a year later in 1998, and an HBO special was made based on the books. In April 2002, O'Donnell released "Find Me," a combination of memoir, mystery and detective story with an underlying interest in reuniting birth mothers with their children. In addition to cataloging her childhood and early adulthood, the book delved into O'Donnell's relationship with a woman with dissociative identity disorder who posed as an under-aged teen who had become pregnant by rape. The book reached number two on "The New York Times" bestseller list.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In October 2007, she released "Celebrity Detox", her second memoir which focuses on the struggles with leaving fame behind, noting her exits from "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" and "The View".


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In 2003, O'Donnell and Carpenter partnered with travel entrepreneur Gregg Kaminsky to launch R Family Vacations catering to LGBT families, "the very first all gay and lesbian family vacation packages" where "gays and lesbians can bring their kids, their friends, and their parents." Although O'Donnell is not involved on a day-to-day basis, she does contribute to the creative aspects of "advertising and marketing materials" and initiated the idea for the company when she filled in as a last-minute replacement headliner on one of Kaminsky's Atlantis Events gay cruises and also came up with the name "R Family Vacations". On July 11, 2004, the first cruise was held with 1600 passengers including 600 children. In addition to traditional entertainment and recreational activities, the company partnered with Provincetown's Family Pride, a 25-year-old Washington, D.C.-based organization that advocates for LGBT families to host discussions on "adoption, insemination, surrogacy, and everything else that would be helpful to gay parenting." "All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise", a documentary film about the trip debuted on HBO on April 6, 2006, and was nominated for three Emmy Awards. Of the experience, O'Donnell stated "we didn't really realize the magic that was going to take place. People who had never met another gay family met other families and it was powerful."


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In late 2003, O'Donnell brought the musical "Taboo" to Broadway. She hired Charles Busch to re-write the book, and the story became "bitchier" and more focused on the rise to fame of the character based on Boy George. It closed on February 8, 2004, after about 100 performances and "mostly bad" reviews. O'Donnell described the show's production as "by far the most fulfilling experience of my career". She has stated that she intends to bring the show back to Broadway, although Scott Miller writes that people are hesitant to get involved after the "train wreck" of the original production.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: Over her career, O'Donnell has developed a reputation for raising funds and her own philanthropy to charitable causes. In May 1996, Warner Books advanced O'Donnell $3 million to write a memoir. She used the money to seed her For All Kids Foundation to help institute national standards for day care across the country.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: Since 1997, Rosie's For All Kids Foundation, overseen by Elizabeth Birch, has awarded more than $22 million in Early Childhood Care and Education program grants to over 900 nonprofit organizations. On October 30, 2006, she was honored by the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. "It's our privilege to be honoring and hosting Rosie," said NYSPCC president David Stack in a statement. "Her Rosie's for All Kids Foundation has awarded more than $22 million in grants to over 1,400 child-related organizations, and that's just one of her many impressive activities on behalf of children." In November 2006, "Nightline" aired a video report about the opening of The Children's Plaza and Family Center in Renaissance Village, a FEMA trailer park in Louisiana. This was an emergency response initiative of Rosie's For All Kids Foundation with the help of many local nonprofit organizations and for-profit businesses, all efforts were to assist the families displaced by Hurricane Katrina.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: San Francisco public relations firm Fineman Associates awarded top prize to Procter & Gamble's designation of O'Donnell as "unkissable" in a promotion for Scope mouthwash on the 1997 annual list of the nation's worst public relations blunders. In response to the promotion, O'Donnell partnered with Warner–Lambert's competitor Listerine, who donated bottles of mouthwash to the studio audience and donated $1,000 to charity every time a hosted guest would kiss her in exchange for O'Donnell promoting their product. On occasion, the guests would offer multiple kisses, and "People" reported O'Donnell "smooched her way to more than $350,000."


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In 2003, O'Donnell and Kelli O'Donnell collaborated with Artistic Director Lori Klinger to create Rosie's Broadway Kids, dedicated to providing free instruction in music and dance to New York City public schools or students. Rosie's Broadway Kids serves more than 4,500 teachers, students, and their family members at 21 schools. Currently, programs are in Harlem, Midtown West, Chelsea, Lower East Side, East Village, and Chinatown. All net profits from O'Donnell's 2007 book "Celebrity Detox" are also being donated to Rosie's Broadway Kids.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In December 2006, at a one-night charity event on the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship, Elizabeth Birch, executive director for the Rosie's For All Kids Foundation, confirmed that $50 million from O'Donnell's five-year contract were donated in an irrevocable trust to charity. She is also reported to have contributed several hundred thousand dollars for rehabilitation therapies for war veterans who have lost limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan wars. On "The Tyra Banks Show", Banks brought up to O'Donnell that people don't realize that O'Donnell has given more than $100 million to charity. In May 2007, O'Donnell and Pogo.com announced a joint effort to raise money for Rosie's All Kids Foundation. EA, which owns Pogo.com, committed $30,000 and more money can be raised based on the amount of playing time people spend on certain games. They also held a sweepstakes in which winners get to fly to New York and meet O'Donnell and attend a charity function as her guest.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: During the summer of 2007, O'Donnell was a guest on the multi-artist True Colors Tour, which traveled through 15 cities in the United States and Canada. The tour, sponsored by the gay cable channel Logo, began on June 8, 2007. Hosted by comedian Margaret Cho and headlined by Cyndi Lauper, the tour also included Debbie Harry, Erasure, The Gossip, Rufus Wainwright, The Dresden Dolls, The MisShapes, Indigo Girls, The Cliks, and other special guests. Profits from the tour helped to benefit the Human Rights Campaign as well as P-FLAG and The Matthew Shepard Foundation. She appeared again on True Colors Tour 2008.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: O'Donnell was a resident of Nyack, New York, after the purchase in 1996 of "Pretty Penny", a Victorian river home that had previously served as the home of Helen Hayes. O'Donnell sold the home to businessman Edward M. Kopko in 2000. She resides in South Nyack, New York, and owns a home in West Palm Beach, Florida.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: O'Donnell is a Democrat. She has contributed funds to multiple political campaigns, including to the campaign to elect Senator Doug Jones of Alabama.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: On numerous occasions, O'Donnell has been outspoken about controversial topics. In 2007, she announced her opinion concerning the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, in which she questioned the NIST conclusions, and alleged the U.S. government's involvement in the event.


title: Rosie O'Donnell

text: In her January 31, 2002, appearance on the sitcom "Will & Grace", she played a lesbian mom. A month later as part of her act at the Ovarian Cancer Research benefit at Caroline's Comedy Club O'Donnell came out as a lesbian, announcing "I'm a dyke! ... I don't know why people make such a big deal about the gay thing. ... People are confused, they're shocked like this is a big revelation to somebody." The announcement came two months before the end of her talk show. Although she also cited the need to put a face to gays and lesbians, her primary reason was to bring attention to LGBTQ adoption issues. O'Donnell is a foster and adoptive mother. She protested against adoption agencies, particularly in Florida, that refused adoptive rights to gay and lesbian parents.