title: Palestine (region)

text: In 1830, on the eve of Muhammad Ali's invasion, the Porte transferred control of the sanjaks of Jerusalem and Nablus to Abdullah Pasha, the governor of Acre. According to Silverburg, in regional and cultural terms this move was important for creating an Arab Palestine detached from greater Syria ("bilad al-Sham"). According to Pappe, it was an attempt to reinforce the Syrian front in face of Muhammad Ali's invasion. Two years later, Palestine was conquered by Muhammad Ali's Egypt, but Egyptian rule was challenged in 1834 by a countrywide popular uprising against conscription and other measures considered intrusive by the population. Its suppression devastated many of Palestine's villages and major towns.


title: Palestine (region)

text: In 1840, Britain intervened and returned control of the Levant to the Ottomans in return for further capitulations. The death of Aqil Agha marked the last local challenge to Ottoman centralization in Palestine, and beginning in the 1860s, Palestine underwent an acceleration in its socio-economic development, due to its incorporation into the global, and particularly European, economic pattern of growth. The beneficiaries of this process were Arabic-speaking Muslims and Christians who emerged as a new layer within the Arab elite. From 1880 large-scale Jewish immigration began, almost entirely from Europe, based on an explicitly Zionist ideology. There was also a revival of the Hebrew language and culture.


title: Palestine (region)

text: Christian Zionism in the United Kingdom preceded its spread within the Jewish community. The government of Great Britain publicly supported it during World War I with the Balfour Declaration of 1917.


title: Palestine (region)

text: The British began their Sinai and Palestine Campaign in 1915. The war reached southern Palestine in 1917, progressing to Gaza and around Jerusalem by the end of the year. The British secured Jerusalem in December 1917. They moved into the Jordan valley in 1918 and a campaign by the Entente into northern Palestine led to victory at Megiddo in September.


title: Palestine (region)

text: The British were formally awarded the mandate to govern the region in 1922. The non-Jewish Palestinians revolted in 1920, 1929, and 1936. In 1947, following World War II and The Holocaust, the British Government announced its desire to terminate the Mandate, and the United Nations General Assembly adopted in November 1947 a Resolution 181(II) recommending partition into an Arab state, a Jewish state and the Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem. The Jewish leadership accepted the proposal, but the Arab Higher Committee rejected it; a civil war began immediately after the Resolution's adoption. The State of Israel was declared in May 1948.


title: Palestine (region)

text: In the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Israel captured and incorporated a further 26% of the Mandate territory, Jordan captured the regions of Judea and Samaria, renaming it the "West Bank", while the Gaza Strip was captured by Egypt. Following the 1948 Palestinian exodus, also known as al-Nakba, the 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were driven from their homes were not allowed to return following the Lausanne Conference of 1949.


title: Palestine (region)

text: In the course of the Six-Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the rest of Mandate Palestine from Jordan and Egypt, and began a policy of establishing Jewish settlements in those territories. From 1987 to 1993, the First Palestinian Intifada against Israel took place, which included the Declaration of the State of Palestine in 1988 and ended with the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords and the creation of the Palestinian National Authority.


title: Palestine (region)

text: In 2000, the Second Intifada (also called al-Aqsa Intifada) began, and Israel built a separation barrier. In the 2005 Israeli disengagement from Gaza, Israel withdrew all settlers and military presence from the Gaza Strip, but maintained military control of numerous aspects of the territory including its borders, air space and coast. Israel's ongoing military occupation of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem continues to be the world's longest military occupation in modern times.


title: Palestine (region)

text: In November 2012, the status of Palestinian delegation in the United Nations was upgraded to non-member observer state as the State of Palestine.


title: Palestine (region)

text: The boundaries of Palestine have varied throughout history. The Jordan Rift Valley (comprising Wadi Arabah, the Dead Sea and River Jordan) has at times formed a political and administrative frontier, even within empires that have controlled both territories. At other times, such as during certain periods during the Hasmonean and Crusader states for example, as well as during the biblical period, territories on both sides of the river formed part of the same administrative unit. During the Arab Caliphate period, parts of southern Lebanon and the northern highland areas of Palestine and Jordan were administered as "Jund al-Urdun", while the southern parts of the latter two formed part of "Jund Dimashq", which during the 9th century was attached to the administrative unit of "Jund Filastin".


title: Palestine (region)

text: The boundaries of the area and the ethnic nature of the people referred to by Herodotus in the 5th century BCE as Palaestina vary according to context. Sometimes, he uses it to refer to the coast north of Mount Carmel. Elsewhere, distinguishing the Syrians in Palestine from the Phoenicians, he refers to their land as extending down all the coast from Phoenicia to Egypt. Pliny, writing in Latin in the 1st century CE, describes a region of Syria that was "formerly called "Palaestina"" among the areas of the Eastern Mediterranean.


title: Palestine (region)

text: Since the Byzantine Period, the Byzantine borders of "Palaestina" ("I" and "II", also known as "Palaestina Prima", "First Palestine", and "Palaestina Secunda", "Second Palestine"), have served as a name for the geographic area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Under Arab rule, "Filastin" (or "Jund Filastin") was used administratively to refer to what was under the Byzantines "Palaestina Secunda" (comprising Judaea and Samaria), while "Palaestina Prima" (comprising the Galilee region) was renamed "Urdunn" ("Jordan" or "Jund al-Urdunn").


title: Palestine (region)

text: Nineteenth-century sources refer to Palestine as extending from the sea to the caravan route, presumably the Hejaz-Damascus route east of the Jordan River valley. Others refer to it as extending from the sea to the desert. Prior to the Allied Powers victory in World War I and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire, which created the British mandate in the Levant, most of the northern area of what is today Jordan formed part of the Ottoman Vilayet of Damascus (Syria), while the southern part of Jordan was part of the Vilayet of Hejaz. What later became Mandatory Palestine was in late Ottoman times divided between the Vilayet of Beirut (Lebanon) and the Sanjak of Jerusalem. The Zionist Organization provided its definition of the boundaries of Palestine in a statement to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.


title: Palestine (region)

text: The British administered Mandatory Palestine after World War I, having promised to establish a homeland for the Jewish people. The modern definition of the region follows the boundaries of that entity, which were fixed in the North and East in 1920–23 by the British Mandate for Palestine (including the Transjordan memorandum) and the Paulet–Newcombe Agreement, and on the South by following the 1906 Turco-Egyptian boundary agreement.


title: Palestine (region)

text: The region of Palestine is the eponym for the Palestinian people and the culture of Palestine, both of which are defined as relating to the whole historical region, usually defined as the localities within the border of Mandatory Palestine. The 1968 Palestinian National Covenant described Palestine as the "homeland of the Arab Palestinian people", with "the boundaries it had during the British Mandate".


title: Palestine (region)

text: However, since the 1988 Palestinian Declaration of Independence, the term State of Palestine refers only to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This discrepancy was described by the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas as a negotiated concession in a September 2011 speech to the United Nations: "... we agreed to establish the State of Palestine on only 22% of the territory of historical Palestine – on all the Palestinian Territory occupied by Israel in 1967."


title: Palestine (region)

text: The term "Palestine" is also sometimes used in a limited sense to refer to the parts of the Palestinian territories currently under the administrative control of the Palestinian National Authority, a quasi-governmental entity which governs parts of the State of Palestine under the terms of the Oslo Accords.


title: Palestine (region)

text: Estimating the population of Palestine in antiquity relies on two methods – censuses and writings made at the times, and the scientific method based on excavations and statistical methods that consider the number of settlements at the particular age, area of each settlement, density factor for each settlement.


title: Palestine (region)

text: The Bar Kokhba revolt in the 2nd century CE saw a major shift in the population of Palestine. The sheer scale and scope of the overall destruction has been described by Dio Cassius in his "Roman History", where he notes that Roman war operations in the country had left some 580,000 Jews dead, with many more dying of hunger and disease, while 50 of their most important outposts and 985 of their most famous villages were razed to the ground. "Thus," writes Dio Cassius, "nearly the whole of Judaea was made desolate."


title: Palestine (region)

text: According to Israeli archaeologists Magen Broshi and Yigal Shiloh, the population of ancient Palestine did not exceed one million. By 300 CE, Christianity had spread so significantly that Jews comprised only a quarter of the population.


title: Palestine (region)

text: In a study of Ottoman registers of the early Ottoman rule of Palestine, Bernard Lewis reports:[T]he first half century of Ottoman rule brought a sharp increase in population. The towns grew rapidly, villages became larger and more numerous, and there was an extensive development of agriculture, industry, and trade. The two last were certainly helped to no small extent by the influx of Spanish and other Western Jews.From the mass of detail in the registers, it is possible to extract something like a general picture of the economic life of the country in that period. Out of a total population of about 300,000 souls, between a fifth and a quarter lived in the six towns of Jerusalem, Gaza, Safed, Nablus, Ramle, and Hebron. The remainder consisted mainly of peasants, living in villages of varying size, and engaged in agriculture. Their main food-crops were wheat and barley in that order, supplemented by leguminous pulses, olives, fruit, and vegetables. In and around most of the towns there was a considerable number of vineyards, orchards, and vegetable gardens.


title: Palestine (region)

text: According to Alexander Scholch, the population of Palestine in 1850 was about 350,000 inhabitants, 30% of whom lived in 13 towns; roughly 85% were Muslims, 11% were Christians and 4% Jews.


title: Palestine (region)

text: According to Ottoman statistics studied by Justin McCarthy, the population of Palestine in the early 19th century was 350,000, in 1860 it was 411,000 and in 1900 about 600,000 of whom 94% were Arabs. In 1914 Palestine had a population of 657,000 Muslim Arabs, 81,000 Christian Arabs, and 59,000 Jews. McCarthy estimates the non-Jewish population of Palestine at 452,789 in 1882; 737,389 in 1914; 725,507 in 1922; 880,746 in 1931; and 1,339,763 in 1946.


title: Palestine (region)

text: In 1920, the League of Nations' "Interim Report on the Civil Administration of Palestine" described the 700,000 people living in Palestine as follows:


title: Palestine (region)

text: According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, , the total population of Israel was 8.5 million people, of which 75% were Jews, 21% Arabs, and 4% "others." Of the Jewish group, 76% were Sabras (born in Israel); the rest were olim (immigrants)—16% from Europe, the former Soviet republics, and the Americas, and 8% from Asia and Africa, including the Arab countries.


title: Palestine (region)

text: According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics evaluations, in 2015 the Palestinian population of the West Bank was approximately 2.9 million and that of the Gaza Strip was 1.8 million. Gaza's population is expected to increase to 2.1 million people in 2020, leading to a density of more than 5,800 people per square kilometre.


title: Palestine (region)

text: Both Israeli and Palestinian statistics include Arab residents of East Jerusalem in their reports. According to these estimates the total population in the region of Palestine, as defined as Israel and the Palestinian territories, stands approximately 12.8 million.


title: Palestine (region)

text: The World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions is widely used in recording the distribution of plants. The scheme uses the code "PAL" to refer to the region of Palestine – a Level 3 area. The WGSRPD's Palestine is further divided into Israel (PAL-IS), including the Palestinian territories, and Jordan (PAL-JO), so is larger than some other definitions of "Palestine".


title: Manta ray

text: Manta rays are large rays belonging to the genus "Mobula" (formerly its own genus "Manta"). The larger species, "M. birostris", reaches in width, while the smaller, "M. alfredi", reaches . Both have triangular pectoral fins, horn-shaped cephalic fins and large, forward-facing mouths. They are classified among the Myliobatiformes (stingrays and relatives) and are placed in the family Myliobatidae (eagle rays). They have the largest brains and brain to body ratio of all fish, and can pass the mirror test.


title: Manta ray

text: Mantas are found in warm temperate, subtropical and tropical waters. Both species are pelagic; "M. birostris" migrates across open oceans, singly or in groups, while "M. alfredi" tends to be resident and coastal. They are filter feeders and eat large quantities of zooplankton, which they gather with their open mouths as they swim. However, research suggests that the majority of their diet (73%) actually comes from mesopelagic sources. Gestation lasts over a year and mantas give birth to live pups. Mantas may visit cleaning stations for the removal of parasites. Like whales, they breach for unknown reasons.


title: Manta ray

text: Both species are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Anthropogenic threats include pollution, entanglement in fishing nets, and direct harvesting of their gill rakers for use in Chinese medicine. Their slow reproductive rate exacerbates these threats. They are protected in international waters by the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals, but are more vulnerable closer to shore. Areas where mantas congregate are popular with tourists. Only a few public aquariums are large enough to house them.


title: Manta ray

text: The name "manta" is Portuguese and Spanish for mantle (cloak or blanket), a type of blanket-shaped trap traditionally used to catch rays. Mantas are known as "devilfish" because of their horn-shaped cephalic fins, which are imagined to give them an "evil" appearance.


title: Manta ray

text: Manta rays are members of the order Myliobatiformes which consists of stingrays and their relatives. The genus "Manta" is part of the eagle ray family Myliobatidae, where it is grouped in the subfamily Mobulinae along with the smaller "Mobula" devil rays. In 2018, an analysis of DNA, and to a lesser degree, morphology, found that "Mobula" was paraphyletic with respect to the manta rays; that is, the members of the genus "Manta" are closer related to some members of genus "Mobula" than them to other "Mobula", and they recommended treating "Manta" as a junior synonym of "Mobula".


title: Manta ray

text: Mantas evolved from bottom-dwelling stingrays, eventually developing more wing-like pectoral fins. "M. birostris" still has a vestigial remnant of a sting barb in the form of a caudal spine. The mouths of most rays lie on the underside of the head, while in mantas, they are right at the front. The edges of the jaws line up while in devil rays, the lower jaw shifts back when the mouth closes. Manta rays and devil rays are the only ray species that have evolved into filter feeders. Manta rays have dorsal slit-like spiracles, traits which they share with the devil fish and Chilean devil ray.


title: Manta ray

text: The scientific naming of mantas has had a convoluted history, during which several names were used for both the genus ("Ceratoptera", "Brachioptilon", "Daemomanta", and "Diabolicthys") and species (such as "vampyrus", "americana", "johnii", and "hamiltoni"). All were eventually treated as synonyms of the single species "Manta birostris". The genus name "Manta" was first published in 1829 by Dr Edward Nathaniel Bancroft of Jamaica. The specific name " birostris" is ascribed to Johann Julius Walbaum (1792) by some authorities and to Johann August Donndorff (1798) by others. The specific name "alfredi" was first used by Australian zoologist Gerard Krefft, who named the manta after Prince Alfred.


title: Manta ray

text: A 2009 study analyzed the differences in morphology, including color, meristic variation, spine, dermal denticles (tooth-like scales), and teeth of different populations. Two distinct species emerged: the smaller "M. alfredi" found in the Indo-Pacific and tropical East Atlantic, and the larger "M. birostris" found throughout tropical, subtropical and warm temperate oceans. The former is more coastal, while the latter is more ocean-going and migratory. A 2010 study on mantas around Japan confirmed the morphological and genetic differences between "M. birostris" and "M. alfredi".


title: Manta ray

text: A third possible species, preliminarily called "Manta "sp. cf. "birostris", reaches at least in width, and inhabits the tropical West Atlantic, including the Caribbean.


title: Manta ray

text: While some small teeth have been found, few fossilized skeletons of manta rays have been discovered. Their cartilaginous skeletons do not preserve well, as they lack the calcification of the bony fish. Only three sedimentary beds bearing manta ray fossils are known, one from the Oligocene in South Carolina and two from the Miocene and Pliocene in North Carolina. "M. hynei" is a fossil species dating to Early Pliocene North America. Remains of an extinct species have been found in the Chandler Bridge Formation of South Carolina. These were originally described as "Manta fragilis", but were later reclassified as "Paramobula fragilis".


title: Manta ray

text: Manta rays have broad heads, triangular pectoral fins, and horn-shaped cephalic fins located on both sides of their mouths. They have horizontally flattened bodies with eyes on the sides of their heads behind the cephalic fins, and gill slits on their ventral surfaces. Their tails lack skeletal support and are shorter than their disc-like bodies. The dorsal fins are small and at the base of the tail. Mantas can reach . In both species, the width is about 2.2 times the length of the body; "M. birostris" reaches at least in width, while "M. alfredi" reaches about . Their skin is covered in mucus. Mantas normally have a "chevron" coloration. They are typically black or dark on top with pale markings on their "shoulders". Underneath, they are usually white or pale with distinctive dark markings by which individual mantas can be recognized, as well as some shading. Individuals can also vary from mostly black (melanism) to mostly white (leucism). These color morphs appear to be products of neutral mutations and have no effects on fitness. A pink manta ray has been observed in Australia's Great Barrier Reef and scientists believe this could be due to a genetic mutation causing erythrism. The fish, spotted near Lady Elliot Island, is the world's only known pink manta ray.


title: Manta ray

text: The two species of manta differ in color patterns, dermal denticles, and dentition. "M. birostris" has more angular shoulder markings, ventral dark spots on the abdominal region, charcoal-coloured ventral outlines on the pectoral fins, and a dark colored mouth. The shoulder markings of "M. alfredi" are more rounded, while its ventral spots are located near the posterior end and between the gill slits, and the mouth is white or pale colored. The denticles have multiple cusps and overlap in "M. birostris", while those of "M. alfredi" are evenly spaced and lack cusps. Both species have small, square-shaped teeth on the lower jaw, but "M. birostris" also has enlarged teeth on the upper jaw. Unlike "M. alfredi", "M. birostris" has a caudal spine near its dorsal fin.


title: Manta ray

text: Mantas move through the water by the wing-like movements of their pectoral fins. Their large mouths are rectangular, and face forward. The spiracles typical of rays are vestigial and concealed by small flaps of skin, and mantas must keep swimming with their mouths open to keep oxygenated water passing over their gills. The cephalic fins are usually spiraled but flatten during foraging. The fish's gill arches have pallets of pinkish-brown spongy tissue that collect food particles. Mantas track down prey using visual and olfactory senses. They have one of the highest brain-to-body mass ratios and the largest brain size of all fish. Their brains have retia mirabilia which may serve to keep them warm. "M. alfredi" has been shown to dive to depths over , while the Chilean devil ray, which has a similar structure, dives to nearly .


title: Manta ray

text: Mating takes place at different times of the year in different parts of the manta's range. Courtship is difficult to observe in this fast-swimming fish, although mating "trains" with multiple individuals swimming closely behind each other are sometimes seen in shallow water. The mating sequence may be triggered by a full moon and seems to be initiated by a male following closely behind a female while she travels at around . He makes repeated efforts to grasp her pectoral fin with his mouth, which may take 20 to 30 minutes. Once he has a tight grip, he turns upside-down and presses his ventral side against hers. He then inserts one of his claspers into her cloaca, where it remains for 60–90 seconds. The claspers form a tube and a siphon propels semen from the genital papilla into the oviduct. The male continues to grip the female's pectoral fin with his teeth for a further few minutes as both continue to swim, often followed by up to 20 other males. The pair then parts, the female being left with scars of her fin.


title: Manta ray

text: The fertilized eggs develop within the female's oviduct. At first, they are enclosed in an egg case while the developing embryos absorb the yolk. After hatching, the pups remain in the oviduct and receive additional nutrition from milky secretions. With no umbilical cord or placenta, the unborn pup relies on buccal pumping to obtain oxygen. Brood size is usually one or occasionally two. The gestation period is thought to be 12–13 months. When fully developed, the pup resembles a miniature adult and is expelled from the oviduct with no further parental care. In wild populations, an interval of two years between births may be normal, but a few individuals become pregnant in consecutive years, demonstrating an annual ovulatory cycle. The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium has had some success in breeding "M. alfredi", with one female giving birth in three successive years. In one of these pregnancies, the gestation period was 372 days and at birth the pup had a width of and weight of . In Indonesia, "M. birostris" males appear to mature at , while female mature around . In the Maldives, males of "M. alfredi" mature at a width of , while females mature at . In Hawaii, "M. alfredi" matures at a width of for males and for females. Female mantas appear to mature at 8–10 years. Manta rays may live as long as 50 years.


title: Manta ray

text: Swimming behavior in mantas differs across habitats: when travelling over deep water, they swim at a constant rate in a straight line, while further inshore, they usually bask or swim idly around. Mantas may travel alone or in groups up to 50. They may associate with other fish species, as well as sea birds and marine mammals. Mantas sometimes breach or leap out of the water. Individuals in a group may make aerial jumps in succession. Mantas may leap forward and re-enters head first, tail first or make somersaults. The reason for breaching is not known; possible explanations include communication, or the removal of parasites and remoras (suckerfish).


title: Manta ray

text: Mantas visit cleaning stations on coral reefs for the removal of external parasites. The ray adopts a near-stationary position close to the coral surface for several minutes while the cleaner fish feed. Such visits most frequently occur when the tide is high. Individual mantas may revisit the same cleaning station or feeding area repeatedly and appear to have cognitive maps of their environment. In addition, it has been confirmed that reef manta rays form a community with a specific individual and act together.


title: Manta ray

text: Mantas may be preyed upon by large sharks, orcas and false killer whales. They may also harbor parasitic copepods. Mantas can remove internal parasites by sticking their intestines up to out of their cloaca and squeezing them out, often while defecating. Remoras adhere themselves onto mantas for transportation and use their mouths as shelter. Though they may clean them of parasites, remoras can also damage the manta's gills and skin, and increase its swimming load.


title: Manta ray

text: In 2016, scientists published a study in which manta rays were shown to exhibit behavior associated with self-awareness. In a modified mirror test, the individuals engaged in contingency checking and unusual self-directed behavior.


title: Manta ray

text: Manta rays are filter feeders as well as macropredators. On the surface, they consume large quantities of zooplankton in the form of shrimp, krill, and planktonic crabs. In deeper depths, mantas consume small to medium-sized fish. Foraging mantas flatten their cephalic fins to channel food into their mouths. During filter feeding, small particles are collected by the tissue between the gill arches. The standard method of feeding for a lone manta is simply swimming horizontally, turning 180 degrees to feed in the other direction. Up and down movements, sideways tilting and 360 degree somersaults are also observed.


title: Manta ray

text: Mantas engage in a number of group feeding behaviors. An individual may "piggy-back" on a larger, horizontally feeding individual, placing itself over its back. "Chain-feeding" involves them aligning back-to-front and swimming horizontally. Chain-feeding mantas may create a circle, with the lead individual meeting up with the stragglers. More individuals may join, creating a "cyclone" of mantas spiraling upwards. With a diameter of , these cyclones consist of up to 150 mantas and last up to an hour. Studies have shown that around 27% of the diet of "M. birostris" is from the surface, while around 73% is at deeper depths. Mantas may forage on the ocean floor with the cephalic fins splayed apart.


title: Manta ray

text: During filter feeding, the gills may get clogged up, forcing mantas to cough and create a cloud of gill waste. The rays commonly do this above cleaning stations, providing a feast for the cleaner fish. Mantas defecate dark red fecal matter which is often mistaken for blood.


title: Manta ray

text: Mantas are found in tropical and subtropical waters in all the world's major oceans, and also venture into temperate seas. The furthest from the equator they have been recorded is North Carolina in the United States (31°N) and the North Island of New Zealand (36°S). They prefer water temperatures above and "M. alfredi" is predominantly found in tropical areas. Both species are pelagic. "M. birostris" lives mostly in the open ocean, travelling with the currents and migrating to areas where upwellings of nutrient-rich water increase prey concentrations.


title: Manta ray

text: Fish that have been fitted with radio transmitters have traveled as far as from where they were caught, and descended to depths of at least . "M. alfredi" is a more resident and coastal species. Seasonal migrations do occur, but they are shorter than those of "M. birostris". Mantas are common around coasts from spring to fall, but travel further offshore during the winter. They keep close to the surface and in shallow water in daytime, while at night they swim at greater depths.


title: Manta ray

text: The greatest threat to manta rays is overfishing. "M. birostris" is not evenly distributed over the oceans, but is concentrated in areas that provide the food resources it requires, while "M. alfredi" is even more localized. Their distributions are thus fragmented, with little evidence of intermingling of subpopulations. Because of their long lifespans and low reproductive rate, overfishing can severely reduce local populations with little likelihood that individuals from elsewhere will replace them.


title: Manta ray

text: Both commercial and artisanal fisheries have targeted mantas for their meat and products. They are typically caught with nets, trawls, and harpoons. Mantas were once captured by fisheries in California and Australia for their liver oil and skin; the latter made into abrasives. Their flesh is edible and is consumed in some countries, but is unattractive compared to other fish. Demand for their gill rakers, the cartilaginous structures protecting the gills, has recently entered Chinese medicine. To fill the growing demand in Asia for gill rakers, targeted fisheries have developed in the Philippines, Indonesia, Mozambique, Madagascar, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Brazil, and Tanzania. Each year, thousands of manta rays, primarily "M. birostris", are caught and killed purely for their gill rakers. A fisheries study in Sri Lanka and India estimated that over 1000 were being sold in the country's fish markets each year. By comparison, "M. birostris" populations at most of the key aggregation sites around the world are estimated to have significantly fewer than 1000 individuals. Targeted fisheries for manta rays in the Gulf of California, the west coast of Mexico, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Philippines have reduced populations in these areas dramatically.


title: Manta ray

text: Manta rays are subject to other human impacts. Because mantas must swim constantly to flush oxygen-rich water over their gills, they are vulnerable to entanglement and subsequent suffocation. Mantas cannot swim backwards, and because of their protruding cephalic fins, are prone to entanglement in fishing lines, nets, ghost nets, and even loose mooring lines. When snared, mantas often attempt to free themselves by somersaulting, tangling themselves further. Loose, trailing line can wrap around and cut its way into its flesh, resulting in irreversible injury. Similarly, mantas become entangled in gill nets designed for smaller fish. Some mantas are injured by collision with boats, especially in areas where they congregate and are easily observed. Other threats or factors that may affect manta numbers are climate change, tourism, pollution from oil spills, and the ingestion of microplastics.


title: Manta ray

text: The IUCN listed the reef manta as vulnerable in 2019 and the giant manta as endangered in 2020. In 2011, mantas became strictly protected in international waters because of their inclusion in the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals. The CMS is an international treaty organization concerned with conserving migratory species and habitats on a global scale. Although individual nations were already protecting manta rays, the fish often migrate through unregulated waters, putting them at increased risk from overfishing. The Manta Trust is a UK-based charity dedicated to research and conservation efforts for manta rays. The organization's website is also an information resource for manta conservation and biology.


title: Manta ray

text: In 2009, Hawaii became the first of the United States to introduce a ban on the killing or capturing of manta rays. Previously, no fishery for mantas existed in the state but migratory fish that pass the islands are now protected. In 2010, Ecuador introduced a law prohibiting all fishing for manta and other rays, their retention as bycatch and their sale.


title: Manta ray

text: The ancient Peruvian Moche people worshipped the sea and its animals. Their art often depicts manta rays. Historically, mantas were feared for their size and power. Sailors believed that they were dangerous to humans and could pull ships out to sea by the anchor. This attitude changed around 1976, when divers around the Gulf of California found them to be placid and that they could interact with the animals. Several divers photographed themselves with mantas, including "Jaws" author Peter Benchley.


title: Manta ray

text: The Okinawa Ocean Expo Aquarium acquired mantas in 1981 which survived for four days. In addition, at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, a male manta ray, which started captivity in 1992 at its predecessor, the Okinawa Ocean Expo Aquarium, was recorded to have lived for approximately 23 years. The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium houses manta rays in the "Kuroshio Sea" tank, one of the largest aquarium tanks in the world. The first manta ray birth in captivity took place there in 2007. Although this pup did not survive, the aquarium has since had the birth of four more manta rays in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. However, although Manta became pregnant in 2012, she was stillborn. In 2013, she became pregnant, but her mother, manta ray, died and the pup that was taken out died.


title: Manta ray

text: There are currently four mantas spending time at the Georgia Aquarium. One notable individual is "Nandi", a manta ray which was accidentally caught in shark nets off Durban, South Africa, in 2007. Rehabilitated and outgrowing her aquarium at uShaka Marine World, Nandi was moved to the larger Georgia Aquarium in August 2008, where she resides in its 23,848 m (6,300,000 US gal) "Ocean Voyager" exhibit. A second manta ray, "Tallulah", joined that aquarium's collection in September 2009 and a third was added in 2010.


title: Manta ray

text: The Atlantis resort on Paradise Island, Bahamas, hosted a manta named "Zeus" that was used as a research subject for three years until it was released in 2008.


title: Manta ray

text: Manta ray tourism is estimated to generate over US$73 million per year and brings US$140 million per year to local economies. The majority of global revenues come from ten countries: Japan, Indonesia, the Maldives, Mozambique, Thailand, Australia, Mexico, United States, Federated States of Micronesia and Palau. Divers may get a chance to watch mantas visiting cleaning stations and night dives enable viewers to see mantas feeding on plankton attracted by the lights.


title: Manta ray

text: Ray tourism benefits locals and visitors by raising awareness of natural resource management and educating them about the animals. It can also provide funds for research and conservation. Constant unregulated interactions with tourists can negatively affect the fish by disrupting ecological relationships and increasing disease transmission.


title: Manta ray

text: In 2014, Indonesia banned fishing and export targeting the species, as manta ray tourism is more economically beneficial than allowing the fish to be killed. A dead manta is worth $40 to $500, while the economic impact of tourism at a popular dive site can be $1 million per manta over its life. Indonesia has 5.8 million km (2.2 million mi) of ocean, and this is now the world's largest sanctuary for manta rays.


title: Rob Morgan (actor)

text: February 24, 1973) is an American actor known for his role as Turk Barrett in all six of Marvel's Netflix television series (2015-2018), Hap Jackson in "Mudbound" (2017), Officer Powell in "Stranger Things" (2016–present), and Teddy Oglethorpe in "Don't Look Up" (2021).


title: Rob Morgan (actor)

text: In 2020, he was ranked #20 on the "New York Times" list "The 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century".


title: Oklahoma Girl Scout murders

text: The Oklahoma Girl Scout murders took place on the morning of June 13, 1977, at Camp Scott in Mayes County, Oklahoma, United States. The victims were three Girl Scouts, between the ages of 8 and 10, who were raped and murdered. Their bodies were then left on a trail leading to the campsite's showers, about from their tent. The case was classified as solved when Gene Leroy Hart, a local jail escapee with a history of violence, and rape, was arrested. However, Hart was acquitted in March 1979 after a jury unanimously returned a verdict of not guilty. In 2022, it was announced that DNA testing in the case, although officially inconclusive, strongly suggests Hart’s involvement in the crime. The case remains officially unsolved.


title: Oklahoma Girl Scout murders

text: Less than two months before the murders, during an on-site training session, a counselor at Camp Scott discovered that her belongings had been ransacked and her doughnuts had been stolen. Inside the empty doughnut box was a hand-written note, stating in capital letters, "We are on a mission to kill three girls in tent one." The director of that camp session treated the note as a prank, and it was discarded.


title: Oklahoma Girl Scout murders

text: At around 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 12, 1977, the night before camp started, the girls huddled in their tents. Among them were Lori Lee Farmer (8), Doris Denise Milner (10), and Michelle Heather Guse (9). The girls were all residents of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, a suburb of Tulsa. They were sharing tent #7 in the camp's "Kiowa" unit which was located the farthest from the camp counselor's tent, and partially obscured by the camp’s showers.


title: Oklahoma Girl Scout murders

text: At around 6 a.m. on June 13, a camp counselor on her way to the shower saw a girl's body in her sleeping bag in a wooded area just outside the tent area. It was discovered that all three girls from tent #7 were missing. As counselors began searching, they discovered all three girls from tent #7 had been murdered. Two bodies were inside a sleeping bag crumpled towards the bottom of the bag, one body was visible on the outside. They had been left on a trail leading to the showers, about 150 yards from their tent. Subsequent testing showed that they had been bludgeoned, and strangled. All three girls had been raped.


title: Oklahoma Girl Scout murders

text: A large, red flashlight was found on top of the girls' bodies; a smudged fingerprint was found on the lens, but it has never been identified as it was too smudged for a positive identification. A footprint from a 9.5 shoe size was also found in the blood in the tent. Between 2:30 and 3 a.m. on June 13, a landowner reported hearing "quite a bit" of traffic on a remote road near the camp.


title: Oklahoma Girl Scout murders

text: Gene Leroy Hart (November 27, 1943 – June 4, 1979) had been at large since 1973 after escaping from the Mayes County Jail. He had been convicted of kidnapping and raping two pregnant women as well as four counts of first-degree burglary. Raised about a mile from Camp Scott, Hart, a member of the Cherokee nation, was arrested within a year at the home of a Cherokee medicine man. He was represented by Garvin A. Isaacs, a local Oklahoma attorney. He was tried in March 1979. Although the local sheriff pronounced himself "one thousand percent" certain that Hart was guilty, a local jury acquitted him. As a convicted rapist and jail escapee, Hart still had 305 years of his 308-year sentence left to serve in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.


title: Oklahoma Girl Scout murders

text: On June 4, 1979, two years after the murders, Hart collapsed and died of a heart attack at the age of 35, after about an hour of lifting weights and jogging in the prison exercise yard.


title: Oklahoma Girl Scout murders

text: Two of the families later sued the Magic Empire Council and its insurer for $5 million, alleging negligence. The civil trial included discussion of the threatening note and the fact that tent #7 was from the counselors' tent. In 1985, by a 9–3 vote, jurors decided in favor of Magic Empire.


title: Oklahoma Girl Scout murders

text: In 1989, DNA testing was conducted that showed three of the five probes matched Hart's DNA. Statistically, DNA from 1 in 7,700 Native Americans would obtain these results. In 2008, authorities conducted new DNA testing on stains found on a pillowcase, the results of which proved inconclusive because the samples were "too deteriorated to obtain a DNA profile". In 2017, $30,000 in donations were raised by the sheriff in order to do new DNA tests using the latest advances in testing. In 2022, authorities made public that DNA evidence strongly suggests Hart's involvement. Sheriff Mike Reed of Mayes County said, “Unless something new comes up, something brought to light we are not aware of, I am convinced where I’m sitting of Hart’s guilt and involvement in this case.” Reed said the results of the DNA tests have been known since 2019, but did not go public with the findings until asked to do so by the victim's families.


title: Oklahoma Girl Scout murders

text: Richard Guse, the father of one of the three victims, went on to help the state legislature pass the Oklahoma Victims' Bill of Rights. He also helped found the Oklahoma Crime Victims Compensation Board.


title: Oklahoma Girl Scout murders

text: Another parent, Sheri Farmer, founded the Oklahoma chapter of Parents of Murdered Children, a support group.


title: Oklahoma Girl Scout murders

text: A 1993 documentary called "Someone Cry for The Children : The Girl Scout Murders" based on the book of the same name by Michael and Dick Wilkerson was released. The documentary is narrated by Dale Robertson and Johnny Cash. It was directed by Michael Wilkerson.


title: Oklahoma Girl Scout murders

text: A four-part ABC News documentary series, titled "Keeper of the Ashes: The Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders", about the case was released on Hulu on May 24, 2022, a few weeks before the 45th anniversary of the crimes. It is hosted by actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth, who was an 8 year-old Girl Scout in 1977 and had planned to go on the camping trip, but became ill and did not attend.


title: ELISA

text: The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay uses a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence of a ligand (commonly a protein) in a liquid sample using antibodies directed against the protein to be measured. ELISA has been used as a diagnostic tool in medicine, plant pathology, and biotechnology, as well as a quality control check in various industries.


title: ELISA

text: In the most simple form of an ELISA, antigens from the sample to be tested are attached to a surface. Then, a matching antibody is applied over the surface so it can bind the antigen. This antibody is linked to an enzyme and then any unbound antibodies are removed. In the final step, a substance containing the enzyme's substrate is added. If there was binding, the subsequent reaction produces a detectable signal, most commonly a color change.


title: ELISA

text: Performing an ELISA involves at least one antibody with specificity for a particular antigen. The sample with an unknown amount of antigen is immobilized on a solid support (usually a polystyrene microtiter plate) either non-specifically (via adsorption to the surface) or specifically (via capture by another antibody specific to the same antigen, in a "sandwich" ELISA). After the antigen is immobilized, the detection antibody is added, forming a complex with the antigen. The detection antibody can be covalently linked to an enzyme or can itself be detected by a secondary antibody that is linked to an enzyme through bioconjugation. Between each step, the plate is typically washed with a mild detergent solution to remove any proteins or antibodies that are non-specifically bound. After the final wash step, the plate is developed by adding an enzymatic substrate to produce a visible signal, which indicates the quantity of antigen in the sample.


title: ELISA

text: Of note, ELISA can perform other forms of ligand binding assays instead of strictly "immuno" assays, though the name carried the original "immuno" because of the common use and history of development of this method. The technique essentially requires any ligating reagent that can be immobilized on the solid phase along with a detection reagent that will bind specifically and use an enzyme to generate a signal that can be properly quantified. In between the washes, only the ligand and its specific binding counterparts remain specifically bound or "immunosorbed" by antigen-antibody interactions to the solid phase, while the nonspecific or unbound components are washed away. Unlike other spectrophotometric wet lab assay formats where the same reaction well (e.g., a cuvette) can be reused after washing, the ELISA plates have the reaction products immunosorbed on the solid phase, which is part of the plate, and so are not easily reusable.


title: ELISA

text: As an analytical biochemistry assay and a "wet lab" technique, ELISA involves detection of an analyte (i.e., the specific substance whose presence is being quantitatively or qualitatively analyzed) in a liquid sample by a method that continues to use liquid reagents during the analysis (i.e., controlled sequence of biochemical reactions that will generate a signal which can be easily quantified and interpreted as a measure of the amount of analyte in the sample) that stays liquid and remains inside a reaction chamber or well needed to keep the reactants contained. This is in contrast to "dry lab" techniques that use dry strips. Even if the sample is liquid (e.g., a measured small drop), the final detection step in "dry" analysis involves reading of a dried strip by methods such as reflectometry and does not need a reaction containment chamber to prevent spillover or mixing between samples.


title: ELISA

text: As a heterogenous assay, ELISA separates some component of the analytical reaction mixture by adsorbing certain components onto a solid phase which is physically immobilized. In ELISA, a liquid sample is added onto a stationary solid phase with special binding properties and is followed by multiple liquid reagents that are sequentially added, incubated, and washed, followed by some optical change (e.g., color development by the product of an enzymatic reaction) in the final liquid in the well from which the quantity of the analyte is measured. The quantitative "reading" is usually based on detection of intensity of transmitted light by spectrophotometry, which involves quantitation of transmission of some specific wavelength of light through the liquid (as well as the transparent bottom of the well in the multiple-well plate format). The sensitivity of detection depends on amplification of the signal during the analytic reactions. Since enzyme reactions are very well known amplification processes, the signal is generated by enzymes which are linked to the detection reagents in fixed proportions to allow accurate quantification, and thus the name "enzyme-linked."


title: ELISA

text: The analyte is also called the ligand because it will specifically bind or ligate to a detection reagent, thus ELISA falls under the bigger category of ligand binding assays. The ligand-specific binding reagent is "immobilized," i.e., usually coated and dried onto the transparent bottom and sometimes also side wall of a well (the stationary "solid phase"/"solid substrate" here as opposed to solid microparticle/beads that can be washed away), which is usually constructed as a multiple-well plate known as the "ELISA plate." Conventionally, like other forms of immunoassays, the specificity of antigen-antibody type reaction is used because it is easy to raise an antibody specifically against an antigen in bulk as a reagent. Alternatively, if the analyte itself is an antibody, its target antigen can be used as the binding reagent.


title: ELISA

text: Before the development of the ELISA, the only option for conducting an immunoassay was radioimmunoassay, a technique using radioactively labeled antigens or antibodies. In radioimmunoassay, the radioactivity provides the signal, which indicates whether a specific antigen or antibody is present in the sample. Radioimmunoassay was first described in a scientific paper by Rosalyn Sussman Yalow and Solomon Berson published in 1960.


title: ELISA

text: As radioactivity poses a potential health threat, a safer alternative was sought. A suitable alternative to radioimmunoassay would substitute a nonradioactive signal in place of the radioactive signal. When enzymes (such as horseradish peroxidase) react with appropriate substrates (such as ABTS or TMB), a change in color occurs, which is used as a signal. However, the signal has to be associated with the presence of antibody or antigen, which is why the enzyme has to be linked to an appropriate antibody. This linking process was independently developed by Stratis Avrameas and G. B. Pierce. Since it is necessary to remove any unbound antibody or antigen by washing, the antibody or antigen has to be fixed to the surface of the container; i.e., the immunosorbent must be prepared. A technique to accomplish this was published by Wide and Jerker Porath in 1966.


title: ELISA

text: In 1971, Peter Perlmann and Eva Engvall at Stockholm University in Sweden, and Anton Schuurs and Bauke van Weemen in the Netherlands independently published papers that synthesized this knowledge into methods to perform EIA/ELISA.


title: ELISA

text: Traditional ELISA typically involves chromogenic reporters and substrates that produce some kind of observable color change to indicate the presence of antigen or analyte. Newer ELISA-like techniques use fluorogenic, electrochemiluminescent, and quantitaoppositiontive PCR reporters to create quantifiable signals. These new reporters can have various advantages, including higher sensitivities and multiplexing. In technical terms, newer assays of this type are not strictly ELISAs, as they are not "enzyme-linked", but are instead linked to some nonenzymatic reporter. However, given that the general principles in these assays are largely similar, they are often grouped in the same category as ELISAs.


title: ELISA

text: In 2012, an ultrasensitive, enzyme-based ELISA test using nanoparticles as a chromogenic reporter was able to give a naked-eye colour signal, from the detection of mere attograms of analyte. A blue color appears for positive results and red color for negative. Note that this detection only can confirm the presence or the absence of analyte, not the actual concentration.


title: ELISA

text: There are many ELISA tests for particular molecules that use the matching antibodies. ELISA tests are broken into several types of tests based on how the analytes and antibodies are bonded and used. The major types are described here.


title: ELISA

text: The enzyme acts as an amplifier; even if only few enzyme-linked antibodies remain bound, the enzyme molecules will produce many signal molecules. Within common-sense limitations, the enzyme can go on producing color indefinitely, but the more antibody is bound, the faster the color will develop. A major disadvantage of the direct ELISA is that the method of antigen immobilization is not specific; when serum is used as the source of test antigen, all proteins in the sample may stick to the microtiter plate well, so small concentrations of analyte in serum must compete with other serum proteins when binding to the well surface. The sandwich or indirect ELISA provides a solution to this problem, by using a "capture" antibody specific for the test antigen to pull it out of the serum's molecular mixture.


title: ELISA

text: ELISA may be run in a qualitative or quantitative format. Qualitative results provide a simple positive or negative result (yes or no) for a sample. The cutoff between positive and negative is determined by the analyst and may be statistical. Two or three times the standard deviation (error inherent in a test) is often used to distinguish positive from negative samples. In quantitative ELISA, the optical density (OD) of the sample is compared to a standard curve, which is typically a serial dilution of a known-concentration solution of the target molecule. For example, if a test sample returns an OD of 1.0, the point on the standard curve that gave OD = 1.0 must be of the same analyte concentration as the sample.


title: ELISA

text: The use and meaning of the names "indirect ELISA" and "direct ELISA" differs in the literature and on web sites depending on the context of the experiment. When the presence of an antigen is analyzed, the name "direct ELISA" refers to an ELISA in which only a labelled primary antibody is used, and the term "indirect ELISA" refers to an ELISA in which the antigen is bound by the primary antibody which then is detected by a labeled secondary antibody. In the latter case a sandwich ELISA is clearly distinct from an indirect ELISA. When the "primary" antibody is of interest, e.g. in the case of immunization analyses, this antibody is directly detected by the secondary antibody and the term "indirect ELISA" applies to a setting with two antibodies.


title: ELISA

text: The image to the right includes the use of a secondary antibody conjugated to an enzyme, although, in the technical sense, this is not necessary if the primary antibody is conjugated to an enzyme (which would be direct ELISA). However, the use of a secondary-antibody conjugate avoids the expensive process of creating enzyme-linked antibodies for every antigen one might want to detect. By using an enzyme-linked antibody that binds the Fc region of other antibodies, this same enzyme-linked antibody can be used in a variety of situations. Without the first layer of "capture" antibody, any proteins in the sample (including serum proteins) may competitively adsorb to the plate surface, lowering the quantity of antigen immobilized. Use of the purified specific antibody to attach the antigen to the plastic eliminates a need to purify the antigen from complicated mixtures before the measurement, simplifying the assay, and increasing the specificity and the sensitivity of the assay. Therefore, a sandwich ELISA used for research often needs validation, to reduce the risk of false positive results.


title: ELISA

text: A third use of ELISA is through competitive binding. The steps for this ELISA are somewhat different from the first two examples:


title: ELISA

text: Some competitive ELISA kits include enzyme-linked antigen rather than enzyme-linked antibody. The labeled antigen competes for primary antibody binding sites with the sample antigen (unlabeled). The less antigen in the sample, the more labeled antigen is retained in the well and the stronger the signal.


title: ELISA

text: For the detection of HIV antibodies, the wells of microtiter plate are coated with the HIV antigen. Two specific antibodies are used, one conjugated with enzyme and the other present in serum (if serum is positive for the antibody). Cumulative competition occurs between the two antibodies for the same antigen, causing a stronger signal to be seen. Sera to be tested are added to these wells and incubated at 37 °C, and then washed. If antibodies are present, the antigen-antibody reaction occurs. No antigen is left for the enzyme-labelled specific HIV antibodies. These antibodies remain free upon addition and are washed off during washing. Substrate is added, but there is no enzyme to act on it, so a positive result shows no color change.


title: ELISA

text: A fourth ELISA test does not use the traditional wells.  This test leaves the antigens suspended in the test fluid.


title: ELISA

text: This test allows multiple antigens to be tagged and counted at the same time.  This allows specific strains of bacteria to be identified by two (or more) different color tags.  If both tags are present on a cell, then the cell is that specific strain.  If only one is present, it is not.


title: ELISA

text: This test is done, generally, one test at a time and cannot be done with the microtiter plate. The equipment needed is usually less complicated and can be used in the field.


title: ELISA

text: The following table lists the enzymatic markers commonly used in ELISA assays, which allow the results of the assay to be measured upon completion.


title: ELISA

text: Because the ELISA can be performed to evaluate either the presence of antigen or the presence of antibody in a sample, it is a useful tool for determining serum antibody concentrations (such as with the HIV test or West Nile virus). It has also found applications in the food industry in detecting potential food allergens, such as milk, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, and eggs and as serological blood test for coeliac disease. ELISA can also be used in toxicology as a rapid presumptive screen for certain classes of drugs.


title: ELISA

text: The ELISA was the first screening test widely used for HIV because of its high sensitivity. In an ELISA, a person's serum is diluted 400 times and applied to a plate to which HIV antigens are attached. If antibodies to HIV are present in the serum, they may bind to these HIV antigens. The plate is then washed to remove all other components of the serum. A specially prepared "secondary antibody"—an antibody that binds to other antibodies—is then applied to the plate, followed by another wash. This secondary antibody is chemically linked in advance to an enzyme.


title: ELISA

text: Thus, the plate will contain enzyme in proportion to the amount of secondary antibody bound to the plate. A substrate for the enzyme is applied, and catalysis by the enzyme leads to a change in color or fluorescence. ELISA results are reported as a number; the most controversial aspect of this test is determining the "cut-off" point between a positive and a negative result.


title: ELISA

text: A cut-off point may be determined by comparing it with a known standard. If an ELISA test is used for drug screening at workplace, a cut-off concentration, 50 ng/ml, for example, is established, and a sample containing the standard concentration of analyte will be prepared. Unknowns that generate a stronger signal than the known sample are "positive." Those that generate weaker signal are "negative".


title: ELISA

text: There are ELISA tests to detect various kind of diseases, such as dengue, malaria, Chagas disease, Johne's disease, and others. ELISA tests also are extensively employed for "in vitro" diagnostics in medical laboratories. The other uses of ELISA include:


title: Da'Vine Joy Randolph

text: Da'Vine Joy Randolph (born May 21, 1986) is an American actress and singer. She first gained recognition as Oda Mae Brown in the Broadway production of "Ghost: The Musical" (2012); she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her acting in this role.


title: Da'Vine Joy Randolph

text: Randolph's early films include "The Angriest Man in Brooklyn" (2014) and "Office Christmas Party" (2016); she acted in the television series "Selfie" (2014) and the television series "People of Earth" (2016–17). She received critical acclaim for her performance as Lady Reed in the biographical film "Dolemite Is My Name" (2019). In 2020, Randolph starred in the romantic comedy television series "High Fidelity".


title: Da'Vine Joy Randolph

text: Randolph grew up in Philadelphia and Hershey, Pennsylvania. She went to Temple University to focus on vocal performance, but in her junior year she decided to switch concentrations to musical theatre. After graduating from Temple she went to the Yale School of Drama. She graduated from Yale in 2011 with her master's degree.


title: Da'Vine Joy Randolph

text: Randolph auditioned for an understudy role in the Broadway transfer of "Ghost the Musical" (which was currently playing in London's West End), but the producers decided to cast her in the principal role of Oda Mae Brown. Before the casting of the Broadway transfer was announced Sharon D. Clarke, who played Oda Mae in the London run of "Ghost the Musical", suffered a minor knee injury. Randolph was quickly flown to London to cover the role in Clarke's absence. Her debut performance took place on Friday December 16, 2011 and she continued to share the role with understudy Lisa Davina Phillip until early January 2012, when Clarke returned.


title: Da'Vine Joy Randolph

text: After a preview period that began in March 2012, the Broadway production opened Monday April 23, 2012 with Randolph playing opposite Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy in the leading roles. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.


title: Da'Vine Joy Randolph

text: Randolph played Charmonique in ABC's situation comedy series "Selfie", which premiered on September 30, 2014.


title: Da'Vine Joy Randolph

text: Randolph did voiceover for the role of Christine in the Netflix original series "The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show".


title: Republic Day (India)

text: Republic Day is a public holiday in India where the country marks and celebrates the date on which the Constitution of India came into effect on 26 January 1950. This replaced the Government of India Act 1935 as the governing document of India, thus turning the nation into a republic separate from British Raj. The constitution was adopted by the Indian Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949 and came into effect on 26 January 1950. 26 January was chosen as the date for Republic Day as it was on that day in 1930 when the Declaration of Indian Independence was proclaimed by the Indian National Congress.


title: Republic Day (India)

text: India achieved independence from the British Raj on 15 August 1947 following the Indian independence movement. The independence came through the Indian Independence Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo 6 c 30), an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into the two new independent Dominions of the British Commonwealth (later Commonwealth of Nations). India obtained its independence on 15 August 1947 as a constitutional monarchy with George VI as head of state and the Earl Mountbatten as governor-general. The country, though, did not yet have a permanent constitution; instead its laws were based on the modified colonial Government of India Act 1935. On 29 August 1947, a resolution was moved for the appointment of Drafting Committee, which was appointed to draft a permanent constitution, with Dr B R Ambedkar as chairman. While India's Independence Day celebrates its freedom from British Rule, the Republic Day celebrates the coming into force of its constitution. A draft constitution was prepared by the committee and submitted to the Constituent Assembly on 4 November 1947. The Assembly met for 166 days in public sessions spanning two years, 11 months, and 18 days before adopting the Constitution. The 308 members of the Assembly signed two handwritten copies of the document (one in Hindi and one in English) on 24 January 1950, after much deliberation and some changes. Two days later which was on 26 January 1950, it came into effect throughout the whole nation. On that day, Dr. Rajendra Prasad's began his first term of office as President of the Indian Union. The Constituent Assembly became the Parliament of India under the transitional provisions of the new Constitution. On the eve of Republic Day, the President addresses the nation.


title: Republic Day (India)

text: On November 25, 1949, in his final speech to the Constituent Assembly, Dr B R Ambedkar remarked about the potential and pitfalls of life after January 26, 1950,


title: Republic Day (India)

text: The main Republic Day celebration is held in the national capital, New Delhi, at the Rajpath before the President of India. On this day, ceremonious parades take place at the Rajpath, which are performed as a tribute to India; its unity in diversity and rich cultural heritage.


title: Republic Day (India)

text: The Delhi Republic Day parade is held in the capital, New Delhi and is organised by the Ministry of Defence. Commencing from the gates of the Rashtrapati Bhavan (the President's residence), Raisina Hill on Rajpath past the India Gate, this event is the main attraction of India's Republic Day Celebrations and lasts for three days. The parade showcases India's Defence Capability, Cultural and Social Heritage. Nine to twelve different regiments of the Indian Army in addition to the Navy, and Air Force with their bands march past in all their finery and official decorations. The President of India who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces, takes the salute. Twelve contingents of various para-military forces of India and police forces also take part in this parade.


title: Republic Day (India)

text: The Beating Retreat ceremony is held after officially denoting the end of Republic Day festivities. It is conducted on the evening of 29 January, the third day after the Republic Day. It is performed by the bands of the three wings of the military, the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force. The venue is Raisina Hill and an adjacent square, Vijay Chowk, flanked by the North and South block of the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President's Palace) towards the end of Rajpath.


title: Republic Day (India)

text: The Chief Guest of the function is the President of India who arrives escorted by the President's Bodyguard (PBG), a cavalry unit. When the President arrives, the PBG commander asks the unit to give the National Salute, which is followed by the playing of the Indian National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana, by the Army. The Army develops the ceremony of display by the massed bands in which Military Bands, Pipe and Drum Bands, Buglers and Trumpeters from various Army Regiments besides bands from the Navy and Air Force take part which play popular tunes like "Abide With Me", Mahatma Gandhi's favourite hymn, and "Saare Jahan Se Achcha" at the end.


title: Republic Day (India)

text: On the eve of Republic Day, the President of India distributes Padma Awards to the civilians of India every year. These are the second highest civilian awards in India after Bharat Ratna. These awards are given in three categories, viz. Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, in decreasing order of importance.


title: Republic Day (India)

text: While being national honours, the Padma awards do not include cash allowances, benefits, or special concessions in rail/air travel. Per a December 1995 judgment of the Supreme Court of India, no titles or honorifics are associated with the Bharat Ratna or any of the Padma awards; Honorees cannot use them or their initials as suffixes, prefixes or pre- and post-nominals attached to the awardee's name. This includes any such use on letterheads, invitation cards, posters, books etc. In the case of any misuse, the awardee will forfeit the award, and he or she will be cautioned against any such misuse upon receiving the honour.


title: Republic Day (India)

text: The decoration comprises a sanad (Certificate) issued under the hand and seal of the President and a Medallion. The recipients are also given a replica of the medallion, which they can wear during any ceremonial/State functions etc., if they desire. A commemorative brochure giving out brief details in respect of each award winner is also released on the day of the investiture ceremony.


title: Cairn

text: A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word "cairn" comes from the (plural ).


title: Cairn

text: Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistoric times, they were raised as markers, as memorials and as burial monuments (some of which contained chambers).


title: Cairn

text: In modern times, cairns are often raised as landmarks, especially to mark the summits of mountains. Cairns are also used as trail markers. They vary in size from small stone markers to entire artificial hills, and in complexity from loose conical rock piles to elaborate megalithic structures. Cairns may be painted or otherwise decorated, whether for increased visibility or for religious reasons.


title: Cairn

text: A variant is the inuksuk (plural inuksuit), used by the Inuit and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America.


title: Cairn

text: The building of cairns for various purposes goes back into prehistory in Eurasia, ranging in size from small rock sculptures to substantial man-made hills of stone (some built on top of larger, natural hills). The latter are often relatively massive Bronze Age or earlier structures which, like kistvaens and dolmens, frequently contain burials; they are comparable to tumuli (kurgans), but of stone construction instead of earthworks. "Cairn" originally could more broadly refer to various types of hills and natural stone piles, but today is used exclusively of artificial ones.


title: Cairn

text: The word "cairn" derives from Scots (with the same meaning), in turn from Scottish Gaelic , which is essentially the same as the corresponding words in other native Celtic languages of Britain, Ireland and Brittany, including Welsh (and ), Breton , Irish , and Cornish or . Cornwall () itself may actually be named after the cairns that dot its landscape, such as Cornwall's highest point, Brown Willy Summit Cairn, a 5 m (16 ft) high and 24 m (79 ft) diameter mound atop Brown Willy hill in Bodmin Moor, an area with many ancient cairns. Burial cairns and other megaliths are the subject of a variety of legends and folklore throughout Britain and Ireland. In Scotland, it is traditional to carry a stone up from the bottom of a hill to place on a cairn at its top. In such a fashion, cairns would grow ever larger. An old Scottish Gaelic blessing is , "I'll put a stone on your stone". In Highland folklore it is recounted that before Highland clans fought in a battle, each man would place a stone in a pile. Those who survived the battle returned and removed a stone from the pile. The stones that remained were built into a cairn to honour the dead. Cairns in the region were also put to vital practical use. For example, Dún Aonghasa, an all-stone Iron Age Irish hill fort on Inishmore in the Aran Islands, is still surrounded by small cairns and strategically placed jutting rocks, used collectively as an alternative to defensive earthworks because of the karst landscape's lack of soil. In February 2020, ancient cairns dated back to 4,500 year-old used to bury the leaders or chieftains of neolithic tribes people were revealed in the Cwmcelyn in Blaenau Gwent by the Aberystruth Archaeological Society.


title: Cairn

text: In Scandinavia, cairns have been used for centuries as trail and sea marks, among other purposes. In Iceland, cairns were often used as markers along the numerous single-file roads or paths that crisscrossed the island; many of these ancient cairns are still standing, although the paths have disappeared. In Norse Greenland, cairns were used as a hunting implement, a game-driving "lane", used to direct reindeer towards a game jump.


title: Cairn

text: In the mythology of ancient Greece, cairns were associated with Hermes, the god of overland travel. According to one legend, Hermes was put on trial by Hera for slaying her favorite servant, the monster Argus. All of the other gods acted as a jury, and as a way of declaring their verdict they were given pebbles, and told to throw them at whichever person they deemed to be in the right, Hermes or Hera. Hermes argued so skillfully that he ended up buried under a heap of pebbles, and this was the first cairn.


title: Cairn

text: In Croatia, in areas of ancient Dalmatia, such as Herzegovina and the Krajina, they are known as "gromila".


title: Cairn

text: In Portugal a cairn is called a . In a legend the moledros are enchanted soldiers, and if one stone is taken from the pile and put under a pillow, in the morning a soldier will appear for a brief moment, then will change back to a stone and magically return to the pile. The cairns that mark the place where someone died or cover the graves alongside the roads where in the past people were buried are called . The same name given to the stones was given to the dead whose identity was unknown.


title: Cairn

text: Cairns ("taalo") are a common feature at El Ayo, Haylan, Qa’ableh, Qombo'ul, Heis, Salweyn and Gelweita, among other places. Somaliland in general is home to a lot of such historical settlements and archaeological sites wherein are found numerous ancient ruins and buildings, many of obscure origins. However, many of these old structures have yet to be properly explored, a process which would help shed further light on local history and facilitate their preservation for posterity.


title: Cairn

text: Since Neolithic times, the climate of North Africa has become drier. A reminder of the desertification of the area is provided by megalithic remains, which occur in a great variety of forms and in vast numbers in presently arid and uninhabitable wastelands: cairns ("kerkour"), dolmens and circles like Stonehenge, underground cells excavated in rock, barrows topped with huge slabs, and step pyramid-like mounds.


title: Cairn

text: The Biblical place name Gilead (Genesis 31 etc.) means literally "heap of testimony/evidence" as does its Aramaic translation (ibid.) " ". In modern Hebrew, "gal-'ed" () is the actual word for "cairn". In the cairn of Gilead was set up as a border demarcation between Jacob and his father-in-law Laban at their last meeting.


title: Cairn

text: Starting in the Bronze Age, burial cists were sometimes interred into cairns, which would be situated in conspicuous positions, often on the skyline above the village of the deceased. Though most often found in the British Isles, evidence of Bronze Age cists have been found in Mongolia. The stones may have been thought to deter grave robbers and scavengers. Another explanation is that they were to stop the dead from rising. There remains a Jewish tradition of placing small stones on a person's grave as a token of respect, known as visitation stones, though this is generally to relate the longevity of stone to the eternal nature of the soul and is not usually done in a cairn fashion. Stupas in India and Tibet probably started out in a similar fashion, although they now generally contain the ashes of a Buddhist saint or lama.


title: Cairn

text: A traditional and often decorated, heap-formed cairn called an "ovoo" is made in Mongolia. It primarily serves religious purposes, and finds use in both Tengriist and Buddhist ceremonies. Ovoos were also often used as landmarks and meeting points in traditional nomadic Mongolian culture. Traditional ceremonies still take place at ovoos today, and in a survey conducted, 75 participants out of 144 participants stated that they believe in ovoo ceremonies. However, mining and other industrial operations today threaten the ovoos


title: Cairn

text: In Hawaii, cairns, called by the Hawaiian word , are still being built today. Though in other cultures the cairns were typically used as trail markers and sometimes funerary sites, the ancient Hawaiians also used them as altars or security tower. The Hawaiian people are still building these cairns today, using them as the focal points for ceremonies honoring their ancestors and spirituality.


title: Cairn

text: In South Korea cairns are quite prevalent, often found along roadsides and trails, up on mountain peaks, and adjacent to Buddhist temples. Hikers frequently add stones to existing cairns trying to get just one more on top of the pile, to bring good luck. This tradition has its roots in the worship of San-shin, or Mountain Spirit, so often still revered in Korean culture.


title: Cairn

text: Throughout what today are the continental United States and Canada, some Indigenous peoples of the Americas have built structures similar to cairns. In some cases these are general trail markers, and in other cases they mark game-driving "lanes", such as those leading to buffalo jumps.


title: Cairn

text: Peoples from some of the Indigenous cultures of arctic North America (i.e. northern Canada, Alaska and Greenland) have built carefully constructed stone sculptures called and, which serve as landmarks and directional markers. The oldest of these structures are very old and pre-date contact with Europeans. They are iconic of the region (an even features on the flag of the Canadian far-northeastern territory, Nunavut).


title: Cairn

text: Cairns have been used throughout what is now Latin America, since pre-Columbian times, to mark trails. Even today, in the Andes of South America, the Quechuan peoples build cairns as part of their spiritual and religious traditions.


title: Cairn

text: Cairn can be used to mark hiking trails, especially in mountain regions at or above the tree line. Examples can be seen in the lava fields of Volcanoes National Park to mark several hikes. Placed at regular intervals, a series of cairns can be used to indicate a path across stony or barren terrain, even across glaciers. In Acadia National Park, in Maine, the trails are marked by a special type of cairn instituted in the 1890s by Waldron Bates and dubbed Bates cairns.


title: Cairn

text: Coastal cairns called sea marks are also common in the northern latitudes, especially in the island-strewn waters of Scandinavia and eastern Canada. They are placed along shores and on islands and islets. Usually painted white for improved offshore visibility, they serve as navigation aids. In Sweden they are called , in Finland , in Norway , and are indicated in navigation charts and maintained as part of the nautical marking system.


title: All-Star Weekend (film)

text: All-Star Weekend is an unreleased American sports comedy-drama film directed by Jamie Foxx, who co-wrote the screenplay with Donald "Speedy" Caldwell Jr. Produced by Foxx, Avram "Butch" Kaplan, Chuck Pacheco, and Deon Taylor, the film stars Foxx, Jeremy Piven, Jessica Szohr, Eva Longoria, Robert Downey Jr., Ken Jeong, Gerard Butler, and Benicio del Toro.


title: All-Star Weekend (film)

text: Malik and Danny, two truck drivers who are basketball fanatics, worship their respective favorite players, LeBron James and Stephen Curry. Danny's girlfriend Abby is reconsidering the relationship because she does not want to take a back seat to his obsession. The two drivers finally get a break from their dead-end job when they win tickets to the NBA All-Star Game. On their way to the big game, Malik and Danny meet the beautiful and mysterious Asia, who might have her own hidden agenda. After many twists and turns, the guys find themselves and their heroes in a precarious life-or-death situation.


title: All-Star Weekend (film)

text: In October 2012, the film was first announced as part of an informal partnership between Jamie Foxx and Ken Jeong, where they agreed to star in movies written by the other. Due to the partnership, Jeong signed on to "All-Star Weekend", while Foxx would have starred in Jeong's "After Prom", but production on that film ended up in development hell. In early 2016, Robert Downey Jr., Gerard Butler, Benicio del Toro, Jessica Szohr, and Eva Longoria were confirmed to star in the film alongside Foxx and Jeong.


title: All-Star Weekend (film)

text: Principal photography began on October 26, 2016, in Los Angeles, California, with John T. Connor serving as cinematographer. Several actors were confirmed to appear including Jeremy Piven, DJ Khaled, French Montana, Inanna Sarkis, Jasmine Waltz, Luenell, Terrence Terrell, Corinne Foxx, Tyrin Turner, The Game, and RD Whittington. During a July 2017 podcast interview on "The Joe Rogan Experience", Jamie Foxx revealed that he "will portray a white, racist cop" and "managed to convince Robert Downey Jr. to play a Mexican" in the film. Foxx reiterated this during a June 2018 interview on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", while also revealing that Downey Jr. was only on set for 4 hours. In January 2019, the film was in post-production. Jeffery Alan Jones served as re-recording mixer, via Alan Audio Works.


title: All-Star Weekend (film)

text: "All-Star Weekend" was originally scheduled to be released on February 16, 2018, to coincide with the 2018 NBA All-Star Game, but post-production was not completed in time. The film was delayed to February 22, 2019, within the week of the 2019 NBA All-Star Game, but ended up missing the release date for undisclosed reasons. The film was then projected to be released sometime later in 2019, then later projected to be released in 2021. By July 2022, the film was considered indefinitely shelved. In August 2022, Jamie Foxx confirmed the film will not be released, due to it "trying to break open the sensitive corners with Robert Downey Jr. playing a Mexican man". Downey Jr.'s role was stated to have been inspired by his character Kirk Lazarus in "Tropic Thunder" (2008).


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: Joshua Walter Kimmich (; born 8 February 1995) is a German professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or right-back for club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team. Known for his complete playstyle, versatility, aggression, and playmaking ability, he is considered one of the best and most complete midfielders in the world. He is often compared with former Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm and is considered his successor.


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: After coming through RB Leipzig's youth academy, Kimmich began playing for the club' first team in 2013. Two years later, he joined Bayern Munich. In the 2019–20 season, after winning the continental treble with Bayern Munich, Kimmich was included in the UEFA Team of the Year, the FIFA FIFPro Men's World11, and was recognized as the UEFA Champions League Defender of the Season.


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: Widely considered one of the best midfielders of this generation, José Mourinho lauded him calling him a phenomenon, and was also highly praised by many coaches and pundits like Pep Guardiola.


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: He then went on to join RB Leipzig in July 2013. Stuttgart secured an option to rebuy. He made his 3. Liga debut for the club on 28 September of that year, as a substitute for Thiago Rockenbach in a 2–2 draw with SpVgg Unterhaching. He scored his first professional goal in a 3–2 victory over 1. FC Saarbrücken on 30 November 2013. He finished the 2013–14 season with one goal in 26 appearances.


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: Kimmich scored his first goal of the 2014–15 season in a 3–2 victory against Union Berlin on 1 March 2015. He finished the 2014–15 season with two goals in 29 appearances.


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: On 2 January 2015, Kimmich agreed to join Bayern Munich on a five-year contract lasting until 30 June 2020, for a reported fee of €7 million, most of which went to VfB Stuttgart. He made his debut for the club on 9 August, starting in the first round of the DFB-Pokal against FC Nöttingen. Pep Guardiola gave him his Bundesliga debut the following month on 12 September when he entered play as a late substitute at home against FC Augsburg. Four days later, Kimmich made his first appearance in the UEFA Champions League in Bayern's tournament opener away at Olympiakos and he started in the Bundesliga for the first time three days thereafter, playing 90 minutes against SV Darmstadt 98 in a 3–0 victory.


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: Kimmich ended his first season at Bayern having made 23 league appearances of which 15 were starts. He also played the full 120 minutes in Bayern's 2016 DFB-Pokal Final defeat of Borussia Dortmund at the Berlin Olympiastadion on 21 May.


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: Kimmich started the 2016–17 season by coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 win against Borussia Dortmund in the 2016 DFL-Supercup. On 9 September, he scored his first goal for FC Bayern in a 2–0 Bundesliga, away win at FC Schalke 04. Four days later, he scored his first two Champions League goals in a 5–0 home win against FC Rostov. Kimmich scored a late winning goal in the 88th minute in a 1–0 away victory over Hamburger SV. He finished the 2016–17 season with nine goals in forty appearances.


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: Kimmich played in the 2017 DFL-Supercup and won the title as Bayern defeated their arch-rival Borussia Dortmund on 5–4 penalties after the extra time ended 2–2. On 16 September, he provided overall three assists to Thomas Müller, Arjen Robben and Robert Lewandowski's goals to defeat 1. FSV Mainz 05 with a 4–0 victory. On 9 March 2018, Kimmich signed a three-year contract extension which lasts until 30 June 2023. He managed to score each goal in both the first and second leg in the Champions League semi-final tie against Real Madrid, but his side were knocked out from the competition on 4–3 aggregate. Kimmich finished the 2017–18 season with six goals and seventeen assists in 47 appearances.


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: On 12 August, Kimmich started the 2018–19 season by playing in the German Super Cup and also won the title as his side defeated Eintracht Frankfurt with a 5–0 victory. The following week, on 18 August 2018, Kimmich played in the 1–0 win against SV Drochtersen/Assel in the first round of the German Cup. Kimmich played in the opening match of the Bundesliga season against 1899 Hoffenheim on 24 August 2018. Bayern won the match 3–1. Kimmich's first goal of the season came against Hannover 96 on 15 December 2018. He made his 100th league appearance for the club on 9 February 2019 during a 3–1 win over rivals, Schalke.


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: Kimmich played every single minute in all 34 matches in the Bundesliga. In those 34 matches, Kimmich scored two goals and finished second in the league with 13 assists. On 14 August 2020, Kimmich scored one goal and provided an assist in an 8–2 win over Barcelona in the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League quarter-final. On 23 August 2020, Kimmich made an important assist for the winning goal against Paris Saint-Germain by Kingsley Coman in the final, to be his first Champions League title along with his teammate Serge Gnabry, another VfB Stuttgart academy product.


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: Kimmich started the 2020–21 season by acquiring the number 6 shirt, after Thiago Alcântara, who had worn it for seven years, departed for Liverpool. On 30 September 2020, he scored the winning goal in a 3–2 win over Borussia Dortmund in the 2020 DFL-Supercup. On 27 October, Kimmich scored the winning goal in a 2–1 away victory over Lokomotiv Moscow in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League.


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: On 17 May 2016, Kimmich was named in Germany's preliminary 27-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016. On 31 May 2016, he was named in the final 23-man squad and given the shirt number 21. On 21 June 2016, Kimmich was selected to start for Germany in their final Group C match against Northern Ireland, replacing Benedikt Höwedes at right-back. Kimmich remained Germany's first-choice right-back as they reached the semi-finals and was named in UEFA's Team of the Tournament.


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: On 4 September 2016, Kimmich scored his first goal for the German national team in a 3–0 victory over Norway during 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification.


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: On 17 May 2017, Kimmich was included in Joachim Löw's Germany squad for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. He started in all five of the team's matches at the tournament, registering two assists, as Germany won its first Confederations Cup title.


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: On 6 June 2017, Kimmich scored from a stunning overhead kick in a friendly against Denmark in the 88th minute of the game which helped Germany to grab their late equaliser against Denmark, as the match ended up 1–1.


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: On 4 June 2018, Kimmich was selected for Germany's final 23-man squad by Joachim Löw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. On 17 June 2018, Kimmich made his World Cup debut against Mexico in their opening match, but the game ended in a 1–0 loss for Germany.


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: On 6 September 2018, Kimmich started Germany's UEFA Nations League opener against France, playing as a defensive midfielder for the first time in 18 months.


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: On 4 June 2022, he played the entire 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw against Italy in a group game in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League and scored a goal in the process. Ten days later, he scored a goal in a 5–2 win against the same opponent.


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: Horst Hrubesch has praised Kimmich for his versatility, saying "Joshua has enormous quality and is versatile in both attacking and defensive roles," also describing him as "an intelligent player with good technical skills and agility" and as "a winner." Remarking on Kimmich's versatility, a 2017 article on the Bundesliga's official website referred to him as a "veritable Swiss Army knife of a player", citing Guardiola's conversion of a player he once referred to as "one of the best defensive midfielder in the world" into a right-back. He has also been used as a make-shift centre-back on occasion, as a central midfielder, or even as a deep-lying playmaker, due to his ability to dictate play in midfield. In 2015, Guardiola described Kimmich as a promising player, and noted that he "...has everything a player needs. He is very intelligent, always aggressive toward the ball, strong in the air, has an eye for free space, has superb vision and knows when to charge forward and when to sit back."


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: Amin Younes complimented Kimmich's defensive awareness as well in an interview, after the U21 EURO group stage. "Winning the ball back superbly. He does that really well", Younes told to the media. During the U21 competition, Philip Röber of UEFA.com, described Kimmich's playing style on the website and compared him to İlkay Gündoğan, but other critics compared him to retired Bayern captain Philipp Lahm.At Leipzig, he was part of an extremely attack-minded team in which his ball-winning qualities in front of a high back four shone through. In the Germany U21 side, he has a deeper role, but he has also caught the eye as a tidy defensive midfielder. Kimmich has great timing in his tackles, can dribble and does not mind putting in the legwork.


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: Being comfortable in possession, Kimmich is also known for his precise passing and crossing, and is a good striker of the ball. Kimmich himself has cited Bastian Schweinsteiger, Xabi Alonso, and Xavi as some of his inspirations.


title: Joshua Kimmich

text: Kimmich has two children, a son, born in 2019, and a daughter, born in October 2020, with his girlfriend Lina Meyer. He launched an online initiative "We Kick Corona" with his Bayern Munich teammate Leon Goretzka, to help charitable, social or medical institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite his early support for that initiative, Kimmich has remained unvaccinated against COVID. His unvaccinated status caused him to miss important matches for both the German national team and Bayern. After testing positive for COVID in November 2021 and reportedly experiencing multiple side effects including decreased lung capacity, Kimmich publicly stated that he regretted his hesitancy and stated he would be receiving the vaccination.


title: Browser game

text: A browser game or a "flash game" is a video game that is played via the internet using a web browser. They are mostly free-to-play and can be single-player or multiplayer.


title: Browser game

text: Some browser games are also available as mobile apps, PC games, or on consoles. For users, the advantage of the browser version is not having to install the game; the browser automatically downloads the necessary content from the game's website. However, the browser version may have fewer features or inferior graphics compared to the others, which are usually native apps.


title: Browser game

text: The front end of a browser game is what runs in the user's browser. It is implemented with the standard web technologies of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and WebAssembly. In addition, WebGL enables more sophisticated graphics. On the back end, numerous server technologies can be used.


title: Browser game

text: In the past, many games were created with Adobe Flash, but they can no longer be played in the major browsers, such as Google Chrome, Safari, and Firefox due to Adobe Flash being shut down on December 31, 2020. Thousands of these games have been preserved by the Flashpoint project.


title: Browser game

text: When the Internet first became widely available and initial web browsers with basic HTML support were released, the earliest browser games were similar to text-based Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs), minimizing interactions to what implemented through simple browser controls but supporting online interactions with other players through a basic client–server model. One of the first known examples of a browser game was "Earth 2025", first released in 1995. It featured only text but allowed players to interact and form alliances with other players of the game.


title: Browser game

text: Browser technology quickly began to mature in the mid-1990s with support for browser plug-ins and the introduction of JavaScript. More advanced browser interactions, unbounded by the restrictions of HTML and that used client-side processing were possible. Among other browser extensions, these new plug-ins allowed uses to run applets made in the Java language and interactive animations created in Macromedia Flash. These technologies were initially intended to provide web page developers tools to create fully immersive, interactive websites, though this use fell out of favor as it was considered elitism and broke expected browsing behavior. Instead, these technologies found use by programmers to create small browser games among other unexpected uses such as general animation tools.


title: Browser game

text: Sites began to emerge in the late 1990s to collect these browser games and other works, such as Sun Microsystems' HotJava. These sites started to become a popular commodity as they drew web visitors. Microsoft acquired one such site, The Village, in 1996, and rebranded it as the Internet Gaming Zone, offering various card and board browser games. ClassicGames.com was created in 1997 to host a selection of classic, Java-based online multiplayer games such as chess and checkers; its popularity led Yahoo! to purchase the site in 1998 and rebranding it as Yahoo! Games.


title: Browser game

text: In 1999, Tom Fulp kickstarted the Flash games scene with the release of the game "Pico's School" on his site Newgrounds that featured a "complexity of design and polish in presentation that was virtually unseen in amateur Flash game development" of the time.


title: Browser game

text: Expansion of broadband connectivity in the early 2000s drew more people to play browser games through these sites, as well as added attention as viral phenomenon. New sites like Kongregate and Armor Games arose for hosting Flash-based games while also offering their own titles, while companies like PopCap Games and King launched their own portals featuring titles they had developed. Social media sites also drove more players to browser games. Facebook, after launching in 2004, added support for browser game functionality that integrated with its social network features, creating social network games, notably with Zynga's "Farmville". The success of browser games did hurt some developers. Humongous Entertainment reported that they lost players to Flash games in the early 2000s.


title: Browser game

text: Flash games were considered to have hit their peak in the mid-2000s but waned by the early 2010s. Their popularity had fallen due to two primary causes. First was the introduction of mobile gaming, primarily with Apple's iPhone release in 2007 and the availability of the App Store. Through the App Store, anyone could release apps for the iPhone, and with the addition of in-app purchases, new revenue models such as free-to-play quickly emerged for mobile games, well surpassing the current ad-driven revenue model of browser games. Google used the same concepts for developing the Android storefront Play Store. Developers either augmented browser games or shifted to the mobile platform to take advantage of the new revenue opportunities; notably, King transitioned one of its browser games into one of the most successful mobile games, "Candy Crush Saga". The second factor came from the claimed "death knell" for Adobe Flash via way of Steve Jobs' open letter to Adobe in 2010, stating that Apple would not support Flash on the iPhone platform due to security concerns and other factors. About a year after Jobs' letter, Adobe announced it would start deprecating Flash and transition users to HTML5 and other open standards in its other products. Adobe completely shut down Flash by December 30, 2020 after giving web developers a few years to prepare for this event. With little future in Flash, developers moved away from the browser platform in the early 2010s.


title: Browser game

text: However, the latter part of the 2000s in terms of browser games also overlapped with the emergence of indie games. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the video game industry had started to coalesce around triple-A development, games made by large studios with multi-million dollar budgets. Because of the money involved, the industry took few risks in these major titles, and experimental games were generally overlooked. Browser games gave a venue for such titles during the early 2000s, and the broader interest in-browser games by the mid-2000s highlighted several of these titles. Subsequently, a number of early indie games are those based on browser games, such as The Behemoth's "Castle Crashers", inspired by Newgrounds' "Alien Hominid" and Edmund McMillen's "Super Meat Boy" based on his "Meat Boy" browser game. Other indie developers got their start in browser and Flash games, including Vlambeer, Bennett Foddy, and Maddy Thorson.