title: Bactrian camel

text: In 2007, Peng Cui (of the Chinese Academy of Sciences) and colleagues carried out a phylogenetic study of the evolutionary relationships between the two tribes of Camelidae: Camelini – consisting of the three "Camelus" species (the study considered the wild Bactrian camel as a subspecies of the Bactrian camel) – and Lamini – consisting of the alpaca ("Vicugna pacos"), the guanaco ("Lama guanicoe"), the llama ("L. glama") and the vicuña ("V. vicugna"). The study revealed that the two tribes had diverged 25 million years ago (early Miocene), notably earlier than what had been previously estimated from North American fossils. Speciation began first in Lamini as the alpaca came into existence 10 million years ago. Nearly 2 million years later, the Bactrian camel and the dromedary emerged as two independent species. However, the fossil record suggests a far more recent divergence between the Bactrian camel and the dromedary because despite a moderately rich fossil record of camelids, no fossil that fits within this divergence is older than middle Pleistocene (about 0.8 Ma).


title: Bactrian camel

text: The Bactrian camel and the dromedary often interbreed to produce fertile offspring. Where the ranges of the two species overlap, such as in northern Punjab, Iran and Afghanistan, the phenotypic differences between them tend to decrease as a result of extensive crossbreeding between them. The fertility of their hybrid has given rise to speculation that the Bactrian camel and the dromedary should be merged into a single species with two varieties. However, a 1994 analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene revealed that the species display 10.3% divergence in their sequences.


title: Bactrian camel

text: The wild Bactrian camel ("Camelus ferus") was first described by Nikolay Przhevalsky in the late 19th century and has now been established as a distinct species from the Bactrian camel ("Camelus bactrianus").


title: Bactrian camel

text: Zoological opinion nowadays tends to favour the idea that "C. bactrianus" and "C. dromedarius" are descendants of two different subspecies of "C. ferus" (Peters and von den Driesch 1997: p. 652) and there is no evidence to suggest that the original range of "C. ferus" included those parts of Central Asia and Iran where some of the earliest Bactrian remains have been found. In particular, a population of wild Bactrian camel has been discovered to live within a part of the Gashun Gobi region of the Gobi Desert. This population is distinct from domesticated herds both in genetic makeup and in behavior.


title: Bactrian camel

text: As many as three regions in the genetic makeup are distinctly different from Bactrian camels, with up to a 3% difference in the base genetic code. However, with so few wild camels, what the natural genetic diversity within a population would have been is not clear.


title: Bactrian camel

text: Another difference is the ability of these wild camels to drink saltwater slush, although whether the camel can extract useful water from it is not yet certain. Domesticated camels are unable to drink such salty water.


title: Bactrian camel

text: The Bactrian camel is the largest mammal in its native range and is the largest living camel while being shorter at the shoulder than the dromedary. Shoulder height is from with the overall height ranging from , head-and-body length is , and the tail length is . At the top of the humps, the average height is .


title: Bactrian camel

text: Body mass can range from , with males weighing around 600 kg, and females around 480 kg. Its long, wooly coat varies in colour from dark brown to sandy beige. A mane and beard of long hair occurs on the neck and throat, with hairs measuring up to long.


title: Bactrian camel

text: The shaggy winter coat is shed extremely rapidly, with huge sections peeling off at once, appearing as if sloppily shorn. The two humps on the back are composed of fat (not water as is sometimes thought). The face is typical of a camelid, being long and somewhat triangular, with a split upper lip. The long eyelashes, along with the sealable nostrils, help to keep out dust in the frequent sandstorms which occur in their natural range. The two broad toes on each foot have undivided soles and are able to spread widely as an adaptation to walking on sand. The feet are very tough, as befits an animal of extreme environments.


title: Bactrian camel

text: These camels are migratory, and their habitat ranges from rocky mountain massifs to flat arid desert, stony plains, and sand dunes. Conditions are extremely harsh – vegetation is sparse, water sources are limited and temperatures are extreme. The coat of the Bactrian camel can withstand cold as low as in winter to in summer. The camels' distribution is linked to the availability of water, with large groups congregating near rivers after rain or at the foot of the mountains, where water can be obtained from springs in the summer months, and in the form of snow during the winter.


title: Bactrian camel

text: Bactrian camels are exceptionally adept at withstanding wide variations in temperature, ranging from freezing cold to blistering heat. They have a remarkable ability to go without water for months at a time, but when water is available they may drink up to 57 liters at once. When well fed, the humps are plump and erect, but as resources decline, the humps shrink and lean to the side. When moving faster than a walking speed, they pace, by stepping forwards with both legs on the same side (as opposed to trotting, using alternate diagonals as done by most other quadrupeds). Speeds of up to have been recorded, but they rarely move this fast. Bactrian camels are also said to be good swimmers. The sense of sight is well developed and the sense of smell is extremely good. The lifespan of Bactrian camels is estimated at up to 50 years, more often 20 to 40 in captivity.


title: Bactrian camel

text: Bactrian camels are diurnal, sleeping in the open at night and foraging for food during the day. They are primarily herbivorous. With tough mouths that can withstand sharp objects such as thorns, they are able to eat plants that are dry, prickly, salty or bitter, and can ingest virtually any kind of vegetation. When other nutrient sources are not available, these camels may feed on carcasses, gnawing on bones, skin, or various different kinds of flesh. In more extreme conditions, they may eat any material they find, which has included rope, sandals, and even tents. Their ability to feed on a wide range of foods allows them to live in areas with sparse vegetation. The first time food is swallowed, it is not fully chewed. The partly masticated food (called cud) goes into the stomach and later is brought back up for further chewing.


title: Bactrian camel

text: Bactrian camels belong to a fairly small group of animals that regularly eat snow to provide their water needs. Animals living above the snowline may have to do this, as snow and ice can be the only forms of water during winter, and by doing so, their range is greatly enlarged. The latent heat of snow and ice is big compared with the heat capacity of water, forcing animals to eat only small amounts at a time.


title: Bactrian camel

text: Bactrian camels are induced ovulators – they ovulate after insemination (insertion of semen into the vagina); the seminal plasma, not the spermatozoa, induces ovulation. Ovulation occurs in 87% of females after insemination: 66% ovulate within 36 hours and the rest by 48 hours (the same as natural mating). The least amount of semen required to elicit ovulation is about 1.0 ml.


title: Bactrian camel

text: Males during mating time are often quite violent and may bite, spit, or attempt to sit on other male camels. The age of sexual maturity varies, but is usually reached at 3–5 years. Gestation lasts around 13 months. One or occasionally two calves are produced, and the female can give birth to a new calf every other year. Young Bactrian camels are precocial, being able to stand and run shortly after birth, and are fairly large at an average birth weight of . They are nursed for about 1.5 years. The young calf stays with its mother for three to five years, until it reaches sexual maturity, and often helps raise subsequent generations for those years. Wild camels sometimes breed with domesticated or feral camels.


title: Bactrian camel

text: The Bactrian camel was domesticated circa ~4,500 BCE. The dromedary is believed to have been domesticated between 4000 BCE and 2000 BCE in Arabia. As pack animals, these ungulates are virtually unsurpassed, able to carry at a rate of per day, or over a period of four days. The species was a mainstay of transportation on the Silk Road. Furthermore, Bactrian camels are frequently ridden, especially in desertified areas. In ancient Sindh, for example, Bactrian camels of two humps were initially used by the rich for riding. The camel was later brought to other areas such as Balochistan and Iran for the same purpose.


title: Bactrian camel

text: Bactrian camels have been the focus of artwork throughout history. For example, western foreigners from the Tarim Basin and elsewhere were depicted in of the Chinese Tang dynasty (618–907).


title: Bactrian camel

text: Bactrian camels were imported to the U.S. several times in the mid- to late 1800s, both by the U.S. military and by merchants and miners, looking for pack animals sturdier and hardier than horses and mules. Although the camels met these needs, the United States Camel Corps was never considered much of a success. Having brought two shipments of fewer than 100 camels to the U.S., plans were made to import another 1,000, but the US Civil War interrupted this. Most surviving camels of these endeavors, both military and private, were merely turned loose to survive in the wild. As a result, small feral herds of Bactrian camels existed during the late 19th century in the southwest deserts of the United States.


title: Bactrian camel

text: The Indian Army uses these camels to patrol in Ladakh. It was concluded that after carrying out trials and doing a comparative study with a single-humped camel brought from Rajasthan that the double-humped camel is better suited for the task at hand. Colonel Manoj Batra, a veterinary officer of the Indian Army, stated that the double-humped camel "are best suited for these conditions. They can carry loads of at more than which is much more than the ponies that are being used as of now. They can survive without water for at least 72 hours."


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld ( , ; 29 July 1905 – 18 September 1961) was a Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second Secretary-General of the United Nations from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961. As of 2022, he remains the youngest person to have held the post, having been only 47 years old when he was appointed.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: Hammarskjöld's tenure was characterized by efforts to strengthen the newly formed UN both internally and externally. He led initiatives to improve morale and organisational efficiency while seeking to make the UN more responsive to global issues. He presided over the creation of the first UN peacekeeping forces in Egypt and the Congo and personally intervened to defuse or resolve diplomatic crises. Hammarskjöld's second term was cut short when he died in a plane crash while en route to cease-fire negotiations during the Congo Crisis.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: Hammarskjöld was and remains well regarded internationally as a capable diplomat and administrator, and his efforts to resolve various global crises led to him being the only posthumous recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He is considered one of the two best UN secretaries-general, along with his successor U Thant, and his appointment has been hailed as one of the most notable successes for the organization. U.S. President John F. Kennedy called Hammarskjöld "the greatest statesman of our century."


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: Dag Hammarskjöld was born in Jönköping to the noble family Hammarskjöld (also spelled "Hammarskiöld" or "Hammarsköld"). He spent most of his childhood in Uppsala. His home there, which he considered his childhood home, was Uppsala Castle. He was the fourth and youngest son of Hjalmar Hammarskjöld, Prime Minister of Sweden from 1914 to 1917.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: Hammarskjöld studied first at Katedralskolan and then at Uppsala University. By 1930, he had obtained Licentiate of Philosophy and Master of Laws degrees. Before he finished his law degree he had already obtained a job as Assistant Secretary of the Unemployment Committee.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: From 1930 to 1934, Hammarskjöld was Secretary of a governmental committee on unemployment. During this time he wrote his economics thesis, ""Konjunkturspridningen"" ("The Spread of the Business Cycle"), and received a doctorate from Stockholm University. In 1936, he became a secretary in Sweden's central bank, the Riksbank. From 1941 to 1948, he served as chairman of the Riksbank's General Council.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: Hammarskjöld quickly developed a successful career as a Swedish public servant. He was state secretary in the Ministry of Finance 1936–1945, Swedish delegate to the Organization for European Economic Cooperation 1947–1953, cabinet secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1949–1951 and minister without portfolio in Tage Erlander's government 1951–1953.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: He helped coordinate government plans to alleviate the economic problems of the post-World War II period and was a delegate to the Paris conference that established the Marshall Plan. In 1950, he became head of the Swedish delegation to UNISCAN, a forum to promote economic cooperation between the United Kingdom and the Scandinavian countries. Although Hammarskjöld served in a cabinet dominated by the Social Democrats, he never officially joined any political party.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: In 1951, Hammarskjöld was vice chairman of the Swedish delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in Paris. He became the chairman of the Swedish delegation to the General Assembly in New York in 1952. On 20 December 1954, he was elected to take his father's vacated seat in the Swedish Academy.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: On 10 November 1952 Trygve Lie announced his resignation as Secretary-General of the United Nations. Several months of negotiations ensued between the Western powers and the Soviet Union, without reaching an agreement on his successor. On 13 and 19 March 1953, the Security Council voted on four candidates. Lester B. Pearson of Canada was the only candidate to receive the required majority, but he was vetoed by the Soviet Union. At a consultation of the permanent members on 30 March 1953, French permanent representative Henri Hoppenot suggested four candidates, including Hammarskjöld, whom he had met at the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: The superpowers hoped to seat a Secretary-General who would focus on administrative issues and refrain from participating in political discussion. Hammarskjöld's reputation at the time was, in the words of biographer Emery Kelèn, "that of a brilliant economist, an unobtrusive technician, and an aristo-bureaucrat". As a result, there was little to no controversy in his selection; the Soviet permanent representative, Valerian Zorin, found Hammarskjöld "harmless". Zorin declared that he would be voting for Hammarskjöld, surprising the Western powers. The announcement set off a flurry of diplomatic activity. British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden was strongly in favor of Hammarskjöld and asked the United States to "take any appropriate action to induce the [Nationalist] Chinese to abstain". (Sweden recognized the People's Republic of China and faced a potential veto from the Republic of China.) At the U.S. State Department, the nomination "came as a complete surprise to everyone here and we started scrambling around to find out who Mr. Hammarskjold was and what his qualifications were". The State Department authorized Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., the US Ambassador, to vote in favor after he told them that Hammarskjöld "may be as good as we can get".


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: On 31 March 1953, the Security Council voted 10-0-1 to recommend Hammarskjöld to the General Assembly, with an abstention from Nationalist China. Shortly after midnight on 1 April 1953, Hammarskjöld was awakened by a telephone call from a journalist with the news, which he dismissed as an April Fool's Day joke. He finally believed the news after the third phone call. The Swedish mission in New York confirmed the nomination at 03:00 and a communique from the Security Council was soon thereafter delivered to him. After consulting with the Swedish cabinet and his father, Hammarskjöld decided to accept the nomination. He sent a wire to the Security Council:


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: With strong feeling personal insufficiency I hesitate to accept candidature but I do not feel I could refuse to assume the task imposed on me should the [UN General] Assembly follow the recommendation of the Security Council by which I feel deeply honoured.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: Later in the day Hammarskjöld held a press conference at the Swedish Foreign Ministry. According to diplomat Sverker Åström, he displayed an intense interest and knowledge in the affairs of the UN, which he had never shown any indication of before.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: The UN General Assembly voted 57-1-1 on 7 April 1953 to appoint Dag Hammarskjöld as Secretary-General of the United Nations. Hammarskjöld was sworn in as Secretary-General on 10 April 1953. He was unanimously reelected on 26 September 1957 for another term, taking effect on 10 April 1958.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: Immediately following the assumption of the Secretariat, Hammarskjöld attempted to establish a good rapport with his staff. He made a point of visiting every UN department to shake hands with as many workers as possible, eating in the cafeteria as often as possible, and relinquishing the Secretary-General's private elevator for general use. He began his term by establishing his own secretariat of 4,000 administrators and setting up regulations that defined their responsibilities. He was also actively engaged in smaller projects relating to the UN working environment; for example, he spearheaded the building of a meditation room at the UN headquarters, where people can withdraw into themselves in silence, regardless of their faith, creed, or religion.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: During his term, Hammarskjöld tried to improve relations between Israel and the Arab states. Other highlights include a 1955 visit to China to negotiate the release of 11 captured US pilots who had served in the Korean War, the 1956 establishment of the United Nations Emergency Force, and his intervention in the 1956 Suez Crisis. He is given credit by some historians for allowing participation of the Holy See within the UN that year.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: In 1960, the newly independent Congo asked for UN aid in defusing the Congo Crisis. Hammarskjöld made four trips to Congo, but his efforts toward the decolonisation of Africa were considered insufficient by the Soviet Union; in September 1960, the Soviet government denounced his decision to send a UN emergency force to keep the peace. They demanded his resignation and the replacement of the office of Secretary-General by a three-man directorate with a built-in veto, the "troika". The objective was, citing the memoirs of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, to "equally represent interests of three groups of countries: capitalist, socialist and recently independent".


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: The UN sent a nearly 20,000-strong peacekeeping force to restore order in Congo-Kinshasa. Hammarskjöld's refusal to place peacekeepers in the service of Lumumba's constitutionally elected government provoked a strong reaction of disapproval from the Soviets. The situation would become more scandalous with the assassination of Lumumba by Tshombe's troops. In February 1961, the UN authorized the Peacekeeping Forces to use military force to prevent civil war. The Blue Helmets' attack on Katanga caused Tshombe to flee to Zambia. Hammarskjöld's erratic attitude in not providing support to Lumumba's government, which had been elected by popular vote, drew severe criticism among non-aligned countries and communist and socialist countries. In the end, his actions were supported only by the United States and Belgium.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: On 18 September 1961, Hammarskjöld was en route to negotiate a cease-fire between United Nations Operation in the Congo forces and Katangese troops under Moise Tshombe. His Douglas DC-6 airliner SE-BDY crashed near Ndola, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). Hammarskjöld perished as a result of the crash, as did all of the 15 other passengers. Hammarskjöld's death set off a succession crisis at the United Nations, as there was no line of succession and the Security Council had to vote on a successor.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: The circumstances of the crash are still unclear. A 1962 Rhodesian inquiry concluded that pilot error was to blame, while a later UN investigation could not determine the cause of the crash. There is evidence suggesting the plane was shot down. A CIA report claimed the KGB was responsible.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: The day after the crash, former U.S. President Harry Truman commented that Hammarskjöld "was on the point of getting something done when they killed him. Notice that I said 'when they killed him'."


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: In 1998, documents surfaced suggesting CIA, MI6, and/or Belgian mining interest involvement via a South African paramilitary organization. The information was contained in a file from the South African National Intelligence Agency turned over to the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission in relation to the 1993 assassination of Chris Hani, leader of the South African Communist Party. These documents included an alleged plot to "remove" Hammarskjöld and contained a supposed statement from CIA director Allen Dulles that "Dag is becoming troublesome … and should be removed." Hammarskjöld's mission to end the war over the mineral-rich Katangese secession from the newly formed Republic of the Congo was contrary to the interests of those organizations. However these documents were copies rather than originals, precluding substantiation of authenticity through ink and paper testing.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: Göran Björkdahl, a Swedish aid worker whose father worked for the UN in Zambia, wrote in 2011 that he believed Hammarskjöld's death was a murder committed, in part, to benefit mining companies like Union Minière, after Hammarskjöld had made the UN intervene in the Katanga crisis. Björkdahl based his assertion on interviews with witnesses of the plane crash near the border of the DRC with Zambia and on archival documents.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: In 2013 accident investigator Sven Hammarberg was asked by the International Commission of Jurists to investigate Hammarskjöld's death.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: In 2014, newly declassified documents revealed that the American ambassador to the Congo sent a cable to Washington D.C. warning that the plane could have been shot down by Belgian mercenary pilot , commander of the small Katanga Air Force. Van Risseghem died in 2007.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: On 16 March 2015, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed members to an Independent Panel of Experts to examine new information related to Hammarskjöld's death. The three-member panel was led by Mohamed Chande Othman, the Chief Justice of Tanzania, and included Kerryn Macaulay (Australia's representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization) and Henrik Larsen (a ballistics expert from the Danish National Police). The panel's 99-page report, released 6 July 2015, assigned "moderate" value to nine new eyewitness accounts and transcripts of radio transmissions. Those accounts suggested that Hammarskjöld's plane was already on fire as it landed and that other jet aircraft and intelligence agents were nearby.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: In 2016, the original documents from the 1998 South African investigation surfaced. Those familiar with the investigation cautioned that even if authentic, the documents could have been initially authored as part of a disinformation campaign.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: In 2017, "Airplane Disasters", Series 9, Episode 10: "Deadly Mission" analyzed that the pilot attempting the night landing simply flew into an uncharted hill near the airport.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: In 2019, the documentary film "Cold Case Hammarskjöld" by Danish filmmaker Mads Brügger claimed that Jan van Risseghem had told a friend that he shot down Hammarskjöld's aircraft. This went against the official stance maintained by van Risseghem's family that he was not involved in the death of Hammarskjöld. According to an interview with van Risseghem's wife, he was in Rhodesia negotiating the purchase of a plane for the Katanga Air Force, with the logbooks providing "proof that he was not flying for Katanga at the time". The documentary crew interviewed multiple colleagues of van Risseghem for the film, all of whom supported their theory. In an interview with Swedish historian Leif Hellström, van Risseghem claimed that he was not in southern Africa at the time the crash happened, and dismissed the idea of his being potentially involved as "fairy stories".


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: Previously unpublished documents continue to emerge from the UN archives. One found in November 2021, is a death warrant for Hammarskjöld signed by the infamous OAS, the secret organisation nestled in the French army at the time of Algeria's war of independence. The document reads: "It is high time to put an end to his harmful intrusion (…) this sentence common to justice and fairness to be carried out, as soon as possible". The source was revealed by the French journalist Maurin Picard, according to whom the links between the white mercenaries in Katanga and OAS are overt.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: In 1953, soon after his appointment as United Nations Secretary-General, Hammarskjöld was interviewed on radio by Edward R. Murrow. In this talk Hammarskjöld declared:


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: But the explanation of how man should live a life of active social service in full harmony with himself as a member of the community of spirit, I found in the writings of those great medieval mystics <nowiki>[</nowiki>Meister Eckhart and Jan van Ruysbroek<nowiki>]</nowiki> for whom 'self-surrender' had been the way to self-realization, and who in 'singleness of mind' and 'inwardness' had found strength to say yes to every demand which the needs of their neighbours made them face, and to say yes also to every fate life had in store for them when they followed the call of duty as they understood it.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: Hammarskjöld's only book, "Vägmärken" ("Markings", or more literally "Waymarks"), was published in 1963. A collection of his diary reflections, the book starts in 1925, when he was 20 years old, and ends the month before his death in 1961. This diary was found in his New York house, after his death, along with an undated letter addressed to then Swedish Permanent Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, . In this letter, Hammarskjöld wrote:


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: These entries provide the only true 'profile' that can be drawn ... If you find them worth publishing, you have my permission to do so.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: "Markings" was described by the late theologian Henry P. Van Dusen as "the noblest self-disclosure of spiritual struggle and triumph, perhaps the greatest testament of personal faith written ... in the heat of professional life and amidst the most exacting responsibilities for world peace and order". Hammarskjöld wrote, for example:


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny. But what we put into it is ours. He who wills adventure will experience it – according to the measure of his courage. He who wills sacrifice will be sacrificed – according to the measure of his purity of heart.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: "Markings" is characterised by Hammarskjöld's intermingling of prose and haiku poetry in a manner exemplified by the 17th-century Japanese poet Basho in his "Narrow Roads to the Deep North". In his foreword to "Markings", W. H. Auden quotes Hammarskjöld as stating:


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: Hammarskjöld's interest in philosophical and spiritual matters is also proven by the finding of Martin Buber's main work "I and Thou", which he was translating into Swedish, in the wreckage after the plane crash.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America commemorates the life of Hammarskjöld as a renewer of society, on the anniversary of his death, 18 September.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: The Australian-British composer Malcolm Williamson, Master of the Queen's Music, wrote his "Hammarskjöld Portrait" for soprano and string orchestra in 1974. The text was taken from "Vägmärken", and the work's first performance took place on 30 July 1974, at a Royal Albert Hall Proms Concert, with the soprano Elisabeth Söderström, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Pritchard.


title: Dag Hammarskjöld

text: In the 2016 film "The Siege of Jadotville", depicting the events of the Congo Crisis, in the movie, his plane is purposely shot down by an unidentified fighter jet plane. Hammarskjöld is played by fellow Swede Mikael Persbrandt.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: Saint-Tropez (; , ; ) is a commune in the Var department and the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southern France. It is west of Nice and east of Marseille, on the French Riviera, of which it is one of the best-known towns. In 2018, Saint-Tropez had a population of 4,103. The adjacent narrow body of water is the Gulf of Saint-Tropez (French: "Golfe de Saint-Tropez"), stretching to Sainte-Maxime to the north under the Massif des Maures.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: Saint-Tropez was a military stronghold and fishing village until the beginning of the 20th century. It was the first town on its coast to be liberated during World War II as part of Operation Dragoon. After the war, it became an internationally known seaside resort, renowned principally because of the influx of artists of the French New Wave in cinema and the Yé-yé movement in music. It later became a resort for the European and American jet set and tourists.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: In 599 B.C., the Phocaeans from Ionia founded Massilia (present-day Marseille) and established other coastal mooring sites in the area. The ancient name of Athenopolis has been identified as Saint-Tropez, and Pliny the Elder writes that it belonged to the Massilians. In 31 B.C., the Romans invaded the region. Their citizens built many opulent villas in the area, including one known as the "Villa des Platanes" (Villa of the Plane Trees). The closest settlement to Saint-Tropez in antiquity is attested as Heraclea-Caccabaria, today Cavalaire-sur-Mer, situated on the southern end of the peninsula, while the gulf of Saint-Tropez was called , which likely survives in the settlement name of Les Issambres.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: The town owes its current name to the early martyr Saint Torpes. Legend tells of his decapitation at Pisa during Nero's reign, with his body placed in a rotten boat along with a rooster and a dog. The body landed at the present-day location of the town of Saint-Tropez.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: Toward the end of the ninth century, long after the fall of the Roman Empire in the West, pirates and privateers began a hundred years of attacks and sackings. In the tenth century, the village of La Garde-Freinet was founded to the north of Saint-Tropez. From 890 to 972, Saint-Tropez and its surroundings became an Arab Muslim colony dominated by the nearby Saracenic settlement of Fraxinet; in 940, Saint-Tropez was controlled by Nasr ibn Ahmad. From 961 to 963, Adalbert, son of Berengar, the pretender to the throne of Lombardy who was pursued by Otto I, hid at Saint-Tropez. In 972, the Muslims of Saint-Tropez held Maïeul, the abbot of Cluny, for ransom.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: In 976, William I, Count of Provence, Lord of Grimaud, began attacking the Muslims, and in 980 he built a tower where the Suffren tower now stands. In 1079 and 1218, Papal bulls mentioned the existence of a manor at Saint-Tropez.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: From 1436, Count René I (the "good King René") tried to repopulate Provence. He created the Barony of Grimaud and appealed to the Genoan Raphael de Garezzio, a wealthy gentleman who had sent a fleet of caravels carrying 60 Genoese families to the area. In return, Count René promised to exempt the citizens from taxation. On 14 February 1470, Jean de Cossa, Baron of Grimaud and Grand Seneschal of Provence, agreed that the Genoan could build city walls and two large towers, which still stand: one tower is at the end of the Grand Môle and the other is at the entrance to the Ponche.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: The city became a small republic with its own fleet and army and was administered by two consuls and 12 elected councillors. In 1558, the city's captain Honorat Coste was empowered to protect the city. The captain led a militia and mercenaries who successfully resisted attacks by the Turks and Spanish, succored Fréjus and Antibes and helped the Archbishop of Bordeaux regain control of the Lérins Islands.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: In 1577, the daughter of the Marquis Lord of Castellane, Genevieve de Castilla, married Jean-Baptiste de Suffren, Marquis de Saint-Cannet, Baron de La Môle, and advisor to the parliament of Provence. The lordship of Saint-Tropez became the prerogative of the De Suffren family. One of the most notable members of this family was the later vice-admiral Pierre André de Suffren de Saint-Tropez (1729–1788), veteran of the War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: In September 1615, Saint-Tropez was visited by a delegation led by the Japanese samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga that was on its way to Rome but was forced by weather to stop in the town. This may have been the first contact between the French and the Japanese.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: The local noblemen were responsible for raising an army that repulsed a fleet of Spanish galleons on 15 June 1637; "Les Bravades des Espagnols", a local religious and military celebration, commemorates this victory of the Tropezian militia. Count René's promise in 1436 to not tax the citizens of Saint-Tropez was honored until 1672, when Louis XIV abrogated it as he imposed French control.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: During the 1920s, Saint-Tropez attracted famous figures from the fashion world such as Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli. During World War II, the landing on 15 August 1944 began the Allied invasion of southern France, Operation Dragoon. In the 1950s, Saint-Tropez became internationally renowned as the setting for such films as "And God Created Woman", which starred French actress Brigitte Bardot.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: In May 1965, an Aérospatiale Super Frelon pre-production aircraft crashed in the gulf, killing its pilot.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: On 4 March 1970, the French submarine "Eurydice", with its home port as Saint-Tropez, disappeared in the Mediterranean with 57 crew aboard after a mysterious explosion.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: The English rock band Pink Floyd wrote a song "San Tropez" after the town. Saint-Tropez was also mentioned in David Gates's 1978 hit "Took the Last Train", Kraftwerk's "Tour de France" and in Aerosmith's "Permanent Vacation". Rappers including Diddy, Jay-Z and 50 Cent refer to the city in some of their songs as a favorite vacation destination, usually reached by yacht. DJ Antoine wrote a song "Welcome to St. Tropez".


title: Saint-Tropez

text: The motto of Saint-Tropez is "", Latin for "faithful to the end". After the Dark Age of plundering the French Riviera, Raphaël de Garesio landed in Saint-Tropez on 14 February 1470, with 22 men, simple peasants or sailors who had left the overcrowded Italian Riviera. They rebuilt and repopulated the area, and in exchange were granted by a representative of the "good king," Jean de Cossa, Baron of Grimaud and Seneschal of Provence, various privileges, including some previously reserved exclusively for lords, such as exemptions from taxes status and the right to bear arms. About ten years later, a great wall with towers stood watch to protect the new houses from sea and land attack; some 60 families formed the new community. On 19 July 1479, the new Home Act was signed, "the rebirth charter of Saint-Tropez."


title: Saint-Tropez

text: Saint-Tropez has a hot-summer mediterranean climate with mild winters and hot summers, although daytime temperatures are somewhat moderated by its coastal position.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: The main economic resource of Saint-Tropez is tourism. The city is well known for the Hôtel Byblos and for Les Caves du Roy, a member of the Leading Hotels of the World; its 1967 inauguration featuring Brigitte Bardot and Gunter Sachs was an international event.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: Tropezian beaches are located along the coast in the Baie de Pampelonne, which lies south of Saint-Tropez and east of Ramatuelle. Pampelonne offers a collection of beaches along its five-kilometre shore. Each beach is around 30 metres wide with its own beach hut and private or public tanning area.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: Many of the beaches offer windsurfing, sailing and canoeing equipment for rent, while others offer motorized water sports, such as power boats, jet bikes, water skiing and scuba diving. Some of the beaches are naturist beaches. There are also many exclusive beach clubs that are popular among wealthy people from around the world.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: Saint-Tropez's Tahiti Beach, which had been popularised in the film "And God Created Woman" featuring Brigitte Bardot, emerged as a clothing-optional destination,


title: Saint-Tropez

text: but the mayor of Saint-Tropez ordered police to ban toplessness and to watch over the beach via helicopter.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: The "clothing fights" between the gendarmerie and nudists become the main topic of a famous French comedy film series, "Le gendarme de Saint-Tropez" ("The Troops of St. Tropez") featuring Louis de Funès.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: In the end, the nudist side prevailed. Topless sunbathing is now the norm for both men and women from Pampelonne beaches to yachts in the centre of Saint-Tropez port. The Tahiti beach is now clothing-optional, but nudists often head to private nudist beaches, such as that in Cap d'Agde.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: The port was widely used during the 18th century; in 1789 it was visited by 80 ships. Saint-Tropez's shipyards built tartanes and three-masted ships that could carry 1,000 to 12,200 barrels. The town was the site of various associated trades, including fishing, cork, wine and wood. The town had a school of hydrography. In 1860, the flagship of the merchant navy, named "The Queen of the Angels" ("La Reine des Anges", a three-masted ship of 740 barrels capacity), was built at Saint-Tropez.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: Its role as a commercial port declined, and it is now primarily a tourist spot and a base for many well-known sail regattas. There is fast boat transportation with Les Bateaux Verts to Sainte-Maxime on the other side of the bay and to Port Grimaud, Marines de Cogolin, Les Issambres and St-Aygulf.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: "Les Bravades de Saint-Tropez" is an annual celebration held in the middle of May when people of the town celebrate their patron saint, Torpes of Pisa, and their military achievements. One of the oldest traditions of Provence, it has been held for more than 450 years since the citizens of Saint-Tropez were first given special permission to form a militia to protect the town from the Barbary pirates. During the three-day celebration, the various militias in costumes of the time fire their muskets into the air at traditional stops, march to the sound of bands and parade St. Torpes's bust. The townspeople also attend a mass wearing traditional Provençal costume.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: Each year, at the end of September, a regatta is held in the bay of Saint-Tropez (). Many yachts are entered, some as long as 50 metres. Many tourists come to the location for this event, or as a stop on their trip to Cannes, Marseille or Nice.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: The Tarte tropézienne is a traditional cake invented by a Polish confectioner who had set up shop in Saint-Tropez in the mid-1950s, and made famous by actress Brigitte Bardot.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: The 800-berth port with two marinas hosts boats, including ferries. In the summer season, there is a ferry service between St-Tropez and Nice, Sainte-Maxime, Cannes, Saint-Raphaël. Private yachts may also be chartered.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: There is no airport in Saint-Tropez, but there is a charter service to and from clubs, the town and Tropezian beaches by helicopter.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: The nearest airport is La Môle – Saint-Tropez Airport (IATA: LTT, ICAO: LFTZ) located in La Môle, (8 NM) southwest of Saint-Tropez.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: There is no rail station in Saint-Tropez. The nearest station is Saint-Raphaël-Valescure, located in Saint-Raphaël ( from Saint-Tropez), which also offers a boat service to Saint-Tropez. There is also direct bus service to Saint-Tropez, and the rail station is connected with bus station.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: There is a bus station in Saint-Tropez called the "", located in Place Blanqui. It is operated by Var department transport division , which employs other transport companies to operate routes.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: There are taxi services, including from Nice airport to Saint-Tropez, but they are expensive because of the long distances and the area's wealth.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: In the tourist season, traffic problems may be expected on roads to Saint-Tropez, so the fastest way to travel is by scooter or bike. There is no direct highway to the village. There are three main roads to Saint-Tropez:


title: Saint-Tropez

text: Some services show the actual traffic on the main roads near Saint-Tropez, for example in English: Via.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: Public transport in Saint-Tropez includes minibuses, providing shuttle service between town and Pampelonne beaches.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: Other means of transport include scooters, cars, bicycles and taxis. There are also helicopter services and boat trips.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: Because of traffic and short distances, walking is an obvious choice for trips around town and to the Tropezian beaches.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: The town has health facilities, a cinema, a library, an outdoor center and a recreation center for youth.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: Schools include: École maternelle (kindergarten – preschool) – l'Escouleto, écoles primaires (primary schools – primary education):


title: Saint-Tropez

text: Louis Blanc and Les Lauriers, collège d'enseignement secondaire (secondary school, high school – secondary education) – Moulin Blanc.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: There are more than 1,000 students distributed among kindergartens, primary schools and one high school. In 2011, there were 275 students in high school and 51 people employed there, of whom 23 were teachers.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: Saint-Tropez plays a major role in the history of modern art. Paul Signac discovered this light-filled place that inspired painters such as Matisse, Pierre Bonnard and Albert Marquet to come to Saint-Tropez. The painting styles of pointillism and fauvism emerged in Saint-Tropez. Saint-Tropez was also attractive for the next generation of painters: Bernard Buffet, David Hockney, Massimo Campigli and Donald Sultan lived and worked there. Today, Stefan Szczesny continues this tradition.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: The contemporary artist Philippe Shangti imagined the design of Le Quai and L'Opera, restaurants located on the port of Saint-Tropez where he also exhibits his art collections. Centered on a specific theme, he always denounces different problems affecting society with provocative artworks.


title: Saint-Tropez

text: The most famous persons connected with Saint-Tropez include the semi-legendary martyr who gave his name to the town, Saint Torpes of Pisa; Hasekura Tsunenaga, probably the first Japanese in Europe, who landed in Saint-Tropez in 1615; a hero of the American Revolutionary War, Admiral Pierre André de Suffren de Saint-Tropez;


title: Saint-Tropez

text: the icon of modern Saint-Tropez, Brigitte Bardot, who started the clothes-optional revolution and still lives in the Saint-Tropez area; Louis de Funès, who played the character of the gendarme (police officer) in the French comedy film series "Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez" and also helped establish the international image of Saint-Tropez as both a quiet town and a modern jet-set holiday target.


title: Ni no Kuni

text: Ni no Kuni is a series of role-playing video games published by Bandai Namco worldwide and developed and published by Level-5 in Japan. The first games in the series chiefly follow the young Oliver, and his journey to another world to save his mother and stop the beckoning evil. The sequel follows Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum, a boy king who is usurped from his castle, and sets out to reclaim his kingdom. The games utilize several magic elements, allowing players to use magical abilities during gameplay, as well as creatures known as familiars, which can be tamed for suitability during battle.


title: Ni no Kuni

text: Conceived as a project for Level-5's tenth anniversary, "" was released in December 2010 for the Nintendo DS. An enhanced version of the game for the PlayStation 3, "", was released in Japan in November 2011. The games were developed separately, retaining similar stories, but featuring significant artwork, graphics and specification changes. A localized version of the game was published in Western regions by Namco Bandai Games in January 2013. A sequel, "", was released on the PlayStation 4 and Windows in March 2018. Three mobile games have also been produced: "Hotroit Stories", released in December 2010 through the Roid service, follows the story of Oliver and Mark as they try to find parts for a car; "Daibouken Monsters", released in May 2012 through the GREE service, is a social card game in which players collect cards featuring imajinn; and "Cross Worlds", released for Android and iOS in June 2021, follows a beta tester for a fictional virtual reality game, which transports them to the world of Ni no Kuni.


title: Ni no Kuni

text: The animated sequences for "Dominion of the Dark Djinn" and "Wrath of the White Witch" were produced by Studio Ghibli, and the original score was composed by Joe Hisaishi and Rei Kondoh. The artwork was also greatly inspired by Studio Ghibli's other productions. The character development—particularly that of Oliver and his friends—was a large focus of development, and was intended to make children empathize with the characters and for adults to relive their adolescence. The developers chose to initially develop for the Nintendo DS due to its suitability for gameplay, and later used the power of the PlayStation 3 to its full potential to render the world with great detail.


title: Ni no Kuni

text: Games in the series have been praised as being among the best modern role-playing games. Reviewers mostly aimed their praise at particular elements of the games: visual design, and its resemblance to Studio Ghibli's previous work; characters and story, for their believability and complexity; the soundtrack, and Hisaishi's ability to capture the essence of the game world; and the unique gameplay, particularly for its ability to blend formulas from other role-playing game franchises. The games also won awards from several gaming publications. In May 2018, Bandai Namco reported that the series had shipped 2.8 million copies worldwide. An animated film adaptation produced by OLM, Inc. and distributed by Warner Bros. was released in 2019.


title: Ni no Kuni

text: was released in Japan on December 9, 2010, for the Nintendo DS. After his mother dies, Oliver sets out on a journey to another world to save her. Alongside the fairy Shizuku, Oliver meets Maru and Jairo on the way, who assist him on journey. After retrieving three magical stones to complete a wand to defeat Jabou, Oliver discovers that he cannot save his mother, but vows to protect the world regardless. He defeats Jabou, who uses his power to ensure that Oliver does not die as well.


title: Ni no Kuni

text: The series consists of four role-playing games and one social card game. Each game typically features a third-person camera. The player controls the player character in a combination of combat and puzzle game elements to achieve goals and complete the story. "Hotroit Stories" is the only installment to feature an overhead perspective, while "Daibouken Monsters" is played as a card game, with no character movement. All games in the series feature a battle mode. During battles, player command a single human ally. To fight enemies in the main game, players use magical abilities or familiars; in "Hotroit Stories", players attack using items such as dry ice for similar effects, while "Daibouken Monsters" limits players to using familiars only. The battle mode in "Wrath of the White Witch" and "Revenant Kingdom" is on an open battlefield, allowing players to freely roam around the area, while "Dominion of the Dark Djinn" employs a grid layout, whereby players can create formations to avoid attacks.


title: Ni no Kuni

text: Like other role-playing games, the series have players complete quests, which are linear scenarios with set objectives, to progress through the story. Outside of quests, players can freely roam the open world, finding towns, dungeons, and other dangerous places scattered throughout. One of the core aspects of the games is the ability to travel between worlds; the majority of the games take place in a magical world, often referred to as the "other world", while part of the games take place in Oliver's hometown. Upon leaving a location, players enter the World Map, which can be navigated, or used to select a destination. The world may be fully explored from the beginning of the game without restrictions, although story progress unlocks more gameplay content and forms of transport to navigate the world. In the main games, players initially run to navigate the world, though later gain the ability to travel by boat; "Wrath of the White Witch" adds the ability to ride on the back of a dragon.


title: Ni no Kuni

text: Familiars, known as in the Japanese version of the games, are creatures that wander throughout the game world. They can be found in different shapes and forms, and can be obtained after being defeated in battle. They can then be tamed, in order to be suitable to send out in battle to fight for players. Players command familiars, who generally have a range of magic and physical attacks. Familiars level up and evolve alongside the human characters; each have unique statistics and capabilities, and can be guided through their upgrades with treats and equipped with items. Familiars are not present in "Revenant Kingdom"; creatures known as Higgledies are used in combat, with different spirits using special moves on enemies.


title: Ni no Kuni

text: Conceived as a project for Level-5's tenth anniversary, "Ni no Kuni: The Another World" was announced in the September 2008 issue of "Famitsu", as a title for the Nintendo DS. In June 2010, Level-5 announced that the game would also be released for the PlayStation 3, with significant differences; the DS version was renamed "Ni no Kuni: Dominion of the Dark Djinn", while the PlayStation 3 version was given the title "Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch". Both versions were revealed to be in development separately, only retaining the same "story axle", while features such as artwork, graphics and specifications all received significant changes. Some character names were changed for the English version: Shizuku was changed to Drippy, Maru to Esther, Jairo to Swaine, Lars to Marcassin, and Jabou to Shadar, among others. Journalists noted that the game's announcement ignited widespread anticipation within the gaming industry.


title: Ni no Kuni

text: Level-5 collaborated with Studio Ghibli to produce the game's animated sequences, and the game features graphics and visuals replicating the traditional animation style of Studio Ghibli films. The collaboration began when musician Naoya Fujimaki, who had previously worked with both companies, introduced Level-5 president Akihiro Hino to Studio Ghibli president Toshio Suzuki. At the time, Studio Ghibli had completed work on "Ponyo" (2008), and the animation team had no ongoing projects, which influenced Suzuki's decision to collaborate with Level-5. Another influencing factor of the collaboration was witnessing Hino's passion for the project. Studio Ghibli approached the production process in the same way that they would create an animated film. Work on the animation began in July 2008, and took much longer than the predicted three months.


title: Ni no Kuni

text: Studio Ghibli's Yoshiyuki Momose served as the director of animation, drawing character designs and storyboards. Hino wished "Dominion of the Dark Djinn" and "Wrath of the White Witch" to have a heartwarming feel; the artwork and character movements was greatly inspired by Studio Ghibli's work, particularly due to their attention to detail, as well as their talent in creating storyboards and utilizing camera control. The development team constantly watched Studio Ghibli's films during development. The team wanted the theme of the game to resonate with children; they initially considered the idea of expressing adventure and dreams. They later explored the concept of a child's greatest influence, their mother, and the possibility of losing them. The game's main playable character, Oliver, is a 13-year-old boy. The team decided to make him a child as they wished to showcase a coming of age story. They wanted children to empathize with Oliver's development, and adults to relive the excitement of their adolescence.


title: Ni no Kuni

text: For "Dominion of the Dark Djinn", the development team found that the Nintendo DS was best suited to the game's development. Alongside the launch of "Dominion of the Dark Djinn" on December 9, 2010, Level-5 also launched the first chapter of "Hotroit Stories", titled , for mobile devices through the Roid service. "Wrath of the White Witch" was developed for the PlayStation 3. The team planned to bring the game to the console from the beginning of development, but opted to work on the DS version of the game beforehand due to the larger number of DS users in Japan at the time. The team found they could render the game world with great detail, using the hardware to its full potential to present the animation, world and music. Hino felt that the PlayStation 3 version allowed the game's music to accompany the imagery, which was not possible on the DS version.


title: Ni no Kuni

text: Following the Japanese launch of "Wrath of the White Witch" on November 17, 2011, Level-5 developed "Daibouken Monsters". The development of the game is the result of a comprehensive partnership between Level-5 and GREE, which resulted in the former developing three titles for the latter. Early registrations for the game began on March 21, 2012, and it launched for mobile devices through the GREE service on May 11, 2012.


title: Ni no Kuni

text: Level-5 worked with localization company Shloc to translate "Wrath of the White Witch" for Western regions; the two studios collaborated for many weeks. The team found great difficulty when localizing the game for Western regions, particularly due to the large amounts of text and audio that required translation. Other minor changes to the artwork and animation also occurred, such as making Oliver bow in a Western manner. By December 12, 2012, development on the localized version of "Wrath of the White Witch" stopped as the game was submitted for manufacturing. It was released in North America on January 22, 2013, in Australia on January 31, and in Europe on February 1. The game was released for the Nintendo Switch on September 20, 2019, alongside a remastered version for the PlayStation 4 and Windows, featuring enhanced graphical capabilities. The remastered version was released for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on September 15, 2022.


title: Ni no Kuni

text: "Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom" was announced at PlayStation Experience on December 5, 2015. It was released for the PlayStation 4 and Windows on March 23, 2018, and for Nintendo Switch on September 17, 2021; it is scheduled to release for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in 2023. Studio Ghibli was not directly involved with development. Hino said that the game aimed to better fulfill the ambitions of the original game, with deeper stories and improved visuals. In June 2019, Hino stated that a third main instalment in the series was in development.


title: Ni no Kuni

text: A third mobile game, titled "Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds", was released for Android and iOS in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan on June 10, 2021, developed by Netmarble. Hino approached Netmarble in early 2018 with a proposal for an MMORPG based on "Ni no Kuni", having been impressed with its previous game "". Netmarble general producer Bum-jin Park felt that the artistic style of the series would work well on mobile devices, though noted that it caused some trouble as the development team wanted to preserve its value. The game was developed independently by Netmarble based on initial guidelines presented by Level-5. Its three-year development involved core members of the team from "Lineage 2: Revolution". The developers intend to release updates for the game every two weeks in response to player feedback.


title: Ni no Kuni

text: When Studio Ghibli agreed to produce the animated sequences of "Ni no Kuni", they contacted Joe Hisaishi to work on the game's music. Hisaishi, who previously worked with Studio Ghibli on films such as "Princess Mononoke" (1997) and "Spirited Away" (2001), met with Hino. After witnessing Hino's passion for the project, Hisaishi agreed to work on the game's soundtrack. Rei Kondoh also created background music for the score, and all in-game music was performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. "Kokoro no Kakera", the theme song for "Dominion of the Dark Djinn" and "Wrath of the White Witch", was written by Hisaishi; his daughter Mai Fujisawa performed the song in Japanese, while chorister Archie Buchanan performed the English version. The team found great difficulty in selecting a performer for the English version, though ultimately settled upon Buchanan due to his ability to convey the "vulnerability and innocence" of the game's characters in a "moving and powerful performance". For the orchestral music to fit onto the Nintendo DS at a high quality, "Ni no Kuni: Dominion of the Dark Djinn" was shipped on a 4-gigabit game card. Hisaishi also worked on the score for "Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom".


title: Ni no Kuni

text: Two "Ni no Kuni" soundtracks were commercially released. An album titled "Ni no Kuni: Shikkoku no Madoushi Original Soundtrack" was released in Japan on February 9, 2011, featuring music from "Dominion of the Dark Djinn". A two-disc soundtrack was later released on March 28, 2013; the first disc is a re-release of the Japanese soundtrack, while the second disc contains additional tracks from "Wrath of the White Witch".


title: Ni no Kuni

text: An animated film adaptation, simply titled "NiNoKuni", premiered in Japan on August 23, 2019, and was localized in English and released via Netflix on January 16, 2020. The film was directed by Yoshiyuki Momose, executive produced and written by Hiro, composed by Hisaishi, produced by OLM, Inc. and distributed by Warner Bros. Japan.


title: Ni no Kuni

text: The first two main games were very well received, with praise particularly directed at the visual design, characters and story, soundtrack, and unique gameplay. "Dominion of the Dark Djinn" scored 38/40 from Japanese publication "Famitsu", who felt that the game's elements are effectively utilized to maintain excitement. Michael Baker of RPGamer named it the "best overall game" at the time, and Janelle Hindman of "RPGLand" wrote that the game is "a reminder of why people used to flock to the JRPG genre in the first place". "Nintendo Gamer"s Matthew Castle called it "one of the best experiences on DS". "Wrath of the White Witch" also received critical acclaim. It received 85 out of 100 from Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Colin Moriarty of "IGN" named it "one of the best RPGs", and among the best PlayStation 3 exclusives, and Kevin VanOrd of "GameSpot" wrote that it joins "that elite group of games providing such an enticing world that you can't imagine never having visited".


title: Ni no Kuni

text: The artistic design of "Dominion of the Dark Djinn" and "Wrath of the White Witch" received acclaim, being favorably compared to Studio Ghibli's previous work; Stephanie Bendixsen of "Good Game" called the art "vibrant and exciting", noting that it "brings the game to life in the most beautiful way". The story and characters were also well received, with "IGN"s Moriarty naming them among the game's standout features and "Edge" praising the believable and complex characters. Critics considered the games' music to be appropriate for gameplay; Jim Sterling of "Destructoid" compared the soundtrack favorably to "Dragon Quest VIII", and "RPGLand"s Hindman lauded the music as "gorgeously crafted". The gameplay and combat system polarized reviews; some reviewers found it a refreshing mix of styles from other role-playing games, with "Joystiq"s Sinan Kubba calling it a "triumph", while others noted its difficulty, and similarity to similar games.


title: Ni no Kuni

text: The game's received multiple nominations and awards from several gaming publications. "Dominion of the Dark Djinn" won the award for Future Division from the Japan Game Awards in 2009 and 2010, and the Excellence Award in 2011, and also awarded the Rookie Award from "Famitsu" in 2011. "Wrath of the White Witch" appeared on several year-end lists of the best role-playing games of 2013, receiving wins from "Destructoid", "Game Revolution", "GameTrailers", "IGN", the 18th Satellite Awards and the Spike VGX 2013 Awards. It also received Best Game from "The Huffington Post", Best Sound from Cheat Code Central, and Excellence in Animation at the SXSW Gaming Awards. At the 13th National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards, it received multiple wins, including awards for Animation, Art Direction, Original Light Mix Score, Original Family Game, as well as Original/Adapted Song for "Kokoro no Kakera".


title: Ni no Kuni

text: In May 2018, Namco Bandai reported that the series had collectively shipped 2.8 million copies worldwide, with "Wrath of the White Witch" shipping over 1.1 million copies and "Revenant Kingdom" shipping over 900,000. By the end of 2011, it was reported that "Dominion of the Dark Djinn" sold over 560,000 units; it was the 33rd best-selling game in Japan in 2010, and the 45th best-selling in 2011. "Cross Worlds" generated in revenue in its first 11 days; it was the second highest-grossing game globally in that period.


title: Samir Nasri

text: Samir Nasri (born 26 June 1987) is a French former professional footballer. He primarily played as an attacking midfielder and a winger, although he had also been deployed in central midfield.


title: Samir Nasri

text: Nasri was known for his dribbling, ball control and passing ability. He was described as a player whose "vision and imagination make him an unpredictable opponent". His playing style, ability and cultural background drew comparisons to former French player Zinedine Zidane.


title: Samir Nasri

text: Nasri began his football career playing for local youth clubs in his hometown Marseille. At age nine, he joined professional club Olympique de Marseille and spent the next seven years developing in the club's youth academy at La Commanderie, the club's training centre. In the 2004–05 season, he made his professional debut in September 2004 at age 17 against Sochaux. In the following season, he became a regular starter in the team and participated in European competition for the first time after playing in the 2005–06 edition of the UEFA Cup. In the 2006–07 campaign, Nasri won the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Young Player of the Year award and was also named to the Team of the Year. He finished his career with Marseille amassing over 160 appearances. He played in the teams that reached back-to-back Coupe de France finals in 2006 and 2007.


title: Samir Nasri

text: In June 2008, Nasri joined Premier League club Arsenal on a four-year contract. He reached prominence with the team in his third season winning the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Fans' Player of the Month award on three occasions and being named to the association's Team of the Year. In December 2010, he was named the French Player of the Year for his performances during the calendar year. In August 2011, after three seasons with Arsenal, Nasri joined Manchester City on a four-year contract. In his first season with the club, he won his first major honour as a player as the club won the 2011–12 Premier League. In 2017, Nasri was suspended from football for eighteen months until January 2019 following a doping violation. Nasri announced his professional retirement from football in 2021.


title: Samir Nasri

text: Nasri is a former France youth international and represented his nation at every level for which he was eligible. Prior to playing for the senior team, he played on the under-17 team that won the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. Nasri made his senior international debut in March 2007 in a friendly match against Austria. Two months later, he scored his first senior international goal in a 1–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying win over Georgia. Nasri represented France at two major international tournaments: UEFA Euro 2008 and Euro 2012. In 2014, Nasri announced his retirement from international football after being omitted from the 2014 World Cup.


title: Samir Nasri

text: Nasri was born in Septèmes-les-Vallons, a northern suburb of Marseille, to French nationals of Algerian descent. His mother, Ouassila Ben Saïd, and father, Abdelhafid Nasri, were both born in France; his father being born and raised in Marseille, and his mother being from nearby Salon-de-Provence. Nasri's grandparents emigrated to France from Algeria. His mother is a housewife and his father previously worked as a bus driver before becoming his son's personal manager. At the start of his football career, Nasri initially played under his mother's surname, Ben Saïd, before switching to Nasri, his father's surname, following his selection to the France under-16 team. He is the eldest of four children and is a Muslim. Nasri has a younger sister named Sonia and twin brothers named Walid and Malik. All four were raised in La Gavotte Peyret. After joining Arsenal in England, Nasri settled in Hampstead, a district of North London. His cousin, Kaïs Nasri, is also a professional footballer.


title: Samir Nasri

text: While growing up in La Gavotte Peyret, Nasri regularly played the sport on the streets where he learned many of his skills. Upon noticing his prodigious talent, his parents signed him up to play with the local club in his hometown. Nasri spent one year playing with the club in La Gavotte Peyret before moving to Pennes Mirabeau in nearby Mirabeau at age seven. While playing with Pennes, Nasri was discovered by Marseille scout Freddy Assolen, who had been informed of the player's talent through local word of mouth. After noticing Nasri's skill in person, Assolen recruited the player to travel with a group of other young players to Italy to participate in a youth tournament where they would play against the youth academies of Milan and Juventus. Nasri impressed at the tournament and Assolen was jokingly told by a Milan scout that "he [Nasri] stays here, you leave him". After returning to France, Marseille officials organized a meeting with the player's father and the group agreed to allow Nasri insertion into the club's academy at the age of nine.


title: Samir Nasri

text: Upon entering the Marseille youth academy, Nasri quickly impressed. Upon moving to Bastide, where the club's youth players reside, his style of play began to take shape. In 2007, Nasri admitted that the move to Bastide really helped his game, stating, "That's where I really started to progress. Training was different and the facilities are beautiful, all of which helps you work well." As a result of his quick progression, Nasri was an integral part of every youth team he was a part of winning several trophies, such as the Championnat de Provence, Coupe de Provence, and the Ligue de la Méditerranée. After spending most of the 2003–04 season playing with the club's under-18 team, for the latter part of the season, the now 16-year-old Nasri was promoted to the club's reserve team in the Championnat de France amateur, the fourth division of French football. He appeared primarily as a substitute in a few matches during the campaign as the reserve team failed to rebound from its bad start to the season, which resulted in a 16th-place finish and relegation to the Championnat de France amateur 2.


title: Samir Nasri

text: Ahead of the 2004–05 season, several clubs were reported to be interested in signing Nasri, most notably English clubs Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle United. In an effort to decrease the speculation, Nasri was offered a three-year professional contract by Marseille officials led by president Pape Diouf and manager José Anigo. On 13 August 2004, Nasri agreed to the contract. Marseille officials had been eager to sign Nasri to a contract in an attempt to not undergo a situation similar to the departure of Mathieu Flamini, in which the player departed the club without Marseille receiving any compensation. As a result of his professional contract, Nasri was promoted to the senior team by Anigo and assigned the number 22 shirt. He began the season playing on the club's reserve team and appeared in four matches before earning a call up to the senior team in September 2004.


title: Samir Nasri

text: Nasri made his professional debut on 12 September in a 2–0 league defeat to Sochaux, appearing as a substitute for Bruno Cheyrou. On 17 October, he made his first professional start playing the entire match in a 1–1 draw with Saint-Étienne. Nasri featured heavily within the team under Anigo and later Philippe Troussier. In the team's first match following the winter break, he scored his first professional goal in a 2–1 away victory over Lille. Nasri finished his rookie campaign with 25 total appearances, one goal and two assists.


title: Samir Nasri

text: The 2005–06 season saw Marseille boosted by the arrival of attackers Franck Ribéry and Djibril Cissé, the latter arriving after having a successful loan stint with the club the previous season. Nasri, who was now given a more prominent role within the team by new manager Jean Fernandez, formed impressive partnerships with the two along with lead striker Mamadou Niang. He appeared in 49 total matches, which included appearances in both the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Intertoto Cup. Nasri made his European debut on 16 July 2005 in the first round of the 2005 UEFA Intertoto Cup against Swiss club Young Boys. Marseille won the first leg 3–2. In the second leg, Nasri scored his first European goal in a 2–1 win. Marseille ultimately won the competition after beating Spanish outfit Deportivo de La Coruña 5–3 on aggregate. In the league, Nasri appeared in 30 matches, 25 as a starter. He scored his only league goal of the season on 29 April 2007 in a 4–2 win over Sochaux. In the Coupe de France, Nasri appeared in five matches as Marseille reached the final of the competition where the club faced "Le Classique" rivals Paris Saint-Germain. Nasri appeared as a substitute in the match as Marseille were defeated 2–1. Following the season, Nasri signed a two-year contract extension with the club until 2009.


title: Samir Nasri

text: Nasri began the 2006–07 season playing under Albert Emon, his fourth different manager in three years. Despite this, Marseille's now heightened popularity saw increased speculation from writers and supporters that the club would finally win its first league title since the 1991–92 season. Nasri began the season on a quick note scoring the second goal in the team's 3–1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in September 2006. On 29 April 2007, Nasri scored a goal in Marseille's 4–2 hammering of Sochaux. Marseille were due to face the same club in the 2007 Coupe de France Final just days later and were, subsequently, heavy favorites as a result of the team's two-goal victory in the previous match. However, Sochaux recorded an upset victory defeating Marseille 5–4 on penalties after the match ended 2–2 following extra time. On the final match day of the season, Nasri converted the only goal in a 1–0 win over Sedan. The victory secured 2nd place for Marseille and was the club's best finish since finishing runner-up to Bordeaux in the 1998–99 season. Nasri finished the season with a career-high 50 appearances, 37 of them in the league. For his efforts, he was awarded the UNFP Young Player of the Year award and named to the Team of the Year. Nasri was also voted the Club Player of the Year by supporters, receiving 62% of the votes ahead of the likes of Ribéry and Niang.


title: Samir Nasri

text: Similar to his previous three years at Marseille, Nasri began the new season under new management as the club was now being led by the Belgian Eric Gerets. Due to the departure of Ribéry to Bayern Munich, Gerets installed Nasri as the focal point of the attack and he responding by having his best season at the club. He appeared in 42 total matches scoring a career-high six goals, also assisting on a career-high 15 goals. Nasri formed partnerships in the midfield with winger Mathieu Valbuena and midfielders Lorik Cana and Benoît Cheyrou as Marseille boasted the third-best attack in the league behind champions Lyon and Bordeaux, who finished first and second in the league respectively. Initially, Nasri struggled during the infancy of the campaign due to dealing with the effects of a severely sprained ankle suffered in the pre-season. He failed to score a goal or provide an assist in the team's first eight league matches. On 24 November 2007, he assisted on two goals in a 2–0 victory over Metz. Nasri closed out the fall season by assisting on the equalizing goal in a 2–2 draw with Bordeaux and making the final pass on the match-winning goal against Le Mans.


title: Samir Nasri

text: Following the winter break, Nasri's goal-scoring began to take form. In late January, he scored goals in back-to-back matches against Nancy and Caen. In European competition, Nasri participated in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in his career, however he failed to make an impact in the four group stage matches he appeared in. He missed the club's upset victory over Liverpool at Anfield due to dealing with a bout of meningitis. Marseille ultimately finished the group in third place, which resulted in the team qualifying for the round of 32 of the UEFA Cup. The club was defeated in the round of 16 by Zenit Saint Petersburg despite being up 3–1 heading into the second leg. Of those three goals Marseille scored in the first leg, Nasri assisted on two of them. On 16 March 2008, Nasri scored a goal in a 3–3 draw with Lens. A month later, he scored the game-winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Metz. In his final match with Marseille, against Strasbourg, Nasri scored a goal and assisted on another in a 4–3 victory. Marseille finished the league campaign in third place, which resulted in the club qualifying for the UEFA Champions League for the second consecutive season. On 8 May 2008, with all the transfer speculation surrounding the player, Nasri surprised many by signing a three-year contract extension with the club until 2012.


title: Samir Nasri

text: One week later, despite signing a contract extension with Marseille, Nasri was linked with a move to Premier League club Arsenal. Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger had been tracking Nasri since watching him play at the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. It was later revealed that the contract extension Nasri signed with Marseille was simply protocol to allow Marseille to receive a higher transfer fee for the player. The Bouches-du-Rhône-based club was seeking £14 million for the young midfielder. Ahead of UEFA Euro 2008, both Nasri's agent and Wenger admitted that offers were made for the player and that a move to the English club was imminent. The deal was ultimately concluded following the competition on 11 July 2008 with Nasri agreeing to a four-year contract. The transfer fee was undisclosed, but has been purported to be in the region of £12 million. Upon arriving at the club, Nasri admitted Wenger was one of the primary reasons for him joining the club: "The fact that Arsène Wenger gives great opportunities to young players is very important for me. Arsène has a great reputation and he is one of the best managers in the world."


title: Samir Nasri

text: Nasri was given the number 8 shirt – previously worn by Arsenal legends Ian Wright, George Graham, Alan Sunderland and Freddie Ljungberg – and made his club debut on 30 July 2008 in a friendly match against German club VfB Stuttgart in a 3–1 win. He made his Premier League debut in the team's first match of the league season on 16 August against West Bromwich Albion. In the match, Nasri scored his first league goal scoring with a close-range effort, after four minutes in a 1–0 victory. As a result of his debut goal, he became the 83rd player in Premier League history to score on his league debut and the 22nd Arsenal player. On 27 August, Nasri scored his second goal for the club in the team's 2008–09 UEFA Champions League third round qualifying second leg tie against Twente. Arsenal won the match 4–0 and the tie 6–0 on aggregate. On 8 November, Nasri scored both of Arsenal's goals in a 2–1 win over Manchester United.


title: Samir Nasri

text: On 21 December, Nasri assisted on the opening goal scored by Robin van Persie in the team's 1–1 draw with Liverpool. Nasri returned to his scoring form in the new year. On 17 January 2009, he scored the second goal in the club's 3–1 win over Hull City at the KC Stadium. It took Nasri another two months to score another goal, which came in Arsenal's 3–1 away win against Newcastle United. He finished his first campaign at Arsenal appearing in 44 matches, scoring seven goals and providing five assists.


title: Samir Nasri

text: On 21 July 2009, while participating in a training match during pre-season with Arsenal in Bad Waltersdorf, Nasri suffered a broken leg. The injury required two to three months of rest and, as a result, Nasri missed the opening of the 2009–10 Premier League season. He made his debut late in the campaign on 25 October 2009 in a League Cup tie against Liverpool. Nasri played the entire match in a 2–1 win. On 4 November, he scored his first goal of the season in the team's 2009–10 UEFA Champions League group stage match against AZ. Three weeks later, Nasri converted another Champions League goal, this time against Standard Liège in a 2–0 win. He featured heavily with the team during the winter months and he ended the 2009 calendar year by scoring a goal and providing an assist 4–1 win over Portsmouth away at Fratton Park.


title: Samir Nasri

text: After going nearly two months without scoring a goal, Nasri marked his goal-scoring return in emphatic fashion in the team's 5–0 second leg victory over Porto in the round of 16 of the Champions League knockout stage. The goal, described by English newspaper "The Guardian" columnist David Lacey as "reminiscent of a lost art in British football", showcased Nasri's dribbling, as well as his individuality. Upon receiving the ball on the right wing from midfielder Abou Diaby, Nasri dribbled through and past three Porto players in a small area of space before bringing the ball past wing-back Álvaro Pereira and driving it across the goalkeeper, sending the ball in off the far post. Nasri goal was subsequently compared by the English media to similar goals that occurred in the country. Three weeks later, after appearing as a substitute in the second half, Nasri scored the opening goal against Birmingham City. Birmingham later equalized through a late goal from Kevin Phillips. The draw ended a string of seven consecutive league victories for Arsenal and Wenger admitted that the draw "was a big blow for our chances [of winning the league]". In the team's final seven league matches, Nasri assisted on goals in a 3–2 loss to Wigan Athletic and a 4–0 home win over Fulham. Arsenal ultimately finished the campaign in third place. Nasri concluded his second season at Arsenal appearing in 34 matches, scoring five goals and providing five assists.


title: Samir Nasri

text: Ahead of the 2010–11 season, Nasri admitted he was determined to re-capture his form that resulted in Arsenal signing him two years prior. He also admitted he did not take missing out on the 2010 FIFA World Cup well, stating, "When I discovered that I wasn't part of the squad for the World Cup, I got a big slap in the face." However, after speaking to Arsène Wenger, who informed him he should use the non-call-up as motivation, Nasri was reassured. Nasri started the campaign well. He was named in Arsenal's starting line-up to play against Liverpool for the first match of the season on 15 August 2010. Nasri played the entire match in a 1–1 draw. After the match, Arsenal confirmed Nasri had suffered a knee injury that would keep him out for a month. However, the player returned to the team after just three matches to help Arsenal defeat Braga 6–0 in the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League group stage on his return. On 21 September, he scored a double in the club's 4–1 extra time victory over North London derby rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Both goals were converted from the penalty spot. Fours days later, Nasri scored another double in a 3–2 home defeat to West Bromwich Albion.


title: Samir Nasri

text: Nasri continued his fine form as season wore on. In the club's Champions League group stage tie against Serbian club Partizan, he assisted on a Sébastien Squillaci goal in the team's 3–1 victory. In October 2010, Nasri went on a streak in which he scored goals in three-straight matches. He started the streak by converting a penalty in a 2–1 win over Birmingham City. In the club's following match, against Shakhtar Donetsk, Nasri scored on a left-footed volley in a 5–1 victory. He also assisted on a goal in the match. Against Manchester City five days later, he scored the first goal and set up the third in a 3–0 victory. As a result of his performances in October 2010, Nasri was named the PFA Fans' Player of the Month. In November, Nasri was on the score-sheet again netting the opener in a 3–2 defeat to Tottenham. A week later, he scored a volley in a 4–2 win over Aston Villa.


title: Samir Nasri

text: On 4 December, Nasri scored two goals against Fulham to give Arsenal a 2–1 win. The victory placed Arsenal at the top of the league table. The two goals were Nasri's seventh and eighth goals, respectively, in the league and his tenth and 11th overall. Just four days later, Nasri scored a goal in Arsenal's vital last group match against Partizan, a 3–1 victory. On 13 December, for his performances during the 2010 calendar year, Nasri was named the "France Football" French Player of the Year, edging Chelsea midfielder Florent Malouda and Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. He became the first Arsenal player to achieve the honour since Thierry Henry in 2006. Nasri was also rewarded domestically for his performances in December, winning the Fans' Player of the Month for the second time in the season, also capturing the club's monthly award. He won the award for the second consecutive month in January.


title: Samir Nasri

text: Nasri scored his 13th goal of the season in the 3–0 win against Birmingham City on 1 January 2011. In the FA Cup, Nasri scored his first-ever goal in the competition in a 3–1 win over Leeds United in the third round. On 30 January, Nasri was forced to leave the team's fourth round FA Cup tie against Huddersfield Town due to a hamstring injury. He subsequently missed two weeks and returned to the team ahead of its Champions League knockout round tie with Spanish champions Barcelona. In the first leg, Nasri assisted the match-winning goal scored by Andrey Arshavin. Arsenal won the match 2–1, but lost the tie 4–3 on aggregate after suffering a 3–1 defeat at the Camp Nou in the second leg. On 8 April, Nasri was nominated for both the PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards. He lost out on both awards to Tottenham midfielder Gareth Bale and teammate Jack Wilshere, respectively, but was given consolation with an appearance on the association's Team of the Year.


title: Samir Nasri

text: Of his time at Emirates Stadium, Nasri has expressed deep admiration for his former manager Wenger, of whom he also described as a "role model" and a "magician". Altogether, Nasri scored 27 goals in 124 total appearances for Arsenal.


title: Samir Nasri

text: On 24 August 2011, it was confirmed Nasri had joined Premier League club Manchester City. The transfer fee was priced in the region of £25 million, and the player signed a four-year contract.


title: Samir Nasri

text: Nasri made his club debut on 28 August in a league fixture away to Tottenham Hotspur. In the match, he assisted on three goals as Manchester City cruised to a 5–1 win. In the team's next match following the September international break, Nasri assisted on one of Sergio Agüero's three goals in a 3–0 win over Wigan Athletic. On 1 October, he scored his first goal for the club, scoring the third goal in a 4–0 victory, also assisting on two other goals. After nearly two months without a league goal, on 3 December, Nasri scored his second goal for Manchester City, converting a free-kick in a 5–1 win against Norwich City. In the following month, Nasri scored his third goal for the club in a 3–2 win against Tottenham. On 21 March 2012, he scored the game-winning goal in a 2–1 win over Chelsea after receiving a through-ball from teammate Carlos Tevez. On 22 April, he scored in a 2–0 away win against Wolverhampton Wanderers. On 13 May, Nasri won his first Premier League trophy as Manchester City were crowned Premier League champions for the 2011–12 season after defeating Queens Park Rangers 3–2.


title: Samir Nasri

text: At the start of the 2012–13 season, Nasri switched his squad number from 19 to 8. On 12 August, Nasri scored and assisted a goal in the 2012 Community Shield, a 3–2 win against FA Cup winners Chelsea. A week later, on the opening day of the 2012–13 Premier League, he scored and assisted again in a 3–2 win against newly promoted Southampton. He then scored against Ajax in a 3–1 loss in the UEFA Champions League group stage. In December 2012, Nasri was criticised for not blocking Robin van Persie's winning goal for Manchester United in the Manchester Derby.


title: Samir Nasri

text: In March 2013, after a man of the match performance in a 4–0 win against Newcastle United, Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini said he "would like to give [Nasri] a punch" due to his inconsistent form. On 14 April, Nasri scored the opening goal as City defeated Chelsea 2–1 in the FA Cup semi-final.


title: Samir Nasri

text: Nasri scored his first goal of the 2013–14 season in the match against Manchester United in a 4–1 win. On 5 November, he provided assists for goals by Sergio Agüero and Álvaro Negredo as City cruised by CSKA Moscow 5–2 to advance to the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time in club history. On 1 December, Nasri scored twice in a 3–0 win over Swansea City.


title: Samir Nasri

text: On 2 March 2014, Nasri scored the second goal as Manchester City defeated Sunderland 3–1 to win the 2014 League Cup final. For his performance in the final, Nasri received the Alan Hardaker Trophy, given to the Man of the Match.


title: Samir Nasri

text: In a crucial Premier League match away to Everton on 3 May, Nasri provided the assist for Edin Džeko's game-winning goal as City came from behind to win 3–2 and go top of the table with two matches remaining. On 11 May, Nasri scored Manchester City's opening goal in a 2–0 defeat of West Ham United as the club won the 2013–14 Premier League title.


title: Samir Nasri

text: On 10 July 2014, Nasri signed a new five-year contract deal with Manchester City, which kept him at the club until 2017.


title: Samir Nasri

text: On 22 November 2015, Manuel Pellegrini confirmed Nasri would miss four-to-five months of action because of a tendon injury sustained in training. On 10 April 2016, during his first match back from injury, he scored the match-winning goal against West Bromwich Albion as Manchester City won 2–1.


title: Samir Nasri

text: On 21 August 2017, Nasri signed for Turkish side Antalyaspor on a two-year contract for a reported €3.5 million transfer fee. On 31 January 2018, Nasri mutually terminated his contract with the club, having made eight appearances and scored two goals in the Süper Lig during his five-month stay.


title: Samir Nasri

text: On 22 February 2018, Nasri was given a six-month ban from football by UEFA, for breaching WADA rules in December 2016 by receiving an intravenous drip of 500 millilitres of water containing nutrients. On 1 August 2018, Nasri's ban was increased by an extra 12 months following an appeal from UEFA's ethics and disciplinary inspector. The ban was back-dated to 1 July 2017.


title: Samir Nasri

text: With his ban from football due to finish on 31 December 2018, Nasri began training with West Ham United and undertook a medical in the hopes of signing a short-term contract. When the sanction ended, Nasri signed a short-term deal with West Ham until the end of the 2018–19 season. In May 2019, West Ham announced that Nasri would leave the club at the end of his contract in June 2019. He was released by West Ham at the end of the 2018–19 season.


title: Samir Nasri

text: On 5 July 2019, Nasri signed for Belgian club Anderlecht on a free transfer. He was released by the club in 2020.


title: Samir Nasri

text: In September 2021, Nasri revealed to "Le Journal du Dimanche" that he had retired from professional football since his release from Anderlecht.


title: Samir Nasri

text: Nasri has earned caps with all of France's youth teams for which he was eligible. He is a member of the group, commonly known as the ""Génération 1987"" which produced internationals Hatem Ben Arfa, Karim Benzema and Jérémy Ménez, alongside himself. With the under-16 team, Nasri made 16 appearances and scored eight goals. Of the four players, Nasri was the first player to become a regular starter in the team under coach François Blaquart and made his debut in the team's opening match of the campaign against Spain. France won the match 3–0. Nasri scored his first goal for the team on 29 October in its first group stage match against Sweden at the "Tournoi du Val-de-Marne". On 11 December, Nasri scored the opening goal in the team's 6–1 defeat of Greece. At the 2003 Aegean Cup in Turkey, he scored two goals in four matches as France finished the competition in third place. Nasri scored in the team's second group stage match against Israel, a 3–1 win. In the next group stage match, he scored a goal in 5–0 win over Ukraine. In the third place match against Belgium, Nasri assisted on a goal scored by Ben Arfa. At the Tournoi de Montaigu, Nasri scored his only goal in the team's 8–0 win over Gabon in the team's opening group match. France finished the competition runner-up to Italy, who defeated France 5–1 in the final match.


title: Samir Nasri

text: At under-17 level, Nasri, Menez and Ben Arfa were joined by Karim Benzema and tasked with the goal of winning the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship on home soil. Nasri made his debut with the team in the opening match of the season against Sweden, scoring a goal in a 5–2 victory. In the team's second straight yearly appearance at the "Tournoi du Val-de-Marne", Nasri scored his lone goal in the competition against the United States in a 2–0 win as France were declared champions without conceding a goal. At the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, Nasri scored against Portugal in the competition's semi-finals. France went on to win the match 3–1 to earn a place in the final. In the final match, France faced Spain. In the match, Nasri scored the game-winning goal to give France its first-ever title in the competition. In total with the under-17s, he made 16 appearances and scored six goals. Due to increased playing time at his parent club Marseille, Nasri's stint with the under-18 team was uneventful, appearing in only four matches.


title: Samir Nasri

text: The foursome of Nasri, Ben Arfa, Benzema and Ménez returned to international play together for under-19 duty. The four were joined by Issiar Dia, Blaise Matuidi and Serge Gakpé with the objective of winning the 2006 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. The team opened the campaign with two friendly matches against Norway. Over the course of the two matches, Nasri scored two goals: one in a 4–0 win and another in a 5–0 victory. In the first round of qualification for the tournament, Nasri assisted on two goals in the team's 3–1 win over Wales. In the team's next group stage match against San Marino, he scored the third goal in a 3–0 victory. In the final group match against Austria, Nasri scored the opening goal and provided the assist on a Benzema goal in a 2–0 win. In the final round of qualification, despite finishing the round undefeated, France were eliminated after being beaten on points by Scotland. Nasri earned his first call up to the under-21 team under coach René Girard in the team's first match following the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship against Belgium. He started the match and was replaced at half-time by Florent Sinama Pongolle. He featured in qualification matches for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship and appeared as a substitute in both legs of the team's surprising defeat to Israel in the qualifying playoffs. Despite still being eligible to represent the team until 2009, his appearance in the second leg defeat to Israel was Nasri's last with the team.


title: Samir Nasri

text: On 15 March 2007, Nasri was called up to the senior team for the first time by coach Raymond Domenech for UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against Lithuania and a friendly against Austria. Nasri said he was "very happy and very proud" to be called into the national team, stating that the call-up was all the more satisfying as the game was an important European Championship qualifier. He appeared on the bench in the match against Lithuania, but failed to make an appearance. Nasri made his international debut on 28 March against Austria at age 19. He started the match and was involved with the only goal, delivering the free-kick from which Karim Benzema scored. Nasri returned to the team in June for matches and, on 6 June, scored his first international goal in a 1–0 Euro qualifying win over Georgia.


title: Samir Nasri

text: On 16 November 2007, Nasri scored his second international goal in a friendly match against Morocco. As a result of his performances, he was named in the 23-man squad to participate in Euro 2008. Nasri made his debut in the tournament on 9 June 2008 in the team's opening group stage match against Romania, appearing as a substitute. He did not appear in the team's 4–1 loss to the Netherlands, but did appear in the team's final group stage match against Italy. Nasri appeared as a substitute for the injured Franck Ribéry in the tenth minute. Following defender's Eric Abidal's red card in the 24th minute, Nasri was taken out of the match in order for defender Jean-Alain Boumsong to take Abidal's spot in the lineup.


title: Samir Nasri

text: In November 2008, Nasri was one of a group of young players who were accused of being insolent during the team's campaign at Euro 2008. The accusation came from domestic teammate William Gallas, who made the charge in his autobiography. Though not explicitly named in the book, Nasri was widely identified as the player in question. In 2010, after failing to make the 2010 World Cup squad, Nasri opened up about the situation, stating that during Gallas' final year at Arsenal, Nasri was one of "four or five" Arsenal players who did not speak to the defender. The feud culminated on 20 November 2010 when Nasri lived up to a pledge he would not shake the hand of Gallas, who was then playing for Tottenham Hotspur, during the pre-match build-up.


title: Samir Nasri

text: In the 2008–09 season, Nasri appeared in only three matches with the national team. After playing against Lithuania on 28 March 2009, the midfielder went uncapped for the almost a year and a half. During the 2009–10 season, Nasri grew weary of his chances of appearing with the team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In the end, he did not appear with the team, failing to make the 23-man squad or even the preliminary squad.