title: Amaravati

text: From 16 to 18 November in 2018, Amaravati hosted the second (after Mumbai in 2004) F1H2O World championship Grand Prix ever held in India. The event brought wide media attention especially after one of the teams took the color and the name of the state, making it the first Indian branded team in the history of F1H2O. Team Amaravati led by drivers Jonas Andrson and Eric Edin.


title: Amaravati

text: Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama participated in the First National Women's Parliament in Amaravati on 10 February 2017. He said, "Making Amaravati, the capital of new Andhra Pradesh is a welcome move and I wish it develops well on all fronts. This heritage city has undergone a lot of change over the years... The economy would flourish where there is peace".


title: Amaravati

text: The Happy Cities Summit Amaravati 2019 backed by APCRDA aims to build on the success and momentum of the inaugural summit to establish Amaravati at the forefront of the discourse on urban innovation with a focus on citizen happiness. Discussion of the Happy Homes project was underway after Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy was elected Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. The Government of Andhra Pradesh has also successfully hosted the inaugural Happy Cities Summit in Amaravati in April 2018. The summit saw the participation of 1,500+ delegates from 15+ countries, including eminent city leaders and urban experts.


title: Toyota Sequoia

text: The Toyota Sequoia is a full-size SUV manufactured by Toyota mainly for the North American market since 2000 for the 2001 model year and derived from the Tundra pickup truck. It is the largest SUV ever produced under the Toyota brand, after the Japan-exclusive, military-focused Mega Cruiser.


title: Toyota Sequoia

text: Previously manufactured at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana in Princeton, Indiana between 2000 and 2021, and then in Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas in San Antonio, Texas since 2022, the Sequoia is the first vehicle from a Japanese marque in the popular mainstream full-sized SUV class in North America, and initial planning done by first-generation Sequoia chief engineer Kaoru Hosokawa aimed the Sequoia directly at the Ford Expedition, Chevrolet Tahoe, Nissan Armada, and other full-size SUVs.


title: Toyota Sequoia

text: Up until the 2021 model year, the Sequoia was slotted between the mid-size 4Runner and the premium Land Cruiser in the North American Toyota SUV lineup. With the discontinuation of North American sales of the Land Cruiser from the 2022 model year onward, the Sequoia became the flagship SUV in Toyota's North America lineup.


title: Toyota Sequoia

text: , the Sequoia is sold in the United States, Canada, and Costa Rica. It is offered in left-hand drive only.


title: Toyota Sequoia

text: Development of a full-size SUV alongside a T100 replacement began in the mid-1990s, with a design freeze in 1997 (styled by Toshihiko Shirasawa) and design patent filing of the production design on April 4, 1998 at the Japan Patent Office (JPO) under #1054583. After the introduction of the Toyota Tundra in 1999, speculation started that Toyota intended to compete in the full-size SUV market with a Tundra-based SUV called the Highlander. However, the Highlander name was used on a mid-size Camry-based crossover and the Tundra-based SUV was introduced on January 11, 2000 at the North American International Auto Show as the Toyota Sequoia, with full production starting in September 2000 for the 2001 model year.


title: Toyota Sequoia

text: The engine, dashboard, sheetmetal, and chassis are shared with the Tundra, with the exception of rear disc brakes and a more sophisticated multi-link live axle rear suspension. The Sequoia was nominated for the "North American Truck of the Year" award in 2001. When the Sequoia was introduced, it was slightly longer than the contemporary Land Cruiser, larger than the Chevrolet Tahoe in most dimensions and similar in size to the Ford Expedition; its V8 engine was certified as an Ultra Low Emission Vehicle. Frame assemblies and driveshafts are produced by Dana Holding Corporation.


title: Toyota Sequoia

text: The Sequoia came in two trim levels: "SR5" and "Limited". It was sold in both two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive versions. Vehicle Stability Control was standard on all models.


title: Toyota Sequoia

text: For the 2005 model year, the Sequoia received a minor facelift. A new engine equipped with VVT-i was new for 2005, as well as a 5-speed automatic transmission, replacing the previous 4-speed. 4 wheel drive models got a Torsen center differential, replacing the previous open differential, that splits power in full-time mode 40% front and 60% rear under normal driving, and can send up to 53% to the front and 71% to the rear during slip. The grill was redesigned, and the orange lamps were removed from the taillights.


title: Toyota Sequoia

text: Toyota unveiled the 2008 Sequoia at the November 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show, with sales beginning that following December. Like the original Sequoia, the new model is based on the new Tundra. However major differences with the Tundra include a fully boxed frame, a rear independent suspension featuring double wishbones with coil springs for improved ride comfort and room, and a locking center differential on 4-wheel drive models. The new suspension helps give the Sequoia a tighter turning radius of and allows for a fold-flat rear seat. Toyota stated the new frame is 70 percent more resistant to bending flex with torsional rigidity up 30 percent. However, the new model weighs more than the previous Sequoia. The drag coefficient has been reduced to 0.35.


title: Toyota Sequoia

text: Improvements include an optional ULEV-II compliant 381 horsepower 5.7 L "3UR-FE" V8, mated to a 6-speed automatic.


title: Toyota Sequoia

text: The 2008 Sequoia came in three trim lines: the SR5 and Limited, and new Platinum. The base engine is the previous ULEV compliant 4.7 L "2UZ-FE" V8 featured from the previous generation. The 4.7 L is standard on the SR5. Some of the earlier 2008 and 2009 SR5 models do come with the 5.7 L as an option when purchasing, while the Limited and Platinum models come standard with a 5.7 L V8 engine. Four-wheel drive is available on all models.


title: Toyota Sequoia

text: The interior of the 2008 Sequoia features the same dash as the new Tundra. Standard features include a tilt and telescopic steering wheel, power windows and doors, dual sun visors, and a keyless entry. Options include DVD based navigation with backup camera and 7" screen, a rear DVD entertainment system, a 14-speaker JBL audio system, and heated seats with ventilated coolers in the front row and warmers in the second row, available in Platinum trim. The Limited trim includes audio, climate, and hands-free Bluetooth mobile phone system controls, an improved JBL audio system, electroluminescent Optitron gauges, and an electrochromic auto-dimming rear-view mirror and side view mirrors with a HomeLink transceiver. The Platinum model includes a standard DVD navigation with a backup camera, a rear air suspension which can lower for easy loading, and Dynamic Laser Cruise Control.


title: Toyota Sequoia

text: Seating arrangements are for seven or eight passengers, eight for SR5 and Limited models and seven for Platinum models. Power folding 60/40 split third row seats are available on the Platinum. The Sequoia has a maximum towing capacity of with the 5.7 L V8 in 2WD SR5 form or in the 4WD SR5 trim. For complete trailer & weight capacities, see Toyota's website.


title: Toyota Sequoia

text: Exterior differences include door handle colors (color-keyed for the SR5; chrome for the Limited and Platinum), diamond-cut aluminum alloy wheels for the Platinum trim, and varying power-heated remote-controlled side mirrors.


title: Toyota Sequoia

text: Standard safety features include Vehicle Stability Control, traction control, anti-lock brakes brake assist, electronic brakeforce distribution, front side torso airbags and roll-sensing side curtain airbags for all three rows. For the 2010 model knee airbags were added as standard feature for front driver and passenger safety.


title: Toyota Sequoia

text: In 2015, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found the Sequoia 4WD to have the lowest overall driver death rate in its class with 0 deaths per million registered vehicle years.


title: Toyota Sequoia

text: The third-generation Sequoia was unveiled on January 25, 2022 for the 2023 model year. Production began on September 21, 2022, and sales began in October 2022. The production was moved to the San Antonio plant, built alongside the XK70 series Tundra due to the Indiana facility preparing to build two upcoming 8-seat passenger SUVs that will feature hybrid powertrains.


title: Toyota Sequoia

text: It is built on the body-on-frame GA-F platform. Like the first generation, this generation uses a solid rear axle instead of independent setup from the previous generation. A hybridized "" twin-turbo V6 engine (marketed as "i-Force Max") is standard across the lineup, producing and of torque, with the 5.7-liter "3UR-FE" V8 unit being discontinued.


title: Toyota Sequoia

text: The third-generation Sequoia is available in five trim levels, four of which are carried over from the previous generation: SR5, Limited, Platinum, and TRD Pro, as well as the flagship Capstone luxury-oriented trim. Towing capacity is rated at , depending on the trim level. Depending on trims, the Sequoia is available with either a seven or eight passenger seating, with either a split bench or dual captain's chairs in the second row.


title: Toyota Sequoia

text: The 2008-2010 Sequoias were part of one of the 2009-2010 Toyota recalls that required the installation of a small shim to relieve unwanted friction and restore fluidity to the accelerator pedal. Early 2003 Sequoias were recalled to reprogram the Vehicle Stability Control system due to the possibility of poor acceleration at certain low speeds. The 2002-2003 Sequoia model years also had a defect in the front ball joints. 2004 Toyota Sequoias were subject to the Takata Airbag recall done for free by Toyota dealerships. Recently, the Sequoia, along with the Tacoma and Tundra, have another recall due to the frame prematurely rusting. If there is a 10 mm perforation found on the frame, the vehicle frame will be replaced, if the service is done within 12 years of vehicle purchase or 1 year after recall became official. For those vehicles without 10 mm perforation and located in a cold weather state, Toyota will perform an undercoating service to prevent future rust from forming.


title: Tertiary education

text: Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including universities as well as trade schools and colleges. Higher education is taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, while vocational education beyond secondary education is known as "further education" in the United Kingdom, or included under the category of "continuing education" in the United States.


title: Tertiary education

text: Tertiary education generally culminates in the receipt of certificates, diplomas, or academic degrees.


title: Tertiary education

text: UNESCO stated that tertiary education focuses on learning endeavors in specialized fields. It includes academic and higher vocational education.


title: Tertiary education

text: The World Bank's 2019 World Development Report on the future of work argues that given the future of work and the increasing role of technology in value chains, tertiary education becomes even more relevant for workers to compete in the labor market.


title: Tertiary education

text: Tertiary education systems will keep expanding over the next 10 years. Globally, the gross enrollment ratio in tertiary education increased from 19% in 2000 to 38% in 2017, with the female enrollment ratio exceeding the male ratio by 4 percentage points.


title: Tertiary education

text: The tertiary gross enrollment ratio ranges from 9% in low-income countries to 77% in high-income countries, where, after rapid growth in the 2000s, reached a plateau in the 2010s.


title: Tertiary education

text: Between now and 2030, the biggest increase in tertiary enrollment ratios is expected in middle-income countries, where it will reach 52%. Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) commits countries to providing lifelong learning opportunities for all, including tertiary education.


title: Tertiary education

text: This commitment is monitored through the global indicator for target 4.3 in the sustainable development goal 4 (SDG 4), which measures the participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, whether for work or non-work purposes.


title: Tertiary education

text: In 1994 the UNESCO Salamanca Statement called on the international community to endorse the approach of inclusive education, including at the tertiary level. Since this time the world has witnessed the global massification of tertiary education, yet this explosion of facilities and enrollment has largely entrenched and exacerbated the exclusion of people with disabilities. This is particularly the case in low- and middle-income contexts, where university completion rates for students with disabilities are much lower compared to completion rates of students without disabilities.


title: Tertiary education

text: Some tertiary schools have been criticized as having permitted or actively encouraged grade inflation. In addition, certain scholars contend that the supply of graduates in some fields of study is exceeding the demand for their skills, aggravating graduate unemployment, underemployment and credentialism.


title: Tertiary education

text: Graduates of tertiary education are likely to have different worldviews and moral values than non-graduates. Research indicates that graduates are more likely to have libertarian principles with less adherence to social hierarchies. Graduates are also more likely to embrace cultural and ethnic diversity and express more positive views towards minority groups. For international relationships, graduates are more likely to favor openness, supporting policies like free trade, open borders, the European Union, and more liberal policies regarding international migration.


title: Tertiary education

text: Under devolution in the United Kingdom, education is administered separately in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. In England, the term "tertiary education" aligns with the global term "higher education" (i.e. post-18 study). In 2018 the Welsh Government adopted the term "tertiary education" to refer to post-16 education and training in Wales. Since the 1970s, however, specialized further education colleges in England and Wales have called themselves "tertiary colleges" although being part of the secondary education process. These institutions cater for both school leavers and adults, thus combining the main functions of an FE college and a sixth form college. Generally, district councils with such colleges have adopted a tertiary system or structure where a single local institution provides all the 16–19 and adult education, and where schools do not universally offer sixth forms (i.e. schools only serve ages 11–16). However the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 has effectively prevented the creation of new tertiary colleges.


title: Tertiary education

text: Within Australia "tertiary education" refers to continuing studies after a student's completes secondary school. Tertiary-education options include university, technical and further education or private universities.


title: Tertiary education

text: The higher education system in the United States is decentralized and regulated independently by each state with accreditors playing a key role in ensuring institutions meet minimum standards. It is large and diverse with institutions that are privately governed and institutions that are owned and operated by state and local governments. Some private institutions are affiliated with religious organizations whereas others are secular with enrollment ranging from a few dozen to tens of thousands of students. In short, there are a wide variety of options which are often locally determined. The United States Department of Education presents a broad-spectrum view of tertiary education and detailed information on the nation's educational structure, accreditation procedures, and connections to state as well as federal agencies and entities.


title: Tertiary education

text: The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education provides one framework for classifying U.S. colleges and universities in several different ways. US tertiary education also includes various non-profit organizations promoting professional development of individuals in the field of higher education and helping expand awareness of related issues like international student services and complete campus internationalization.


title: Tertiary education

text: After going to nursery school (French: école maternelle), elementary school (French: école élémentaire), middle school (French: collège), and high school (French: lycée), a student may go to university, but may also stop at that point.


title: Tertiary education

text: Tertiary education refers to post-secondary education received at universities (government or privately funded), monotechnics, polytechnics and colleges of education. After completing a secondary education, students may enroll in a tertiary institution or acquire a vocational education. Students are required to sit for the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board Entrance Examination (JAMB) as well as the Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) or General Certificate Examination (GCE) and meet varying cut-off marks to gain admission into a tertiary institution.


title: Tertiary education

text: Colleges of technology are provided by the 1st article of the educational law in Japan as well as universities and junior colleges, which are very often called as high education for two years, but special training colleges are provided by the 124th article of the law as a category of special training schools. Both are regular educational organisations but special training colleges are not "schools" under the law. They are additionally not in high education.


title: Tertiary education

text: Pupil who finish a junior high school can enter a college of technology but 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades are in secondary education and out of this article. College of technology is special educational system which secondary and tertiary educations intermingle. Graduates from the school are equivalent to graduates from a junior college.


title: Tertiary education

text: Whilst special training colleges are not "schools" by the law, they are schools in public view. Their most courses are for two years but some have one, three or four-year courses. Graduates from courses for more than two years are equivalent to graduates from junior colleges and graduates from a course for four years can enter a graduate course of a university in recent years.


title: Tertiary education

text: Special training schools were included in miscellaneous schools by the current educational law when it was enforced in 1947. The 83rd article of the law provided for them and they were certainly miscellaneous.


title: Tertiary education

text: Because miscellaneous schools included educational organisations with lessons for a few times in a week then, some educational organisations including later special training schools were dissatisfied about the system. In addition, there were many problems because of being miscellaneous.


title: Tertiary education

text: Some educational organisations authorised by some definite condition became miscellaneous schools with reform of the law on 1 January 1957 but were still in the miscellaneous system. The law has not applied to many other educational organisations since the reform.


title: Tertiary education

text: There were various styles whilst the law authorised: for example, schools to provide about educational backgrounds and those without any provisions about them. There are still many problems and special training schools were created in January 1976. They include three courses: post-secondary, upper-secondary, and general courses. Schools with the post-secondary course for graduates who finish senior high schools and people with equivalent educational backgrounds are called as special training colleges. The upper-secondary course is that for graduates from junior high schools and everyone can enter the general course. The latter is near current miscellaneous schools.


title: Tertiary education

text: Graduates from special training colleges since 1994 can get diploma. The law does not provide about diploma unlike foundation degree that graduates from colleges of technology can get but is public degree as well.


title: Visa requirements for Russian citizens

text: Visa requirements for Russian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Russia. As of 19 July 2022, Russian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 119 countries and territories, ranking the Russian passport 50th in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index. Note that however, due to the COVID pandemic a number of countries have put up travel restrictions for Russian citizens.


title: Visa requirements for Russian citizens

text: Visa requirements for Russian citizens were lifted (unilaterally or bilaterally, for the first time or repeatedly (in which case, the date of the last cancellation of visas is given) as the Soviet Union by the following countries/territories: Micronesia (18 December 1980); as the Russian Federation by Dominica (11 March 1993), Cuba (29 July 1994), Antigua and Barbuda (6 November 1996), Malaysia (1998), Namibia (August 2001), Morocco (13 June 2005), Botswana (5 December 2006), Thailand (24 March 2007), Swaziland (12 June 2007), Laos (1 September 2007), Philippines (19 September 2007), Ecuador (20 June 2008), Israel (20 September 2008), Vietnam (1 January 2009), Nicaragua (19 March 2009), Venezuela (6 March 2009), El Salvador and Honduras (31 March 2009), Bahamas (1 April 2009), Guatemala (1 April 2009), Colombia (20 April 2009), Argentina (29 June 2009), Hong Kong (1 July 2009), Brazil (7 June 2010), Guyana (1 August 2010), Trinidad and Tobago (December 2010), Chile (18 January 2011), Turkey (April 2011), Saint Lucia (27 September 2011), Uruguay (27 December 2011), Georgia (until December 2000, visa-free for residents of Caucasian Regions from October 2010, resumed for all citizens on 29 February 2012), Macau (30 September 2012), Mauritius (November 2012), Jamaica (11 March 2013), Saint Kitts and Nevis (28 May 2013), South Korea (1 January 2014), Costa Rica (until 1 February 2008, resumed from 12 April 2014), Panama (14 April 2014), Paraguay (20 October 2014), Mongolia (resumed from 14 November 2014), Tunisia (1 December 2014), Turks and Caicos (2006 – September 2011, resumed in April 2015), Nauru (14 May 2015), Indonesia (10 June 2015), Bolivia (3 October 2016), Senegal (resumed in December 2016), South Africa (30 March 2017), São Tomé and Príncipe (25 April 2017), Qatar (22 June 2017), Brunei (8 January 2018), Taiwan (6 September 2018), Palau (27 December 2018), United Arab Emirates (17 February 2019), Suriname (13 May 2019), Maldives (25 July 2019), Cabo Verde (4 July 2020), Oman (December 2020), Belize (12 January 2022).


title: Visa requirements for Russian citizens

text: Visas on arrival were introduced by Iran (July 2005), Zimbabwe (20 November 2007), Bahrain (November 2008), Guinea-Bissau (April 2012), Mozambique (resumed in February 2017), Gabon (12 October 2017), Rwanda (1 January 2018), Benin (15 March 2018), Taiwan (6 September 2018), Sierra Leone (5 September 2019), Saudi Arabia (28 September 2019), Myanmar (1 October 2019), Iraq (15 March 2021).


title: Visa requirements for Russian citizens

text: Russian citizens were made eligible for eVisas by Singapore (December 2009), Sri Lanka (January 2012), Montserrat (September 2012), São Tomé and Príncipe (2012), Myanmar (1 September 2014), India made Russian citizens eligible for the e-Visa (27 November 2014), Kenya (2 July 2015), Gabon (15 June 2015), Australia (Electronic Visitor visa from 1 October 2015), Lesotho (1 May 2017), Saint Helena (2018), Djibouti (18 February 2018), Oman (7 May 2018), Tanzania (26 November 2018), Papua New Guinea (17 June 2019), Saudi Arabia (28 September 2019), Guinea (October 2019), Malawi (November 2019), South Sudan (29 September 2020), Anguilla (January 2021).


title: Visa requirements for Russian citizens

text: The following countries/territories have reinstated visa requirements for Russian citizens: Estonia (1 July 1992), Latvia (20 March 1993), Lithuania (1 November 1993), North Korea (22 May 1997), Turkmenistan (June 1999), Slovenia (December 1999), Czech Republic (29 May 2000), Slovakia (1 January 2001), Hungary (14 June 2001), Bulgaria (October 2001), Poland (1 October 2003), Cyprus (1 January 2004), Romania (October 2004), Croatia (1 April 2013), Kosovo (1 July 2013), Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (3 October 2019), North Macedonia (21 March 2022), Ukraine (1 July 2022) and Taiwan (31 July 2022).


title: Visa requirements for Russian citizens

text: Certain countries waive the visa requirement if the visitor is in the possession of a valid visa or residence card of another country.


title: Visa requirements for Russian citizens

text: Holders of diplomatic or service Russian passports have visa-free access to the following additional countries and territories (mutual and unilateral):


title: Visa requirements for Russian citizens

text: Longer period of stay or more beneficial terms than that for ordinary passport holders is provided by Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, South Korea, Montenegro, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, El Salvador, Serbia, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela.


title: Visa requirements for Russian citizens

text: Holders of an APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) travelling on business do not require a visa to the following countries:


title: Visa requirements for Russian citizens

text: Many African countries, including Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zambia require all incoming passengers to have a current International Certificate of Vaccination. Some other countries require vaccination only if the passenger is coming from an infected area.


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: The Dirlewanger Brigade, also known as the SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger (1944), or the 36th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (), or The Black Hunters (), was a unit of the Waffen-SS during World War II. The unit, named after its commander Oskar Dirlewanger, consisted of convicted criminals who were not expected by Nazi Germany to survive their service with the unit. Originally formed in 1940 and first deployed for counter-insurgency duties against the Polish resistance movement, the brigade saw service in anti-partisan actions in German-occupied Eastern Europe.


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: During its operations, the unit participated in the mass murder of civilians and in other war crimes in German-occupied Eastern Europe. It gained a reputation among Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS officers for its brutality. Several members such as Hans von Cullen were put to death post-war by ad-hoc tribunals. Several commanders attempted to remove Dirlewanger from command and to dissolve the unit, but powerful patrons within the Nazi apparatus protected Dirlewanger and intervened on his behalf. Amongst other actions, the unit took part in the destruction of Warsaw in late 1944 and in the massacre of around 100,000 of Warsaw's inhabitants in August 1944 during the Warsaw Uprising – as well as in the brutal suppression of the Slovak National Uprising of August to October 1944.


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: The eponymous Dirlewanger Brigade was led by World War I veteran and convicted criminal Oskar Dirlewanger, considered an amoral violent alcoholic who was claimed to have possessed a sadistic sexual orientation and a barbaric nature;


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: After enlisting in the German Army as a machine gunner in 1913, Dirlewanger served in the XIII (Royal Württemberg) Corps rising to the rank of "Leutnant" (lieutenant) and receiving the Iron Cross first and second class during WWI. He joined the "Freikorps" and took part in crushing the German Revolution of 1918–19. After graduating from Frankfurt's Citizens' University with a doctorate in political science in 1922, he worked at a bank and a knitwear factory. By 1923 he had joined the Nazi Party. In 1934 he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl and for stealing government property. The conviction led to his being expelled from the Nazi Party (but he was permitted to reapply for membership). Soon after his release, Dirlewanger was rearrested for sexual assault and sent to a concentration camp at Welzheim. In desperation, he contacted his old WWI comrade Gottlob Berger who was now a senior Nazi working closely with "Reichsführer-SS" Heinrich Himmler. Berger used his influence to help Dirlewanger join the Condor Legion, a German unit which fought in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939).


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: On his return to Germany in 1939, Berger helped Dirlewanger join the "Allgemeine SS" (General-SS) with the rank of SS-"Untersturmführer". In mid-1940, after the invasion of Poland, Berger arranged for Dirlewanger to command and train a military unit of convicted poachers for partisan-hunting ("Bandenbekämpfung").


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: On 23 March 1940, a department in the Ministry of Justice received a telephone call from Himmler's headquarters informing them that Hitler had decided to give "suspended sentences to so-called 'honorable poachers' and, depending on their behaviour at the front, to pardon them". A confirmation of Hitler's order was sent specifying that the poachers should, where possible, be Bavarian and Austrian, not be guilty of crimes involving trap setting; and were to be enrolled in marksmen's rifle corps. The men were to combine their knowledge of hunting and woodcraft similar to traditional Jäger elite riflemen with the courage and initiative of those who willingly broke the law. In late May 1940 Dirlewanger was sent to Oranienburg to take charge of 80 selected men convicted of poaching crimes who were temporarily released from their sentences. After two months training, 55 men were selected with the rest sent back to prison. On 14 June 1940, the "Wilddiebkommando Oranienburg" ("Oranienburg Poacher's Unit") was formed as part of the "Waffen-SS". Himmler made Dirlewanger its commander. The unit was sent to Poland where it was joined by four Waffen-SS NCOs selected for their previous disciplinary records and twenty other recruits. By September 1940, the formation numbered over 300 men. Dirlewanger was appointed an SS-"Obersturmführer" by Himmler. With the influx of criminals, the emphasis on poachers was now lost, though many of the former poachers rose to NCO ranks to train the unit. Those convicted of other more severe crimes, including the criminally insane, also joined the unit.


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: From the beginning, the formation attracted criticism from both the Nazi Party and the SS for the idea that convicted criminals who were forbidden to carry arms, therefore then exempt from conscription in the Wehrmacht, could be a part of the elite SS. A solution was found where it was proclaimed that the formation was not part of the SS, but under control of the SS. Accordingly, the unit name was changed to "Sonderkommando Dirlewanger" ("Special Unit Dirlewanger"). As the unit strength grew, it was placed under the command of the "SS-Totenkopfverbände" (the formation responsible for the administration of the concentration camps) and redesignated as the "SS-Sonderbataillon Dirlewanger". In January 1942, to rebuild its strength, the unit was authorised to recruit Russian and Ukrainian volunteers. By February 1943, the number of men in the battalion doubled to 700 (half of them "Volksdeutsche"). It became a Waffen-SS unit again in late 1944. In May 1944, the 550 men (Turkestanis, Volga Tartars, Azerbaijanis, Kirghiz, Uzbek, and Tadjiks) from the Ostmuslemanische SS-Regiment were attached to the SS Dirlewanger brigade.


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: Although other "Strafbataillons" were raised as the war proceeded and the need for further manpower grew, these penal military units were for those convicted of military offences, whereas the recruits sent to Dirlewanger Brigade were convicted of major crimes such as premeditated murder, rape, arson and burglary. Dirlewanger provided them with an opportunity to commit atrocities on such a scale that it even raised complaints within the brutal SS. The historian Martin Windrow described them as a "terrifying rabble" of "cut-throats, renegades, sadistic morons, and cashiered rejects from other units". Some Nazi officials romanticized the unit, viewing the men as "pure primitive German men" who were "resisting the law".


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: During the organization's time in the Soviet Union, Dirlewanger burned women and children alive, let starved packs of dogs feed on them, and injected Jews with strychnine. Transcripts of the Nuremberg Trials show Soviet prosecutors frequently questioning defendants accused of war crimes on the Eastern Front about their knowledge of the Dirlewanger Brigade.


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: On 1 August 1940, the "Dirlewanger" was assigned to guard duties in the region of Lublin (site of a Nazi-established "Jew reservation" established under the Nisko Plan) in the General Government territory of German-occupied Poland. According to journalist and author, Matthew Cooper, "wherever the Dirlewanger unit operated, corruption and rape formed an every-day part of life and indiscriminate slaughter, beatings and looting were rife". Even within the brutal regime of the General Government concerns were raised about the unit's conduct, "Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer" (HSSPF) Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger, who himself was a war criminal and mass murderer, was so disturbed by the unlawful behaviour of the "Dirlewanger Brigade" that his complaints resulted in its transfer to Byelorussia in February 1942.


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: The unit's crimes continued when it returned to Poland to help suppress the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. Crimes included the mass rape and murder of 15 Red Cross nurses and killing of thousands of civilians. After troops entered a makeshift military hospital, they first killed the wounded with bayonets and rifle butts before gang raping the women. The naked bleeding nurses were then taken outside and hanged by their feet and shot in their stomachs. The unit would carry out cruel atrocities during the Wola massacre in which more than 40,000 Polish civilians were killed in reprisals on the direct orders of SS-Chief Heinrich Himmler.


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: Byelorussia (modern-day Belarus) formed part of Reichskommissariat Ostland and had formerly been part of the Soviet Union. In this region, the unit came under the command of local HSSPF Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski. The unit resumed its so-called anti-partisan activities ("Bandenbekämpfung" in the official German designation), working in cooperation with the Kaminski Brigade, a militia force composed of Soviet nationals under the command of Bronislav Kaminski. Dirlewanger's preferred method of operation was to gather civilians in a barn, set it on fire and shoot machine guns at anyone who tried to escape; the victims of his unit numbered about 30,000.


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: In September 1942, the unit murdered 8,350 Jews in Baranovichi ghetto and then a further 389 people labeled "bandits" and 1,274 "bandit suspects". According to the historian Martin Kitchen, the unit "committed such shocking atrocities in the Soviet Union, in the pursuit of partisans, that even an SS court was called upon to investigate."


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: On 17 August 1942, the expansion of the "Dirlewanger" to regimental size was authorized. Recruits were to come from criminals, Eastern volunteers ("Osttruppen") and military delinquents. The second battalion was established in February 1943 when the regiment's strength reached 700 men, of whom 300 were anti-communists from Soviet territory; and the unit was redesignated as the "SS-Sonderregiment Dirlewanger". In May 1943, the eligibility to volunteer for service in the regiment was extended to all criminals and as a result 500 men convicted of the most severe crimes were absorbed into the regiment. May and June saw the unit taking part in Operation Cottbus, an anti-partisan operation. In August 1943, the creation of a third battalion was authorised. With its expansion, the "Dirlewanger" was allowed to display rank insignia and a unique collar patch in form of crossed rifles with a stick grenade under them. During this period, the regiment saw heavy fighting; Dirlewanger himself led many assaults.


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: In November 1943, the regiment was committed to front-line action with Army Group Centre in an attempt to halt the Soviet advance, and suffered extreme casualties due to ineptitude. Dirlewanger received the German Gold Cross on 5 December 1943 in recognition of his earnestness, but by 30 December 1943, the unit consisted of only 259 men. Large numbers of amnestied criminals were sent to rebuild the regiment and by late February 1944, the regiment was back up to full strength. It was decided that Eastern volunteers would no longer be admitted to the unit, as the Russians had proven to be particularly unreliable in combat. Anti-partisan operations continued until June 1944, when the Soviets launched Operation Bagration, which was aimed at the destruction of Army Group Centre. The "Dirlewanger" was caught up in the retreat and began falling back to Poland. The regiment sustained heavy casualties during several rearguard actions but reached Poland.


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: When the "Armia Krajowa" began the Warsaw Uprising on 1 August 1944, "Dirlewanger" was sent into action as part of the "Kampfgruppe" formation led by SS-"Gruppenführer" Heinz Reinefarth; once again serving alongside Bronislav Kaminski's militia (now named "SS Sturmbrigade RONA"). Acting on orders that came directly from "Reichsführer-SS" Heinrich Himmler, Kaminski's and Dirlewanger's men were given a free hand to rape, loot, torture and butcher.


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: In what became known as the Wola massacre, "RONA" and "Dirlewanger" personnel indiscriminately massacred Polish combatants along with civilian men, women and children, in the Wola District of Warsaw. Up to 40,000 civilians were murdered in Wola in less than two weeks of August, including all hospital patients and staff.<ref name="Nowak/Kuźniak"></ref> Many otherwise unknown crimes committed by "Dirlewanger" at Wola were later revealed by Mathias Schenck, a Belgian national who was serving in the area as a German Army sapper. Regarding an incident in which 500 small children were murdered, Schenck stated:


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: The regiment arrived in Warsaw with only 865 enlisted personnel and 16 officers but it soon received 2,500 replacements. These included 1,900 German convicts from the SS military camp at Danzig-Matzkau. Nevertheless extremely high casualties were inflicted on "Dirlewanger" during fighting in Warsaw by the Polish resistance. During the course of the two-month urban warfare "Dirlewanger" lost 2,733 men. Thus, total casualties numbered 315% of the unit's initial strength. While some of the regiment's actions were criticized by Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski (who after the war described them as "a herd of pigs") and the sector commander, "Generalmajor" Günter Rohr, Dirlewanger was recommended for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross by Reinefarth and promotion to "SS-Oberführer der Reserve".


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: By 3 October 1944, the remaining Polish insurgents had surrendered and the depleted regiment spent the next month guarding the line along the Vistula. During this time, the regiment was upgraded to brigade status and named "SS-Sonderbrigade Dirlewanger" (SS Special Brigade Dirlewanger). In early October, it was decided to upgrade the "Dirlewanger" again, this time to a Waffen-SS combat brigade. Accordingly, it was redesignated "2. SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger" in December 1944, and had soon reached its complement of 4,000 men.


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: When the Slovak National Uprising began in late August 1944, the newly formed brigade was committed to action. The brigade played a large part in putting down the rebellion by 30 October. With the outcome of the war no longer in doubt, large numbers of communist and socialist political prisoners began applying to join the "Dirlewanger" in the hope of defecting to the Soviets. SS-"Brigadeführer" Fritz Schmedes, former commander of the 4th SS Polizei Division, was assigned to the "Dirlewanger" by Himmler as punishment for refusing to carry out orders. With his extensive combat experience, Schmedes became the unofficial advisor to Dirlewanger on front line combat.


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: In December, the brigade was sent to the front in Hungary. While several newly formed battalions made up of communist and socialist volunteers fell apart, several other battalions fought well. During a month's fighting, the brigade suffered heavy casualties and was pulled back to Slovakia to refit and reorganize.


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: In February 1945, orders were given to expand the brigade to a division; however, before this could begin it was sent north to the Oder-Neisse line in an attempt to halt the Soviet advance. On 14 February 1945, the brigade was redesignated as the "36. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS". With its expansion to a division of 4,000 men, the "Dirlewanger" had regular Army units attached to the formation: a Grenadier regiment, a "Pionier" brigade and a "Panzerjäger" battalion. Individual "Sturmpionier" demolition engineers had already been attached to the force during the fighting in Warsaw.


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: The division was pushed back to the northeast when the final Soviet offensive began on 16 April 1945. The next day, Oskar Dirlewanger was seriously wounded in combat for the twelfth time. He was removed from the front and he was sent to the rear and Schmedes immediately assumed command; Dirlewanger would not return to the division. Desertion became more and more common; when Schmedes attempted to reorganize his division on 25 April, he found that it had virtually ceased to exist. On 28 April 1945, SS-"Sturmbannführer" Ewald Ehlers, who commanded the 73rd Waffen Grenadier Regiment of the SS within the Dirlewanger Brigade, was hanged by his own men. He had been a former commandant of Dachau concentration camp who had been convicted of corruption. On 1 May 1945, the Soviets wiped out all that was left of the "36. Waffen-Grenadier-Division" in the Halbe Pocket. A small remnant of the division managed an escape attempt to reach the U.S. Army lines on the Elbe river. Schmedes and his staff managed to reach the Americans and surrendered on 3 May.


title: Dirlewanger Brigade

text: Only about 700 men of the division survived the war. In June 1945, Dirlewanger was captured by French forces in Germany and died in their custody by 8 June, allegedly killed by Polish soldiers in Altshausen.


title: Sheikh

text: Sheikh (pronounced or ; ' , , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a tribe or a royal family member in Arabian countries, in some countries it is also given to those of great knowledge in religious affairs as a surname by a prestige religious leader from a chain of Sufi scholars. It is also commonly used to refer to a Muslim religious scholar. It is also used as an honorary title by people claiming to be descended from Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali both patrilineal and matrilineal who are grandsons of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The term is literally translated to "Elder" (is also translated to "Lord/Master" in a monarchical context). The word 'sheikh' is mentioned in the 23rd verse of Surah Al-Qasas in the Quran.


title: Sheikh

text: The word in Arabic stems from a triliteral root connected with age and aging: , "shīn-yā'-khā"'. The title carries the meaning leader, elder, or noble, especially in the Arabian Peninsula within the Tribes of Arabia, where "Shaikh" became a traditional title of a Bedouin tribal leader in recent centuries. Due to the cultural impact of Arab civilization, and especially through the spread of Islam, the word has gained currency as a religious term or general honorific in many other parts of the world as well, notably in Muslim cultures in Africa and Asia.


title: Sheikh

text: In Sufism, the word "sheikh" is used to represent a spiritual guide who initiates a particular "tariqa" which leads to Muhammad, although many saints have this title added before their names out of respect from their followers. A couple of prominent examples are Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, who initiated the Qadiriyya order, and Sheikh Ahmad al-Tijani, who initiated the Tijaniyyah Sufi order.


title: Sheikh

text: In the Arabian Peninsula, the title is used for chiefs of tribes. This also includes royalty in most of Eastern Arabia, where the royal families were traditionally considered tribal chiefs. For example, it is used by the UAE Al-Nahyan dynasty and Al Maktoum dynasty, who are considered the chiefs of the Bani Yas tribe, and by Kuwait's Al Sabah dynasty and Bahrain's Al Khalifa dynasty of the Bani Utbah tribal confederation. The term is used by almost every male and female (Sheikha) member of the royal houses of the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait. The title is not used by members of Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, where the title "Prince" () is used instead.


title: Sheikh

text: The title is also used to refer to religious leaders for both Sunni and Shia Muslims. For example, the Saudi Arabian family Al ash-Sheikh (literally "House of the Sheikh") is named after the religious leader and eponymous founder of Wahhabism, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab.


title: Sheikh

text: In Mount Lebanon, the title had the same princely and royal connotation as in the Arabian peninsula until the Ottoman invasion in 1516, since it represented an indigenous autonomous "sui iuris" ruler or tribal chief. Examples of some ancient families that hold the title of "sui iuris" sheikh is the Al-Chemor family, ruling since 1211 CE in Koura and Zgharta until 1747 CE and the Boudib Family (descendants of the Hashemite Family) who were Ehdenian rulers of Jebbeh since 1471 CE until 1759 CE. Descendants of this royal family now live in Miziara, Mexico and Nigeria. Even the Abu Harmoush family heads, which ruled the Chouf region until the Battle of Ain Dara in 1711 CE, were "sui iuris" sheikhs. After the Ottoman rule and the implementation of the Iltizam system, the title gained a noble instead of royal connotation, since it was bestowed by a higher authority; in this case the Ottoman appointed Emir, who was nothing more than a mültezim or tax collector for the empire. Some very influential Maronite families, who had the title bestowed upon them, are (in chronological order): El Hachem of Akoura (descendants of the Hashemite Family, since 1523), El-Khazen (since 1545), Hubaysh of Kisrawan and Douaihy of Zgharta. Other families who are nowadays addressed or known as "sheikhs" were not traditionally rulers of provinces, but instead they were high-ranking officials at the service of the Emir at that time.


title: Sheikh

text: In the Maghreb, during the Almohad dynasty, the caliph was also counseled by a body of sheikhs. They represented all the different tribes under their rules, including Arabs, (Bedouins), Andalusians and Berbers and were also responsible for mobilizing their kinsmen in the event of war.


title: Sheikh

text: In the Muslim parts of the Horn of Africa, "sheikh" is often used as a noble title. In Somali society, it is reserved as an honorific for senior Muslim leaders and clerics ("wadaad"), and is often abbreviated to "Sh". Famous local sheikhs include Ishaaq bin Ahmed, an early Muslim scholar and Islamic preacher, Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti, an early Muslim leader in Somaliland; Abadir Umar Ar-Rida, the patron saint of Harar; Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti, Sheikh of the riwaq in Cairo who recorded the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt; Abd Al-Rahman bin Ahmad al-Zayla'i, scholar who played a crucial role in the spread of the Qadiriyyah movement in Somalia and East Africa; Sheikh Sufi, 19th century scholar, poet, reformist and astrologist; Abdallah al-Qutbi, polemicist, theologian and philosopher best known for his five-part "Al-Majmu'at al-mubaraka" ("The Blessed Collection"); and Muhammad Al-Sumaalee, teacher in the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca who influenced many of the prominent Islamic scholars of today.


title: Sheikh

text: [[Pakistani people|Pakistani]] [[Sheikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani]], a prominent [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] scholar.


title: Sheikh

text: In the cosmopolitan hub of the South Asian sub-continent, it is not just an ethnic title but also often an occupational title attributed to Muslim trading families. After the advent of Islam in South Asia, many pagan Hindu clans from different castes converted to Islam and adopted the title. In the Punjab region, Ismaili Pirs gave some converts, as well as Muslims who emigrated from Central Asia, especially after the barbaric Mongol conquests , the hereditary title of Ismaili Shaikhs.


title: Sheikh

text: In Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia, sheikhs are respected by local Muslims. In Indonesia, the term is usually spelled "syech", and this is usually attributed to elderly ulama. Higher knowledgeable people of Islamic studies in Indonesia are usually referred to as "ustad" or "kyai".


title: Sheikh

text: From the perspective of Iran, the word or title of sheikh possesses diverse meanings, among individuals who are aged and wise, it has been an honorific title used for elders and learned scholars, such as: Sheikh al-Rayees Abu Ali Sina, Sheikh Mufid, Sheikh Morteza Ansari. In the past, Islamic scholars who were the Islamic prophet Muhammad's descendants, were called Sayyid/Seyyed instead of sheikh.


title: Sheikh

text: Historically, female scholars in Islam were referred to as "shaykhah" (Arabic: ) (alt. "shaykhat"). Notable "shaykha" include the 10th-century Shaykhah Fakhr-un-Nisa Shuhdah and 18th-century scholar Al-Shaykha Fatima al-Fudayliyya. In 1957, Indonesian education activist Rahmah el Yunusiyah was awarded the title of "syeikah" by the faculty of Al-Azhar University, the first time the university had granted the title to a woman.


title: Sheikh

text: A daughter or wife or mother of a sheikh is also called a "shaykhah". Currently, the term "shaykhah" is commonly used for women of ruling families in the Arab states of the Arabian Peninsula.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The Philippines national football team (Filipino/) represents the Philippines in international football, governed by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) and has been playing at the international level since 1913.


title: Philippines national football team

text: Prior to World War II, the Philippines had regularly competed with Japan and the Republic of China in the Far Eastern Championship Games. So far, the national team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup and has qualified for the AFC Asian Cup only once, in 2019. They finished second at the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup after losing to Palestine in the final.


title: Philippines national football team

text: Unlike most of Southeast Asia where football is the most popular sport, the Philippines' most popular sports are basketball and boxing, the result from the American rule. This drives away many football talents and contributes to the lack of success of football in the country. Often, the Philippines would participate in the AFF Championship and finished bottom.


title: Philippines national football team

text: However, since the 2010 AFF Championship, the country has attempted to develop football as part of the sport's renaissance, finding more incentives to increase football development and fan support. It eventually led to the country's first major tournament participation in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, although the team finished last in their group with no points and wins.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The Philippines participated at the Far Eastern Championship Games, which included football. The first edition was in 1913 and the last was in 1934. The games were the first regional football tournament for national teams outside the British Home Championship. The national team routinely faced Japan and China and at one edition the Dutch East Indies at the games. The Philippines won over China at the inaugural tournament with the scoreline of 2–1. During the 1917 edition, the national team achieved its biggest win in international football. Led by Filipino-Spanish icon Paulino Alcantara, the Philippines defeated Japan 15–2.


title: Philippines national football team

text: After the dissolution of the Far Eastern Championship Games, the national squad participated at the 1940 East Asian Games organized to commemorate the 2600th anniversary of the foundation of the Empire of Japan by Emperor Jimmu. The team finished third behind champions Japan and second placers, Manchukuo and ahead of the Republic of China.


title: Philippines national football team

text: In the 1950s the Philippines hosted friendlies with international-based sides, However the national team experienced lack of funding and barely received any coverage from the media. During that time talents from the national team were drawn from the Manila Football League which received substantial support from the Chinese-Filipino community. The national team's decent performance at the 1958 Asian Games, hosted in Tokyo, where they defeated Japan, 1–0 in a game which was labeled as an upset by the Japanese press.


title: Philippines national football team

text: After 1958, saw the decline of Philippine football, several key players resigned from the national team due to financial challenges for playing for the national team. National team players Ed Ocampo and Eduardo Pacheco switched to basketball, and went on playing for commercial basketball clubs where players are paid. The Philippine Congress passed Republic Act 3135 that revised the charter of the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation which had a provision or a 60-40 rule that mandates teams to not have more than 40 percent Chinese and other players with foreign blood. Sponsors withdrew and leagues, which were mostly funded by the Chinese-Filipino community started to decline. The 60–40 rule was lifted much later during the tenure of president Johnny Romualdez of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF), after 1982 when the PFA has reorganized itself as the PFF.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The national team suffered defeats with big margins at the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta. This includes the national team's record 15–1 defeat to Malaysia, which became the worst defeat of the national team at that time. The record was later broken by the 15–0 loss to Japan in 1967 at the qualifiers for the 1968 Summer Olympics. Foreigners were hired to serve as head coaches for the national team in an attempt to reduce big margin loses. Englishman, Allan Rogers was hired following the record defeat to Malaysia and Spaniard Juan Cutillas was likewise tasked to lead the national team following the record defeat to Japan.


title: Philippines national football team

text: In the early sixties, the Philippine Football Association partnered with the San Miguel Corporation to seek foreign assistance to train local football players and coaches and to develop the sport in the country. Coaches from the United Kingdom, Alan Rogers and Brian Birch. After the two were relieved, Danny McClellan and Graham Adams continued their task. In 1961, San Miguel through the national football association bought in four medical students from Spain who were expert in football — Francisco Escarte, Enrique dela Mata, Claudio Sanchez and Juan Cutillas. Escarte and dela Mata left the country after one year.


title: Philippines national football team

text: In 1971, head coach Juan Cutillas recruited five foreign players to play for the national team; four Spaniards and one Chinese. The national team joined several international competitions such as the Merdeka Tournament, Jakarta Anniversary Tournament and the President Park Tournament. The team caused some upset results against the national teams of Thailand, Singapore and South Korea. The national team saw another decline after the four Spanish players left the team due to financial reasons and basketball gains more foothold over football in the country.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The national team under German head coach, Eckhard Krautzun finished fourth overall at the 1991 Southeast Asian Games, its best ever finish at the tournament. The Philippines dealt a 1–0 defeat to defending champions Malaysia at the tournament which knocked out the latter out of the tournament at just the group stage. Norman Fegidero scored the sole goal for the Philippines.


title: Philippines national football team

text: In September 2006, the country fell to 195th on the FIFA World Rankings, its lowest ever. By the end of the year, the Philippines moved back up to 171st overall, after a good run in the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship qualification. They were able to win three games in a row which was a first for the Philippines and thus qualifying for the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship. Coach at that time Aris Caslib, aimed to reach the semifinals with two wins at the group stage. The decision came despite Philippine Football Federation president Juan Miguel Romualdez stating that they would still be underdogs in the tournament and that they mustn't raise their expectations too high, as the Philippines have only won their first ever win of the tournament during the 2004 edition.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The Philippines eventually failed to reach their target, only getting a draw in three matches. Their poor performances led to Caslib's resignation, as well as the refusal of the PFF to register and enter the qualification stages for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. They would be one of four nations, all from Southeast Asia not to enter after a record number of entries. However it was revealed that the decision not to enter the 2010 as well as the 2006 World Cup qualification was made during the PFF presidency of Rene Adad, whose term ended in 2003. Instead, the PFF wanted to focus on domestic and regional competitions.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The Philippines failed to qualify for any major competition in 2008. They missed out on the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup only on goal difference, and the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup with an inferior goals scored record.


title: Philippines national football team

text: Dan Palami, businessman and sports patron, was appointed as team manager of the national team in 2009 by the Philippine Football Federation. The national team still receive minimal support from the government. Palami made financial investments to the team using his own personal money. Since taking responsibility over the national team, he has envisioned a plan named Project 100, which plans to make the team among the top 100 national teams in the world in terms of FIFA rankings. More foreign-born Filipinos were called up to play for the national squad.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The Philippines's campaign at the 2010 AFF Championship under Simon McMenemy's tenure was a breakthrough. Holding a primal ticket as one of two teams along with Laos that had to qualify for the tournament, the Philippines advanced from the group stage for the first time, did not concede a single defeat and their win against defending champions Vietnam in particular was considered one of the biggest upsets in the tournament's history. The match, which would later be referred by local Filipino fans as the "Miracle of Hanoi", is also considered the match that started a football renaissance in the country where basketball is the more popular sport. In the knockout stage, they had to play both their designated home and away games against Indonesia in Jakarta due to the unavailability of a stadium that passes AFF standards. The Philippines lost both games to end their campaign.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The following year, Michael Weiß became the head coach. The national team managed to qualify for the 2012 edition of the AFC Challenge Cup, the first time since qualifiers were introduced and also recorded their first ever victory in the FIFA World Cup qualification, beating Sri Lanka 4–0 in the second leg of the first preliminary round. Kuwait finished the Philippines' World Cup qualification campaign after winning over them twice in the second round.


title: Philippines national football team

text: In 2012, the Philippines qualified for the semifinals of the AFC Challenge Cup for the first time winning over former champions India and Tajikistan though they lost 2–1 against Turkmenistan in the semifinal. In the third place-playoff the Philippines won 4–3 over Palestine. The Philippines won the 2012 Philippine Peace Cup, a friendly tournament hosted at home, which was their first title since the 1913 Far Eastern Games. At the 2012 AFF Championship, the Philippines replicated their performance in 2010 by advancing to the semifinal. They lost to Singapore on aggregate by a single goal in the two-legged semifinal.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The Philippines reached the final of the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup. With a berth to the 2015 AFC Asian Cup on the line, the Philippines lost to Palestine 1–0 on May 30. The Philippines once again advance from the group stage at the 2014 AFF Championship by winning over Indonesia, the first time since the 1934 Far Eastern Games, and Laos despite their loss to Vietnam. The Philippines faced Thailand in the two-legged semifinal, coming up with a goalless draw against their opponents at home in Manila but losing the away match at Bangkok.


title: Philippines national football team

text: Thomas Dooley became the head coach of the national team. In October 2015 their 2–0 victory Yemen in Doha, Qatar in the 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers was their first-ever World Cup qualifier away from home, a victory over Yemen in Doha, Qatar. They campaign to qualify for the FIFA World Cup ended in the second round though they advance to the third round of the Asian Cup qualifiers.


title: Philippines national football team

text: In late 2016 the Philippines jointly hosted the group stage of the AFF Championship with Myanmar though they fail to progress from the group stage like they did in the past three editions.


title: Philippines national football team

text: Though the national team failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, they secured qualification for 2019 AFC Asian Cup after defeating Tajikistan, 2–1 at home in their final qualifier match. In May 2018, the national team reached 111th rank in the FIFA World Ranking making it the highest rank that the team has.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The Philippines made its historic debut in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup with a 0–1 defeat to South Korea. then a 0–3 loss to China and was edged 1–3 by Kyrgyzstan, with Stephan Schröck scoring a historic goal for the Azkals in the tournament.


title: Philippines national football team

text: Following a relatively successful debut in the Asian Cup, the Philippines began their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification where they were grouped together with Syria, China, Guam and the Maldives. In their opening game, the Azkals met Syria at home and took an early lead, only to see the Syrians managed an outstanding comeback and smashing the Azkals 5–2 in Bacolod. Following the crushing home defeat, the Pinoys regained its pace with two away wins over Guam and the Maldives. Between these matches, the Pinoys also hosted China at home where they acquired an encouraging goalless draw, after a splendid performance by the Azkals goalkeeper Neil Etheridge which increased the team's chance. However, the Syrians once again blew the chance of the Filipinos, with the Syrians emerged with a 1–0 win over the Azkals. When COVID-19 pandemic led the games to be postponed to 2021, the Philippines had to play in a centralised venue in Sharjah. The Filipinos then won Guam 3–0, but lost 0–2 to China thus did not manage to reach the 2022 FIFA World Cup, before ending the qualification with a 1–1 draw to the Maldives. Nonetheless, the third place in their group meant the Philippines qualified for the third round of 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.


title: Philippines national football team

text: At the third round of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in Ulaanbaatar, the Philippines managed to draw with Yemen 0–0 and defeat the hosts Mongolia 1–0 through a last-minute goal by debutant Gerrit Holtmann but were defeated 4–0 by eventual group winners Palestine. Despite finishing second in Group B, in which the five best runner-up teams across all the groups qualify for the tournament, the Azkals failed to qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup after finishing as the worst runner-up.


title: Philippines national football team

text: Some fans have organized themselves to support the national team, one of them is the Ultras Filipinas, which formed in 2011. The Kaholeros started out as a gathering of friends using Twitter calling for fans to watch games of the AFC Challenge Cup at the National Sports Grill in Greenbelt. The Ultras Filipinas was established when fans of Philippine Air Force F.C. and Ultras Kayas decided to form a support group for the national teams of the Philippines not necessarily just for the football team. The first outing of Ultras Filipinas was not for the national football team but for the national rugby union team. The two fan groups take alternative turns in cheering and chanting for the national team during games.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The traditional home kit is similar to the France national team; blue jersey, white shorts, and red socks. However, in recent times, the home and away kit has either been all-blue, all-red or all-white, currently is the all-white as home jerseys. The current kit supplier of the national team is local firm, LGR Sportswear. German companies Adidas and Puma, as well as Japanese company Mizuno, has provided kits for the team in the past


title: Philippines national football team

text: Puma was the official outfitter of the national team during the 1996 AFC Asian Cup qualification. Later that year, Adidas assumed that role and outfitted the team that participated at the 1996 Tiger Cup.


title: Philippines national football team

text: For three years from March 2008, Mizuno served as the official outfitter and equipment supplier of the team. It also helped the national federation in its grassroots development program. On June 4, 2012, Puma supplanted Mizuno's role with the national team.


title: Philippines national football team

text: Local firm LGR Sportswear became the official kit provider of the national team in 2015 and a new set of kits made by LGR were unveiled to the public in on June 5 which was later used by the team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The home and away kits were white and blue respectively. Filipino weave design and the three stars and the sun are present at the back of the home and away kits. The goalkeeper's kit is black and has a yellow trim on the chest area and a weave pattern with the three stars and the sun and azkals logo incorporated in the design, in front around the shoulder area. Adidas was also announced as the footwear sponsor of the team for the qualifiers


title: Philippines national football team

text: Under the official FIFA Trigramme the team's name is abbreviated as PHI; this acronym is used by FIFA, the AFC and the AFF to identify the team in official competitions. The team is also identified under the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) country code for the Philippines as PHL. However the team was more commonly known as the RP, the acronym for the country's official name, "Republika ng Pilipinas", which the local press used when they referred to the team as the "RP Booters" or the "RP XI". This was until late October 2010 when the Department of Foreign Affairs decided to change the official abbreviation of the country from "RP" to "PH" or "PHL", to be in line with ISO standards. The local press have since referred to the team as either "PH/PHL Booters" or "PH/PHL XI".


title: Philippines national football team

text: The national team is referred to as the "Azkals". The name was coined when an online Philippine football community proposed the nickname "Calle Azul" (Spanish for "Streets of Blue", referring to the color of their kit) which was modified to "Azul Calle", shortened to "AzCal", and finally became "Azkal" – a word that is similar to Filipino term "Askal" meaning street dog. "Azkals" became a trending topic on Twitter during the semifinals of the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup.


title: Philippines national football team

text: They are also known as the "Tri–Stars" which is derived from the three stars on the Philippine flag, although this nickname is not frequently used.


title: Philippines national football team

text: During the early years of the Philippine national team, they played their home matches at the Manila Carnival Grounds. By 1934 it became the site of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. One of the facilities within the complex is the 12,000 capacity national stadium, known as the Rizal Memorial Track and Football Stadium or simply the Rizal Memorial Stadium. Since its opening, it has been the home venue of the Philippine national team until May 2015 where they declared the 25,000 seater and Philippine Sports Stadium in Bocaue, Bulacan as their new home. However, due to disappointing attendance numbers in PSS and RMS and an impressive crowd for Ceres–Negros F.C.'s run to the 2017 AFC Cup, the Philippine Football Federation decided to make Panaad Stadium as the national team's home again for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The RMS has also become a hub for track and field. The continued use for athletics along with poor maintenance has deteriorated the stadium and the 1991 Southeast Asian Games was the last time it was used for international football matches. In early 2009, the Philippine Sports Commission planned to transform it to a modern football stadium which would make it usable by the national team for international matches.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The national team also held official international matches at the Cebu City Sports Center in Cebu City, and at the Barotac Nuevo Plaza Field in Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.


title: Philippines national football team

text: One of the earlier head coaches of the national team was Dionisio Calvo. Foreign coaches of American, Argentinean, English, German, Scottish, Spanish, and Swedish nationality have managed the national team. Juan Cutillas has managed the team in at least four non-consecutive tenures (1969–1978, 1981–1984, 1996–2000 and 2008–09).


title: Philippines national football team

text: Thomas Dooley led the national team to its best finish in a tournament sanctioned by the Asian Football Confederation and FIFA by leading the team to second place at the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup. The past three coaches, Simon McMenemy, Michael Weiß and Thomas Dooley, also made some strides at the regional level leading the team to the semifinals at the AFF Suzuki Cup (2010, 2012 and 2014 editions respectively), the top football tournament in Southeast Asia. Eckhard Krautzun also led the national team to the semifinals, its best finish at the 1991 Southeast Asian Games, before football became an under-23 tournament at said multi-sporting event.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The Philippines has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. The national team entered the 1950 FIFA World Cup qualification but withdrew without playing a single game. The Philippines had intended to enter the 1962 edition but did not push through with the plan. The country's entry to the 1966 edition was not accepted due to its association not being able to pay the registration fee for the qualifiers and the national team withdrew from the 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification just as they did in the 1950 qualifiers. The national team made its first participation in a FIFA World Cup qualifiers for the 1998 edition.


title: Philippines national football team

text: At the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Yanti Barsales made the first goal for the Philippines at a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Syria.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The national team did not enter the qualifiers for the next succeeding editions until the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, about 10 years later. The national team secured their first victory in a World Cup qualifier against Sri Lanka, 4–0.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The Philippines qualified once for the Asian Cup, in 2019. For the 2011 and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, the Philippines attempted to qualify for the tournament through the AFC Challenge Cup. The Philippines would have been invited to host the 1968 Asian Cup, a tournament in which it did not qualify for, if Iran withdrew as hosts.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The AFC Challenge Cup was organized as a route for nations classified as "emerging" or "developing" as a sole route to qualify for the Asian Cup. The Philippines is among these nations


title: Philippines national football team

text: and participated at the inaugural 2006 AFC Challenge Cup. After a qualification phase was introduced the Philippines failed to qualify for the next two succeeding editions in 2008 and 2010. The Philippines qualified for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup where the finished third. Phil Younghusband was the Golden Boot winner of the edition scoring six goals in the final tournament. The team reached the finals of 2014 edition of the tournament settling for second place after losing to Palestine in the finals. The AFC Challenge Cup tournament was dissolved after the 2014 edition.


title: Philippines national football team

text: Out of the ten football tournaments held in ten editions of the Far Eastern Games, The Philippines only won the inaugural 1913 edition despite fielding American, Spanish and British players violating tournament rules in that edition. The team was nevertheless named champions. China was awarded champions of the nine other editions of the tournaments. At the 1917 Far Eastern Games, the Philippines recorded its biggest victory in an international match to date, which was the 15–2 win against Japan. FC Barcelona player, Paulino Alcántara was part of the national squad.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The Philippines participated in every edition of the AFF Championship except the 2008 edition in which the team failed to qualify for the final tournament. Their first match in the tournament was a 0–5 defeat handed by Thailand in 1996 edition. Freddy Gonzalez scored the first goal for the Philippines in the tournament in a 1–3 defeat, also to Thailand in the 1998 edition. Emelio Caligdong made a brace in the national team's 2–1 victory against Timor Leste in the 2004 edition. The victory was the first for the Philippines in the AFF Championship.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The national team fared poorly during the first seven editions of the AFF Championship from 1996 to 2008 losing 19 out of 21 matches. The Philippines' worst defeat at the tournament was the 1–13 match against Indonesia at the 2002 AFF Championship which was also remains the highest scoreline in the tournament as of 2014. The national team made to its first semi-finals at the 2010 AFF Championship.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The senior national team managed to reach the semi-finals of the football tournament of the Southeast Asian Games before the football was made into an under-23 tournament.


title: Philippines national football team

text: The Philippines participated at numerous minor friendly tournaments. Aside from other national teams, the Philippine nationals also faced selection teams and club sides from other nations at some of these tournaments. The team made a podium finish, placing not below third place, at the Japanese Empire-sanctioned East Asian Games in 1940, the Long Teng Cup (2010, 2011) held in Taiwan, and all three editions of the Philippine Peace Cup (2012, 2013 and 2014) hosted by the home country.


title: Spenser Confidential

text: Spenser Confidential is a 2020 American action comedy film directed by Peter Berg and with a screenplay written by Sean O'Keefe and Brian Helgeland. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Winston Duke, Alan Arkin, Iliza Shlesinger, Bokeem Woodbine, Donald Cerrone, Marc Maron, and Post Malone and marks the fifth collaboration between Wahlberg and Berg after "Lone Survivor", "Deepwater Horizon", "Patriots Day", and "Mile 22".


title: Spenser Confidential

text: The film was announced in 2018 as an adaptation of the 2013 novel "Robert B. Parker's Wonderland" by author Ace Atkins, itself a continuation of the actual Robert B. Parker detective series Spenser, also portrayed on TV in "". It was released on March 6, 2020, by Netflix to mixed reviews.


title: Spenser Confidential

text: Boston police Officer Spenser is jailed after pleading guilty to assaulting Captain John Boylan, who he suspected to be involved in the murder of Gloria Weisnewski, a family friend who protested gentrification. While incarcerated, Spenser studies to become a truck driver in Arizona and is warned to leave Boston. On release, Spenser takes up residence with his friend Henry Cimoli and his roommate, Hawk.


title: Spenser Confidential

text: When Boylan is murdered, Detective Driscoll and his partner, Macklin, question Spenser. Driscoll, Spenser's former partner, accepts Spenser's alibi and urges him to leave the city. Spenser becomes suspicious when an honest cop, Detective Terrence Graham, reportedly kills himself and is identified as Boylan's killer.


title: Spenser Confidential

text: Spenser questions Graham's wife, Letitia, and goes to a police bar where she said Graham met with Scotty Traylor, Terrence's partner. Traylor confirms Terrence suspected Boylan of being corrupt. Spenser acquires CCTV footage from a nearby store showing Terrence getting into a yellow Corvette, while two others got into his SUV and followed him. At the murder scene in a local school bus yard, Spenser discovers a toothpick similar to ones Driscoll uses. Driscoll advises dropping the case and denies having been to the crime scene.


title: Spenser Confidential

text: Spenser chases the yellow Corvette on foot and is attacked by a dog. Hawk catches the license plate number of the car and traces it to Charles "Tracksuit Charlie" Bentwood, a mercenary hired to intimidate Gloria. Spenser, Henry, and Hawk surveil Bentwood and observe him making a hand off to Macklin. They discover an FBI team led by Agent Burton is also surveilling. Spenser extorts information from an inmate named Squeeb about Wonderland Greyhound Park, learning that it is the site of a future casino that Driscoll and drug gangs wish to invest in.


title: Spenser Confidential

text: Driscoll and Macklin send gang members from the Trinitarios to kill Spenser at a restaurant, but Hawk rescues him. Henry, Hawk, and Spenser hide out at the house of Spenser's hot-tempered ex, Cissy. When Letitia's apartment is ransacked, she calls Spenser for help and gives him a recording mailed by Terrence on the day he died. It confirms Boylan is dirty and implicates Bentwood, Macklin, and Driscoll. The three had Boylan murdered for giving the information about their business to Terrence, who was then killed shortly after, and both their deaths have been staged to make it appear to be a murder-suicide. Spenser confronts Driscoll, who refuses to turn himself in. Upon handing the recording over to the FBI, Agent Burton deems it insufficient evidence. Spenser tracks down Bentwood and interrogates him, learning of a drug shipment headed to Wonderland. Spenser and Hawk hijack the drugs, but a thug escapes to warn Driscoll. Spenser's reporter contact declares the drugs to be insufficient evidence. Driscoll calls Spenser, revealing that he has kidnapped Henry. Driscoll demands a meeting at Wonderland, threatening to kill Henry if he does not bring the drugs.


title: Spenser Confidential

text: Spenser, Hawk, and Cissy go to Wonderland, where Driscoll and others are gathered on the track. Cissy arrives first to move Henry out of the way, before Spenser and Hawk arrive in a truck and plow through the gang members' vehicles. Driscoll flees into the race track's clubhouse, and Spenser pursues him. After a brawl, Spenser performs a citizen's arrest after realizing how their fight resembles the day he beat up Boylan. They pile the drugs and other evidence on the infield and leave Driscoll, Bentwood, and Macklin restrained nearby. Spenser and Hawk are declared heroes, the casino project is shut down, Boylan and Bentwood are charged in Weisnewski's murder, and Driscoll is convicted and sent to prison.


title: Spenser Confidential

text: Spenser, Hawk, Cissy and Henry celebrate by going to a local diner. A TV news report shows Boston Fire Department Chief Marty Foley being arrested over charges of arson. Spenser, who has known Foley since high school, goes into deep thought as Cissy and Henry attempt to draw Spenser out of another case.


title: Spenser Confidential

text: The film, originally titled "Wonderland", was produced by Neal H. Moritz, Stephen Levinson, Mark Wahlberg, and Peter Berg through their respective production companies Original Film, Leverage Entertainment, Closest to the Hole Productions, and Film 44. During the autumn of 2018, Winston Duke, Post Malone, Alan Arkin, Iliza Shlesinger, Bokeem Woodbine, James DuMont, Marc Maron Michael Gaston, and Colleen Camp joined the cast of the film.


title: Spenser Confidential

text: The script was written by Sean O'Keefe and Brian Helgeland, and filming began late in 2018 in Boston. The residence of character Cimoli was filmed in the Jones Hill neighborhood of Boston, on the street where actor Wahlberg lived during his teenage years, while Raynham Park, another former greyhound racing track, stood in for the Wonderland Greyhound Park, which was demolished in 2017. Funeral scenes were filmed at Central Cemetery in Randolph, Massachusetts.


title: Spenser Confidential

text: The film score was composed by Steve Jablonsky, who has worked with director Peter Berg on previous films. The soundtrack was released by BMG.


title: Spenser Confidential

text: The film was released by Netflix on March 6, 2020. At a meeting in April 2020 discussing first quarter business data, Netflix reported 85 million households watched the film over its first six weeks of release. In November, "Variety" reported the film was the 21st-most watched straight-to-streaming title of 2020 up to that point.


title: Spenser Confidential

text: On the review aggregator website, Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads, "While the buddy cops at the center of "Spenser Confidential" are plenty affable, the comedy never arrives as this half-hearted vehicle goes purely through the motions." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."


title: Spenser Confidential

text: Elisabeth Vincentelli of the "New York Times" criticized the film's deviation from its source material, observing that there was "almost no resemblance to the Ace Atkins novel "Robert B. Parker's Wonderland" ... aside from the Boston location, the main characters’ names and something or other about an abandoned dog-racing track." Daniel Woburn of the online entertainment news website Screen Rant elaborated further on this disparity, noting many differences in characterization from the series as a whole and calling out the plot, in particular, as deviating heavily from the original novel with the biggest common thread between them being the finale at the race track.


title: Spenser Confidential

text: On September 2, 2020, a sequel was confirmed to be in development with Berg, Helgeland, and Wahlberg returning.


title: Topaz

text: Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula AlSiO(F,OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural state is colorless, though trace element impurities can make it pale blue or golden brown to yellow orange. Topaz is often treated with heat or radiation to make it a deep blue, reddish-orange, pale green, pink, or purple.


title: Topaz

text: Although it is often associated with golden yellow and blue, it comes in a variety of colors, including colorless. The rarest are natural pinks, reds, and delicate golden oranges, sometimes with pink hues.


title: Topaz

text: Topaz is a nesosilicate mineral. It is one of the hardest naturally occurring minerals and has a relatively low index of refraction. It occurs in many places in the world.


title: Topaz

text: The name "topaz" is usually believed to be derived (via Old French: Topace and Latin: Topazus) from the Greek "Τοπάζιος" (Topázios) or "Τοπάζιον" (Topázion), from Τοπαζος. This is the ancient name of St. John's Island in the Red Sea which was difficult to find and from which a yellow stone (now believed to be chrysolite: yellowish olivine) was mined in ancient times . The name "topaz" was first applied to the mineral now known by that name in 1737. Ancient Sri Lanka (Tamraparni) exported native oriental topazes to Greece and ancient Egypt, which led to the etymologically related names of the island by Alexander Polyhistor ("Topazius") and the early Egyptians ("Topapwene") – "land of the Topaz". Pliny said that Topazos is a "legendary" island in the Red Sea and the mineral "topaz" was first mined there. Alternatively, the word "topaz" may be related to the Sanskrit word तपस् "tapas", meaning "heat" or "fire".


title: Topaz

text: Nicols, the author of one of the first systematic treatises on minerals and gemstones, dedicated two chapters to the topic in 1652. In the Middle Ages, the name topaz was used to refer to any yellow gemstone, but in modern times it denotes only the silicate described above.


title: Topaz

text: Many English translations of the Bible, including the King James Version, mention "topaz". However, because these translations as "topaz" all derive from the Septuagint translation "topazi[os]", which referred to a yellow stone that was not topaz, but probably "chrysolite" (chrysoberyl or peridot), topaz is likely not meant here.


title: Topaz

text: An English superstition also held that topaz cured lunacy. The ancient Romans believed that topaz provided protection from danger while traveling. During the Middle Ages, it was believed that attaching the topaz to the left arm protected the owner from any curse and warded off the evil eye. It was also believed that wearing topaz increased body heat, which would enable people to relieve a cold or fever. In Europe during the Middle Ages, topaz was believed to enhance mental powers.


title: Topaz

text: Topaz is a gemstone. In cut and polished form, it is used to make jewellery or other adornments. It also has other uses. Orange topaz, also known as precious topaz, is the conventional birthstone for November, the symbol of friendship and the state gemstone of the U.S. state of Utah. Blue topaz is the state gemstone of the US state of Texas.


title: Topaz

text: Topaz in its natural state is colorless, often with a greyish cast. It also occurs as a golden brown to yellow which makes it sometimes confused with citrine, a less valuable gemstone. The specific gravity of all shades of topaz, however, means that it is considerably heavier than citrine (about 25% per volume) and this difference in weight can be used to distinguish two stones of equal volume. Also, if the volume of a given stone can be determined, its weight if topaz can be established and then checked with a sensitive scale. Likewise, glass stones are also much lighter than equally sized topaz.


title: Topaz

text: A variety of impurities and treatments may make topaz wine red, pale gray, reddish-orange, pale green, or pink (rare), and opaque to translucent/transparent. The pink and red varieties come from chromium replacing aluminium in its crystalline structure.


title: Topaz

text: Imperial topaz is yellow, pink (rare, if natural) or pink-orange. Brazilian imperial topaz can often have a bright yellow to deep golden brown hue, sometimes even violet. Many brown or pale topazes are treated to make them bright yellow, gold, pink, or violet colored. Some imperial topaz stones can fade on exposure to sunlight for an extended period of time. Naturally occurring blue topaz is quite rare. Typically, colorless, gray, or pale yellow and blue material is heat treated and irradiated to produce a more desired darker blue. Mystic topaz is colorless topaz which has been artificially coated via a vapor deposition process giving it a rainbow effect on its surface.


title: Topaz

text: Although very hard, topaz must be treated with greater care than some other minerals of similar hardness (such as corundum) because of a weakness of atomic bonding of the stone's molecules along one or another axial plane (whereas diamonds, for example, are composed of carbon atoms bonded to each other with equal strength along all of its planes). This gives topaz a tendency to break along such a cleavage plane if struck with sufficient force.


title: Topaz

text: Topaz has a relatively low index of refraction for a gemstone, and so stones with large facets or tables do not sparkle as readily as stones cut from minerals with higher refractive indices, though quality colorless topaz sparkles and shows more "life" than similarly cut quartz. When given a typical "brilliant" cut, topaz may either show a sparkling table facet surrounded by dead-looking crown facets or a ring of sparkling crown facets with a dull well-like table. It also takes an exceptionally fine polish, and can sometimes be distinguished from citrine by its slippery feel alone (quartz cannot be polished to this level of smoothness).


title: Topaz

text: Another method of distinguishing topaz from quartz is by placing the unset stone in a solution of bromoform or methylene iodide. Quartz will invariably float in these solutions, whereas topaz will sink.


title: Topaz

text: Topaz is commonly associated with silicic igneous rocks of the granite and rhyolite type. It typically crystallizes in granitic pegmatites or in vapor cavities in rhyolite lava flows including those at Topaz Mountain in western Utah and Chivinar in South America. It can be found with fluorite and cassiterite in various areas including the Ural and Ilmensky Mountains of Russia, in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Czech Republic, Germany, Norway, Pakistan, Italy, Sweden, Japan, Brazil, Mexico; Flinders Island, Australia; Nigeria and the United States.


title: Topaz

text: Brazil is one of the largest producers of topaz, some clear topaz crystals from Brazilian pegmatites can reach boulder size and weigh hundreds of pounds. The Topaz of Aurangzeb, observed by Jean Baptiste Tavernier weighed . The American Golden Topaz, a more recent gem, weighed a massive . Large, vivid blue topaz specimens from the St. Anns mine in Zimbabwe were found in the late 1980s. Colorless and light-blue varieties of topaz are found in Precambrian granite in Mason County, Texas within the Llano Uplift. There is no commercial mining of topaz in that area. It is possible to synthesize topaz.


title: Geraldine Page

text: Geraldine Sue Page (November 22, 1924June 13, 1987) was an American actress. With a career which spanned four decades across film, stage, and television, Page was the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and four nominations for the Tony Award.


title: Geraldine Page

text: A native of Kirksville, Missouri, Page studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and with Uta Hagen and Lee Strasberg in New York City before being cast in her first credited part in the Western film "Hondo" (1953), which earned her her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. During the McCarthyism era, she was blacklisted in Hollywood based on her association with Hagen and did not work in film for eight years. Page continued to appear on television and on stage and earned her first Tony Award nomination for her performance in "Sweet Bird of Youth" (1959–60), a role she reprised in the 1962 film adaptation, the latter of which earned her a Golden Globe Award.


title: Geraldine Page

text: She earned additional Academy Award nominations for her roles in "Summer and Smoke" (1961) (another Golden Globe award for Best Actress - Drama), "You're a Big Boy Now" (1966) and "Pete 'n' Tillie" (1972), followed by a Tony nomination for her performance in the stage production of "Absurd Person Singular" (1974–75). Other film appearances during this time included in the thrillers "What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?" (1969) opposite Ruth Gordon, and "The Beguiled" (1971) opposite Clint Eastwood. In 1977, she provided the voice of Madam Medusa in Walt Disney's "The Rescuers", followed by a role in Woody Allen's "Interiors" (1978), which earned her a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.


title: Geraldine Page

text: After being inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1979 for her stage work, Page returned to Broadway with a lead role in "Agnes of God" (1982), earning her her third Tony Award nomination. Page was nominated for Academy Awards for her performances in "The Pope of Greenwich Village" (1984) and "The Trip to Bountiful" (1985), the latter of which earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress. Page died in New York City in 1987 in the midst of a Broadway run of "Blithe Spirit", for which she earned her fourth Tony Award nomination.


title: Geraldine Page

text: Page was born November 22, 1924, in Kirksville, Missouri, the second child of Edna Pearl (née Maize) and Leon Elwin Page who worked at Andrew Taylor Still College of Osteopathy and Surgery (combined with the American School of Osteopathy, eventually to form A.T. Still University). He was an author whose works included "Practical Anatomy" (1925), "Osteopathic Fundamentals" (1926), and "The Old Doctor" (1932). She had one older brother, Donald.


title: Geraldine Page

text: At age five, Page relocated with her family to Chicago. Raised a Methodist, Page and her family were active parishioners of the Englewood Methodist Church in Chicago, where she had her first foray into acting within the church's theatre group, playing Jo March in a 1941 production of Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women". After graduating from Chicago's Englewood Technical Prep Academy, she attended the Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago (now at DePaul University), with the intention of becoming a visual artist or pianist.


title: Geraldine Page

text: After graduating from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1945, Page studied acting at the Herbert Berghof School and the American Theatre Wing in New York City, studying with Uta Hagen for seven years, and then at the Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg. During this time, Page would return to Chicago in the summers to perform in repertory theatre in Lake Zurich, Illinois, where she and several fellow actors had established their own independent theater company. While attempting to establish her career, she worked various odd jobs, including as a hat-check girl, theater usher, lingerie model, and a factory laborer.


title: Geraldine Page

text: Page, a trained method actor, spent five years appearing in various repertory theater productions in the Midwest and New York after graduating from college. On October 25, 1945, she made her New York stage debut in "Seven Mirrors", a play devised by Immaculate Heart High School students from Los Angeles. The play ran for a total of 23 performances at Blackfriars Repertory Theatre on Manhattan's Upper East Side. In February 1952, director José Quintero cast Page in a minor role in "Yerma", a theatrical interpretation of a poem by Federico García Lorca, staged at Circle in the Square Theatre in New York City's Greenwich Village. Page was subsequently cast in the role of Alma in the Quintero-directed production of "Summer and Smoke", written by Tennessee Williams (also staged at the Circle Theatre in 1952). Page's role in "Summer and Smoke" garnered her significant exposure, including a Drama Desk Award, and a profile in "Time" magazine.