title: Luanda

text: In the following years, however, slums called "musseques" — which had existed for decades — began to grow out of proportion and stretched several kilometres beyond Luanda's former city limits as a result of the decades-long civil war, and because of the rise of deep social inequalities due to large-scale migration of civil war refugees from other Angolan regions. For decades, Luanda's facilities were not adequately expanded to handle this huge increase in the city's population.


title: Luanda

text: After 2002, with the end of the civil war and high economic growth rates fuelled by the wealth provided by the increasing oil and diamond production, major reconstruction started.


title: Luanda

text: The central government supposedly allocates funds to all regions of the country, but the capital region receives the bulk of these funds. Since the end of the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002), stability has been widespread in the country, and major reconstruction has been going on since 2002 in those parts of the country that were damaged during the civil war.


title: Luanda

text: Luanda has been of major concern because its population had multiplied and had far outgrown the capacity of the city, especially because much of its infrastructure (water, electricity, roads etc.) had become obsolete and degraded.


title: Luanda

text: Luanda has been undergoing major road reconstruction in the 21st century, and new highways are planned to improve connections to Cacuaco, Viana, Samba, and the new airport.


title: Luanda

text: Major social housing is also being constructed to house those who reside in slums, which dominate the landscape of Luanda. A large Chinese firm has been given a contract to construct the majority of replacement housing in Luanda. The Angolan minister of health recently stated poverty in Angola will be overcome by an increase in jobs and the housing of every citizen.


title: Luanda

text: Luanda is divided into two parts, the "Baixa de Luanda" (lower Luanda, the old city) and the "Cidade Alta" (upper city or the new part). The "Baixa de Luanda" is situated next to the port, and has narrow streets and old colonial buildings. However, new constructions have by now covered large areas beyond these traditional limits, and a number of previously independent nuclei — like Viana — were incorporated into the city.


title: Luanda

text: Until 2011, the former Luanda Province comprised what now forms five municipalities. In 2011 the Province was enlarged by the addition of two additional municipalities transferred from Bengo Province, namely Icolo e Bengo, and Quiçama. Excluding these additions, the five municipalities comprise Greater Luanda:


title: Luanda

text: Two new municipalities have been created within Greater Luanda since 2017: Talatona and Kilamba-Kiaxi


title: Luanda

text: The city of Luanda is divided in six urban districts: Ingombota, Angola Quiluanje, Maianga, Rangel, Samba and Sambizanga.


title: Luanda

text: In Samba and Sambizanga, more high-rise developments are to be built. The capital Luanda is growing constantly - and in addition, increasingly beyond the official city limits and even provincial boundaries.


title: Luanda

text: Luanda is the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishop. It is also the location of most of Angola's educational institutions, including the private Catholic University of Angola and the public University of Agostinho Neto. It is also the home of the colonial Governor's Palace and the Estádio da Cidadela (the "Citadel Stadium"), Angola's main stadium, with a total seating capacity of 60,000.


title: Luanda

text: Luanda has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen: "BSh"), bordering upon a hot desert climate ("BWh"). The climate is warm to hot but surprisingly dry, owing to the cool Benguela Current, which prevents moisture from easily condensing into rain. Frequent fog prevents temperatures from falling at night even during the completely dry months from May to October. Luanda has an annual rainfall of , but the variability is among the highest in the world, with a co-efficient of variation above 40 percent. The climate is largely influenced by the offshore Benguela current. The current gives the city a surprisingly low humidity despite its low latitude, which makes the hotter months considerably more bearable than similar cities in Western/Central Africa. Observed records since 1858 range from in 1958 to in 1916. The short rainy season in March and April depends on a northerly counter current bringing moisture to the city: it has been shown clearly that weakness in the Benguela Current can increase rainfall about sixfold compared with years when that current is strong.


title: Luanda

text: The inhabitants of Luanda are primarily members of African ethnic groups, mainly Ambundu, Ovimbundu, and Bakongo. The official and the most widely used language is Portuguese, although several Bantu languages are also used, chiefly Kimbundu, Umbundu, and Kikongo.


title: Luanda

text: The population of Luanda has grown dramatically in recent years, due in large part to war-time migration to the city, which is safe compared to the rest of the country. In 2006, however, Luanda saw an increase in violent crime, particularly in the shanty towns that surround the colonial urban core.


title: Luanda

text: There is a sizable minority population of European origin, especially Portuguese (about 260,000), as well as Brazilians. In recent years, mainly since the mid-2000s, immigration from Portugal has increased due to greater opportunities present in Angola's booming economy. There is a sprinkling of immigrants from other African countries as well, including a small expatriate South African community. A small number of people of Luanda are of mixed race — European/Portuguese and native African. Over the last decades, a significant Chinese community has formed, as has a much smaller Vietnamese community.


title: Luanda

text: As the economic and political center of Angola, Luanda is similarly the epicenter of Angolan culture. The city is home to numerous cultural institutions, including the Sindika Dokolo Foundation.


title: Luanda

text: Around one-third of Angolans live in Luanda, 53% of whom live in poverty. Living conditions in Luanda are poor for most of the people, with essential services such as safe drinking water and electricity still in short supply, and severe shortcomings in traffic conditions. On the other hand, luxury constructions for the benefit of the wealthy minority are booming.


title: Luanda

text: Luanda is one of the world's most expensive cities for resident foreigners. In Mercer’s cost of living index, Luanda was ranked as top of the list due to the extremely high costs of goods and security. Luanda sits above Seoul, Geneva and Shanghai in the rankings. These costs has fuelled rampant inequality in the city. Skyscrapers are left barren as the price of oil drops.


title: Luanda

text: New import tariffs imposed in March 2014 made Luanda even more expensive. As an example, a half-litre tub of vanilla ice cream at the supermarket was reported to cost US$31. The higher import tariffs applied to hundreds of items, from garlic to cars. The stated aim was to try to diversify the heavily oil-dependent economy and nurture farming and industry, sectors that have remained weak. These tariffs have caused much hardship in a country where the average salary was US$260 per month in 2010, the latest year for which data was available. However, the average salary in the booming oil industry was over 20 times higher at US$5,400 per month.


title: Luanda

text: Manufacturing includes processed foods, beverages, textiles, cement and other building materials, plastic products, metalware, cigarettes, and shoes/clothes. Petroleum (found in nearby off-shore deposits) is refined in the city, although this facility was repeatedly damaged during the Angolan Civil War of 1975–2002. Luanda has an excellent natural harbour; the chief exports are coffee, cotton, sugar, diamonds, iron, and salt.


title: Luanda

text: The city also has a thriving building industry, an effect of the nationwide economic boom experienced since 2002, when political stability returned with the end of the civil war. Economic growth is largely supported by oil extraction activities, although great diversification is taking place. Large investment (domestic and international), along with strong economic growth, has dramatically increased construction of all economic sectors in the city of Luanda. In 2007, the first modern shopping mall in Angola was established in the city at Belas Shopping mall.


title: Luanda

text: Luanda is the starting point of the Luanda railway that goes due east to Malanje. The civil war left the railway non-functional, but the railway has been restored up to Dondo and Malanje.


title: Luanda

text: The main airport of Luanda is Quatro de Fevereiro Airport, which is the largest in the country. A new international airport, Angola International Airport is under construction southeast of the city, a few kilometres from Viana, which was expected to be opened in 2011. However, as the Angolan government did not continue to make the payments due to the Chinese enterprise in charge of the construction, the firm suspended its work in 2010.


title: Luanda

text: The Port of Luanda serves as the largest port of Angola and is one of the busiest ports in Africa. Major expansion of this port is also taking place. In 2014, a new port is being developed at Dande, about 30 km to the north.


title: Luanda

text: Luanda's roads are in a poor state of repair, but are undergoing an extensive reconstruction process by the government in order to relieve traffic congestion in the city. Major road repairs can be found taking place in nearly every neighbourhood, including a major 6-lane highway connected Luanda to Viana.


title: Luanda

text: Public transit is provided by the suburban services of the Luanda Railway, by the public company TCUL, and by a large fleet of privately owned collective taxis as white-blue painted minibuses called "Candongueiro". Candongueiros are usually Toyota Hiace vans, that are built to carry 12 people, although the candongueiros usually carry at least 15 people. They charge from 100 to 200 kwanzas per trip. They are known to disobey traffic rules, for example not stopping at signs and driving over pavements and aisles.


title: Luanda

text: In 2019, the Luanda Light Rail network with an estimated cost of US $3 billion was announced to begin construction in 2020.


title: Luanda

text: Luanda's Pavilhão Multiusos do Kilamba hosted games for Angola's national basketball team on many occasions.


title: Luanda

text: In 2013 Luanda together with Namibe, today's Moçâmedes, hosted the 2013 FIRS Men's Roller Hockey World Cup, the first time that a World Cup of roller hockey was held in Africa. The city is home to the Desportivo do Bengo football club.


title: Quraysh

text: The Quraysh () were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Quraysh staunchly opposed Muhammad, until converting to Islam "en masse" in CE. Afterwards, leadership of the Muslim community traditionally passed to a member of the Quraysh, as was the case with the Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, and purportedly the Fatimid caliphates.


title: Quraysh

text: Sources differ as to the etymology of Quraysh, with one theory holding that it was the diminutive form of "qirsh" (shark). The 9th-century genealogist Hisham ibn al-Kalbi asserted that there was no eponymous founder of Quraysh; rather, the name stemmed from "taqarrush", an Arabic word meaning "a coming together" or "association". The Quraysh gained their name when Qusayy ibn Kilab, a sixth-generation descendant of Fihr ibn Malik, gathered together his kinsmen and took control of the Ka'aba. Prior to this, Fihr's offspring lived in scattered, nomadic groups among their Kinana relatives. The "nisba" or surname of the Quraysh is "Qurashī", though in the early centuries of the Islamic "Ummah", most Qurayshi tribesmen were denoted by their specific clan instead of the tribe. Later, particularly after the 13th century, claimants of Qurayshi descent used the "Qurashī" surname.


title: Quraysh

text: The Quraysh's progenitor was Fihr ibn Malik, whose full genealogy, according to traditional Arab sources, was the following: Fihr ibn Mālik ibn al-Naḍr ibn Kināna ibn Khuzayma ibn Mudrika ibn Ilyās ibn Muḍar ibn Nizār ibn Maʿadd ibn ʿAdnān. Thus, Fihr belonged to the Kinana tribe and his descent is traced to Adnan the Ishmaelite, the semi-legendary father of the "northern Arabs". According to the traditional sources, Fihr led the warriors of Kinana and Khuzayma in defense of the Ka'ba, at the time a major pagan sanctuary in Mecca, against tribes from Yemen; however, the sanctuary and the privileges associated with it continued to be in the hands of the Yemeni Khuza'a tribe. The Quraysh gained their name when Qusayy ibn Kilab, a sixth-generation descendant of Fihr ibn Malik, gathered together his kinsmen and took control of the Ka'ba. Prior to this, Fihr's offspring lived in scattered, nomadic groups among their Kinana relatives.


title: Quraysh

text: All medieval Muslim sources agree that Qusayy unified Fihr's descendants, and established the Quraysh as the dominant power in Mecca. After conquering Mecca, Qusayy assigned quarters to different Qurayshi clans. Those settled around the Ka'ba were known "Quraysh al-Biṭāḥ" (), and included all of the descendants of Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy and others. The clans settled in the outskirts of the sanctuary were known as "Quraysh al-Ẓawāhīr" (). According to historian Ibn Ishaq, Qusayy's younger son, Abd Manaf, had grown prominent during his father's lifetime and was chosen by Qusayy to be his successor as the guardian of the Ka'ba. He also gave other responsibilities related to the Ka'ba to his other sons Abd al-'Uzza and Abd, while ensuring that all decisions by the Quraysh had to be made in the presence of his eldest son Abd al-Dar; the latter was also designated ceremonial privileges such as keeper of the Qurayshi war banner and supervisor of water and provisions to the pilgrims visiting the Ka'ba.


title: Quraysh

text: According to historian F. E. Peters, Ibn Ishaq's account reveals that Mecca in the time of Qusayy and his immediate offspring was not yet a commercial center; rather, the city's economy was based on pilgrimage to the Ka'ba, and "what pass[ed] for municipal offices [designated by Qusayy] have to do only with military operations and with control of the shrine". During that time, the tribesmen of Quraysh were not traders; instead, they were entrusted with religious services, from which they significantly profited. They also profited from taxes collected from incoming pilgrims. Though Qusayy appeared to be the strongman of Quraysh, he was not officially a king of the tribe, but one of many leading sheikhs (tribal chieftains).


title: Quraysh

text: According to historian Gerald R. Hawting, if the traditional sources are to be believed, Qusayy's children, "must have lived in the second half of the fifth century". However, historian W. Montgomery Watt asserts that Qusayy himself likely died in the second half of the 6th century. The issue of succession between Qusayy's natural successor, Abd al-Dar, and his chosen successor, Abd Manaf, led to the division of Quraysh into two factions; those who backed the Abd al-Dar clan, including the clans of Banu Sahm, Banu Adi, Banu Makhzum and Banu Jumah, became known as "al-Aḥlāf" (the Confederates), while those who backed the Abd Manaf clan, including the Banu Taym, Banu Asad, Banu Zuhra and Banu al-Harith ibn Fihr, were known as "al-Muṭayyabūn" ().


title: Quraysh

text: Toward the end of the 6th century, the Fijar War broke out between the Quraysh and the Kinana on one side and various Qaysi tribes on the other, including the Hawazin, Banu Thaqif, Banu Amir and Banu Sulaym. The war broke out when a Kinani tribesman killed an Amiri tribesman escorting a Lakhmid caravan to the Hejaz. The attack took place during the holy season when fighting was typically forbidden. The Kinani tribesman's patron was Harb ibn Umayya, a Qurayshi chief. This patron and other chiefs were ambushed by the Hawazin at Nakhla, but were able to escape. In the battles that occurred in the following two years, the Qays were victorious, but in the fourth year, the tide turned in favor of the Quraysh and Kinana. After a few more clashes, peace was reestablished. According to Watt, the actual aim in the Fijar War was control of the trade routes of Najd. Despite particularly tough resistance by the Quraysh's main trade rivals, the Thaqif of Ta'if, and the Banu Nasr clan of Hawazin, the Quraysh ultimately held sway over western Arabian trade. The Quraysh gained control over Ta'if's trade, and many Qurayshi individuals purchased estates in Ta'if, where the climate was cooler.


title: Quraysh

text: The sanctuary village of Mecca developed into a major Arabian trade hub. According to Watt, by 600 CE, the leaders of Quraysh "were prosperous merchants who had obtained something like a monopoly of the trade between the Indian Ocean and East Africa on the one hand and the Mediterranean on the other". Furthermore, the Quraysh commissioned trade caravans to Yemen in the winter and caravans to Gaza, Bosra, Damascus and al-Arish in the summer. The Quraysh established networks with merchants in these Syrian cities. They also formed political or economic alliances with many of the Bedouin (nomadic Arab) tribes in the northern and central Arabian deserts to ensure the safety of their trade caravans. The Quraysh invested their revenues in building their trading ventures, and shared profits with tribal allies to translate financial fortune into significant political power in the Hejaz (western Arabia). In the words of Fred Donner:


title: Quraysh

text: [By the end of the 6th century,] Meccan commerce was flourishing as never before, and the leaders in this trade [the Quraysh] had developed from mere merchants into true financiers. They were no longer interested in "buying cheap and selling dear," but also with organizing money and men to realize their commercial objectives. There was emerging, in short, a class of men with well-developed managerial and organizational skills. It was a development unheralded, and almost unique, in central Arabia.


title: Quraysh

text: The Banu Makhzum and Banu Umayya, in particular, acquired vast wealth from trade and held the most influence among the Quraysh in Meccan politics. The Banu Umayya and the Banu Nawfal, another clan descending from Abd Manaf that had become wealthy from their commercial enterprise, split from the "Muṭayyabūn" faction in 605 and engaged in business with the "Aḥlāf". Their financial fortunes had enabled them to become a force of their own. During a commercial incident were a yemenite merchant was robbed of his trade by al-As ibn Wa'il al-Sahmi, the "Muṭayyabūn" reformed in the Hilf al-Fudul, which consisted of the Banu Hashim and Banu Muttalib, which, like the Banu Umayya, were descendants of Abd Manaf, and the Taym, Asad, Zuhra and al-Harith ibn Fihr clans. The Banu Hashim held the hereditary rights surrounding the pilgrimage to the Ka'ba, though the Banu Umayya were ultimately the strongest Qurayshi clan. According to Watt, "In all the stories of the pre-Islamic period there is admittedly a legendary element, but the main outline of events appears to be roughly correct, even if most of the dating is uncertain."


title: Quraysh

text: The polytheistic Quraysh opposed the monotheistic message preached by the Islamic prophet Muhammad, himself a Qurayshi from the Banu Hashim. The tribe harassed members of the nascent Muslim community, and attempted to harm Muhammad, but he was protected by his uncle Abu Talib. To escape persecution, Muhammad and his companions, including the Qurayshi Abu Bakr, emigrated to Medina. Muhammad then confronted a Qurayshi caravan returning from Palestine and defeated the Quraysh at the ensuing Battle of Badr in 624. The Quraysh later besieged the Muslims at Medina in 627, but were defeated in the Battle of the Trench. The Treaty of Hudaybiyya was then signed between Muhammad and the Quraysh in 628, but was violated because of a dispute between Bedouin tribes from each camp. In January 630, Muhammad moved to finally settle the conflict with Quraysh and returned with his followers to capture Mecca.


title: Quraysh

text: In 630, Muhammad entered Mecca victoriously, prompting the rest of Quraysh to embrace Islam. Muhammad sought to consolidate the unity of his expanding Muslim community by "winning over this powerful group [the Quraysh]", according to Donner; to that end he guaranteed Qurayshi participation and influence in the nascent Islamic state. Thus, despite their long enmity with Muhammad, the Quraysh were brought in as political and economic partners and became a key component in the Muslim elite. Many leading Qurayshi tribesmen were installed in key government positions and in Muhammad's policy-making circle. According to Donner, the inclusion of Quraysh "in the ruling elite of the Islamic state was very probably responsible for what appears to be the more carefully organized and systematic approach to statesmanship practiced by Muhammad in the closing years of his life, as the organizational skills of the Quraysh were put to use in the service of Islam".


title: Quraysh

text: With Muhammad's death in 632, rivalry emerged between the Quraysh and the two other components of the Muslim elite, the Ansar and the Thaqif, over influence in state matters. The Ansar wanted one of their own to succeed the prophet as caliph, but were persuaded by Umar to agree to Abu Bakr. During the reigns of Abu Bakr (632–634) and Umar (r. 634–644), some of the Ansar were concerned about their political stake. The Quraysh apparently held real power during this period marked by the early Muslim conquests. During the First Muslim Civil War, the Ansar, who backed Caliph Ali of the Banu Hashim against two factions representing rival Qurayshi clans, were defeated. They were subsequently left out of the political elite, while the Thaqif maintained a measure of influence by dint of their long relationship with the Quraysh.


title: Quraysh

text: A "hadith" holding that the caliph must be from Quraysh became almost universally accepted by the Muslims, with the exception of the Kharijites. Indeed, control of the Islamic state essentially devolved into a struggle between various factions of the Quraysh. In the first civil war, these factions included the Banu Umayya represented by Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, the Banu Hashim represented by Ali, and other Qurayshi leaders such as Zubayr ibn al-Awwam of the Banu Asad and Talha ibn Ubayd Allah of the Banu Taym. Later, during the Second Muslim Civil War, these same factions again fought for control of the caliphate, with the Umayyads victorious at the war's conclusion in 692/93. In 750, the issue of which Qurayshi clan would hold the reins of power was again raised but this time, the Abbasids, a branch of the Banu Hashim, were victorious and slew much of the Banu Umayya. Afterward, Islamic leadership was contested between different branches of the Banu Hashim.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: Achillea millefolium, commonly known as yarrow () or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Other common names include old man's pepper, devil's nettle, sanguinary, milfoil, soldier's woundwort, and thousand seal.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: The plant is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Asia, Europe, and North America. It has been introduced as a feed for livestock in New Zealand and Australia.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: "Achillea millefolium" is an erect, herbaceous, perennial plant that produces one to several stems in height, and has a spreading rhizomatous growth form. Leaves are evenly distributed along the stem, with the leaves near the middle and bottom of the stem being the largest. The leaves have varying degrees of hairiness (pubescence). The leaves are long, bipinnate or tripinnate, almost feathery, and arranged spirally on the stems. The leaves are cauline, and more or less clasping, being more petiolate near the base.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: The inflorescence has 4 to 9 phyllaries and contains ray and disk flowers which are white to pink, blooming from March to October. There are generally 3 to 8 ray flowers, which are long and ovate to round. The tiny disk flowers range from 10 to 40. The inflorescence is produced in a flat-topped capitulum cluster and the inflorescences are visited by many insects, featuring a generalized pollination system. The small achene-like fruits are called cypsela.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: The plant has a sweet scent similar to that of chrysanthemums, so powerful that it may be irritating to some.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: Chamazulene and δ-Cadinol are chemical compounds found in "A. millefolium". The chromophore of azulene was discovered in yarrow and wormwood and named in 1863 by Septimus Piesse.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: Yarrow contains isovaleric acid, salicylic acid, asparagine, sterols, and flavonoids. It also contains phenolic acids such as gallic acid, 3, 4-dihydroxy benzoic acid, 2-OH-Benzoic acid, chlorogenic acid, vanillic acid, caffeic acid, syringic acid, p-coumaric acid, sinapic acid, ferulic acid, cinnamic acid and flavonoid such as myricetin, hesperidin, quercetin, luteolin, kaempferol, apigenin, rutin, hyperoside.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: The genus name "Achillea" is derived from mythical Greek character Achilles, who reportedly carried it with his army to treat battle wounds. The specific epithet "millefolium" as well as the common names milfoil and thousand leaf come from the featherlike leaves which are minutely divided.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: The English name yarrow comes from its Saxon (Old English) name "gearwe", which is related to both the Dutch word "gerw" (alternately "yerw") and the Old High German word "garawa". In the eastern counties it may be called yarroway. In France, it was called "'herbe de" St. Joseph' after a Christian revision of the Achilles story, in which Jesus uses the plant to heal his adoptive father. It has also been called 'carpenter's weed' in this regard.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: Other names include arrowroot, nose bleed, death flower, eerie, hundred leaved grass, knyghten, old man's mustard, sanguinary, seven-year's love, snake's grass, soldier, and "gordaldo".


title: Achillea millefolium

text: In New Mexico and southern Colorado, it is called "plumajillo" (Spanish for 'little feather') from its leaf shape and texture.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: Yarrow grows from sea level to in elevation. Common yarrow is frequently found in the mildly disturbed soil of grasslands and open forests. Active growth occurs in the spring.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: In North America, both native and introduced genotypes, and both diploid and polyploid plants are found. It is found in every habitat throughout California except the Colorado and Mojave Deserts. Common yarrow produces an average yield of , with a total dry weight of .


title: Achillea millefolium

text: It has been introduced as a feed for livestock in New Zealand and Australia, where it is a common weed of both wet and dry areas, such as roadsides, meadows, fields and coastal places.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: Several cavity-nesting birds, including the common starling, use yarrow to line their nests. Experiments conducted on the tree swallow, which does not use yarrow, suggest that adding yarrow to nests inhibits the growth of parasites.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: The larvae of the moths "Bucculatrix clavenae", "B. cristatella", "B. fatigatella", "B. humiliella", "B. latviaella", "Cnephasia abrasana", "Cochylimorpha elongana", "Coleophora argentula", "C. carelica", "C. ditella", "C. expressella", "C. follicularis", "C. gardesanella", "C. millefolii", "C. partitella", "C. ptarmicia", "C. quadristraminella", "C. succursella", "C. vibicigerella", "Depressaria olerella", "D. silesiaca", "Dichrorampha alpinana" (broad-blotch drill), "D. petiverella", "D. vancouverana" (tanacetum root moth), "Eupithecia millefoliata" (yarrow pug), "E. nanata" (narrow-winged pug), "Gillmeria pallidactyla", "Idaea pallidata", "Isidiella nickerlii", "Loxostege manualis", "Phycitodes maritima", "P. saxicola", "Pyncostola bohemiella", "Sophronia sicariellus" and "Thetidia smaragdaria" (Essex emerald) feed on "Achillea millefolium" in Europe.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: <br>The larvae of "Chlorochlamys chloroleucaria" (blackberry looper), "Coleophora quadruplex" and "Sparganothoides lentiginosana" (lentiginos moth) feed on "A. millefolium" in North America.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: <br>Other species of moths with a more cosmopolitan distribution include "Aethes smeathmanniana" (Smeathmann's aethes moth), "Chloroclystis v-ata" (v-pug), "Choristoneura diversana", "Cochylidia richteriana", "Epiblema graphana", "Eupithecia succenturiata" (bordered pug), "E. vulgata" (common pug), "Jordanita budensis" and "Thiodia citrana" (lemon bell).


title: Achillea millefolium

text: "Cassida denticollis", "Galeruca tanaceti", "Hypocassida subferruginea" and "Phytoecia virgula" are cosmopolitan species of beetles that feed on "A. millefolium".


title: Achillea millefolium

text: <br>"Chrysanthia viridissima" is a European species whose adults can be found feeding on pollen and nectar.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: <br>"Trichodes ornatus" (ornate checkered beetle) is a species found in North America whose adults can be found feeding on "A. millefolium".


title: Achillea millefolium

text: "Hedychrum rutilans" is a species of cuckoo wasps whose adults can be found feeding on "A. millefolium" in Europe and North Africa.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: "Achillea millefolium" is cultivated as an ornamental plant by many plant nurseries. It is planted in gardens and natural landscaping settings of diverse climates and styles. They include native plant, drought-tolerant, and wildlife gardens. The plant is a frequent component of butterfly gardens. The plant prefers well-drained soil in full sun, but can be grown in less ideal conditions.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: For propagation, seeds require light for germination, so optimal germination occurs when planted no deeper than . Seeds also require a germination temperature of . It has a relatively short life in some situations, but may be prolonged by division in the spring every other year, and planting apart. It can become invasive.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: The species use in traditional gardens has generally been superseded by cultivars with specific 'improved' qualities. Some are used as drought-tolerant lawn replacements, with periodic mowing. The many different ornamental cultivars include: 'Paprika', 'Cerise Queen', 'Red Beauty', 'Red Velvet', 'Saucy Seduction', 'Strawberry Seduction' (red), 'Island Pink' (pink), 'Calistoga' (white), and 'Sonoma Coast' (white). The following are recipients of the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:


title: Achillea millefolium

text: The many hybrids of this species designated "Achillea" × "taygetea" are useful garden subjects, including: 'Appleblossom', 'Fanal', 'Hoffnung', and 'Moonshine'.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, yarrow is toxic to dogs, cats, and horses, causing increased urination, vomiting, diarrhea and dermatitis.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: When consumed by cows, an unfavorable flavor is given to their milk. In a standard rodent model for reproductive toxicity, aqueous extracts of yarrow produced a significant increase in the percentage of abnormal sperm.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: "A. millefolium" was used in traditional medicine, in part due to its astringent properties and the mild laxative effect of its leaves. Yarrow and its North American varieties were traditionally used by many Native American nations. The Navajo historically considered it a "life medicine" and chewed the plant for toothaches and used its infusions for earaches. The Miwok in California used the plant as an analgesic and head cold remedy. Native American nations used the plant for healing cuts and abrasions, relief from earaches and throat infections, as well as for an eyewash. Common yarrow was used by Plains indigenous peoples to reduce pain or fever and aid sleep.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: In the early 20th century, some Ojibwe people used a decoction of yarrow leaves on hot stones and inhaled it to treat headaches, or applied decoctions of the root onto skin for its stimulating effect.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: The entire plant is reportedly edible and nutritious, but it is advised not to consume much. The foliage is pungent; both its leaves and flowers are bitter and astringent. The leaves can be eaten young; raw, they can be added to salad. The leaves, with an aniseed-grass flavour, can be brewed as tea.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: In the Middle Ages, yarrow was part of a herbal mixture known as gruit used in the flavoring of beer prior to the use of hops. The flowers and leaves are used in making some liquors and bitters.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: Yarrow is considered an especially useful companion plant, attracting beneficial insects and repelling some pests. It attracts predatory wasps, which drink the nectar and then use insect pests as food for their larvae. Similarly, it attracts ladybirds and hoverflies.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: "A. millefolium" can be planted to combat soil erosion due to the plant's resistance to drought. Before the arrival of monocultures of ryegrass, both grass and pasture contained "A. millefolium" at a density of about 0.3 kg/ha. One factor for its use in grass mixtures was its deep roots, with leaves rich in minerals, minimizing mineral deficiencies in ruminant feed. It was introduced into New Zealand as a drought-tolerant pasture.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: Yarrow can be used for dying wool as it contains apigenin and luteolin. Depending on the mordant the color may be green to yellow.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: In antiquity, the plant was known as "herba militaris" for its use in stanching the flow of blood from wounds. Other names implying its historical use in healing—particularly in the military—include bloodwort, knight's milfoil, staunchweed, and, from its use in the US Civil War, soldier's woundwort. Its use in either starting or stopping nosebleeds led to the common name nosebleed. For its association with the Abrahamic devil it was called bad man's plaything, devil's nettle, and devil's plaything. It was called old man's pepper due to its pungent flavor, while the name field hop came from its use in beer making in Sweden.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: In the Classical Greek epic "Iliad", Homer tells of the centaur Chiron, who conveyed herbal secrets to his human pupils and taught Achilles to use yarrow on the battlegrounds of Troy.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: In Sussex and Devonshire superstition, yarrow was used for finding one's real sweetheart. One would pluck yarrow growing on a young man's grave while reciting:


title: Achillea millefolium

text: then retire for the night without speaking and go to sleep with an ounce of yarrow sewn in flannel under the pillow.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: In Dublin on May Day or the night before, women would place a stocking full of yarrow under their pillow and recite:


title: Achillea millefolium

text: In the witchcraft trial of Elspeth Reoch in March 1616, she was alleged to have plucked "melefour," thought to be another name for yarrow, and said ""In nomine Patris, Fiili, et Spiritus Sancti"" to become able to cure distemper (disorders of the four humours) and impart the faculty of prediction.


title: Achillea millefolium

text: Yarrow was thought to bring luck due to being, according to one woman cited by James Britten, "the first herb our Saviour put in His hand when a child." This is apparently a corruption of the Achilles myth.


title: Brainstem

text: The brainstem (or brain stem) is the posterior stalk-like part of the brain that connects the cerebrum with the spinal cord. In the human brain the brainstem is composed of the midbrain, the pons, and the medulla oblongata. The midbrain is continuous with the thalamus of the diencephalon through the tentorial notch, and sometimes the diencephalon is included in the brainstem.


title: Brainstem

text: The brainstem is very small, making up around only 2.6 percent of the brain's total weight. It has the critical roles of regulating cardiac, and respiratory function, helping to control heart rate and breathing rate. It also provides the main motor and sensory nerve supply to the face and neck via the cranial nerves. Ten pairs of cranial nerves come from the brainstem. Other roles include the regulation of the central nervous system and the body's sleep cycle. It is also of prime importance in the conveyance of motor and sensory pathways from the rest of the brain to the body, and from the body back to the brain. These pathways include the corticospinal tract (motor function), the dorsal column-medial lemniscus pathway (fine touch, vibration sensation, and proprioception), and the spinothalamic tract (pain, temperature, itch, and crude touch).


title: Brainstem

text: The parts of the brainstem are the midbrain, the pons, and the medulla oblongata, and sometimes the diencephalon.


title: Brainstem

text: The midbrain is further subdivided into three parts: tectum, tegmentum, and the ventral tegmental area. The tectum forms the ceiling. The tectum comprises the paired structure of the superior and inferior colliculi and is the dorsal covering of the cerebral aqueduct. The inferior colliculus is the principal midbrain nucleus of the auditory pathway and receives input from several peripheral brainstem nuclei, as well as inputs from the auditory cortex. Its inferior brachium (arm-like process) reaches to the medial geniculate nucleus of the diencephalon. The superior colliculus is positioned above the inferior colliculus, and marks the rostral midbrain. It is involved in the special sense of vision and sends its superior brachium to the lateral geniculate body of the diencephalon.


title: Brainstem

text: The tegmentum which forms the floor of the midbrain, is ventral to the cerebral aqueduct. Several nuclei, tracts, and the reticular formation are contained here.


title: Brainstem

text: The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is composed of paired cerebral peduncles. These transmit axons of upper motor neurons.


title: Brainstem

text: The pons lies between the midbrain and the medulla oblongata. It is separated from the midbrain by the superior pontine sulcus, and from the medulla by the inferior pontine sulcus. It contains tracts that carry signals from the cerebrum to the medulla and to the cerebellum and also tracts that carry sensory signals to the thalamus. The pons is connected to the cerebellum by the cerebellar peduncles. The pons houses the respiratory pneumotaxic center and apneustic center that make up the pontine respiratory group in the respiratory center. The pons co-ordinates activities of the cerebellar hemispheres.


title: Brainstem

text: The medulla oblongata, often just referred to as the medulla, is the lower half of the brainstem continuous with the spinal cord. Its upper part is continuous with the pons. The medulla contains the cardiac, dorsal and ventral respiratory groups, and vasomotor centres, dealing with heart rate, breathing and blood pressure. Another important medullary structure is the area postrema whose functions include the control of vomiting.


title: Brainstem

text: In the medial part of the medulla is the anterior median fissure. Moving laterally on each side are the medullary pyramids. The pyramids contain the fibers of the corticospinal tract (also called the pyramidal tract), or the upper motor neuronal axons as they head inferiorly to synapse on lower motor neuronal cell bodies within the anterior grey column of the spinal cord.


title: Brainstem

text: The most medial part of the medulla is the posterior median sulcus. Moving laterally on each side is the gracile fasciculus, and lateral to that is the cuneate fasciculus. Superior to each of these, and directly inferior to the obex, are the gracile and cuneate tubercles, respectively. Underlying these are their respective nuclei. The obex marks the end of the fourth ventricle and the beginning of the central canal. The posterior intermediate sulcus separates the gracile fasciculus from the cuneate fasciculus. Lateral to the cuneate fasciculus is the lateral funiculus.


title: Brainstem

text: Superior to the obex is the floor of the fourth ventricle. In the floor of the fourth ventricle, various nuclei can be visualized by the small bumps that they make in the overlying tissue. In the midline and directly superior to the obex is the vagal trigone and superior to that it the hypoglossal trigone. Underlying each of these are motor nuclei for the respective cranial nerves. Superior to these trigones are fibers running laterally in both directions. These fibers are known collectively as the striae medullares. Continuing in a rostral direction, the large bumps are called the facial colliculi. Each facial colliculus, contrary to their names, do not contain the facial nerve nuclei. Instead, they have facial nerve axons traversing superficial to underlying abducens (CN VI) nuclei. Lateral to all these bumps previously discussed is an indented line, or sulcus that runs rostrally, and is known as the sulcus limitans. This separates the medial motor neurons from the lateral sensory neurons. Lateral to the sulcus limitans is the area of the vestibular system, which is involved in special sensation. Moving rostrally, the inferior, middle, and superior cerebellar peduncles are found connecting the midbrain to the cerebellum. Directly rostral to the superior cerebellar peduncle, there is the superior medullary velum and then the two trochlear nerves. This marks the end of the pons as the inferior colliculus is directly rostral and marks the caudal midbrain. Middle cerebellar peduncle is located inferior and lateral to the superior cerebellar peduncle, connecting pons to the cerebellum. Likewise, inferior cerebellar peduncle is found connecting the medulla oblongata to the cerebellum.


title: Brainstem

text: The main supply of blood to the brainstem is provided by the basilar arteries and the vertebral arteries.


title: Brainstem

text: The human brainstem emerges from two of the three primary brain vesicles formed of the neural tube. The mesencephalon is the second of the three primary vesicles, and does not further differentiate into a secondary brain vesicle. This will become the midbrain. The third primary vesicle, the rhombencephalon (hindbrain) will further differentiate into two secondary vesicles, the metencephalon and the myelencephalon. The metencephalon will become the cerebellum and the pons. The more caudal myelencephalon will become the medulla.


title: Brainstem

text: Ten of the twelve pairs of cranial nerves either target or are sourced from the brainstem nuclei. The nuclei of the oculomotor nerve (III) and trochlear nerve (IV) are located in the midbrain. The nuclei of the trigeminal nerve (V), abducens nerve (VI), facial nerve (VII) and vestibulocochlear nerve (VIII) are located in the pons. The nuclei of the glossopharyngeal nerve (IX), vagus nerve (X), accessory nerve (XI) and hypoglossal nerve (XII) are located in the medulla. The fibers of these cranial nerves exit the brainstem from these nuclei.


title: Brainstem

text: Diseases of the brainstem can result in abnormalities in the function of cranial nerves that may lead to visual disturbances, pupil abnormalities, changes in sensation, muscle weakness, hearing problems, vertigo, swallowing and speech difficulty, voice change, and co-ordination problems. Localizing neurological lesions in the brainstem may be very precise, although it relies on a clear understanding on the functions of brainstem anatomical structures and how to test them.


title: Brainstem

text: Duret haemorrhages are areas of bleeding in the midbrain and upper pons due to a downward traumatic displacement of the brainstem.


title: Brainstem

text: Cysts known as syrinxes can affect the brainstem, in a condition, called syringobulbia. These fluid-filled cavities can be congenital, acquired or the result of a tumor.


title: Brainstem

text: Criteria for claiming brainstem death in the UK have developed in order to make the decision of when to stop ventilation of somebody who could not otherwise sustain life. These determining factors are that the patient is irreversibly unconscious and incapable of breathing unaided. All other possible causes must be ruled out that might otherwise indicate a temporary condition. The state of irreversible brain damage has to be unequivocal. There are brainstem reflexes that are checked for by two senior doctors so that imaging technology is unnecessary. The absence of the cough and gag reflexes, of the corneal reflex and the vestibulo–ocular reflex need to be established; the pupils of the eyes must be fixed and dilated; there must be an absence of motor response to stimulation and an absence of breathing marked by concentrations of carbon dioxide in the arterial blood. All of these tests must be repeated after a certain time before death can be declared.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: The ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup is an international cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) contested by national under-19 teams. First contested in 1988, as the Youth World Cup, it was not staged again until 1998. Since then, the World Cup has been held as a biennial event, organised by the ICC. The first edition of the tournament had only eight participants, but every subsequent edition has included sixteen teams. India have won the World Cup on a record five occasions, while Australia have won three times, Pakistan twice, and Bangladesh, England, South Africa and the West Indies once each. Two other teams New Zealand and Sri Lanka have made it to tournament finals. India is the current champion after defeating England.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: The inaugural event was titled the McDonald's Bicentennial Youth World Cup, and was held in 1988 as part of the Australian Bicentenary celebrations. It took place in South Australia and Victoria. Teams from the seven Test-playing nations, as well as an ICC Associates XI, competed in a round-robin format. Australia lost only one match, their final round-robin game against Pakistan by which time they had qualified for the semis. They went on to beat Pakistan by five wickets in the final, thanks to an unbeaten hundred from Brett Williams. England and West Indies made up the last four, but India were the real disappointments. After opening with a good win against England, they suffered hefty defeats in four matches to be knocked out early.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: The tournament was notable for the number of future international players who competed. Future England captains Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton played, as did Indian spinner Venkatapathy Raju, New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns, Pakistanis Mushtaq Ahmed and Inzamam-ul-Haq, Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya, and West Indians Brian Lara, Ridley Jacobs, and Jimmy Adams.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: Australia's Brett Williams was the leading run-scorer, with 471 runs at an average of 52.33. Wayne Holdsworth from Australia and Mushtaq Ahmed were the leading wicket-takers, with 19 wickets at averages of 12.52 and 16.21 respectively.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: England were the unexpected winners of the second Under-19 World Cup in South Africa. In 1998, the event was relaunched in South Africa as a biennial tournament. The only previous tournament of its kind was held ten years earlier. In addition to the nine Test-playing nations, there were teams from Bangladesh, Kenya, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Namibia and Papua New Guinea. The teams were divided into four pools, named after Gavaskar, Sobers, Cowdrey and Bradman, and the top two sides from each progressed to two Super League pools, whose winners advanced to the final. In order to give everyone a decent amount of cricket, the non-qualifiers competed in a Plate League, won by Bangladesh, who beat West Indies in the final. West Indies failed to qualify for the Super League after a fiasco concerning the composition of their squad – they arrived with seven players who contravened the age restrictions for the tournament. The Super League, in which every game was covered live on South African satellite television, also threw up a number of shocks and tense finishes; both pools came down to net run-rate at the finish. England, from being down and almost out, beat Pakistan – who surprisingly lost all three of their games – but lost a rain-affected match to India. Australia had beaten India and Pakistan and were favourites to reach the final. Only a massive defeat by England could deny them: but that is precisely what they suffered. In front of a crowd of about 6,000 at Newlands, they were bowled out for 147. New Zealand joined England in the final, where a century from England's Stephen Peters won the day.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: Chris Gayle was the tournament's leading run-scorer, with 364 runs at an average of 72.80. West Indian Ramnaresh Sarwan and Zimbabwean Mluleki Nkala were the leading wicket-takers, with 16 wickets at 10.81 and 13.06 respectively.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: The 2000 tournament was held in Sri Lanka, and replicated the format from 1998. Participating nations included the nine Test-playing nations, as well as Bangladesh, Kenya, Ireland, Namibia, Holland, Nepal and a combined team from the Americas development region. To the disappointment of a large crowd at Colombo's SSC, Sri Lanka fell at the final hurdle in a final dominated by India. The winners remained unbeaten throughout, and destroyed Australia by 170 runs in the semi-final to underline their supremacy. In the other semi-final, Sri Lanka delighted a crowd of 5000 at Galle by beating Pakistan. The fact that three of the four semi-finalists were from Asia and so more attuned to the conditions was coincidental – they played the better cricket and, in Pakistan's case, had a very experienced squad. England, the defending champions, were most disappointing, and they won only one match against a Test-playing country, and that a last-ball victory over Zimbabwe. South Africa, one of the favourites, were desperately unlucky to be eliminated after three no-results gave them three points while Nepal, with four points courtesy of one win over Kenya, went through to the Super League instead. The format of the tournament was as in 1997–98, with four groups of four and then a Super League and final. Graeme Smith was the tournament's leading run-scorer, with 348 runs at an average of 87.00. Pakistan's Zahid Saeed was the leading wicket-taker, with 15 wickets at 7.60. India's Yuvraj Singh was named Man of the Series. India clinched the title for the first time under the captaincy of Mohammed Kaif.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: The fourth Under-19 World Cup held in New Zealand only confirmed Australia's dominance of the game, and from their opening match, when they obliterated Kenya by 430 runs, through to their comprehensive victory over South Africa in the final, they were never threatened. Participating nations included the ten Test-playing nations, plus Canada, Kenya, Namibia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, and Scotland. Their captain, Cameron White, was singled out for praise for his leadership, and he chipped in with 423 runs at 70.50. And they didn't rely on pace either, playing only two seamers and four slow bowlers, with Xavier Doherty, a slow left-armer, leading the wicket-takers with 16 at 9.50 and all without a single wide. In contrast, India, the holders, underperformed in their semi-final against South Africa, a team they had easily beaten a week or so earlier. They also suffered embarrassing defeats to neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh. Pakistan, however, provided the main upset when they lost to Nepal by 30 runs, and Nepal also gave England a few uneasy moments. Zimbabwe won the plate competition, with their expected opponents, Bangladesh, beaten in the semi-final by Nepal. Australian Cameron White was the tournament's leading run-scorer, with 423 runs at an average of 70.50 and Xavier Doherty was the leading wicket-taker, with 16 wickets at 9.50. Tatenda Taibu, Zimbabwe's captain, was Man of the Series for his 250 runs and 12 wickets, not to mention his wicket-keeping in between bowling stints.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: The 2004 tournament was held in Bangladesh. More than 350,000 spectators saw the 54 matches played in the tournament. The finale ended with a close final between the two best teams – West Indies and Pakistan. It was won by Pakistan by 25 runs against West Indies and a 30,000 crowd acclaimed the victorious Pakistanis almost as their own. The shock was the elimination from the main competition of holders Australia, bowled out for 73 and beaten by Zimbabwe in the group stage when Tinashe Panyangara took 6 for 31, the second-best figures in the competition's history. And Australia then lost to Bangladesh in the plate final amid thumping drums and gleeful celebrations. The downside was the quality of the cricket, which was often mediocre on some indifferent pitches, and the reporting of six unidentified bowlers for having suspect actions. Pakistan would have finished unbeaten but for a hiccup against England – when both teams had already qualified for the semis. England reached the last four, which was progress, and Alastair Cook looked a class apart. But they came unstuck against West Indies' spinners in the semi-final. India completed the semi-finalists. Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina were the backbone of a strong batting line-up, and Raina's 90 from just 38 balls against the hapless Scots was as brutal an innings as one will see at any level. Both looked international-class already, though faced with a tough task breaking into their senior side's formidable top order. The captain Ambati Rayudu had been hailed as the next great batting hope, having scored a century and a double in a first-class match at the age of 17. But he did not score the runs promised and was banned by the referee John Morrison from the semi-final after allowing a funereal over-rate during the Super League win against Sri Lanka: eight overs were bowled in the first 50 minutes. India's Shikhar Dhawan was named Man of the Tournament, and was the tournament's leading run-scorer, with 505 runs at an average of 84.16. Bangladeshi Enamul Haque was the leading wicket-taker, with 22 wickets at 10.18.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: This tournament was always going to struggle to live up to the overwhelming response that greeted the previous event in Bangladesh. Despite free tickets the matches were sparsely attended even when the home side were in action, but it shouldn't detract from an impressive two weeks which finished with Pakistan securing their second consecutive title in an extraordinary final against India at the Premadasa Stadium. Pakistan crumbled to 109, but in a thrilling passage of play reduced India to 9 for 6. Nasir Jamshed, and Anwar Ali, two of the success stories of the tournament, did the damage and there was no way back for India who fell 38 runs short. These two teams and Australia were the pick of the sides and along with England – who surpassed expectation to reach the semi-finals after beating a talented Bangladesh side – made up the final four. A number of players caught the eye, notably Australia captain Moises Henriques, the Indian batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara – the tournament's leading run-scorer – and teammate Rohit Sharma, along with legspinner Piyush Chawla, who a few weeks later made his Test debut against England. However, perhaps the best story of the tournament was Nepal claiming the Plate trophy after a thrilling victory against New Zealand having also beaten South Africa during the event


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: It was the first time the tournament was held in an Associate Member country. The 2008 Under-19 Cricket World Cup was held in Malaysia from 17 February to 2 March 2008. Along with hosts, 15 other teams battled in 44 matches packed into 15 days across three cities. India, still smarting from the loss in the previous edition had reason to be upbeat with Tanmay Srivastava, a mature batsman who eventually finished as the tournament's leading run-getter, in their ranks. Australia and England had forgettable campaigns, coming up short against the big teams after making mincemeat of the minnows. Defending champions Pakistan were fortuitous to reach the semi-finals as their batsmen never really got going and, against South Africa in the semi-finals, Pakistan had to chase 261. New Zealand, boosted by Man of the Tournament Tim Southee, were impressive before losing to India in a narrow run-chase under lights and cloudy skies in the other semi-final. South Africa's captain Wayne Parnell had played a major role in ensuring their passage to the summit clash, picking up the most wickets in the tournament en route. But they had lost to India in the group stages and lightning did strike twice. India under the leadership of Virat Kohli, after being bowled out for 159, emerged triumphant by 12 runs under the D/L method and were crowned champions for the second time.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: The 2010 Under-19 Cricket World Cup was held in New Zealand in January 2010. The tournament was hosted in New Zealand after the ICC took it away from Kenya on the flimsiest of reasons which ridiculed its own to spread the game. Kenya were further kicked by the ICC as their side was not allowed to participate as it had not won the African qualifying event – a weakened side had been fielded as at the time, as hosts, they did not need to qualify. As it was, New Zealand did a decent job but crowds were dismal and the group stages were as tediously predictable as in the senior tournament, with the better-funded big nations dominating. South Africa did beat Australia in a good match but a dead rubber. The competition came alive in the quarter-finals as West Indies beat England and Sri Lanka defeated South Africa. The best tie of the competition came when Pakistan beat fierce rivals India by two wickets with three balls remaining in a low-scoring match. The final between Australia and Pakistan was a rematch of the first tournament, and Australia won by 25 runs in a game where fortunes ebbed and flowed throughout.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: The 2012 Under-19 Cricket World Cup was held in the Tony Ireland Stadium, Australia. Along with the ten test playing nations, Afghanistan, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Ireland, Scotland and Namibia also participated in this tournament. Australia lost against India in the final on 26 August 2012. India's third U19 World Cup meant they tied for the most wins with Australia. Sri Lanka could not go through into the last eight but won the Plate championship by defeating Afghanistan by 7 wickets. Reece Topley of England was the highest wicket taker whereas Anamul Haque of Bangladesh was the top run getter. India won the final against Australia with 14 balls to spare and 6 wickets remaining. Captain Unmukt Chand played a match winning knock of 111* not out in 130 balls with the help of 6 sixes & 7 fours. Sandeep Sharma also excelled with four wickets under his belt.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: The 2014 Under-19 Cricket World-Cup was held in Dubai (U.A.E.) in 2014. It was the first time that U.A.E. had hosted an ICC event. Afghanistan was the only non-full member to qualify for the Quarter Finals. This was the first time that Afghanistan reached the last eight of this tournament, courtesy of their stellar performance against Australia in the group stage. In fact, this was the second time that a non-test playing nation qualified for the Super League/Quarter Finals, Nepal being the first one in the 2000 edition.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: India wobbled in the Quarter Finals against England and finally lost in the final over. This was the first semi-final berth for England in the last four editions. Pakistan beat England in the semis to reach its fifth Under-19 Final, becoming the first team to do so. South Africa beat Australia in the second semi-final. In a one-sided final, South Africa beat Pakistan and claimed its maiden U-19 World Cup title. Corbin Bosch, son of former South African cricketer late Tertius Bosch, was the Man of the Match in the finals and Aiden Markram was the Man of the Series. South Africa did not lose even a single match in the entire tournament.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: The 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup was held in Bangladesh. It was the eleventh edition of the Under-19 World Cup, and the second to be held in Bangladesh. On 5 January 2016, Australia announced that the Australian squad had pulled out of the tournament, citing security reasons. Defending champions South Africa were knocked out of the tournament in the group stage, with back-to-back defeats to Bangladesh and Namibia. This was the first time that two non-test playing nations – Nepal and Namibia – qualified for the Super League/Quarterfinals. The West Indies defeated India by five wickets in the final, claiming their first title. Bangladesh's captain Mehedi Hasan was named player of the tournament, while England's Jack Burnham and Namibia's Fritz Coetzee led the tournament in runs and wickets, respectively.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: The 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup was held in New Zealand. India and Australia played in the finals at Mount Maunganui on 3 Feb 2018. It was the 12th Edition of the Under-19 World Cup. India defeated Australia by 8 wickets, with Manjot Kalra scoring a match-winning 101* under the captaincy of Prithvi Shaw . The Man of the match was awarded to Manjot Kalra, while player of the tournament was awarded to Shubman Gill. India now holds the most wins record in Under-19 World Cup.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: Rahul Dravid is the head coach of this India Under-19 Team. later he appointed has India national cricket team head coach on nov 2021


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: The 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup was held in South Africa. The thirteenth edition of the Under-19 World Cup, and the second to be held in South Africa. The final was played between India and Bangladesh which Bangladesh won after defeating India by 3 wickets in the final match at Potchefstroom, South Africa, based on Duckworth Lewis Method on 9 Feb 2020. This was Bangladesh's first ICC Under-19 World Cup victory.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: In the final, India, batting first gathered 177 runs before being all out. In reply, Bangladesh made a flying start as they scored 55 runs losing only a wicket in first 10 overs. Soon Indian leggie Ravi Bishnoi picked up four quick wickets as Bangladesh were 102 for 6 from 62/2 at the end of 25 overs. When Bangladesh were 163/7 at the end of 41 overs and the still needing 15 runs to win, rain arrives and the match was reduced to 46 overs with a revised target as per DLS method was seven runs needing from 30 balls. From thereon, Bangladesh did not take any unnecessary risks and scored the winning run with 23 balls to spare thanks to the innings of captain Akbar Ali and won their first ICC title by three wickets.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: Top performers of the tournament were both Indians in batting or bowling. Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 400 runs throughout the tournament while Ravi Bishnoi took 17 wickets.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: The 2022 Under-19 Cricket World Cup was held in the West Indies. The fourteenth edition of the Under-19 World Cup, and the first to be held in Caribbean. The final was played between India and England which India won after defeating England by 4 wickets in the final match at North Sound, Antigua. This was India's fifth ICC Under-19 World Cup victory, the maximum by any country.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: In the final, England, batting first gathered 189 runs before being all out. In reply, India attained the required target in 47.4 overs, after losing 6 wickets.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: Dewald Brevis of South Africa scored the maximum runs (506) in the tournament and was named the player of the series. Dunith Wellalage of Sri Lanka had highest wickets of his name with 17 wickets.


title: Under-19 Cricket World Cup

text: In the table below, teams are sorted by best performance, then winning percentage, then (if equal) by alphabetical order.


title: Economy of Italy

text: The economy of Italy is a highly developed social market economy. It is the third-largest national economy in the European Union, the 10th-largest in the world by nominal GDP, and the 12th-largest by GDP (PPP). Italy is a founding member of the European Union, the Eurozone, the OECD, the G7 and the G20; it is the eighth-largest exporter in the world, with $611 billion exported in 2021. Its closest trade ties are with the other countries of the European Union, with whom it conducts about 59% of its total trade. The largest trading partners, in order of market share in exports, are Germany (12.5%), France (10.3%), the United States (9%), Spain (5.2%), the United Kingdom (5.2%) and Switzerland (4.6%).


title: Economy of Italy

text: In the post-World War II period, Italy saw a transformation from an agricultural based economy which had been severely affected by the consequences of the World Wars, into one of the world's most advanced nations, and a leading country in world trade and exports. According to the Human Development Index, the country enjoys a very high standard of living. According to "The Economist", Italy has the world's 8th highest quality of life. Italy owns the world's third-largest gold reserve, and is the third-largest net contributor to the budget of the European Union. Furthermore, the advanced country private wealth is one of the largest in the world. In terms of private wealth, Italy ranks second, after Hong Kong, in private wealth to GDP ratio.


title: Economy of Italy

text: Italy is the world's seventh-largest manufacturing country, characterised by a smaller number of global multinational corporations than other economies of comparable size and many dynamic small and medium-sized enterprises, notoriously clustered in several industrial districts, which are the backbone of the Italian industry. Italy is a large manufacturer and exporter of a significant variety of products. Its products include machinery, vehicles, pharmaceuticals, furniture, food and clothing. Italy has therefore a significant trade surplus. The country is also well known for its influential and innovative business economic sector, an industrious and competitive agricultural sector (Italy is the world's largest wine producer), and manufacturers of creatively designed, high-quality products: including automobiles, ships, home appliances, and designer clothing. Italy is the largest hub for luxury goods in Europe and the third luxury hub globally. The Italian manufacturing sector is capable of facing the competition from China and other emerging Asian economies based on lower labour costs, with higher quality products. Italy has a strong cooperative sector, with the largest share of the population (4.5%) employed by a cooperative in the EU.


title: Economy of Italy

text: Despite these important achievements, the country's economy today suffers from structural and non-structural problems. Annual growth rates have often been below the EU average. Italy was hit particularly hard by the late-2000s recession. Massive government spending from the 1980s onwards has produced a severe rise in public debt. In addition, Italian living standards have a considerable North–South divide: the average GDP per capita in Northern Italy significantly exceeds the EU average, while some regions and provinces in Southern Italy are significantly below the average. In Central Italy, GDP per capita is instead average. In recent years, Italy's GDP per capita growth slowly caught-up with the Eurozone average, while its employment rate still lags behind. However, economists dispute the official figures because of the large number of informal jobs (estimated to between 10% and 20% of the labour force) that lift the inactivity or unemployment rates. The shadow economy is highly represented in Southern Italy, while it becomes less intense as one moves north. In real economic conditions, Southern Italy almost matches Central Italy's level.


title: Economy of Italy

text: The Italian Renaissance was remarkable in economic development. Venice and Genoa were the trade pioneers, first as maritime republics and then as regional states, followed by Milan, Florence, and the rest of northern Italy. Reasons for their early development are for example the relative military safety of Venetian lagoons, the high population density and the institutional structure which inspired entrepreneurs. The Republic of Venice was the first real international financial center, which slowly emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century. Tradeable bonds as a commonly used type of security, were invented by the Italian city-states (such as Venice and Genoa) of the late medieval and early Renaissance periods.


title: Economy of Italy

text: After 1600 Italy experienced an economic catastrophe. In 1600 Northern and Central Italy comprised one of the most advanced industrial areas of Europe. There was an exceptionally high standard of living. By 1870 Italy was an economically backward and depressed area; its industrial structure had almost collapsed, its population was too high for its resources, its economy had become primarily agricultural. Wars, political fractionalization, limited fiscal capacity and the shift of world trade to north-western Europe and the Americas were key factors.


title: Economy of Italy

text: The economic history of Italy after 1861 can be divided in three main phases: an initial period of struggle after the unification of the country, characterised by high emigration and stagnant growth; a central period of robust catch-up from the 1890s to the 1980s, interrupted by the Great Depression of the 1930s and the two world wars; and a final period of sluggish growth that has been exacerbated by a double-dip recession following the 2008 global financial crush, and from which the country is slowly reemerging only in recent years.


title: Economy of Italy

text: Prior to unification, the economy of the many Italian statelets was overwhelmingly agrarian; however, the agricultural surplus produced what historians call a "pre-industrial" transformation in North-western Italy starting from the 1820s, that led to a diffuse, if mostly artisanal, concentration of manufacturing activities, especially in Piedmont-Sardinia under the liberal rule of the Count of Cavour.


title: Economy of Italy

text: After the birth of the unified Kingdom of Italy in 1861, there was a deep consciousness in the ruling class of the new country's backwardness, given that the per capita GDP expressed in PPS terms was roughly half of that of Britain and about 25% less than that of France and Germany. During the 1860s and 1870s, the manufacturing activity was backward and small-scale, while the oversized agrarian sector was the backbone of the national economy. The country lacked large coal and iron deposits and the population was largely illiterate. In the 1880s, a severe farm crisis led to the introduction of more modern farming techniques in the Po valley, while from 1878 to 1887 protectionist policies were introduced with the aim to establish a heavy industry base. Some large steel and iron works soon clustered around areas of high hydropower potential, notably the Alpine foothills and Umbria in central Italy, while Turin and Milan led a textile, chemical, engineering and banking boom and Genoa captured civil and military shipbuilding.


title: Economy of Italy

text: However, the diffusion of industrialisation that characterised the northwestern area of the country largely excluded Venetia and, especially, the South. The resulting Italian diaspora concerned up to 26 million Italians, the most part in the years between 1880 and 1914; by many scholars it is considered the biggest mass migration of contemporary times. During the Great War, the still frail Italian state successfully fought a modern war, being able of arming and training some 5 million recruits. But this result came at a terrible cost: by the end of the war, Italy had lost 700,000 soldiers and had a ballooning sovereign debt amounting to billions of lira.


title: Economy of Italy

text: Italy emerged from World War I in a poor and weakened condition. The National Fascist Party of Benito Mussolini came to power in 1922, at the end of a period of social unrest. However, once Mussolini acquired a firmer hold of power, laissez-faire and free trade were progressively abandoned in favour of government intervention and protectionism.


title: Economy of Italy

text: In 1929, Italy was hit hard by the Great Depression. In order to deal with the crisis, the Fascist government nationalized the holdings of large banks which had accrued significant industrial securities, establishing the Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale. A number of mixed entities were formed, whose purpose was to bring together representatives of the government and of the major businesses. These representatives discussed economic policy and manipulated prices and wages so as to satisfy both the wishes of the government and the wishes of business.


title: Economy of Italy

text: This economic model based on a partnership between government and business was soon extended to the political sphere, in what came to be known as corporatism. At the same time, the aggressive foreign policy of Mussolini led to increasing military expenditure. After the invasion of Ethiopia, Italy intervened to support Franco's nationalists in the Spanish Civil War. By 1939, Italy had the highest percentage of state-owned enterprises after the Soviet Union.


title: Economy of Italy

text: Italy's involvement in World War II as a member of the Axis powers required the establishment of a war economy. The Allied invasion of Italy in 1943 eventually caused the Italian political structure – and the economy – to rapidly collapse. The Allies, on the one hand, and the Germans on the other, took over the administration of the areas of Italy under their control. By the end of the war, Italian per capita income was at its lowest point since the beginning of the 20th century.


title: Economy of Italy

text: After the end of World War II, Italy was in rubble and occupied by foreign armies, a condition that worsened the chronic development gap among the more advanced European economies. However, the new geopolitical logic of the Cold War made possible that the former enemy Italy, a hinge-country between Western Europe and the Mediterranean, and now a new, fragile democracy threatened by the NATO occupation forces, the proximity of the Iron Curtain and the presence of a strong Communist party, was considered by the United States as an important ally for the Free World, and received under the Marshall Plan over US$1.2 billion from 1947 to 1951.


title: Economy of Italy

text: The end of aid through the Plan could have stopped the recovery but it coincided with a crucial point in the Korean War whose demand for metal and manufactured products was a further stimulus of Italian industrial production. In addition, the creation in 1957 of the European Common Market, with Italy as a founding member, provided more investment and eased exports.


title: Economy of Italy

text: These favourable developments, combined with the presence of a large labour force, laid the foundation for spectacular economic growth that lasted almost uninterrupted until the "Hot Autumn's" massive strikes and social unrest of 1969–70, which then combined with the later 1973 oil crisis and put an abrupt end to the prolonged boom. It has been calculated that the Italian economy experienced an average rate of growth of GDP of 5.8% per year between 1951 and 1963, and 5% per year between 1964 and 1973. Italian rates of growth were second only, but very close, to the German rates, in Europe, and among the OEEC countries only Japan had been doing better.


title: Economy of Italy

text: The 1970s were a period of economic, political turmoil and social unrest in Italy, known as Years of lead. Unemployment rose sharply, especially among the young, and by 1977 there were one million unemployed people under the age of 24. Inflation continued, aggravated by the increases in the price of oil in 1973 and 1979. The budget deficit became permanent and intractable, averaging about 10 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), higher than any other industrial country. The lira fell steadily, from Lire 560 to the U.S. dollar in 1973 to Lire 1,400 in 1982.


title: Economy of Italy

text: The economic recession went on into the mid-1980s until a set of reforms led to the independence of the Bank of Italy and a big reduction of the indexation of wages that strongly reduced inflation rates, from 20.6% in 1980 to 4.7% in 1987. The new macroeconomic and political stability resulted in a second, export-led "economic miracle", based on small and medium-sized enterprises, producing clothing, leather products, shoes, furniture, textiles, jewelry, and machine tools. As a result of this rapid expansion, in 1987 Italy overtook the UK's economy (an event known as "il sorpasso"), becoming the fourth richest nation in the world, after the US, Japan and West Germany. The Milan stock exchange increased its market capitalization more than fivefold in the space of a few years.


title: Economy of Italy

text: However, the Italian economy of the 1980s presented a problem: it was booming, thanks to increased productivity and surging exports, but unsustainable fiscal deficits drove the growth. In the 1990s, the new Maastricht criteria boosted the urge to curb the public debt, already at 104% of GDP in 1992. The consequent restrictive economic policies worsened the impact of the global recession already underway. After a brief recover at the end of the 1990s, high tax rates and red tape caused the country to stagnate between 2000 and 2008.


title: Economy of Italy

text: Italy was among the wealthy countries that were hardest-hit by the Great Recession of 2008–2009 and the subsequent European debt crisis. The national economy shrunk by 6.76% during the whole period, totaling seven-quarters of recession. In November 2011 the Italian bond yield was 6.74 percent for 10-year bonds, nearing a 7 percent level where Italy is thought to lose access to financial markets. According to Eurostat, in 2015 the Italian government debt stood at 128% of GDP, ranking as the second biggest debt ratio after Greece (with 175%). However, the biggest chunk of Italian public debt is owned by Italian nationals and relatively high levels of private savings and low levels of private indebtedness are seen as making it the safest among Europe's struggling economies. As a shock therapy to avoid the debt crisis and kick-start growth, the national unity government led by the economist Mario Monti launched a program of massive austerity measures, that brought down the deficit but precipitated the country in a double-dip recession in 2012 and 2013, receiving criticism from numerous economists.


title: Economy of Italy

text: In the period 2014-2019, the economy partially recovered from the disastrous losses incurred during the Great Recession, primarily thanks to strong exports, but nonetheless, growth rates remained well below the Euro area average, meaning that Italy's GDP in 2019 was still 5 per cent below its level in 2008.


title: Economy of Italy

text: Starting from February 2020 after the United States had the first originated from China, Italy was the first country in Europe to be severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, that eventually expanded to the rest of the world.


title: Economy of Italy

text: The economy suffered a massive shock as a result of the lockdown of most of the country's economic activity. After three months, at the end of May 2020, the pandemic was put under control, and the economy started to recover, especially, the manufacturing sector. Overall, it remained surprisingly resilient, although GDP plummeted like in most western countries.


title: Economy of Italy

text: The Italian government issued special treasury bills, known as BTP Futura as a COVID-19 emergency funding, waiting for the approval of the E.U. response to the outbreak. Eventually, in July 2020, the European Council approved the 750 billion € Next Generation EU fund, of which €209 billion will go to Italy.


title: Economy of Italy

text: The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2021 (with IMF staff estimtates in 2022–2027). Inflation below 5% is in green.


title: Economy of Italy

text: Of the world's 500 largest stock-market-listed companies measured by revenue in 2016, the Fortune Global 500, nine are headquartered in Italy.


title: Economy of Italy

text: Italy has over 1.4 million people with a net wealth greater than $1 million, a total national wealth of $11.857 trillion, and represents the 5th largest cumulative net wealth globally (it accounts for 4.92% of the net wealth in the world). According to the Credit Suisse's Global Wealth Databook 2013, the median wealth per adult is $138,653 (5th in the world), while according to the Allianz's Global Wealth Report 2013, the net financial wealth per capita is €45,770 (13th in the world).


title: Economy of Italy

text: The following top 10 list of Italian billionaires is based on an annual assessment of wealth and assets compiled and published by Forbes in 2017.


title: Economy of Italy

text: In the decades following the unification of Italy, the northern regions of the country, Lombardy, Piedmont and Liguria in particular, began a process of industrialization and economic development while the southern regions remained behind. At the time of the unification of the country, there was a shortage of entrepreneurs in the south, with landowners who were often absent from their farms as they lived permanently in the city, leaving the management of their funds to managers, who were not encouraged by the owners to make the agricultural estates to the maximum. Landowners invested not in agricultural equipment, but in such things as low-risk state bonds.


title: Economy of Italy

text: In southern Italy, the unification of the country broke down the feudal land system, which had survived in the south since the Middle Ages, especially where land had been the inalienable property of aristocrats, religious bodies or the king. The breakdown of feudalism, however, and redistribution of land did not necessarily lead to small farmers in the south winding up with land of their own or land they could work and make profit from. Many remained landless, and plots grew smaller and smaller and so less and less productive, as land was subdivided amongst heirs.


title: Economy of Italy

text: This gap between northern and southern Italy was also induced by the region-specific policies selected by the post-unitary governments. For example, the 1887 protectionist reform, instead of safeguarding the arboriculture sectors crushed by 1880s fall in prices, shielded the Po Valley wheat breeding and those Northern textile and manufacturing industries that had survived the liberal years due to state intervention. A similar logic guided the assignment of monopoly rights in the steamboat construction and navigation sectors and, above all, the public spending in the railway sector, which represented 53% of the 1861-1911 total.


title: Economy of Italy

text: The resources necessary to finance the public spending effort were obtained through highly unbalanced land property taxes, which affected the key source of savings available for investment in the growth sectors absent a developed banking system. Given the inability of the government to estimate the land profitability, especially because of the huge differences among the regional cadasters, this policy irreparably induced large regional discrepancies. This policy destroyed the relationship between the central state and the Southern population by unchaining first a civil war called Brigandage, which brought about 20,000 victims by 1864 and the militarization of the area, and then favoring emigration, especially from 1892 to 1921.


title: Economy of Italy

text: After the rise of Benito Mussolini, the "Iron Prefect" Cesare Mori tried to defeat the already powerful criminal organizations flourishing in the South with some degree of success. Fascist policy aimed at the creation of an Italian Empire and Southern Italian ports were strategic for all commerce towards the colonies. With the invasion of Southern Italy, the Allies restored the authority of the mafia families, lost during the Fascist period, and used their influence to maintain public order.


title: Economy of Italy

text: In the 1950s the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno was set up as a huge public master plan to help industrialize the South, aiming to do this in two ways: through land reforms creating 120,000 new smallholdings, and through the "Growth Pole Strategy" whereby 60% of all government investment would go to the South, thus boosting the Southern economy by attracting new capital, stimulating local firms, and providing employment. However, the objectives were largely missed, and as a result the South became increasingly subsidized and state dependent, incapable of generating private growth itself.


title: Economy of Italy

text: The imbalance between North and South was reduced in the 1960s and 1970s through the construction of public works, the implementation of agrarian and scholastic reforms, the expansion of industrialization and the improved living conditions of the population. This convergence process was interrupted, however, in the 1980s. To date, the per capita GDP of the South is just 58% of that of the Center-North, but this gap is mitigated by the fact that there the cost of living is around 10-15% lower on average (with even more differences between small towns and big cities) than that in the North of Italy. In the South the unemployment rate is more than double (6.7% in the North against 14.9% in the South). A study by Censis blames the pervasive presence of criminal organizations for the delay of Southern Italy, estimating an annual loss of wealth of 2.5% in the South in the period between 1981–2003 due to their presence, and that without them the per capita GDP of the South would have reached that of the North.


title: Economy of Italy

text: According to the last national agricultural census, there were 1.6 million farms in 2010 (−32.4% since 2000) covering (63% of which are located in Southern Italy). The vast majority (99%) are family-operated and small, averaging only in size. Of the total surface area in agricultural use (forestry excluded), grain fields take up 31%, olive tree orchards 8.2%, vineyards 5.4%, citrus orchards 3.8%, sugar beets 1.7%, and horticulture 2.4%. The remainder is primarily dedicated to pastures (25.9%) and feed grains (11.6%). The northern part of Italy produces primarily Maize corn, rice, sugar beets, soybeans, meat, fruits and dairy products, while the South specializes in wheat and citrus fruits. Livestock includes 6 million head of cattle, 8.6 million head of swine, 6.8 million head of sheep, and 0.9 million head of goats. The total annual production of the fishing industry in Italy from capture and aquaculture, including crustaceans and molluscs, is around 480,000 tons.


title: Economy of Italy

text: Italy is the largest producer of wine in the world, and one of the leading producers of olive oil, fruits (apples, olives, grapes, oranges, lemons, pears, apricots, hazelnuts, peaches, cherries, plums, strawberries, and kiwifruits), and vegetables (especially artichokes and tomatoes). The most famous Italian wines are the Tuscan Chianti and the Piedmontese Barolo. Other famous wines are Barbaresco, Barbera d'Asti, Brunello di Montalcino, Frascati, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Morellino di Scansano, Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG and the sparkling wines Franciacorta and Prosecco. Quality goods in which Italy specialises, particularly the already mentioned wines and regional cheeses, are often protected under the quality assurance labels DOC/DOP. This geographical indication certificate, which is attributed by the European Union, is considered important to avoid confusion with low-quality mass-produced ersatz products.


title: Economy of Italy

text: In fact, Italian cuisine is one of the most popular and copied around the world. The lack or total unavailability of some of its most characteristic ingredients outside of Italy, also and above all to falsifications (or food fraud), leads to the complete denaturalization of Italian ingredients. This phenomenon, widespread in all continents, is better known as "Italian Sounding", consisting in the use of words as well as images, colour combinations (the Italian tricolour), geographical references, brands evocative of Italy to promote and market agri-food products which in reality have nothing to do with Italian cuisine.


title: Economy of Italy

text: Italy is the world's sixth-largest manufacturing country. Italy has a smaller number of global multinational corporations than other economies of comparable size, but it has a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises, many of them grouped in clusters, which are the backbone of the Italian industry. This results in a manufacturing sector often focused on the export of niche market and luxury products, that is less capable of competing on quantity but is more capable of facing the competition of emerging economies based on lower labor costs, given the higher quality of its products.


title: Economy of Italy

text: The industrial districts are regionalized: in the Northwest there is a large modern group of industries, as in the so-called "industrial triangle" (Milan-Turin-Genoa), where there is an area of intense machinery, automotive, aerospace production and shipbuilding; in the Northeast, an area that experienced social and economic development mostly around family-based firms, there are mostly small and medium enterprises of lower technology but high craftsmanship, specializing in machinery, clothing, leather products, footwear, furniture, textiles, machine tools, spare parts, home appliances, and jewellery. In central Italy there are mostly small and medium size companies specializing in products such as textiles, leather, jewelry but also machinery.


title: Economy of Italy

text: The automotive industry in Italy is a significant part of the manufacturing sector, with over 144,000 firms and almost 485,000 employed people in 2015, and a contribution of 8.5% to Italian GDP. Italy's automotive industry is best known for its automobile designs and small city cars, sports and supercars. Italy is one of the significant automobile producers both in Europe and around the world. Today the Italian automotive industry is almost totally dominated by Fiat Group (now included in Stellantis corporation). As well as its own, predominantly mass market model range, Stellantis owns the mainstream Fiat brand, the upmarket Alfa Romeo and Lancia brands, and the exotic Maserati brand. Luxury cars such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati and Ducati motorcycles are also made in the Northeast's region of Emilia-Romagna. Italian cars won in the European Car of the Year annual award one of the most times among other countries (including Fiat most that any other manufacturer) and in World Car of the Year award also.


title: Economy of Italy

text: In Italy, services represent the most important sector of the economy, both in terms of number of employees (67% of the total) and value added (71%). Furthermore, the sector is by far the most dynamic: over 51% of the more than 5,000,000 companies operating in Italy today belong to the services sector, and in this sector over 67% of new businesses are born. Very important activities in Italy are tourism, trade, services to people and businesses (advanced tertiary).


title: Economy of Italy

text: In 2006 the main sectoral data are: for trade there are 1,600,000 enterprises, equal to 26% of the Italian entrepreneurial fabric, and over 3,500,000 work units. Transport, communications, tourism and consumption outside the home, over 582,000 businesses, equal to 9.5% of the entrepreneurial fabric, almost 3,500,000 work units. Business services: 630,000 registered companies, equal to 10.3% of the entrepreneurial fabric, over 2,800,000 work units. In 2004 the transport sector in Italy generated a turnover of about 119.4 billion euros, employing 935,700 persons in 153,700 enterprises.


title: Economy of Italy

text: Italian Bourse, based in Milan, is the Italian stock exchange. It manages and organises domestic market, regulating procedures for admission and listing of companies and intermediaries and supervising disclosures for listed companies. Following exchange privatisation in 1997, the Italian Bourse was established and became effective on 2 January 1998. On 23 June 2007, the Italian Bourse became a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group. As of April 2018, overall capitalisation for listed companies on Borsa Italiana was worth €644.3 billion, representing 37.8% of Italian GDP.


title: Economy of Italy

text: Italy is the fifth most visited country in international tourism, with a total of 52.3 million international arrivals in 2016. The total contribution of the tourism in Italy to GDP (including wider effects from investment, the supply chain and induced income impacts) was EUR162.7bn in 2014 (10.1% of GDP) and generated 1,082,000 jobs directly in 2014 (4.8% of total employment). Factors of tourist interest in Italy are mainly culture, cuisine, history, fashion, architecture, art, religious sites and routes, naturalistic beauties, nightlife, underwater sites and spas. Winter and summer tourism are present in many locations in the Alps and the Apennines, while seaside tourism is widespread in coastal locations on the Mediterranean Sea. Italy is the leading cruise tourism destination in the Mediterranean Sea.


title: Economy of Italy

text: The origins of modern banking can be traced to medieval and early Renaissance Italy, to the rich cities like Florence, Lucca, Siena, Venice and Genoa. The Bardi and Peruzzi families dominated banking in 14th-century Florence, establishing branches in many other parts of Europe. One of the most famous Italian banks was the Medici Bank, set up by Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici in 1397. The earliest known state deposit bank, the Bank of Saint George, was founded in 1407 in Genoa, while Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, founded in 1472, is the world's oldest or second oldest bank in continuous operation, depending on the definition, and the third-largest Italian commercial and retail bank. Today, among the financial services companies, UniCredit is one of the largest bank in Europe by capitalization and Assicurazioni Generali is second largest insurance group in the world by revenue after AXA.


title: Economy of Italy

text: The following is a list of the main Italian banks and insurance groups ranked by total assets and gross premiums written.


title: Economy of Italy

text: Italy consumed about 185 Mtoe of primary energy in 2010. This came mostly from fossil fuels. Among the most used resources are petroleum (mostly used for the transport sector), natural gas (used for electric energy production and heating), coal and renewables. Electricity is produced mainly from natural gas, which accounts for the source of more than half of the total final electric energy produced. Another important source is hydroelectric power, which was practically the only source of electricity until 1960.


title: Economy of Italy

text: Eni, with operations in 79 countries, is considered one of the seven "Supermajor" oil companies in the world, and one of the world's largest industrial companies. The Val d'Agri area, Basilicata, hosts the largest onshore hydrocarbon field in Europe. Moderate natural gas reserves, mainly in the Po Valley and offshore Adriatic Sea, have been discovered in recent years and constitute the country's most important mineral resource.


title: Economy of Italy

text: Most raw materials needed for manufacturing and more than 80% of the country's energy sources are imported (99.7% of the solid fuels demand, 92.5% of oil, 91.2% of natural gas and 13% of electricity). Due to its reliance on imports, Italians pay approximately 45% more than the EU average for electricity.


title: Economy of Italy

text: In the last decade, Italy has become one of the world's largest producers of renewable energy, ranking as the second largest producer in the European Union and the ninth in the world. Wind power, hydroelectricity, and geothermal power are also important sources of electricity in the country. Italy was the first country to exploit geothermal energy to produce electricity. The first Italian geothermal power plant was built in Tuscany, which is where all currently active geothermal plants in Italy are located. In 2014 the geothermal production was 5.92 TWh.


title: Economy of Italy

text: Solar energy production alone accounted for almost 9% of the total electric production in the country in 2014, making Italy the country with the highest contribution from solar energy in the world. The Montalto di Castro Photovoltaic Power Station, completed in 2010, is the largest photovoltaic power station in Italy with 85 MW. Other examples of large PV plants in Italy are San Bellino (70.6 MW), Cellino san Marco (42.7 MW) and Sant’ Alberto (34.6 MW). Italy was also the first country to exploit geothermal energy to produce electricity.