title: Blood of Zeus

text: Blood of Zeus, formerly known as Gods & Heroes, is an American adult animated fantasy action streaming television series created and written by Charley and Vlas Parlapanides for Netflix. Produced by Powerhouse Animation Studios with the animation outsourced to South Korean studios Mua Film and Hanho Heung-Up, the series was released on October 27, 2020, on Netflix.


title: Blood of Zeus

text: In early December 2020, Netflix renewed the show for a second season. According to the creators, they have five seasons outlined.


title: Blood of Zeus

text: Set in the world of Greek mythology, the series revolves around Heron, the demigod son of Zeus, trying to save Olympus and Earth. Though Heron-himself is an original character created exclusively for the show, the existence of such demigods born of the union between a god and a human is implied to be common in the original myths. The show claims in its prologue to be one of the tales "lost to history" rather, than passed down with our current canon of Greek myths. The show features gods, giants, demons, automata, and mythical mounts from the original tales.


title: Blood of Zeus

text: For the series, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes collected 20 reviews and identified 100% of them to be positive, with an average rating of 8.14/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Reforging Greek mythology as an epic battle royale with slick imagery and sterling voice acting, "Blood of Zeus" earns a spot on the Mount Olympus of action animation." Inverse.com called the series "Netflix's best American anime yet", while IGN gave it a 9/10 score. In a posting summarizing an interview on her podcast with the show's creators, Kate Sánchez argued that the series offers a "nuanced take on anger and how it relates to power" and noted how the series is part of the "continuing trend of adult animation." The show was nominated for an Annie Award for Best Music in 2021.


title: D. B. Woodside

text: David Bryan Woodside (born July 25, 1969) is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as the bass singer Melvin Franklin in "The Temptations", Robin Wood in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", Malcolm Franks in "Single Ladies", Dr. Joseph Prestridge in "Parenthood", the angel Amenadiel in "Lucifer", as well as Wayne Palmer in the thriller series "24".


title: D. B. Woodside

text: David Bryan Woodside was born in the Jamaica neighborhood of New York City's Queens borough on July 25, 1969. He has a BA from the State University of New York at Albany and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.


title: D. B. Woodside

text: Woodside got his start in the second season of "Murder One" in 1996, playing Aaron Mosley. After that series' cancellation, he guest starred on "The Practice", "Snoops", "The Division", and "Once and Again". He made a guest appearance on "JAG" in its final season as FBI agent Rod Benton. From 2002-2003, he starred in 14 episodes of the final season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" as Robin Wood, the Principal of Sunnydale High School. He followed this up by playing the pragmatic Wayne Palmer, the Chief of Staff, on the Fox series "24". Introduced in the third season, he returned to reprise the role as a guest star in the series' fifth season in episodes 1–2 and 14–18, and returned as a series regular for the sixth season as the President of the United States.


title: D. B. Woodside

text: Woodside had a guest role as Marlon Waylord in the 2004 "" episode "". In 2007, he was a guest star on the TV show "Grey's Anatomy" in the show's 4th-season episode "Forever Young" wherein he played the character of Marcus. Woodside also guest-starred as a doctor in the series finale of the USA Network series "Monk". He had a recurring role on the CW series "Hellcats". In 2009, he starred in the first series of the US drama "Lie to Me". He starred as Malcolm Franks on the VH1 series "Single Ladies", playing opposite LisaRaye McCoy as Keisha Greene. In June 2014, he began appearing in "Suits" as Jeff Malone. In 2016, he began playing the angel Amenadiel in the Fox/Netflix series "Lucifer".


title: D. B. Woodside

text: Woodside was in a relationship with actress Golden Brooks from 2008 to 2010. They have a daughter, who was born in 2009.


title: EFootball

text: eFootball is an association football simulation video game developed and published by Konami. It is a free-to-play game after being completely rebranded from the original "Pro Evolution Soccer" (known as "Winning Eleven" in Japan) series to the "eFootball" series. The game's first year, entitled eFootball 2022, was released on 30 September 2021. It was later changed to the game's second year, eFootball 2023, on August 25, 2022. This game is part of IESF World Championship and North and Eastern Europa League (NEEC).


title: EFootball

text: On 21 July 2021, Konami released a six-minute video revealing the new game. The announcement revealed that the "Pro Evolution Soccer" brand had been dropped.


title: EFootball

text: The game was released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series on 30 September 2021. It was built using Unreal Engine 4 for the first time in the franchise.


title: EFootball

text: On 8 October 2021, Konami announced that it would release a new update with fixes for the game's issues on 28 October 2021. The update was delayed and the release postponed to November 2021. Konami then launched the update 0.9.1 on 5 November, and announced that the 1.0 update release was delayed until Spring 2022. Version 1.0.0 of "eFootball 2022" was finally announced on 6 April 2022, with release date on 14 April 2022.


title: EFootball

text: On 31 May 2022, Konami announced their roadmap for the rest of 2022 up until 2023 for features such as Master League and the number of teams that can be used in offline mode which will all be released as paid content.


title: EFootball

text: Later on 25 August 2022, eFootball now has been updated to eFootball 2023, with new club and league licences and other improvements. New club licences, Club America, Chivas de Guadalajara, AC Milan and Inter now will be featured again in eFootball, however, Juventus will be not featured again in eFootball, after they had an agreement to be featured in FIFA 23. Liga MX and the rest of clubs, now has been featured as a league in eFootball. On 3 October 2022, eFootball updated with the new features, adding with some new club licences, updated players, updated faces, etc. However, 25 full leagues' worth of club teams and all national teams were still unable to be played with in all modes except training mode.


title: EFootball

text: At launch, "eFootball" was panned by critics and players, who criticized the "atrocious" graphics, lack of content, laggy engine and finicky controls. With 92% negative reviews, it became the worst-rated game on Steam a day after launch, and the lowest-rated game of 2021 on the review aggregator Metacritic. Konami later apologised for the game's many issues and said they would work on improving it. A major "1.0" update, that aimed to address many of these issues, was released 14 April 2022 on PC and consoles, and remains unscheduled for mobile devices.


title: E number

text: E numbers ("E" stands for "Europe") are codes for substances used as food additives, including those found naturally in many foods such as vitamin C, for use within the European Union (EU)<ref name="1333/2008"></ref> and European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Commonly found on food labels, their safety assessment and approval are the responsibility of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The fact that an additive has an E number implies that its use was at one time permitted in products for sale in the European Single Market; some of these additives are no longer allowed today.


title: E number

text: Having a single unified list for food additives was first agreed upon in 1962 with food colouring. In 1964, the directives for preservatives were added, in 1970 antioxidants were added, in 1974 emulsifiers, stabilisers, thickeners and gelling agents were added as well.


title: E number

text: The numbering scheme follows that of the International Numbering System (INS) as determined by the "Codex Alimentarius" committee, though only a subset of the INS additives are approved for use in the European Union as food additives. Outside the European continent plus Russia, E numbers are also encountered on food labelling in other jurisdictions, including the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and India.


title: E number

text: In some European countries, the "E number" is used informally as a derogatory term for artificial food additives. For example, in the UK, food companies are required to include the ‘E Number(s)’ in the ingredients that are added as part of the manufacturing process. Many components of naturally occurring healthy foods and vitamins have assigned E numbers (and the number is a synonym for the chemical component), e.g. vitamin C (E300) and lycopene (E160d), found in carrots.


title: E number

text: NB: Not all examples of a class fall into the given numeric range. Moreover, many chemicals, particularly in the E400–499 range, have a variety of purposes.


title: E number

text: The list shows all components that have an E-number assigned, "even those no longer allowed in the EU".


title: Kelly Kelly

text: Barbara Blank Coba (born Barbara Jean Blank; January 15, 1987), known professionally as Barbie Blank and by her ring name Kelly Kelly, is an American professional wrestler and model.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: Blank has a background in gymnastics and cheerleading, and worked as a model for Venus Swimwear and Hawaiian Tropic. In 2006, Blank was signed to a contract by WWE and, after training in Ohio Valley Wrestling, she debuted on the ECW brand in June 2006 as 'Kelly Kelly'. Primarily appearing in a non-wrestling role, she was a member of Extreme Exposé with Layla and Brooke Adams. Beginning in late 2007, she began participating in more wrestling matches, and unsuccessfully challenged for both the WWE Divas Championship and the WWE Women's Championship on multiple occasions. In June 2011, she won the WWE Divas Championship, commencing a four-month reign. She left WWE in 2012, but has since returned for occasional appearances and matches. On the "Raw Reunion" special on July 22, 2019, she pinned Gerald Brisco to win the WWE 24/7 Championship, becoming the first woman to win the title. She is a two-time champion in WWE.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: Blank has also appeared on a number of television shows, and was a main cast member of the reality television program "WAGS". She made her film acting debut in "Disturbing the Peace", which was released on January 17, 2020.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: Barbara Jean Blank was born on January 15, 1987, in Jacksonville, Florida, to a Jewish father and Christian mother. She was a fan of professional wrestling as a child, and cites Stone Cold Steve Austin as her favorite wrestler. While growing up, she participated in gymnastics for ten years, before she was forced to quit due to an injury. She later took up cheerleading. She attended University Christian School and graduated from Englewood High School. She then attended Florida Community College at Jacksonville, where she studied broadcast journalism, hoping to become a television anchor. She was also a Hawaiian Tropic and Venus Swimwear bikini model before she entered professional wrestling.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: In 2006, while working as a model, Blank was seen by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) official John Laurinaitis, who was interested in signing her to a contract. WWE contacted her modeling agency and invited her to their developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), for a tryout. Despite having no previous wrestling experience she was offered a contract, which she signed in May 2006. Even after being called up to the main roster she continued to fly back and forth to OVW's base city Louisville, Kentucky, once a week to work shows; first as a ring announcer and referee, then as a wrestler. One of her first matches took place at the September 6 television tapings where she participated in a Women's battle royal won by ODB. In late 2007, she also made an appearance in Florida Championship Wrestling, WWE's new developmental territory.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: Blank debuted for the ECW brand as Kelly Kelly. Originally, she was to be named just 'Kelly', but her ring name was expanded to 'Kelly Kelly' by WWE CEO Vince McMahon. She made her debut on the first episode of the weekly television program on June 13, 2006, becoming the youngest Diva on the WWE roster, aged 19. Her character, an exhibitionist, was introduced performing a striptease for the crowd. The next week, while performing another striptease, Kelly was interrupted by her on-screen boyfriend, Mike Knox, who came to the stage and covered her with a towel before dragging her backstage. Her stripping became a weekly segment known as "Kelly's Exposé" and usually followed the same routine; Kelly would dance and strip until she was stopped by Knox. Knox began forcing Kelly to accompany him to ringside so he could keep an eye on her, making her his "de facto" valet. As a result, she found herself involved in the feud developing between Knox and his tag team partner Test and the team of Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman. This included her being inadvertently hit with a cane by Sandman when Knox used her as a shield. She made her ECW in-ring debut on the August 22, edition of "ECW" During an extreme bikini contest segment between Torrie Wilson and herself, Test and Mike Knox interrupted the contest stopping Kelly before she had a chance to disrobe. Leading Tommy Dreamer and Sandman to come in through the crowd, Sandman took the mic and challenged Test, Knox and Kelly in a six-person mixed tag team match. Kelly, Knox and Test went on to lose to Dreamer, Sandman, and Wilson.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: Kelly and Knox progressed into a storyline with CM Punk in September, in which Kelly developed a liking for Punk, flirting with him and watching his matches, and Knox became increasingly jealous. This led to a match between Knox and Punk, during which Kelly cheered for Punk. At December to Dismember, Kelly and Knox faced Ariel and Kevin Thorn in a mixed tag team match, during which Knox refused to tag in before leaving her. On the following episode of "ECW", Kelly defeated Ariel with a roll-up in her first singles match. Afterward, Knox made his way to the ring with flowers, but ended up performing his signature swinging reverse STO on her, ending their relationship and giving her a scripted injury—removing her from television for six weeks.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: She returned on January 16, 2007, to announce she was newly single and bringing back "Kelly's Exposé". The following week, she joined forces with Layla and Brooke to form Extreme Exposé. The trio performed a weekly dance segment on "ECW" for the next several months. On November 1, Brooke was released from her WWE contract, and Extreme Exposé dissolved as a group. This left Kelly and Layla to enter an ongoing rivalry with more active wrestling roles. On the October 29 episode of "Raw", Kelly won a battle royal to earn a match against the WWE Women's Champion, Beth Phoenix. Kelly lost the subsequent match the following week on "Raw". Kelly continued to feud with Layla, and they were on opposite sides of a 10-Diva tag team match at Survivor Series, which Kelly's team won. In April 2008, Kelly was part of the losing team in a five-on-five Divas match at the Backlash pay-per-view.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: In July, Kelly was moved to the Raw brand and debuted for the brand by teaming with Mickie James to defeat Layla and Jillian Hall. She quickly became involved in a feud with Beth Phoenix, facing her on multiple occasions in both singles and tag team matches with a variety of partners, including Mickie James and Candice Michelle. In September, Kelly transitioned into a feud with Phoenix's ally, Jillian Hall. At the Survivor Series pay-per-view in November, Kelly was part of the victorious team in a five-on-five elimination match. During the match, she eliminated Victoria, before being eliminated by Maryse. The following month at the Armageddon pay-per-view, Kelly teamed with Maria, Michelle McCool, and James in a winning effort against Hall, Maryse, Victoria, and Natalya.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: On the May 18 episode of "Raw", Kelly won a battle royal to become the number one contender to the WWE Divas Championship. The following week, she challenged Maryse for the championship and won by disqualification, with Maryse retaining the title. Kelly lost a subsequent rematch by pinfall two weeks later on June 8. In June, she competed in a fatal four-way match to determine the number one contender, but the match was won by James. Throughout the remainder of mid-2009, Kelly unsuccessfully competed in several number one contender matches.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: At the Bragging Rights pay-per-view in October, Kelly, Gail Kim, and Melina comprised Team Raw, but lost to Team SmackDown (Phoenix, Natalya, and McCool). The following month at the Survivor Series pay-per-view, Kelly participated in a five-on-five elimination match, which her team won. She eliminated Layla before being eliminated by Phoenix. In January 2010, Kelly participated in the tournament to determine a new Divas Champion, after Melina was forced to vacate the championship due to injury. She was eliminated by Alicia Fox in the first round. Throughout early 2010, Kelly was involved in several backstage segments with the guest hosts of "Raw". At WrestleMania XXVI, Kelly teamed with Phoenix, Kim, James, and Eve Torres in a losing effort to McCool, Layla, Maryse, Fox, and Vickie Guerrero. The following night on "Raw", the teams faced off in a rematch with the opposite result. The following week, Kelly took part in a 10-Diva Dress To Impress battle royal, to determine the number one contender for Maryse's Divas Championship, but the match was won by Torres.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: During the 2010 WWE Draft on April 26, Kelly was drafted to the SmackDown brand, making her the first drafted female wrestler on television. She quickly began to feud with LayCool (Michelle McCool and Layla), and gained an ally in Tiffany. After defeating both Layla and McCool in singles matches, she received another WWE Women's Championship match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view in July, but was unsuccessful. On August 31, Kelly announced that she would be a mentor on season three of "NXT", with Naomi as her rookie. Throughout the second half of 2010, Kelly continued to feud with LayCool, and gained an ally in Natalya in October. In November, Kelly's "NXT" rookie, Naomi was named runner-up to the winner, Kaitlyn during the season finale.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: On January 30, 2011, at the Royal Rumble, Kelly prevented the Acting General Manager Vickie Guerrero from interfering in the World Heavyweight Championship match between Edge and Dolph Ziggler. On the following "SmackDown", Kelly and Edge defeated LayCool and Ziggler in a two-on-three handicap match to retain Edge's World Heavyweight Championship. Afterward, Guerrero fired Kelly in storyline. At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view later that month, Kelly was re-hired by SmackDown General Manager Teddy Long, and made her return by attacking Guerrero. She was stopped by LayCool, who were in turn stopped by Trish Stratus. The next week, on "SmackDown", Kelly and Edge defeated Guerrero and Drew McIntyre in a mixed tag team match, causing Guerrero to be fired in storyline per the pre-match stipulation.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: On April 26, Kelly was drafted back to the Raw brand as part of the 2011 supplemental draft, where she received a push and began feuding with The Bella Twins. On May 22 at the Over the Limit pay-per-view, Kelly unsuccessfully challenged Brie Bella for the WWE Divas Championship. The following month, on the "Power to the People" special edition of "Raw" on June 20, Kelly won a fan vote to determine the challenger for the Divas Championship that night. Kelly went on to win her first WWE Divas Championship by defeating Brie Bella. Her win later garnered her a Slammy Award for Divalicious Moment of the Year. At the Money in the Bank pay-per-view in July, Kelly made her first title defense by defeating Bella in a rematch. On August 1, Phoenix won a battle royal to become the number one contender to Kelly's championship, and afterward attacked Kelly to provoke a feud. Kelly successfully defended her championship against Phoenix at both SummerSlam and Night of Champions. Kelly lost the championship to Phoenix at Hell in a Cell in October, ending her reign at 104 days. In subsequent rematches on "SmackDown" and at , Kelly failed to regain the title.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: Kelly spent early 2012 participating in several tag team matches. At WrestleMania XXVIII in April, Kelly and "Extra" correspondent Maria Menounos defeated Beth Phoenix and Eve in a tag team match. In June, WWE granted Kelly a period of time off, and she returned on "Raw" on August 6, defeating Eve. On September 28, 2012, Blank was released from her WWE contract. In a December 2012 interview, Blank stated she needed time off to heal a neck injury, and had plans to model.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: Blank was set to appear at her first independent wrestling show in Waterbury, Connecticut at a Northeast Wrestling event on November 4, 2012, followed by a house show event on November 5, but her appearances were canceled due to Hurricane Sandy. Blank eventually made her first appearance for Northeast Wrestling on December 4. At House of Hardcore 43 in May 2018, Blank made a surprise appearance and helped Chelsea Green defeat Paredyse by tripping his valet, Rebel, off the ring apron.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: Blank returned to WWE on February 13, 2017, by being featured in a backstage interview for WWE's official website during "Raw". She later appeared during WrestleMania weekend, including at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and appeared on an episode of the WWE Network exclusive "Table for 3".


title: Kelly Kelly

text: On January 22, 2018, Blank appeared at the "Raw 25 Years" special, being honored as one of the historic women of WWE. A few days later, on January 28 at the Royal Rumble event, Blank competed in the first women's royal rumble match, where she entered at number 19, and was eliminated by Nia Jax. In October 2018, Blank participated in a battle royal at WWE's first all-female pay-per-view WWE Evolution; she was eliminated by Mandy Rose.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: On July 22, 2019, Blank returned during "Raw Reunion", where she pinned Gerald Brisco backstage to become the first female 24/7 Champion. Kelly then lost the title to Candice Michelle, with Melina as the referee.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: She returned to the ring again on the January 26, 2020, event Royal Rumble, entering at number 21 before being eliminated by Charlotte Flair. Blank appeared on "Raw" the following night on January 27, 2020, in a backstage segment with Street Profits. On November 22, Kelly appeared on WWE's "Watch Along" by watching and recapping Survivor Series.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: On the January 7, 2022, episode of "SmackDown", Blank was announced as a participant in the women's Royal Rumble match at Royal Rumble, marking her third appearance as a surprise entrant. She entered at number 4 and was quickly eliminated by Sasha Banks.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: Blank has appeared in six WWE video games. She made her in-game debut in "SmackDown vs. Raw 2008". Blank also appears in "SmackDown vs. Raw 2009", "SmackDown vs. Raw 2010", "SmackDown vs. Raw 2011", "WWE '12" and "WWE '13".


title: Kelly Kelly

text: In April 2007, Blank, along with Ashley Massaro, Layla El, Brooke Adams, Torrie Wilson, and Maryse Ouellet, appeared in a music video for the Timbaland song "Throw It on Me", featuring The Hives.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: On April 11, 2008, Blank along with Mickie James, Melina Perez, and Layla El appeared in an episode of "" as trainers. Six days later, she appeared as a "Soccerette" on the British football show "Soccer AM". She appeared a second time on "Soccer AM" in 2009. On June 14, 2011, Kelly and The Bella Twins appeared on an episode of "The Price Is Right". Blank was nominated as "Favorite Butt Kicker" for the 2012 Kids' Choice Awards.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: In August 2007, all three members of Extreme Exposé took part in a photo-shoot for "FHM Online". In 2011, Blank was ranked number 82 in "Maxim"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Hot 100, being the first woman from WWE to appear on the cover of "Maxim" magazine. Blank was later featured on both the front and back covers of "Maxim" in December 2011. In 2012, Blank ranked number 38 in "Maxim"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Hot 100.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: Blank was one of the cast members of the E! reality television series "WAGS", which began airing in August 2015 and features a look into the personal lives of the wives and girlfriends of sportsmen. The show was cancelled in 2018.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: Blank made her acting debut on the January 30, 2017, episode of "Days of Our Lives", appearing in a scene as a waitress who gives information to one of the show's main characters. Her film debut came in 2020's "Disturbing the Peace", as Amanda.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: On August 16, 2020, Blank unveiled her new YouTube channel which features video blogs on her daily life.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: Blank has her own wine label called B Tasteful in collaboration with Smith Devereux Winery. Blank is also a fashion influencer, serving as an ambassador on "Instagram" for brands including Fashion Nova and PrettyLittleThing.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: While training at OVW, Blank lived in Kentucky. Following this, Blank lived in Tampa, Florida prior to moving to Miami. She then returned to living in Tampa in 2010.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: Blank was in a two-year relationship with wrestler Andrew "Test" Martin, that had ended prior to his death in March 2009. In 2011, Blank met ice hockey player Sheldon Souray at a "Maxim" party, and the pair began dating. They got married in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on February 27, 2016, and split time between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The couple separated and filed for divorce in 2017. She had a brief relationship with singer-songwriter Cole Swindell in 2019, but the two broke up three months after making their first public appearance at that year's Academy of Country Music Awards.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: In February 2018, Blank's father Ron died. In 2019, Blank founded a non-profit charity with Drs. Shawn Carbonell and Luzanne Otte named "Cure Glioblastoma", the same disease her father died from. The purpose of the charity is building awareness and solutions for brain cancer.


title: Kelly Kelly

text: On May 29, 2020, Blank got engaged to bodybuilder Joe Coba in Sedona, Arizona. They got married on April 9, 2021, in Oak Glen, California. Their wedding was featured on the "Brides" magazine.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: A ballpoint pen, also known as a biro (British English), ball pen (Hong Kong, Indian and Philippine English), or dot pen (Nepali) is a pen that dispenses ink (usually in paste form) over a metal ball at its point, i.e. over a "ball point". The metal commonly used is steel, brass, or tungsten carbide. The design was conceived and developed as a cleaner and more reliable alternative to dip pens and fountain pens, and it is now the world's most-used writing instrument; millions are manufactured and sold daily. It has influenced art and graphic design and spawned an artwork genre.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: The concept of using a "ball point" within a writing instrument to apply ink to paper has existed since the late 19th century. In these inventions, the ink was placed in a thin tube whose end was blocked by a tiny ball, held so that it could not slip into the tube or fall out of the pen.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: The first patent for a ballpoint pen was issued on 30 October 1888 to John J. Loud, who was attempting to make a writing instrument that would be able to write "on rough surfaces—such as wood, coarse wrapping-paper, and other articles" which fountain pens could not. Loud's pen had a small rotating steel ball held in place by a socket. Although it could be used to mark rough surfaces such as leather, as Loud intended, it proved too coarse for letter-writing. With no commercial viability, its potential went unexploited, and the patent eventually lapsed.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: The manufacture of economical, reliable ballpoint pens as are known today arose from experimentation, modern chemistry, and precision manufacturing capabilities of the early 20th century. Patents filed worldwide during early development are testaments to failed attempts at making the pens commercially viable and widely available. Early ballpoints did not deliver the ink evenly; overflow and clogging were among the obstacles inventors faced toward developing reliable ballpoint pens. If the ball socket were too tight or the ink too thick, it would not reach the paper. If the socket were too loose or the ink too thin, the pen would leak, or the ink would smear. Ink reservoirs pressurized by a piston, spring, capillary action, and gravity would all serve as solutions to ink-delivery and flow problems.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: László Bíró, a Hungarian newspaper editor (later naturalized Argentine) frustrated by the amount of time that he wasted filling up fountain pens and cleaning up smudged pages, noticed that inks used in newspaper printing dried quickly, leaving the paper dry and smudge-free. He decided to create a pen using the same type of ink. Bíró enlisted the help of his brother György, a dentist with useful knowledge of chemistry, to develop viscous ink formulae for new ballpoint designs.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: Bíró's innovation successfully coupled ink-viscosity with a ball-socket mechanism which acted compatibly to prevent ink from drying inside the reservoir while allowing controlled flow. Bíró filed a British patent on 15 June 1938.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: In 1941, the Bíró brothers and a friend, Juan Jorge Meyne, fled Germany and moved to Argentina, where they formed "Bíró Pens of Argentina" and filed a new patent in 1943. Their pen was sold in Argentina as the "Birome" from the names Bíró and Meyne, which is how ballpoint pens are still known in that country. This new design was licensed by the British engineer Frederick George Miles and manufactured by his company Miles Aircraft, to be used by Royal Air Force aircrew as the "Biro". Ballpoint pens were found to be more versatile than fountain pens, especially at high altitudes, where fountain pens were prone to leak.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: Bíró's patent, and other early patents on ballpoint pens, often used the term "ball-point fountain pen".


title: Ballpoint pen

text: Following World War II, many companies vied to commercially produce their own ballpoint pen design. In pre-war Argentina, success of the Birome ballpoint was limited, but in mid-1945, the Eversharp Co., a maker of mechanical pencils, teamed up with Eberhard Faber Co. to license the rights from Birome for sales in the United States.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: In 1946, a Catalan firm, Vila Sivill Hermanos, began to make a ballpoint, Regia Continua, and from 1953 to 1957 their factory also made Bic ballpoints, on contract with the French firm Société Bic.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: During the same period, American entrepreneur Milton Reynolds came across a Birome ballpoint pen during a business trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Recognizing commercial potential, he purchased several ballpoint samples, returned to the United States, and founded the Reynolds International Pen Company. Reynolds bypassed the Birome patent with sufficient design alterations to obtain an American patent, beating Eversharp and other competitors to introduce the pen to the US market. Debuting at Gimbels department store in New York City on 29 October 1945, for US$12.50 each (1945 US dollar value, about $ in dollars), "Reynolds Rocket" became the first commercially successful ballpoint pen. Reynolds went to great extremes to market the pen, with great success; Gimbel's sold many thousands of pens within one week. In Britain, the Miles Martin pen company was producing the first commercially successful ballpoint pens there by the end of 1945.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: Neither Reynolds' nor Eversharp's ballpoint lived up to consumer expectations in America. Ballpoint pen sales peaked in 1946, and consumer interest subsequently plunged due to market saturation. By the early 1950s the ballpoint boom had subsided and Reynolds' company folded.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: Paper Mate pens, among the emerging ballpoint brands of the 1950s, bought the rights to distribute their own ballpoint pens in Canada. Facing concerns about ink-reliability, Paper Mate pioneered new ink formulas and advertised them as "banker-approved". In 1954, Parker Pens released "The Jotter"—the company's first ballpoint—boasting additional features and technological advances which also included the use of tungsten-carbide textured ball-bearings in their pens. In less than a year, Parker sold several million pens at prices between three and nine dollars. In the 1960s, the failing Eversharp Co. sold its pen division to Parker and ultimately folded.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: Marcel Bich also introduced a ballpoint pen to the American marketplace in the 1950s, licensed from Bíró and based on the Argentine designs. Bich shortened his name to Bic in 1953, forming the ballpoint brand Bic now recognized globally. Bic pens struggled until the company launched its "Writes The First Time, Every Time!" advertising campaign in the 1960s. Competition during this era forced unit prices to drop considerably.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: Ballpoint pen ink is normally a paste containing around 25 to 40 percent dye. The dyes are suspended in a mixture of solvents and fatty acids. The most common of the solvents are benzyl alcohol or phenoxyethanol, which mix with the dyes and oils to create a smooth paste that dries quickly. The fatty acids help to lubricate the ball tip while writing. Hybrid inks also contain added lubricants in the ink to provide a smoother writing experience. The drying time of the ink varies depending upon the viscosity of the ink and the diameter of the ball.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: In general, the more viscous the ink, the faster it will dry, but more writing pressure needs to be applied to dispense ink. But although they are less viscous, hybrid inks have a faster drying time compared to normal ballpoint inks. Also, a larger ball dispenses more ink and thus increases drying time.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: The dyes used in blue and black ballpoint pens are basic dyes based on triarylmethane and acid dyes derived from diazo compounds or phthalocyanine. Common dyes in blue (and black) ink are Prussian blue, Victoria blue, methyl violet, crystal violet, and phthalocyanine blue. The dye eosin is commonly used for red ink.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: The inks are resistant to water after drying but can be defaced by certain solvents which include acetone and various alcohols.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: Ballpoint pens are produced in both disposable and refillable models. Refills allow for the entire internal ink reservoir, including a ballpoint and socket, to be replaced. Such characteristics are usually associated with designer-type pens or those constructed of finer materials. The simplest types of ballpoint pens are disposable and have a cap to cover the tip when the pen is not in use, or a mechanism for retracting the tip, which varies between manufacturers but is usually a spring- or screw-mechanism.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: Rollerball pens employ the same ballpoint mechanics, but with the use of water-based inks instead of oil-based inks. Compared to oil-based ballpoints, rollerball pens are said to provide more fluid ink-flow, but the water-based inks will blot if held stationary against the writing surface. Water-based inks also remain wet longer when freshly applied and are thus prone to "smearing"—posing problems to left-handed people (or right handed people writing right-to-left script)—and "running", should the writing surface become wet.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: Some ballpoint pens use a hybrid ink formulation whose viscosity is lower than that of standard ballpoint ink, but greater than rollerball ink. The ink dries faster than a gel pen to prevent smearing when writing. These pens are better suited for left-handed persons. Examples are the Uni-ball Jetstream and Pilot Acroball ranges. These pens are also labelled "extra smooth", as they offer a smoother writing experience compared to normal ballpoint pens.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: Because of a ballpoint pen's reliance on gravity to coat the ball with ink, most cannot be used to write upside-down. However, technology developed by Fisher pens in the United States resulted in the production of what came to be known as the "Fisher Space Pen". Space Pens combine a more viscous ink with a pressurized ink reservoir that forces the ink toward the point. Unlike standard ballpoints, the rear end of a Space Pen's pressurized reservoir is sealed, eliminating evaporation and leakage, thus allowing the pen to write upside-down, in zero-gravity environments, and reportedly underwater. Astronauts have made use of these pens in outer space.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: Ballpoint pens with erasable ink were pioneered by the Paper Mate pen company. The ink formulas of erasable ballpoints have properties similar to rubber cement, allowing the ink to be literally rubbed clean from the writing surface before drying and eventually becoming permanent. Erasable ink is much thicker than standard ballpoint inks, requiring pressurized cartridges to facilitate inkflow—meaning they can also write upside-down. Though these pens are equipped with erasers, any eraser will suffice.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: The inexpensive, disposable Bic Cristal (also simply "Bic pen" or "Biro") is reportedly the most widely sold pen in the world. It was the Bic company's first product and is still synonymous with the company name. The Bic Cristal is part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, acknowledged for its industrial design. Its hexagonal barrel mimics that of a wooden pencil and is transparent, showing the ink level in the reservoir. Originally a sealed streamlined cap, the modern pen cap has a small hole at the top to meet safety standards, helping to prevent suffocation if children suck it into the throat.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: Multi-pens are pens that feature multiple varying colored pen refills. Sometimes ballpoint refills are combined with another non-ballpoint refill, usually a mechanical pencil. Sometimes ballpoint pens combine a ballpoint tip on one end and touchscreen stylus on the other.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: Ballpoint pens are sometimes provided free by businesses, such as hotels and banks, printed with a company's name and logo. Ballpoints have also been produced to commemorate events, such as a pen commemorating the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. These pens, known as "advertising pens," are the same as standard ballpoint pen models, but have become valued among collectors.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: Sometimes ballpoint pens are also produced as design objects. With cases made of metal or wood, they become individually styled utility objects.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: Ballpoint pens have proven to be a versatile art medium for professional artists as well as amateur doodlers. Low cost, availability, and portability are cited by practitioners as qualities which make this common writing tool a convenient, alternative art supply. Some artists use them within mixed-media works, while others use them solely as their medium-of-choice.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: Effects not generally associated with ballpoint pens can be achieved. Traditional pen-and-ink techniques such as stippling and cross-hatching can be used to create half-tones or the illusion of form and volume. For artists whose interests necessitate precision line-work, ballpoints are an obvious attraction; ballpoint pens allow for sharp lines not as effectively executed using a brush. Finely applied, the resulting imagery has been mistaken for airbrushed artwork and photography, causing reactions of disbelief which ballpoint artist Lennie Mace refers to as the "Wow Factor".


title: Ballpoint pen

text: Famous 20th-century artists such as Andy Warhol, among others, have utilized ballpoint pens to some extent during their careers. Ballpoint pen artwork continues to attract interest in the 21st century, with contemporary artists gaining recognition for their specific use of ballpoint pens; for their technical proficiency, imagination, and innovation. Korean-American artist Il Lee has been creating large-scale, ballpoint-only abstract artwork since the late 1970s. Since the 1980s, Lennie Mace creates imaginative, ballpoint-only artwork of varying content and complexity, applied to unconventional surfaces including wood and denim. The artist coined terms such as "PENtings" and "Media Graffiti" to describe his varied output. More recently, British artist James Mylne has been creating photo-realistic artwork using mostly black ballpoints, sometimes with minimal mixed-media color.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: Using ballpoint pens to create artwork is not without limitations. Color availability and sensitivity of ink to light are among concerns of ballpoint pen artists. Mistakes pose greater risks to ballpoint artists; once a line is drawn, it generally cannot be erased. Additionally, "blobbing" of ink on the drawing surface and "skipping" of ink-flow require consideration when using ballpoint pens for artistic purposes. Although the mechanics of ballpoint pens remain relatively unchanged, ink composition has evolved to solve certain problems over the years, resulting in unpredictable sensitivity to light and some extent of fading.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: Although designs and construction vary between brands, basic components of all ballpoint pens are universal. Standard components of a ballpoint tip include the freely rotating "ball" itself (distributing the ink on the writing surface), a "socket" holding the ball in place, small "ink channels" that provide ink to the ball through the socket, and a self-contained "ink reservoir" supplying ink to the ball. In modern disposable pens, narrow plastic tubes contain the ink, which is compelled downward to the ball by gravity. Brass, steel, or tungsten carbide are used to manufacture the ball bearing-like points, then housed in a brass socket.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: The function of these components can be compared with the ball-applicator of roll-on antiperspirant; the same technology at a larger scale. The ballpoint tip delivers the ink to the writing surface while acting as a "buffer" between the ink in the reservoir and the air outside, preventing the quick-drying ink from drying inside the reservoir. Modern ballpoints are said to have a two-year shelf life, on average.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: A ballpoint tip that can write comfortably for a long period of time is not easy to produce, as it requires high-precision machinery and thin high-grade steel alloy plates. China, which produces about 80 percent of the world's ballpoint pens, relied on imported ballpoint tips and metal alloys before 2017.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: The common ballpoint pen is a product of mass production, with components produced separately on assembly lines. Basic steps in the manufacturing process include the production of ink formulas, molding of metal and plastic components, and assembly. Marcel Bich (leading to Société Bic) was involved in developing the production of inexpensive ballpoint pens.


title: Ballpoint pen

text: The International Organization for Standardization has published standards for ball point and roller ball pens:


title: Research Triangle

text: The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont region of North Carolina in the United States, anchored by the cities of Raleigh and Durham and the town of Chapel Hill, home to three major research universities: North Carolina State University, Duke University, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, respectively. The nine-county region, officially named the Raleigh–Durham–Cary combined statistical area (CSA), comprises the Raleigh–Cary and Durham–Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical Areas and the Henderson Micropolitan Statistical Area. The "Triangle" name originated in the 1950s with the creation of Research Triangle Park, located between the three anchor cities and home to numerous high tech companies.


title: Research Triangle

text: A 2019 Census estimate put the population at 2,079,687, making it the second largest combined statistical area in the state of North Carolina behind Charlotte CSA. The Raleigh–Durham television market includes a broader 24-county area which includes Fayetteville, North Carolina, and has a population of 2,726,000 persons.


title: Research Triangle

text: Most of the Triangle is part of North Carolina's first, second, fourth, ninth, and thirteenth congressional districts.


title: Research Triangle

text: The region is sometimes confused with The Triad, which is a North Carolina region adjacent to and directly west of the Triangle comprising Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point, among other cities.


title: Research Triangle

text: Depending on which definition of the Research Triangle region is used, as few as three or as many as 16 counties are included as part of the region. All of these counties when included hold a population of over 2,167,000 people.


title: Research Triangle

text: The three core counties of Wake, Durham and Orange are the homes of the three research universities for which the area is named.


title: Research Triangle

text: All counties in the State of North Carolina are in one of 16 regional councils which provide programs and services to local governments. The Triangle J Council of Governments includes Chatham, Durham, Johnston, Lee, Moore, Orange, and Wake Counties. The northern Triangle counties of Person, Granville, Franklin, Vance and Warren are part of the Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments.


title: Research Triangle

text: As of September 14, 2018, the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) delineated the Raleigh-Durham-Cary Combined Statistical Area as consisting of two metropolitan and one micropolitan statistical areas. Those three statistical areas in turn are defined as consisting of a total of nine counties. The MSAs and their constituent counties are:


title: Research Triangle

text: Prior to September 2018, the OMB had used the name Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Combined Statistical Area and it included several additional counties. The Dunn Micropolitan Statistical Area (Harnett County) and Sanford Micropolitan Statistical Area (Lee County) were moved to the Fayetteville-Sanford-Lumberton Combined Statistical Area, while the Oxford Micropolitan Statistical Area (Granville County) was folded into the Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Raleigh Metropolitan Statistical Area was also renamed the Raleigh-Cary Metropolitan Statistical Area.


title: Research Triangle

text: The table below outlines the populations of the constituent counties of the Raleigh–Durham-Cary Combined Statistical Area as of the 2020 Census.


title: Research Triangle

text: The Triangle region, as defined for statistical purposes as the Raleigh–Durham–Cary CSA, comprises nine counties, although the U.S. Census Bureau divided the region into two metropolitan statistical areas and one micropolitan area in 2003. The Raleigh-Cary metropolitan area comprises Wake, Franklin, and Johnston Counties; the Durham-Chapel Hill metropolitan area comprises Durham, Orange, Chatham, Granville, and Person Counties; and the Henderson micropolitan area comprises Vance County.


title: Research Triangle

text: Some area television stations define the region as Raleigh–Durham–Fayetteville. Fayetteville is more than from Raleigh, but is part of the Triangle television market.


title: Research Triangle

text: Public secondary education in the Triangle is similar to that of the majority of the state of North Carolina, in which there are county-wide school systems (the exception is Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools within Orange County but apart from Orange County Schools). Based in Cary, the Wake County Public School System, which includes the cities of Raleigh and Cary, is the largest school system in the state of North Carolina and the 15th-largest in the United States, with average daily enrollment of 159,949 as of the second month of the 2016–17 school year. Other larger systems in the region include Durham Public Schools (about 33,000 students) and rapidly growing Johnston County Schools (about 31,000 students).


title: Research Triangle

text: With the significant number of universities and colleges in the area and the relative absence of major league professional sports, NCAA sports are very popular, particularly those sports in which the Atlantic Coast Conference participates, most notably basketball.


title: Research Triangle

text: The Duke Blue Devils (representing Duke University in Durham), NC State Wolfpack (representing North Carolina State University in Raleigh), and North Carolina Tar Heels (representing the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) are all members of the ACC. Rivalries among these schools are very strong, fueled by proximity to each other, with annual competitions in every sport. Adding to the rivalries is the large number of graduates the high schools in the region send to each of the local universities. It is very common for students at one university to know many students attending the other local universities, which increases the opportunities for "bragging" among the schools. The four ACC schools in the state, Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State, and Wake Forest University (the last of which was originally located in the town of Wake Forest before moving to Winston-Salem in 1956), are referred to as Tobacco Road by sportscasters, particularly in basketball. All four teams consistently produce high-caliber teams . Each of the Triangle-based universities listed has won at least two NCAA Basketball national championships.


title: Research Triangle

text: Three historically black colleges, including recent Division I arrival North Carolina Central University and Division II members St. Augustine College and Shaw University also boost the popularity of college sports in the region.


title: Research Triangle

text: Other colleges in the Triangle that field intercollegiate teams include Campbell University, Meredith College, and William Peace University.


title: Research Triangle

text: The region has only one professional team of the four major sports, the Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL, based in Raleigh. Since moving to the Research Triangle region from Hartford, Connecticut, they have enjoyed great success, including winning a Stanley Cup. With only one top-level professional sports option, minor league sports are quite popular in the region. The Durham Bulls in downtown Durham are a AAA Minor League baseball affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Carolina Mudcats, based in Zebulon, 10 miles east of Raleigh, are the Advanced-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. In Cary, North Carolina FC plays in the second-level United Soccer League, and the North Carolina Courage began play in the National Women's Soccer League in 2017 after the owner of North Carolina FC bought the NWSL franchise rights of the Western New York Flash and relocated the NWSL franchise to the Triangle.


title: Research Triangle

text: The area also had a team in the fledgling World League of American Football – however, the Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks, coached by Roman Gabriel, did not exactly cover themselves in glory; they lost all 10 games of their inaugural (and only) season in 1991. The team folded after that, being replaced in the league by the Ohio Glory, which fared little better at 1–9, ultimately suffering the same fate – along with the other six teams based in North America – when the league took a two-year hiatus, returning as a six-team all-European league in 1995.


title: Research Triangle

text: The region's growing high-technology community includes such companies as IBM, Lenovo, SAS Institute, Cisco Systems, NetApp, Red Hat, EMC Corporation, and Credit Suisse First Boston. In addition to high-tech, the region is consistently ranked in the top three in the U.S. with concentration in life science companies. Some of these companies include GlaxoSmithKline, Biogen Idec, BASF, Merck & Co., Novo Nordisk, Novozymes, and Pfizer. Research Triangle Park and North Carolina State University's Centennial Campus in Raleigh support innovation through R&D and technology transfer among the region's companies and research universities (including Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill).


title: Research Triangle

text: The area fared relatively well during the late-2000s recession, ranked as the strongest region in North Carolina by the Brookings Institution and among the top 40 in the country. The change in unemployment during 2008 to 2009 was 4.6% and home prices was 2%. The Greensboro metropolitan area was listed among the second-weakest and the Charlotte area among the middle in the country.


title: Research Triangle

text: The Triangle proper is served by three major interstate highways: I-40, I-85, and I-87 along with their spurs: I-440 and I-540, and seven U.S. Routes: 1, 15, 64, 70, 264, 401, and 501. US Highways 15 and 501 are multiplexed through much of the region as US 15-501. I-95 passes 30 miles east of Raleigh through Johnston County, with I-87 connecting I-95 at Rocky Mount, NC to Raleigh via the US 64–264 Bypass.


title: Research Triangle

text: The two interstates diverge from one another in Orange County, with I-85 heading northeast through northern Durham County toward Virginia, while I-40 travels southeast through southern Durham, through the center of the region, and serves as the primary freeway through Raleigh. The related loop freeways I-440 and I-540 are primarily located in Wake County around Raleigh. I-440 begins at the interchange of US 1 and I-40 southwest of downtown Raleigh and arcs as a multiplex with US 1 northward around downtown with the formal designation as the Cliff Benson/Raleigh Beltline (cosigned with US 1 on three-fourths of its northern route) and ends at its junction with I-40 in southeast Raleigh. I-540, sometimes known as the Raleigh Outer Loop, extends from the US 64–264 Bypass to I-40 just inside Durham County, where it continues across the interstate as a state route (NC 540), prior to its becoming a toll road from the NC 54 interchange to the current terminus at NC Highway 55 near Holly Springs. I-95 serves the extreme eastern edge of the region, crossing north–south through suburban Johnston County.


title: Research Triangle

text: U.S. Routes 1, 15, and 64 primarily serve the region as limited-access freeways or multilane highways with access roads. US 1 enters the region from the southwest as the Claude E. Pope Memorial Highway and travels through suburban Apex where it merges with US 64 and continues northeast through Cary. The two highways are codesignated for about until US 1 joins I-440 and US 64 with I-40 along the Raleigh–Cary border. Capital Boulevard, which is designated US 1 for half of its route and US 401 the other is not a limited-access freeway, although it is a major thoroughfare through northeast Raleigh and into the northern downtown area.


title: Research Triangle

text: North Carolina Highway 147 is a limited-access freeway that connects I-85 with Toll Route NC 540 in northwestern Wake County. The older, toll-free portion of the four-lane route—known as the Durham Freeway or the I.L. "Buck" Dean Expressway—traverses downtown Durham and extends through Research Triangle Park to I-40. The Durham Freeway is often used as a detour or alternate route for I-40 through southwestern Durham the Chapel Hill area in cases of traffic accident, congestion or road construction delays. The tolled portion of NC 147, called the Triangle Expressway—North Carolina's first modern toll road when it opened to traffic in late 2011—continues past I-40 to Toll NC 540. Both Toll NC 147 and Toll NC 540 are modern facilities which collect tolls using transponders and license plate photo-capture technology.


title: Research Triangle

text: A partnering system of multiple public transportation agencies currently serves the Triangle region under the joint GoTransit branding. Raleigh is served by GoRaleigh (formerly Capital Area Transit) municipal transit system, while Durham has GoDurham (formerly the Durham Area Transit Authority). Chapel Hill is served by Chapel Hill Transit, and Cary is served by GoCary (formerly C-Tran) public transit systems. However, GoTriangle, formerly called Triangle Transit, works in cooperation with all area transit systems by offering transfers between its own routes and those of the other systems. Triangle Transit also coordinates an extensive vanpool and rideshare program that serves the region's larger employers and commute destinations.


title: Research Triangle

text: Plans have been made to merge all of the area's municipal systems into Triangle Transit, and Triangle Transit also has proposed a regional rail system to connect downtown Durham, downtown Cary and downtown Raleigh with multiple suburban stops, as well as stops in the Research Triangle Park area. The agency's initial proposal was effectively cancelled in 2006, however, when the agency could not procure adequate federal funding. A committee of local business, transportation and government leaders currently are working with Triangle Transit to develop a new transit blueprint for the region, with various modes of rail transit, as well as bus rapid transit, open as options for consideration.


title: Research Triangle

text: Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) has nonstop passenger service to 68 destinations with over 450 average daily departures, including nonstop international service to Canada, Europe, and Mexico. It is located near the geographic center of The Triangle, northeast of the town of Morrisville in Wake County. The airport covers 5,000 acres (2,023 ha) and has three runways.


title: Research Triangle

text: In 1939 the General Assembly of North Carolina chartered the Raleigh–Durham Aeronautical Authority, which was changed in 1945 to the Raleigh–Durham Airport Authority. The first new terminal opened in 1955. Terminal A (now Terminal 1) opened in 1981. American Airlines began service to RDU in 1985.


title: Research Triangle

text: RDU opened the runway, 5L-23R, in 1986. American Airlines opened its north–south hub operation at RDU in the new Terminal C in June 1987, greatly increasing the size of RDU's operations with a new terminal including a new apron and runway. American brought RDU its first international flights to Bermuda, Cancun, Paris and London.


title: Research Triangle

text: In 1996, American Airlines ceased its hub operations at RDU due to Pan Am and Eastern Airlines. Pan Am and Eastern were Miami's main tenants until 1991, when both carriers went bankrupt. Their hubs at MIA were taken over by United Airlines and American Airlines. This created a difficulty in competing with US Airways' hub in Charlotte and Delta Air Lines' hub in Atlanta, Georgia for passengers traveling between smaller cities in the North and South. Midway Airlines entered the market, starting service in 1995 with the then somewhat novel concept of 50-seat Canadair Regional Jets providing service from its RDU hub primarily along the East Coast. Midway, originally incorporated in Chicago, had some success after moving its operations to the midpoint of the eastern United States at RDU and its headquarters to Morrisville, NC. The carrier ultimately could not overcome three weighty challenges: the arrival of Southwest Airlines, the refusal of American Airlines to renew the frequent flyer affiliation it had with Midway (thus dispatching numerous higher fare-paying businesspeople to airlines with better reward destinations), and the significant blow of September 11, 2001. Midway Airlines filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 13, 2001, and ceased operations entirely on October 30, 2003.


title: Research Triangle

text: In February 2000, RDU was ranked as the nation's second fastest-growing major airport in the United States, by Airports Council International, based on 1999 statistics. Passenger growth hit 24% over the previous year, ranking RDU second only to Washington Dulles International Airport. RDU opened Terminal A south concourse for use by Northwest and Continental Airlines in 2001. The addition added and five aircraft gates to the terminal. Terminal A became designated as Terminal 1 on October 26, 2008. In 2003, RDU also dedicated a new general aviation terminal. RDU continues to keep pace with its growth by redeveloping Terminal C into a new state-of-the-art terminal, now known as Terminal 2, which opened in October 2008.


title: Research Triangle

text: As of June 2022, the airport will have international flights to Cancun, London, Montreal, Paris, Reykjavik and Toronto. Cancun service is provided by American, Frontier and JetBlue, while the Canada flights are provided by Air Canada, Paris by Delta, Reykjavik by new to the market Icelandair, and London by American. Icelandair is the first international carrier outside of Air Canada to service the airport. Delta Air Lines currently considers the airport to be a "focus city", or an airport that is not a hub, but is of importance to the carrier. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly shrunk the operation, but by September 2022, Delta will be serving 21 destinations on aircraft ranging from the CRJ700 to the 767.


title: Research Triangle

text: In addition to RDU, several smaller publicly owned general-aviation airports also operate in the metropolitan region:


title: Research Triangle

text: Several licensed private general-aviation and agricultural airfields are located in the region's suburban areas and nearby rural communities:


title: Research Triangle

text: A number of helipads (i.e. marked landing sites not classified under the FAA LID system) also serve a variety of additional medical facilities (such as UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill), as well as private, corporate and governmental interests, throughout the region.


title: Research Triangle

text: Amtrak serves the region with the Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Palmetto, Carolinian, and Piedmont routes.


title: Research Triangle

text: The area is part of the Raleigh–Durham–Fayetteville television designated media area and is the 25th-largest in the country with 1,135,920 households (2014) included in that area and the second largest television market in North Carolina. It is part of the Raleigh–Durham Nielsen Audio radio market (code 115) and is the 42nd-largest in the country with a population of 1,365,900.


title: Research Triangle

text: The Raleigh–Durham–Fayetteville market is defined by Nielsen as including Chatham, Cumberland, Dunn, Durham, Granville, Halifax, Harnett, Hoke, Johnston, Lee, Moore, Northampton, Orange, Robeson, Vance, Wake, Warren, Wayne, and Wilson Counties, along with parts of Franklin County.


title: Research Triangle

text: The Triangle is part of the Raleigh–Durham–Fayetteville Designated Market Area for broadcast television. –16, the area was the 25th-largest in the country. This area includes these television stations:


title: Research Triangle

text: Raleigh is home to the Research Triangle Region bureau of the regional cable TV news channel Spectrum News 1 North Carolina.


title: Research Triangle

text: The Triangle is home to North Carolina Public Radio, a public radio station/NPR provider that brings in listeners around the country. Raleigh and a large part of the Triangle area is Arbitron radio market #43. Stations include:


title: Digga D

text: Rhys Angelo Emile Herbert (born 29 June 2000), known professionally as Digga D, is a British rapper and director. He had multiple singles that have been placed in the UK Singles Chart; his mixtape albums "Double Tap Diaries" and "Made In The Pyrex", reached No. 11 and 3 on the UK Albums Chart, respectively. His third mixtape, "Noughty By Nature" was released on 15 April 2022, debuting at number one on the UK Albums Chart.


title: Digga D

text: He gained recognition as part of the UK drill collective 1011 which was later renamed to CGM. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of the UK drill scene. He is the founder of his current record label, Black Money Records (BMR) and managed by Groundworks.


title: Digga D

text: Some of his music videos have garnered attention among law enforcement, resulting in a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) taken against the collective, and he has been in and out of prison during the singles and videos' releases. Digga D was sent to prison three times before the age of 20.


title: Digga D

text: Rhys Herbert was born on 29 June 2000 in West London. At age 12, he began writing music. He listened to Jamaican reggae and dancehall. In year eight, he was arrested after a stop and search revealed possession of cannabis, and was consequently kicked out of Chelsea Academy.


title: Digga D

text: In 2015, he formed the UK drill group 1011 along with his friends in a local youth club in Ladbroke Grove. The group was named after the W10 and W11 postal codes, and includes members Herbert (Digga D), Yonas Girma, Micah Bedeau (Horrid1), Isaac Marshall, and Jordan Bedeau. They released several singles in 2016-17, including "Kill Confirmed", "Play for the Pagans", “Next Up” and "No Hook".


title: Digga D

text: On 9 November 2017, Digga D and members of 1011 were arrested in a stop and search in which they were carrying machetes and baseball bats. 1011 claimed they were making a drill music video, but police stated they were planning to attack a rival gang, 12World. Digga and 1011 were convicted of conspiracy to commit violent disorder, sentenced to 1 year in jail, and given a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) in 2018. Four of the group's music videos prior to the CBO were taken down. However, they were noted to have already amassed over ten million combined views, and would soon be uploaded by fans to their channels, where they continued to get more views. The group rebranded as CGM, an acronym for Certified Grove Members.


title: Digga D

text: He did a freestyle for Mixtape Madness's "Next Up?", which was released on 30 November 2017. The freestyle was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry on 18 October 2019, making it the first Mixtape Madness freestyle with a certification. Rap critic Joseph JP Patterson described the release of the freestyle as having "stopped everyone in their tracks. Heads in the music industry began to turn, and they quickly found themselves in 'next to blow' conversations." Ethan Herlock of "The Face" wrote that the freestyle "demonstrated Digga D's distinctive flow and chest-puffing energy, heralding him as a standout MC in the increasingly crowded UK drill scene".


title: Digga D

text: He released post-CBO-reviewed singles including "No Porkies", and "Who?", and had a Mixtape Madness "Mad About Bars" session with Kenny Allstar. On 17 May 2019, his debut mixtape, "Double Tap Diaries" was released. The album included the single "No Diet" which peaked No. 20 in the UK Singles Chart. Days after the mixtape release, he confirmed he was still in jail. The corresponding music video garnered 1.6 million views in five days, received a shout-out from rapper Stormzy, and the music was used in an Instagram video post by Zac Efron.


title: Digga D

text: In July 2020, Digga D released the single "Woi", which gained widespread recognition worldwide. The single was nominated for "Song of the Year" at the MOBO Awards, and the editors at Complex listed it at the top of their list of best songs of 2020. In October 2020, the follow-up single was released titled "Chingy (It's Whatever)". On 24 November, BBC Three released the documentary "Defending Digga D" on BBC iPlayer, and had it later broadcast on BBC One on 27 November. On 4 December, "Daily Duppy" was released on GRM Daily.


title: Digga D

text: Digga D has also teased a collaboration mixtape with Unknown T, after they met in Belmarsh Prison and made music together. On 4 February 2021, the single "Bringing It Back" with AJ Tracey was released. The song topped the UK Chart's Official Trending Chart and debuted at No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. On 14 February, the single "Toxic" was released, accompanied by the music video. On 25 February, the music video for the single "Bluuwuu" was released. His second mixtape, "Made in the Pyrex", was released on 26 February 2021. "Pyrex" reached No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart and was noted for being the "highest charting project to date for a millennium-born UK rapper, and the highest-charting independent UK Drill project on the Official Chart so far."


title: Digga D

text: On the 13 August 2021, Digga D released the single "Wasted" featuring ArrDee. The single peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart. On 9 September, he released the song "2K17", which charted at number 26 on the UK Singles Chart. He also appeared on the single "Keep Talkin" with Sav'O and Horrid1 on 28 September. On 21 October, he released the single "Red Light Green Light", with the music video referencing the television series "Squid Game". The single charted at number 17 on the UK Singles Chart.


title: Digga D

text: On 14 January 2022, Digga D appeared on two songs: "Bine" with Horrid1 and Sav'o, and "Went Jail" with Groundworks and Unknown T. On 20 January, Digga D released the single "Pump 101" featuring Still Brickin. On 3 March, he released the single "G Lock" featuring American rapper Moneybagg Yo. He released three freestyles in March titled "A Lil Promo", "Life of a Real G", and a freestyle during an appearance the radio station On the Radar in the United States. On 31 March, Digga D released the third single from the mixtape "What You Reckon", featuring American rapper B-Lovee. He also released the music videos for two singles "Amelia Amelia" and "Main Road" on 12 April and 14 April.


title: Digga D

text: Digga D's third mixtape, "Noughty by Nature" was released on 15 April 2022, including features from Rack5, Dodgy, Horrid1, Hotboii, AJ Tracey, Maverick Sabre, among others. The mixtape debuted atop the UK Albums Chart, becoming Digga D's first number one album. In July 2022, Digga D released two singles, "STFU" and "Frenches" with French rapper Timal. On 1 September, he appeared on the song "Goofies" with American rapper Babyface Ray. The same day, he announced the launching of his own record label Black Money Records (BMR). On 13 October, he released his first single on the new record label, "Stay Inside".


title: Digga D

text: Most recently, Digga D has appeared on the remix to Frisco's song featuring INFAMOUSIZAK: "Bad & Clean" alongside Skepta and Skillibeng. The song is part of Frisco's Tottenham EP, and in his verse Digga mentions his time spent in jail.


title: Digga D

text: Digga D's musical influences come from the British Caribbean community in West London and incorporates dancehall, bashment and rap in his style. "The Face" considered him as one of the pioneers of the UK drill scene. "GQ" called Digga D "the most influential British rapper of our time," noting his ability to continue rapping about the "harsh, competitive realities of young inner-city life" while also abiding by the rules of his CBO. Digga D said in the interview "I wouldn’t say I'm a pioneer of drill; I would say I'm a pioneer of changing drill. Other people made drill, I just took it to a place it's never been to before."


title: Digga D

text: Because of their arrest on 9 November 2017, Digga and 1011 were given a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) in 2018 that required the group to have the Metropolitan Police's permission before releasing any new music, forbade them from using London postcodes, and banning references in lyrics to real-life incidents and people. Four of the group's music videos prior to the CBO were taken down. However, they were noted to have amassed over ten million combined views before removal.


title: Digga D

text: The conditions of Digga's CBO included being fitted with a GPS tracker on his leg and being made to check in with probation every three hours, as well as having to notify the Met police when he uploaded any songs or videos, within 24 hours of upload. Any releases that incited violence, mentioning certain areas of London or lyrical references to real-life incidents or people in their music would not be permitted. "There's a list of about 18 to 20 people that Rhys isn't allowed to associate with, most of whom make up his friends from school or friends from his area or people that the police deemed were part of a gang that he was part of", explained Digga's lawyer, Cecilia Goodwin. Moreover, visually, there are certain things which are not allowed to be portrayed. Any breach of the CBO would result in a recall to prison.


title: Digga D

text: The CBO ban issued to 1011 was condemned by the campaign group Index on Censorship and widely described as entirely unprecedented. Digga's lawyer noted that the CBO "gives the police and probation the ability to control and censor his art". The Metropolitan Police has since denied it was censorship. Det Ch Supt Kevin Southworth said at the time: "When in this instance you see a particular genre of music being used specifically to goad, to incite, to provoke, to inflame, that can only lead to acts of very serious violence being committed, that’s when it becomes a matter for the police. We're not in the business of killing anyone's fun, we're not in the business of killing anyone's artistic expression – we are in the business of stopping people being killed."


title: Digga D

text: He has since been back to prison twice, including for breaching the stringent conditions of his CBO. While Digga was recalled to prison in 2019, Digga was stabbed in the eye, causing him to lose use of the eye. He was stabbed with a blade fashioned from a tuna can, according to an official at the Ministry of Justice who was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Goodwin, his lawyer, said that the rapper had been struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder after the attack.


title: Digga D

text: In March 2020 Digga D pleaded guilty to violent disorder again and breaches of his CBO. He was sentenced to two years and 6 months for his role in a machete brawl with rival gang members in front of shoppers in West London. Other members of CGM were also charged, including Sav'o, who was sentenced to three years' imprisonment after pleading guilty to violent disorder, possession of an offensive weapon and breaches of a CBO.


title: Digga D

text: He was arrested again in July for inciting violence after attending a Black Lives Matter protest in London and posting about the movement on Instagram. Right after being released from his previous arrest, rumours circulated that police had taken the rapper back into custody, which was later confirmed. "Again they are on me", the rapper is heard saying in a video as he is being cuffed. "For what? No reason." He has since been released, still under conditions of his CBO. Asked in an interview with "The Face" if he was treated unfairly, he replied: "Oh, of course, 100 per cent, They didn't ban me from music [at first], only as it started hitting millions and [they] saw me prospering from it."


title: Digga D

text: In November 2021, it was claimed on social media that Digga D was arrested for stabbing a man in Dubai. He responded to these allegations by saying in an Instagram post, "In [the] future, before you start adding your 2 pence, wait to hear the full story." He also stated that, while he was arrested, he did not face any charges and was released soon after.


title: Qajar dynasty

text: The Qajar dynasty (; "", ) was an Iranian royal dynasty of Turkic origin, specifically from the Qajar tribe, ruling over Iran from 1789 to 1925. The Qajar family took full control of Iran in 1794, deposing Lotf 'Ali Khan, the last Shah of the Zand dynasty, and re-asserted Iranian sovereignty over large parts of the Caucasus. In 1796, Mohammad Khan Qajar seized Mashhad with ease, putting an end to the Afsharid dynasty, and Mohammad Khan was formally crowned as Shah after his punitive campaign against Iran's Georgian subjects. In the Caucasus, the Qajar dynasty permanently lost many of Iran's integral areas to the Russians over the course of the 19th century, comprising modern-day eastern Georgia, Dagestan, Azerbaijan and Armenia.


title: Qajar dynasty

text: Iran’s international trade developed speedily during the Qajar dynasty. Amid 1800 and 1914, total clear business is probably to have grown from some 2.5 million to 20 million pounds sterling (in current prices).


title: Qajar dynasty

text: The Qajar Imperial Family in exile is currently headed by the eldest descendant of Mohammad Ali Shah, Sultan Mohammad Ali Mirza Qajar, while the Heir Presumptive to the Qajar throne is Mohammad Hassan Mirza II, the grandson of Mohammad Hassan Mirza, Sultan Ahmad Shah's brother and heir. Mohammad Hassan Mirza died in England in 1943, having proclaimed himself shah in exile in 1930 after the death of his brother in France.


title: Qajar dynasty

text: Today, the descendants of the Qajars often identify themselves as such and hold reunions to stay socially acquainted through the "Kadjar (Qajar) Family Association", often coinciding with the annual conferences and meetings of the


title: Qajar dynasty

text: International Qajar Studies Association (IQSA). The Kadjar (Qajar) Family Association was founded for a third time in 2000. Two earlier family associations were stopped because of political pressure. The offices and archives of IQSA are housed at the International Museum for Family History in Eijsden.


title: Qajar dynasty

text: The shah and his consort were styled "Imperial Majesty". Their children were addressed as "Imperial Highness", while male-line grandchildren were entitled to the lower style of "Highness"; all of them bore the title of "Shahzadeh" or "Shahzadeh Khanoum".


title: Four More Shots Please!

text: Four More Shots Please! is an Indian comedy-drama streaming television series on Amazon Prime Video directed by Anu Menon and Nupur Asthana. The series follows the story of four unapologetically flawed women (two in their 30s and two in their early 20s) as they live, love, make mistakes and discover what really makes them tick through friendship and shots of tequila in millennial Mumbai. The series is Amazon Prime Video's first all-women-protagonists Indian original starring Sayani Gupta, Bani J, Kirti Kulhari, and Maanvi Gagroo. Reviewers have referred to the show as a "desi version of "Sex and The City"." The first season was one of top three most-watched Amazon Original Series from India in 2019, and season two was called "the most-watched Indian show on the platform" in May 2020. Shortly after season two was released, Amazon announced that season three was in the works. Season 3 premiered on October 21, 2022.


title: Four More Shots Please!

text: Amazon Prime announced the second season of the web series in June 2019 with Nupur Asthana replacing Anu Menon as director. It is undoubtedly Amazon Prime India's first successful women-led franchise in the over-the-top (OTT) space. "Four More Shots Please!" season 2 was released on 17 April 2020.


title: International trade

text: In most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product (GDP). While international trade has existed throughout history (for example Uttarapatha, Silk Road, Amber Road, scramble for Africa, Atlantic slave trade, salt roads), its economic, social, and political importance has been on the rise in recent centuries.


title: International trade

text: Carrying out trade at an international level is a complex process when compared to domestic trade. When trade takes place between two or more states factors like currency, government policies, economy, judicial system, laws, and markets influence trade.


title: International trade

text: To ease and justify the process of trade between countries of different economic standing in the modern era, some international economic organizations were formed, such as the World Trade Organization. These organizations work towards the facilitation and growth of international trade. Statistical services of intergovernmental and supranational organizations and governmental statistical agencies publish official statistics on international trade.


title: International trade

text: A product that is transferred or sold from a party in one country to a party in another country is an export from the originating country, and an import to the country receiving that product. Imports and exports are accounted for in a country's current account in the balance of payments.


title: International trade

text: Trading globally may give consumers and countries the opportunity to be exposed to new markets and products. Almost every kind of product can be found in the international market, for example: food, clothes, spare parts, oil, jewellery, wine, stocks, currencies, and water. Services are also traded, such as in tourism, banking, consulting, and transportation.


title: International trade

text: Advanced technology (including transportation), globalization, industrialization, outsourcing and multinational corporations have major impacts on the international trade system.


title: International trade

text: International trade is, in principle, not different from domestic trade as the motivation and the behavior of parties involved in a trade do not change fundamentally regardless of whether trade is across a border or not.


title: International trade

text: However, in practical terms, carrying out trade at an international level is typically a more complex process than domestic trade. The main difference is that international trade is typically more costly than domestic trade. This is due to the fact that cross-border trade typically incurs additional costs such as explicit tariffs as well as explicit or implicit non-tariff barriers such as time costs (due to border delays), language and cultural differences, product safety, the legal system, and so on.


title: International trade

text: Another difference between domestic and international trade is that factors of production such as capital and labor are often more mobile within a country than across countries. Thus, international trade is mostly restricted to trade in goods and services, and only to a lesser extent to trade in capital, labour, or other factors of production. Trade in goods and services can serve as a substitute for trade in factors of production. Instead of importing a factor of production, a country can import goods that make intensive use of that factor of production and thus embody it. An example of this is the import of labor-intensive goods by the United States from China. Instead of importing Chinese labor, the United States imports goods that were produced with Chinese labor. One report in 2010, suggested that international trade was increased when a country hosted a network of immigrants, but the trade effect was weakened when the immigrants became assimilated into their new country.


title: International trade

text: The history of international trade chronicles notable events that have affected trading among various economies.


title: International trade

text: There are several models that seek to explain the factors behind international trade, the welfare consequences of trade and the pattern of trade.


title: International trade

text: The following table is a list of the 21 largest trading states according to the World Trade Organization.


title: International trade

text: In the US, the various U.S. Presidents have held observances to promote big and small companies to be more involved with the export and import of goods and services. President George W. Bush observed World Trade Week on May 18, 2001, and May 17, 2002. On May 13, 2016, President Barack Obama proclaimed May 15 through May 21, 2016, World Trade Week, 2016. On May 19, 2017, President Donald Trump proclaimed May 21 through May 27, 2017, World Trade Week, 2017. World Trade Week is the third week of May. Every year the President declares that week to be World Trade Week.


title: International trade

text: In the case of food production trade-offs in forms of local food and distant food production are controversial with limited studies comparing environmental impact and scientists cautioning that regionally specific environmental impacts should be considered. Effects of local food on greenhouse gas emissions may vary per origin and target region of the production. According to the 2022 IPCC report on climate change, that in international trade net Carbon emissions has reduced between 2006 and 2016. A 2020 study indicated that local food crop production alone cannot meet the demand for most food crops with "current production and consumption patterns" and the locations of food production "at the time of the study" for 72–89% of the global population and 100–km radiuses as of early 2020. Studies found that food miles are a relatively minor factor of carbon emissions, albeit increased food localization may also enable additional, more significant, environmental benefits such as recycling of energy, water, and nutrients. For specific foods regional differences in harvest seasons may make it more environmentally friendly to import from distant regions than more local production and storage or local production in greenhouses.


title: International trade

text: Qualitative differences between substitutive products of different production regions may exist due to different legal requirements and quality standards or different levels of controllability by local production- and governance-systems which may have aspects of security beyond resource security, environmental protection, product quality and product design and health. The process of transforming supply as well as labor rights may differ as well.


title: International trade

text: Local production has been reported to increase local employment in many cases. A 2018 study claimed that international trade can increase local employment. A 2016 study found that local employment and total labor income in both manufacturing and nonmanufacturing were negatively affected by rising exposure to imports.


title: International trade

text: Local production in high-income countries, rather than distant regions may require higher wages for workers. Higher wages incentivize automation which could allow for automated workers' time to be reallocated by society and its economic mechanisms or be converted into leisure-like time.


title: International trade

text: Local production may require knowledge transfer, technology transfer and may not be able to compete in efficiency initially with specialized, established industries and businesses, or in consumer demand without policy measures such as eco-tariffs. Regional differences may cause specific regions to be more suitable for a specific production, thereby increasing the advantages of specific trade over specific local production. Forms of local products that are highly localized may not be able to meet the efficiency of more large-scale, highly consolidated production in terms of efficiency, including environmental impact.


title: International trade

text: A systematic, and possibly first large-scale, cross-sectoral analysis of water, energy and land in security in 189 countries that links total and sectorial consumption to sources showed that countries and sectors are highly exposed to over-exploited, insecure, and degraded such resources with economic globalization having decreased security of global supply chains. The 2020 study finds that most countries exhibit greater exposure to resource risks via international trade – mainly from remote production sources – and that diversifying trading partners is unlikely to help countries and sectors to reduce these or to improve their resource self-sufficiency.


title: International trade

text: A number of people in Africa, including children, were using informal or “artisanal” methods to produce gold. While millions were making a livelihood through the small-scale mining, governments of Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia complaint about the increase in illegal production and gold smuggling. Sometimes the procedure involved criminal operations and even human and environmental cost. Investigative reports based on Africa’s export data revealed that gold in large quantities is smuggled out of the country through the United Arab Emirates, without any taxes being paid to the producing states. Analysis also reflected discrepancies in the amount exported from Africa and the total gold imported into the UAE.


title: International trade

text: In July 2020, a report by Swissaid highlighted that the Dubai-based precious metal refining firms, including Kaloti Jewellery International Group and Trust One Financial Services (T1FS), received most of their gold from poor African states like Sudan. The gold mines in Sudan were seldom under the militias involved in war crimes and human rights abuses. The Swissaid report also highlighted that the illicit gold coming into Dubai from Africa is imported in large quantities by the world’s largest refinery in Switzerland, Valcambi.


title: International trade

text: Another report in March 2022 revealed the contradiction between the lucrative gold trade of West African countries and the illicit dealings. Like Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana and other states, differences were recorded in the gold production in Mali and its trade with Dubai, UAE. The third largest gold exporter in Africa, Mali imposed taxes only on first 50kg gold exports per month, which allowed several small-scale miners to enjoy tax exemptions and smuggle gold worth millions. In 2014, Mali’s gold production was of 45.8 tonnes, while the UAE’s gold import were at 59.9 tonnes.


title: International trade

text: Data on the value of exports and imports and their quantities often broken down by detailed lists of products are available in statistical collections on international trade published by the statistical services of intergovernmental and supranational organisations and national statistical institutes. The definitions and methodological concepts applied for the various statistical collections on international trade often differ in terms of definition (e.g. special trade vs. general trade) and coverage (reporting thresholds, inclusion of trade in services, estimates for smuggled goods and cross-border provision of illegal services). Metadata providing information on definitions and methods are often published along with the data.


title: Jorge González (wrestler)

text: Jorge González (31 January 1966 – 22 September 2010) was an Argentine basketball player, professional wrestler, and actor, better known for his appearances in World Championship Wrestling under the ring name El Gigante between 1989 and 1992 and in the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Giant Gonzalez in 1993. González remains the tallest Argentinian to have ever lived and the third tallest man from South America.


title: Jorge González (wrestler)

text: Jorge González was born in El Colorado, Formosa, Argentina on 31 January 1966. González suffered from gigantism, and stood at by the age of 14.


title: Jorge González (wrestler)

text: González was billed as being , making him the tallest WWE wrestler and Argentine basketball player in history; his true height was , which still made him the tallest in wrestling and a tie for first place in basketball. He started his career with the youths of Hindú Club de Resistencia at the age of 16, standing tall. Subsequently, León Najnudel, then coach of the Argentine national team, recommended the board of Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata to sign the player for the team's Argentine second division roster. During 1986, González helped Gimnasia achieve promotion to the Argentine first division. He then signed for Sport Club Cañadense, but saw little action due to an injury that left him off the court for nine months.


title: Jorge González (wrestler)

text: Coach León Najnudel included González in the Argentine national team who took part of the 1985 South American Basketball Championship (bronze medal) and the 1988 Tournament of the Americas (5th place), where he attracted the attention of the Atlanta Hawks' scouts.


title: Jorge González (wrestler)

text: González took part in the 1988 NBA draft, being chosen by the Atlanta Hawks in the third round (#54 selection). Along with Hernán Montenegro (drafted #57), they became the first Argentine players drafted in the NBA. The Hawks bought the player's rights from his Argentine team for a 30,000 Argentine australes fee. However, he was unable to adapt to the physical demands of NBA basketball, partly due to a serious knee injury.


title: Jorge González (wrestler)

text: In 1989, Hawks owner Ted Turner offered González a job as a professional wrestler in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), which Turner also owned. After a year of training, González was introduced to fans as El Gigante on 19 May 1990 at the pay-per-view Capital Combat. Wearing shorts, he competed as a fan favorite and was billed as being close to eight feet tall.


title: Jorge González (wrestler)

text: Over the next two years, he feuded with Ric Flair for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, participated in a Chamber of Horrors match in 1991 and also had a date on TBS with Missy Hyatt. He also participated in a feud with Sid Vicious and One Man Gang who both stood at . The point of the feud was to determine who the real "giant of WCW" was. He also had a cross promotional stint in the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion before signing with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1993.


title: Jorge González (wrestler)

text: According to Ron Reis, Gonzalez was set to make a return to the company at their 1995 pay-per-view Halloween Havoc in the role of "The Yeti", an insurance policy put in place to make sure Hulk Hogan did not retain the WCW Championship against The Giant. The plan behind his return was to set up an idea Kevin Sullivan (who was the booker of the promotion at the time) had for the pay-per-view World War 3 1995 the following month. It would be a three ring, 60 man, over the top rope battle royal, with a giant occupying each of the three rings. But the idea fell through as González had a diabetes attack backstage at the Halloween Havoc pay-per-view leading him to have to be flown back to his native Argentina and Ron Reis had to take his spot in the role.


title: Jorge González (wrestler)

text: González competed as Giant Gonzalez during his time in the WWF. González grew a beard and wore a full body suit that featured airbrushed muscles with bushy hair attached. He was introduced at the Royal Rumble in January 1993, where he eliminated Wippleman's nemesis The Undertaker from the Royal Rumble match despite not being an official participant. At WrestleMania IX, González lost to The Undertaker by disqualification after he knocked out the Undertaker using chloroform. With his debut at Wrestlemania IX, he became the tallest wrestler in WWE history. After another loss to The Undertaker at SummerSlam, the feud came to an end, and after the match, Wippleman berated him, before González turned on Wippleman himself, turning face in the process. He lost to Randy Savage on WWF on TSN on 1 September.


title: Jorge González (wrestler)

text: The foundation was later set for a feud between González and Adam Bomb, but it never truly began. His last appearance in WWF was on 4 October episode of "Monday Night Raw" in a 20-man battle royal match for the Intercontinental Championship. Before the match started, González was first eliminated by "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Diesel, Bastion Booger, 1-2-3 Kid, Marty Jannetty, Adam Bomb and Bam Bam Bigelow. Three days later, WWF announced that González left the company after his WWF contract had expired on 7 October 1993.


title: Jorge González (wrestler)

text: After his departure from the WWF, González wrestled in the Japanese promotions NJPW and WAR (Wrestle and Romance) until his retirement from wrestling, and used his old ring name El Gigante. His last singles match was on 8 February 1995, when he lost to The Great Muta. On 8 December 1995, González wrestled his final match, teaming with Kōji Kitao in a loss to Shinja and Typhoon by countout.


title: Jorge González (wrestler)

text: González played the role of Manny, a carnival sideshow giant in a 1993 episode of "Baywatch", who befriends Hobie, but later falls into the water and his large size makes it difficult to be rescued. González also had roles in the 1993 and 1994 "Thunder in Paradise" double-episode turned movies. In 1994 González made a short appearance as Eryx the Boxer in "Hercules in the Underworld", a television prequel film from the television series "".


title: Jorge González (wrestler)

text: In December 1995, González retired from professional wrestling due to serious health issues and returned home to Argentina.


title: Jorge González (wrestler)

text: After his retirement from wrestling, González lived on a ranch in Argentina in his later years. His former manager Harvey Wippleman would send his own money to maintain González and his family. In October 2009, he began using a wheelchair, and also had to use a dialysis machine due to his failing kidneys. The Argentine Basketball Federation also helped Gonzalez with finances in his final years, including donations of appliances for his house, clothes and medicine. González was married and had one step-daughter.


title: Jorge González (wrestler)

text: González died due to complications from diabetes type 1 and severe heart issues on 22 September 2010, in his hometown of San Martin, Argentina at the age of 44.