title: Nikita (TV series)

text: The series earned numerous award nominations from awards shows and entertainment organizations such as the American Society of Cinematographers, the People's Choice Awards, the Teen Choice Awards and the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards.


title: Nikita (TV series)

text: In the United States, the show aired on The CW. In December 2020, it was also released to the network's streaming platform, CW Seed, accessible to U.S. audiences.


title: Nikita (TV series)

text: Sky Living secured the rights to air "Nikita" in the United Kingdom as the centerpiece of the channel's autumn schedule. Living's head of acquisitions Amy Barham said "Nikita is the hottest, most action-packed drama of the season with an amazingly strong female lead that we know will excite and engage Living's audiences this autumn. We're thrilled to be able to bring it exclusively to the channel. Chase will follow in 2011, providing a new favorite show for all of our procedural fans."


title: Nikita (TV series)

text: In Australia, the show aired on Fox8. In New Zealand, "Nikita" was shown on TV2 at 10:30 pm on Thursdays. In Canada, it aired on CTV Two and started airing the same day as in the U.S.


title: Nikita (TV series)

text: A 3D action game based on the TV series titled "Nikita Spy Training" was released on iOS and Android. It featured sneaking, shooting, and getting in and out of drivable vehicles in the style of open world top-down open world games. The game has since been removed from both marketplaces.


title: Nikita (TV series)

text: In February 2020, it was announced that a Nikita reboot series was in the early stages of development.


title: BYD Company

text: BYD Co. Ltd. ("Build Your Dreams" Chinese: 比亚迪股份有限公司) is a publicly listed Chinese conglomerate manufacturing company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It was founded by Wang Chuanfu in February 1995. The company has two major subsidiaries, BYD Automobile and BYD Electronic. BYD Company manufactures automobiles, buses, electric bicycles, trucks, forklifts, solar panels and rechargeable batteries.


title: BYD Company

text: It has grown to become a major manufacturer of automobiles (most notably full-electric and hybrid cars, buses, trucks, etc.), battery-powered bicycles, forklift, solar panels and rechargeable batteries (mobile phone batteries, electric vehicle batteries and renewable bulk storage). The name BYD is an abbreviation of "Build Your Dreams".


title: BYD Company

text: Founded in February 1995 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 31 July 2002, BYD Co Ltd began as a rechargeable-battery factory competing in the Chinese market against Japanese imports.


title: BYD Company

text: In 2022, it was claimed in a news report that BYD surpassed Tesla for the world's most electric vehicle sales. This claim is based on BYD sales figures that include over 300,000 plug-in hybrid vehicles sold in the first six months of 2022. Plug-in hybrids with internal combustion engines are not fully electric vehicles.


title: BYD Company

text: BYD grew quickly within ten years capturing more than half the world's mobile-phone battery market and becoming the largest Chinese manufacturer (and in the top four worldwide) of all types of rechargeable batteries. BYD topped the 2010 Bloomberg Businessweek Tech 100 list, a list of large, fast-growing tech companies. Replacing work done by machines with cheap, local labor lowered costs, and the company began expanding beyond batteries adding automobiles and mobile phone components.


title: BYD Company

text: A year after the 2002 acquisition of Tsinchuan Automobile Co Ltd, BYD Automobile Co Ltd was born. One of many Chinese automakers, in 2010 it was the sixth largest in terms of sales volume. On April 3, 2022, BYD announced its intention to end production of combustion engine vehicles and focus only on electric vehicles.


title: BYD Company

text: In 2016, BYD unveiled a working monorail prototype marketed as "Skyrail" and announced they will enter the global rail transit market. The first public Skyrail line opened as a long loop line in Yinchuan's flower expo in 2018. Since then BYD has begun construction of a number of systems around the world including the Guang'an Metro and the Guilin Metro in China, Line 17 in São Paulo and the SkyRail Bahia, both in Brazil. BYD is also part of a consortium that was awarded a pre-development contract to build a monorail from the San Fernando Valley to LAX via the Sepulveda Pass in Los Angeles.


title: BYD Company

text: BYD also have a rubber-tyred tram product, known as "SkyShuttle". Bishan rubber-tyred tram in Chongqing is operational.


title: BYD Company

text: Mobile phone components were added to the BYD product line in the early 2000s. But this business, BYD Electronic, was spun off in 2007.


title: BYD Company

text: The company has its corporate headquarters in the Pingshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong province of China. Its North American headquarters are in Downtown Los Angeles, and BYD has sales offices in various countries.


title: BYD Company

text: The revenue of company is 64.9 billion (US$10 billion). In 2010, BYD sold a total of 519,800 vehicles, representing 2.9% of the market in China and the sixth largest manufacturer. In 2011, the BYD sales rank was outside the top ten. In 2012, the company became the 9th largest car manufacturer in China, producing over 600,000 vehicles. The majority of vehicles are sold within China; however export markets include Bahrain, the Dominican Republic, Ukraine and Moldova. The North American headquarters opened in Los Angeles in 2011. As of 2013 BYD Auto sells the e6 and Electric Bus in the United States as fleet vehicles only. BYD has supplied the Los Angeles Metro system with buses since 2015. A 2018 investigation by the Los Angeles Times found reliability issues with the BYD buses.


title: BYD Company

text: BYD has many production bases, including three locations in Shenzhen (one of which is on the self-titled 'BYD Road' () in Pingshan District, Shenzhen), as well as sites in Huizhou, Shanxi, and Shanghai.


title: BYD Company

text: Auto production bases include an automobile assembly line in Xi'an, a K9 electric bus manufacturing plant in Dalian, a photovoltaic module (solar panel) Bloomberg New Energy Finance Tier 1 manufacturing plant in Beijing, an R&D center and nascent automobile assembly line in Shenzhen, and an R&D center in Shanghai.


title: BYD Company

text: US operations can be found in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, and San Francisco, California. BYD also acquired a site for a future North American headquarters in downtown Los Angeles, and has built and operates a manufacturing plant in Lancaster, California, near Los Angeles.


title: BYD Company

text: In 2019 a bus plant opened in Newmarket, Ontario to handle orders in Canada. BYD has three factories in Brazil, the first of which opened in 2015 for the production of electric buses. In April 2017, it inaugurated its second plant for photovoltaic modules. In 2020, BYD opened its third manufacturing plant in the country in Manaus, specifically for lithium iron phosphate batteries, for use in electric buses. BYD has two electric bus assembly facilities in Europe in Komarom, Hungary and Beauvais, France. BYD built a new facility in Chongqing, China for producing its blade batteries, which are considered to be the safest EV batteries. The first plant of the company in India was opened in Chennai.


title: BYD Company

text: The company has been recognized for innovation; for example it has developed technologies that allow mobile phone batteries to be made at room temperature rather than in expensive, heated dry rooms. In 2010, BusinessWeek ranked BYD the eighth most innovative company in the world and that same year saw Fast Company ranking BYD as the 16th most innovative. In 2017, PV Magazine awarded BYD the top category of innovation on its newly launched battery storage system that advances progress in three categories: modularity, charging and discharging capacity, and efficiency.


title: BYD Company

text: In September 2008, MidAmerican Energy Holdings, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc, invested about US$230 million for a 10% (or 9.89%) share of BYD at HK$8/share.


title: BYD Company

text: In December 2018, the Albuquerque council sued BYD over the alleged poor welding, poor battery range, malfunctioning doors and brakes of its buses. BYD denied the allegations, and the lawsuit was settled without money changing hands.


title: BYD Company

text: In September 2021, BYD appointed Lu Kewen, an online influencer known for spreading antisemitic canards, as a spokesperson for the company.


title: BYD Company

text: On April 27, 2020, BYD hired attorney Charles Harder and filed a federal civil complaint in U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, against Vice Media alleging defamation for a story about BYD using forced Uyghur labor in its supply chain which was published on April 11, 2020. BYD's case was dismissed with prejudice in March 2021.


title: BYD Company

text: BYD Auto had been accused of taking designs from other manufacturers. Articles claimed BYD F1 "is a clear copy of the Toyota Aygo," that the BYD S6 "closely apes the Lexus RX", the BYD F3 "is a copycat of the Toyota Corolla the BYD S8 has a similar appearance to a Mercedes-Benz SL-Class, and the BYD F8 "features an almost identical Mercedes-Benz CLK front-end and Renault Megane CC rear". Although the U.S. government had been advised by its consul-general in Guangzhou, China that BYD uses an approach of "copying and then modifying car designs." Chinese courts ruled BYD has not infringed on patents.


title: BYD Company

text: In 2016, a peculiar suicide note started an investigation into government subsidy fraud. The auto dealer had been facing bankruptcy and blamed BYD for his situation. According to the note, BYD had received government subsidies for 600 electric buses it had never produced. A single electric bus went for about 2 million yuan (US$305,000). Of 600 buses, the city had received only a few dozen. That year, the Finance Ministry fined five manufacturers (not including BYD) which had fraudulently obtained more than 1 billion yuan (US$153 million) worth of subsidies. The companies were required to return the subsidies in full and also pay penalties worth an additional 50% of subsidies received.


title: BYD Company

text: According to the relatives of the man, BYD forced dealerships to increase EV inventories even though sales were bad. In an attempt to clear inventories, dealerships tried selling to people from outside of Nanjing, while simultaneously trying to help them get temporary Nanjing residence documents. But Nanjing would not grant subsidies to outsiders and the dealerships wound up paying the subsidies on 80% of vehicles sold.


title: BYD Company

text: In addition to patent litigation Foxconn sued BYD in Hong Kong and Illinois in 2007, alleging BYD poached 50 Foxconn employees and was complicit in the stealing of trade secrets to set up a competing cell phone manufacturing operation. Court proceedings were brought before BYD Electronic was spun off by BYD later in 2007, delaying the public listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange by half a year.


title: BYD Company

text: Foxconn also opened proceedings in the district where BYD is headquartered, at the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court, which referred the case to the Supreme People’s Court, which in turn commissioned an appraisal by the Beijing JZSC Intellectual Property Forensic Center into files in BYD's possession which were alleged to belong to Foxconn. Eventually the Shenzhen court made the final judgment: BYD's files contained non-public information originating from Foxconn, which could bring economic benefits to the holders, thereby, BYD was found guilty of infringing Foxconn’s trade secrets.


title: BYD Company

text: Afterwards, Foxconn withdrew the civil proceedings against BYD in mainland China, and sought criminal prosecution instead. On March 20, 2008, the former executive director and Vice President of BYD was arrested. Then on March 24 and 31 2008 two former employees of Foxconn were arrested and sentenced to 1 year and 4 months, and 4 years in prison respectively.


title: BYD Company

text: BYD issued a counterclaim to Foxconn in Hong Kong court, alleging defamation and bribery of Chinese officials as well as intimidation on Foxconn's part.


title: BYD Company

text: On November 5, 2021, a 36-year-old employee was found dead in a rented home. According to his relatives, his sudden death was due to high-intensity overtime work. The employee worked 12 hours a day, six days a week, with frequent night shifts. Such weeks, known as "996" are illegal in China. BYD claims his death was not a work-related injury, though no autopsy was ever performed, and has settled with his family for 200,000 yuan ($31,369).


title: BYD Company

text: In 2020, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute accused at least 82 major brands, including BYD, of being connected to forced Uyghur labor in Xinjiang.


title: BYD Company

text: In 2022, the United States Department of Commerce found that BYD had circumvented tariffs on solar panels by routing its operations through Southeast Asian countries.


title: Avignon

text: Avignon (, ; ; or , ; ) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune had a population of 93,671 as of the census results of 2017, with about 16,000 (estimate from Avignon's municipal services) living in the ancient town centre enclosed by its medieval walls. It is France's 35th largest metropolitan area according to INSEE with 336,135 inhabitants (2019), and France's 13th largest urban unit with 458,828 inhabitants (2019). Its urban area was the fastest-growing in France from 1999 until 2010 with an increase of 76% of its population and an area increase of 136%. The Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Avignon, a cooperation structure of 16 communes, had 192,785 inhabitants in 2018.


title: Avignon

text: Between 1309 and 1377, during the Avignon Papacy, seven successive popes resided in Avignon and in 1348 Pope Clement VI bought the town from Joanna I of Naples. Papal control persisted until 1791 when during the French Revolution it became part of France. The city is now the capital of the Vaucluse department and one of the few French cities to have preserved its city walls.


title: Avignon

text: The historic centre, which includes the Palais des Papes, the cathedral and the Pont d'Avignon, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 because of its architecture and importance during the 14th and 15th centuries. The medieval monuments and the annual Festival d'Avignon (commonly called: "Festival In d'Avignon") and its accompanying Festival Off d'Avignon - one of the world's largest festivals for performing arts, have helped to make the town a major centre for tourism.


title: Avignon

text: The earliest forms of the name were reported by the Greeks: "Aueniṑn" (Stephen of Byzantium, Strabo, IV, 1, 11) and "Aouenníōn" (Ptolemy II, x).


title: Avignon

text: The Roman name "Avennĭo Cavărum" (Mela, II, 575, Pliny III, 36), i.e. "Avignon of Cavares", accurately shows that Avignon was one of the three cities of the Celtic-Ligurian tribe of Cavares, along with Cavaillon and Orange.


title: Avignon

text: The current name dates to a pre-Indo-European or pre-Latin theme "ab-ên" with the suffix "-i-ōn(e)". This theme would be a hydronym – i.e. a name linked to the river (Rhône), but perhaps also an oronym of terrain (the "Rocher des Doms").


title: Avignon

text: The "Auenion" of the 1st century BC was Latinized to "Avennĭo" (or "Avēnĭo"), "-ōnis" in the 1st century and is written "Avinhon" in classic Occitan spelling or "Avignoun" in Mistralian spelling. The inhabitants of the commune are called "avinhonencs" or "avignounen" in both standard Occitan and Provençal dialect.


title: Avignon

text: Avignon is on the left bank of the Rhône river, a few kilometres above its confluence with the Durance, about south-east of Paris, south of Lyon and north-north-west of Marseille. On the west it shares a border with the department of Gard and the communes of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon and Les Angles and to the south it borders the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and the communes of Barbentane, Rognonas, Châteaurenard, and Noves.


title: Avignon

text: The city is in the vicinity of Orange (north), Nîmes, Montpellier (south-west), Arles (to the south), Salon-de-Provence, and Marseille (south-east). Directly contiguous to the east and north are the communes of Caumont-sur-Durance, Morières-lès-Avignon, Le Pontet, and Sorgues.


title: Avignon

text: The region around Avignon is very rich in limestone which is used for building material. For example, the current city walls, measuring 4,330 metres long, were built with the soft limestone abundant in the region called "mollasse burdigalienne".


title: Avignon

text: Enclosed by the city walls, the "Rocher des Doms" is a limestone elevation of "Urgonian" type, 35 metres high (and therefore safe from flooding of the Rhone which it overlooks) and is the original core of the city. Several limestone massifs are present around the commune (the "Massif des Angles", "Villeneuve-lès-Avignon", "Alpilles"...) and they are partly the result of the oceanisation of the Ligurian-Provençal basin following the migration of the Sardo-Corsican block.


title: Avignon

text: The other significant elevation in the commune is the Montfavet Hill – a wooded hill in the east of the commune.


title: Avignon

text: The Rhone Valley is an old alluvial zone: loose deposits cover much of the ground. It consists of sandy alluvium more or less coloured with pebbles consisting mainly of siliceous rocks. The islands in the Rhone, such as the "Île de la Barthelasse", were created by the accumulation of alluvial deposits and also by the work of man. The relief is quite low despite the creation of mounds allowing local protection from flooding.


title: Avignon

text: The Rhone passes the western edge of the city, but is divided into two branches: the "Petit Rhône", or "dead arm", for the part that passes next to Avignon and the "Grand Rhône", or "live arm", for the western channel which passes Villeneuve-lès-Avignon in the Gard department. The two branches are separated by an island, the Île de la Barthelasse. The southernmost tip of the Île de la Barthelasse once formed of a separated island, the L'Île de Piot.


title: Avignon

text: The banks of the Rhone and the Île de la Barthelasse are often subject to flooding during autumn and March. The publication "Floods in France since the 6th century until today – research and documentation" by Maurice Champion tells about a number of them (until 1862, the flood of 1856 was one of the largest, which destroyed part of the walls). They have never really stopped as shown by the floods in 1943–1944 and again on 23 January 1955 and remain important today – such as the floods of 2 December 2003. As a result, a new risk mapping has been developed.


title: Avignon

text: The Durance flows along the southern boundary of the commune into the Rhone and marks the departmental boundary with Bouches-du-Rhône. It is a river that is considered "capricious" and once feared for its floods (it was once called the "3rd scourge of Provence" as well as for its low water: the Durance has both Alpine and Mediterranean morphology which is unusual.


title: Avignon

text: There are many natural and artificial water lakes in the commune such as the Lake of Saint-Chamand east of the city.


title: Avignon

text: There have been many diversions throughout the course of history, such as feeding the moat surrounding Avignon or irrigating crops.


title: Avignon

text: In the 10th century part of the waters from the "Sorgue d'Entraigues" were diverted and today pass under the walls to enter the city. (See Sorgue). This watercourse is called the Vaucluse Canal but Avignon people still call it the "Sorgue" or "Sorguette". It is visible in the city in the "Rue des teinturiers" (street of dyers). It fed the moat around the first defensive walls then fed the moat on the newer eastern city walls (14th century). In the 13th century (under an Act signed in 1229) part of the waters of the Durance were diverted to increase the water available for the moats starting from Bonpas. This river was later called the "Durançole". The "Durançole" fed the western moats of the city and was also used to irrigate crops at Montfavet. In the city, these streams are often hidden beneath the streets and houses and are currently used to collect sewerage.


title: Avignon

text: The Hospital Canal (joining the Durançole) and the Crillon Canal (1775) were dug to irrigate the territories of Montfavet, Pontet, and Vedène. They were divided into numerous "fioles" or "filioles" (in Provençal "filhòlas" or "fiolo"). Similarly, to irrigate the gardens of the wealthy south of Avignon, the Puy Canal was dug (1808). All of these canals took their water from the Durance. These canals were initially used to flood the land, which was very stony, to fertilize them by deposition of silt.


title: Avignon

text: Under the new seismic zoning of France defined in Decree No. 2010-1255 of 22 October 2010 concerning the delimitation of the seismicity of the French territory and which entered into force on 1 May 2011, Avignon is located in an area of moderate seismicity. The previous zoning is shown below for reference.


title: Avignon

text: "The cantons of Bonnieux, Apt, Cadenet, Cavaillon, and Pertuis are classified in zone Ib (low risk). All other cantons the Vaucluse department, including Avignon, are classified Ia (very low risk). This zoning is for exceptional seismicity resulting in the destruction of buildings.".


title: Avignon

text: The presence of faults in the limestone substrate shows that significant tectonic shift has caused earthquakes in different geological ages. The last major earthquake of significant magnitude was on 11 June 1909. It left a visible trace in the centre of the city since the bell tower of the Augustinians, which is surmounted by an ancient campanile of wrought iron, located in Rue Carreterie, remained slightly leaning as a result of this earthquake.


title: Avignon

text: Avignon has a hot-summer mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa), though the dry-summer effect is not as strong as coastal locations like Marseille due to its more sheltered inland location. With mild-cool winters and hot summers, with moderate rainfall year-round. July and August are the hottest months with average daily maximum temperatures of around 28 °C, and January and February the coldest with average daily maximum temperatures of around 9 °C. The wettest month is September, with a rain average of 102 millimetres, and the driest month is July, when the monthly average rainfall is 37 millimetres. The city is often subject to windy weather; the strongest wind is the mistral. A medieval Latin proverb said of the city: "Avenie ventosa, sine vento venenosa, cum vento fastidiosa" (Windy Avignon, pest-ridden when there is no wind, wind-pestered when there is).


title: Avignon

text: According to Météo-France the number of days per year with rain above 2.5 litres per square metre is 45 and the amount of water, rain and snow combined is 660 litres per square metre. Average temperatures vary between 0 and 30 °C depending on the season. The record temperature record since the existence of the weather station at Orange is 40.7 °C on 26 July 1983 and the record lowest was −14.5 °C on 2 February 1956.


title: Avignon

text: The prevailing wind is the mistral for which the windspeed can be beyond 110 km/h. It blows between 120 and 160 days per year with an average speed of 90 km/h in gusts. The following table shows the different speeds of the mistral recorded by Orange and Carpentras Serres stations in the southern Rhone valley and its frequency in 2006. "Normal" corresponds to the average of the last 53 years from Orange weather reports and that of the last 42 at Carpentras.


title: Avignon

text: Avignon is the "prefecture" (capital) of Vaucluse "department" in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region. It forms the core of the Grand Avignon metropolitan area ("communauté d'agglomération"), which comprises 15 communes on both sides of the river:


title: Avignon

text: Avignon absorbed Montfavet between 1790 and 1794 then ceded Morières-lès-Avignon in 1870 and Le Pontet in 1925. On 16 May 2007 the commune of Les Angles in Gard ceded 13 hectares to Avignon.


title: Avignon

text: The city of Avignon has an area of 64.78 km and a population of 92,078 inhabitants in 2010 and is ranked as follows:


title: Avignon

text: Avignon is the seat of the "Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vaucluse" which manages the Avignon – Caumont Airport and the Avignon-Le Pontet Docks.


title: Avignon

text: Avignon has 7,000 businesses, 1,550 associations, 1,764 shops, and 1,305 service providers. The urban area has one of the largest catchment areas in Europe with more than 300,000 square metres of retail space and 469 m per thousand population against 270 on average in France. The commercial area of Avignon Nord is one of the largest in Europe.


title: Avignon

text: The tertiary sector is the most dynamic in the department by far on the basis of the significant production of early fruit and vegetables in Vaucluse, The MIN (Market of National Importance) has become the pivotal hub of commercial activity in the department, taking precedence over other local markets (including that of Carpentras).


title: Avignon

text: A Sensitive urban zone was created for companies wanting to relocate with exemptions from tax and social issues. It is located south of Avignon between the city walls and the Durance located in the districts of Croix Rouge, Monclar, Saint-Chamand, and La Rocade.


title: Avignon

text: The Courtine area is the largest with nearly 300 businesses (of which roughly half are service establishments, one third are shops, and the rest related to industry) and more than 3,600 jobs. The site covers an area of 300 hectares and is located south-west of the city at the TGV railway station.


title: Avignon

text: Then comes the Fontcouverte area with a hundred establishments representing a thousand jobs. It is, however, more oriented towards shops than the Courtine area.


title: Avignon

text: The MIN area of Avignon is the Agroparc area (or "Technopole Agroparc"). The Cristole area is contiguous and both have a little less than a hundred establishments.


title: Avignon

text: Finally, the areas of Castelette, Croix de Noves, Realpanier, and the airport each have fewer than 25 establishments spread between service activities and shops. The area of the Castelette alone represents more than 600 jobs – i.e. 100 more than Cristole.


title: Avignon

text: Four million visitors come annually to visit the city and the region and also for its festival. In 2011 the most visited tourist attraction was the Palais des Papes with 572,972 paying visitors. The annual Festival d'Avignon is the most important cultural event in the city. The official festival attracted 135,800 people in 2012.


title: Avignon

text: River tourism began in 1994 with three river boat-hotels. In 2011 there is a fleet of 21 river boat-hotel vessels, including six sight-seeing boats which are anchored on the quay along the Oulle walkways. In addition, a free shuttle boat connects Avignon to the Île de la Barthelasse and, as of 1987, a harbor master has managed all river traffic.


title: Avignon

text: The commune has been awarded one flower by the "National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom" in the "Competition of cities and villages in Bloom".


title: Avignon

text: The city is the headquarters of the "International Association of the Mediterranean tomato", the "World Council of the tomato industry", and the "Inter-Rhône" organisation.


title: Avignon

text: Only EDF (Grand Delta) with about 850 employees and "Onet Propreté" with just over 300 exceed 100 employees.


title: Avignon

text: The Henri Duffaut hospital, the City of Avignon, and the CHS of Montfavet are the largest employers in the town with about 2,000 employees each. Then comes the General Council of Vaucluse with about 1,300 employees.


title: Avignon

text: In 2017 the unemployment rate was 26.0% while it was 20.7% in 2007. There are 38,731 people in the Avignon workforce: 102 (0.3%) agricultural workers, 2,194 (5.7%) tradesmen, shopkeepers, and business managers, 5,598 (14.5%) managers and intellectuals, 8,486 (21.9%) middle managers, 11,734 (30.3%) employees, and 9,247 (23.9%) workers.


title: Avignon

text: The city has nine paid multi-storey car parks with a total of 7,100 spaces, multi-storey car parks under surveillance with a capacity for 2,050 cars with a free shuttle to the city centre, as well as five other free parking areas with a capacity of 900 cars.


title: Avignon

text: Avignon is served by two railway stations: the historic station built in 1860, the "Gare d'Avignon-Centre", just outside the city walls, which can accommodate any type of train and, since 2001, the "Gare d'Avignon TGV" in the 'Courtine' district south of the city, on the LGV Méditerranée line. Since December 2013 the two stations have been connected by a link line – the "Virgule". The Montfavet district, which was formerly a separate commune, also has a station.


title: Avignon

text: The Avignon - Caumont Airport on the south-eastern commune border has several international routes to England. The major airport in the region with domestic and international scheduled passenger service is the Marseille Provence Airport.


title: Avignon

text: The Rhône has for many centuries been an important means of transportation for the city. River traffic in Avignon has two commercial ports, docking stations for boat cruises, and various riverfront developments. A free shuttle boat has been established between the quay near the city walls and the opposite bank (the île de la Barthelasse).


title: Avignon

text: The (TCRA) is the public transport operator for the commune of Avignon and its surrounding suburbs. TCRA operates bus services, as well as bike sharing and car pooling services. The first tram line opened in October 2019.


title: Avignon

text: Avignon has of bicycle paths. In 2009 the TCRA introduced a bicycle sharing system called the "Vélopop'".


title: Avignon

text: Avignon has a very large number of sites and buildings (177) that are registered as historical monuments.


title: Avignon

text: In the part of the city within the walls the buildings are old but in most areas they have been restored or reconstructed (such as the post office and the Lycée Frédéric Mistral). The buildings along the main street, Rue de la République, date from the Second Empire (1852–70) with Haussmann façades and amenities around Place de l'Horloge (the central square), the neoclassical city hall, and the theatre district.


title: Avignon

text: Listed below are the major sites of interest with those sites registered as historical monuments indicated:


title: Avignon

text: A theatre festival is held annually in Avignon. Founded in 1947, the Avignon Festival comprises traditional theatrical events as well as other art forms such as dance, music, and cinema, making use of the town's historical monuments. Every summer approximately 100,000 people attend the festival. There are really two festivals that take place: the more formal "Festival In", which presents plays inside the Palace of the Popes and the more bohemian "Festival Off", which is known for its presentation of largely undiscovered plays and street performances.


title: Avignon

text: Avignon festival was founded by Jean Vilar. This cultural initiative brought, year after year, a major economic boost to the city and to the region of Provence. Indeed, the tourists visiting Avignon during the month of July usually take benefit of their presence to go to the smaller villages around, to discover the local food, local wines, touristic activities, learn some French.


title: Avignon

text: The centre was created in 1976 within the premises of the Palace of the Popes and hosts many events throughout the entire year. The Congress Centre, designed for conventions, seminars, and meetings for 10 to 550 persons, now occupies two wings of the Popes' Palace.


title: Avignon

text: Avignon is commemorated by the French song 'Sur le Pont d'Avignon' ('On the bridge of Avignon'), which describes folk dancing. The song dates from the mid-19th century when Adolphe Adam included it in the Opéra comique "Le Sourd ou l'Auberge Pleine", which was first performed in Paris in 1853. The opera was an adaptation of the 1790 comedy by Desforges.


title: Avignon

text: The bridge of the song is the Pont Saint-Bénézet over the Rhône, of which only four arches (out of the initial 22) now remain. A bridge across the Rhone was built between 1171 and 1185, with a length of some 900 m (2950 ft), but was destroyed during the siege of Avignon by Louis VIII of France in 1226. It was rebuilt but suffered frequent collapses during floods and had to be continually repaired. Several arches were already missing (and spanned by wooden sections) before the remainder was abandoned in 1669.


title: Avignon

text: Sporting Olympique Avignon is the local rugby league football team. During the 20th century it produced a number of French international representative players.


title: Avignon

text: AC Arles-Avignon was a professional association football team. They competed in Ligue 2, after a season 2010–2011 competing in Ligue 1 and being relegated back down the following season and ultimately folding in 2016. They played at the Parc des Sports, which has a capacity of just over 17,000.


title: Avignon

text: The schools within the commune of Avignon are administered by the Académie d'Aix-Marseille. There are 26 state nursery schools ("Écoles maternelles") for children up to 6, and 32 state primary schools ("Écoles élémentaires") up to 11. There are also 4 private schools.


title: Avignon

text: The medieval University of Avignon, formed from the existing schools of the city, was formally constituted in 1303 by Boniface VIII in a Papal Bull. Boniface VIII and King Charles II of Naples were the first great protectors and benefactors to the university. The Law department was the most important department covering both civil and ecclesiastical law. The law department existed nearly exclusively for some time after the university's formation and remained its most important department throughout its existence.


title: Avignon

text: In 1413 Pope John XXIII founded the university's department of theology, which for quite some time had only a few students. It was not until the 16th and 17th centuries that the school developed a department of medicine. The bishop of Avignon was chancellor of the university from 1303 to 1475. After 1475 the bishop became an archbishop but remained chancellor of the university. The papal vice-legate, generally a bishop, represented the civil power (in this case the pope) and was chiefly a judicial officer who ranked higher than the Primicerius (Rector).


title: Avignon

text: The Primicerius was elected by the Doctors of Law. In 1503 the Doctors of Law had 4 Theologians and in 1784 two Doctors of Medicine added to their ranks. Since the Pope was the spiritual head and, after 1348, the temporal ruler of Avignon, he was able to have a great deal of influence in all university affairs. In 1413 John XXIII granted the university extensive special privileges, such as university jurisdiction and tax exempt status. Political, geographical, and educational circumstances in the latter part of the university's existence caused it to seek favour from Paris rather than Rome for protection. During the chaos of the French Revolution the university started to gradually disappear and, in 1792, the university was abandoned and closed.


title: Avignon

text: A university annex of the "Faculté des Sciences d'Aix-Marseille" was opened in Avignon in 1963. Over the next 20 years various changes were made to the provision of tertiary education in the town until finally in 1984 the "Université d'Avignon et des Pays de Vaucluse" was created. This was nearly 200 years after the demise of the original Avignon university. The main campus lies to the east of the city centre within the city walls. The university occupies the 18th century buildings of the "Hôpital Sainte-Marthe". The main building has an elegant façade with a central portico. The right hand side was designed by Jean-Baptiste Franque and built between 1743 and 1745. Franque was assisted by his son François in the design of the portico. The hospital moved out in the 1980s and, after major works, the building opened for students in 1997. In 2009–2010 there were 7,125 students registered at the university.


title: Saturated fat

text: A saturated fat is a type of fat in which the fatty acid chains have all single bonds. A fat known as a glyceride is made of two kinds of smaller molecules: a short glycerol backbone and fatty acids that each contain a long linear or branched chain of carbon (C) atoms. Along the chain, some carbon atoms are linked by single bonds (-C-C-) and others are linked by double bonds (-C=C-). A double bond along the carbon chain can react with a pair of hydrogen atoms to change into a single -C-C- bond, with each H atom now bonded to one of the two C atoms. Glyceride fats without any carbon chain double bonds are called saturated because they are "saturated with" hydrogen atoms, having no double bonds available to react with more hydrogen.


title: Saturated fat

text: Most animal fats are saturated. The fats of plants and fish are generally unsaturated. Various foods contain different proportions of saturated and unsaturated fat. Many processed foods like foods deep-fried in hydrogenated oil and sausage are high in saturated fat content. Some store-bought baked goods are as well, especially those containing partially hydrogenated oils. Other examples of foods containing a high proportion of saturated fat and dietary cholesterol include animal fat products such as lard or schmaltz, fatty meats and dairy products made with whole or reduced fat milk like yogurt, ice cream, cheese and butter. Certain vegetable products have high saturated fat content, such as coconut oil and palm kernel oil.


title: Saturated fat

text: Guidelines released by many medical organizations, including the World Health Organization, have advocated for reduction in the intake of saturated fat to promote health and reduce the risk from cardiovascular diseases. Many review articles also recommend a diet low in saturated fat in order to lower risks of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, or death.


title: Saturated fat

text: While nutrition labels regularly combine them, the saturated fatty acids appear in different proportions among food groups. Lauric and myristic acids are most commonly found in "tropical" oils (e.g., palm kernel, coconut) and dairy products. The saturated fat in meat, eggs, cacao, and nuts is primarily the triglycerides of palmitic and stearic acids.


title: Saturated fat

text: The effect of saturated fat on heart disease has been extensively studied. Many health authorities, such as the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics,<ref name="ADA/DOC"></ref> the British Dietetic Association, American Heart Association, the World Heart Federation, the British National Health Service, among others, advise that saturated fat is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. In 2020, the World Health Organization recommended lowering dietary intake of saturated fats to less than 10% of total energy consumption, and increasing intake of unsaturated fats. There is moderate-quality evidence that reducing the proportion of saturated fat in the diet and replacing it with unsaturated fats or carbohydrates for a period of at least two years leads to a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease. A 2021 review found that diets high in saturated fat were associated with higher mortality from all-causes and cardiovascular disease.


title: Saturated fat

text: In 2019, the UK Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) published a report "Saturated fats and health" which examined 47 systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Their report concluded that higher saturated fat consumption is associated with raised blood cholesterol and increased risk of heart disease.


title: Saturated fat

text: The consumption of saturated fat is generally considered a risk factor for dyslipidemia, which in turn is a risk factor for some types of cardiovascular disease.


title: Saturated fat

text: Abnormal blood lipid levels high total cholesterol, high levels of triglycerides, high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol are associated with increased risk of heart disease and stroke.


title: Saturated fat

text: Meta-analyses have found a significant relationship between saturated fat and serum cholesterol levels. High total cholesterol levels, which may be caused by many factors, are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, other indicators measuring cholesterol such as high total/HDL cholesterol ratio are more predictive than total serum cholesterol. In a study of myocardial infarction in 52 countries, the ApoB/ApoA1 (related to LDL and HDL, respectively) ratio was the strongest predictor of CVD among all risk factors. There are other pathways involving obesity, triglyceride levels, insulin sensitivity, endothelial function, and thrombogenicity, among others, that play a role in CVD. Different saturated fatty acids have differing effects on various lipid levels.


title: Saturated fat

text: Several reviews of case–control studies have found that saturated fat intake is associated with breast cancer risk and mortality.


title: Saturated fat

text: Observational studies have shown that a diet high in saturated fat increases the risk of prostate cancer.


title: Saturated fat

text: Recommendations to reduce, limit or replace dietary intake of trans fats and saturated fats, in favor of unsaturated fats, are made by the World Health Organization, American Heart Association, Health Canada, the US Department of Health and Human Services, the UK National Health Service, the UK Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, the Australian Department of Health and Aging, the Singapore Ministry of Health, the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the New Zealand Ministry of Health, and Hong Kong's Department of Health.


title: Saturated fat

text: In 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) expert consultation report concluded:


title: Saturated fat

text: A 2004 statement released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) determined that "Americans need to continue working to reduce saturated fat intake…" In addition, reviews by the American Heart Association led the Association to recommend reducing saturated fat intake to less than 7% of total calories according to its 2006 recommendations. This concurs with similar conclusions made by the US Department of Health and Human Services, which determined that reduction in saturated fat consumption would positively affect health and reduce the prevalence of heart disease.


title: Saturated fat

text: The United Kingdom, National Health Service claims the majority of British people eat too much saturated fat. The British Heart Foundation also advises people to cut down on saturated fat. People are advised to cut down on saturated fat and read labels on the food they buy. The British Nutrition Foundation have said that based on the totality of available evidence the saturated fatty acids should make up no more than 10% of total dietary energy.


title: Saturated fat

text: A 2004 review stated that "no lower safe limit of specific saturated fatty acid intakes has been identified" and recommended that the influence of varying saturated fatty acid intakes against a background of different individual lifestyles and genetic backgrounds should be the focus in future studies.


title: Saturated fat

text: Blanket recommendations to lower saturated fat were criticized at a 2010 conference debate of the American Dietetic Association for focusing too narrowly on reducing saturated fats rather than emphasizing increased consumption of healthy fats and unrefined carbohydrates. Concern was expressed over the health risks of replacing saturated fats in the diet with refined carbohydrates, which carry a high risk of obesity and heart disease, particularly at the expense of polyunsaturated fats which may have health benefits. None of the panelists recommended heavy consumption of saturated fats, emphasizing instead the importance of overall dietary quality to cardiovascular health.


title: Saturated fat

text: In a 2017 comprehensive review of the literature and clinical trials, the American Heart Association published a recommendation that saturated fat intake be reduced or replaced by products containing monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, a dietary adjustment that could reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases by 30%.


title: Saturated fat

text: The two-dimensional illustration has implicit hydrogen atoms bonded to each of the carbon atoms in the polycarbon tail of the myristic acid molecule (there are 13 carbon atoms in the tail; 14 carbon atoms in the entire molecule).


title: Saturated fat

text: Carbon atoms are also implicitly drawn, as they are portrayed as intersections between two straight lines. "Saturated," in general, refers to a maximum number of hydrogen atoms bonded to each carbon of the polycarbon tail as allowed by the Octet Rule. This also means that only single bonds (sigma bonds) will be present between adjacent carbon atoms of the tail.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier airline of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 30 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily around and within the Pacific Rim. The airline has been a member of the Star Alliance since 1999.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Air New Zealand succeeded Tasman Empire Airways Limited on 1 April 1965. The airline served only international routes until 1978, when the government merged it and the domestic New Zealand National Airways Corporation (NAC) into a single airline under the Air New Zealand name. Air New Zealand was privatised in 1989, but returned to majority government ownership in 2001 after near bankruptcy due to a failed tie up with Australian carrier Ansett Australia. In the 2017 financial year to June, Air New Zealand carried 15.95 million passengers.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Air New Zealand's route network focuses on Australasia and the South Pacific, with long-haul flight services to eastern Asia and North America. It was the last airline to circumnavigate the world with flights to London Heathrow via both Los Angeles and Hong Kong. The latter ended in March 2013 when Air New Zealand stopped Hong Kong – London flights, in favour of a codeshare agreement with Cathay Pacific. The airline's main hub is Auckland Airport, located near Mangere in the southern part of the Auckland urban area. Air New Zealand is headquartered in a building called "The Hub", located from Auckland Airport, in Auckland's Wynyard Quarter.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Air New Zealand currently operates a fleet of Airbus A320, Airbus A320neo family, Boeing 777, and Boeing 787 jet aircraft, as well as a regional fleet of ATR 72 and Bombardier Q300 turboprop aircraft. Air New Zealand was awarded Airline of the Year in 2010 and 2012 by the "Air Transport World" Global Airline Awards. In 2014, Air New Zealand was ranked the safest airline in the world by JACDEC.


title: Air New Zealand

text: On 1 April 1965, Tasman Empire Airways Limited was rebranded as Air New Zealand, the Government of New Zealand having purchased the Government of Australia's 50% stake in 1961.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Air New Zealand began as Tasman Empire Airways Limited, founded in 1939 by an international agreement between New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Its initial shareholders were the New Zealand Government, Union Airways of New Zealand, Qantas and the British Overseas Airways Corporation. It was formed to fly trans-Tasman routes and carry passengers, cargo and mail between Australia and New Zealand. Incorporated on 26 April 1940, it started operations four days later, on 30 April. Its first flight, flown with a Short S30 flying boat, connected Auckland and Sydney.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Following World War II, TEAL operated weekly flights from Auckland to Sydney, and added Wellington and Fiji to its routings. The New Zealand and Australian governments purchased 50% stakes in TEAL in 1953, and the airline ended flying boat operations in favour of land-based turboprop airliners by 1960. On 1 April 1965, TEAL became Air New Zealand—the New Zealand government having purchased Australia's 50% stake in the carrier.


title: Air New Zealand

text: With the increased range of the Douglas DC-8s the airline's first jet aircraft, Air New Zealand began transpacific services to the United States and Asia with Los Angeles and Honolulu added as destinations in 1965. The airline further acquired wide-body McDonnell Douglas DC-10 airliners in 1973. The DC-10s introduced the new koru-inspired logo for the airline, which remains to this day.


title: Air New Zealand

text: In 1978, the domestic airline National Airways Corporation (NAC) and its subsidiary Safe Air were merged into Air New Zealand to form a single national airline, further expanding the carrier's operations. As a result, NAC's Boeing 737 and Fokker F27 aircraft joined Air New Zealand's fleet alongside its DC-8 and DC-10 airliners. The merger also resulted in the airline having two IATA airline designators: TE from Air New Zealand and NZ from NAC. TE continued to be used for international flights and NZ for domestic flights until 1990, when international flights assumed the NZ code.


title: Air New Zealand

text: In 1981, Air New Zealand introduced its first Boeing 747 airliner, and a year later initiated service to London via Los Angeles. The five 747-200s owned by Air New Zealand were all named after ancestral Maori canoes. 1985 saw the introduction of Boeing 767-200ER airliners to fill the large size gap between the Boeing 737 and 747 (the DC-8 and DC-10 had been withdrawn by 1983). In 1989 the airline was privatised with a sale to a consortium headed by Brierley Investments. (with remaining stakes held by Qantas, Japan Airlines, American Airlines, and the New Zealand government). The New Zealand air transport market underwent deregulation in 1990, prompting Air New Zealand to acquire a 50% stake in Ansett Transport Industries in 1995.


title: Air New Zealand

text: In March 1999, Air New Zealand became a member of the Star Alliance. From 1999 through 2000, Air New Zealand became embroiled in an ownership battle over Ansett with co-owner News Limited over a possible sale of the under-performing carrier to Singapore Airlines.


title: Air New Zealand

text: In 2000, Air New Zealand announced that it had chosen instead to acquire the entirety of Ansett Transport Industries (increasing its 50% stake in the carrier to 100%) for A$680 million from News Corporation in an attempt to break into the Australian aviation market. Business commentators believe this to have been a critical mistake, as Ansett's fleet, staffing levels and infrastructure far outweighed that of Air New Zealand. Subsequently, both carriers' profitability came under question, and foreign offers to purchase the Air New Zealand Group were considered. In September 2001, plagued by costs it could not possibly afford, the Air New Zealand / Ansett Group neared collapse. A failed attempt at purchasing Virgin Blue was the final straw, and on 12 September, out of both time and cash, Air New Zealand placed Ansett Australia into voluntary administration, following which Ansett was forced to cease operations. Air New Zealand announced a NZ$1.425 billion operating loss. Air New Zealand was subsequently bailed out by the New Zealand Government, with Helen Clark's Labour Government taking an 82% stake in the company.


title: Air New Zealand

text: In October 2001, Air New Zealand was re-nationalised under a New Zealand government NZ$885 million rescue plan (with the government taking an 82% stake), and subsequently received new leadership. This act was the only thing that spared Air New Zealand from going into administration and likely grounding.


title: Air New Zealand

text: In 2002, Air New Zealand reconfigured its domestic operations under a low-cost airline business plan, and the New Zealand government weighed (and later refused) a proposal from Qantas to purchase a one-fifth stake in the carrier. Air New Zealand returned to profitability in 2003, reporting a net profit of $NZ165.7 million for that year. The carrier saw increasing profits through 2004 and 2005. In 2004, the airline announced a comprehensive relaunch of its long-haul product, featuring the introduction of new seats in its business, premium economy, and economy class cabins.


title: Air New Zealand

text: In 2003, Air New Zealand added the Airbus A320 airliner to its fleet for use on short-haul international flights, and later, domestic flights. In 2005, the airline received its first Boeing 777 aircraft (–200ER variant), and placed orders for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in 2004. The airline later was announced as the launch customer for the -9 variant of the 787.


title: Air New Zealand

text: On 21 December 2010, the New Zealand government approved an alliance between Air New Zealand and Australian airline Virgin Blue (now named Virgin Australia), which allowed both airlines to expand operations between Australia and New Zealand with codeshares for trans-Tasman and connecting domestic flights; and reciprocal access to frequent flyer programmes and airport lounges. Air New Zealand subsequently purchased a 26% shareholding in Virgin Australia Holdings (Virgin Australia's parent company) to cement the relationship. By October 2016 Air New Zealand sold its remaining stake in Virgin Australia to investors and the Nasham Group. On 4 April 2018, Air New Zealand ended its partnership with Virgin Australia effective 28 October 2018.


title: Air New Zealand

text: In 2011, Air New Zealand introduced the Boeing 777-300ER airliner, as well as the Economy Skycouch, a set of three economy class seats that could be converted into a flat multi-purpose surface by raising the leg rests. After a four-year delay, Air New Zealand took delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 on 9 July 2014. The airline retired its last Boeing 747 in September 2014, the last Boeing 737 in September 2015, and the last Boeing 767 in March 2017, leaving it with a simplified fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft for short-haul and Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft for long-haul.


title: Air New Zealand

text: In November 2013, the New Zealand Government reduced its share in Air New Zealand from 73% to 53% as part of its controversial asset sales programme. It made $365 million from this deal.


title: Air New Zealand

text: In October 2019, the airline announced it would stop its Los Angeles to London route in October 2020 while launching a new non-stop route from Auckland to New York. The London route was prematurely cancelled in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the New York route was delayed, with the first flight taking place on 17 September 2022.


title: Air New Zealand

text: The Air New Zealand head office, "The Hub," is a office park located at the corner of Beaumont and Fanshawe streets in Wynyard Quarter, Auckland. The office includes two connected six-level buildings. The facility consists of a lot of glass to allow sunlight and therefore reduce electricity consumption. The building does not have cubicle walls. Lights automatically turn off at 7:30 A.M. and turn on at 6 P.M. Sensors throughout the building can turn on lights if they detect human activity, and turn off lights if human activity is not detected for 15 minutes. The buildings cost $60 million New Zealand dollars to build and develop. From late September to early October 2006 the airline moved 1,000 employees from four buildings in the Auckland CBD and other buildings elsewhere.


title: Air New Zealand

text: The company previously had its head office in the Quay Tower in the CBD. In its history the airline had its head office in Airways House on Customs Street East.


title: Air New Zealand

text: The company also occupies premises at the Smales Farm Business Park in Takapuna on the North Shore, adjacent to the bus station and Northern motorway. It is home to the Contact Centre staff (additional to those at 'The Hub'), Tandem Travel and other services.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Air New Zealand had wholly owned subsidiary regional airlines – Air Nelson, Mount Cook Airline and Eagle Airways– that served secondary destinations in New Zealand. Together they made up Air New Zealand Link. On 26 August 2016 Eagle Airways ceased operations, in late 2019 Air Nelson and Mount Cook Airline were merged into its parent's operations.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Subsidiary company Zeal320 was introduced to help combat increasing labour costs. Zeal320 operated Air New Zealand's trans-Tasman fleet of Airbus A320-200 aircraft under the Air New Zealand brand. On 31 July 2006, flights were re-numbered to the NZ700-999 series for trans-Tasman services, and NZ1000 series for domestic services. All of Air New Zealand's A320-200s were registered to Zeal320 until 26 November 2008, when ownership of the fleet was transferred back to Air New Zealand. However, staff that worked the A320-200 fleet were still employed by this subsidiary. This was a source of contention within the airline group in which these employees were paid at a lower scale than their mainline counterparts. Continued industrial action by staff employed in this subsidiary during 2009 permanently delayed a proposed low-cost carrier airline as a successor to Freedom Air that would have also employed the Airbus A320 on domestic routes to counter Jetstar Airways, also operating in New Zealand. In 2015 Zeal320 was removed from the New Zealand Companies Office.


title: Air New Zealand

text: In June 2015, Air New Zealand confirmed the sale of its Safe Air engineering subsidiary to the Australian arm of Airbus.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Air New Zealand was the title sponsor of the Air New Zealand Cup domestic rugby union club competition through the 2009 season. The airline remains a major sponsor of New Zealand rugby, including the New Zealand national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks. The airline also sponsors the Air New Zealand Wine Awards and World of Wearable Arts; and partners with New Zealand's Department of Conservation and Antarctica New Zealand.


title: Air New Zealand

text: The Air New Zealand symbol is a Māori koru, a stylised representation of a silver fern frond unfolding. A redesigned logo was unveiled on 21 March 2006. The "Pacific Wave" fuselage stripes were removed from short-haul aircraft in 2009, simplifying the overall livery, and was in the process of also being removed from long haul aircraft before the logo was changed again.


title: Air New Zealand

text: On 27 March 2006, Air New Zealand embarked on a changeover to a new brand identity, involving a new Zambesi-designed uniform, new logo, new colour scheme and new look check-in counters and lounges. The new uniforms featured a colour palette mirroring the greenstone, teal, schist and slate hues of New Zealand; sea and sky (a Māori motif created by Derek Lardelli) fabric woven from merino wool; and curves inspired by the airline's logo symbol, the koru. A greenstone colour replaces the blue Pacific Wave colour, inspired by the colour of the pounamu, the prized gemstone found in New Zealand. The Air New Zealand Koru was woven through all Air New Zealand's signage and products.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Later in 2009 staff were involved in testing fabrics and cuts of uniforms. "'It would be fair to say that the lessons from the development and introduction of the current uniform have been taken on board," said the airline's CEO after widespread public and staff criticism.


title: Air New Zealand

text: A rebranding was announced in July 2012. Ditching the teal and green colours that had represented the airline since its beginnings as Tasman Empire Airways (TEAL) in 1939, black was adopted as the brand colour in a joint effort between the airline, New Zealand design agency Designworks and renowned Kiwi typographer Kris Sowersby; as well as a new logo typeface. The tails of the aircraft and the typeface changed to black, while the rest of the fuselage remained white.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Then CEO Rob Fyfe said of the rebranding: "Black has resonated well with our customers and staff who identify with it as the colour of New Zealand and a natural choice for our national airline. It inspires pride, is part of our Kiwi identity and a symbol of Kiwi success on the world stage." The airline began using black as its corporate colour ahead of a sponsorship campaign with NZ's rugby union team, the All Blacks, in 2011.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Another new livery was announced on 12 June 2013. In conjunction with a NZ$20 million Memorandum of Understanding with the national tourism agency Tourism New Zealand for joint marketing, TNZ granted permission for Air New Zealand to use the "New Zealand Fern Mark", a standard fern logo used and managed by Tourism NZ and NZ Trade and Enterprise for international promotion, in its livery.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Two new liveries were unveiled. The first is predominantly white with a black strip running downwards on the rear fuselage from the tail, adorned with a koru logo in white, to disappear downwards just aft of the junction of the wings with the fuselage. The black and white fern mark adorns the fuselage. This livery is used on most of the fleet. A select number have an all black livery with the fern in silver, including the airline's first Boeing 787-9. Extensive consumer surveys by Air New Zealand revealed 78 percent people believed the Fern Mark fits with the airline's brand and represents New Zealand. The first aircraft to be painted in this livery was rolled out on 24 September 2013.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Air New Zealand serves 20 domestic destinations and 30 international destinations in eighteen countries and territories across Asia, North America and Oceania.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Air New Zealand previously operated four fifth freedom routes (i.e. between two non-New Zealand destinations). The airline operated weekly flights from Rarotonga to Sydney and Los Angeles, in addition to flights connecting via Auckland. In 2012, after securing a contract from the Australian government – Air New Zealand launched twice-weekly services from Sydney and Brisbane to Norfolk Island on its A320 aircraft.


title: Air New Zealand

text: As of October 2022, Air New Zealand operates 101 aircraft (3 additional Boeing 777 being reactivated for a total 104 aircraft). The jet fleet consists of 52 aircraft: 17 Airbus A320 and 14 Airbus A320/A321neo aircraft for short-haul flights, and seven Boeing 777-300ER(3 temporarily out of operation as of October 2022) and fourteen Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner jet aircraft for long-haul flights. The airline has nine Airbus A320neo/A321neo and eight Boeing 787-10 aircraft on order.


title: Air New Zealand

text: The airline's turboprop fleet operates regional domestic services and consists of 51 aircraft: 29 ATR 72-600 aircraft and 23 De Havilland Canada Dash 8 Q300 aircraft. One ATR 72-600 aircraft is on order.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Air New Zealand domestic services are almost exclusively operated by A320 and A320neo family, ATR 72 and Dash 8 aircraft. All flights are operated in a single class all-economy configuration, with seats configured 3-3 on the A320 and A320neo family and 2-2 on the ATR 72 and Dash 8.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Flights to and from Australia and the Pacific Islands are operated by Airbus A320neo family, Boeing 787, and Boeing 777 aircraft. The A320neo aircraft operate in a single class all-economy configuration, while 787 and 777 aircraft operate in a three-class configuration: business, premium economy, and economy.


title: Air New Zealand

text: In response to increasing competition from low-cost carriers, namely Jetstar Airways, Air New Zealand introduced "Seats to Suit" on Australian and Pacific Islands flights in late 2010. It offers three or four service tiers in economy class: "Seat," "Seat plus Bag", "The Works," and on A320 and A320neo-operated flights, "Works Deluxe" (Premium Economy replaces Works Deluxe on 787 and 777-operated flights)"."


title: Air New Zealand

text: Business Premier is the highest available class on Air New Zealand flights. The seating is configured in a herringbone layout in a 1-2-1 configuration on the 777 and 1-1-1 on the 787. Each seat is wide leather and comes with an ottoman footrest that doubles as a visitor seat. The seat converts to a full-length () lie-flat bed.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Premium Economy is in a dedicated cabin, which shares lavatories with the Business Premier cabin. The class has the same mood lighting, dining and wine selection and in-seat power as the Business Premier cabin. The newly refurbished seats are wider with a 9-inch recline and extendable leg rests with a 2-4-2 configuration on the 777, and a 2-3-2 configuration on the 787. Seat pitch is approximately .


title: Air New Zealand

text: Economy class is available on all aircraft, in a 3-3-3 configuration on the 787, and a 3-4-3 configuration on the 777. The seats have a pitch of , have a 6-inch recline, and have a flexible edge seat base to provide more leg support when reclined. Each seat has its own AVOD entertainment system, with a 9-inch screen on the 787, and a 10.6-inch touchscreen on the 777.


title: Air New Zealand

text: The Economy SkyCouch is available on all 787 and 777 aircraft on flights longer than 6 hours duration; where the aircraft are used on shorter routes, the leg rests are locked out and the Skycouch seats act as regular economy seats. It is a set of three Economy class seats on the window rows of the cabin that have armrests that retract into the seat back, and full leg rests that individually and manually can be raised to horizontal to form a flat surface extending to the back of the seats in front. It is largely designed for families for use as a flat play surface, and for couples, who on purchasing the middle seat for 25% more each, can use it as a flat sleeping surface. Each SkyCouch seat is equipped with the same basic facilities as a standard Economy seat.


title: Air New Zealand

text: The SkyCouch has earned the nickname "cuddle class" by media reporting on the innovative seating, from the ability for couples to curl up and "cuddle" together on the flat surface. Concerns were raised almost immediately over the couch potentially being a new way to join the mile high club. Air New Zealand responded that public displays of affection of that level would not be tolerated in its aircraft. The airline even released a billboard advertisement entitled "The Economy SkyCouch activity guide", suggesting "spoons" (hugs) were allowed, but "forks" (sexual activity) were not.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Air New Zealand offers audio video on demand in all classes on international services on its aircraft. The AVOD system, branded "Kia Ora", features multiple channels of video, audio, music, and games. Passengers can start and stop programs, plus rewind and fast-forward as desired. It is a "gate-to-gate" in-flight entertainment experience: passengers can start their entertainment as soon as they board the aircraft, and continue until they arrive at the gate of their destination, maximising play time, which is especially useful for its short-haul Tasman and Pacific Island flights. "Gate-to-gate" in-flight entertainment is not available on certain seats in economy (such as the bulkhead and emergency exit row seats).


title: Air New Zealand

text: "Kia Ora", the airline's in-flight magazine, was removed from international flights from March 2009. It is now only in seat backs on domestic and trans-Tasman services, however it can still be found in the inflight magazine racks on international flights. As a guide on international services, there is now a brief publication named "Entertainment Magazine" detailing the entertainment available on the flight, which also contains the buy on board 'in-Bites' menu.


title: Air New Zealand

text: In April 2020, "Kia Ora" publisher, the Bauer Media Group, ceased publication of the magazine and several New Zealand titles as result of the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. In June 2020, Bauer Media's Australian and New Zealand operations were sold to Mercury Capital. In late September 2020, Mercury Capital rebranded Bauer Media as Are Media, which took over publication of "Kia Ora".


title: Air New Zealand

text: The Air New Zealand Lounge is Air New Zealand's network of airline lounges around the world. Members of Air New Zealand Koru programme may access the lounges, and also get valet parking, priority wait listing, exclusive check-in, extra checked in baggage and preferred seating.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Airpoints is Air New Zealand's frequent-flyer programme. Members earn "Airpoints Dollars", which they can redeem at face value on any fare for flights ticketed and operated by Air New Zealand. Members can attain status tiers, with increasing privileges ranging from Silver to Gold, then Gold Elite, by accumulating their "Status Points", which are earned separately from Airpoints Dollars. Airpoints Gold and Airpoints Gold Elite have the same recognition as Star Alliance Gold status and benefits across the Star Alliance network. Airpoints Silver status is equivalent to Star Alliance Silver.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Airpoints members receive Status Points for almost every Air New Zealand flight, as well as for many other flights with its Star Alliance partners. Status Points enable members to reach a higher status faster. Status Points will still be granted even on discount fares (such as "Smart Saver" and "grabaseat" fares) that normally do not earn Airpoints Dollars.


title: Air New Zealand

text: , Air New Zealand has had four hull losses and two hijackings. The airline's worst accident, and only accident with passenger fatalities, was Flight 901 on 28 November 1979, which crashed into Mount Erebus on a sightseeing flight over Antarctica killing all 257 on board.


title: Air New Zealand

text: On 19 October 2005, Air New Zealand proposed outsourcing most of its heavy maintenance on its long-haul aircraft and engines, which would result in about 600 job losses, mostly in Auckland. Air New Zealand said that there were larger maintenance providers that could provide maintenance work more cheaply due to their large scale. The proposal was estimated to save $100 million over five years and came after many attempts to attract contracts to service other airlines' longhaul aircraft.


title: Air New Zealand

text: Eventually, a union proposal to save some of the remaining jobs was accepted. The proposal included shift and pay changes (most of them pay cuts) which would allow about 300 engineers in Auckland to keep their jobs. 200 were made redundant or resigned.


title: Air New Zealand

text: In November 2005, it was revealed that Air New Zealand (along with Qantas and British Airways) had a policy of not seating adult male passengers next to unaccompanied children. The policy came to light following an incident in 2004 when a man who was seated next to a young boy on a Qantas flight in New Zealand was asked to change seats with a female passenger. A steward informed him that "it was the airline's policy that only women were allowed to sit next to unaccompanied children". Air New Zealand later said it had a similar policy to Qantas.


title: Air New Zealand

text: On 12 April 2006, Air New Zealand and Qantas announced that they had signed a code-share agreement for their trans-Tasman routes and would file for authorisation from the New Zealand Ministry of Transport and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC). The airlines maintained that they were making losses on Tasman routes due to too many empty seats, and that a codeshare would return the routes to profitability. Critics, particularly Wellington, Christchurch and Melbourne Airports, argued that the codeshare flights would lead to reduced passenger choice and higher airfares, and that airports such as Auckland and Sydney would benefit immensely through economic activity services would bring.


title: Air New Zealand

text: On 15 November 2006 Air New Zealand announced it was withdrawing its application after a draft decision by the ACCC to not approve the code-sharing agreement.


title: Air New Zealand

text: On 31 May 2018 Qantas and Air New Zealand announced that "seamless air travel" would be available to their customers through a new code-sharing agreement. The code-share took effect in October 2018.


title: Air New Zealand

text: In February 2021, it was reported that Air New Zealand's business unit Gas Turbines had repaired two engines and one power turbine module from vessels belonging to the Royal Saudi Navy. Green Party human rights spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman accused Air New Zealand for being an accomplice to the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern subsequently ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to conduct an investigation into Air New Zealand's involvement. The airline reportedly ceased all contractual support to the Saudi military after the matter was made public.


title: Air New Zealand

text: In a 2008 effort to develop an aviation biofuel, Air New Zealand and Boeing researched the jatropha plant to see if it was a viable green alternative to conventional fuel. A two-hour test flight, using a 50-50 mixture of the new biofuel with Jet A-1 feeding a Rolls Royce RB211 engine of one of the airline's 747-400s, was completed on 30 December 2008. The engine was then removed to be scrutinised and studied to identify any differences between the jatropha blend and regular Jet A1. No effects to performances were found. The use of jatropha has been identified as a possible future fuel but large tracts of low quality land needed to grow the plant would have to be found without impeding other agricultural uses.


title: Air New Zealand

text: In 2020, Air New Zealand won an award "Best airline in Airline Excellence Awards 2020" carried out by AirlineRatings.com.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela () is a major pilgrimage and festival in Hinduism. It is celebrated in a cycle of approximately 12 years, to celebrate every revolution Brihaspati (Jupiter) completes, at four river-bank pilgrimage sites: Allahabad (Ganges-Yamuna-Sarasvati rivers confluence), Haridwar (Ganges), Nashik (Godavari), and Ujjain (Shipra). The festival is marked by a ritual dip in the waters, but it is also a celebration of community commerce with numerous fairs, education, religious discourses by saints, mass gatherings of monks, and entertainment. The seekers believe that bathing in these rivers is a means to prāyaścitta (atonement, penance) for past mistakes, and that it cleanses them of their sins.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: The festival is traditionally credited to the 8th-century Hindu philosopher and saint Adi Shankara, as a part of his efforts to start major Hindu gatherings for philosophical discussions and debates along with Hindu monasteries across the Indian subcontinent. However, there is no historical literary evidence of these mass pilgrimages called "Kumbha Mela" prior to the 19th century. There is ample evidence in historical manuscripts and inscriptions of an annual "Magha Mela" in Hinduism – with periodic larger gatherings after 6 or 12 years – where pilgrims gathered in massive numbers and where one of the rituals included a sacred dip in a river or holy tank. According to Kama MacLean, the socio-political developments during the colonial era and a reaction to Orientalism led to the rebranding and remobilisation of the ancient Magha Mela as the modern era Kumbh Mela, particularly after the Indian Rebellion of 1857.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: The weeks over which the festival is observed cycle at each site approximately once every 12 years based on the Hindu luni-solar calendar and the relative astrological positions of Jupiter, the sun and the moon. The difference in Prayag and Haridwar festivals is about 6 years, and both feature a Maha (major) and Ardha (half) Kumbh Melas. The exact years – particularly for the Kumbh Melas at Ujjain and Nashik – have been a subject of dispute in the 20th century. The Nashik and Ujjain festivals have been celebrated in the same year or one year apart, typically about 3 years after the Haridwar Kumbh Mela. Elsewhere in many parts of India, similar but smaller community pilgrimage and bathing festivals are called the Magha Mela, Makar Mela or equivalent. For example, in Tamil Nadu, the Magha Mela with water-dip ritual is a festival of antiquity. This festival is held at the Mahamaham tank (near Kaveri river) every 12 years at Kumbakonam, attracts millions of South Indian Hindus and has been described as the Tamil Kumbh Mela. Other places where the Magha-Mela or Makar-Mela bathing pilgrimage and fairs have been called Kumbh Mela include Kurukshetra, Sonipat, and Panauti (Nepal).


title: Kumbh Mela

text: The Kumbh Melas have three dates around which the significant majority of pilgrims participate, while the festival itself lasts between one to three months around these dates. Each festival attracts millions, with the largest gathering at the Prayag Kumbh Mela and the second largest at Haridwar. According to the "Encyclopædia Britannica" and Indian authorities, more than 200 million Hindus gathered for the Kumbh Mela in 2019, including 50 million on the festival's most crowded day. The festival is one of the largest peaceful gatherings in the world, and considered as the "world's largest congregation of religious pilgrims". It has been inscribed on the UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The festival is observed over many days, with the day of Amavasya attracting the largest number on a single day. The Kumbh Mela authorities said that the largest one-day attendance at the Kumbh Mela was 30 million on 10 February 2013, and 50 million on 4 February 2019.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: The "Kumbha" in Kumbha Mela literally means "pitcher, jar, pot" in Sanskrit. It is found in the Vedic texts, in this sense, often in the context of holding water or in mythical legends about the nectar of immortality. The word Kumbha or its derivatives are found in the "Rigveda" (1500–1200 BCE), for example, in verse 10.89.7; verse 19.16 of the "Yajurveda", verse 6.3 of "Samaveda", verse 19.53.3 of the "Atharvaveda", and other Vedic and post-Vedic ancient Sanskrit literature. In astrological texts, the term also refers to the zodiac sign of Aquarius. The astrological etymology dates to late 1st-millennium CE, likely influenced by Greek zodiac ideas.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: The word "mela" means "unite, join, meet, move together, assembly, junction" in Sanskrit, particularly in the context of fairs, community celebration. This word too is found in the "Rigveda" and other ancient Hindu texts. Thus, Kumbh Mela means an "assembly, meet, union" around "water or nectar of immortality".


title: Kumbh Mela

text: Many Hindus believe that the Kumbh Mela originated in times immemorial and is attested in the Hindu mythology about Samudra manthan ("lit." churning of the ocean) found in the Vedic texts. Historians, in contrast, reject these claims as none of the ancient or medieval era texts that mention the Samudra Manthan legend ever link it to a "mela" or festival. According to Giorgio Bonazzoli – a scholar of Sanskrit Puranas, these are anachronistic explanations, an adaptation of early legends to a later practice by a "small circle of adherents" who have sought roots of a highly popular pilgrimage and festival.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: This Hindu legend describes the creation of a "pot of amrita (nectar of immortality)" after the forces of good and evil churn the ocean of creation. The gods and demons fight over this pot, the "kumbh," of nectar in order to gain immortality. In a later day extension to the legend, the pot is spilled at four places, and that is the origin of the four Kumbha Melas. The story varies and is inconsistent, with some stating Vishnu as Mohini avatar, others stating Dhanavantari or Garuda or Indra spilling the pot. This "spilling" and associated Kumbh Mela story is not found in the earliest mentions of the original legend of "samudra manthan" (churning of the ocean) such as the Vedic era texts (pre-500 BCE). Nor is this story found in the later era "Puranas" (3rd to 10th-century CE).


title: Kumbh Mela

text: While the "Kumbha Mela" phrase is not found in the ancient or medieval era texts, numerous chapters and verses in Hindu texts are found about a bathing festival, the sacred junction of rivers Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati at Prayag (in modern Allahabad), and pilgrimage to Prayag. These are in the form of "Snana" (bathe) ritual and in the form of "Prayag Mahatmya" (greatness of Prayag, historical tour guides in Sanskrit).


title: Kumbh Mela

text: The earliest mention of Prayag and the bathing pilgrimage is found in "Rigveda Pariśiṣṭa" (supplement to the "Rigveda"). It is also mentioned in the Pali canons of Buddhism, such as in section 1.7 of "Majjhima Nikaya", wherein the Buddha states that bathing in "Payaga" (Skt: Prayaga) cannot wash away cruel and evil deeds, rather the virtuous one should be pure in heart and fair in action. The "Mahabharata" mentions a bathing pilgrimage at Prayag as a means of "prāyaścitta" (atonement, penance) for past mistakes and guilt. In "Tirthayatra Parva", before the great war, the epic states "the one who observes firm [ethical] vows, having bathed at Prayaga during Magha, O best of the Bharatas, becomes spotless and reaches heaven." In "Anushasana Parva", after the war, the epic elaborates this bathing pilgrimage as "geographical tirtha" that must be combined with "Manasa-tirtha" (tirtha of the heart) whereby one lives by values such as truth, charity, self-control, patience and others.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: There are other references to Prayaga and river-side festivals in ancient Indian texts, including at the places where present-day Kumbh Melas are held, but the exact age of the Kumbh Mela is uncertain. The 7th-century Buddhist Chinese traveller Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) mentions king Harsha and his capital of Prayag, which he states to be a sacred Hindu city with hundreds of "deva temples" and two Buddhist institutions. He also mentions the Hindu bathing rituals at the junction of the rivers. According to some scholars, this is the earliest surviving historical account of the Kumbh Mela, which took place in present-day Prayag in 644 CE.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: Kama MacLean – an Indologist who has published articles on the Kumbh Mela predominantly based on the colonial archives and English-language media, states based on emails from other scholars and a more recent interpretation of the 7th-century Xuanzang memoir, the Prayag event happened every 5 years (and not 12 years), featured a Buddha statue, involved alms giving and it might have been a Buddhist festival. In contrast, Ariel Glucklich – a scholar of Hinduism and Anthropology of Religion, the Xuanzang memoir includes, somewhat derisively, the reputation of Prayag as a place where people (Hindus) once committed superstitious devotional suicide to liberate their souls, and how a Brahmin of an earlier era successfully put an end to this practice. This and other details such as the names of temples and bathing pools suggest that Xuanzang presented Hindu practices at Prayag in the 7th-century, from his Buddhist perspective and perhaps to "amuse his audience back in China", states Glucklich.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: Other early accounts of the significance of Prayag to Hinduism is found in the various versions of the "Prayaga Mahatmya", dated to the late 1st-millennium CE. These Purana-genre Hindu texts describe it as a place "bustling with pilgrims, priests, vendors, beggars, guides" and local citizens busy along the confluence of the rivers ("Sangam"). These Sanskrit guide books of the medieval era India were updated over its editions, likely by priests and guides who had a mutual stake in the economic returns from the visiting pilgrims. One of the longest sections about Prayag rivers and its significance to Hindu pilgrimage is found in chapters 103–112 of the "Matsya Purana".


title: Kumbh Mela

text: According to James Lochtefeld – a scholar of Indian religions, the phrase Kumbh Mela and historical data about it is missing in early Indian texts. However, states Lochtefeld, these historical texts "clearly reveal large, well-established bathing festivals" that were either annual or based on the twelve-year cycle of planet Jupiter. Manuscripts related to Hindu ascetics and warrior-monks – "akharas" fighting the Islamic Sultanates and Mughal Empire era – mention bathing pilgrimage and a large periodic assembly of Hindus at religious festivals associated with bathing, gift-giving, commerce and organisation. An early account of the Haridwar Kumbh Mela was published by Captain Thomas Hardwicke in 1796 CE.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: According to James Mallinson – a scholar of Hindu yoga manuscripts and monastic institutions, bathing festivals at Prayag with large gatherings of pilgrims are attested since "at least the middle of the first millennium CE", while textual evidence exists for similar pilgrimage at other major sacred rivers since the medieval period. Four of these morphed under the Kumbh Mela brand during the East India Company rule (British colonial era) when it sought to control the war-prone monks and the lucrative tax and trade revenues at these Hindu pilgrimage festivals. Additionally, the priests sought the British administration to recognise the festival and protect their religious rights.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: The 16th-century "Ramcharitmanas" of Tulsidas mentions an annual "Mela" in Prayag, as does a Muslim historian's "Ain-i-Akbari" (c. 1590 CE). The latter Akbar-era Persian text calls Prayag (spells it "Priyag") the "king of shrines" for the Hindus, and mentions that it is considered particularly holy in the Hindu month of "Magha". The late 16th-century "Tabaqat-i-Akbari" also records of an annual bathing festival at Prayag sangam where "various classes of Hindus came from all sides of the country to bathe, in such numbers, that the jungles and plains [around it] were unable to hold them".


title: Kumbh Mela

text: The Kumbh Mela of Haridwar appears to be the original Kumbh Mela, since it is held according to the astrological sign "Kumbha" (Aquarius), and because there are several references to a 12-year cycle for it. The later Mughal Empire era texts that contain the term "Kumbha Mela" in Haridwar's context include "Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh" (1695–1699 CE), and "Chahar Gulshan" (1759 CE). The "Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh" also mentions an annual bathing pilgrimage festival in Allahabad, but it does not call it Kumbh. Both these Mughal era texts use the term "Kumbh Mela" to describe only Haridwar's fair, mentioning a similar fair held in Prayag and Nashik. The "Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh" lists the following melas: an annual mela and a Kumbh Mela every 12 years at Haridwar; a mela held at Trimbak when Jupiter enters Leo (that is, once in 12 years); and an annual mela held at Prayag (in modern Allahabad) in Magh.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: Like the Prayag mela, the bathing pilgrimage mela at Nasik and Ujjain are of considerable antiquity. However, these were referred to as "Singhasth mela", and the phrase "Kumbh mela" is yet to be found in literature prior to the 19th-century. The phrases such as "Maha Kumbh" and "Ardh Kumbh" in the context of the ancient religious pilgrimage festivals with a different name at Prayag, Nasik and Ujjain are evidently of a more modern era.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: The Magh Mela of Prayag is probably the oldest among the four modern day Kumbh Melas. It dates from the early centuries CE, given it has been mentioned in several early Puranas. However, the name Kumbh for these more ancient bathing pilgrimages probably dates to the mid-19th century. D. P. Dubey states that none of the ancient Hindu texts call the Prayag fair as a "Kumbh Mela". Kama Maclean states that the early British records do not mention the name "Kumbh Mela" or the 12-year cycle for the Prayag fair. The first British reference to the Kumbh Mela in Prayag occurs only in an 1868 report, which mentions the need for increased pilgrimage and sanitation controls at the "Coomb fair" to be held in January 1870. According to Maclean, the Prayagwal Brahmin priests of Prayag coopted the Kumbh legend and brand to the annual Prayag Magh Mela given the socio-political circumstances in the 19th-century.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: The Kumbh Mela at Ujjain began in the 18th century, when the Maratha ruler Ranoji Shinde invited ascetics from Nashik to Ujjain for a local festival. Like the priests at Prayag, those at Nashik and Ujjain, competing with other places for a sacred status, may have adopted the Kumbh tradition for their pre-existing Magha melas.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: One of the key features of the Kumbh mela has been the camps and processions of the "sadhus" (monks). By the 18th-century, many of these had organised into one of thirteen "akharas" (warrior ascetic bands, monastic militia), of which ten were related to Hinduism and three related to Sikhism. Seven have belonged to the Shaivism tradition, three to Vaishnavism, two to Udasis (founded by Guru Nanak's son) and one to Nirmalas. These soldier-monk traditions have been a well-established feature of the Indian society, and they are prominent feature of the Kumbh melas.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: Until the East India Company rule, the Kumbh Melas (Magha Melas) were managed by these akharas. They provide logistical arrangements, policing, intervened and judged any disputes and collected taxes. They also have been a central attraction and a stop for mainstream Hindus who seek their "darsana" (meeting, view) as well as spiritual guidance and blessings. The Kumbh Melas have been one of their recruitment and initiation venues, as well as the place to trade. These "akharas" have roots in the Hindu "Naga" (naked) monks tradition, who went to war without clothes. These monastic groups traditionally credit the Kumbh mela to the 8th-century Hindu philosopher Adi Shankara, as a part of his efforts to start monastic institutions ("matha"), and major Hindu gatherings for philosophical discussions and debates. However, there is no historic literary evidence that he actually did start the Kumbh melas.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: During the 17th-century, the "akharas" competed for ritual primacy, priority rights to who bathes first or at the most auspicious time, and prominence leading to violent conflicts. The records from the East India Company rule era report of violence between the "akharas" and numerous deaths. At the 1760 Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, a clash broke out between Shaivite Gosains and Vaishnavite Bairagis (ascetics), resulting in hundreds of deaths. A copper plate inscription of the Maratha Peshwa claims that 12,000 ascetics died in a clash between Shaivite "sanyasi"s and Vaishnavite "bairagi"s at the 1789 Nashik Kumbh Mela. The dispute started over the bathing order, which then indicated status of the "akhara"s. At the 1796 Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, violence broke out between the Shaivites and the Udasis on logistics and camping rights.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: The repetitive clashes, battle-ready nature of the warrior monks, and the lucrative tax and trading opportunities at Kumbh melas in the 18th-century attracted the attention of the East India Company officials. They intervened, laid out the camps, trading spaces, and established a bathing order for each akhara. After 1947, the state governments have taken over this role and provide the infrastructure for the Kumbh mela in their respective states.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: The Kumbh Melas attract many loner "sadhus" (monks) who do not belong to any akharas. Of those who do belong to a group, the thirteen active akharas have been,


title: Kumbh Mela

text: The ten Shaiva and Vaishnava akharas are also known as the Dasanamis, and they believe that Adi Shankara founded them and one of their traditional duties is "dharma-raksha" (protection of faith).


title: Kumbh Mela

text: The Kumbh melas of the past, albeit with different regional names, attracted large attendance and have been religiously significant to the Hindus for centuries. However, they have been more than a religious event to the Hindu community. Historically the Kumbh Melas were also major commercial events, initiation of new recruits to the "akharas", prayers and community singing, spiritual discussions, education and a spectacle. During the colonial era rule of the East India Company, its officials saw the Hindu pilgrimage as a means to collect vast sums of revenue through a "pilgrim tax" and taxes on the trade that occurred during the festival. According to Dubey, as well as Macclean, the Islamic encyclopaedia "Yadgar-i-Bahaduri" written in 1834 Lucknow, described the Prayag festival and its sanctity to the Hindus. The British officials, states Dubey, raised the tax to amount greater than average monthly income and the attendance fell drastically. The Prayagwal pandas initially went along, according to colonial records, but later resisted as the impact of the religious tax on the pilgrims became clear. In 1938, Lord Auckland abolished the pilgrim tax and vast numbers returned to the pilgrimage thereafter. According to Macclean, the colonial records of this period on the Prayag Mela present a biased materialistic view given they were written by colonialists and missionaries.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: Baptist missionary John Chamberlain, who visited the 1824 Ardh Kumbh Mela at Haridwar, stated that a large number of visitors came there for trade. He also includes a 1814 letter from his missionary friend who distributed copies of the Gospel to the pilgrims and tried to convert some to Christianity. According to an 1858 account of the Haridwar Kumbh Mela by the British civil servant Robert Montgomery Martin, the visitors at the fair included people from a number of races and clime. Along with priests, soldiers, and religious mendicants, the fair had horse traders from Bukhara, Kabul, Turkistan as well as Arabs and Persians. The festival had roadside merchants of food grains, confectioners, clothes, toys and other items. Thousands of pilgrims in every form of transport as well as on foot marched to the pilgrimage site, dressed in colorful costumes, some without clothes, occasionally shouting "Mahadeo Bol" and "Bol, Bol" together. At night the river banks and camps illuminated with oil lamps, fireworks burst over the river, and innumerable floating lamps set by the pilgrims drifted downstream of the river. Several Hindu rajas, Sikh rulers and Muslim Nawabs visited the fair. Europeans watched the crowds and few Christian missionaries distributed their religious literature at the Hardwar Mela, wrote Martin.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: Prior to 1838, the British officials collected taxes but provided no infrastructure or services to the pilgrims. This changed particularly after 1857. According to Amna Khalid, the Kumbh Melas emerged as one of the social and political mobilisation venues and the colonial government became keen on monitoring these developments after the Indian rebellion of 1857. The government deployed police to gain this intelligence at the grassroots level of Kumbh Mela. The British officials in co-operation with the native police also made attempts to improve the infrastructure, movement of pilgrims to avoid a stampede, detect sickness, and the sanitary conditions at the Melas. Reports of cholera led the officials to cancel the pilgrimage, but the pilgrims went on "passive resistance" and stated they preferred to die rather than obey the official orders.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: The Kumbh Melas have been sites of tragedies. According to Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi – the historian and biographer of the Turco-Mongol raider and conqueror Timur, his armies plundered Haridwar and massacred the gathered pilgrims. The ruthlessly slaughtered pilgrims were likely those attending the Kumbh mela of 1399. The Timur accounts mention the mass bathing ritual along with shaving of head, the sacred river Ganges, charitable donations, the place was at the mountainous source of the river and that pilgrims believed a dip in the sacred river leads to their salvation.


title: Kumbh Mela

text: Several stampedes have occurred at the Kumbh Melas. After an 1820 stampede at Haridwar killed 485 people, the Company government took extensive infrastructure projects, including the construction of new ghats and road widening, to prevent further stampedes. The various Kumbh melas, in the 19th- and 20th-century witnessed sporadic stampedes, each tragedy leading to changes in how the flow of pilgrims to and from the river and ghats was managed. In 1986, 50 people were killed in a stampede. The Prayag Kumbh mela in 1885 became a source of scandal when a Muslim named Husain was appointed as the Kumbh Mela manager, and Indian newspaper reports stated that Husain had "organised a flotilla of festooned boats for the pleasure of European ladies and gentlemen, and entertained them with dancing girls, liquor and beef" as they watched the pilgrims bathing.