title: New Taipei City

text: In 1895, Taiwan was ceded by the Qing dynasty to the Empire of Japan. During Japanese rule, the New Taipei City area was administered under Taihoku Prefecture together with modern-day Taipei, Keelung and Yilan County. Gold and other mineral deposits were discovered at Keelung Mountain, triggering a mining boom in the region. In October 1896, Japanese government divided the mining area around Keelung Mountain into two districts: an eastern district, designated as Kinkaseki, and a western district, designated as Kyūfun. Both districts are now parts of Ruifang District. They also issued regulations barring local Taiwanese mining companies from mining in the area, giving the mining rights to Japanese companies instead.


title: New Taipei City

text: After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China in October 1945, from 25 December of the same year, the present New Taipei City area was administered as Taipei County with Banqiao City as the county seat. In July 1949, the size of Taipei County was reduced when Beitou and Shilin townships were put under the jurisdiction of the newly created Caoshan Administrative Bureau, which would later be renamed the Yangmingshan Administrative Bureau. On 1 July 1968, the size of Taipei County was further reduced by when Jingmei, Muzha, Nangang and Neihu townships, along with Beitou and Shilin, were merged into Taipei City.


title: New Taipei City

text: The county afterward had ten county-administered cities (Banqiao, Luzhou, Sanchong, Shulin, Tucheng, Xizhi, Xindian, Yonghe, Zhonghe); four urban townships (Ruifang, Sanxia, Tamsui, Yingge); and fifteen rural townships (Bali, Gongliao, Jinshan, Linkou, Pinglin, Pingxi, Sanzhi, Shenkeng, Shiding, Shimen, Shuangxi, Taishan, Wanli, Wugu, Wulai). It was further divided into 1,017 villages and 21,683 neighborhoods. In August 1992, due to the adjustment of the demarcation line between Taipei City and Taipei County around Neigou and Daking Creeks, the area of Taipei County was decreased by . On 25 December 2010, Taipei County was upgraded to a special municipality as New Taipei City consisting of 29 districts with the modern Banqiao District as the municipal seat.


title: New Taipei City

text: New Taipei City is located at the northern tip of Taiwan Island. It covers a vast territory with a varied topology, including mountains, hills, plains and basins. In the northern part lies of coastline with gorgeous shorelines and beaches. The Tamsui River is the main river flowing through New Taipei City. Other large tributaries are the Xindian, Keelung and Dahan rivers, sections of which constitute riverside parks. The tallest peak in the city is Mount Zhuzi, standing at 1,094 m and located in the Sanzhi District.


title: New Taipei City

text: The climate of the city is characterized as a humid subtropical climate with seasonal monsoons with ample rainfall evenly distributed throughout the year. Seasonal variations of temperatures are noticeable although temperatures typically varies from warm to hot throughout the year, except when cold fronts strikes during the winter months when temperatures can sometimes dip below . January is typically the coolest month and July is usually the warmest.


title: New Taipei City

text: New Taipei City is a special municipality directly under the central government of the Republic of China. The New Taipei City Government is headed by an elected mayor and is headquartered at the New Taipei City Hall at Banqiao District. The current mayor of New Taipei City is Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang.


title: New Taipei City

text: New Taipei City controls 28 districts () and 1 mountain indigenous district (). The sub-city entities consists of 1,017 villages (), which in turn are divided into 21,683 neighborhoods (). The municipal seat is located at Banqiao District.


title: New Taipei City

text: Many agencies of the central government are located in New Taipei City due to its proximity to the capital Taipei City. The Council of Indigenous Peoples, Hakka Affairs Council and Ministry of Culture are headquartered in Xinzhuang District at the Xinzhuang Joint Office Tower. The Architecture and Building Research Institute, Taiwan Transportation Safety Board and National Airborne Service Corps, National Fire Agency of the Ministry of the Interior and the National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction of the Ministry of Science and Technology are located in Xindian District. Financial Supervisory Commission is located at Banqiao District. The Atomic Energy Council is located at Yonghe District. The National Academy for Educational Research of the Ministry of Education is located at Sanxia District.


title: New Taipei City

text: New Taipei City has an estimated population of around 4 million. Over 80% of New Taipei City's residents live in the 10 districts that were formerly county-administered cities (Banqiao, Luzhou, Sanchong, Shulin, Tucheng, Xizhi, Xindian, Xinzhuang, Yonghe and Zhonghe), which account for one-sixth of the area. 28.80% of the residents moved into the area from Taipei City. Around 70% of the population living in New Taipei City come from different parts of Taiwan, and there are around foreigners residing in the city, making New Taipei City the third largest municipality in Taiwan in terms of foreign resident population.


title: New Taipei City

text: The city is home to 952 registered temples and 120 churches, including 160 Buddhist-Taoist temples and more than 3,000 Taoist shrines. The city also houses five major Buddhist monasteries, such as the Dharma Drum Mountain in Jinshan District and Ling-jiou Mountain Monastery in Gongliao District. On average, there are two worship places in every square kilometer around the city. Xizhi District and Sanxia District have the highest number of registered temples, while Wulai District has the fewest. New Taipei City houses the Museum of World Religions in Yonghe District.


title: New Taipei City

text: Due to its strategic location, New Taipei City is the second major city of business industries after Taipei, with over 250,000 privately owned companies (Including Acer Computers Inc.) and 20,000 factories scattered around five industrial parks with a total capital of NT$1.8 trillion. There are also many high technology industry, service industry and tourism industry, contributing a significant amount of GDP to Taiwan. The five major industries in the city are information technology (IT), telecommunications, digital contents, biotechnology and precision instruments. The city is among the top three cities in the global market in terms of IT product production volume, securing more than 50% of the global market share for products such as motherboards, notebooks, LCD monitors and CRT monitors.


title: New Taipei City

text: New Taipei City is also filled with many cultural and creative industries, such as pottery in Yingge District, Liuli industry in Tamsui District, drum industry in Xinzhuang District, dye industry in Sanxia District, noble metal processing industry in Ruifang District, sky lantern industry in Pingxi District, etc. The Taiwan Film Culture Center is planned to be built in Xinzhuang District for the key resource of the development of film industries in Taiwan. The Knowledge Industry Park is also planned to be built in the same district to encourage the clustering and expansion of digital content companies and will help turn the city into a virtual digital entertainment park.


title: New Taipei City

text: The Port of Taipei located in Bali District has the capability of fitting container ships weighing up to 80,000 tons and transporting more than 2 million TEU annually. The Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf in Tamsui District serves as the main port for fishing boats, as well as for sightseeing and leisure.


title: New Taipei City

text: In New Taipai Foxconn is based. The company is the international major company for electronic OEM/ODM products. Foxconn is producing IPhones for Apple.


title: New Taipei City

text: New Taipai ist the hometown of Giant Bicycles. In the 1980 Fairly Cycle was founded in New Taipei. The company is producing 450 to 550 bikes a day for brands like Felt, Canyon (Germany), Kona, Willier and others as OEM.


title: New Taipei City

text: Education in New Taipei City is governed by the Education Department of New Taipei City Government. The city population is highly educated, with over 38% of the people received higher education.


title: New Taipei City

text: There are currently 24 colleges and universities in New Taipei City. Fu Jen Catholic University is the representative university of New Taipei City by "QS Most Affordable Cities for Students Ranking". The Mayor of New Taipei City once pointed out in 2021 that "Fu Jen is the core of talent, academics and medical care in New Taipei City".


title: New Taipei City

text: Some of the other universities and colleges in the city are Aletheia University, Asia Eastern University of Science and Technology, Cardinal Tien College of Healthcare and Management, Huafan University, HungKuo Delin University of Technology, Hwa Hsia University of Technology, Hsing Wu University, Lee-Ming Institute of Technology, Mackay Medical College, Ming Chi University of Technology, St. John's University, Taipei University of Marine Technology etc.


title: New Taipei City

text: Founded in 1914, the National Taiwan Library, the oldest public library in Taiwan, is located in the city at Zhonghe District.


title: New Taipei City

text: Opened in January 2008, the Sustainable Development Education Center in Bali District is a center for wetland conservation education.


title: New Taipei City

text: New Taipei City houses one of Taiwan's current active nuclear power plants, the Kuosheng Nuclear Power Plant in Wanli District. The planned fourth nuclear power plant, Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant, located at Gongliao District has currently been halted due to public opposition. Other power generators in the city are the Linkou Coal-Fired Power Plant in Linkou District and Feitsui Hydroelectric Power Plant in Shiding District.


title: New Taipei City

text: New Taipei City is developing to be a Green Future City. The city provides a Carbon Reduction Clinic for houses and businesses with general consultation and on-site inspections for greener equipment, in which it is helped by the low-carbon community subsidies. The city also implements the Assist Industries with Cleaner Production Plan to help businesses adapt to the efforts toward becoming green industries. The city government also actively promoting green energy industries and smart electric vehicles.


title: New Taipei City

text: In January 2016, New Taipei City was the top in terms of electricity saving in Taiwan, in which electricity consumption for the period April–November 2015 was cut down by 1.24%.


title: New Taipei City

text: New Taipei City has a wide range of historical, natural and cultural attractions for tourists. Tourism-related industries in the city are governed by the Tourism and Travel Department of New Taipei City Government.


title: New Taipei City

text: Historical attractions include Bitoujiao Lighthouse, Chin Pao San, Fort San Domingo, Hobe Fort, Ōgon Shrine, Tamsui Old Street, Lin Family Mansion and Garden, Fuguijiao Lighthouse, Cape San Diego Lighthouse, Wuzhi Mountain Military Cemetery and Qing dynasty remnants in Tamsui and the old mining towns of Jiufen, Jinguashi and Jingtong in the east. Sanxia houses the historic Sanxia Old Street.


title: New Taipei City

text: Some of the most famous temples in the city are the Changfu Temple in Sanxia District, Gongbei Temple in Xizhi District and Temple of the Eighteen Lords in Shimen District. The international headquarter of Dharma Drum Mountain, one of the "Four Great Mountains" or four major Buddhist organizations of Taiwanese Buddhism, is situated in Jinshan District.


title: New Taipei City

text: There are numerous notable museums and galleries, such as Drop of Water Memorial Hall, Gold Museum, Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park, Jingtong Mining Industry Museum, Ju Ming Museum, Li Mei-shu Memorial Gallery, Li Tien-lu Hand Puppet Historical Museum, Museum of World Religions, New Taipei City Hakka Museum, New Taipei City Yingge Ceramics Museum, Ping-Lin Tea Museum, Sanxia History Museum, Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology, Taiwan Coal Mine Museum, Taiwan Nougat Creativity Museum, Tamkang University Maritime Museum, Tamsui Art Gallery, Teng Feng Fish Ball Museum, Wulai Atayal Museum, Wulai Forestry Life Museum and Xinzhuang Culture and Arts Center.


title: New Taipei City

text: Natural attractions include the Golden, Lingjiao, Shifen and Wulai waterfalls, Bitan, Wulai Hot Spring, Stone Sculpture Park, Cape Santiago, Twin Candlestick Islets, Xinhai Constructed Wetland, hoodoo geological formations at the Yehliu seacoast, and hiking in Mount Guanyin, Wulai, Pingxi and the northeast coast. Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf along the Tamsui River is a popular place for leisure and sightseeing. Popular beaches include Fulong, Yanliao and Baisha Bay.


title: New Taipei City

text: New Taipei City regularly hosts around 5,000 annual art, music and cultural festivals, such as the Hohaiyan Rock Festival in Gongliao District. The Lantern Festival is held regularly in the city particularly in Pingxi District, where sky lanterns are made throughout the year for people to buy. Guests can also learn how to make their own lanterns, paint their hopes, dreams and wishes on them, then release them to the sky in the hopes that their prayers will be answered.


title: New Taipei City

text: Other festivals include the Yeliu Religious Festival, Cherry Blossom Season, Ching Shui Tsu Shih Rituals, Mazu Cultural Festival, Zhonghe Water Festival, Green Bamboo Shoot Festival, Tung Blossom Festival, Fulong Sand Sculpture Festival, Shimen International Kite Festival, Taishan Lion Dance Culture Festival, Color Play Asia etc.


title: New Taipei City

text: The area is served by Taiwan High Speed Rail through the Banqiao Station, which is an intermodal station with Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) and Taipei Metro.


title: New Taipei City

text: The TRA's Yilan Line runs through Gongliao, Shuangxi and Ruifang. The Western Line runs through Xizhi, Banqiao, Shulin and Yingge. The Pingxi Line connects Pingxi to Ruifang.


title: New Taipei City

text: The Taipei Metro serves the area through the following 5 lines. Taipei Metro is the best way to access the city's northern, southern, and western sections.


title: New Taipei City

text: A famous bridge in New Taipei City is the Taipei Bridge, connecting New Taipei City with Taipei over the Tamsui River. Another famous bridge is the New Taipei Bridge.


title: New Taipei City

text: The area's air traffic is served by Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in neighboring Taoyuan City and Songshan Airport in Taipei.


title: Google Feud

text: Google Feud is a browser-based trivia game featuring answers pulled from Google. It is based on the American show "Family Feud", and is unaffiliated with Google.


title: Google Feud

text: The game was created in 2013 by American indie developer Justin Hook, a writer for "Bob's Burgers" on Fox, as well as other TV shows and comic books.


title: Google Feud

text: "Google Feud" was demonstrated on "@midnight with Chris Hardwick", referenced in the monologue of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon", and featured in dozens of other outlets. "Time" declared it "the online game we didn't know we were waiting for".


title: Google Feud

text: According to Colin McMillen, a staff software engineer at Google, a very similar game was played internally at Google.


title: Google Feud

text: "Google Feud" became the subject of some controversy for promoting the online game "Push Trump Off A Cliff Again!", also created by Hook, after celebrities including John Leguizamo and Rosie O'Donnell promoted the game on their Twitter profiles.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, between 4 and 15 April 2018. It was the fifth time Australia had hosted the Commonwealth Games and the first time a major multi-sport had an equal number of events for male and female athletes.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: 4,426 athletes including 300 para-athletes from 71 Commonwealth Games Associations took part in the event. The Gambia, which withdrew its membership from the Commonwealth of Nations and Commonwealth Games Federation in 2013, was readmitted on 31 March 2018 and participated in the event. With 275 sets of medals, the games featured 18 Commonwealth sports, including beach volleyball, para triathlon and women's rugby sevens. These sporting events took place at 14 venues in the host city, two venues in Brisbane and one venue each in Cairns and Townsville.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: These were the first Commonwealth Games to take place under the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) presidency of Dame Louise Martin. The host city Gold Coast was announced at the CGF General Assembly in Basseterre, Saint Kitts, on 11 November 2011. Gold Coast became the seventh Oceanian city and the first regional city to host the Commonwealth Games. These were the eighth games to be held in Oceania and the Southern Hemisphere.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The host nation Australia topped the medal table for the fourth time in the past five Commonwealth Games, winning the most golds (80) and most medals overall (198). England and India finished second and third respectively. Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, British Virgin Islands and Dominica each won their first Commonwealth Games medals.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The 2018 Commonwealth Games boosted the Queensland economy by more than $2.4 billion between 2013 and 2022.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: On 22 August 2008, the Premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh, officially launched Gold Coast City's bid to host the Commonwealth Games in 2018. On 7 April 2009, the ABC reported a land exchange deal between Gold Coast City and State of Queensland for Carrara Stadium. According to Mayor Ron Clarke, the land would aid a potential bid for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The land exchanged would be used as the site of an aquatics centre. In the same article, Mayor Clarke raised the question of the Australian Federal Government's commitment to a 2018 Commonwealth Games bid in light of the Government's support for Australia's 2018 FIFA World Cup Finals bid. On 16 April 2009, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh told reporters that a successful Commonwealth Games bid by Gold Coast City could help the tourist strip win a role in hosting the World Cup.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: "Some of the infrastructure that would be built for the Commonwealth Games will be useful for Gold Coast City to get a World Cup game out of the soccer World Cup if we're successful as a nation," she said. However, the decision on the venues for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups were made eleven months prior to the bid decision for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, so the potential World Cup venues had already been chosen. On 3 June 2009, Gold Coast City was confirmed as Australia's exclusive bidder vying for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. "Should a bid proceed, Gold Coast City will have the exclusive Australian rights to bid as host city for 2018," Bligh stated.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: "Recently I met with the president and CEO of the Australian Commonwealth Games Association and we agreed to commission a full and comprehensive feasibility study into the potential for the 2018 Commonwealth Games," she said. "Under the stewardship of Queensland Events new chair, Geoff Dixon, that study is now well advanced." On 15 March 2010, it was announced that the Queensland Government will provide initial funding of A$11 million for the 2018 Commonwealth Games bid.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The Premier of Queensland has indicated the Government's support for the bid to the Australian Commonwealth Games Association. On 31 March 2010, the Australian Commonwealth Games Association officially launched the bid to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games. In October 2011, Gold Coast City Mayor Ron Clarke stated that the games would provide a strong legacy for the city after the games have ended.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: On 31 March 2010, a surprise bid was made for the 2018 Commonwealth Games by the Sri Lankan city of Hambantota. Hambantota was devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, and is undergoing a major face lift. The first phase of the Port of Hambantota is nearing completion and it is funded by the government of China. The Mattala International Airport, which is the second international Airport of Sri Lanka is built close to Hambantota. A new Hambantota International Cricket Stadium had also been built, which had hosted matches in the 2011 Cricket World Cup.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: On 10 November 2011, the Hambantota bidders claimed they had already secured enough votes to win the hosting rights. However, on 11 November it was officially announced Gold Coast City had won the rights to host the games.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The event was overseen by the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC). The GOLDOC was formed in 2012 by the Government of Queensland. Its headquarters were located in Ashmore, a suburban region of Gold Coast. In February 2012, Mark Peters was appointed chief executive officer of the GOLDOC. The Queensland Government Minister Kate Jones was tasked with overseeing the Games. Peter Beattie served as the Chairman of GOLDOC who was appointed on 17 May 2016 to replace Nigel Chamier .


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The Gold Coast 2018 was hosted across 18 venues located on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane, Townsville and Cairns. Sporting venues were well ahead available of Gold Coast 2018 ensuring that they were used and tested before the Games. The Australian and Queensland Governments and the City of Gold Coast invested A$320 million to deliver new and upgraded venues. Lendlease was the overlay delivery partner and official supporter property and infrastructure of the Games.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: Carrara Stadium, located in the suburb of Carrara, was the main venue for Athletics, the Opening ceremony and the Closing ceremony. The seating capacity of the stadium was temporarily increased to 40,000 for the games by the installation of a large temporary North Stand. The new Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre hosted the Badminton, Para Powerlifting, Weightlifting and Wrestling events. The Carrara Indoor Sports Stadium hosted the back-of-house event operations.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The Gold Coast City Convention and Exhibition Centre, located in the suburb of Broadbeach, hosted Basketball and Netball (preliminaries) and also served as the Main Media Centre and International Broadcast centre hosting over 3000 members of the worlds press. The Broadbeach Bowls Club hosted the Bowls competition.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The Nerang Mountain Bike Trails was the location for the Mountain Bike competition. A new course was constructed to meet international competition requirements and temporary spectator seating for 2,000 spectators.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The newly built Coomera Indoor Sports Centre hosted Gymnastics and Netball (finals). The Oxenford Studios hosted the sports of Boxing, Table Tennis and Squash. During Games mode the venue was enhanced to provide for the International Sporting Federation technical venue requirements and provide spectator seating of 3,000 (boxing) and 3,200 (table tennis). The Gold Coast Hockey Centre hosted the men's and women's hockey events during the games. The Southport Broadwater Parklands hosted Triathlon, Marathon and Racewalking events. The Optus aquatic centre hosted the Swimming and Diving events.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: Robina Stadium hosted the Rugby 7s competition and upgraded to meet World Rugby standards. The Currumbin Beachfront hosted the road racing elements of the cycling programme. Coolangatta Beachfront hosted the Beach volleyball event.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: Brisbane, along with the Gold Coast, forms part of the South East Queensland conurbation. Track Cycling was held at the Sleeman Sports Complex in the suburb of Chandler, where a new indoor cycling velodrome (Anna Meares Velodrome) was built. The Velodrome's seat capacity was 4,000 during the games mode.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The Shooting disciplines were held at the Belmont Shooting Centre. In Tropical North Queensland, the Cairns Convention Centre and Townsville Entertainment Centre hosted the preliminary rounds of both the men's and women's basketball competitions.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The Athletes Village was officially opened from 25 March 2018 and provided accommodation and services to 6,600 athletes and officials in 1252 permanent dwellings. It was located in Southport, Gold Coast. There were 1170 one and two-bedroom apartments and 82 three-bedroom townhouses. The village had three zones - International, Residential and Operational.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The residential zone accommodated athletes and officials and also offered recreation, gym and medical facilities. The equipment in the gym was sponsored by Technogym. Adjoining the gym was the Athlete Recovery Area. The International Zone consisted of retail services, shops and the main dining hall. The Festival 2018 events were also held in the International Zone. The Dining hall served over 18,000 meals per day to the athletes during the Games. Australian telecommunications company Optus opened a store in the International zone named "Yes Optus Store" which provided free calling services to the athletes and officials and other services such as phone charging and watching events of the Games in televisions. Optus also provided free Wifi services in the village.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The countdown clocks were unveiled on 4 April 2013, exactly five years from the opening ceremony of the games. The clocks were shaped as a surfboard and were located at the beach end of Cavill Avenue in Surfers Paradise and in South Bank Parklands in Brisbane. The Countdown Clock was the first fixed element of the Commonwealth Games visual identity program.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The ticket requests began on 24 April 2017 and ended on 22 May 2017. The first round of tickets were allocated on 22 June 2017 via a computer-generated ballot system. About 70% of the people who applied for the tickets had received some or all of the tickets requested in the first phase. In Australia, ticket prices ranged from A$10 for many events to A$495 for the most expensive seats at the opening ceremony. The games expected to have 1.2 million tickets for sale. Around 1.06 million tickets were sold by 3 April 2018. Ticketek was the provider of ticketing services for the Games.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The Queen's baton of the 2018 Commonwealth Games had a distinctive loop design and was made of macadamia wood and recycled plastic sourced from Gold Coast waterways. Its design was inspired by the Queensland's "vibrant spirit and indigenous heritage" and with sustainability.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The design of the baton was unveiled on 20 November 2016 at a special ceremony in the Jupiter Gold Coast hotel. The baton was designed by the Brisbane-based firm Designworks. At the 2018 Good Design Awards conducted by the Good Design Australia, the baton won the Best Product Sport and Lifestyle award.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The Queen's baton relay was launched on Commonwealth Day, 13 March 2017, on the historic forecourt at Buckingham Palace in London, signalling the official countdown to the start of the Games. Accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Edward, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II heralded the start of the relay by placing her 'message to the Commonwealth and its athletes' into the distinctive loop-design Queen's Baton which then set off on its journey around the globe.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The baton traveled for 388 days, spending time in every nation and territory of the Commonwealth. The Gold Coast 2018 Queen's Baton Relay was the longest in Commonwealth Games history. Covering 230,000 km over 388 days, the baton made its way through the six Commonwealth regions of Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia and Oceania. The baton landed on Australian soil in December 2017 and then spent 100 days travelling through Australia, finishing its journey at the opening ceremony on 4 April 2018, where the message was removed from the Baton and read aloud by Charles, Prince of Wales.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: Tourism Australia and QSuper sponsored the international and Australian segment of Queen's Baton Relay respectively, while Longines sponsored both the segments.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The medals for the Games were officially unveiled at a charity gala held on 4 November 2017. Australian Indigenous artist Delvene Cockatoo-Collins designed the medals, while they were produced by the Royal Australian Mint. The design of the medals was inspired by the coastline of Gold Coast along with Indigenous culture.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: Furthermore, Cockatoo-Collins mentioned, "the medal design represents soft sand lines which shift with every tide and wave, also symbolic of athletic achievement, The continual change of tide represents the evolution in athletes who are making their mark, Records are made and special moments of elation are celebrated". Approximately 1,500 medals were created to be distributed to the medalists and each measures approximately 63 millimetres in diameter. The medals weigh between 138 and 163 grams.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: Over 15,000 volunteers were hired for the Games. Over 45,000 applicants applied to become a volunteer. The uniforms for the volunteers were revealed on 11 November 2017 at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre. Former Gold Coast Titans player Mat Rogers who was present at the uniform showcase ceremony, said that the uniforms were "very Gold Coast" and it was like an "active wear". Hard Yakka was the official supplier of the uniforms for the volunteers.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: During the Games period, free public transportation within Queensland region was provided to ticket and accreditation holders. The free transportation services were available on local buses, train and Gold Coast light rail (G:link) services on the Gold Coast and on TransLink and Qconnect bus services in Cairns and Townsville.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The Gold Coast light rail system, connected a number of the key games venues including the Optus Aquatic Centre, Broadwater Parklands and the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre with the major accommodation centres of Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach and the Athletes Village at Parklands. An extension to the system was announced in October 2015, connecting the then current terminus at Gold Coast University Hospital to the railway line to Brisbane at Helensvale. The extension opened in December 2017, in time for the games.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: Four temporary Games lanes were introduced along the M1 and activated at different times to decrease traffic disruptions for road users. These were used by police and emergency vehicles, spectator shuttle buses and accredited Games family and athletes. The Gold Coast Airport served as the official airport for the Games.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: A total of 3,500 police officers from Queensland and 4,000 security personnel from the Australian security companies MSS Security, Wilson Security, SecureCorp and SNP were present at the Games. The Australian Defence Force (ADF) assisted Gold Coast authorities in ensuring the security of the Games and deployed over 1,000 personnel to help with the effort.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: Furthermore, Operation ATLAS was the codename for the ADF contribution to the security of the Games. The Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force assisted the Queensland Police Service (QPS) who were the lead agency of the Games' security. American cyber security software company Symantec provided IT and cyber security services for the Games.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority conducted an anti-doping drive in the months prior to the Games, covering around 2500 tests of Australian athletes, as well as 500 tests against international athletes. Three Australians failed drug tests in this process, along with around 20 international athletes, subject to appeal. The Commonwealth Games Federation conducted in-competition testing and, matching protocol at the Olympic Games, launched a sample storage initiative to allow for future testing of samples up to ten years later, should detection technology improve.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The Festival 2018 was a 12-day multi-arts program for the 2018 Commonwealth Games which included free musical performances, activities, public art and other family-friendly events. The program took place at Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach on the Gold Coast, Cultural Forecourt, South Bank in Brisbane, Lagoon Precinct in Cairns and Jezzine Barracks, Strand Park and Queens Gardens in Townsville.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The GOLDOC delivered the event with a focus on sustainability under the guidance of the ISO 20121 event sustainability management system and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework Sustainability Reporting Standards. The GOLDOC received the Sustainability Award in the Australian Business Awards 2016 for focusing on sustainable practices and planning in the preparation of the games. The GOLDOC headquarters received the 4 Star Green Star – Interiors PILOT rating from the Green Building Council of Australia. The new Anna Meares Velodrome, built specifically for the games, is the first velodrome in the world to have full LED broadcast-quality lighting that cuts energy consumption by up to 60% and reduces running costs and carbon emissions.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The opening ceremony was held at Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast, between 20:00 and 22:40 AEST, on 4 April 2018. The Head of the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II, was represented by her son, Charles, Prince of Wales. David Zolkwer was its artistic director, with music direction by Katie Noonan. Live musical performers included Christine Anu, Delta Goodrem, Katie Noonan, Ricki-Lee Coulter and Ruel who performed "Golden Years" as the closing act. The ceremony transmitted live on Channel 7 attracted a peak viewing audience of over 2 million in Australia.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The closing ceremony was held at Carrara Stadium on Sunday 15 April and was produced by Jack Morton Worldwide at a cost of AU$30 million. Australian pop stars Guy Sebastian, Samantha Jade, Dami Im, Ricki Lee and The Veronicas were among the performers.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, declared the Games closed and passed the Commonwealth Games flag to Birmingham, England which will host the 2022 Games.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: There were 71 Commonwealth Games Associations competing at 2018 Commonwealth Games. Maldives were scheduled to participate, but in October 2016 they withdrew from the Commonwealth. The Gambia returned to the Commonwealth Games after being readmitted as a Commonwealth Games Federation member on 31 March 2018.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The 2018 Commonwealth Games featured 18 different sports encompassing 23 disciplines and 275 events. In the list below, the number of events in each discipline is noted in parentheses.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The regulations stated that from the 26 approved sports administered by Commonwealth Governing Bodies, a minimum of ten core sports and maximum of seventeen sports must be included in any Commonwealth Games schedule.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The approved sports included the 10 core sports: athletics, badminton, boxing, hockey, lawn bowls, netball (for women), rugby sevens, squash, swimming and weightlifting. Integrated disabled competitions were also scheduled for the Games in six sports: swimming, athletics, cycling, table tennis, powerlifting and lawn bowls. Along with these events for the first time EAD events in triathlon were held, with the medals added to the final tally for each nation. A record 38 para events were contested at these games. On 8 March 2016, beach volleyball was announced as the 18th sport.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The program was broadly similar to that of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, with the major changes being the dropping of judo, the reintroduction of basketball, the debut of women's rugby sevens and beach volleyball.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: On 7 October 2016, it was announced seven new events for women were added to the sport program, meaning there are an equal number of events for men and women. This marks the first time in history that a major multi-sport event has equality in terms of events. In total 275 events in 18 sports are being contested.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: NEP Australia was the host broadcaster of the event. It produced high definition coverage of the event and delivered to the rights-holding broadcasters of other nations. In Australia, the games were broadcast live on three Seven Network channels - 7HD, 7TWO and 7Mate. In the United Kingdom, BBC provided Commonwealth Games coverage of more than 200 hours across BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Red Button, BBC Sport website, BBC iPlayer and BBC radio. ESPN provided the games coverage for viewers in the USA. Sony Pictures Networks India broadcast the games for the viewers in India on three channels - Sony Six, Sony Ten 2 in English and Sony Ten 3 in Hindi.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: Flow Sports provided games coverage in the Caribbean countries and territories such as Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago along Turks and Caicos. Flow Sports provided coverage of the event on Flow Sports 1, Flow Sports 2 and up to three additional "Flow Sports Extra" channels.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The New Zealand government funded Pacific Cooperation Broadcasting Limited (PCBL) broadcast the event on Pasifika TV in the Oceanian countries such as Cook Islands, Fiji, Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Kiribati and Tuvalu.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The official motto for the 2018 Commonwealth Games was "Share the Dream". It was chosen to highlight the dreams and experience at the games that were shared by participants of the games, ranging from athletes to volunteers and the host country Australia to the world including the Commonwealth nations.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The emblem was launched on 4 April 2013, which marked exactly five years until its opening ceremony. It was unveiled at the Southport Broadwater Parklands. It was designed by the New South Wales based brand consultancy WiteKite. The emblem of the 2018 Commonwealth Games was a silhouette of the skyline and landscape of Gold Coast, the host city of the games. Nigel Chamier , former Chairman of the GOLDOC, said that it was the result of months of market research.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: Borobi was named as the mascot of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in 2016. Borobi is a blue koala, with indigenous markings on its body. The term "borobi" means koala in the Yugambeh language, spoken by the indigenous Yugambeh people of the Gold Coast and surrounding areas. The song <nowiki>"Days of Gold"</nowiki> composed by the Australian Duo band Busby Marou, which was released on 17 October 2014, was considered as the official song of the Mascot Borobi.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The official partners of the games were The Star Gold Coast, Griffith University, TAFE Queensland, Longines, Optus, Atos and Woolworths Supermarkets. Griffith University was also the Creative Arts partner of the games and Presenting partner of the Gold Coast Marathon. TAFE Queensland was responsible for providing vocational education and training program for the volunteers of the games. Longines served as the official timekeeper of the games.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: Australian singer Delta Goodrem wrote the song "Welcome to Earth", which is about the planet Earth and the theme of the opening ceremony. She performed the song live during the ceremony and was worldwide praised. The song was worldwide released on 5 April 2018 in Delta Goodrem's official YouTube channel.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: Team India violated the Games No-needle policy two times. Just two days before the opening of the Games, a cleaner found needles in a bottle in the Athletes' Village. The Games official found that the syringes belonged to an Indian doctor which he used to inject vitamin B to an Indian athlete and did not dispose them properly after using them and violated the Games no-needle policy. As a result, the Indian team officials received serious warnings from the Games officials. Later two Indian athletes were suspended from the Games as needles were found in their apartment which was also against the Games policy.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: At least 13 athletes from four countries - Cameroon, Uganda, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone - absconded during or immediately after the Games. Some missed their competitions. A month after the games ended, officials estimated that 50 athletes had remained in Australia illegally, with another 200 staying in the country on visas. In October 2019, it was found from the official documents that the Department of Home Affairs had rejected the asylum claims of 217 out of 230 athletes. The official documents also found that 17 "unlawful non-citizens" who took part in the Commonwealth Games were still in Australia, 14 of which were from Ghana and Rwanda. A total of 13 remain unaccounted for, while four were in detention.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The organising committee of the Games decided to bring in the athletes before the start of the closing ceremony. This caused an uproar on social media as, contrary to public expectations, none of the athletes were shown entering the stadium during the ceremony. Broadcast rights holders Channel 7 complained on air about the decision and concluded that, "it hasn't really lived up to expectations". Many spectators and athletes left during the ceremony, resulting in a half-empty stadium for much of the event. Following this, the ABC claimed that Channel 7 was briefed on the closing ceremony schedule, a claim which Channel 7 later refuted.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: Predictions by Griffith University estimated that the Games are estimated to deliver a $2.5 billion rise to the economy of Queensland, including $1.8 billion to the Gold Coast.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: The city hosted the 17th Sport Accord World Sport and Business Summit from 5 to 10 May 2019 at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.


title: 2018 Commonwealth Games

text: Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on 9 December 2019 that the state of Queensland would make an official bid for the 2032 Summer Olympics featuring venues across Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. Without rival cities, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the 2032 Olympics to Brisbane.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines' Luzon Volcanic Arc was the second-largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, behind only the 1912 eruption of Novarupta in Alaska. Eruptive activity began on April 2 as a series of phreatic explosions from a fissure that opened on the north side of Mount Pinatubo. Seismographs were set up and began monitoring the volcano for earthquakes. In late May, the number of seismic events under the volcano fluctuated from day-to-day. Beginning June 6, a swarm of progressively shallower earthquakes accompanied by inflationary tilt on the upper east flank of the mountain, culminated in the extrusion of a small lava dome.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: On June 12, the volcano’s first spectacular eruption sent an ash column into the atmosphere. Additional explosions occurred overnight and the morning of June 13. Seismic activity during this period became intense. When even more highly gas-charged magma reached Pinatubo's surface on June 15, the volcano exploded, sending an ash cloud into the atmosphere. Volcanic ash and pumice blanketed the countryside. Huge pyroclastic flows roared down the flanks of Pinatubo, filling once-deep valleys with fresh volcanic deposits as much as thick. The eruption removed so much magma and rock from beneath the volcano that the summit collapsed to form a small caldera across.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Fine ash from the eruption fell as far away as the Indian Ocean and satellites tracked the ash cloud as it traveled several times around the globe. At least 16 commercial jets inadvertently flew through the drifting ash cloud, sustaining about $100 million in damage. With the ashfall came darkness and the sounds of lahars rumbling down nearby river valleys. Several smaller lahars washed through the Clark Air Base, flowing across the base in enormously powerful sheets, slamming into buildings and scattering cars. Nearly every bridge within of Mount Pinatubo was destroyed. Several lowland towns were flooded or partially buried in mud. More than 840 people were killed from the collapse of roofs under wet heavy ash and several more were injured.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Rain continued to create hazards over the next several years, as the volcanic deposits were remobilized into secondary mudflows. Damage to bridges, irrigation-canal systems, roads, cropland, and urban areas occurred in the wake of each significant rainfall. Many more people were affected for much longer by rain-induced lahars than by the eruption itself.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: On July 16, 1990, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck northern Central Luzon and the Cordilleras. This was the largest earthquake recorded in 1990, comparable in size to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Its epicenter was in the municipality of Rizal, Nueva Ecija, about northeast of Pinatubo, and faulted northwest-southeast through three provinces. It also followed the Philippine Fault System west as far as Baguio, which was devastated, and is located about north-northeast of Pinatubo, leading volcanologists to speculate that it might ultimately have triggered the 1991 eruption, although this is impossible to prove conclusively.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Two weeks after the earthquake, local residents reported steam coming from the volcano, but scientists who visited there in response found only small rockslides rather than any pre-eruptive activity. On March 15, 1991, a succession of earthquakes were felt by villagers on the northwestern side of the volcano. Further earthquakes of increasing intensity were felt over the next two weeks, and it became clear some kind of volcanic activity was likely.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: On April 2, the volcano woke up, with phreatic eruptions occurring near the summit along a long fissure. Over the next few weeks, small eruptions continued, dusting the surrounding areas with volcanic ash. Seismographs recorded hundreds of small earthquakes every day. Scientists immediately installed monitoring equipment and analyzed the volcano for clues as to its previous eruptive history. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal found in old volcanic deposits revealed the last three major explosive eruption periods in recent millennia, about 5500, 3500 and 500 years ago. Geological mapping showed that much of the surrounding plains were formed by lahar flood deposits from previous eruptions.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Volcanic activity increased throughout May. Measurements of sulfur dioxide emissions showed a rapid increase from per day by May 13 to per day by May 28. This implied that there was a rising column of fresh magma beneath the volcano. After May 28, the amount of being emitted decreased substantially, raising fears that the degassing of the magma had been blocked somehow, leading to a pressure build-up in the magma chamber and a high likelihood of violent explosive eruptions.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: In early June, tiltmeter measurements had shown that the volcano was gradually inflating, evidently due to fast-growing amounts of magma filling the reservoir beneath the summit. At the same time, seismic activity, previously concentrated at a depth of a few kilometers below a point about northwest of the summit, shifted to shallow depths just below the summit. Such an event is a precursor of volcano tectonic earthquakes.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Given all the signs that a very large eruption was imminent, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology – assisted by the United States Geological Survey – worked to convince local inhabitants of the high severity of the threat. A false warning might have led to cynicism about any later warnings, but delaying a warning until an eruption began might lead to thousands of deaths, so the volcanologists were under some pressure to deliver a timely and accurate assessment of the volcanic risk.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Three successive evacuation zones were defined, the innermost containing everything within of the volcano's summit, the second extending from the summit, and the third extending from from the summit (Clark Air Base and Angeles City were in this zone). The and zones had a total population of about 40,000 inhabitants, while some more 331,000 inhabitants lived in the zone.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Five stages of volcanic alert were defined, from level 1 (low level seismic disturbances) up to level 5 (major eruption in progress). Daily alerts were issued stating the alert level and associated danger area, and the information was announced in major regional and national newspapers, on radio and television stations, by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and directly to the endangered inhabitants.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Many of the Aetas who lived on the slopes of the volcano left their villages of their own volition when the first blasts began in April, gathering in a village about from the summit. They moved to increasingly distant settlements as the eruptions escalated, some Aetas moving up to nine times in the two months before the colossal eruption.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: The first formal evacuations were ordered for the zone on April 7. Evacuation of the zone was ordered when a level 4 alert was issued on June 7. A level 5 alert triggered evacuation of the zone on June 13, and in all some 60,000 people had left the area within of the volcano before June 15. Most people temporarily relocated to Metro Manila, with some 30,000 using the Amoranto Velodrome in Quezon City as an evacuee camp.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: On June 7, the first magmatic eruptions took place with the formation of a lava dome at the summit of the volcano. The dome grew substantially over the next five days, reaching a maximum diameter of about and a height of .


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: A small blast at 03:41 PST on June 12 marked the beginning of a new, more violent phase of the eruption. A few hours later the same day, massive blasts lasting about half an hour generated big eruption columns, which quickly reached heights of over and which generated large pyroclastic surges extending up to from the summit in some river valleys. Fourteen hours later, a 15-minute blast hurled volcanic matter to heights of . Friction in the up-rushing ash column generated abundant volcanic lightning.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: A third large eruption began at 08:41 on June 13, after an intense swarm of small earthquakes over the previous two hours. It lasted about five minutes, and the eruption column once again reached . After three hours of quiet, seismic activity began, growing more and more intense over the next twenty-four hours, until a three-minute eruptive blast generated a high eruption column at 13:09 on June 14.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Tephra fall from these four large eruptions was extensive to the southwest of the volcano. Two hours after the last of these four explosions, a series of eruptions began which lasted for the next twenty-four hours, and which saw the production of much larger pyroclastic flows and surges which travelled several kilometres down river valleys on the flanks of the volcano.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Dacite was the dominant igneous rock making up the tephra in these eruptions and in the following climactic event. The most abundant phenocryst minerals were hornblende and plagioclase, but an unusual phenocryst mineral was also present – the calcium sulfate called anhydrite. The dacite magma was more oxidized than most magmas, and the sulfur-rich nature of the eruption was probably causally related to the redox state.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: The final, climactic eruption of Mount Pinatubo began at 13:42 PST on June 15. It caused numerous major earthquakes due to the collapse of the summit and the creation of a caldera in diameter, reducing the peak from to .


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: All the seismographs close to Clark Air Base had been rendered completely inoperative by 14:30, mostly by super-massive pyroclastic surges. Intense atmospheric pressure variation was also recorded.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: On the same day, Typhoon Yunya, locally named Diding, struck the island, with its center passing about north of the volcano. The typhoon rains mostly obscured the eruption, but measurements showed that ash was ejected to a height of by the most violent phase of the eruption, which lasted about three hours. Pyroclastic surges poured from the summit, reaching as far as away from their origin point. Typhoon rains and flooding, mixed with the ash deposits, caused a messy rain of mud and massive lahars.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: The volcanic column from the crater covered an area of some , bringing total darkness to much of Central Luzon for 36 hours. Almost all of the island received some wet ash fall, which formed a heavy, rain-saturated snow-like blanket. Tephra fell over most of the South China Sea and ash falls were recorded as far away as Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Twelve days after the first magmatic eruptions of June 3, on June 15, 1991, by about 22:30, and about nine hours after the onset of the most recent climactic phase, atmospheric pressure waves had decreased to the pre-eruption levels. No seismic records were available at this time, but volcanologists believe 22:30 PST marked the end of the climactic eruption.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Vast quantities of light and heavy metal minerals were brought to the surface. Overall an estimated of zinc-, of copper-, of chromium-, of nickel-, and massive amounts of potentially toxic heavy metal mineral such as of lead-, of arsenic-, of cadmium-, and of mercury-minerals comingled with the other magmatic rock, came forth.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: At least 16 commercial aircraft had damaging in-flight encounters with the ash cloud ejected by the June 15 eruption, and many grounded aircraft were also significantly damaged. In-flight encounters caused loss of power to one engine on each of the two aircraft. Ten engines were damaged and replaced, including all three engines of one DC-10. Longer-term damage to aircraft and engines was reported, including accumulation of sulfate deposits on engines. The eruption also irreparably damaged the Philippine Air Force's recently retired fleet of Vought F-8s, as these were in open storage at Basa Air Base at the time.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: The 1991 eruption rated 6 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index and came some 450–500 years after the volcano's last known eruptive activity. The eruption ejected about of material, making it the largest eruption of the 20th century since that of Novarupta in 1912 and some ten times larger than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. Ejected material such as tephra fallout and pyroclastic flow deposits are much less dense than magma, and the volume of ejected material was equivalent to about of unerupted material.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: The former summit of the volcano was obliterated and replaced by a caldera wide. The highest point on the caldera rim now stood above sea level, some lower than the pre-eruption summit.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: A reported 847 people were killed by the eruption, mostly by roofs collapsing under a load of accumulated volcanic matter, a hazard amplified by the simultaneous arrival of Typhoon Yunya.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: The evacuation in the days before the eruption certainly saved tens of thousands of lives, and has been hailed as a great success for volcanology and eruption prediction.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: After the eruption, about 500,000 people continue to live within of the volcano, with population centers including the 150,000 in Angeles City and 30,000 at Clark Freeport Zone.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Many reforestation projects were destroyed in the eruption, with a total area of valued at 125 million pesos destroyed. Agriculture was heavily disrupted, with of rice-growing farmland destroyed, and almost 800,000 head of livestock and poultry killed, destroying the livelihoods of thousands of farmers. The cost to agriculture of eruption effects was estimated to be 1.5 billion pesos.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Many farmers near Pinatubo began growing quick-ripening crops such as peanuts, cassava, and sweet potatoes, which could be harvested before the threat of lahar floods during the late summer rainy season.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: In total, 364 communities and 2.1 million people were affected by the eruption, with livelihoods and houses being damaged and destroyed. More than 8,000 houses were destroyed, and a further 73,000 were damaged. In addition to the severe damage sustained by these communities, roads and communications were damaged or destroyed by pyroclastic surges and lahar floods throughout the areas surrounding the volcano. Total losses in 1991 and 1992 alone were estimated at 10.6 and 1.2 billion pesos respectively, including damage to public infrastructure estimated at 3.8 billion pesos (c. US$92 million, or $175 million today, adjusted for inflation). School classes for thousands of children was temporarily suspended by the destruction of schools in the eruption.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: The eruption of Pinatubo severely hampered the economic development of the surrounding areas. The gross regional domestic product of the Pinatubo area accounted for about 10% of the total Philippine gross domestic product. The GRDP had been growing at 5% annually before the eruption but fell by more than 3% from 1990 to 1991. In 1991, damage to crops and property was estimated at $374 million (or $711 million today), to which continuing lahar floods added a further $69 million (or $127 million today) in 1992. In total, 42 percent of the cropland around the volcano was affected by more lahar floods, dealing a severe blow to the agricultural economy in the region.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Since the eruption, each heavy rain has brought massive lahars from the volcano, displacing thousands of people and inflicting extensive damage to buildings and infrastructure costing billions to repair. Funds were spent constructing dikes and dams to control post-eruption lahar flows.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Several important river systems stem from Mount Pinatubo, the major rivers being the Tarlac, Abacan, Pasig-Potrero, Sta. Lucia, Bucao, Santo Tomas, Maloma, Tanguay, Ashley and Kileng rivers. Before the eruption, these river systems were important ecosystems, but the eruption filled many valleys with deep pyroclastic deposits. Since 1991, the rivers have been clogged with sediment, and the valleys have seen frequent lahars which continued for years after the eruption. Studies show that the river systems will take decades to recover from the June 1991 eruption.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: On September 3, 1995, a lahar buried San Guillermo Parish Church in Bacolor, Pampanga to half its height.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: The United States Air Force initiated a massive airlift effort to evacuate American service members and their families from the two affected bases during and immediately following the eruption, named Operation Fiery Vigil. The first sea-based evacuations departed June 16 from Alava Wharf, Naval Base Subic Bay aboard USS Rodney M. Davis, USS Curts, and USS Arkansas, all of whom were in port or who had made port immediately after the initial plume of June 12. Each made two passages from Subic Bay transporting evacuees to Cebu City, Mindanao for subsequent transport by USAF units to Andersen AFB, Guam. Additional maritime evacuations commenced several days later with the arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln battle group, USS Midway, and USS Peleliu. Most personnel were initially relocated to Guam, Okinawa and the U.S. state of Hawaii, although some returned to the continental United States. Clark Air Base was ultimately abandoned by the United States military because of the eruption, and Subic Bay reverted to Philippine control in November 1992 following the breakdown of lease negotiations and the expiration of the Military Bases Agreement of 1947.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: The powerful eruption of such an enormous volume of lava and ash injected significant quantities of aerosols and dust into the stratosphere. Sulfur dioxide oxidized in the atmosphere to produce a haze of sulfuric acid droplets, which gradually spread throughout the stratosphere over the year following the eruption. The injection of aerosols into the stratosphere is thought to have been the largest since the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, with a total mass of of about being injected – the largest volume ever recorded by modern instruments (see and ).


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: This very large stratospheric injection resulted in a volcanic winter, a reduction in the normal amount of sunlight reaching the Earth's surface by roughly 10% (see ). This led to a decrease in Northern Hemisphere average temperatures of and a global decrease of about . At the same time, the temperature in the stratosphere rose to several degrees higher than normal, due to the absorption of radiation by the aerosol. The stratospheric cloud from the eruption persisted in the atmosphere for three years. The eruption, while not directly responsible, may have played a part in the formation of the 1993 Storm of the Century.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: The eruption had a significant effect on ozone levels in the atmosphere, causing a large increase in the destruction rate of ozone. Ozone levels at middle latitudes reached their lowest recorded levels, while in the Southern Hemisphere winter of 1992, the ozone hole over Antarctica reached its largest ever size until then, with the fastest recorded ozone depletion rates. The eruption of Mount Hudson in Chile in August 1991 also contributed to southern hemisphere ozone destruction, with measurements showing a sharp decrease in ozone levels at the tropopause when the aerosol clouds from Pinatubo and Hudson arrived.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Another noticeable effect of the dust in the atmosphere was the appearance of lunar eclipses. Normally even at mid-eclipse, the moon is still visible although much dimmed, whereas in the year following the Pinatubo eruption, the moon was hardly visible at all during eclipses, due to much greater absorption of sunlight by dust in the atmosphere. It has also been suggested that excess cloud condensation nuclei from the eruption were responsible for the "Great Flood of 1993" in the Midwestern United States.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: The Aeta people were the hardest hit by the eruption. After the areas surrounding the volcano were declared safe, many Aetas returned to their old villages only to find them destroyed by pyroclastic and lahar deposits. Some were able to return to their former way of life, but most moved instead to government-organized resettlement areas. Conditions on these were poor, with each family receiving only small plots of land not ideal for growing crops. Many Aeta found casual labor working for lowland farmers, and overall Aeta society became much more fragmented, and reliant on and integrated with lowland culture.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: The government implemented several rehabilitative and reconstructive programs. Projects that will help deal with the aftermath brought about by lahar were also implemented. Among these is the construction of mega dikes. Moreover, to hasten the implementation of the basic services for the afflicted, private sectors, including the NGOs, took part in offering relief. They provided support and coordinated on the services that were deemed lacking from the side of the government.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: 2. Livelihood programs focused on agriculture and industry (quick-generating income opportunities to affected families)


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: The Asian Disaster Reduction Center was founded in Kobe, Hyogo prefecture, in 1998, with a mission to improve disaster resilience of its fifty member countries, to build safe communities, and to create a society where there is an achievable sustainable development. The Center works to build and establish networks among countries through many programs such as personnel exchanges in this field. The Center addresses this issue from a global perspective in cooperation with various UN agencies and international organizations including the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and the World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific (WHO/WPRO). The Asian Disaster Reduction Center focuses mainly on the following forms of aid:


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: After the eruption, many of the homes were destroyed and many of the areas affected by lahar were deemed uninhabitable. There was need to resettle the people particularly the Aetas and lowlanders. Resettlement for these two needs to take into consideration the factors of their socio-cultural and socioeconomic differences.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Faced with the destruction of many of the farmlands and the displacement of farmers and other workers the government had to search for a long-term solution to address the issue. Agricultural-based industries were also greatly affected. The closure of Clark Air base also raised an issue of finding short-term livelihoods and the need to use the base lands to cushion the repercussions of the worker's displacement.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: The destruction brought about by the incident pressured social service sectors to continue their efforts in assisting in terms of health, social welfare, and education. The services offered are not limited to the victims within the evacuation centers but also offered to the others affected. While the event happened during the opening of a school year, classes were needed to be pushed back as school facilities were destroyed. Providing resettlement for the evacuees was also a major concern. Social services were also provided in the prospective resettlement areas to prepare the victims when settling down.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Destruction of many infrastructures was mostly due to the wet ash after the explosion. The region's roads, bridges, public buildings, facilities, communication, and structures for river and flood control were some of the great concerns of the government. A need to establish measures for the flash floods and the threat caused by lahar also became an imperative demand to the government.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: The aftereffects of the eruption damaged not only man-made structures but also farmlands, forestlands, and watersheds. River systems and the overall environment of the affected region are also heavily damaged by the heavy lahar flow. To address this careful replanning of the land area region is necessary.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: This event showed the need to engage in scientific studies to reassess the current policies and knowledge on areas with risk of eruption. Studies should also be allocated on a possible application for the ash fall for industrial and commercial purposes. The significance of this concern affects both the government and private sectors.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Even before the Philippine government officially appealed for international assistance, the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) shipped shelter material for victims of the floods and lahars in late July 1992. In the following month, they provided $375 000 to be used for relief and rehabilitation projects. The Department of Social Welfare and Development had claimed during an informal donors’ meeting with representatives from mostly international agencies who compose the donor community that the national government was still well-equipped and had sufficient resources to aid the victims. The UN-Disaster Management Team (DMT) and the United Nations’ Department of Humanitarian Affairs/United Nations Disaster Relief Organization (DHA/UNDRO) continued cooperating with the national government to monitor the situation and formulate ideas for further assistance.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: It was not until then-President Fidel V. Ramos had declared the affected provinces and areas to be in a state of emergency that the national government officially requested for international assistance and for aid in projects for rehabilitation and relief provisions in the aforementioned areas. In response to this, the DHA/UNDRO reached out to the international community to respond to the appeal, and continued their operations, coordinating with the government.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Among the countries that extended humanitarian relief assistance were Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Malta, Myanmar, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. International organizations including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Coordinator (UNDRO, predecessor to the current United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs or OCHA), the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO) also offered assistance. Relief assistance from these organizations and countries were in the form of either cash donation or relief items such as food packs, medicines, and shelter materials.


title: 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo

text: Some specific projects under the auspices of the DPWH, which were made possible by foreign assistance, included:


title: Medtronic

text: Medtronic plc is an American medical device company. The company's operational and executive headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its legal headquarters are in Ireland due to its acquisition of Irish-based Covidien in 2015. While it primarily operates in the United States, it operates in more than 150 countries and employs over 90,000 people. It develops and manufactures healthcare technologies and therapies.


title: Medtronic

text: Medtronic was founded in 1949 in Minneapolis by Earl Bakken and his brother-in-law, Palmer Hermundslie, as a medical equipment repair shop. Bakken invented several medical technology devices that continue to be used around the world today.


title: Medtronic

text: Through his repair business, Bakken came to know C. Walton Lillehei, a doctor of heart surgery at the University of Minnesota Medical School. The deficiencies of the artificial pacemakers of the day were made painfully obvious following a power outage over Halloween in 1957, which affected large sections of Minnesota and western Wisconsin. A pacemaker-dependent paediatric patient of Lillehei died because of the blackout. The next day, Lillehei spoke with Bakken about developing some form of battery-powered pacemaker. Bakken modified the design for a transistorized metronome and created the first battery-powered external pacemaker. It fit in a four-inch-square box that could be taped to a patient’s chest, transmitted electric signals to the heart through wires that passed through the patient’s chest, and could be removed without surgery.


title: Medtronic

text: The company expanded through the 1950s, selling equipment built by other companies but also developing custom-made devices. Bakken built a small pacemaker that could be strapped to the body and powered by batteries. Work in the new field later produced an implantable pacemaker in 1960. The company built headquarters in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Anthony, Minnesota, in 1960 and the company moved to Fridley in the 1970s. Medtronic's main competitors in the cardiac rhythm field include Boston Scientific and St. Jude Medical.


title: Medtronic

text: In 1997, Medtronic opened a production site for implantable pacemakers and brain pacemakers in Tolochenaz, Switzerland. One in five pacemakers implanted globally today are made here. The site is also used as a european training centre for doctors. In 1998, Medtronic acquired Physio-Control for $538 million.


title: Medtronic

text: In 2014, Integra LifeSciences announced it was acquiring instrumentation lines from Medtronic for $60 million. The deal included Medtronic’s MicroFrance and Xomed manual ENT and laparoscopic surgical instruments, as well as a manufacturing facility in France.


title: Medtronic

text: In February 2016, the company announced that it would acquire Bellco from private equity firm Charme Capital Partners. In June, the company announced its acquisition of HeartWare International Inc. for $1.1 billion. In December 2017, Medtronic acquired Crospon in €38 million ($45 million). In September 2018, the company acquired Mazor Robotics for $1.64 billion ($58.50 per American Depository Share or $29.25 per ordinary share. In late November, Medtronic acquired Nutrino Health Ltd boosting the companies nutrition-related data services and analytics.


title: Medtronic

text: In May 2019, Medtronic announced it would acquire Titan Spine, a technology company focusing on titanium spine implants.


title: Medtronic

text: Chief Executive Officer Omar Ishrak retired in April 2020 and stayed on as executive chairman and chairman of the board until December 2020. Ishrak was succeeded by senior executive Geoff Martha.


title: Medtronic

text: In January 2020, the company announced its intention to acquire Stimgenics, LLC and their primary therapy: differential target, multiplexed, spinal cord stimulation. In July, the company announced it would acquire Medicrea for €7.00 per share. In August, Medtronic announced it would acquire Companion Medical, who manufacture a smart insulin pen system, which connects to a diabetes management app. In September Medtronic acquired Avenu Medical for an undisclosed sum.


title: Medtronic

text: In February 2021, the company recalled its HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device. In June 2021, the controller ports were pulled from the market. On June 3, 2021, the FDA alerted physicians to stop new implants of the HVAD system due to "an increased risk of neurological adverse events and mortality associated with the internal pump."


title: Medtronic

text: In January 2022, the business announced it would acquire Affera, Inc. In March, Medtronic announced a contract with Vizient, a healthcare performance improvement company, to add Medtronic's Touch Surgery Enterprise platform to Vizient's healthcare offerings. Touch Surgery works with laparoscopic and robotic scopes and is an AI-powered video management and analytics platform for the operating room. In May, Medtronic and DaVita Inc. announced plans to form a new, independent kidney care-focused medical device company. Medtronic’s Renal Care Solutions business will be part of the new company.


title: Medtronic

text: In April 2022, the company announced that it would work with GE Healthcare to support the needs and care demands at Ambulatory Surgery Centers. In July, Medtronic announced a strategic partnership with CathWorks, a coronary artery disease (CAD) technology developer. A separate agreement gave Medtronic the option to acquire CathWorks in the future.


title: Medtronic

text: In October, 2022, the company announced its intention to pursue a separation of the company's combined Patient Monitoring and Respiratory Interventions businesses, which are part of the company's Medical Surgical Portfolio.


title: Medtronic

text: In May 2018, Medtronic was ranked as the world's largest medical device company by 2017 revenues (see table below).


title: Medtronic

text: In March 2017, Bloomberg's database of U.S. tax inversions listed Medtronic and Wright Medical Group (Medtronic's 2015 inversion to Ireland was over $100 billion, while Wright's 2015 inversion to the Netherlands was $3.3 billion), as the only U.S. tax inversions of a U.S. medical device company in history. In February 2018, the "Wall Street Journal" listed Medtronic's 2015 tax inversion to Ireland as the largest U.S. corporate tax inversion executed between 2013 and 2016. In May 2018, Medtronic was ranked as the largest corporate tax inversion in history.


title: Medtronic

text: Medtronic has four main business units: the Minimally Invasive Therapies Group, the Diabetes Group, the Restorative Therapies Group, and the Cardiac and Vascular Group. Medtronic develops and manufactures devices and therapies to treat more than 30 chronic diseases, including heart failure, Parkinson disease, urinary incontinence, Down syndrome, obesity, chronic pain, spinal disorders and diabetes.


title: Medtronic

text: Cardiac rhythm disease management (CRDM) is the oldest and largest of Medtronic's business units. Its work in heart rhythm therapies dates back to 1957 when Bakken developed the first wearable heart pacemaker to treat abnormally slow heart rates. Since then, it has expanded its expertise in electrical stimulation to treat other cardiac rhythm diseases. It has also made an effort to address overall disease management by adding diagnostic and monitoring capabilities to many of its devices. An independently-operating Dutch pacemaker manufacturer, Vitatron, acquired by Medtronic in 1986, is now a European subsidiary of the unit. Medtronic and Vitatron pacemakers are interrogated and programmed by Medtronic Carelink Model 2090 Programmer for Medtronic and Vitatron Devices; they use separate interfaces.


title: Medtronic

text: In 2007, Medtronic recalled its Sprint Fidelis product, the flexible wires, or leads, which connect a defibrillator to the interior of the heart. The leads were found to be failing at an unacceptable rate, resulting in unnecessary shocks or no shocks when needed; either can be lethal. The scope of the problem continues to be a matter of research. Studies since the recall, disputed by Medtronic, suggest that the failure rate of already-implanted Sprint Fidelis leads is increasing exponentially. Medtronic's liability is limited by various court decisions.


title: Medtronic

text: Spinal and biologics is Medtronic's second-largest business. Medtronic is the world leader in spinal and musculoskeletal therapies. In 2007, Medtronic purchased Kyphon, a manufacturer and seller of spinal implants that are necessary for procedures like kyphoplasty.


title: Medtronic

text: In May 2008, Medtronic Spine agreed to pay the US government $75 million to settle a qui tam lawsuit after a whistleblower alleged that Medtronic committed Medicare fraud. The company was charged with illegally convincing healthcare providers to offer kyphoplasty, a spinal fracture repair surgery, as an inpatient, not an outpatient, procedure to make thousands of dollars more in profits per surgery.


title: Medtronic

text: A "special report" by writer Steven Brill in "Time" showed that according to Medtronic's quarterly SEC filing of October 2012, the company had, on average, a 75.1% profit margin on its spine products and therapies.


title: Medtronic

text: Medtronic's cardiovascular therapies span the major specialties of interventional cardiology, cardiac surgery, and vascular surgery. The products are used to reduce the potentially debilitating effects of coronary, aortic, and structural heart disease.


title: Medtronic

text: Neuromodulation is the second-oldest and third-largest department of Medtronic. Its products include neurostimulation systems and implantable drug delivery systems for chronic pain, common movement disorders, and urologic and gastrointestinal disorders. The department's revenues in 2014 amounted to $1.9 billion, or 11% of Medtronic's total revenues.


title: Medtronic

text: The diabetes management manufacturing and sales division of Medtronic is based on the perimeter of the California State University, Northridge campus in Northridge, California. The original company, Minimed Technologies, was founded in the early 1980s by Alfred E. Mann and spun off from Pacesetter Systems to design an insulin pump. MiniMed 500 was one of the first light weight insulin pumps on the market, and it helped bring insulin pump usage to the mainstream market.


title: Medtronic

text: In 1996, the MiniMed was redesigned to make it more appealing to consumers. The new design was met by boosted adoption rate, and sales increased by 357%. In the early 2000s, Medtronic purchased Minimed, to form Medtronic Minimed.


title: Medtronic

text: On 11 May 2009, Medtronic announced it had chosen San Antonio, Texas, for the location of its new Diabetes Therapy Management and Education Center. The company announced that it expected 1400 new jobs would be created to staff the facility.


title: Medtronic

text: In September 2016, the FDA approved a device, MiniMed 670G, which automatically pumps insulin to a diabetic patient's body on sensing its absence or reduction.


title: Medtronic

text: The surgical technologies business group designed and manufactured products for the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose, and throat (ENT) diseases and cranial, spinal, and neurologic conditions. It also encompassed a surgical navigation division to design "StealthStation" systems, software, and instruments for computer assisted surgery (CAS) and a special intraoperative X-ray imaging system (3D fluoroscopy), known as the O-arm Imaging System. Many of the products are used for minimally-invasive surgical procedures. In 2016, the business unit was dissolved, and each site folded into new business groups.


title: Medtronic

text: The Renal Care Solutions business group designed and manufactured products for the diagnosis and treatment related to Renal organs like Kidney.


title: Medtronic

text: In 2011, an independent security researcher, Jay Radcliffe, revealed a security vulnerability in a Medtronic insulin pump at the Computer Security conference Black Hat Briefings, allowing an attacker to take control of the pump. Medtronic responded by assuring users of the full safety of its devices.


title: Medtronic

text: In 2008, a team of computer security researchers was able to take remote control of a Medtronic cardiac implant. The team, using an unused implant in a lab, was able to control the electrical shocks delivered by the defibrillator component and even glean patient data from the device.


title: Medtronic

text: In February 2020, Medtronic recalled around 322,000 MiniMed insulin pumps with faulty pump retainer rings, which had been correlated to death and around 2,000 injuries.


title: Medtronic

text: On 30 March 2020, Medtronic shared its portable ventilator design specifications during the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, in order to accelerate global ventilator production.


title: Medtronic

text: Vitatron is a Netherlands-based European subsidiary of Medtronic. It is focused on development and manufacturing of cardiac pacing technology. Once an independently operating Dutch medical company, it was acquired by Medtronic in 1986.


title: Medtronic

text: Vitatron pacemakers are interrogated and programmed by Medtronic Carelink Model 2090 Programmer for Medtronic and Vitatron Devices, using a separate interface.


title: Medtronic

text: In 2005, 2008, and 2010 PETA threatened to submit a shareholder resolution to improve animal welfare standards in the company. In 2005, PETA attempted to stop five specific animal experiments that it deemed "crude and cruel". In 2008, PETA protested the outsourcing of animal testing to countries with lax animal welfare laws, such as China. In 2010, PETA attempted to stop Medtronic's reported use of live animals in testing and training. In response, Medtronic conducted a feasibility study that found that banning the use of live animals was impractical. Medtronic continues to use live animals for testing and training but has said that it will look for alternatives in the future. In each case, PETA withdrew its shareholder resolution after talks with Medtronic's leadership.


title: Medtronic

text: In June 2014, Medtronic announced it would execute a tax inversion to Ireland by acquiring Irish-based Covidien plc (a previous U.S. tax inversion to Ireland in 2007), for $42.9 billion in cash and stock. The tax inversion enabled Medtronic to move its legal headquarters to Ireland, while maintaining its operational and executive headquarters in the U.S., thus allowing it to avoid taxation on more than $14 billion held overseas, and avail of Ireland's beneficial low corporation tax regime. Medtronic's tax inversion is the largest tax inversion in history, and given the changes in the U.S. tax-code in 2016 to block the Pfizer-Allergan Irish tax inversion, is likely to remain the largest. Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak defended the tax inversion in a 2015 interview to the "Financial Times" saying, "We just followed the rules and the deal was done based on strategic merits". Ireland is less than 0.1% of Medtronic (or Covidien) sales, and the majority of Medtronic's sales, and an even greater percentage of Medtronic profits (due to the higher margins on U.S. medical devices), are from the U.S. healthcare system. In 2016, the "Star Tribune" reported that Medtronic was still winning U.S. Federal contracts and attending U.S. trade-missions as a U.S. company.


title: Medtronic

text: In terms of scale, on 23 November 2018, Ireland's largest stockbrokers, "Davy Stockbrokers" reported that the total capitalization of the Irish stock market was €104 billion (this does not include Medtronic, which Davy do not consider an Irish company). In contrast, on the same day Medtronic's capitalization was listed on Bloomberg at just over $130 billion (or €115 billion).


title: Medtronic

text: Medtronic's acquisition of Covidien plc made Medtronic the world's largest medical device company by revenues.


title: Medtronic

text: During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Medtronic refused to join the international community and withdraw from the Russian market. Research from Yale University updated on April 28, 2022 identifying how companies were reacting to Russia's invasion identified Medtronic in the worst category of "Digging In", meaning Defying Demands for Exit: companies defying demands for exit/reduction of activities.


title: René Higuita

text: José René Higuita Zapata (; born 27 August 1966) is a Colombian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was nicknamed "El Loco" ("The Madman") for his high-risk 'sweeper-keeper' playing style and his flair for the dramatic.


title: René Higuita

text: Higuita's style of play, which was first shown to a global audience during the 1990 FIFA World Cup, was pioneering in influencing goalkeepers to take more responsibility for situations farther from the goal.


title: René Higuita

text: IFFHS ranked Higuita the 8th best South American keeper in history. He is also ranked as one of the 10 highest-scoring goalkeepers in history, with 41 goals overall.


title: René Higuita

text: Higuita was born in Medellín, Antioquia to Jorge Zapata and Maria Dioselina Higuita. His father left the family when Higuita was a child, so he was raised by his mother. His mother later died when he was very young, so he was taken care of by his grandmother.


title: René Higuita

text: Higuita started his playing career with Millonarios and transferred to Atlético Nacional in 1986. He played the majority of his club career with the Colombian side where he helped the team win the Colombian League on two occasions as well as the Copa Libertadores and Copa Interamericana, both in 1989. After leaving them, he moved to Spain to play with Real Valladolid for one season, before coming back to Atletico Nacional for four years. He then left for Mexico to play for Veracruz before coming back to the Colombian league to play for Atletico's city rivals, Independiente Medellín.


title: René Higuita

text: He came out of retirement on 21 July 2007 to sign for Venezuelan club Guaros FC. In January 2008, aged 41, he signed for the Colombian second division team Deportivo Rionegro. In June 2008 he signed for another Colombia team, Deportivo Pereira, and finally retired on 25 January 2010.


title: René Higuita

text: Higuita's first major tournament was the 1989 Copa América, where the team was knocked out in the first round. In the 1990 FIFA World Cup, he played an important part to lead the country into the round of 16 for the first time ever. However, Higuita's unorthodox playing style caused a mistake by him that knocked Colombia out of the World Cup, when he tried to feint Cameroon striker Roger Milla but failed, and Milla dispossessed him and scored, which put Cameroon through to the quarter-finals. Higuita described it as "a mistake as big as a house". As a result of such behaviour, Higuita was nicknamed "El Loco" ("The Madman").


title: René Higuita

text: He played in the 1991 Copa América where the team finished fourth. His last call up for the national team was for the 1999 Copa América.


title: René Higuita

text: Higuita often took set-pieces for the Colombian national team, in all, he scored three goals in his 68 international appearances.


title: René Higuita

text: On the pitch, Higuita was known for his dramatic flair, composure under pressure, and eccentric playing style, often taking unnecessary risks and actively coming out of his area to anticipate opponents, play the ball out to defenders, undertake individual dribbling runs, and attempt to score goals, which led him to be described as a 'sweeper-keeper'; he was therefore a pioneer in influencing other goalkeepers to take more responsibility for situations farther from the goal. Although he was a goalkeeper, Higuita also became known for scoring directly from free-kicks, as well as penalties.


title: René Higuita

text: Furthermore, Higuita reportedly invented the scorpion kick, a movement which involves the player jumping forward, positioning their legs over their head, and in doing so, kicks the ball away with their heels; one of Higuita's most notable uses of the scorpion was when he performed it while clearing a cross from Jamie Redknapp during a friendly against England at Wembley Stadium on 6 September 1995, earning him considerable media attention. It ranked 94th in Channel 4's "100 Greatest Sporting Moments" in 2002.


title: René Higuita

text: Higuita has expressed the wish to coach the Colombian national team and in December 2008 he got the job of goalkeeper coach for his former club Real Valladolid.


title: René Higuita

text: He joined Al Nassr FC in Saudi Arabia in 2011, and was the club goalkeeper coach for about 5 years, until 2016.


title: René Higuita

text: He rejoined Atletico Nacional on 28 June 2017 after receiving a coaching job as the goalkeeping coach. Upon rejoining, he said "the dream of my life was to return to Atletico Nacional".


title: René Higuita

text: Higuita was imprisoned in 1993 after getting involved in a kidnapping. Acting as a go-between for the drug barons Pablo Escobar and Carlos Molina, he was largely responsible for securing the release of Molina's daughter by delivering the ransom money. He received $64,000 for his services, which breaks Colombian law as it is an offence to profit from a kidnapping. He was incarcerated for seven months before being released without charge. Commenting on the case, he stated, "I'm a footballer, I didn't know anything about kidnapping laws."


title: René Higuita

text: In the ESPN documentary "The Two Escobars", Higuita claimed that he was arrested for visiting Pablo during his time in prison with the desire to thank him for turning himself in thus stabilizing Colombia for a short period. He supported this theory claiming that all he was asked during questioning was solely about Pablo Escobar himself and no kidnapping.


title: René Higuita

text: Because of the term in prison Higuita was not fit for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. In another scandal, he tested positive for cocaine on 23 November 2004 while playing for Aucas, an Ecuadorian football club.


title: René Higuita

text: In 2005, Higuita participated in the reality TV program "La isla de los famosos: Una aventura pirata" ("The Island of the Famous: A Pirate Adventure"), a show similar to "Survivor". Also in 2005, he underwent plastic surgery to completely change his appearance.


title: United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth

text: The United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth (USP Leavenworth) is a medium security U.S. penitentiary with an adjacent minimum security satellite camp in northeast Kansas. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. It also includes a satellite federal prison camp (FPC) for minimum-security male offenders.


title: United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth

text: USP Leavenworth, a civilian facility, is the oldest of three major prisons built on federal land in Leavenworth County, Kansas. It is separate from, but often confused with, the United States Disciplinary Barracks (USDB), a military facility located on the adjacent Fort Leavenworth army post. Located north of the USP, the USDB is the sole maximum-security penal facility for the entire United States Military. Prisoners from the original USDB were used to build the civilian penitentiary. In addition, the military's medium-security Midwest Joint Regional Correctional Facility (JRCF), located southwest of the new USDB, opened in 2010. The USDB and JRCF operate independently from USP Leavenworth.


title: United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth

text: The prison was described by Pete Earley, the only writer at that time who had ever been granted unlimited access to the prison, in his book, "The Hot House". The prison's history has also been covered in a pictorial history titled "U.S. Penitentiary Leavenworth" by Kenneth M. LaMaster, the retired Institution Historian.


title: United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth

text: USP Leavenworth was the largest maximum-security federal prison in the United States from 1903 until 2005 when it was downgraded to a medium-security facility.


title: United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth

text: USP Leavenworth was one of three first-generation federal prisons which were built in 1913. Prior to its construction, federal prisoners were held at state prisons. In 1895, Congress authorized the construction of the federal prison system.


title: United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth

text: The other two were Atlanta and McNeil Island (although McNeil dates to the 1870s the major expansion did not occur until the early 1900s).


title: United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth

text: The prison follows a format popularized at the Auburn Correctional Facility in New York where the cell blocks were in a large rectangular building. The rectangular building was focused on indoor group labor with a staff continually patrolling.


title: United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth

text: The Auburn system was a marked difference from the earlier Pennsylvania plan popularized at Eastern State Penitentiary in which cell blocks radiated out from a central building and was the original design for the nearby Disciplinary Barracks before it was torn down and replaced by a totally new prison.