title: Cookie Monster

text: In a 2007 appearance on Martha Stewart's TV program, Cookie Monster explained his new philosophy that "Cookies are a sometimes food."


title: Cookie Monster

text: On February 10, 2008, NPR host Elizabeth Blair interviewed Cookie Monster for the "All Things Considered" segment "In Character". He answered the Proust Questionnaire, as well as revealing some of his favorite and non-favorite things.


title: Cookie Monster

text: In a June 19, 2008, appearance on "The Colbert Report", Cookie Monster again explained that "Cookies are a sometimes food." Colbert had asked agitatedly why Cookie Monster had "abandoned the pro-cookie agenda" and thus caused fruit to become the favorite snack of American children, according to a study Colbert had heard. Colbert criticized Cookie Monster for not wearing a cookie lapel pin. Cookie Monster also claimed to have "crazy times during the '70s and '80s", referring to himself as "the Robert Downey Jr. of cookies." After eating a cookie to prove he still likes cookies, Cookie Monster asked if the Peabody Award, a round medallion on a small pedestal, was a cookie. When Colbert returned to speak to Cookie Monster at the end of the show, the award had disappeared and Cookie Monster was wiping his mouth with a napkin.


title: Cookie Monster

text: On November 24, 2010, Cookie Monster started a Facebook page as part of a campaign to host "Saturday Night Live". Though his bid to host "Saturday Night Live" failed, he was allowed to appear with Jeff Bridges when Jeff hosted the show and sang the Christmas song "Silver Bells".


title: Cookie Monster

text: Rudman officially became Cookie Monster in "Sesame Street's" 2002 season (taped 2001). Oz continued to occasionally perform Cookie Monster until 2004.


title: Cookie Monster

text: Various toys and other icons of the Cookie Monster have been produced over the years. The most obvious is a cookie jar, of which numerous types have been available.


title: Cookie Monster

text: Familiar to generations of "Sesame Street" watchers, Cookie Monster is remembered for his gluttony and his deep, rumbly distinctive voice.


title: Cookie Monster

text: In 1990 U.S. Budget Director Richard Darman wrote an introduction to the federal budget with a section "Green Eyeshades and the Cookie Monster" in which he called Cookie "the quintessential consumer", and the enormous budget "the Ultimate Cookie Monster."


title: Cookie Monster

text: In the Food Network program "Good Eats" episode "Three Chips for Sister Marsha" (first aired December 13, 2000), a puppet named Maj. Wilfred D. Cookie who looks like a green version of Cookie Monster appears. Asked about his well-known "brother", he responds, "I told you never to mention that ruffian. All he knows about cookies is how to shovel them into his face." In the Fox animated series "Family Guy" episode "Model Misbehavior", Cookie Monster is shown in a psychiatric hospital, repeatedly foiling drug rehab-styled efforts to cure his cookie addiction.


title: Cookie Monster

text: In the "Sesame Street" parody "Avenue Q", the character of Trekkie Monster is loosely based on Cookie Monster, sharing his speech pattern and addictive personality.


title: Cookie Monster

text: The guttural singing style in death metal bands is commonly (if facetiously) compared to Cookie Monster's low-pitched, gravelly voice.


title: Cookie Monster

text: John Lennon's song "Hold On", recorded in 1970 (only a year after "Sesame Street" debuted), features Lennon shouting "Cookie!" in Cookie Monster's voice, in the middle of the instrumental break in an otherwise calm, quiet song. Ringo Starr, aware of Lennon's love for Cookie Monster, also screams "Cookie!" in Cookie Monster's voice in his song "Early 1970", released in 1971.


title: Cookie Monster

text: In the "Family Guy" episode "Back to the Pilot", due to alterations in the past, Stewie thinks Cookie Monster could have invented Facebook; in this timeline, he would have called it "Cookiebook". In "The Empire Strikes Back" spoof "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side", Cookie Monster is cast as the Wampa.


title: Cookie Monster

text: In another sci-fi related takeoff, the "Star Wars" spoof "Hardware Wars" features "Chewchilla the Wookiee Monster" in the role of Chewbacca.


title: Cookie Monster

text: Cookie Monster also appears in "Mad", first in "Mouse M.D", a parody of "House M.D.", then as the main character in "Cookie Blue", a parody of "Rookie Blue".


title: Cookie Monster

text: When the Apple personal assistant Siri is asked the question, "what is zero divided by zero", Siri responds with the answer: "Imagine that you have zero cookies and you split them evenly among zero friends. How many cookies does each person get? See? It doesn’t make sense. And Cookie Monster is sad that there are no cookies, and you are sad that you have no friends."


title: Cookie Monster

text: On March 16, 2016, Apple released an ad titled "Timer" starring Cookie Monster, where he uses the "Hey Siri" feature in the iPhone 6S to set a timer and play an album while he waits for cookies to bake.


title: Cookie Monster

text: A popular internet parody of "The Great Wave off Kanagawa", titled "Sea is for Cookie", was created for a Reddit Adobe Photoshop competition. The piece features the wave with googly eyes and cookies in the crest, resembling Cookie Monster eating cookies.


title: Cookie Monster

text: This article incorporates Creative Commons license CC-BY SA 3.0 text from the Muppet Wiki article "Cookie Monster".


title: Lieutenant (navy)

text: Lieutenant (abbreviated Lt, LT (U.S.), LT(USN), Lieut and LEUT, depending on nation) is a commissioned officer rank in many English-speaking nations' navies and coast guards. It is typically the most senior of junior officer ranks. In most navies, the rank's insignia may consist of two medium gold braid stripes, the uppermost stripe featuring an executive curl in many Commonwealth of Nations; or three stripes of equal or unequal width.


title: Lieutenant (navy)

text: The now immediately senior rank of lieutenant commander was formerly a senior naval lieutenant rank. Many navies also use a subordinate rank of sub-lieutenant. The appointment of "first lieutenant" in many navies is held by a senior lieutenant.


title: Lieutenant (navy)

text: This naval lieutenant ranks higher than an army lieutenants; within NATO countries the naval rank of lieutenant is a OF-2 and is the equivalent rank of an army captain. Other nations will use a naval lieutenant rank equivalent to an army lieutenant.


title: Lieutenant (navy)

text: From at least 1580, the lieutenant on a ship had been the officer immediately subordinate to the captain. Before the English Restoration, lieutenants were appointed by their captains, and this inevitably led to abuses and to the widespread appointment of men of insufficient qualification. In 1677, Samuel Pepys, while he was Chief Secretary to the Admiralty, introduced the first examination for lieutenant, and thereafter their seniority was dated from the passing of this examination.


title: Lieutenant (navy)

text: A lieutenant was numbered by his seniority within the ship on which he served, so that a frigate (which was entitled to three) would have a first, a second, and a third lieutenant. A first-rate ship was entitled to six, and they were numbered accordingly. At first, a lieutenant's commission was given only for the particular ship in which he served, but after the loss of HMS "Wager" in 1741 and the subsequent mutiny, the Royal Navy changed its policy and lieutenants were given more general commissions upon passing their examination.


title: Lieutenant (navy)

text: During the early days of the naval rank, some lieutenants could be very junior indeed, while others could be on the cusp of promotion to captain; those lieutenants ranged across present-day army ranks from a second lieutenant through to a lieutenant colonel. As the rank structure of navies stabilized, and the ranks of commander, lieutenant commander, and sub-lieutenant (or lieutenant, junior grade in the U.S. services) were introduced, the rank of naval lieutenant became less wide-ranging and is today the equivalent of an army captain.


title: Lieutenant (navy)

text: In the United States Navy, promotion to lieutenant is governed by United States Department of Defense policies derived from the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (DOPMA) of 1980. The United States Coast Guard follows the same policy regarding promotion to lieutenant. DOPMA guidelines suggest that at least 95% of lieutenants (junior grade) should be promoted to lieutenant after serving a minimum of two years at the lower rank.


title: Lieutenant (navy)

text: In the Royal Navy, promotion to lieutenant is done in line with seniority. Officers are typically promoted after serving as a sub-lieutenants (OF-1) for 30 months. However, promotion may be quicker if a candidate has previous naval service and commissions from the ranks (upper yardsman/senior upper yardsman).


title: Lieutenant (navy)

text: The first lieutenant (1st Lt or 1LT) in the Royal Navy and other Commonwealth navies, is a post or appointment, rather than a rank. Historically, the lieutenants in a ship were ranked in accordance with seniority, with the most senior being termed the first lieutenant and acting as the second-in-command. Although lieutenants are no longer numbered by seniority, the post of "first lieutenant" remains.


title: Lieutenant (navy)

text: In minor war vessels, destroyers and frigates, the first lieutenant (either a lieutenant or lieutenant commander) is second in command, executive officer (XO) and head of the executive branch; in larger ships, where a commander of the warfare specialisation is appointed as the executive officer, a first lieutenant (normally a lieutenant commander) is appointed as his deputy. The post of first lieutenant in a shore establishment carries a similar responsibility to that of the first lieutenant of a capital ship.


title: Lieutenant (navy)

text: In the U.S. Navy or U.S. Coast Guard, the billet of first lieutenant describes the officer in charge of the deck department or division, depending on the size of the ship. In smaller ships that have only a single deck division, the billet is typically filled by an ensign; while in larger ships, with a deck department consisting of multiple subordinate divisions, the billet may be filled by a lieutenant commander. On submarines and smaller Coast Guard cutters, the billet of first lieutenant may be filled by a petty officer.


title: Lieutenant (navy)

text: The insignia of a lieutenant in many navies, including the Royal Navy, consists of two medium gold braid stripes (top stripe with loop) on a navy blue or black background. This pattern was copied by the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA Corps), and various air forces (primarily those of the United Kingdom, British Commonwealth, and nations formerly aligned with the Crown) for their equivalent ranks and grades, except that the executive curl is removed (see flight lieutenant).


title: Lieutenant (navy)

text: In the United States, contingent on the type of uniform worn, U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, USPHS Commissioned Corps, and NOAA Corps lieutenants also wear pin-on metal collar, shoulder, or headgear insignia, or cloth shoulder, collar, tabbed, or headgear insignia identical to that of a United States Marine Corps captain and similar to that of a United States Army, United States Air Force, or United States Space Force captain.


title: McDonaldland

text: McDonaldland is a McDonald's media franchise and the fictional fantasy world inhabited by Ronald McDonald and his friends. Starting with the creation of Ronald McDonald in 1963 it is primarily developed and published by McDonald's, initial attempts to expand the McDonaldland universe by Needham, Harper & Steers were seemingly retconned due to legal issues, but ongoing aspects were expanded in McDonald's projects in collaboration with Data East, Virgin Interactive, Treasure, SEGA, and Klasky Csupo.


title: McDonaldland

text: The series centers on an adventuring magical clown named Ronald McDonald, who has red hair, white and red facepaint, and wears a yellow jumpsuit over a red and white striped long-sleeve shirt with yellow gloves. His most regularly occurring friends are Grimace, the Hamburglar, Birdie the Early Bird, the Fry Kids, the McNugget Buddies, and the Happy Meal Gang. The fictional world has a variety of inspirations from general high fantasy and low fantasy, to corporate culture and corporate personality, to more specific influences including Christian media and the artwork of Koichi Kimura from "McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure".


title: McDonaldland

text: In addition to being used in advertising, the characters were used as the basis for themed equipment in the "PlayPlaces" attached to some McDonald's outlets, small recreational activity rooms intended for young children. While the McDonaldland portion has received somewhat less attention since 2003, several of the characters including Ronald McDonald, Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird, and the Hamburglar are still seen in commercials, Happy Meal toys, and materials supporting the Ronald McDonald House Charities. The Fry Kids and McNugget Buddies received entire dedicated McDonaldland themed line-ups of Funko Pop! figures in 2019 and onward, other characters that appeared in the line-up include Ronald, Grimace, the Hamburglar, Birdie the Early Bird, Mayor McCheese and Officer Big Mac.


title: McDonaldland

text: McDonaldland takes place predominantly in its own high fantasy world, however parts of the McDonaldland world have low fantasy interactions with the real world. In "The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald" the denizens of McDonaldland were shown to be able to travel between worlds using PlayPlace slides. Ronald is an adventurer with magical powers that acts as an ambassador for good and freedom, such as traveling to the rain forest to bring attention to endangered species and deforestation or delivering a safety PSA on the importance of seat belts.


title: McDonaldland

text: Redemption arcs are incorporated within McDonaldland media. Grimace, a purple monster that was originally an antagonist that stole beverages and shakes from customers, but has since become a good guy. The Hamburglar, also originally a villain, was a thief that targeted hamburgers and sandwiches, but he is now more of a lovable rogue character. McDonaldland has many similarities with the real world; for example Uncle O'Grimacey, a character originally created for the Christian holiday Saint Patrick's Day to promote the Shamrock Shake. Technomancy like vehicles were shown in some ads, which included flying saucer-like hamburgers.


title: McDonaldland

text: The most often occurring regions, as seen in numerous McDonaldland commercials and video games, are a forest, town, sea, outer space. Their exact geographic layout is unknown, but within these regions are several locales, including; Grimace Island, a Western themed area, several portals to real world McDonald's restaurants, the Moon, and Ronald's home.


title: McDonaldland

text: The namesake for McDonaldLand is the McDonald's restaurants founded by Richard and Maurice McDonald, popularized by Ray Kroc. Ronald McDonald was originally portrayed by Willard Scott, a former Bozo the Clown actor. In 1963, he and Washington, D.C. franchisee Oscar Goldstein created the initial aspects of the character. The initial idea to expand the McDonaldland universe was outsourced to Needham, Harper & Steers in 1970–71 at the request of McDonald's for its restaurants. The first commercial aired in January 1971. The early commercials were built on an upbeat, bubblegum-style tune and feature a narrator; many have plots that involve various villains, like the Hamburglar, Evil Grimace, and Captain Crook trying to steal a corresponding food item but are constantly foiled by Ronald.


title: McDonaldland

text: In 1973, Sid and Marty Krofft sued McDonald's by claiming that the entire McDonaldland premise plagiarized their television show. In "Sid & Marty Krofft Television Productions Inc. v. McDonald's Corp.", the Kroffts also claimed that the character Mayor McCheese was an infringement on their copyrighted character "H.R. Pufnstuf" (a mayor himself). At trial, a jury found in favor of the Kroffts and McDonald's was ordered to pay $50,000. The case was appealed by both parties to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The appeals court in a 1977 decision, reassessed damages in favor of the Kroffts to more than $1,000,000. As a result, McDonald's was ordered to stop producing some of the characters, or they must be modified to become legally distinct, and to stop airing commercials featuring those characters until then.


title: McDonaldland

text: In the 1980s and 1990s, the McDonaldland commercials remained a popular marketing device. The characters that remained following the lawsuit were Ronald McDonald, Grimace, Hamburglar and the French Fry Gobblins (renamed the Fry Guys and later the Fry Kids with the addition of the Fry Girls) while Mayor McCheese, Officer Big Mac, Captain Crook and the Professor were used until 1985. (However, they did return for a Sears advertisement in 1987). Birdie the Early Bird would join the lineup soon after representing the restaurant's new breakfast line in the early 1980s. Some of the characters' physical appearances were revised in later commercials (notably Hamburglar, Grimace and Birdie). From then on the characters lived in reality and interacted with real-life people, but commercials still took place in "McDonaldland". Soon after the Happy Meal Gang and the McNugget Buddies were prominent features in the commercials (representing the restaurant's Happy Meals and Chicken McNuggets respectively, being the menu items that mainly appealed to kids) along with Ronald.


title: McDonaldland

text: Merchandise featuring the McDonaldland characters included a kid-friendly magazine titled "McDonaldland Fun Times", which published six issues a year. A direct-to-video animated film titled "The Adventures of Ronald McDonald: McDonaldland Treasure Island" was released in 1989, featuring much of the "McDonaldland" characters from the 1980s. Video games featuring the characters were also released, such as "M.C. Kids" and "McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure".


title: McDonaldland

text: From 1998 until 2003, "Rugrats" creators Klasky Csupo and McDonald's released an animated direct-to-video series exclusively on VHS titled "The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald". The series depicted Ronald, Grimace, Birdie, the Hamburglar and a few new characters, like Ronald's pessimistic dog Sundae. These videos would begin in live-action in what resembled a futuristic McDonaldland. Whenever the characters would enter down a tube or other means of travel, they would become animated. In all six episodes, Ronald goes on adventures with his friends and they learn new things along the way.


title: McDonaldland

text: In the early 2000s, McDonald's experimented with the possibility of animating the characters to improve ratings. Various spots featuring the Hamburglar and other characters alongside celebrities were planned but were canceled. A conflict emerged between agencies regarding whether to continue using the characters or to follow through the desire of ad agency Leo Burnett by elevating the "I'm lovin' it" campaign. The McDonaldland premise was largely dropped out of campaigns and Happy Meal toys. Despite this, the characters continued to appear in advertising and McDonald's PlayPlaces, decorative seats for children's birthday parties and bibs, though only Ronald McDonald, Birdie, Grimace, the Hamburglar and the Fry Kids appear in them. They also appeared on some soft drink cups until 2008 and still appear as cookies in pouches titled "McDonaldland Cookies".


title: McDonaldland

text: McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner defended Ronald McDonald, and said that he is "here to stay". Today, the characters still appear on the windows of some McDonald's restaurants. Modern commercials nowadays depict Ronald McDonald alone in real-world situations with children, whether he visits a local McDonald's restaurant or to visit sick children at a Ronald McDonald House. The other characters still appear: the Happy Meal box character from the original 1979 Happy Meal Gang was redesigned to be a main character for Happy Meals during the 2010s, during the mid 2010s McDonald's made a parody hipster version of the Hamburglar portrayed by Max Greenfield, Grimace had a non-speaking appearance in an advertisement for "Monsters vs. Aliens" Happy Meal toys, and also made a cameo in the 2022 McDonald's Super Bowl LVI commercial with Kanye West, where Grimace is animated and voiced by Ryan Reynolds.


title: McDonaldland

text: Funko designed several ongoing Pop! Vinyl! figures starting in 2019 representing numerous McDonaldland characters including a line dedicated to The McNugget Buddies, as well as some characters thought to be retconned like Mayor McCheese & Officer Big Mac.


title: McDonaldland

text: Ronald McDonald – The primary cultural icon and official mascot of McDonald's. He is a clown with red hair and a big red smile who wears a yellow jumpsuit and red shoes.


title: McDonaldland

text: These characters have not appeared since the 1980s, and the reason remains unknown. Though many assume it had something to do with the lawsuit, which might be incorrect as Mayor McCheese and Officer Big Mac both appear in the 2020 Funko McDonaldland Pop! Vinyl! figures.


title: Roman concrete

text: Roman concrete, also called , is a material that was used in construction in ancient Rome. Roman concrete was based on a hydraulic-setting cement. It is durable due to its incorporation of pozzolanic ash, which prevents cracks from spreading. By the middle of the 1st century the material was used frequently, often brick-faced, although variations in aggregate allowed different arrangements of materials. Further innovative developments in the material, called the concrete revolution, contributed to structurally complicated forms, such as the Pantheon dome, the world's largest and oldest unreinforced concrete dome.


title: Roman concrete

text: Roman concrete was normally faced with stone or brick, and interiors might be further decorated by stucco, fresco paintings, or thin slabs of fancy colored marbles. Made up of aggregate and a two-part cementitious system it differs significantly from modern concrete. The aggregates were typically far larger than in modern concrete as well, often amounting to rubble, and as a result it was laid rather than poured. Some Roman concretes were able to be set underwater, which was useful for bridges and other waterside construction.


title: Roman concrete

text: It is uncertain when Roman concrete was developed, but it was clearly in widespread and customary use from about 150 BC; some scholars believe it was developed a century before that.


title: Roman concrete

text: Vitruvius, writing around 25 BC in his "Ten Books on Architecture", distinguished types of aggregate appropriate for the preparation of lime mortars. For structural mortars, he recommended pozzolana ( in Latin), the volcanic sand from the beds of Pozzuoli, which are brownish-yellow-gray in colour in that area around Naples, and reddish-brown near Rome. Vitruvius specifies a ratio of 1 part lime to 3 parts pozzolana for cement used in buildings and a 1:2 ratio of lime to pozzolana for underwater work, essentially the same ratio mixed today for concrete used in marine locations.


title: Roman concrete

text: By the middle of the first century AD, the principles of underwater construction in concrete were well known to Roman builders. The city of Caesarea was the earliest known example to have made use of underwater Roman concrete technology on such a large scale.


title: Roman concrete

text: For rebuilding Rome after the fire in 64 AD, which destroyed large portions of the city, Nero's new building code largely called for brick-faced concrete. This appears to have encouraged the development of the brick and concrete industries.


title: Roman concrete

text: Roman concrete, like any concrete, consists of an aggregate and hydraulic mortar – a binder mixed with water that hardens over time. The aggregate varied, and included pieces of rock, ceramic tile, and brick rubble from the remains of previously demolished buildings.


title: Roman concrete

text: Gypsum and quicklime were used as binders. Volcanic dusts, called pozzolana or "pit sand", were favored where they could be obtained. Pozzolana makes the concrete more resistant to salt water than modern-day concrete. The pozzolanic mortar used had a high content of alumina and silica. Tuff was often used as an aggregate.


title: Roman concrete

text: Concrete, and in particular, the hydraulic mortar responsible for its cohesion, was a type of structural ceramic whose utility derived largely from its rheological plasticity in the paste state. The setting and hardening of hydraulic cements derived from hydration of materials and the subsequent chemical and physical interaction of these hydration products. This differed from the setting of slaked lime mortars, the most common cements of the pre-Roman world. Once set, Roman concrete exhibited little plasticity, although it retained some resistance to tensile stresses.


title: Roman concrete

text: The setting of pozzolanic cements has much in common with setting of their modern counterpart, Portland cement. The high silica composition of Roman pozzolana cements is very close to that of modern cement to which blast furnace slag, fly ash, or silica fume have been added.


title: Roman concrete

text: The strength and longevity of Roman 'marine' concrete is understood to benefit from a reaction of seawater with a mixture of volcanic ash and quicklime to create a rare crystal called tobermorite, which may resist fracturing. As seawater percolated within the tiny cracks in the Roman concrete, it reacted with phillipsite naturally found in the volcanic rock and created aluminous tobermorite crystals. The result is a candidate for "the most durable building material in human history". In contrast, modern concrete exposed to saltwater deteriorates within decades.


title: Roman concrete

text: Compressive strengths for modern Portland cements are typically at the level and have improved almost ten-fold since 1860. There are no comparable mechanical data for ancient mortars, although some information about tensile strength may be inferred from the cracking of Roman concrete domes. These tensile strengths vary substantially from the water/cement ratio used in the initial mix. At present, there is no way of ascertaining what water/cement ratios the Romans used, nor are there extensive data for the effects of this ratio on the strengths of pozzolanic cements.


title: Roman concrete

text: For an environment as prone to earthquakes as the Italian peninsula, interruptions and internal constructions within walls and domes created discontinuities in the concrete mass. Portions of the building could then shift slightly when there was movement of the earth to accommodate such stresses, enhancing the overall strength of the structure. It was in this sense that bricks and concrete were flexible. It may have been precisely for this reason that, although many buildings sustained serious cracking from a variety of causes, they continue to stand to this day.


title: Roman concrete

text: Another technology used to improve the strength and stability of concrete was its gradation in domes. One example is the Pantheon, where the aggregate of the upper dome region consists of alternating layers of light tuff and pumice, giving the concrete a density of . The foundation of the structure used travertine as an aggregate, having a much higher density of .


title: Roman concrete

text: Recent scientific breakthroughs examining Roman concrete have been gathering media and industry attention. Because of its unusual durability, longevity and lessened environmental footprint, corporations and municipalities are starting to explore the use of Roman-style concrete in North America, replacing the volcanic ash with coal fly ash that has similar properties. Proponents say that concrete made with fly ash can cost up to 60% less because it requires less cement, and that it has a smaller environmental footprint due to its lower cooking temperature and much longer lifespan. Usable examples of Roman concrete exposed to harsh marine environments have been found to be 2000 years old with little or no wear.


title: Roman concrete

text: In 2013, the University of California Berkeley published an article that described for the first time the mechanism by which the suprastable calcium-aluminium-silicate-hydrate compound binds the material together. During its production, less carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere than any modern concrete production process. Its disadvantages include the longer drying time and somewhat lower strength than modern concrete, despite its greater durability. It is no coincidence that the walls of Roman buildings are thicker than those of modern buildings. However, Roman concrete was still gaining its strength for several decades after construction had been completed, which is not the case with modern concretes.


title: Peranakans

text: The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, the Indonesian Archipelago as well as Singapore. Peranakan culture, especially in the dominant Peranakan centres of Malacca, Singapore, Penang and Medan, is characterized by its unique hybridization of ancient Chinese culture with the local cultures of the Nusantara region, the result of a centuries-long history of transculturation and interracial marriage.


title: Peranakans

text: Immigrants from the southern provinces of China arrived in significant numbers in the region between the 14th and 17th centuries, taking abode in the Malay Peninsula (where their descendants in Malacca, Singapore and Penang are referred to as Baba–Nyonya); the Indonesian Archipelago (where their descendants are referred to as Kiau–Seng); and Southern Thailand, primarily in Phuket, Trang, Phang Nga, Takaupa and Ranong. Intermarriage between these Chinese settlers and their Malay, Thai, Javanese or other predecessors in the region contributed to the emergence of a distinctive hybrid culture and ostensible phenotypic differences.


title: Peranakans

text: The Peranakans are considered a multiracial community, with the caveat that individual family histories vary widely and likewise self-identification with multiracialism as opposed to Chineseness varies widely. The Malay/Indonesian phrase "orang Cina bukan Cina" ("a not-Chinese Chinese person") encapsulates the complex relationship between Peranakan identity and Chinese identity. The particularities of genealogy and the unique syncretic culture are the main features that distinguish the Peranakan from descendants of later waves of Chinese immigrants to the region.


title: Peranakans

text: The word "Peranakan" is a grammatical inflection of the Malay and Indonesian word "anak", meaning "child" or "offspring". With the addition of the prefix "per-" and the suffix "-an" to the root "anak", the modified word "peranakan" has a variety of meanings. Among other things, it can mean "womb", or it can be used as a designator of genealogical descent, connoting ancestry or lineage, including great-grandparents or more-distant ancestors. On its own, when used in common parlance, the word "peranakan" does not denote a specific ethnicity of descent unless followed by a subsequent qualifying noun. For example "Peranakan Tionghoa/Cina" may simply mean "Chinese descendants"; likewise "Jawi Peranakan" can mean "Arab descendants", or "Peranakan Belanda" "Dutch descendants".


title: Peranakans

text: However, in a semantic shift, the word "peranakan" has come to be used as a "metaphorical" adjective that has the meaning of "locally born but non-indigenous". In Indonesian, it can denote "hybrid" or "crossbred". Thus the term "Peranakan Cina" or "Peranakan Tionghoa" can have the literal or archaic meaning of "Chinese womb" or "Chinese descendants" or "Chinese ancestry" or "descended from the Chinese"—but more latterly has come to mean "locally born but non-indigenous Chinese" or even "half-caste Chinese". The semantic shift is presumed to have arisen from the thorough hybridization or assimilation of the earliest Chinese or other non-indigenous settlers in the Malay Archipelago such that their ethnic heritage needed to be specified whenever referring to them, either to avoid confusion or to emphasise difference. The designator "peranakan"—in its original sense simply connoting "descendant of X ethnicity", or "the wombs of X"—emerged as the name for entire ethnic groups that were "locally born but non-indigenous" or perceived to be "hybrid" and "crossbred", and, in time, the latter meaning has come to predominate. It should also be noted that the broadness of the semantic range of "peranakan" means that it can have significantly different connotations in different parts of the Nusantara region and across different dialects or variants of the Malay and Indonesian languages.


title: Peranakans

text: The word "Peranakan," which can have very broad and labile meanings in Malay and Indonesian and, when used in common parlance, is simply an indicator of heritage or descent, may also be used to refer to other ethnic groups in the same region. Owing to the broad meaning of the term 'peranakan', the term is also encountered when referring to other communities in the region with similar histories of immigration and assimilation. For example, the Chitty may accurately refer to themselves as 'Indian Hindu Peranakans', meaning "of Indian Hindu descent" or "locally born but non-indigenous Indian Hindu". Likewise the Kristang may accurately refer to themselves as 'Eurasian Peranakans'. The name of the Jawi Pekan people is derived from 'Peranakan', Jawi being the Javanised Arabic script, and "Pekan" being a colloquial contraction of "Peranakan".


title: Peranakans

text: The prominence of Peranakan Chinese culture, however, has led to the common elision whereby 'Peranakan' may simply be taken to refer to the Peranakan Chinese, i.e. the culturally unique descendants of the earliest Chinese settlers in the Malay Archipelago, as opposed to the other smaller groups that also justifiably call themselves 'peranakan'. For some Peranakans of Chinese descent, calling oneself "Peranakan" without the qualifier "Chinese" can be a way of asserting an ethnic identity distinct from and independent of Chineseness (though such a use of "Peranakan" as a single-word ethnonym may clash with the desire of other groups of non-Chinese descent to equally call themselves "Peranakan").


title: Peranakans

text: Later waves of immigrants to South East Asia are generally referred to using larger umbrella terms such as Malaysian Chinese, Chinese Singaporean, Chinese Indonesian or Tionghoa, or Thai Chinese.


title: Peranakans

text: One of the sub-groups of Chinese-Peranakan, Straits Chinese or Straits-born Chinese were defined as those born or living in the Straits Settlement: a British colony consisting of Penang, Malacca and Singapore which was established in 1826. Straits Chinese were not considered Baba Nyonya unless they displayed certain Sino-Malay syncretic attributes, in terms of attire worn, food, spoken language, choice of education, preferred career choices, choice of religion and loyalties.


title: Peranakans

text: However, given that 'Straits Chinese' is a geographical designator specific to the former British colonies in the region, whereas 'Peranakan Chinese' is a broader genealogical designator covering all parts of the Nusantara region where Chinese people settled (including areas colonized by the Dutch, who would not have used the word 'Straits'), the two terms cannot be said to fully overlap or be interchangeable. Someone who is said to be 'Straits Chinese' in British colonial documents might, for example, be non-Peranakan, i.e. a person who arrived in the Nusantara region during much later periods of Chinese migration.


title: Peranakans

text: Conversely, the other Dutch, Malay and Siamese-speaking Peranakan Chinese in Dutch East Indies, Siam and Malaya would be unlikely to refer to themselves using the English term 'Straits Chinese'.


title: Peranakans

text: The Peranakan Chinese commonly refer to themselves as Baba-Nyonya. The term "Baba" is an honorific for Straits Chinese men. It originated as a Hindustani (originally Persian) loan-word borrowed by Malay speakers as a term of affection for one's grandparents, and became part of the common vernacular. In Penang Hokkien, it is pronounced "bā-bā" (in Pe̍h-ōe-jī), and sometimes written with the phonetic loan characters 峇峇. Female Straits-Chinese descendants were either called or styled themselves "Nyonyas". "Nyonya" (also spelled "nyonyah" or "nonya") is a Malay and Indonesian honorific used to refer to a foreign married lady. It is a loan word, borrowed from the old Portuguese word for lady "donha" (compare, for instance, Macanese creole "nhonha" spoken on Macau, which was a Portuguese colony for 464 years). Because Malays at that time had a tendency to address all foreign women (and perhaps those who appeared foreign) as "nyonya", they used that term for Straits-Chinese women as well. It gradually became more exclusively associated with them. In Penang Hokkien, it is pronounced "nō͘-niâ" (in Pe̍h-ōe-jī), and sometimes written with the phonetic loan characters 娘惹.


title: Peranakans

text: Many Peranakans identify as Holoh (Hokkien) despite being of numerous origins, such as the descendants of adopted local Malaysian aborigines and Chinese-influenced Arab and Persian merchants from Quanzhou who intermarried with local Malaysians. A sizeable number are of Teochew or Hakka descent, including a small minority of Cantonese.


title: Peranakans

text: Baba Nyonya are a subgroup within Chinese communities. Peranakan families occasionally arranged brides from China for their sons or arranged marriages for their daughters with newly arrived Chinese immigrants.


title: Peranakans

text: There are parallels between the Peranakan Chinese and the Cambodian Hokkien, who are descendants of Hoklo Chinese. Likewise the "Pashu" of Myanmar, a Burmese word for the Peranakan or Straits Chinese who have settled in Myanmar.


title: Peranakans

text: They maintained their culture partially despite their native language gradually disappearing a few generations after settlement.


title: Peranakans

text: Popular accounts of the Peranakan Chinese in Malacca, Singapore, and Penang sometimes state exclusive descent from the royal retinue of a purported Ming Dynasty princess named Hang Li Po or Hong Li-Po—mentioned in the Malay Annals as having made a marriage of alliance with the Sultan of Malacca in the fifteenth century—but the historical evidence for this (likely romanticized) claim is unreliable.


title: Peranakans

text: A 2021 genetic study of Peranakans in Singapore found that on average, their ancestry was 5–10% Malay.


title: Peranakans

text: The language of the Peranakans, Baba Malay ("Bahasa Melayu Baba") or Peranakan Malay, is a creole language related to the Malay language ("Bahasa Melayu"), which contains many Hokkien words. It is a dying language, and its contemporary use is mainly limited to members of the older generation. It is common for the Peranakan of the older generation (particularly among women) to "latah" in Peranakan Malay when experiencing unanticipated shock.


title: Peranakans

text: The Peranakan Malay spoken by the Malaccan Peranakans community is strongly based on the Malay language as most of them can only speak little to none of the language of their Chinese forebears. Whereas in the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia, the Peranakans are known to not only speak a Hokkien version of their own but also Thai and Kelantanese Malay in Kelantan and Terengganu Malay in Terengganu. Unlike the rest of the Peranakans in Malaysia, Penang Peranakans are much heavily influenced by a dialect of Hokkien known locally as Penang Hokkien.


title: Peranakans

text: In Indonesia, the Peranakan language is mainly based on Indonesian and Javanese, which is mixed with elements of different Chinese varieties, mostly Hokkien. Speakers of the Peranakan language can be found scattered along the northern coastline area throughout West Java, Central Java and East Java, and also in Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Young Peranakans can still speak this creole language, although its use is limited to informal occasions.


title: Peranakans

text: The first Chinese immigrants to settle in the Malay Archipelago arrived from Guangdong and Fujian provinces in the 10th century C.E. They were joined by much larger numbers of the Chinese in the 15th through 17th centuries, following on the heels of the Ming emperor's reopening of Chinese-Malay trade relations in the 15th century.


title: Peranakans

text: In the 15th century, some small city-states of the Malay Peninsula often paid tribute to various kingdoms such as those of China and Siam. Close relations with China were established in the early 15th century during the reign of Parameswara when Admiral Zheng He ("Cheng Ho"), a Muslim Chinese, visited Malacca and Java during his expedition (1405–1433). According to a legend in 1459 CE, the Emperor of China sent a princess, Hang Li Po, to the Sultan of Malacca as a token of appreciation for his tribute. The nobles (500 sons of ministers) and servants who accompanied the princess initially settled in Bukit Cina and eventually grew into a class of Straits-born Chinese known as the Peranakans.


title: Peranakans

text: Due to economic hardships in mainland China, waves of immigrants from China settled in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Some of them embraced the local customs, while still retaining some degree of their ancestral culture; they are known as the Peranakans. Peranakans normally have a certain degree of indigenous blood, which can be attributed to the fact that during imperial China, most immigrants were men who married the local women. Peranakans at Tangerang, Indonesia, held such a high degree of indigenous blood that they are almost physically indistinguishable from the local population. Peranakans in Indonesia can vary between very fair to copper tan in colour.


title: Peranakans

text: Chinese men in Melaka fathered children with Javanese, Batak and Balinese slave women. Their descendants moved to Penang and Singapore during the period of British rule. Chinese men in colonial southeast Asia also obtained slave wives from Nias. Chinese men in Singapore and Penang were supplied with slave wives of Bugis, Batak, and Balinese origin. The British colonial government tolerated the importation of slave wives since they improved the standard of living for the slaves and provided contentment to the male population. The usage of slave women or house maids as wives by the Chinese was widespread.


title: Peranakans

text: It cannot be denied, however, that the existence of slavery in this quarter, in former years, was of immense advantage in procuring a female population for Pinang. From Assaban alone, there used to be sometimes 300 slaves, principally females, exported to Malacca and Pinang in a year. The women get comfortably settled as the wives of opulent Chinese merchants, and live in the greatest comfort. Their families attach these men to the soil; and many never think of returning to their native country. The female population of Pinang is still far from being upon a par with the male; and the abolition therefore of slavery, has been a vast sacrifice to philanthropy and humanity. As the condition of the slaves who were brought to the British settlements, was materially improved, and as they contributed so much to the happiness of the male population, and the general prosperity of the settlement, I am disposed to think (although I detest the principles of slavery as much as any man), that the continuance of the system here could not, under the benevolent regulations which were in force to prevent abuse, have been productive of much evil. The sort of slavery indeed which existed in the British settlements in this quarter, had nothing but the name against it; for the condition of the slaves who were brought from the adjoining countries, was always ameliorated by the change; they were well fed and clothed; the women became wives of respectable Chinese; and the men who were in the least industrious, easily emancipated themselves, and many became wealthy. Severity by masters was punished; and, in short, I do not know any race of people who were, and had every reason to be, so happy and contented as the slaves formerly, and debtors as they are now called, who came from the east coast of Sumatra and other places.


title: Peranakans

text: Peranakans themselves later on migrated between Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, which resulted in a high degree of cultural similarity between Peranakans in those countries. Economic / educational reasons normally propel the migration between of Peranakans between the Nusantara region (Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore), their creole language is very close to the indigenous languages of those countries, which makes adaptations a lot easier. In Indonesia, a large population of Peranakans can be found in Tangerang, West Java.


title: Peranakans

text: People of Chinese ancestry in Phuket, Thailand make up a significant population, many of whom having descended from tin miners who migrated to the island during the 19th century. The Peranakans there are known as ""Phuket Babas"" in the local tongue, constitute a fair share of members Chinese community, particularly among those who have family ties with the Peranakans of Penang and Malacca.


title: Peranakans

text: For political reasons, Peranakans and other Nusantara Chinese are grouped as one racial group, Chinese, with Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia becoming more adoptive of mainland Chinese culture, and Chinese in Indonesia becoming more diluted in their Chinese culture. Such things can be attributed to the policies of Bumiputera and Chinese-National Schools in Malaysia, mother tongue policy in Singapore, and the ban of Chinese culture during the New Order era in Indonesia.


title: Peranakans

text: Chinese who married local Javanese women and converted to Islam created a distinct Chinese Muslim Peranakan community in Java. Chinese rarely had to convert to Islam to marry Javanese abangan women but a significant number of their offspring did, and Batavian Muslims absorbed the Chinese Muslim community which was descended from converts. Adoption of Islam back then was a marker of peranakan status which it no longer means. The Semaran Adipati and the Jayaningrat families were of Chinese origin.


title: Peranakans

text: Peranakans were held in high regard by Malays. Some Malays in the past may have taken the word "Baba", referring to Chinese males, and put it into their name, when this used to be the case. This is not followed by the younger generation, and the current Chinese Malaysians do not have the same status or respect as Peranakans used to have.


title: Peranakans

text: In Penang, Thai women replaced Nias slave women and Batak slave women as wives of Chinese men after the 1830s when slavery was abolished.


title: Peranakans

text: The Peranakan retained most of their ethnic and religious origins (such as ancestor worship), but assimilated the language and culture of the Malays.


title: Peranakans

text: The Nyonya's clothing, Baju Panjang (Long Dress) was adapted from the native Malay's Baju Kurung. It is worn with a batik sarong (batik wrap-around skirt) and three kerosang (brooches). Peranakan beaded slippers called "Kasot Manek" were hand-made with much skill and patience: strung, beaded and sewn onto canvas with tiny faceted glass cut beads (known as "Manek Potong") from Bohemia (present-day Czech Republic).


title: Peranakans

text: Traditional "kasot manek" design often have European floral subjects, with colours influenced by Peranakan porcelain and batik sarongs. They were made into flats or bedroom slippers. But from the 1930s, modern shapes became popular and heels were gradually added.


title: Peranakans

text: In Indonesia, the Peranakans develop their own kebaya, most notably "kebaya encim", derived from the name "encim" or "enci" to refer to a married Chinese woman. "Kebaya encim" was commonly worn by Chinese ladies in Javan coastal cities with significant Chinese settlements, such as Semarang, Lasem, Tuban, Surabaya, Pekalongan and Cirebon. It marked differently from Javanese kebaya with its smaller and finer embroidery, lighter fabrics and more vibrant colours. They also developed their own batik patterns, which incorporate symbols from China. The "kebaya encim" fit well with vibrant-coloured kain batik pesisiran (Javan coastal batik), which incorporated symbols and motives from China; such as dragon, phoenix, peony and lotus. For the Baba they will wear baju lokchuan (which is the Chinese men's full costume) but the younger generation they will wear just the top of it which is the long-sleeved silk jacket with Chinese collar or the batik shirt.


title: Peranakans

text: Most Peranakans generally subscribed to Chinese beliefs systems such as Taoism, Confucianism and Han Buddhism, and even Roman Christianity nowadays. Just like the Chinese, the Peranakans also celebrate Lunar New Year, Lantern Festival and other Chinese festivals, while adopting the customs of the land they settled in, as well as those of their colonial rulers. There are traces of Portuguese, Dutch, British, Malay and Indonesian influences in Peranakan culture.


title: Peranakans

text: Just like in any other cultures, the Peranakans still believe in "pantang larang" (meaning superstition) especially among the older generations. In some cases, quite a number the Peranakan's "pantang larang" are deemed too strict and complex. But today, most Peranakans no longer practice complex "pantang larang" to keep up with the modern times.


title: Peranakans

text: A significant number of the modern Peranakan community have embraced Christianity, most notably in Indonesia.


title: Peranakans

text: In 2019, a new branch of Singapore-specific Peranakan intermarriages were found to exist within the early Roman Catholic Church starting from 1834. This early church was set up by French missionaries (Mission Enstrangeres de Paris Order) in 1832 on Bras Basah Road, on the grounds of the present day Singapore Art Museum. Approximately 26 intermarriages between mainly China-born Teochew men and Melaka Serani, Malay, Peranakan Chinese and Indian women, took place under the auspices of this church, between 1834 and the early 1870s. Most, if not all descendants, identify as Teochew Peranakans today.


title: Peranakans

text: In Singapore, the Kampong Kapor Methodist Church, founded in 1894 by an Australian missionary, Sophia Blackmore, is considered one of the first Peranakan churches. During its establishment, Sunday service were conducted in Baba Malay language, and it is still one of the languages being used in their services.


title: Peranakans

text: Despite living in Muslim majority countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, converting to Christianity allows Peranakans to continue eating pork which is a key part of the Peranakan diet. Moreover, Peranakans were traditionally English educated at missionary schools, notably in Penang.


title: Peranakans

text: In Indonesia, Peranakan referred to all Indonesian Chinese who had converted to Islam up until the 19th century. This indicated the importance of Islamic identity as a "criterion of indigenization." Later, Peranakan referred to all Indonesian Chinese born in the country, including those of descendants of mixed race unions. Large numbers of Peranakans, many from Fujian having prior experience with foreign Muslims who had a dominant position in that provinces most important seaport, adopted Islam in Java, strongly Muslim areas of Indonesia, and Malaysia. As in the case of the Peranakans in Cirebon, this conversion process occurred over several centuries and was even recorded before the Dutch seized Jakarta. Many of these Peranakans in Indonesia who converted to Islam would marry into aristocratic dynasties. One organisation of Indonesian Peranakan Muslims is the "Persatuan Islam Tionghoa Indonesia" (Association of Indonesian Chinese Muslims), which was formed in 1936 in Medan. Some prominent Peranakan Muslims include the Indonesians Junus Jahja, Abdul Karim Oei Tjeng Hien and Tjio Wie Tay and from Pattani, the Peranakan convert to Islam, Datu Seri Nara, who according to Wybrand of Warwijck was the most important commercial and military figure in Pattani in 1602.


title: Peranakans

text: Due to the culture of Nyonya and Babas is merged between Malay and Chinese and influence by Indonesia. Malacca was once the world's merchant gathering point enabling the birth of Baba and Nyonya ethnic group. Therefore, the Nyonya food can be summarized as "Malay Archipelago Delicacies of Nanyang Cuisine".


title: Peranakans

text: From the Malay influence, a unique "Nyonya" cuisine has developed using typical Malay spices. Examples are "chicken kapitan", a dry chicken curry and "inchi kabin", a Nyonya version of fried chicken. "Pindang bandeng" is a common fish soup served in Indonesia during the Chinese New Year and so is a white round mooncake from Tangerang which is normally used during the Autumn Festival. "Swikee purwodadi" is a Peranakan dish from Purwodadi, a frog soup dish.


title: Peranakans

text: "Nyonya laksa" is a very popular dish in Malacca, Malaysia while another variant called "asam laksa" is famous in Penang, Malaysia. "Pongteh" is also another popular and savoury dish of the Malaccan Peranakan community. The main ingredient is onion, black mushroom (optional), chicken (at times pork is used instead of chicken, hence it's called "babi pongteh") and fermented bean sauce. The Malaccan Nyonyas are well known for this dish.


title: Peranakans

text: Other dishes from the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia Peranakans in Kelantan include "telur kesum", "ayam kerabu" and "khau jam" are influenced by Chinese, Malay and Thai cuisine. While in Terengganu, popular Peranakan foods are such as the local version of crab cake, "ayam pachok" which resembles satay with a stronger flavour, fish in spicy tamarind sauce and slow-cooked chicken with palm sugar.


title: Peranakans

text: Besides that, Peranakans of Malacca are also well known for a wide variety of traditional cakes ("kueh" or "kue") such as "lepak kacang", "ang ku kue" (a black variant is called "kueh ku hitam"), "kueh tae" or "nastar", "Nyonya bak chang", "apom balik" (Peranakan's version closely resembles Indonesian's "serabi"), "kueh bakol", "tapae", "kueh kochi", "kueh bongkong", "rempah udang", "pulot enti", "kueh gulong" (another variant is "kueh kapit"), "kueh bolu", "galeng galoh" (also known as "seri muka"), "kueh bangket" and many more. Traditional kueh (or kue) are sometimes made in conjunction with festivals that the Peranakans celebrate. For example, "kueh genggang" (also commonly known as "kueh lapis"), is a type of multi layered cake, most often eaten during Chinese New Year to symbolise a ladder of continued prosperity.


title: Peranakans

text: A small number of restaurants serving Nyonya food can be found in Penang and Malacca in Malaysia; and Jakarta, Semarang and Surabaya in Indonesia.


title: Peranakans

text: It was not uncommon for early Chinese traders to take Malay women from Peninsular Malaya or Sumatra as wives or concubines. Consequently, the Baba Nyonya possessed a synergistic mix of Sino-Malay cultural traits.


title: Peranakans

text: Written records from the 19th and early 20th centuries show that "Peranakan" men usually took brides from within the local "Peranakan" community. Peranakan families occasionally imported brides from China and sent their daughters to China to find husbands.


title: Peranakans

text: Marriages within the community and of similar stature were the norm during that time. Wealthy men prefigured to marry a "chin choay": or matrilocal marriage where husband moved in with the wife's family.


title: Peranakans

text: Proposals of marriage were made by a gift of a "pinangan", in a 2-tiered lacquered basket known as "Bakul Siah" in Malaysia or "Tenong Keranjang" in Indonesia, to the intended bride's parents brought by a go-between who speaks on behalf of the suitor. There are rare cases where wealthy Peranakans in the past used highly decorative glided pagoda trays ("Botekan Candi" in Indonesian) instead of the "Bakul Siah" or "Tenong Keranjang". Most Peranakans are not Muslim, and have retained the traditions of ancestor worship of the Chinese, though some converted to Christianity and Islam.


title: Peranakans

text: The wedding ceremony of the Peranakan is largely based on Chinese tradition, and is one of the most colourful wedding ceremonies in Malaysia. At Malacca weddings, the "Dondang Sayang", a form of extempore rhyming song in Malay sung and danced by guests at the wedding party, was a highlight. Someone would begin a romantic theme which was carried on by others, each taking the floor in turn, dancing in slow gyrations as they sang. It required quick wit and repartee and often gave rise to laughter and applause when a particularly clever phrase was sung. The melodic accents of the Baba-Nonya and their particular turns of phrase lead to the charm of this performance.


title: Peranakans

text: The important wedding rites had to be commenced on auspicious days at specific times, according to the "pek ji", the eight Chinese characters annotating one's birth date and time. At these rites, "pantangs" (taboos) were carefully observed – the wedding rituals had to be legitimised and witnessed by elders, deities and ancestors. Marriages were typically match-made. Parents and elders made the final decision, but the potential bride and bridegroom were also consulted in the process. Wedding items commonly utilised the prosperous colours of red, pink, orange, yellow and gold and were embellished with special motifs to ensure a good marriage. Similar to the Chinese, Peranakans believed that good things always come in pairs, therefore many wedding items came in pairs.


title: Peranakans

text: Historical and cultural items from the Peranakan culture are displayed in Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum, Straits Chinese Jewellery Museum and other cultural establishments on Heeren Street, Jonker Street and other streets in the same neighbourhood in Malacca; the Pinang Peranakan Mansion in Penang, Malaysia; and at the Peranakan Museum, Baba House and the Intan Museum in Singapore. Furniture, food, and even traditional clothes of the Baba and Nyonya are exhibited. Free weekly street shows featuring Baba performances, and traditional and pop Chinese cultural performances are found in Jonker Street in Malacca. The shows are part of the night market scene, and are usually crowded with shoppers, both local and foreign.


title: Peranakans

text: On 11 November 2011, Benteng Heritage Museum in Tangerang, near Jakarta is opened to display mainly about Benteng Chinese uses an old genuine traditional Chinese Peranakan house. And in August 2013, the "Museum Peranakan Indonesia" was officially opened by the "Yayasan Budaya Tionghoa Indonesia". The museum is located at the Cheng Ho Museum, next to the Hakka Museum, at the pavilion of Taman Budaya Tionghoa Indonesia, Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in Jakarta.


title: Peranakans

text: Other Peranakan cultural collections such as batik and bead works can also be found in museums outside of South East Asia. Honolulu Museum of Art and Australian Museum are known to exhibit such collections.


title: Peranakans

text: Apart from that, exhibition of Peranakan Chitty history, antiques and culture can be seen at the Chitty Museum in Kampung Chitty, Malacca, Malaysia. In 2013, there were controversies of development at the expense of demolishing part of Kampung Chitty, a historical and cultural village. A proposal to construct a condominium, a hotel and a road cutting through the village are seen as a threat affecting the residents and a temple built in 1827.


title: Peranakans

text: Many Peranakan were active in trade and considered supportive of continued European rule in Malaysia and Indonesia. Peranakans often played the role of middleman of the British and the Chinese, or the Chinese and Malays, because they were mostly English educated and spoke Malay more fluently than newer Chinese immigrants.


title: Peranakans

text: By the middle of the twentieth century, most Peranakan were English or Dutch-educated at Western-style institutions. Peranakans readily embraced Western culture and education as a means to advance economically thus administrative and civil service posts were often filled by prominent Straits Chinese. Many in the community chose to convert to Christianity due to its perceived prestige and proximity to the preferred company of British and Dutch officials.


title: Peranakans

text: The Peranakan community thereby became very influential in Malacca and Singapore and were known also as the King's Chinese due to their loyalty to the British Crown. Because of their interaction with different cultures and languages, most Peranakans were (and still are) trilingual, being able to converse in Chinese, Malay, and English. Common vocations were as merchants, traders, and general intermediaries between China, Malaya and the West; the latter were especially valued by the British and Dutch.


title: Peranakans

text: Things started to change in the first half of the 20th century, with some Peranakans starting to support Malaysian and Indonesian independence.


title: Peranakans

text: They were also among the pioneers of Indonesian newspapers. In their fledgling publishing companies, they published their own political ideas along with contributions from other Indonesian writers. In November 1928, the Chinese weekly Sin Po () was the first paper to openly publish the text of the national anthem "Indonesia Raya". On occasion, those involved in such activities ran a concrete risk of imprisonment or even of their lives, as the Dutch colonial authorities banned nationalistic publications and activities.


title: Peranakans

text: Chinese were active in supporting the independence movement during the 1940s Japanese occupation, when the all but the so-called "Overseas Chinese Association", or residents of Chinese ancestry () were banned by the Japanese military authorities. Some notable pro-independence activists were Siauw Giok Tjhan, Liem Koen Hian, and Yap Tjwan Bing, a member of "Panitia Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia", who in the 1960s became a citizen of the United States.


title: Peranakans

text: Peranakan culture has started to disappear in Malaysia and Singapore. Without support from the colonial government for their perceived ethnic independence, government policies in both countries following independence from colonial rule have resulted in the assimilation of Peranakans back into mainstream Chinese culture. Singapore classifies the Peranakans as ethnically Chinese, so they receive formal instruction in Mandarin Chinese as a second language (in accordance with the "Mother Tongue Policy") instead of Malay. In Malaysia, the standardisation of Malay as Bahasa Melayu—required for all ethnic groups—has led to a disappearance of the unique characteristics of Baba Malay.


title: Peranakans

text: In Indonesia, the Peranakan culture appears to be losing popularity to modern Western culture, but to some degree the Peranakans are still trying to retain their language, cuisines and customs. Young Peranakans still speak their creole language, although many young women do not wear the "kebaya". Marriages normally follow the western culture because the traditional Peranakan customs are losing popularity. Only three communities of Peranakan still uphold the traditional Peranakan wedding customs, Tangerang (by the Cina Benteng people), Makassar and Padang. Of the three communities the Cina Benteng people are the most adherent to the Peranakan culture, but their numbers are dwindling.


title: Peranakans

text: Cina Benteng people are normally poor people and many seek, or have sought, opportunities in other areas. Some organisations do try to ease their burden of living. As of May 2012, 108 Cina Benteng families are facing eviction from their traditional homes, the reason given by the Tangerang government being that the area they occupy is actually meant as a green space for the city. Most of these families are low income and have nowhere to move to, as the government is not providing enough money for them to relocate. Several traumatic eviction attempts at 2010 and 2011 ended in violence.


title: Peranakans

text: The migration of some Peranakan families, particularly the well-to-do, has led to a small Peranakan diaspora to neighbouring countries, mainly from Vietnam to Australia. The 1998 anti-Chinese riots in Indonesia during the fall of Suharto terrorised many Chinese Indonesians and Peranakans alike, causing Chinese Indonesian communities affected by the riots to leave the country. However, these communities are very small, and with the increasing use of the various languages in their respective countries, the use of Peranakan Malay or Baba Malay has been diluted, especially among the younger generation.


title: Peranakans

text: Associations of Chinese Peranakans include The Peranakan Association Singapore (TPAS), Aspertina ("Asosiasi Peranakan Tionghoa Indonesia") and the Gunong Sayang Association (GSA), a performing arts group in Singapore. The Peranakan Association Singapore has over 2,000 members, and the Gunong Sayang Association has about 200 members. The Peranakan Association Singapore consists of a mix of young and old members, while the Gunung Sayang Association has primarily elderly or retired members. In Malacca, there is an Indian Peranakan Association known as the Chitty Melaka. This is a tightly knit community of Saivite Hindus. Chitty Peranakans display considerable similarity to Chinese Peranakans in terms of dressing, songs, folk dances and pantun.


title: Peranakans

text: Interest in the Peranakan culture had begun as early as the 1950s with films from Hong Kong such as the "Niangre / Nyonyah" (Yue Feng, 1952), "Fengyu Niuche Shui / Rainstorm in Chinatown" (Yan Jun 1956), "Niangre Yu Baba / Nonya And Baba" (Yan Jun 1956), and "Niangre Zhi Lian / Love With A Malaysian Girl" (Lui Kei, 1969).


title: Peranakans

text: In Malaysia, a comedy drama series, "Baba Nyonya" was popular in the 1990s. The series is recognised by the Malaysian Book Of Records as the longest-running TV series in the country ever, lasting from the late 1980s until 2000, with 509 episodes in total.


title: Peranakans

text: Along the passing of the Reform Era in Indonesia and the removal of the ban on Chinese culture, in 1999, Indonesian writer Remy Sylado released a novel called "Ca-Bau-Kan: Hanya Sebuah Dosa" raised the Peranakan culture and history in Indonesia. The novel was adapted into a film called "Ca-Bau-Kan" by Nia Dinata in 2002. Riri Riza directed a biographical film on an Indonesian student activist named Soe Hok Gie (played by Nicholas Saputra), entitled "Gie" in 2005. The film is based on a diary "Catatan Seorang Demonstran" written by Soe Hok Gie, features a glimpse into the everyday life of an Indonesian Peranakan family in the 1960s. A novel that elevates the history and culture of the Benteng Chinese ("Cina Benteng" is another term in Indonesian referring to Peranakan) titled "Bonsai: Hikayat Satu Keluarga Cina Benteng" written by Pralampita Lembahmata and published by Gramedia in 2011.


title: Peranakans

text: In 2008, a Singaporean drama series "The Little Nyonya" was aired in Singapore, and later gained popularity in Asia especially within South East Asia region. The filming of the drama took place in Malacca, Penang and Ipoh, Malaysia.


title: Peranakans

text: In Yasmin Ahmad films "Sepet" and "Gubra" has featured Peranakan character as the lead actor's mother played by Peranakan actress Tan Mei Ling. Lead actors from the 1990s "Baba Nyonya" series were also featured in Namewee's multi-language and multi-cultural film, "Nasi Lemak 2.0" in 2011, showcasing Peranakan culture.


title: Nick Knight (photographer)

text: Nicholas David Gordon Knight OBE (born 24 November 1958) is a British fashion photographer and founder and director of SHOWstudio.com. He is an honorary professor at University of the Arts London and was awarded an honorary Ph.D. by the same university. He has produced books of his work including retrospectives "Nicknight" (1994) and "Nick Knight" (2009). In 2016, Knight's 1992 campaign photograph for fashion brand Jil Sander was sold by Phillips auction house at the record-breaking price of HKD 2,360,000.


title: Nick Knight (photographer)

text: Knight was born in Hammersmith, London. He studied photography at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design and published his first book of photographs 'Skinhead' in 1982 when he was still a student at the school. He was then commissioned by "i-D" editor Terry Jones to create a series of portraits for magazine's fifth-anniversary issue. His work caught the attention of art director Marc Ascoli, who commissioned Knight to shoot the 1986 catalog of Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto in collaboration with Peter Saville.


title: Nick Knight (photographer)

text: In 1992 Knight took a year long break from fashion photography to work on an exhibition at Natural History Museum, London with the British architect David Chipperfield. The exhibition was called "Plant Power" and was on the theme of the relationship between humans and plants. The exhibition lasted for fifteen years.


title: Nick Knight (photographer)

text: He directed his first music video in 2001, for the song "Pagan Poetry" by Björk. In 2003, he created a film for Massive Attack's album "100th Window." In 2011 and 2013, he directed the videos for Lady Gaga's single "Born This Way" and Kanye West's "Bound 2" and "Black Skinhead." In 2016, he photographed American rapper/singer Travis Scott for his sophomore album "Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight."


title: Nick Knight (photographer)

text: In 2016, he was commissioned to shoot official portraits of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles for the Queen's 90th birthday.


title: Nick Knight (photographer)

text: Also in 2016, Knight's hand-coated pigment photographic work, "Tatjana Patitz for Jil Sander, 1992" sold for an artist-record $304,204 at Phillips Hong Kong. The work, originally photographed in 1992 and reprinted in 2016, featured supermodel Tatjana Patitz in a Jil Sander advertising campaign photographed by Knight. The celebrated photograph from Knight's commercial career in the fashion industry represents the collectability of his painterly works to buyers in the world of fine art.


title: Nick Knight (photographer)

text: In 2019, he collaborated with Kanye West again, directing his short film "Jesus Is King." Filmed in the summer of 2019, the film brings West's Sunday Service to life in the Roden Crater, artist James Turrell's installation in the Painted Desert. The film accompanied the release of "Jesus Is King", West's ninth studio album, and was released in IMAX theaters on October 25, 2019.


title: Nick Knight (photographer)

text: In 2021, he reunited with Gaga for a collaboration with Champagne brand Dom Perignon on the campaign "The Queendom", in order to realize a series of photos as well as an advertisement, which was released on April 6.


title: Nick Knight (photographer)

text: Following the announcement of Lady Gaga’s 2022 Summer Stadium World Tour, The Chromatica Ball, Knight was charged to shoot a series of interludes several weeks before it started, matching the twisted dark fantasy visuals Gaga had in mind for her shows.


title: Unpregnant

text: Unpregnant is a 2020 American female buddy road comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg. The film is based upon the novel of the same name by Ted Caplan and Jenni Hendriks. It stars Haley Lu Richardson and Barbie Ferreira, with Alex MacNicoll, Breckin Meyer, Giancarlo Esposito, Sugar Lyn Beard, and Betty Who.


title: Unpregnant

text: The film follows a pregnant teenager Veronica (Richardson) who discovers that she cannot get an abortion in her home state of Missouri without her parents' permission and subsequently convinces her former friend Bailey (Ferreira) to take a road trip with her to Albuquerque so she can get one there.


title: Unpregnant

text: Seventeen-year-old Veronica Clarke takes a pregnancy test at school and is interrupted by her former best friend, Bailey Butler who sees that the test is positive. Initially, not knowing whose it is, Bailey offers to give a ride to a clinic where she can get an abortion if she needs one. Then, she assumes Veronica will be keeping the baby, subsequently disposing of the test.


title: Unpregnant

text: Veronica decides to get an abortion and then discovers it is forbidden in Missouri without parental consent. She quickly formulates a plan to get to Albuquerque, New Mexico where clinics will perform abortions without parental involvement but lacks funds to make it all the way. Meeting with her boyfriend Kevin, she is shocked when he reacts to the pregnancy news by proposing. He also confesses he realised the condom had broken. Veronica pretends she will consider the proposal, taking the ring with her. She then goes to Bailey who agrees to drive her to Albuquerque.


title: Unpregnant

text: At their first stop Veronica tries to pawn her engagement ring and is stopped by Kevin, who has been stalking her. Learning that Veronica needs the money for an abortion, the sympathetic pawnshop broker agrees to buy her ring. Veronica and Bailey head to Texas though they fight over their former friendship which Bailey fails to realize is because Bailey's father was ashamed of her nerdy pursuits as a child.


title: Unpregnant

text: While stopping at a diner Bailey is frightened by the arrival of local sheriffs. She reveals that the Firebird they are driving belongs to her mother's boyfriend. The girls escape detection when a fellow patron named Jarrod creates a scene. Jarrod later gives them a lift, introducing them to Matthews, a race car driver, who offers to drop them off at the closest bus station. Matthews turns out to be a woman (Kira), who Bailey is immediately attracted to. Bailey then reveals she's a lesbian and later has her first kiss with Kira.


title: Unpregnant

text: Before Kira can drive them to the station a young couple, overhearing their need for a ride to Albuquerque for the abortion, offers to drive them all the way.


title: Unpregnant

text: Bailey and Veronica wake up in the morning at the couple's house, where they discover that the couple are actually pro-lifers trying to stop Veronica from having the abortion. They manage to escape the pro-lifers by stealing their Yukon and faking their own deaths.


title: Unpregnant

text: Arriving at the nearest bus station they discover it is out of order but stumble across a mechanic shop run by anti-government survivalist Bob. Hearing Veronica needs an abortion he agrees to drive her to the clinic in an old Lincoln limo. During the ride, Veronica's friends call and urge her to say the pregnancy test belongs to Bailey. Wanting to protect herself Veronica agrees that Bailey is the most likely suspect. Bailey overhears, triggering a fight between them about the dissolution of their friendship. Bailey leaves while Veronica continues on to her appointment. When Veronica realizes Bailey has gone to see her estranged father, she re-schedules the appointment and follows Bailey. Arriving at a flower shop Bailey's father works in, Veronica witnesses their awkward reunion, and comes to Bailey's defense when her father treats her coldly.


title: Unpregnant

text: At the clinic, Kevin surprises them and threatens to tell everyone about the abortion unless Veronica stays with him, but she tells him to go ahead and do it. After the abortion, they realize they have no more cash and make calls to their respective mothers who get them plane tickets home. At home, Veronica's mother admits to being confused by her choice but reiterates her love for her daughter.


title: Unpregnant

text: At school the next day Veronica learns that Kevin never revealed her abortion to her friends, but she decides to tell them anyway. She also decides to continue her friendship with Bailey and goes to sit with her at lunch. Some time later, the two go on another road trip to Roswell, New Mexico.


title: Unpregnant

text: In June 2019, it was announced HBO Max would distribute the film, with Rachel Lee Goldenberg directing from a screenplay by Ted Caplan and Jenni Hendriks based upon their own novel of the same name. Greg Berlanti served as a producer under his Berlanti Productions banner. In September 2019, Haley Lu Richardson and Barbie Ferreira joined the cast of the film. In October 2019, Sugar Lyn Beard joined the cast of the film.


title: Unpregnant

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads: ""Unpregnant" puts a compelling twist on the road trip comedy -- and treats its sensitive subject with heart." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on reviews from 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Unpregnant

text: Inkoo Kang of "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote, "Largely fueled by Richardson and Ferreira’s charisma and chemistry, "Unpregnant" is an amiable if uneven ride." Natalia Winkelman of "The New York Times" wrote, "Its driving force may seem topical, but the story's heart is timeless: the harmony between longtime friends."


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: There have been a number of sanctions against Iran imposed by a number of countries, especially the United States, and international entities. Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world until it was surpassed by Russia following its invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: The first sanctions were imposed by the United States in November 1979 after a group of radical students seized the American Embassy in Tehran and took hostages. These sanctions were lifted in January 1981 after the hostages were released, but they were reimposed by the United States in 1987 in response to Iran's actions from 1981 to 1987 against the U.S. and vessels of other countries in the Persian Gulf and support for terrorism. The sanctions were expanded in 1995 to include firms dealing with the Iranian government.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: The third sanctions were imposed in December 2006 pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1737 after Iran refused to comply with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1696, which demanded that Iran halt its uranium enrichment program. Initially, U.S. sanctions targeted investments in oil, gas, and petrochemicals, exports of refined petroleum products, and business dealings with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It encompassed banking and insurance transactions (including with the Central Bank of Iran), shipping, web-hosting services for commercial endeavors, and domain name registration services. Subsequent UN Resolutions have expanded sanctions against Iran.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: Over the years, sanctions have taken a serious toll on Iran's economy and people. Since 1979, the United States has led international efforts to use sanctions to influence Iran's policies, including Iran's uranium enrichment program, which Western governments fear is intended for developing the capability to produce nuclear weapons. Iran counters that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes, including generating electricity and medical purposes.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: When nuclear talks between Iran and Western governments were stalled and seen as a failure, U.S. senators cited them as a reason to enforce stronger economic sanctions on Iran. On 2 April 2015, the P5+1 and Iran, meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, reached a provisional agreement on a framework that, once finalized and implemented, would lift most of the sanctions in exchange for limits on Iran's nuclear programs extending for at least ten years. The final agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was adopted on 18 October 2015. As a result, UN sanctions were lifted on 16 January 2016. On 8 May 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. Sanctions by the United States were reinstated in November 2018, and expanded in 2019 and 2020 to cover Iran's financial sector. Temporary waivers were granted to some countries to continue importing reduced amounts of oil from Iran until 2019.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: The UN arms embargo on Iran expired on 18 October 2020, as agreed in Iran's 2015 nuclear deal, allowing Iran to import foreign military equipment.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: The United States sanctions against Iran were imposed in November 1979 after radical students seized the American Embassy in Tehran and took hostages. The sanctions were imposed by Executive Order 12170, which included freezing about $8.1 billion in Iranian assets, including bank deposits, gold and other properties, and a trade embargo. The sanctions were lifted in January 1981 as part of the Algiers Accords, which was a negotiated settlement of the hostages’ release.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: While the Iran–Iraq War, which began in September 1980, was in progress, in 1984, United States sanctions prohibited weapon sales and all U.S. assistance to Iran.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: In 1995, in response to the Iranian nuclear program and Iranian support of terrorist organisations, Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestine Islamic Jihad, President Bill Clinton issued several executive orders with respect to Iran. of 15 March 1995, banned U.S. investment in Iran's energy sector, and of 6 May 1995, banned U.S. trade with and investment in Iran.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: The Iran and Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) was signed on 5 August 1996 (H.R. 3107, P.L. 104–172). (ILSA was renamed in 2006 the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) when the sanctions against Libya were terminated.) On 31 July 2013, members of the United States House of Representatives voted 400 to 20 in favor of toughened sanctions.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: On 8 May 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. Following the U.S. withdrawal, the EU enacted an updated blocking statute on 7 August 2018 to nullify US sanctions on countries trading with Iran.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: The fourth set of sanctions by the United States came into effect in November 2018; the White House said that the purpose of the sanctions was not regime change, but to make Iran to change its regional policies, stop its support for regional militant groups and end its ballistic missile programme. In September 2019, a U.S. official stated that the United States will sanction whoever deals with Iran or purchases its oil. Also in September 2019, in response to a suspected Iranian attack on key Saudi Arabian oil facilities, Trump said that he directed the Treasury Department to "substantially increase" sanctions on Iran. The new sanctions targeted the Iranian national bank. A Senior Trump Administration official said the new sanctions targeted the financial assets of the Supreme leader's inner circle. However, according to the New York Times, Tehran has disclaimed playing any part in the attacks that affected the Saudi oil facilities.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: On 25 August 2020, the United Nations Security Council blocked the effort of the US to re-impose snapback sanctions on Iran. The President of the UN Security Council, Indonesia's ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani, stated he is "not in a position to take further action" on US's request, citing a lack of consensus in the Security Council on the US strategy as the main reason.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: On 20 September 2020, the US asserted that UN sanctions against Iran were back in place, a claim that was rejected by Iran and the other remaining parties to the JCPOA. The next day, the United States imposed sanctions on Iranian defence officials, nuclear scientists, the Atomic Energy Agency of Iran and anyone who engaged in conventional arms deals with Iran. On 8 October 2020, the US imposed further sanctions on Iran's financial sector, targeting 18 Iranian banks.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: The UN Security Council passed a number of resolutions imposing sanctions on Iran, following the report by the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors regarding Iran's non-compliance with its safeguards agreement and the Board's finding that Iran's nuclear activities raised questions within the competency of the Security Council. Sanctions were first imposed when Iran rejected the Security Council's demand that Iran suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities. Sanctions will be lifted when Iran meets those demands and fulfills the requirements of the IAEA Board of Governors. Most UN sanctions were lifted on 16 January 2016, following the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: The UN sanctions against Iran do not include oil exports from Iran. As of 2019, an estimated one third of all oil traded at sea passes through the Strait of Hormuz. In August 2018, EU High Representative Mogherini, speaking at a briefing with New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters, challenged U.S. sanctions on Iran, stating that the EU are encouraging small and medium size enterprises in particular to increase business with and in Iran as part of something that is for the EU a "Security Priority".


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: In September 2019, the US government announced, unilaterally, that it would begin to sanction certain Chinese entities that imported oil from Iran.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: On 14 August 2020, the United Nations Security Council rejected a resolution proposed by the United States to extend the global arms embargo on Iran, which was set to expire on 18 October 2020. The Dominican Republic joined the United States in voting for the resolution, short of the minimum nine "yes" votes required for adoption. Eleven members of the Security Council, including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, abstained while Russia and China voted against the resolution.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: Speaking about the US desire to restore UN sanctions against Iran and extend an embargo to arms sales to the country in 2020, US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft said: "History is replete of tragedies of appeasing regimes such as this one, that for decades have kept its own people under its thumb. The Trump administration has no fear in standing in limited company on this matter, in light of the unmistakable truth guiding our actions. I only regret that other members of this [Security Council] have lost their way, and now find themselves standing in the company of terrorists." She also wrote a September 20, 2020, letter to the President of the UN Security Council, pressing her point on sanctions. Speaking at the US State Department in September 2020, she said: "As we have in the past, we will stand alone to protect peace and security at all times. We don’t need a cheering section to validate our moral compass."


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: Under the terms agreed in the Iran nuclear deal framework, the UN arms embargo expired on 18 October 2020, following which Iran was permitted to purchase foreign weapons and military equipment. A U.S. attempt to extend UN sanctions against Iran under a JCPoA "snapback" provision was opposed by 13 Security Council members, who argued that the U.S. left the agreement with Iran in 2018.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: EU–Iran relations have been strained in the early 2010s by the dispute over the Iranian nuclear program. The European Union along with United States have imposed sanctions against Iran over the controversies around Iranian nuclear program. These sanctions which have been described as the toughest EU sanctions imposed against any other country by European officials were last strengthened on 15 October 2012 within by the EU Council.<ref name="Oil/Gas"></ref>


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: On 23 January 2012, the Council of the European Union released a report in which it restated its concerns about the growth and nature of Iran's nuclear programme. As a result, the Council announced that it would levy an embargo on Iranian oil exports. Further, it stated that it would also freeze assets held by the Central Bank of Iran and forestall the trading of precious metals and petrochemicals to and from the country. This replaces and updates the previous Council Regulation 423/2007 that was published on 27 July 2010. The new sanctions put restrictions on foreign trade, financial services, energy sectors and technologies and includes a ban on the provision of insurance and reinsurance by EU insurers to the State of Iran and Iranian owned companies.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: Iran has since declared its intentions to close the Strait of Hormuz should the embargo be enacted. At the time, the European Union accounted for 20% of Iran's oil exports, with the majority of the remaining being exported to Asian countries such as China, Japan, India, and South Korea.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: In response to the sanctions, Ramin Mehmanparast, representative for Iran's foreign ministry, stated that the embargo would not significantly affect Iranian oil revenues. He further said that "any country that deprives itself from Iran's energy market, will soon see that it has been replaced by others."


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: In addition, Iran's parliament is considering a law that would pre-empt the EU ban by cutting off shipments to Europe immediately, before European countries can arrange alternate supplies.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: On 12 April 2021, the European Union sanctioned eight Iranian militia commanders and security officials over human right abuses.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: On 17 March 2012, following agreement two days earlier between all 27 member states of the Council of the European Union, and the Council's subsequent ruling, the SWIFT electronic banking network, the world hub of electronic financial transactions, disconnected all Iranian banks from its international network that had been identified as institutions in breach of current EU sanctions, and that further Iranian financial institutions could be disconnected from its network.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: The European Union has imposed restrictions on cooperation with Iran in foreign trade, financial services, energy sectors and technologies, and banned the provision of insurance and reinsurance by insurers in member states to Iran and Iranian-owned companies. On 23 January 2012, the EU agreed to an oil embargo on Iran, effective from July, and to freeze the assets of Iran's central bank. The next month, Iran symbolically pre-empted the embargo by ceasing sales to Britain and France (both countries had already almost eliminated their reliance on Iranian oil, and Europe as a whole had nearly halved its Iranian imports), though some Iranian politicians called for an immediate sales halt to all EU states, so as to hurt countries like Greece, Spain and Italy who were yet to find alternative sources.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: On 17 March 2012, all Iranian banks identified as institutions in breach of EU sanctions were disconnected from the SWIFT, the world's hub of electronic financial transactions.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: On 10 November 2018 Gottfried Leibbrandt, chief executive of SWIFT said in Belgium that some banks in Iran would be disconnected from this financial messaging service.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: One side effect of the sanctions is that the global shipping insurers based in London are unable to provide cover for items as far afield as Japanese shipments of Iranian liquefied petroleum gas to South Korea.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: On 16 October 2012, the EU adopted a further set of restrictive measures against Iran as announced in Council Decision 2012/635/CFSP. These measures are targeted at Iran’s nuclear and ballistic programmes and the revenues made from these programmes by the Iranian government.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: In response to the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran, the EU has also adopted Council Regulation (EU) No 359/2011 of 12 April 2011. This regulation has been amended by Council Regulation (EU) No 264/2012, which includes the Annex III list of equipment that might be used for internal repression and related services (e.g. financial, technical, brokering) and internet monitoring and telecommunications equipment and related services.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: In November 2011 the IAEA reported "serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear programme" and indications that "some activities may still be ongoing."


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: The United States said the sanctions were not made to topple the Iranian government, but convince it to change several of its policies.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: The European Union's General Court overturned EU sanctions against two of Iran's biggest banks (Bank Saderat & Bank Mellat); the two banks had filed suit with the European court to challenge those sanctions.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: The sanctions bring difficulties to Iran's $483 billion, oil-dominated economy. Data published by the Iranian Central Bank show a declining trend in the share of Iranian exports from oil-products (2006–2007: 84.9%, 2007–2008: 86.5%, 2008–2009: 85.5%, 2009–2010: 79.8%, 2010–2011 (first three quarters): 78.9%). The sanctions have had a substantial adverse effect on the Iranian nuclear program by making it harder to acquire specialized materials and equipment needed for the program. The social and economic effects of sanctions have also been severe, with even those who doubt their efficacy, such as John Bolton, describing the EU sanctions, in particular, as "tough, even brutal." Iranian foreign minister Ali Akhbar Salehi conceded that the sanctions are having an impact. China has become Iran's largest remaining trading partner.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: Sanctions have reduced Iran's access to products needed for the oil and energy sectors, have prompted many oil companies to withdraw from Iran, and have also caused a decline in oil production due to reduced access to technologies needed to improve their efficiency.According to Undersecretary of State William Burns, Iran may be annually losing as much as $60 billion in energy investment. Many international companies have also been reluctant to do business with Iran for fear of losing access to larger Western markets. [Naseem, M(2017) International Energy Law].As well as restricting export markets, the sanctions have reduced Iran's oil income by increasing the costs of repatriating revenues in complicated ways that sidestep the sanctions; Iranian analysts estimate the budget deficit for the 2011–2012 fiscal year, which in Iran ends in late March, at between $30bn to $50bn. The effects of U.S. sanctions include expensive basic goods for Iranian citizens, and an aging and increasingly unsafe civil aircraft fleet. According to the Arms Control Association, the international arms embargo against Iran is slowly reducing Iran's military capabilities, largely due to its dependence on Russian and Chinese military assistance. The only substitute is to find compensatory measures requiring more time and money, and which are less effective. According to at least one analyst (Fareed Zakaria), the market for imports in Iran is dominated by state enterprises and state-friendly enterprises, because the way to get around the sanctions is smuggling, and smuggling requires strong connections with the government. This has weakened Iranian civil society and strengthened the state.


title: Sanctions against Iran

text: The value of the Iranian rial has plunged since autumn 2011, it is reported to have devalued up to 80%, falling 10% immediately after the imposition of the EU oil embargo since early October 2012, causing widespread panic among the Iranian public. In January 2012, the country raised the interest rate on bank deposits by up to 6 percentage points in order to curtail the rial's depreciation. The rate increase was a setback for Ahmadinejad, who had been using below-inflation rates to provide cheap loans to the poor, though naturally Iranian bankers were delighted by the increase. Not long after, and just a few days after Iran's economic minister declared that "there was no economic justification" for devaluing the currency because Iran's foreign exchange reserves were "not only good, but the extra oil revenues are unprecedented," the country announced its intention to devalue by about 8.5 percent against the U.S. dollar, set a new exchange rate and vowed to reduce the black market's influence (presumably booming because of the lack of confidence in the rial). The Iranian Central Bank desperately tried to keep the value of the rial afloat in the midst of the late 2012 decline by pumping petrodollars into the system to allow the rial to compete against the US dollar. Efforts to control inflation rates were set forth by the government through a three-tiered-multiple-exchange-rate; this effect has failed to prevent the rise in cost of basic goods, simultaneously adding to the public's reliance on the Iranian black-market exchange rate network. Government officials attempted to stifle the black-market by offering rates 2% below the alleged black-market rates, but demand seems to be outweighing their efforts.