title: Binghamton, New York

text: Education and health care are also becoming significant sectors in the regional economy. In particular, Binghamton University and Broome Community College employ many researchers and educators. Binghamton University has a New York State Center of Excellence for small-scale systems integration, and it has provided the major impetus for the Southern Tier High Technology Incubator in downtown Binghamton, which encourages the growth of local startups. Upstate Medical University has worked to expand its clinical campus by establishing a permanent home at the former New York State Inebriate Asylum on the East Side. Major companies in the private healthcare industry include United Health Services and Lourdes Hospital.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: Binghamton also has many food services and distribution companies. Maines Paper & Food Service and Willow Run Foods - two of the nation's largest food distributors who serve restaurants throughout the United States - have their headquarters in the area. Maines is one of the largest private companies in the country. Crowley Foods, a subsidiary of HP Hood, maintains headquarters in Binghamton, and Frito-Lay has a large plant in the region.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: Agriculture has long played a notable role in the regional economy, and the farm bureau movement started in Binghamton in 1911.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: Other notable local employers include New York State Electric & Gas and Johnson Outdoors. Two insurance companies, Security Mutual Life and Columbian Financial Group, maintain headquarters in the area.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: The region has several large shopping areas. Downtown Binghamton is home to a Boscov's department store, and the development of large student housing projects has led to a resurgence of restaurants and service-oriented businesses. While downtown was home to several major department stores and the center of regional shopping, most shopping has moved toward the suburbs. The town of Vestal has several shopping centers and big-box stores along a five-mile stretch of the Vestal Parkway. The village of Johnson City is home to the Oakdale Mall, the area's only indoor super regional mall. Significant commercial development has also taken place in the town of Dickinson, with many shopping centers just north of the city. In the First Ward, Clinton Street is home to Antique Row, a collection of antique shops.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: The public Binghamton City School District is the largest school district in the metropolitan area, with about 5,000 students enrolled . The district consists of Binghamton High School, two middle schools, and seven elementary schools. While the district maintains an International Baccalaureate program and has received several academic awards, it is classified as high needs, and has had difficulty meeting several educational requirements. The Catholic Schools of Broome County, a private school district affiliated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, operate Seton Catholic Central High School and an elementary school in the city of Binghamton.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: The city was home to the now-defunct Ridley-Lowell Business & Technical Institute, which was founded in Binghamton in 1850.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: The suburb of Vestal is home to the main campus of Binghamton University. The university, one of four university centers in the SUNY system, has approximately 15,000 students. Binghamton University is a selective top-ranking public university, and is considered to be a Public Ivy. It also has a large research presence, including a New York State Center of Excellence for small-scale systems integration. While the campus is in Vestal, many students who live off-campus find housing in the West Side. There has also been a recent push for student housing downtown to help revitalize the business district. In addition to its downtown campus, the university operates the Southern Tier High Technology Incubator in the city, and it is restoring the New York State Inebriate Asylum on the East Side for future use.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: SUNY Broome (formerly Broome Community College) is just north of the city in Dickinson. A two-year SUNY college, the school has 6,000 commuter students. Formerly specializing in technical education, SUNY Broome started in downtown Binghamton and stood at the Washington Street Armory until a fire in 1951. The college built the Student Village residence hall on campus in 2014 to attract residential students. SUNY Broome also offers courses at several off-campus locations, two of which are in the city. The college is renovating the former Carnegie Library into the SUNY Broome Culinary & Event Center, which will house its hospitality programs.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: Davis College (formerly Practical Bible College), a Bible college, is in nearby Johnson City. The Elmira Business Institute also has a Vestal campus.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: The region has, in the last several years, developed a growing and pervasive arts scene. These include a large cluster of art galleries and shops centered around downtown Binghamton. These galleries have given rise to the First Friday Art Walk, through the efforts an association of local artists and merchants in Downtown Binghamton. These events have drawn large crowds downtown since 2004. Artists of local prominence that display or have galleries include photorealist painter Anthony Brunelli, Orazio Salati, and Marla Olmstead, a local child who achieved fame in the art world for her abstract art.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: The Binghamton Philharmonic is the region's premiere professional orchestra. Founded in 1955, it provides symphonic music to all of the Southern Tier. Concerts are performed throughout the year, with a variety of classical, pops and chamber music. The Tri-Cities Opera stages full-scale operas at the Broome County Forum. The professional company has performed since 1949, and is famed for its actor training program. The region also has several other semi-professional and amateur orchestras and theaters such as the Cider Mill Playhouse.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: The Roberson Museum and Science Center, in the heart of Binghamton, is home to the Binghamton Visitor's Center, the Link Planetarium, and a number of exhibits detailing the culture and history of Greater Binghamton and the Southern Tier. The Kopernik Observatory & Science Center observatory is the largest public observatory in the northeast United States. The Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park, in the Southside, opened in 1875 and is the fifth-oldest zoo in the nation.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: Binghamton is known as the Carousel Capital of the World, as it houses six of the remaining antique carousels. Two are within city limits, one at Recreation Park and another at the Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park. Other visitor attractions include the Phelps Mansion museum, the Cutler Botanic Garden, the Bundy Museum of History and Art, and the interactive, child-oriented Discovery Center. The Center for Technology & Innovation, a museum dedicated to local industry, is under construction.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: The area is home to a popular regional dish known as the spiedie. Many of the area's restaurants serve spiedies, but they have only experienced limited penetration beyond the Southern Tier and Central New York. Spiedies are celebrated at the Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally, which is held at Otsiningo Park each August and attracts over 100,000 people annually.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: The city's other annual events include the St. Patrick's Day parade in March, July Fest (a festival of jazz music, arts, and crafts held downtown since 1962), the 100-year-old St. Mary of the Assumption Bazaar in August, the LUMA Projection Arts Festival in September, Binghamton Porchfest (a free annual music festival featuring hundreds of performances staged on West Side residential porches), Blues on the Bridge (a September music festival that takes place on the South Washington Street Bridge), and the Columbus Day Parade and Italian Festival every October, which includes a marching band competition. Broome County is home to several festivals (including a significant concentration of ethnic celebrations due to its heritage), which the New York Department of Economic Development recognized in 2001 as the year's official I Love New York festival, and collectively dubbed the "Festival of Festivals." Notable former festivities include the Yegatta Regatta and the Pops on the River concert.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: Residents of Binghamton typically speak the Inland Northern dialect of American English, and the region falls within a distinct set of isoglosses that also contain Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse. Much of the local accent has been subject to the Northern cities vowel shift, though this has not fully taken hold. Unlike other Inland Northern cities, people in Binghamton typically refer to athletic shoes as sneakers (as opposed to tennis shoes), and to soft drinks as soda (and not pop).


title: Binghamton, New York

text: Binghamton has a long history with minor league sports, having been home to several teams over the years. The Eastern League, one of the older Double-A baseball leagues in the United States prior to the 2021 Minor League Baseball reorganization, was founded at the Arlington Hotel in downtown Binghamton in 1923. Today, the city hosts two professional minor league teams, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (a baseball team affiliated with the New York Mets) and the Binghamton Black Bears (an ice hockey team in the Federal Prospects Hockey League). In 2018, the "Sports Business Journal" ranked the city as the 10th best minor-league sports market in the country.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: The area is home to the Double-A Northeast's Binghamton Rumble Ponies, the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets. The former Binghamton Mets have sent stars like Daniel Murphy, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, Juan Lagares, José Reyes, David Wright, Preston Wilson, Ike Davis, Zack Wheeler, Edgardo Alfonzo, Jon Niese, and Jay Payton to the majors.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: Binghamton has a long history in professional baseball dating back to 1877. Teams nicknamed the Crickets, the Bingoes, and for many years the Triplets represented Binghamton in the New York State League (now defunct), the New York–Pennsylvania League, the International League, and the Eastern League (1892–94, 1938–1963, 1967–1968, 1992–2021).


title: Binghamton, New York

text: The 1887 Binghamton Bingoes of the International League attracted national attention when the white players revolted against the two black players on the team. The reaction around the league forced Binghamton to release the black players, and the team folded soon after.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: The Binghamton Triplets of the Eastern League, founded in 1923, became a farm club of the New York Yankees in 1932, and sent many players to New York through 1968, when the team folded. Notably, the Hall of Fame pitcher Whitey Ford was a starting pitcher for the Triplets in 1949.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: Binghamton has also been home to two semiprofessional football teams, the Broome County Dragons (members of the Empire Football League) and the Southern Tier Green Machine (members of the North American Football League). In addition, two women's football teams called Binghamton home; the Binghamton Tiger Cats (members of the Independent Women's Football League) and the Southern Tier Spitfire (members of the Women's Football Alliance). As of 2015, none of these teams play. Founded in 2018, the Broome County Stallions play as part of the Northeastern Football Alliance.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: The B.C. Open was an official PGA Tour event held annually from 1971 to 2005 at Endicott's En-Joie Golf Course. (Note that the 2006 B.C. Open had to be played in Verona, N.Y. due to extensive damage during the June 2006 Flooding of the Susquehanna River.) Beginning in 2007, the area hosted a PGA Tour Champions event, the Dick's Sporting Goods Open. The event replaced the B.C. Open and continues to be played at En-Joie Golf Course in Endicott.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: Professional hockey arrived in Binghamton in 1973 with the founding of the Broome Dusters of the North American Hockey League. The Dusters were known for their wide-open style of play, which was unusual in professional hockey at the time. While crowds were sparse at the beginning of the 1973 season, the team's popularity grew and the strength of the Dusters fan base, combined with continuous sellouts, led "The Hockey News" to declare Binghamton as Hockey Town USA. When the league folded in 1977, the Providence team of the American Hockey League moved to Binghamton and became the Binghamton Dusters. The team became the Binghamton Whalers from 1980 to 1990 and the Binghamton Rangers from 1990 to 1997 as a result of affiliations with the National Hockey League's (NHL) Hartford Whalers and New York Rangers.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: Later the Binghamton Senators who were the AHL affiliate of the Ottawa Senators were formed. The B-Sens won division titles in 2003 and 2005, reached the AHL conference finals in 2003 and won the Calder Cup in 2011. The B-Sens sent players such as Jason Spezza, Robin Lehner, Chris Kelly, Jakob Silfverberg, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau to the NHL. The B-Sens relocated to Canada for the 2017–18 season.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: When the Senators were relocated, the NHL's New Jersey Devils brought their AHL franchise to the city as the Binghamton Devils with home games at Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. The B-Devils left Binghamton in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and then relocated as the Utica Comets in 2021.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: An expansion team in the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) called the Binghamton Black Bears replaced the Devils at the Veterans Memorial Arena starting with the 2021–22 season.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: The area is home to an annual Professional Tennis Challenger, the Levene Gouldin & Thompson Tennis Challenger, part of the USTA pro circuit (Known as the Frito-Lay Tennis Challenger in years past). Tennis greats such as Lleyton Hewitt, James Blake and, more recently, Andy Murray found their start with this tournament, using it as a springboard to the U.S. Open (tennis).


title: Binghamton, New York

text: Binghamton University plays Division I college sports as a member of the America East Conference. Division III College Sports are played at Broome Community College. Bobby Gonzalez, former head coach of Seton Hall's men's basketball team was born here, and still has family in the area. King Rice, head basketball coach at Monmouth University, attended Binghamton High School.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: Binghamton hosts two world-famous amateur sports tournaments each year. The Stop DWI Holiday Classic – a nationally recognized high school basketball tournament – calls the city home during the Christmas season, amassing about 16 of the nation's best teams from places such as Orlando, NYC, Philadelphia, Kentucky, Cincinnati, and other large metropolitan areas. The World Youth Classic is an American Legion youth baseball tournament featuring world-class Legion baseball teams. Held in July, it features as many as 32 teams from Florida, Kentucky, Ohio, New York, Georgia, and New England.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: Since 1978 a round of the American Motorcyclist Association's Motocross Championship has taken place at the nearby Broome-Tioga Sports Center. This round of the series recently moved to Texas and is no longer hosted by the Broome-Tioga Sports Center. They also host the New York State Motocross Championships each fall and many other semi-pro events throughout the season.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: Binghamton is known for its bicycling and walking clubs, facilities, and trails. The Binghamton River Trail is an urban trail starting at Confluence Park, where the rivers intersect, and traveling alongside the Chenango River, past the Martin Luther King, Jr. Promenade and Noyes Island, up to Cheri A. Lindsey Park in the North Side. In 2007, "Country Home" magazine named Binghamton the ninth-greenest city in the country.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: Since its incorporation as a city in 1867, Binghamton has been a municipality with a "strong" mayor–council form of government. The city government, originally housed in the old Municipal Building on Collier Street (now the Grand Royale Hotel), is now based at the Binghamton City Hall which occupies the west-wing of Government Plaza on the corner of State and Hawley streets. The mayor and councilors are elected to four-year terms and are limited to serving two terms. The Binghamton City Council is a unicameral body of seven Council members whose districts are defined by geographic population boundaries.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: The Binghamton City Council meets for Work Sessions on the first and third Monday of the month at 6:00 pm in the Council Work Room. Council holds Business Meetings every first and third Wednesday after the first Monday of the month at 6:00 pm in Council Chambers.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: The Binghamton Neighborhood Assemblies Program created seven public forum assemblies in which city residents play a lead role in "restoring the pride" in Binghamton by sharing their concerns, hopes and needs and then working with city government and community partners to implement positive change. The initiative was a collaboration between City of Binghamton, Citizen Action of NY, and Binghamton University's Women's Studies program.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: The assemblies were supported from 2006 through 2009 by a team of seven to nine America-Corps*VISTA volunteers, who worked with residents on media training, beautification projects, youth initiatives, and organizing efforts. The assemblies were an effective way to reconnect citizens with City Hall, however, by the end of Mayor Ryan's first term, only two assemblies were active. The City no longer offers direct support to the assemblies, but the South Side and North Side Assemblies continue to meet monthly, driven largely by resident leaders.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: In 2008, the City of Binghamton enacted Local Law 08–1, the Binghamton Human Rights Law, which expands protections offered at the state and federal government to include prohibitions against discrimination based on gender identity or expression, height and weight in employment, housing, education and public accommodation. In 2011, under the authority of N.Y. General Municipal Law 239-O and by City of Binghamton Local Law 11–3, the City of Binghamton established the Binghamton Human Rights Commission whose mission is to condemn discrimination in all its forms, to educate the public, and to work to eliminate discrimination against people based on age, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, weight or height, veteran status, or criminal conviction. Intake forms for claims of discrimination can be found at the commission's website: www.binghamtonhrc.org.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: The "Press & Sun-Bulletin" is the only major daily paper in Binghamton. As of 2014, the region makes up the 159th largest television market in the United States, as well as the 187th largest radio market. The market is served by TV stations affiliated with the major American broadcast networks, including WBNG-TV 12 (CBS/CW), WBGH-CD 20 (NBC), WIVT 34 (ABC), and WICZ-TV 40 (Fox). WSKG-TV 46 is Binghamton's PBS member station, and serves a large portion of the Southern Tier. Most Binghamton radio stations are owned by one of three groups: Townsquare Media, iHeartMedia, or the locally based Equinox Broadcasting.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: Binghamton is a major junction in the Interstate Highway System, much as it was during the days of the railroad. Interstate 81, a major north–south route, connects the city to Syracuse and Ontario, as well as to Pennsylvania and Appalachia. Binghamton is also the western terminus of Interstate 88, which gives a direct route to Albany. New York State Route 17, the Southern Tier Expressway, is being upgraded to Interstate 86, and spans the southern border of New York, providing access to New York City, as well as to the western Southern Tier and Erie, Pennsylvania. Between 1953 and 1966, the state built an arterial system to alleviate traffic, which includes the Brandywine Highway (New York State Route 7), North Shore Drive (New York State Route 363), and the portion of the Vestal Parkway (New York State Route 434) within city limits. Other major thoroughfares in the city include Chenango Street, Main Street (New York State Route 17C), and Court/Front Streets (U.S. Route 11).


title: Binghamton, New York

text: B.C. Transit, a daily bus service provided by Broome County, offers public transportation in Binghamton and outlying areas. Binghamton University students are also served by Off-Campus College Transport. Intercity buses originate from the Greater Binghamton Transportation Center, which was opened in 2010 and also serves as the B.C. Transit hub. OurBus offers bus daily service between Ithaca-Binghamton-Manhattan. Greyhound Lines provides direct routes to Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, Scranton, Toronto, and New York City. Short Line Buses offer service to Olean, Ithaca, Utica, Albany, New York City, and Long Island. Trailways of New York also has direct service to Albany and Rochester and Megabus has direct service to New York City.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: The Greater Binghamton Airport (IATA code BGM, ICAO code KBGM) is a small regional airport, and the only area airport that offers scheduled airline service. Located north of downtown, it currently has non-stop flights to Detroit on Delta Air Lines. Avelo Airlines is also planning to offer non-stop flights to Fort Myers and Orlando, Florida beginning in November 2022. The region's general aviation airport, Tri-Cities Airport, is to the west, in the town of Endicott.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: Three freight railroads serve Binghamton. Norfolk Southern Railway serves Binghamton with its Southern Tier Main Line (the former Erie Lackawanna mainline) and on the main line between Schenectady and Scranton, Pennsylvania (formerly the Delaware and Hudson Railway). The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway maintains lines from Binghamton to Syracuse and Utica, and the Central New York Railroad offers freight service to Port Jervis. Binghamton has no railroad passenger service. The last scheduled service, the "Lake Cities" train from Hoboken, New Jersey to Chicago, ended on January 6, 1970. New York Senator Chuck Schumer is pushing for passenger rail service between Binghamton and New York City via Scranton and the Lackawanna Cut-Off.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: Electricity and natural gas service are supplied and distributed by New York State Electric and Gas. The city's only cable provider is Charter Spectrum, which also offers high-speed internet and digital phone. Verizon provides local telephone and internet service. Greenlight Networks offers fiber-optic internet. The City Department of Public Works handles garbage and recycling, and maintains city street lights.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: The city government maintains water and sewer services. Binghamton's primary source of potable water is the Susquehanna River, which is fed through a water treatment facility. Sewage is treated and released back into the Susquehanna downstream, at the Binghamton–Johnson City Joint Sewage Treatment Plant. The sewage plant was severely damaged by Tropical Storm Lee, and will require $90 million of repairs.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: United Health Services (UHS) operates Binghamton General Hospital in the Southside and Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City, while Lourdes Hospital is run by Ascension Health out of St. Louis, MO. The Dr. Garabed A. Fattal Community Free Clinic is run by Upstate Medical University, and offers services with the Broome County Health Department and United Health Services.


title: Binghamton, New York

text: The New York State Office of Mental Health operates the Greater Binghamton Health Center, which will become a regional center of excellence for children's behavior.


title: The Long Call

text: The Long Call is a British crime drama television series developed by Kelly Jones and Silverprint Pictures based on the 2019 novel of the same name by Ann Cleeves. It premiered on ITV in the United Kingdom on 25 October 2021 and was released internationally as a BritBox original following broadcast.


title: The Long Call

text: The series follows Detective Inspector Matthew Venn as he returns to his hometown in Devon with his husband for his religious father's funeral, only to find himself investigating a local murder.


title: The Long Call

text: In November 2020, it was announced Silverprint Pictures would adapt Ann Cleeves' novel for ITV. Kelly Jones would pen the four-part drama as her first standalone series and third collaboration with Silverprint on a Cleeves adaptation, with Lee Haven Jones directing and Angie Daniell producing.


title: The Long Call

text: Principal photography took place in 2020 on location in Bristol and the North Devon coast, particularly around the Taw and Torridge estuary. Matthew and Jonathan's house is located in Appledore. Actor Ben Aldridge grew up in the area.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: Francois "Faf" du Plessis ( ; born 13 July 1984) is a South African professional cricketer and former captain of the South Africa national cricket team. He is considered one of the greatest fielders of all time and is among the best all-format batsmen of his era.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: Du Plessis's test performance in the 2012 Adelaide test is judged as the best test batting performance by any batsmen on Australian soil since the year 2000, hence making it the best 21st century test performance in Australia.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: He has played South African domestic cricket for Northerns and the Titans, as well as for Lancashire County Cricket Club in England and Chennai Super Kings, Rising Pune Supergiant, and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: He made his international debut against India in January 2011 in a One Day International, scoring an unbeaten 60 runs, and went on to make his Test match debut in November 2012, becoming the fourth South African to score a Test century on debut. After making his T20 debut in September 2012, he was subsequently also named T20 captain of South Africa for the following Twenty20 series against New Zealand and confirmed full-time skipper in February 2013.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: du Plessis took over the Test captaincy in December 2016 and assumed full-time captaincy in all formats of the game in August 2017 after teammate and former captain AB de Villiers relinquished the two limited overs captaincies. In February 2021 he announced his retirement from Test cricket in order to focus on the 2021 and 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cups.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: du Plessis was given a six-month contract with Lancashire County Cricket Club for the 2008 season as a Kolpak player after impressing the board with good performances in the local Nottinghamshire leagues for Mansfield Hosiery Mills and in the Lancashire League for Todmorden. Following his initial stint with the club, du Plessis signed a new three-year deal. Lancashire coach Mike Watkinson praised du Plessis' fielding, saying "if there's a better fielder in county cricket I've not seen him this season". In March 2010, it was announced that du Plessis would no longer be allowed to play for Lancashire as a Kolpak player after changes to the Kolpak rules. In 2011, he was signed by Chennai Super Kings to play in the Indian Premier League.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: Along with Jonathan Vandiar, Dean Elgar, and Ethi Mbhalati, du Plessis was one of four uncapped players to be named in South Africa's 30-man preliminary squad for the 2011 World Cup. He was named one of the five South Africa Cricket Annual's Players Of The Year in 2011.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: In October 2018, he was named in Paarl Rocks' squad for the first edition of the Mzansi Super League T20 tournament. He was the leading run-scorer for the team in the tournament, with 318 runs in nine matches.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: In June 2019, he was selected to play for the Edmonton Royals franchise team in the 2019 Global T20 Canada tournament. In September 2019, he was named in the squad for the Paarl Rocks team for the 2019 Mzansi Super League tournament, and led the team to their first title. In October 2020, he was drafted by the Colombo Kings for the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League. In the same month, he was picked by Peshawar Zalmi to feature in the delayed playoffs of the fifth season of the Pakistan Super League as a replacement for Kieron Pollard. He appeared only in one match as Zalmi were eliminated from the tournament in the first eliminator.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: In February 2021, he was signed by the Quetta Gladiators for the 2021 Pakistan Super League but, in June 2021, he was ruled out of the rest of the tournament due a concussion sustained during a match after colliding with teammate Mohammad Hasnain. He captained the Saint Lucia Kings in the 2021 Caribbean Premier League, and the Bangla Tigers in the 2021 T10 League. In November 2021, he was selected to play for the Jaffna Kings following the players' draft for the 2021 Lanka Premier League.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: In the 2022 Indian Premier League auction, du Plessis was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore; and named as team's captain on 12 March 2022. In April 2022, he was bought by the Northern Superchargers for the 2022 season of The Hundred in England.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: du Plessis made his ODI debut on 18 January 2011 against India and made unbeaten 60 runs. He was chosen ahead of Albie Morkel for the 2011 World Cup on the Indian Sub-continent and later made his Test debut for South Africa against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in 2012 as the number 6 batsman, replacing the injured JP Duminy.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: He scored 188 runs in the match and was selected as Man-of-the-match for his resilient performance that ultimately led to the match being drawn and the series being square before the third and final Test in which he scored 78 runs the 1st innings and the last man to be dismissed, taking the South African score to 388 in reply to Australia's 550. In the 2nd innings, he scored a match-saving 110 not out from 376 balls over 466 minutes.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: In the next test at WACA Ground, he scored a resilient unbeaten 78 from 142 balls to take his team's score to 225 in the 1st innings, from 75/6 with able support from Robin Peterson (31 off 45), Vernon Philander (30 from 54) and last man Morne Morkel (17 from 15). South Africa won the 3-match Test Series against Australia 1–0. In December 2012, he was named captain of the South African T20 team for three matches against New Zealand.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: In October 2013, he was fined 50% of his match fee after being found guilty of ball tampering in a Test match against Pakistan.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: In December 2013, he scored a test match saving hundred with a score of 134 off 309 balls against India while chasing 458 to win in the 4th innings. The match ended in a draw with South Africa on 450/7, only 8 runs short from what would have been the highest successful run chase in test match history. du Plessis made his maiden ODI hundred on 27 August 2014 against Australia after scoring 106 off 98 balls while chasing 327 runs to win. His partnership of 206 runs with AB de Villiers for the 3rd wicket is the highest for South Africa against Australia.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: His second Hundred came only 6 days later in his next ODI match on 2 September 2014. He scored 126 from 109 balls against the same opposition although South Africa lost by 62 runs. After making his maiden ODI hundred on 27 August 2014, and a consecutive ODI hundred on 2 September 2014, du Plessis followed with a third consecutive ODI hundred, scoring 121 off 140 balls, this time against Zimbabwe on 4 September 2014. (South Africa were playing an ODI tri-series with Australia and Zimbabwe.)


title: Faf du Plessis

text: On 6 September 2014 against Australia, du Plessis fell only four runs short of becoming the first batsman in history to score 4 ODI hundreds in a row. (this would also have been a record for the most ODI hundreds by a batsman in any ICC ODI tournament) He initially looked on course to achieve his 4th ODI hundred until his batting partner AB de Villiers hit 2 sixes and a four in quick succession, which meant du Plessis had to obtain all the remaining runs in the game single-handedly if he was to reach this milestone. Needing only 1 run to win the game with plenty of wickets and balls in hand, du Plessis was on 96 and therefore had to hit a boundary (barring any extras) in order to reach 4 ODI hundreds in a row, but while attempting to hit a boundary he was caught off the bowling of Australia's spear-head Mitchell Johnson. South Africa still went on to win the ODI match against Australia comfortably by 6 wickets. This victory also secured South Africa as the winners of the ODI tri-series, and du Plessis subsequently became Man of the Series.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: On 17 December 2014, du Plessis set the record for playing the most number of international cricket innings before scoring a duck (108) and also became the only batsman to play in over 100 international innings before first ever duck. On 27 December 2014, du Plessis scored his second first innings century at the same ground: St. George's Oval. On 11 January 2015, du Plessis scored 119 in 56 balls against West Indies, becoming the first South African to score centuries in all forms of the game.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: For the 2016–17 Australian tour of South Africa to play five ODIs, du Plessis was named captain after original skipper AB de Villiers ruled out due to a surgery. On 2 October, du Plessis scored his sixth century in the second game and became the second cricketer to score centuries in all international formats as captain, after Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan. During that same match at Johannesburg, du Plessis become the first batsman to score centuries in all three formats of cricket at a single venue. Till April 2018, he has scored 17 international centuries (seven Test, nine ODI and one T20I) and is the first South African to score a century in all international formats.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: du Plessis is the first player to score a century in an innings of a day/night Test as captain. In the same game he set the record for declaration of the lowest ever total ever as an unbeaten captain, where he remained unbeaten on 118 in South Africa's first innings score of 259/9 dec.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: On 12 December 2016, with AB de Villiers stepping down as Test Captain, du Plessis also inherited the role.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: On 7 February 2017, du Plessis scored 185 runs in the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka, the second highest individual score by a South African, just three runs short of Gary Kirsten's 188*.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: On 24 August 2017, ODI captain de Villiers stepped down from captaincy and du Plessis was named as the captain in all three formats. On the same day, he was named as the captain of World XI team for the three T20Is in Lahore, Pakistan. Pakistan won the series 2–1. Following the conclusion of the series, Faf du Plessis said how much it meant for the people of Pakistan and that it hopefully will bring cricket back to the country.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: In March 2019, in the second ODI against Sri Lanka, du Plessis scored his 5,000th run in ODI cricket. The following month, he was named as the captain of South Africa's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. He finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer for South Africa, with 387 runs in nine matches.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: In August 2019, he was named the Men's Cricketer of the Year at Cricket South Africa's annual award ceremony. In December 2020, in the first Test against Sri Lanka, du Plessis scored his 4,000th run and his tenth century in Test cricket. He ended with 199, becoming the 13th player to be dismissed on 199 in Tests, and also won the man of the match award.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: On 17 February 2021, du Plessis announced his retirement from Tests after leading South Africa in 36 Test matches.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: Faf du Plessis has scored centuries (100 or more runs in a single innings) on 10 occasions in Test, 12 occasions in One Day Internationals (ODIs) and once in Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).


title: Faf du Plessis

text: He scored his first century in November 2012 against Australia on his debut, in the second innings of test match, in which he scored unbeaten 110 runs. His highest Test score came in December 2020 against Sri Lanka when he scored 199 in Centurion.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: It was over three years later in his 51st ODI that he made his first ODI century, scoring 106 against Australia in Harare. His highest ODI score of 185 runs came on 7 February 2017, against Sri Lanka in Cape Town. During the course of the innings, he set the record for the second highest ODI score by a South African after 188 by Gary Kirsten.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: He scored his maiden T20I century against the West Indies in January 2015, becoming the first South African to score centuries in all three formats of the game.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: du Plessis has been found guilty of ball tampering twice during his international career. The first time was during The Oval Test match in 2013 against Pakistan. In 2016, du Plessis was caught again ball tampering during the Hobart Test match against Australia.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: The first incident against Pakistan involved du Plessis rubbing the ball against a zip on his trousers in order to change the nature of the ball. This was caught on video and du Plessis was subsequently found guilty. He was fined 50% of his match fee. The second incident against Australia involved du Plessis rubbing what looked like a "lolly" or mint, on the ball in order to make one side sticky. du Plessis denied any wrongdoing and he pleaded not guilty to the charge. His teammate Hashim Amla defended him in a statement to the Australian media about the incident stating that the tampering claims were "a joke" and called them "ridiculous".


title: Faf du Plessis

text: Regardless of the denials, du Plessis was found guilty of ball tampering on 21 November 2016. He was subsequently fined 100% of his match fee for the second Test against Australia and he was given three demerit points. Four demerit points within 24 months leads to a one Test or two limited-over games suspension. du Plessis played the next test and scored a century. The following month he was made captain of the South African cricket team.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: du Plessis attended Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Afrikaans High School for Boys, also known as Affies), a public school located in Pretoria. He attended alongside fellow Titans cricketers AB de Villiers, Heino Kuhn and Jacques Rudolph. He is also a graduate of the University of Pretoria. du Plessis is a second cousin of Namibian rugby player Marcel du Plessis. His father Francois du Plessis played rugby in the centre position for Northern Transvaal in the 1980s. du Plessis was featured in the music video for the song "Maak Jou Drome Waar", a duet by AB de Villiers and Ampie du Preez.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: He married his long-time girlfriend Imari Visser in November 2013 at Kleine Zalze. They have 2 daughters, Amélie born in 2017 and Zoey in 2020. His sister Rhemi is married to fellow South African international cricketer Hardus Viljoen in December 2019.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: du Plessis is a Christian. du Plessis has said, "I know that my purpose is about more than the runs I score on the cricket field. I hope to be able to spend time with people to show them the love of Jesus and see His love shine through them as well."


title: Faf du Plessis

text: On 17 July 2020, du Plessis released a statement via Instagram, showing support for the Black Lives Matter movement, following fellow Protea player Lungi Ngidi's request for Cricket South Africa to be vocal about the movement and to address racism in cricket. du Plessis admitted that due to his ignorance, he silenced the struggles of others when he previously stated he does not see colour: "[I] acknowledge that South Africa is still hugely divided by racism and it is my personal responsibility to do my best to emphasise, hear the stories, learn and then be part of the solution with my thoughts, words and actions". He concluded his statement, saying "All lives don't matter UNTIL black lives matter. I'm speaking up now, because if I wait to be perfect, I never will. I want to leave a legacy of empathy. The work needs to continue for the change to come and whether we agree or disagree, conversation is the vehicle for change".


title: Faf du Plessis

text: On 7 October 2022, du Plessis announced on his Instagram and Twitter profiles that his autobiography, "FAF: Through Fire", would be released on 28 October 2022.


title: Faf du Plessis

text: Following the publication of his autobiography, Du Plessis remarked in an interview, "I asked myself the question: 'If you write this book, what are the kind of things people resonate with you as a person, as a leader?' And the answer was honesty and vulnerability."


The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), or the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons with the ultimate goal being their total elimination. It was adopted on 7 July 2017, opened for signature on 20 September 2017, and entered into force on 22 January 2021.


title: Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

text: For those nations that are party to it, the treaty prohibits the development, testing, production, stockpiling, stationing, transfer, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons, as well as assistance and encouragement to the prohibited activities. For nuclear armed states joining the treaty, it provides for a time-bound framework for negotiations leading to the verified and irreversible elimination of its nuclear weapons programme.


text: A mandate adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 23 December 2016 scheduled two sessions for negotiations: 27 to 31 March and 15 June to 7 July, 2017. The treaty passed on schedule on 7 July with 122 in favour, 1 against (Netherlands), and 1 official abstention (Singapore). Sixty-nine nations did not vote, among them all of the nuclear weapon states and all NATO members except the Netherlands.


text: According to its proponents, the nuclear-weapon-ban treaty will constitute an "unambiguous political commitment" to achieve and maintain a nuclear-weapon-free world. However, unlike a comprehensive nuclear weapons convention, it was not intended to contain all of the legal and technical measures required to reach the point of elimination. Such provisions will instead be the subject of subsequent negotiations, allowing the initial agreement to be concluded relatively quickly and, if necessary, without the involvement of nuclear-armed nations.


text: Proponents of the ban treaty believe that it will help "stigmatize" nuclear weapons, and serve as a "catalyst" for elimination. Around two-thirds of the world's nations have pledged to work together "to fill the legal gap" in the existing international regime governing nuclear weapons, and view a nuclear-weapon-ban treaty as one option for achieving this objective.


text: Nuclear weapons – unlike chemical weapons, biological weapons, anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions – are not prohibited in a comprehensive and universal manner. The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1968 contains only partial prohibitions, and nuclear-weapon-free zone treaties prohibit nuclear weapons only within certain geographical regions.


text: The "preamble" of the treaty explains the motivation by the "catastrophic consequences" of a use of nuclear weapons, by the risk of their sheer existence, by the suffering of the "hibakusha" (the surviving victims of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki) and the victims of nuclear tests, by "the slow pace of nuclear disarmament" and by "the continued reliance on nuclear weapons in military and security concepts" like deterrence. It recognizes "the disproportionate impact of nuclear-weapon activities on indigenous peoples". It expresses compliance with existing law: the UN charter, international humanitarian law, international human rights law, the very first UN resolution adopted on 24 January 1946, the NPT, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and its verification regime, as well as nuclear-weapon-free zones. Furthermore, the "inalienable right" of peaceful use of nuclear energy is emphasized. Finally, social factors for peace and disarmament are recognized: participation of both women and men, education, public conscience, "international and regional organizations, non-governmental organizations, religious leaders, parliamentarians, academics and the "hibakusha"".


text: "Article 1" contains prohibitions against the development, testing, production, stockpiling, stationing, transfer, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons, as well as against assistance and encouragement to the prohibited activities. Finally, any direct or indirect "control over nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices" is forbidden.


text: "Article 2" requires each party to declare whether it had nuclear weapons of their own or deployed on its territory, including the elimination or conversion of related facilities.


text: "Article 3" requires parties that do not possess nuclear weapons to maintain their existing IAEA safeguards and, if they have not already done so, to accept safeguards based on the model for non-nuclear-weapon states under the NPT.


text: "Article 4" sets out general procedures for negotiations with an individual nuclear-armed state becoming party to the treaty, including time limits and responsibilities. If that state has eliminated its nuclear weapons before becoming a party to the treaty, it mandates verification of that elimination by an unspecified "competent international authority", and the state must also conclude a safeguards agreement with the IAEA to provide credible assurance that it has not diverted nuclear material and has no undeclared nuclear material or activities. If that state has not yet destroyed its arsenal, it must negotiate with the "competent international authority" a time-bound plan for the verified and irreversible elimination of its nuclear weapons programme, which it will submit to the next meeting of signing states or to the next review conference, whichever comes first.


text: "Article 5" is about national implementation. "Article 6" requires environmental remediation and assistance for the victims of the use and testing of nuclear weapons. According to "Article 7", states should assist each other to fulfil these purposes, with special responsibility of the nuclear powers. More generally, all state parties shall cooperate to facilitate the implementation of the treaty. "Article 8" fixes meetings of states parties, the costs of which are shared by the states according to the UN scale of assessment ("Article 9"). "Articles 10–12" are about the possibility of amendments, the settlement of disputes and the "goal of universal adherence of all States to the Treaty".


text: According to "Articles 13–15", the treaty was open for signature from 20 September 2017 at the UN headquarters in New York. The "Treaty shall enter into force 90 days after the fiftieth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession".


text: "Articles 17-20" regulate Withdrawal, Relationship with other agreements, the equality of treatment for every official translation of the Treaty, and all the other formalities that the Treaty required.


text: Proposals for a nuclear-weapon-ban treaty first emerged following a review conference of the NPT in 2010, at which the five officially recognized nuclear-armed state parties – the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China – rejected calls for the start of negotiations on a comprehensive nuclear weapons convention. Disarmament advocates first considered starting this process without the opposed states as a "path forward". Subsequently, a less technical treaty concentrated on the ban of nuclear weapons appeared to be a more realistic goal.


text: Three major intergovernmental conferences in 2013 and 2014 on the "humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons", in Norway, Mexico and Austria, strengthened the international resolve to outlaw nuclear weapons. The second such conference, in Mexico in February 2014, concluded that the prohibition of a certain type of weapon typically precedes, and stimulates, its elimination.


text: In 2014, a group of non-nuclear-armed nations known as the New Agenda Coalition (NAC) presented the idea of a nuclear-weapon-ban treaty to NPT states parties as a possible "effective measure" to implement Article VI of the NPT, which requires all states parties to pursue negotiations in good faith for nuclear disarmament. The NAC argued that a ban treaty would operate "alongside" and "in support of" the NPT.


text: In 2015, the UN General Assembly established a working group with a mandate to address "concrete effective legal measures, legal provisions and norms" for attaining and maintaining a nuclear-weapon-free world. In August 2016, it adopted a report recommending negotiations in 2017 on a "legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination".


text: In October 2016, the First Committee of the UN General Assembly acted upon this recommendation by adopting a resolution that establishes a mandate for nuclear-weapon-ban treaty negotiations in 2017 (with 123 states voting in favour and 38 against, and 16 abstaining). North Korea was the only country possessing nuclear weapons that voted for this resolution, though it did not take part in negotiations.


text: A second, confirmatory vote then took place in a plenary session of the General Assembly in December 2016.


text: From 27 to 31 March 2017, convened as the United Nations Conference to Negotiate a Legally Binding Instrument to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons, Leading Towards their Total Elimination, a first round of negotiations was held at UN headquarters in New York, with the participation of 132 nations. At the end, the president of the negotiating conference, Elayne Whyte Gómez, permanent representative of Costa Rica to the UN in Geneva, called the adoption of a treaty by 7 July "an achievable goal". They agreed that the week's debates had set the stage well for the negotiations in June and July.


text: Summarizing the discussions, a first ban treaty draft was presented on 22 May by Elayne Whyte Gómez. The German section of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) highlighted Article 1, 2a prohibiting any stationing of nuclear weapons on their own territory. Hence, several NATO states – Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Turkey – would have to end contracts on nuclear sharing with the USA before they could sign the negotiated ban treaty. Already in 2010, the German Bundestag had decided by a large majority to withdraw nuclear bombs from Germany, but this decision was never implemented. By contrast, in June 2017 foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel again confirmed nuclear stationing in Germany as well as the principle of equilibrium nuclear deterrence against Russia. He stated that consequently Germany could not support the ban process.


text: Article 1, 1c (in extension of Article 1, 2a) prohibits direct or indirect control of nuclear weapons. Accepting this provision would preclude a common European nuclear force or German financing of and limited decision on the French force de frappe; both options are sometimes discussed.


text: A second conference started on 15 June and was scheduled to conclude on 7 July 2017. 121 out of 193 UN members participated in the negotiations.


text: During the discussions about Article 1, several states pleaded for an explicit prohibition of nuclear military planning, others of financial assistance to development and production of nuclear weapons. Finally, these additions were rejected, but remained implicitly included in Article 1 (d) - (e).


text: On 27 June, a second draft was published. It now offered a precise "join and destroy" option for nuclear armed states: States joining the treaty "shall submit, no later than sixty days after the submission of its declaration, a time-bound plan for the verified and irreversible destruction of its nuclear weapons programme to be negotiated with the States Parties" (Article 4, 1). A second "destroy and join" option (Article 4, 5) only provides for cooperation with the IAEA in order to verify the correctness and completeness of the inventory of nuclear material, no verification of the elimination. This has been changed in the final text. A further discussed topic was the explicit acceptance of the "use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination". The respective affirmation remained part of the final preamble.


text: A third draft was presented on 3 July 2017. A last obstacle for agreement was the condition of the withdrawal clause, meaning that a state party "in exercising its national sovereignty, [...] decides that extraordinary events related to the subject matter of the Treaty have jeopardized the supreme interests of its country". The majority perspective was that this condition is subjective, and no security interests can justify genocide, nor can mass destruction contribute to security. However, as also a neutral withdrawal clause not giving reasons was not accepted by the minority, the respective Article 17 was accepted as a compromise. Safeguards against arbitrary use are the withdrawal period of twelve months and the prohibition of withdrawal during an armed conflict.


text: The vote on the final draft took place on 7 July 2017, with 122 countries in favour, 1 opposed (Netherlands), and 1 abstention (Singapore).


text: Among the countries voting for the treaty's adoption were South Africa and Kazakhstan, both of which formerly possessed nuclear weapons and gave them up voluntarily. Iran and Saudi Arabia also voted in favour of the agreement. There are indications that Saudi Arabia has financially contributed to Pakistan's atomic bomb projects and in return has the option to buy a small nuclear arsenal, an option that would be realized in the event that Iran obtains nuclear warheads.


text: A total of 197 states may become parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, including all 193 United Nations member states, the Cook Islands, the Holy See, the State of Palestine and Niue. As of 22 September 2022, 68 states have ratified or acceded to the treaty, most recently the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Dominican Republic.


text: According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a coalition of non-governmental organizations, leading proponents of a nuclear-weapon-ban treaty include Ireland, Austria, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa and Thailand. All 54 nations of Africa (all but one of which have either signed or ratified the 1996 Treaty of Pelindaba establishing a nuclear-weapon-free-zone in the continent) and all 33 nations of Latin America and the Caribbean (already in a nuclear-weapon-free-zone under the 1967 Treaty of Tlatelolco) had subscribed to common regional positions supporting a ban treaty. The 10 nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which concluded the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty, participated in the negotiations, but Singapore abstained from the vote. Many Pacific island nations are also supportive.


text: No nuclear-armed nation has expressed support for a ban treaty; indeed, a number of them, including the United States and Russia, have expressed explicit opposition. North Korea was the only nuclear state to vote for initiating ban negotiations.


text: Many of the non-nuclear-armed members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), along with Australia and Japan, are also resistant to a ban treaty, as they believe that US nuclear weapons enhance their security. A statement was put forward by several NATO members (not including France, the United States, nor the United Kingdom, the nuclear weapon states within NATO), claiming that the treaty will be 'ineffective in eliminating nuclear weapons' and instead calling for advanced implementation of Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.


text: Following the treaty's adoption, the permanent missions of the United States, the United Kingdom and France issued a joint statement indicating that they did not intend "to sign, ratify or ever become party to it". After stating that the instrument clearly disregarded the realities of the international security environment, they said accession to it was "incompatible with the policy of nuclear deterrence, which has been essential to keeping the peace in Europe and North Asia for over 70 years".


text: Contrary to government position in a number of nations, several recent opinion polls – including Australia, and Norway – have shown strong public support for negotiating an international ban on nuclear weapons. The Netherlands voted against adoption of the treaty, while Germany did not participate, despite opinion polls against the presence of nuclear weapons in both countries.


text: ICAN has been the main civil society actor working alongside governments to achieve a strong and effective ban treaty. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has also championed an agreement to prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons, describing the UN working group recommendation to negotiate a ban in 2017 as "potentially historic". Thousands of scientists from around the world signed an open letter in support of the negotiations.


text: In a July 2017 public statement endorsed by over 40 Buddhist, Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders and groups, "Faith Communities Concerned about Nuclear Weapons" called for universal adoption of the treaty. At a high-profile Vatican conference in November 2017, the first major international disarmament gathering following the treaty's adoption in July, Pope Francis took a stance further than his papal predecessors to condemn the possession of nuclear weapons and warn that nuclear deterrence policies offer a "false sense of security."


text: Xanthe Hall (IPPNW and ICAN) said she regretted the boycott of the treaty by all nuclear powers and their allies. She recalled that the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Cluster Munitions were concluded without the states possessing such weapons, but finally were signed by most states. She argued that nuclear-weapon states were blocking multilateral disarmament negotiations and instead were modernizing their nuclear forces and abdicating their responsibility under Article VI of the NPT. This could reduce the commitment of other states to non-proliferation. By contrast, the TPNW aimed at a new disarmament dynamics that would reinforce the NPT.


text: In "NATO Review", Rühle indicated that according to proponents, it was intended to strengthen Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which requires good faith efforts to negotiate effective measures on nuclear disarmament. Sceptics have argued that the Ban Treaty would harm the NPT.


text: Political parties supporting the government in NATO member states often share the rejection of the nuclear ban negotiations and treaty by their governments, but this is not universal.


text: In May 2015, the Dutch House of Representatives adopted a non-binding motion asking the Dutch government to participate substantively in international discussions on a treaty banning nuclear weapons without prejudice on the final outcome. Roughly a year later, in May 2016, the Dutch House of Representatives adopted a similar motion urging the government to work for "an international ban on nuclear weapons". These motions were supported in part by at least one citizens’ initiative. These pieces of legislation made it politically unacceptable for the Dutch government to officially avoid participating in the TPNW negotiations and avoid voting as did the rest of NATO and the world's nuclear-weapon states.


text: Late in 2018 the Dutch parliament passed a motion asking the government determine whether the TPNW was compatible with existing Dutch law. On 30 January 2019, the government responded saying that the Netherlands could become a party to the TPNW without other changes to existing law. Implementation would require additional legislation, however.


text: In 2010, the German Bundestag voted for nuclear disengagement by a large majority. In 2016, a majority of Norwegian parliamentarians signaled their support for a ban. Nevertheless, Norway and Germany joined the nuclear-weapon states and the rest of NATO, except for the Netherlands, in officially avoiding participation in the negotiations.


text: In response to an appeal made by ICAN, over eight hundred parliamentarians around the world pledged their support for a ban treaty, calling upon "all national governments to negotiate a treaty banning nuclear weapons and leading to their complete eradication" and describing it as "necessary, feasible and increasingly urgent". The countries they represent included members of both the world's existing nuclear-weapon-free zones as well as NATO states. Of the five nuclear-armed permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, the United Kingdom was the only one to have elected representatives lend their support to the initiative.


text: Article 8 of the treaty stipulates that following entry into effect, the States Parties to the treaty shall hold meetings to promote collective actions on their part to achieve the treaty's objectives. It also stipulates that the first such conference is to take place within a year from its entry into effect. Accordingly, the first Meeting of States Parties was initially scheduled for by January 2022, following Austria's offer to host, but the meeting was subsequently rescheduled for 22-24 March 2022, and then postponed again until sometime between May and July 2022. The scheduled meeting was eventually opened in Vienna on June 21, 2022, and ended on June 23. It adopted a declaration and a plan of action to facilitate greater disarmament. The plan of action called for joint efforts to be done with the Red Cross and NGOs to lead as many governments as possible to accede to the treaty or to other treaties relating to disarmament or banning nuclear tests.


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: Theodore Marvin DiBiase Jr. (born November 8, 1982) is an American former professional wrestler, best known for his time with WWE as an original member of the stable The Legacy, and for his repackaged gimmick of "The DiBiase Posse", where he threw tailgating parties before, during, and after WWE shows.


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: Part of the DiBiase wrestling family, he was trained by Chris Youngblood and Harley Race's Wrestling Academy and debuted in 2006. He won the Fusion Pro Tag Team Championship with his brother Mike DiBiase in February 2007, and also toured Japan with Pro Wrestling Noah. He signed a developmental contract with WWE in July 2007, and was assigned to their developmental facility, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), where he won the FCW Southern Heavyweight Championship in December 2007. Due to injury, he relinquished the championship in January 2008. He made his WWE television debut on May 26, 2008, and quickly formed a tag team with Cody Rhodes. The duo won the World Tag Team Championship twice before forming The Legacy faction alongside Randy Orton. Following The Legacy's dissolution, DiBiase moved into singles competition and received the Million Dollar Championship from his father Ted DiBiase.


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: DiBiase left WWE in 2013 due to family commitments and other business pursuits. He continued to wrestle on the independent circuit until his retirement in 2017.


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: DiBiase was born on November 8, 1982 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and was raised in Clinton, Mississippi. He knew fellow professional wrestler Christie Ricci as a child, as they attended a Sunday school class together. He graduated from Clinton High School in 2001. At Clinton, DiBiase was the football team's starting quarterback. He enrolled at Mississippi College in Clinton and was a starting wide receiver for Mississippi College's football team before leaving the squad following his freshman season. He also played soccer in college, and received awards in both sports. He graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Business Administration. During his time in college, DiBiase considered becoming a minister.


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: DiBiase and his older brother Mike DiBiase, received professional wrestling training from Chris Youngblood in Amarillo, Texas, before going to train at Harley Race's Wrestling Academy. The DiBiase brothers made their professional wrestling debut on July 8, 2006 for World League Wrestling (WLW), the promotion run by Harley Race in Eldon, Missouri in conjunction with the Wrestling Academy. On February 17, 2007, they won the Fusion Pro Tag Team Championship by defeating Raheem Rashaad and Juntsi. In early 2007, DiBiase also wrestled on tours in Japan for Pro Wrestling Noah, where he competed against wrestlers including the former GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion, KENTA.


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: In July 2007, DiBiase signed a developmental deal with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and debuted in their training territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). He made his FCW debut on August 4 in a tag team match, in which he and Jake Hager defeated Keith Walker and Heath Miller. In October, DiBiase became a member of the Next Generation Hart Foundation faction alongside Harry Smith, TJ Wilson, Nattie Neidhart, and Teddy Hart. He quickly separated from the group, however, and gained Maryse as a valet. On December 18, 2007, DiBiase defeated TJ Wilson to win the FCW Southern Heavyweight Championship in New Port Richey, Florida. DiBiase, however, was unable to defend it due to an injury sustained, so he awarded the championship to his partner Heath Miller on January 19, 2008. As of March 2008, DiBiase had suffered from a multitude of injuries including sciatica, a fractured left knee, separated ribs, broken finger, and bone spurs in his elbow. Due to these injuries, DiBiase competed sporadically in FCW for the next few months, competing in both tag team and singles competition.


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: DiBiase made his WWE television debut as a villain on May 26, 2008, where he cut a promo about his intent to become a champion like his father, Ted DiBiase Sr., challenging the World Tag Team Champions, Cody Rhodes and Hardcore Holly. At the Night of Champions pay-per-view, DiBiase won the World Tag Team Championship in his first match in WWE, after Rhodes betrayed Holly, revealing himself to be DiBiase's partner. After holding the title for just over a month, they dropped it to John Cena and Batista on the August 4 episode of "Raw". The following week, DiBiase and Rhodes used their rematch clause to regain the title.


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: DiBiase and Rhodes were soon joined by Manu, forming a stable of multi-generation superstars. On the October 27 episode of "Raw", DiBiase and Rhodes lost their title to CM Punk and Kofi Kingston. It was during this time that Randy Orton became linked to Rhodes, DiBiase, and Manu on television, criticizing them in a mentor-type role. On the November 3 episode of "Raw", DiBiase was attacked by Orton, after he interfered in Orton's match. This storyline attack was to allow DiBiase to be written out of WWE storylines, so he could film the direct-to-video movie, "The Marine 2".


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: On the January 12, 2009, episode of "Raw", DiBiase returned to aid Manu and Sim Snuka in attacking Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton. Instead, however, DiBiase turned on them and helped Rhodes and Orton assault Manu and Snuka, thus joining The Legacy faction. As part of The Legacy, DiBiase entered the Royal Rumble match in order to help Orton win, and lasted until the final four, before being eliminated by Triple H. Rhodes and DiBiase became involved in Orton's scripted rivalry with the McMahon family, helping him to attack Shane and Stephanie McMahon, and Stephanie's real-life husband, Triple H. DiBiase was also elevated to main event status as a result of joining The Legacy, competing in handicap and six-man tag team matches, as well as the occasional singles match against Orton's opponents and rivals. On April 26, at the Backlash pay-per-view, DiBiase, Rhodes, and Orton defeated Triple H, Batista, and Shane McMahon in a six-man tag team match, which, per the pre-match stipulation, resulted in Orton winning the WWE Championship. During WWE's tour of Australia in early July, DiBiase suffered an arm injury, but did not miss any time because of it. Throughout mid-2009, DiBiase and Rhodes continued to compete against and attack Orton's rivals, particularly Triple H, preventing him from earning a match for Orton's championship. As a result, Triple H reformed D-Generation X (DX) with Shawn Michaels and they defeated DiBiase and Rhodes at SummerSlam. DiBiase and Rhodes later defeated DX in a submissions count anywhere match at the Breaking Point pay-per-view, before losing to DX in a Hell in a Cell match at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view in October.


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: Tension between the members of The Legacy began building in 2010, when Orton attacked DiBiase and Rhodes for accidentally costing him a chance to win the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. In February 2010, DiBiase defeated Mark Henry in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match, earning a chance to win the WWE Championship. At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, he eliminated Orton from the Elimination Chamber match, but was eliminated by Kofi Kingston soon after. On the February 22 episode of "Raw", Orton turned on The Legacy, believing they had a plan to turn on him, and in retaliation, they attacked Orton the following week. As a result, the three competed in a triple threat match at WrestleMania XXVI in which Orton defeated Rhodes and DiBiase.


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: After WrestleMania, DiBiase debuted a new gimmick of an arrogant millionaire, similar to his father's old gimmick. On the April 5 episode of "Raw", DiBiase was given possession of the Million Dollar Championship and access to a trust fund by his father. DiBiase then began looking for a "Virgil", a manservant like his father used to have. He offered the position to R-Truth, who refused, provoking a feud between the two. On the May 17 episode of "Raw", DiBiase revealed his "Virgil"—the original Virgil who had worked for his father. In his first singles pay-per-view match at Over the Limit, DiBiase was defeated by R-Truth. During the match, DiBiase suffered a concussion, but was able to appear on "Raw" the following night. On the June 21 episode of "Raw", DiBiase fired Virgil in favor of the managerial services of his on-screen girlfriend Maryse. In September 2010, DiBiase entered in a feud with Goldust over the Million Dollar Championship, after Goldust stole the title from him. On the November 15 episode of "Raw", Goldust returned the Million Dollar Championship belt to DiBiase Sr., who then offered to give it back to his son, but he refused the offer, proclaiming that he was interested in another belt. Later in the night DiBiase attacked WWE United States Champion Daniel Bryan, setting up a match at Survivor Series for the championship, in which he was unsuccessful. DiBiase was a Pro for the fourth season of "NXT", in which he and Maryse mentored Brodus Clay. On the January 25, 2011, episode of "NXT", Clay traded DiBiase for Alberto Del Rio as his Pro.


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: As part of the 2011 supplemental draft on April 26, DiBiase was moved to the SmackDown brand. In his first match on "SmackDown", DiBiase lost to his former tag team partner Cody Rhodes. The following week, DiBiase was accompanied to the ring by Rhodes. On the June 3 episode of "SmackDown", DiBiase lost to former rival, Daniel Bryan via submission. After the match, Rhodes and DiBiase attacked Bryan, but were stopped by Sin Cara. On the July 8 episode of "SmackDown", DiBiase teamed with Rhodes in a winning effort against the team of Bryan and Ezekiel Jackson. After DiBiase lost a match against Randy Orton on the August 26 episode of "SmackDown", Rhodes attacked him, ending their association.


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: On the September 16 episode of "SmackDown", as Rhodes was ridiculing the audience, DiBiase disguised himself as a fan by wearing a paper bag on his head before attacking Rhodes, turning into a fan favorite. DiBiase then challenged Rhodes for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at Night of Champions, but was unsuccessful. In a YouTube video published on September 22, DiBiase introduced his new gimmick to hold tailgating parties with fans just before WWE events, terming those who tailgated with him as the "DiBiase Posse"; DiBiase also acknowledged that mimicking his father's rich gimmick "didn't really work out".


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: In November 2011, Jinder Mahal chastised DiBiase about forsaking his wealthy upbringing to hang out with commoners, starting a feud and leading to DiBiase defeating Mahal on the December 9 episode of "SmackDown". Three weeks later, Mahal defeated DiBiase to conclude the feud. In January 2012, Hunico started a feud with DiBiase when Hunico was offended that he was not invited to one of DiBiase's Posse parties. Both traded victories in regular singles matches on "SmackDown", with DiBiase wrestling despite a wrist injury. Although DiBiase beat Hunico in a flag match, Hunico cheated to win the last match in the series in February. On March 6, DiBiase suffered a broken ankle during television tapings. That same month, DiBiase announced that he was undergoing shoulder surgery. DiBiase returned on September 16 at Night of Champions, participating in the pre-show WWE United States Championship number one contender battle royal, but was eliminated by Tensai. DiBiase's only televised match in 2013 saw him defeat Michael McGillicutty on the May 9 episode of "Superstars". On August 26, after suffering from depression and anxiety, DiBiase announced that he was not renewing his WWE contract, which expired on September 1.


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: DiBiase made his first wrestling appearance since leaving WWE on October 12, 2013, in the opening round of Family Wrestling Entertainment's Grand Prix tournament, defeating Colt Cabana. On October 18, 2013, DiBiase was announced to appear at Tommy Dreamer's House of Hardcore 3. At the event, he participated in a pre-show meet and greet. After that, he did not wrestle again until he had two matches for Mississippi-based promotion Pro Wrestling EGO in 2016 and 2017.


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: In May 2012, DiBiase started his own non-profit organization, the "Ted DiBiase Foundation". As part of the foundation, individuals with life-threatening illnesses or disabilities were offered the chance to meet DiBiase at WWE live events, and further programs for youth leadership and community causes are being developed. He also participates in programs as a leader for the Heart of David Ministry.


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: When DiBiase left WWE, he took up an executive position with CollegeGarageSale.com, a college textbook e-commerce website. He is now the vice president of business development for One Life.


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: In late 2008, DiBiase began filming the movie "The Marine 2", in which he plays the main character, Joe Linwood. "The Marine 2" is a direct-to-DVD-and-Blu-ray project, and was released on December 29, 2009. The film was DiBiase's first acting experience, and he spent six weeks in Thailand for filming. For the movie, DiBiase performed all his own stunts, which resulted in him separating the cartilage between two of his ribs during a fight scene.


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: On August 26, 2009, DiBiase appeared on the late-night talk show "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" along with Cody Rhodes, The Great Khali, and Big Show. He has his own YouTube show, "The DiBiase Posse", which focuses on his life outside of the ring.


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: DiBiase is a third-generation professional wrestler. His grandfather Iron Mike DiBiase, his grandmother Helen Hild and his father "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase are professional wrestlers. His older half-brother Mike and his younger full brother Brett are also former professional wrestlers. On March 27, 2010, DiBiase and his brother Brett inducted their father into the WWE Hall of Fame.


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: DiBiase married his high school sweetheart, Kristen, a nurse, on October 30, 2008. DiBiase and his wife have a son, who was born in 2012, and a daughter.


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: On February 15, 2008, DiBiase was arrested for DUI in Hillsborough County, Florida, after his Cadillac sport utility vehicle crashed into another vehicle. No one was seriously injured in the crash, but DiBiase failed a field sobriety test, and when breathalysed, was found to have a blood alcohol level of 0.137–0.138. He was released later that day on a $500.00 (US Dollar) bail bond.


title: Ted DiBiase Jr.

text: In May 2022, the Mississippi Department of Human Services sued DiBiase, his father and brother, retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre, and several others to recover more than $20 million in money "squandered" from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families anti-poverty program. He was also found to have played a major role in benefiting from speaking engagements which aided the controversy, with his companies Priceless Ventures LLC and Familiae Orientem receiving more than $3 million from nonprofit groups between 2017 and 2019.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: Vietnam Airlines () is the flag carrier of Vietnam. The airline was founded in 1956 and later established as a state-owned enterprise in April 1989. Vietnam Airlines is headquartered in Long Biên District, Hanoi, with hubs at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi and Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. The airline flies to 64 destinations in 17 countries, excluding codeshared services.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: From its inception until the early 1990s, Vietnam Airlines was a minor carrier within the aviation industry as it was hampered by a variety of factors including the socio-economic and political situation of the country. With the government's normalization of relations with the United States, the airline was able to expand, improve its products and services, and modernize its ageing fleet. In 1996, the Vietnamese government brought together 20 service companies to form Vietnam Airlines Corporation, with the airline itself as the centrepiece. In 2010, the corporation was restructured into a limited liability company and renamed Vietnam Airlines Company Limited. A seven-seat management board, members of which are appointed by the Vietnamese Prime Minister, oversees the company.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: As passenger transport constitutes its core activity, Vietnam Airlines plays a crucial role in the economic development of the country. It owns 100% of Vietnam Air Service Company – a regional airline in southern Vietnam and 70% of the low-cost carrier Pacific Airlines. In addition, the corporation earns revenue from airline catering and the maintenance and overhauling of aircraft through a number of its subsidiaries, including Vietnam Airlines Engineering Company and Vietnam Airlines Caterers. The company has also diversified its investments in the aircraft-leasing and airport ground-servicing industries, and is looking to manufacture aircraft components. It controls and operates a cargo division, Vietnam Airlines Cargo.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: Vietnam Airlines became a member of SkyTeam in June 2010, making it the first Southeast Asian carrier to have joined that alliance. As of July 2016, the State's stake in Vietnam Airlines is 86.16%, All Nippon Airways holds 8.77%, as the parent company (ANA Holdings) has successfully purchased a cost of US$109 million, becoming a strategic shareholder of the national flag carrier.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: Vietnam Airlines has its origins in , when it was established by the North Vietnamese government under the name Vietnam Civil Aviation () following the nationalization of Gia Lam Airport. It was instituted after the government signed the Decree No. 666/TTg. The airline was created as part of the air force for civilian purposes with support from both the Soviet Union and China; initially, its fleet consisted of two Lisunov Li-2s that were later replaced by two Ilyushin Il-14 and three Aero Ae-45s. This was due to an embargo that prohibited the airline from leasing and/or buying American technology or components.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: The airline's development and expansion was seriously hampered by the Vietnam War (1954–1975). Following the war, its first international destination was Beijing, followed by Vientiane in 1976. During that year, the airline was known as "General Department of Civil Aviation in Vietnam", and began full operations; it carried around 21,000 passengers, one-third of whom were on international flights, and of cargo. In 1978, another important destination of Vietnam Airlines was added, with flights offered to Bangkok. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the expansion of the network to Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Singapore.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: In 1990, the company initiated discussions regarding the incorporation of Western-built aircraft into the fleet. Later that year, however, the carrier had to cancel the acquisition of two Airbus A310s due to their use of US-manufactured engines. By , the airline struck a wet-lease agreement with Dutch lessor TransAvia. The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-300, that arrived in Vietnam Airlines' livery. However, the aircraft was returned after the U.S. State Department pressured the Dutch lessor to remove the aircraft from Vietnam. Subsequently, Vietnam Airlines organized a similar but more complicated deal with TEA Basle, who spent the rest of 1991 negotiating a deal with US authorities. Eventually, a solution stating that "[the Boeing 737] must be positioned outside Vietnam, with no logo or lettering of Vietnam Airlines. On these conditions, it could operate on behalf of Vietnam Airlines" was reached. In , Cathay Pacific and Vietnam Airlines agreed on a 50–50 joint venture to operate between Hong Kong and Vietnam, as the airline's Tupolev Tu-134 fleet did not meet Kai Tak Airport's noise restrictions.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: In , the Boeing 737 was supplemented with an Airbus A310. However, a dispute with Bulgarian Jes Air over who should pay for the repairs after the aircraft sustained an engine failure led to its replacement with another A310 from GATX, also operated by Jes Air. A similar dispute with United Technologies encouraged the airline to switch from Airbus to Boeing. Hence, a Boeing 767-200ER, leased from Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services (AWAS), arrived in January 1993, and a Royal Brunei Airlines Boeing 767-300ER, arrived the following year. In October 1993, the first Airbus A320-200 was incorporated over a two-year wet-lease contract with Air France. Vietnam Airlines by now had started discussions with Air France about a partnership, and the French carrier agreed to lease its Airbuses to Vietnam Airlines, and also to provide customer support and pilot/crew training. By that time the route network had further expanded internationally, seeing the incorporation of destinations such as Paris, Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Sydney, and Melbourne. In 1993, the airline carried 1.06 million passengers, 418,000 of whom were on international flights.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: The airline became the flag carrier of Vietnam in 1993, after having completed a restructuring programme that was started four years earlier. In that year, the airline split from the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) and became a state enterprise. The move was similar to the reorganization of the Chinese CAAC Airlines into several regional airlines in 1987. Despite the fact that the airline gained some independence from the CAAV, it was still known as "Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam" within the 1993–1996 period.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: In , US President Bill Clinton lifted the trade embargo to allow Vietnam Airlines the ability to acquire Western-built aircraft. Consequently, Vietnam Airlines announced in April of the same year that it would be phasing out its inefficient Soviet planes. By , the fleet consisted of Airbus A320s (all of them leased from Air France), Antonov An-24s, ATR72s, Boeing 707-300s, Ilyushin Il-18s, Tupolev Tu-134s and Yakovlev Yak-40s; at this time the route network comprised domestic destinations (including Ban Me Thuot, Da Nang, Dien Bien Phu, Hue, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc and Pleiku) and international destinations (including Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore). On , the airline, along with a number of other aviation-related businesses, were incorporated to establish "Vietnam Airlines Corporation". Two Fokker 70s were purchased in mid-1995 for  million; they were aimed at partly replacing the Tu-134 fleet on domestic routes as well as at serving as VIP transport. In , discussions with GECAS for the lease of additional, second-hand Boeing 767-300ERs were under way; these ex-Continental Airlines aircraft would act as a replacement for wet-leased Boeing 767 aircraft ( -300ERs and -200ER leased from AWAS and Royal Brunei) in the fleet.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: In , Vietnam Airlines started offering business class services and in 1999, the airline launched its frequent-flyer program, Golden Lotus Plus; During 1996, Vietnam Airlines looked for aircraft which would substitute the A320s wet-leased from Air France when the deal was over. Apart from acquiring further A320s, the airline considered Boeing 737s and McDonnell Douglas MD-90s. In , GECAS delivered the of Boeing 767-300ER to the carrier, on dry-lease for years. In the same year, Boeing 767-300ERs and a Boeing 767-200, on lease from AWAS and Royal Brunei Airlines, respectively, were returned to the lessors, but in early another Boeing 767-300ER was phased in on a one-year lease from AWAS. With its freedom to operate Western-built aircraft, Vietnam Airlines considered the acquisition of long-haul aircraft to better service Vietnamese living overseas. The Airbus A340, Boeing 747 and the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 were topics of discussion. Meanwhile, two Fokker 70s were acquired in May and July to replace the twelve Tupolev Tu-134s. On 3 September 1997, the crash of a Tupolev Tu-134B, on approach to Phnom Penh Pochentong Airport in bad weather, resulted in more than fatalities.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: In , Vietnam Airlines signed a historic agreement with Boeing for the acquisition of its first ever US-built aircraft, signalling the start of trade under the Bilateral Trade Agreement between the two countries. The deal involved four Boeing 777-200ERs. The transaction was valued at  million; the first aircraft was initially scheduled for delivery in . These four aircraft, along with six others of the same type that are leased from International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), are the flagships of the airline, and serve on medium and long-haul routes, respectively. During that year, the airline carried 3.4 million passengers, 1.9 million of whom were on domestic flights; flights to Beijing resumed and services to Kunming were launched. During 2002, Vietnam Airlines considered a lease offer from Airbus for two Airbus A340-300s. On 4 September 2003, a landmark ceremony celebrated the airline's receipt of its first Boeing 777-200ER purchased outright from Boeing. On 28 October, the airline decided to move its operations in Moscow from Sheremetyevo International Airport to Domodedovo International Airport.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: In , Vietnam Airlines ordered four Boeing 787-8s. Twelve additional 787-8s were ordered in late 2007, some of them to be directly acquired from the company, and the rest to be purchased by the carrier's subsidiary Vietnam Aircraft Leasing Company (VALC). These new aircraft were to allow Vietnam Airlines to expand its network and replace some leased aircraft. Regarding the delays from Boeing, CEO Pham Ngoc Minh remarked in , "We are not happy about the constant delays. It affects our business plan. We expected to get our planes in 2009, then 2010, and now nobody can confirm to us which is the exact delivery date. I can be patient but it gives us a lot of headaches." In 2010 the airline switched its Boeing 787 order from the to the model, stating that 787-8s did not meet all the requirements Boeing initially promised; it is expected the airline will receive its first aircraft of the type in 2015.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: On 20 June 2005, the airline launched direct services to Frankfurt after having discontinued services to Berlin. It came after the 2004–2005 period when travel between the two countries soared 70%. The following year, Vietnam Airlines was admitted into IATA. As part of the move, Vietnam Airlines had to meet the association's IOSA safety standards.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: According to a number of newspaper reports in 2007, the Vietnamese government planned to partly privatize Vietnam Airlines. In the plan, the government considered selling 20–30% of the airline's stake to outsiders, with the government holding the balance. This was a small part of a bigger proposal by the government to privatize its state-owned companies, due to be completed by 2010. Vietnam authorized the plan the following year; however, the plan was not carried out as the airline missed its deadline scheduled by the government, which was arranged for 2010, due to the Global Financial Crisis.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: On 1 October 2007, the airline and VALC signed a memorandum of understanding for the purchase of ten Airbus A350 XWBs, and 20 additional Airbus A321s. The Airbus A350s will supplement the Boeing 787s already ordered by the airline. This single order will result in Vietnam Airlines becoming one of the largest Airbus operators in Asia. The two companies also ordered five extra ATR 72-500s in .


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: Vietnam was chosen as the host of Miss World's 60th contest in 2008. As the country's national airline, Vietnam Airlines was selected as the sponsoring airline for the beauty pageant. Therefore, it was tasked the job of managing all the transport matters for the contest, to be carried out during September and October, just before the beginning of the competition. However, it was later decided to carry out the event in Sanya, China, following speculations of Vietnam withdrawing. In , Vietnam Airlines added Nagoya, the airline point served in Japan besides Fukuoka, Osaka and Tokyo, to the route network.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: In 2009, Vietnam Airlines and the Government of Cambodia established a joint-venture, having 49% and 51% stockholding, respectively, with the goal of boosting tourism in Cambodia. The joint-venture was a new Cambodian national airline named Cambodia Angkor Air, which started flying in July the same year, using ATR-72 aircraft; an Airbus A321 joined the fleet in September. Also in 2009, the carrier signed a deal for another 16 Airbus A321s plus two Airbus A350s, during the Paris Air Show. In addition, Vietnam Airlines launched a new bilingual website in to simplify bookings and adopted a new passenger service system designed by IT provider Sabre Airline Solutions.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: On 26 August 2010, the airline teamed up with Boeing during the unveiling of its interior modernization programme to increase passenger comfort. From late September to early October, Vietnam Airlines discounted up to 85% of its 90,000 fares to celebrate Thang Long-Hanoi's 1000th anniversary. In November 2010, the airline awarded Honeywell a  million contract to retrofit the Airbus A321s' aircraft flight systems, which is calculated to save Vietnam Airlines per aircraft per year.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: In , plans were announced by the airline to re-initiate an initial public offering (IPO) by the end of 2012; an earlier attempt was stalled by the 2007–2010 financial crisis. Scheduled for mid-2014 after several delays, the IPO and subsequent share-offerings will supply the funds to expand Vietnam Airlines' fleet and network. With the company valued at  billion, the government plans to initially keep 75% of the shares. The IPO plan was submitted to the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport in . Scheduled to commence on , the IPO has already received two submissions from foreign companies, yet their names have not been disclosed. The corporation will be restructured by 2015 to bring it in line with other state-owned enterprises and to shift its focus away from non-core businesses. Following restructuring, the airline group will consist of Vietnam Airlines itself, as well as three carriers; in total, the corporation will comprise 26 independently audited companies.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: In , Vietnam Airlines boosted its stake in the low-cost carrier Jetstar Pacific Airlines to 70%, with Qantas holding the balance. The Vietnamese flag carrier was the major shareholder in Vietnam's second largest airline, but its stake had been transferred to the Ministry of Finance, and subsequently to the Vietnamese State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC). The carrier's takeover of SCIC's stake in Jetstar Pacific will capitalise the low-cost carrier with  million, an amount that will be directed towards fleet renewal. In late , the aircraft lessor ALC announced the placement of an order for eight Boeing 787-9s, which will be leased to Vietnam Airlines; deliveries are expected to start in 2017. In late , the carrier signed an agreement with Vietnam's Eximbank for a loan worth  million, which the carrier will use to finance the acquisition of four Airbus A321s; a further  million was loaned in April 2013 to finance the purchase of eight Boeing 787s. In a deal valued at  billion, Vietnam Airlines signed a contract with General Electric in for 40 engines to power the Boeing 787 aircraft the airline has on order.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: In , a new route to Tokyo-Haneda from Hanoi was introduced. Vietnam Airlines received its first Airbus A350-900 in late , becoming the second operator of the type worldwide after Qatar Airways. In , the airline first Boeing 787-9 entered the fleet. In November 2018, the carrier received its first Airbus A321neo. Vietnam Airlines' participation in Cambodia Angkor Airlines ended in April 2020 when all the shares were sold to an undisclosed buyer, while acquiring all Qantas's stake in Jetstar Pacific, eventually rebranding the carrier as Pacific Airlines in the same year. In November 2021, Vietnam Airlines started its first direct non-stop service to the United States, from Ho Chi Minh City to San Francisco.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: Vietnam Airlines Company Limited was a limited liability company wholly owned by the government of Vietnam, having been restructured from Vietnam Airlines Corporation in June 2010 and then formally became Vietnam Airlines Joint Stock Company in 2015, which is considered as a "exceptional milestone" by the airline. Its role is to provide economic gains to the country, as its tasks, in addition to scheduled passenger and cargo transport, include "responsibility towards labor, contribution to the state budget, and providing chartered flights", according to former CEO Dao Manh Nhung. The airline is headed and overseen by a seven-seat management team, members of which are selected by the Prime Minister of Vietnam. , Dang Ngoc Hoa is the chairman of the company, whereas Le Hong Ha is the President and CEO. , the workforce of the Group numbered 21,255 employees with Vietnam Airlines itself employing 6,409 people. The airline is headquartered in the Long Bien District of Hanoi; previously it was headquartered at Gia Lam Airport in Gia Lam, Hanoi.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: When Vietnam Airlines wholly owned Pacific Airlines after Jetstar's withdrawal of stakes in this low-cost carrier, the Corporation has started to use the term Vietnam Airlines Group to refer a group consisting of three airlines owned by Vietnam Airlines including Vietnam Airlines (itself), Pacific Airlines and Vietnam Air Services Company.


title: Vietnam Airlines

text: In 2009, the airline, Airbus and ESMA Aviation Academy created Bay Viet Flight Training Company to train pilots in the country, with the expectation that up to 100 trainees would graduate annually. In October 2010, the company planned to train 60 pilots in Vietnam during 2011–2012. In 2010, Vietnam Airlines needed 636 pilots, 60% of whom were Vietnamese. It planned to raise that figure it to 75% by 2015, meaning there will be at least 100 new recruits each year from 2010 until 2015. Vietnam Airlines also contracts CAE Global Academy Phoenix in Arizona, United States, to train its cadets.