title: Queen Mary University of London

text: The Malta campus, situated on the island of Gozo, is part of Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. Students taught at the Malta campus are offered the same curriculum as taught in London, for the MBBS Medicine and Medicine Foundation programmes.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: The Harold Pinter Drama Studio is the main teaching and performance space of the students and staff of the Department of Drama. On 26 April 2005, Harold Pinter, who was to win the Nobel Prize in Literature later that year, gave a public reading and was interviewed by his official authorised biographer, Michael Billington, in the studio named for Pinter and located as part of the Faculty of Arts (Department of Drama, School of English and Drama) in the Mile End campus, to celebrate its refurbishment.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: Queen Mary and Westfield College was established by Act of Parliament and the granting of a Royal charter in 1989, following the merger of Queen Mary College (incorporated by charter in 1934) and Westfield College (incorporated in 1933). The Charter has subsequently been revised three times: in 1995 (as a result of the merger of the college with the Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry); in 2008 (as a result of the Privy Council awarding the College Degree Awarding Powers; and in July 2010 (following a governance review).


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: There are three faculties and an interdisciplinary life sciences institute. These are split further into independent schools, institutes, and departments:


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: Queen Mary is an 'exempt charity' under the Charities Act 1993. The Higher Education Funding Council for England has been Queen Mary's principal regulator since June 2010.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: In the financial year ended 31 July 2011, Queen Mary had a total income (including share of joint ventures) of £297.1 million (2009/10 – £289.82 million) and total expenditure of £295.35 million (2009/10 – £291.56 million). Key sources of income included £100.02 million from funding body grants (2009/10 – £103.97 million), £82.8 million from tuition fees and education contracts (2009/10 – £76.22 million), £73.66 million from research grants and contracts (2009/10 – £68.47 million) and £1.17 million from endowment and investment income (2008/09 – £1.48 million). During the 2010/11 financial year Queen Mary had a capital expenditure of £42.53 million (2009/10 – £45.61 million).


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: At year end Queen Mary had endowments of £33.59 million (2009/10 – £29.95 million) and total net assets of £300.79 million (2009/10 – £291.38 million).


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: Queen Mary offers several packages of bursaries and scholarships, many of which are aimed at supporting undergraduate students from low income households. In 2017/18, 5,215 students were awarded a Queen Mary Bursary worth £7,724,401, 53 students received Science and Engineering Excellence Scholarships worth £157,500 and 21 students received Economics and Finance Excellence Scholarships worth £63,000.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: Around 32,000 students study at the 21 academic schools and institutes, with over 40 percent coming from overseas, representing over 170 different nationalities. Queen Mary awarded over £2 million in studentships to prospective postgraduate students for the 2011/12 academic year.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: QMUL was ranked joint ninth in the UK amongst multi-faculty institutions for the quality (GPA) of its research. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework it was 20th for its Research Power, fifth in the UK for the quality of research outputs and the Linguistics department was ranked first in the UK.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: In the UK Research Assessment Exercise results published in December 2008, Queen Mary was placed 11th according to an analysis by "The Guardian" newspaper and 13th according to "The Times Higher Education Supplement", out of the 132 institutions submitted for the exercise. "The Times Higher" commented "the biggest star among the research-intensive institutions was Queen Mary, University of London, which went from 48th in 2001 to 13th in the 2008 Times Higher Education table, up 35 places."


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: Since 2007 Queen Mary University of London's "Centre for Digital Music" develops the free and open source software "Sonic Visualizer" for audio analysis, in particular for analyzing audio spectrograms. With over 100,000 downloads, it is the most famous software for its category.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: The QS World University Rankings 2019 ranked Queen Mary third in the world for research citations for the subject of medicine.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: The growth and strength of research at the college was rewarded with an invitation to join the Russell Group of research-intensive universities in the UK in 2012.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: The university is also a member of the Screen Studies Group, London. Other research highlights include an international team of scientists, led by astronomers at Queen Mary, discovering a planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Solar System. In 2018, a project involving Queen Mary researchers reached its goal of sequencing 100,000 whole genomes from National Health Service patients.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: Queen Mary's main library is located on the Mile End campus where most subjects are represented. It also has two medical libraries in Whitechapel and West Smithfield. Usual opening hours are 8am to midnight. Since September 2017, the Mile End Library has been open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week during term time (including bank holidays).


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: As members of a college of the University of London, students at Queen Mary have access to Senate House Library, shared by other colleges such as King's College London and University College London, in addition to library access throughout most of the individual University of London colleges, subject to approval at the given University.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: Queen Mary offers a joint degree programme with Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications. This was the first of its kind to be approved by the PRC Ministry of Education, it is taught 50% by each institution in English. In Beijing staff from Queen Mary teach part of the programme and the students receive two degrees, one from each university. The programmes are in Telecommunications and Management and Ecommerce Engineering and Law. Almost 2,000 students are studying on these programmes in 2009 and the first cohort graduated in the Summer of 2008. The joint programmes have been praised by the UK Quality Assurance Agency; the PRC Ministry of Education; and the UK Institution of Engineering and Technology.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: Queen Mary collaborated with Royal Holloway to help run programmes at the University of London Institute in Paris (ULIP) which is a central academic body of the University of London located in Paris, France, enabling undergraduate and graduate students to study University of London ratified French Studies degrees in France. From September 2016, Queen Mary took over the functions provided by Royal Holloway and all students are now considered registered students of Queen Mary.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: Queen Mary provides academic guidance for the Global Master of Business Administration degree offered by the University of London's distance learning.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: Queen Mary is a founding partner in UCLPartners, an academic health science centre located in London. Queen Mary joined UCLPartners in 2011.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: In terms of average UCAS points of entrants, Queen Mary ranked 32nd in Britain in 2014. The university gives offers of admission to 75.0% of its applicants, the 12th lowest amongst the Russell Group.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: According to the 2017 "Times" and "Sunday Times" Good University Guide, approximately 12% of Queen Mary's undergraduates come from independent schools. In the 2016–17 academic year, the university had a domicile breakdown of 68:10:22 of UK:EU:non-EU students respectively with a female to male ratio of 54:46.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: In the 2022 "QS World University Rankings" Queen Mary ranked 117th worldwide. "Times Higher Education World University Rankings" 2021 ranked Queen Mary 110th in the world. "Academic Ranking of World Universities" 2020 ranks Queen Mary between 201 and 300 in the world. The university was ranked 51st in the world in the "CWTS Leiden Ranking" 2018. 2021 "U.S. News & World Report" ranks Queen Mary as 114th in the world.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: Queen Mary was ranked 11th in Europe in the "CWTS Leiden Ranking" 2016. The university was ranked 47th in the 2017 "U.S. News & World Report" Best Global Universities in Europe. 2017 "Times Higher Education" ranked Queen Mary equal 46th among European universities.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: In 2019, "QS World Universities" ranked both the schools of Law and English Literature and Language 32nd in the world, with the schools of Geography, History, Linguistics and Medicine all making top 100. In 2020, Law at Queen Mary University of London was ranked 30th in the world and seventh in the UK.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: The Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry has been ranked as the 15th best medical school in the UK by "The Guardian" and, globally, is ranked ninth by the QS World University Rankings.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: According to "Times Good University Guide 2020" strong subject areas for Queen Mary University are Dentistry (5), Medicine (8), Materials Technology (11) and Drama, Dance and Cinematics (17).


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: Several other departments within the university are also internationally respected. Among them are the School of Economics and Finance, the School of Politics and International Relations and the School of Engineering and Material Sciences.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: Queen Mary ranks eighth in the UK in the "CWTS Leiden Ranking" 2016. Queen Mary ranks 13th in the "U.S. News & World Report" Best Global Universities in the United Kingdom, and fifth in London. In "Times Higher Education" Best universities in the UK 2017, it has been ranked 15th. "The Guardian" ranks Queen Mary in the "University league tables 2017" first for Media & Film Studies, second for Medicine in the UK, third in the UK for Dentistry, ninth for History in the UK, fifth for Law in the UK. "The Complete University Guide" 2019 ranks Queen Mary 38th overall.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: The 2014 "Research Excellence Framework" ranked Queen Mary equal ninth with the University of Edinburgh and University of Bristol.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: Queen Mary students feature in the top 10 in the UK for graduate starting salaries, according to "The Times and Sunday Times University League Table" 2016.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: Queen Mary Students' Union (QMSU) unites the various clubs and societies of Queen Mary. The union is based at the recently refurbished Students' Hub. The elected representatives within the union are made up of a president and five vice-presidents. The union mascot is a leopard called Mary. The union has a sub-division to represent students studying at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, called Barts and The London Students' Association.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: The Students' Union Hub replaces the previous office called the Blomley Centre. It is named after a former president and VP Education, Laura Blomeley, who completed her term in office with terminal cancer. In remembrance of her commitment to QMSU, two key rooms in the new Students' Union Hub have been named after her.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: The Merger Cup is a series of annual sporting fixtures played between Queen Mary and Barts and The London (BL) sports clubs. The event has taken place since the merger of the two institutions in 1995.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: The results of a number of matches normally played on the same day are combined to determine the overall winner. Sporting fixtures include badminton, basketball, football, hockey, netball, rugby, squash, swimming, tennis and rowing.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: In recent times Queen Mary have won the cup in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. 2009 saw the cup return to the medical school with a 9–7 victory over Queen Mary, but a close 10–9 win brought it back to Queen Mary in 2010. In 2011, Barts and The London were Merger Cup winners. In 2012 QM won with a 15–7 defeat of BL, QM were also victorious in 2013. In 2014 Barts dominated 29–24, winning most major sports in the process. In 2016, Barts won against Queen Mary 67–37.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: The university has an alumni football club, Queen Mary College Old Boys FC, which was founded in 1989 and maintains close links with university. The club has three teams and competes in the Amateur Football Combination The club's 1st XI won four league titles in five seasons, including two league and London Old Boys Cup doubles


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: Many Queen Mary students are accommodated in the college's own halls of residence or other accommodation; students are also eligible to apply for places in the University of London intercollegiate halls of residence, such as Connaught Hall.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: Most students in college or university accommodation are first-year undergraduates or international students. The majority of second and third-year students and postgraduates find their own accommodation in the private sector.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: The college's Westfield Student Village, situated in the north-east corner of the Mile End Campus, has en-suite, self-catering housing for 1,195 students, staff and academic visitors in six contemporary buildings. A shop, laundrette, café bar, 200-seat restaurant and central reception (staffed 24 hours a day), and a communal area situated adjacent to the Regents canal, form part of the Village development. Rooms are arranged in flats and maisonettes housing between four and eleven students.


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: Notable current and former staff of Queen Mary and of the institutions historically merged to from the current university include:


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: To date, Queen Mary has had a total of 22 principals (11 of Westfield College, eight of Queen Mary College, and three since the merger of Queen Mary, Westfield, Barts, and The London).


title: Queen Mary University of London

text: The current principal is Colin Bailey, a structural engineer, who became Principal in September 2017.


title: Concierge

text: A concierge () is an employee of a multi-tenant building, such as a hotel or apartment building, who receives guests. The concept has been applied more generally to other hospitality settings and to personal concierges who manage the errands of private clients.


title: Concierge

text: The concierge serves guests of an apartment building, hotel, or office building with duties similar to those of a receptionist. The position can also be maintained by a security guard over the late night shift. In medieval times, the concierge was an officer of the king who was charged with executing justice, with the help of his bailiffs. Later on in the 18th century, the concierge was a high official of the kingdom, appointed by the king to maintain order and oversee the police and prisoner records.


title: Concierge

text: In 19th-century and early 20th-century apartment buildings, particularly in Paris, the concierge was known as a "Suisse", as the post was often filled by Swiss people. They often had a small apartment on the ground floor, called "la loge", and were able to monitor all comings and goings. However, such settings are now extremely rare; most concierges in small or middle-sized buildings have been replaced by the part-time services of door-staff. Some larger apartment buildings or groups of buildings retain the use of concierges. The concierge may, for instance, keep the mail of absented dwellers, be entrusted with the apartment keys to deal with emergencies when residents are absent, provide information to residents and guests, provide access control, enforce rules, and act as a go-between for residents and management when management is not on-site.


title: Concierge

text: In hotels or resorts, a concierge assists guests by performing various tasks such as making restaurant reservations, booking hotels, arranging for spa services, recommending night life hot spots, booking transportation (like taxi, limousines, airplanes, boats, etc.), coordinating porter service (luggage assistance request), procuring tickets to special events, and assisting with various travel arrangements and tours of local attractions. Concierges also assist with sending and receiving parcels.


title: Concierge

text: In hospitals, concierge services are becoming increasingly available. A hospital concierge provides similar services to those of a hotel concierge, but serves patients and employees as well. This helps hospital employees who work long shifts, and helps to provide work-life balance.


title: Concierge

text: There are numerous independent personal concierge companies that provide errand services and information services for their members. Services include informational requests, setting dinner reservations, making telephone calls, researching travel arrangements and more. Typically, concierge companies will bill on an hourly rate, and depending upon the type of task, fees can vary drastically. Other companies bill a flat monthly fee based upon the number of requests a member is allowed to place each month. In the United Kingdom, since the year 2000 and as of 2010, concierge has become a key marketing and loyalty tool in the banking sector and offered as a benefit on luxury credit cards. This service offering is also known as lifestyle management. Concierges also entertain their clients.


title: Concierge

text: Additionally, concierge services are now frequently offered as a service by financial institutions to their most valuable clients as way of retaining and attracting clients. Lifestyle and travel concierge companies often offer their service as a white-label or semi-branded product on a business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) basis. Banks who currently offer concierge services to clients include Coutts, China Merchants Bank, RBC and HSBC.


title: Concierge

text: Airport concierge services help travellers make it through security, customs, and immigration faster, and provide lounge access.


title: Concierge

text: The owners and operators of concierge, lifestyle management and errand service businesses are supported and advocated by the non-profit International Concierge and Lifestyle Management Association (ICLMA) and the National Concierge Association.


title: Concierge

text: The French word "concierge" is likely derived from the Old French "cumcerges", itself related to the Medieval Latin "consergius" or the Latin "conservus" ("fellow slave").


title: Concierge

text: Another possibility, suggested by French authors as early as the 19th century, is that "concierge" is a contraction of "comte des cierges" ("count of candles"), a servant responsible for maintaining the lighting and cleanliness of medieval palaces.


title: I'll Be Missing You

text: "I'll Be Missing You" is a song by American rapper Puff Daddy and American singer Faith Evans, featuring R&B group 112, in memory of fellow Bad Boy Records artist (and Evans's husband) Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, who was murdered on March 9, 1997. Released as the second single from Puff Daddy and the Family's debut album, "No Way Out" (1997), "I'll Be Missing You" samples the Police's 1983 hit song "Every Breath You Take" with an interpolated chorus sung by Evans and interpolated rhythm. The song also interpolates the 1929 Albert E. Brumley hymn "I'll Fly Away" and features a spoken intro over a choral version of Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings".


title: I'll Be Missing You

text: At the 40th Annual Grammy Awards, the song won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. The single spent eleven weeks atop the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and reached number one in 15 other countries; it was the best-performing single of 1997 in Iceland, the Netherlands (Dutch Top 40), and Romania. With shipments of over three million copies in the United States and over one million in both Germany and the United Kingdom, the song has become one of the best-selling singles of all time.


title: I'll Be Missing You

text: "I'll Be Missing You" is based on a sample of the 1983 single "Every Breath You Take" by The Police. It also uses an interpolation of the "Every Breath You Take" melody, sung by Biggie's widow, Faith Evans. Permission was not given for use of the sample, and Police songwriter Sting sued, receiving 100% of the song royalties. Sting reportedly earns $2,000 a day from royalties for the track. Police guitarist Andy Summers called the sample "a major rip-off", and told the A.V. Club: "I found out about it after it was on the radio ... I’d be walking round Tower Records, and the fucking thing would be playing over and over. It was very bizarre while it lasted." Sting later performed the song alongside Puff Daddy and Evans at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards in September.


title: I'll Be Missing You

text: The track also reuses the melody from the hymn 'I'll Fly Away". Combs's verses were composed by rapper Sauce Money. Combs had originally asked Jay-Z to write the track, but he turned it down and suggested that Sauce Money write the track instead.


title: I'll Be Missing You

text: Tom Sinclair from "Entertainment Weekly" gave "I'll Be Missing You" a grade of D, and described it as a "maudlin 'tribute' to the Notorious B.I.G., [in which] the late rapper's former mentor (Puff Daddy) and wife (Faith Evans) team up to say their farewells to the big man on a song that 'samples' the Police's 'Every Breath You Take'. With lyrics like 'Know you're in heaven, smiling down/Watching us while we pray for you,' 'I'll Be Missing You' gives the lie to those who claim hip-hoppers are above self-serving sentimentality." British magazine "Music Week" rated the song four out of five, calling it a "dignified tribute". Also James Hyman from "RM" gave it four out of five, noting that "once again, blatant plundering from an Eighties groove forms the basis for an instant pop-rap crossover." Freelance music writer Jeremy Simmonds described the song as "somewhat turgid". Ian Hyland from "Sunday Mirror" rated it nine out of ten, commenting, "Not the greatest rap I've ever heard but this tribute to murdered rapper Notorious B.I.G. is going to be H.U.G.E. In a mish-mash of The Police's Every Breath You Take and John Waite's Missing, the highlight is Faith Evans' amazing voice."


title: I'll Be Missing You

text: "I'll Be Missing You" topped many charts across the world. It reached number one in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Flanders, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.


title: I'll Be Missing You

text: The song debuted at number one on the US "Billboard" Hot 100, and the only rap song by a male to do so until Eminem's "Not Afraid" debuted at the top spot 13 years later in 2010. The song spent a record-breaking 11 weeks at number one on the Hot 100, making it the longest running number one hip hop song in history until Eminem's "Lose Yourself" spent 12 weeks at number one in 2002.


title: I'll Be Missing You

text: The song re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number 32 on July 8, 2007, 10 years after it had its full physical release and 10 years after it was number one. As of July 2013, "I'll Be Missing You" is the 22nd best-selling song all-time in the UK.


title: I'll Be Missing You

text: A music video was made to accompany the song, directed by American director Hype Williams and shot in Chicago. Portions of the video were filmed in the Helmut Jahn designed moving walkway tunnel that connects Concourses B and C in Terminal 2 at the O'Hare International Airport. The music video was added to BET and MTV on the week ending on May 11, 1997.


title: Rudy Ray Moore

text: Rudolph Frank Moore (March 17, 1927October 19, 2008), known as Rudy Ray Moore, was an American comedian, singer, actor, and film producer. He created the character Dolemite, the pimp from the 1975 film "Dolemite" and its sequels, "The Human Tornado" and "The Dolemite Explosion" (aka "The Return of Dolemite"). The persona was developed during his early comedy records. The recordings often featured Moore delivering profanity-filled rhyming poetry, which later earned Moore the nickname "the Godfather of Rap." Actor and comedian Eddie Murphy portrayed Moore in the 2019 film "Dolemite Is My Name".


title: Rudy Ray Moore

text: Moore was born and raised in and lived in the Johnson House on 1400 North 12th Street Fort Smith, Arkansas, and eventually moved to Akron, Ohio, and then Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In Milwaukee, he preached in churches and worked as a nightclub dancer. He returned to Akron, working in clubs as a singer, dancer, and comedian, often appearing in character as Prince DuMarr. He joined the US Army and served in an entertainment unit in Germany, where he was nicknamed the Harlem Hillbilly for singing country songs in an R&B style. He developed an interest in comedy in the Army after expanding on a singing performance for other servicemen.


title: Rudy Ray Moore

text: After his honorable discharge he lived in Seattle, Washington and then Los Angeles, where he continued to work in clubs and was discovered by record producer Dootsie Williams. He recorded rhythm and blues songs for the Federal, Cash, Ball, Kent, and Imperial labels between 1955 and 1962, and released his first comedy albums, "Below the Belt" (1961), "The Beatnik Scene" (1962), and "A Comedian Is Born" (1964).


title: Rudy Ray Moore

text: By his own account, he was working at the world famous Dolphin's of Hollywood record store in Los Angeles, California in 1970 when he began hearing obscene stories of "Dolemite" recounted by a local man named Rico. Moore recorded a number of street poets, including Big Brown who, before he moved to Los Angeles, had been an influence on Bob Dylan, among other artists, while living in Greenwich Village. (Dylan said Brown's poetry was the best poetry he had ever heard.) In 1973, Moore produced Brown's album, "The First Man of Poetry, Big Brown: Between Heaven and Hell".


title: Rudy Ray Moore

text: According to Moore, there was a wino named Rico, and Moore heard him on the street corner doing all these raps and rhymes:


title: Rudy Ray Moore

text: Moore began recording the stories, and assumed the role of "Dolemite" in his club act and on recordings. In 1970–71 he recorded three albums of material, "Eat Out More Often", "This Pussy Belongs To Me", and "The Dirty Dozens", where "with jazz and R&B musicians playing in the background, [Moore] would recite raunchy, sexually explicit rhymes that often had to do with pimps, prostitutes, players, and hustlers."


title: Rudy Ray Moore

text: Moore was influenced by more mainstream comedians such as Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor, as well as by traditions such as the Dozens. The recordings were usually made in Moore's apartment, with friends in attendance to give a party atmosphere. The album covers and contents were often too racy to be put on display in record stores, but the records became popular through word of mouth and were highly successful in Black American communities, where his "warped wit and anti-establishment outlook" were embraced.


title: Rudy Ray Moore

text: Moore spent most of his earnings from the records to finance the movie "Dolemite", which was filmed in January 1974. It was released and distributed nationally beginning in April 1975, and has been described as "one of the great blaxploitation movies" of the 1970s. The character was "the ultimate ghetto hero: a bad dude, profane, skilled at kung-fu, dressed to kill and hell-bent on protecting the community from evil menaces. He was a pimp with a kung-fu-fighting clique of prostitutes and he was known for his sexual prowess."


title: Rudy Ray Moore

text: The film was successful and was followed by "The Human Tornado", "The Monkey Hustle", and "Petey Wheatstraw: The Devil's Son-in-Law". Moore continued to release albums that appealed to his enduring fanbase through the 1970s and 1980s, but little of his work reached a white audience. His "rapid-fire rhyming salaciousness exceeded the wildest excesses" of Foxx and Pryor, and his highly explicit style kept him off television and major films. At the same time, Moore often spoke in his church and regularly took his mother to the National Baptist Convention. He said that: "I wasn't saying dirty words just to say them... It was a form of art, sketches in which I developed ghetto characters who cursed. I don't want to be referred to as a dirty old man, rather a ghetto expressionist."


title: Rudy Ray Moore

text: In 1997, Moore reprised his Dolemite character for a voiceover in the intro of Busta Rhymes' platinum album "When Disaster Strikes..."


title: Rudy Ray Moore

text: In 1999, Moore reprised his Dolemite character in an appearance on Snoop Dogg's album "No Limit Top Dogg."


title: Rudy Ray Moore

text: Also in the same year, footage (including audio) from the Dolemite Movie was used in Ol' Dirty Bastard‘s music video "Got Your Money“ (feat. Kelis).


title: Rudy Ray Moore

text: In 2000, Moore starred in "Big Money Hustlas", a movie created by and starring the rap-rock group Insane Clown Posse, in which he played Dolemite for the first time in over 20 years.


title: Rudy Ray Moore

text: In 2008, Moore reprised the character Petey Wheatstraw on the song "I Live for the Funk", which featured Blowfly and Daniel Jordan. It marked the first time Blowfly and Moore collaborated on the same record together, as well as the 30-year anniversary of the movie "Petey Wheatstraw"; it was also the final recording Moore made before his death.


title: Rudy Ray Moore

text: Moore never married. His long-time manager, Donald Randall, said in 2012 that Moore had both female and male lovers. Entertainer Stanton Z. LaVey, a friend of Moore's, said in 2019 that Moore was "very much bisexual, if not gay", and that his Dolemite persona helped cover it up.


title: Rudy Ray Moore

text: On October 19, 2008, Moore died in Akron, Ohio, of complications from diabetes. His mother, two brothers, a sister, a daughter, and grandchildren survived him.


title: Rudy Ray Moore

text: He came to be regarded as a major influence by many later rap stars. Snoop Dogg said that "without Rudy Ray Moore, there would be no Snoop Dogg, and that's for real."


title: Rudy Ray Moore

text: On June 7, 2018, it was announced that Craig Brewer would direct "Dolemite Is My Name" from a script by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski with Netflix producing and distributing and Eddie Murphy starring as Moore. Later that month, the rest of the principal cast was announced. In July 2018, Chris Rock and Ron Cephas Jones joined the cast. Principal photography began on June 12, 2018. In August 2019, the trailer was released. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019, and received a limited release on October 4, 2019, before digital streaming on October 25, 2019.


title: Rudy Ray Moore

text: In January 2022, a detailed biography, "Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself: The Authorized Biography of Rudy Ray Moore aka Dolemite" by Mark Jason Murray, was released. It was noted as the definitive story on Moore's entire life, career and legacy.


title: Skylines (film)

text: Skylines (stylized as SKYLIN3S, and also known as Skyline 3) is a 2020 American science fiction action film co-produced and directed by Liam O'Donnell which he wrote from a story he co-developed with producer Matthew E. Chausse. It is a sequel to "Beyond Skyline" (2017), and the third overall in the "Skyline" film series.


title: Skylines (film)

text: The film premiered at the London FrightFest Film Festival on October 25, 2020, and was released on December 18, 2020, in the United States in theaters and on Apple TV by Vertical Entertainment (all during the COVID-19 pandemic).


title: Skylines (film)

text: Picking up shortly after the previous film, Rose leads the human fleet against the aliens. The aliens, now called 'Harvesters', are onboard the "Armada", a mother ship in orbit of the Moon. After breaking through the enemy lines, Rose freezes before she can fire and one of her ships is destroyed. With the aliens preparing to fire on Earth, Rose is forced to destroy one of her own ships when it gets into the crossfire. She sacrifices thousands of humans, but succeeds in destroying the "Armada". Wracked with guilt, Rose vanishes while humanity rebuilds, living alongside billions of 'Pilots', freed alien-human hybrids.


title: Skylines (film)

text: Five years after the battle, Rose lives in a tent city near the ruins of London, avoiding resistance forces searching for her and keeping the aging effects of her hybrid nature at bay with the help of hyper-oxygenated blood transfusions prepared by her friend Dr. Mal. A viral pandemic strikes the Pilots and anyone using transplanted Pilot limbs. The virus eats the Pilots alive while reverting them back into their brainwashed state. Resistance leader Leon captures Rose and brings her before General Radford who reveals that the "Armada's" core drive warped to Cobalt One, the Harvester homeworld, before the ship's destruction. Only with the "Armada's" core drive do they have a chance of saving the Pilots. Rose reluctantly agrees to join the mission.


title: Skylines (film)

text: At Cobalt One, the team's ship crashes after a collision that leaves it running on emergency power. The crew of Rose, her Pilot adoptive brother Trent, Leon, Owens and Alexi find the planet filled with the bodies of dead Harvesters. There are also strange shadow creatures that appear to be mutations of the Harvesters. Alexi is heavily wounded and sacrifices herself with a pulse grenade to kill them. The team manages to reach the "Armada" where Rose is briefly possessed by the Harvester Matriarch, who accuses the humans of coming to destroy her species. Trent helps Rose to break free of the Matriarch's control and Rose realizes that the alien's telepathic influence was what caused her to freeze in the war. Now no longer afraid of who she is, Rose embraces her powers and steals the core drive. However, Owens betrays the others, infects Trent with the virus and flees with the core drive.


title: Skylines (film)

text: Rose and Leon later discover that Radford bombed Cobalt One prior to their arrival with a biological weapon, the same virus that is infecting the Pilots on Earth. As the two make their way back aboard the ship, Radford uses the core drive to destroy Cobalt One and the Harvesters in an act of genocide. He reveals to them that the virus was intended to peacefully euthanize the Pilots and destroy the Harvesters, but it had the unintended side effect of reverting the Pilots back into their brainwashed state. Having boarded the ship as well, the Matriarch kills Radford, intending to destroy the Earth in revenge. After realizing the truth about the virus, Owens attacks Zhi, who manages to fight him off. As the ship enters a wormhole, Owens falls into an energy field and is disintegrated. Trent, whom Leon manages to snap back to normal, knocks the Matriarch in as well, but has most of his body disintegrated in the process.


title: Skylines (film)

text: On Earth, Mal works on a cure, but the infected Pilots attack before she can finish testing it. The residents, including Mal, Kate, Grant and Huana, fight back and manage to eliminate the attacking Pilots at the cost of Grant and several others, only to have an army of thousands more approach from London. Arriving back just in the nick of time, Rose sucks all of the Pilots into her ship. With Mal's cure and her ship, they now have the power to cure all of the infected Pilots worldwide.


title: Skylines (film)

text: In the aftermath, Mal transplants Trent's brain into a new Pilot body, saving him. Zhi hacks into Radford's personal files and discovers the location of a prison where Radford had held anyone that he considered to be an enemy of the state, including Rose and Trent's long-missing father Mark Corley. Rose orders a course set for the prison, intending to rescue her adoptive father.


title: Skylines (film)

text: The film opened theatrically in Vietnam on December 11, and grossed $49,978 from 960 theaters in its opening weekend, ranking fifth with an average of $52 per theater. The film was pulled from 915 theaters in its second weekend, ranking eighth with $972 and a decrease of 98.1%.


title: Skylines (film)

text: Rotten Tomatoes gives the film approval rating based on reviews, with an average rating of . On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: Skylines (film)

text: In December 2020, writer/director O'Donnell announced plans to continue the series, with intentions to bring back the principal cast. That same month, Frank Grillo expressed interest in reprising his role in the series. In May 2022, it was announced Screen Media had acquired the international rights to the fourth "Skyline" film, titled "Skyline Radial". The film will be released in 2025.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (; 19 May 1913 – 1 June 1996) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth President of India, serving from 1977 to 1982. Beginning a long political career with the Indian National Congress Party in the independence movement, he went on to hold several key offices in independent India — as Deputy Chief minister of Andhra state and the first Chief Minister of United Andhra Pradesh, a two-time Speaker of the Lok Sabha and a Union Minister— before becoming the Indian president.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: Born in present-day Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, Reddy completed his schooling at Adayar and joined the Government Arts College at Anantapur. He quit to become an Indian independence activist and was jailed for participating in the Quit India Movement. He was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1946 as a Congress party representative. Reddy became the deputy chief minister of Andhra State in 1953 and the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh in 1956. He was a union cabinet minister under Prime Ministers Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi from 1964 to 1967 and Lok Sabha Speaker from 1967 to 1969. He later retired from active politics but returned in 1975, responding to Jayaprakash Narayan's call for "Total Revolution" against the Indira Gandhi Government.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: Elected to Parliament in 1977 as a candidate of the Janata Party, Reddy was unanimously elected Speaker of the Sixth Lok Sabha and three months later was elected unopposed as President of India. As president, Reddy worked with Prime Ministers Morarji Desai, Charan Singh and Indira Gandhi. Reddy was succeeded by Giani Zail Singh in 1982 and he retired to his farm in Anantapur. He died in 1996 and his "samadhi" is at Kalpally Burial Ground, Bangalore. In 2013, the Government of Andhra Pradesh commemorated Reddy's birth centenary.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: Reddy was born into a Telugu-speaking Hindu family in Illur village, Madras Presidency (present-day Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh) on 19 May 1913. He studied at the Theosophical High School at Adayar in Madras and later enrolled at the Government Arts College at Anantapur, an affiliate of the University of Madras, as an undergraduate. In 1958, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati bestowed the degree of Honorary Doctor of Laws on him because of his role in its founding.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: Reddy joined the Indian struggle for independence from the British Raj following Mahatma Gandhi's visit to Anantapur in July 1929 and dropped out of college in 1931. He was closely associated with the Youth League and participated in a student satyagraha. In 1938, Reddy was elected Secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Provincial Congress Committee, an office he held for ten years. During the Quit India Movement, he was imprisoned and was mostly in jail between 1940 and 1945. Released in March 1942, he was arrested again in August and sent to the Amraoti jail where he served time with activists T Prakasam, S. Satyamurti, K Kamaraj and V V Giri till 1945.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: Elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1946 as a Congress representative, Reddy became secretary of the Congress' legislature party. He was also a Member of the Indian Constituent Assembly from Madras. From April 1949 to April 1951, he was the Minister for Prohibition, Housing and Forests of the Madras State. Reddy lost the 1951 election to the Madras Legislative Assembly to the Communist leader Tarimela Nagi Reddy.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: In 1951, in a closely contested election, he was elected President of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee defeating N G Ranga. When the Andhra State was formed in 1953, T. Prakasam became its Chief Minister and Reddy became the deputy.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: After the formation of the state of Andhra Pradesh by incorporating Telangana with the Andhra State, Reddy became its first Chief Minister from 1 November 1956 to 11 January 1960. He was Chief Minister for a second time from 12 March 1962 to 20 February 1964, thus holding that office for over five years. Reddy was MLA from Sri Kalahasti and Dhone respectively during his stints as Chief Minister. The Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam multipurpose river valley projects were initiated during his tenure. The Government of Andhra Pradesh later renamed the Srisailam project to Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Sagar in his honour.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: The Congress governments under Reddy placed emphasis on rural development, agriculture and allied sectors. The shift towards industrialisation remained limited and was largely driven by the central government's investments in large public sector enterprises in the state. Reddy's first term as Chief Minister ended in 1960 after he resigned on being elected President of the Indian National Congress. In 1964, he resigned voluntarily following unfavourable observations made against the Government of Andhra Pradesh by the Supreme Court in the Bus Routes Nationalisation case.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: Reddy served thrice as President of the Indian National Congress at its Bangalore, Bhavnagar and Patna sessions during 1960 to 1962. At the Congress session at Goa in 1962, Reddy's speech stating India's determination to end the Chinese occupation of Indian territory and the irrevocable nature of the liberation of Goa was enthusiastically received by attendees. He was thrice member of the Rajya Sabha. From June 1964, Reddy was Union Minister of Steel and Mines in the Lal Bahadur Shastri government. He also served as Union Minister of Transport, Civil Aviation, Shipping and Tourism from January 1966 to March 1967 in Indira Gandhi's Cabinet.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: In the general elections of 1967, Reddy was elected to the Lok Sabha from Hindupur in Andhra Pradesh. On 17 March 1967, Reddy was elected Speaker of the Fourth Lok Sabha becoming only the third person to be elected Speaker of the house during their inaugural term. To emphasize the independence of the Speaker's office, Reddy resigned from the Congress Party. His term as Speaker was marked by several firsts including the admission of a No-Confidence Motion on the same day as the President's address to a joint session of Parliament, the handing down of a sentence of imprisonment for Contempt of the house and the setting up of the Committee on the Welfare of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. During his term as Speaker a defamation suit filed against him by an MP resulted in the Supreme Court's ruling that parliamentarians had complete freedom of speech in the House and that the courts had no say in such matters. Reddy described his role as being the 'watchman of the Parliament'. He however had several hostile encounters with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the House that proved costly when he became, two years later, the Congress Party's nominee to succeed Zakir Hussain as president.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: In 1969, following President Zakir Hussain's death, the Congress party nominated Reddy, a member of its Syndicate faction, as candidate for president although Prime Minister Indira Gandhi opposed him. She was forced to accept Reddy as the Congress party's official candidate and feared his election would allow the Syndicate to expel her from office. She asked Congress legislators to "vote according to their conscience" rather than blindly toe the Party line, in effect giving a call to support the independent candidate V V Giri. In a closely fought election held on 16 August 1969, V V Giri emerged victorious, winning 48.01 per cent of the first preference votes and subsequently getting a majority on counting the second preference votes. In the final tally, Giri had votes against the quota of votes required to be elected president and Reddy had votes. The election led to much discord within the Congress Party and culminated in the historic split of 1969 and the subsequent rise of Indira Gandhi in Indian politics.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: Subsequently, Reddy, who had resigned as Speaker of the Lok Sabha to contest the election, retired from active politics and moved back to Anantapur where he took to farming.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: In response to Jayaprakash Narayan's call for a Total Revolution, Reddy emerged from his political exile in 1975. In January 1977, he was made a member of the Committee of the Janata Party and in March, he fought the General Election from the Nandyal (Lok Sabha constituency) in Andhra Pradesh as a Janata Party candidate. He was the only non-Congress candidate to be elected from Andhra Pradesh. The Congress Party led by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was defeated, ending 30 years of Congress rule in India and a five party coalition with Morarji Desai as its leader came to power. Reddy was unanimously elected Speaker of the Sixth Lok Sabha on 26 March 1977. However he resigned a few months later to contest in the presidential elections of July 1977. Reddy's second term as Speaker lasted three months and 17 days and remains till date the shortest tenure for anyone to have held that post.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: The presidential election of 1977 was necessitated by the death in office of the incumbent Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed. Although Prime Minister Morarji Desai wanted to nominate danseuse Rukmini Devi Arundale for the post, she turned down the offer. Reddy was elected unopposed, the only President to be elected thus, after being unanimously supported by all political parties including the opposition Congress party. At 64, he was the youngest person to be elected President of India until Droupadi Murmu was elected President in 2022. He was also the only serious presidential candidate to have contested twice – in 1969 against V V Giri and in 1977. 37 candidates had filed their nominations for the presidency of whom 36 were rejected by the returning officer. Following these disqualifications, Reddy remained the only validly nominated candidate in the fray which made elections unnecessary. Reddy thus became the first person to be elected President of India without a contest and remains the only President to have been elected unopposed.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy was elected on 21 July 1977 and was sworn in as the sixth President of India on 25 July 1977. Reddy worked with three governments, with Prime Ministers Morarji Desai, Charan Singh and Indira Gandhi. Reddy announced, on the eve of India's thirtieth anniversary of Independence, that he would be moving out of the Rashtrapati Bhawan to a smaller accommodation and that he would be taking a 70 percent pay cut in solidarity with India's impoverished masses.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: Relations between Reddy and Desai soon soured over the latter's promotion of his son, Kanti Desai, in politics and over Desai's communication with Chief Ministers Vengala Rao and Channa Reddy on the issue of land ceilings in Andhra Pradesh. Following mass defections from the Janata Party and from the cabinet, Morarji Desai's 30-month-old government ended in July 1979 after he handed in his resignation to Reddy before a no-confidence motion could be tabled against his government in Parliament. Reddy's actions following Desai's resignation have been much debated. His decision to accept Desai's resignation before an alternative government created a ministerial vacuum in the executive according to H. M. Seervai. The faction of the Janata Party supporting Desai continued to have the support of 205 MPs as opposed to Charan Singh's 80 MPs. Reddy used presidential discretion in choosing Charan Singh as the next Prime Minister over a contending claim from Jagjivan Ram, the leader of the Janata Party.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: Following Desai's resignation and the fall of the Janata government headed by him, Reddy appointed Charan Singh as Prime Minister. This was on the condition that he should prove his majority on the floor of the House before the end of August. Singh was sworn in on 28 July 1979 but never faced Parliament to prove his majority when Reddy convened it on 20 August. Reddy had appointed him Prime Minister since he had produced a letter claiming to have a parliamentary majority with the support of the opposition Congress Party led by his rival, the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In return for her support, Gandhi demanded that a law establishing special courts to try her and her son Sanjay Gandhi be repealed – a proposition that was unacceptable to Charan Singh. Gandhi therefore withdrew her support, forcing Singh to resign. His government lasted 24 days and he never faced Parliament. The convention of appointing a Prime Minister in a hung House but with conditions on time to prove majority was later adopted by President R Venkataraman.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: Following Charan Singh's resignation, Reddy summoned Chandrashekhar and Jagjivan Ram to Rashtrapati Bhavan to look into the possibility of forming an alternate government. Reddy, convinced that they would not be able to form one, accepted Singh's advice and dissolved Lok Sabha, calling for a mid term election. Singh was asked to continue as the caretaker prime minister till a new government was sworn in after the election. Reddy's decision was met with angry denunciations and protests by members of the Janata Party who even threatened to have him impeached. Although heading a caretaker government, Singh proposed as many as seven ordinances on a broad range of matters from effecting changes in company law, providing state funding of elections and reservation of jobs for the backward classes. Reddy however refused to promulgate the ordinances arguing that such momentous changes could not be made by a caretaker government.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: In the elections of 1980, Indira Gandhi's party the Indian National Congress (I) returned to power by winning 351 seats in the Lok Sabha. Neither the Janata Party nor Charan Singh's Lok Dal won the 54 seats needed for recognition as the official opposition in Parliament. Indira was sworn in as Prime Minister by Reddy for what would become her last term in office in January 1980. Between 1980 and 1982 President Reddy led seven state visits abroad, visiting the USSR, Bulgaria, Kenya, Zambia, the UK, Ireland, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Yugoslavia. At home, as president, he signed an ordinance that gave the new government wide powers to imprison people for up to a year without trial under preventive detention and ordered the imposition of President's rule in nine opposition-ruled states on the advice of the government.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: Reddy was succeeded as president by Giani Zail Singh, who was sworn in on 25 July 1982. In his farewell address to the nation, Reddy criticised the failure of successive governments in improving the lives of the Indian masses and called for the emergence of a strong political opposition to prevent governmental misrule. Following his presidential term, the then Chief Minister of Karnataka Ramakrishna Hegde invited Reddy to settle down in Bangalore but he chose to retire to his farm in Anantapur. He died of pneumonia in Bangalore in 1996 at the age of 83. His "samadhi" is at Kalpally Burial Ground, Bangalore. Parliament mourned Reddy's death on 11 June 1996 and members cutting across party lines paid him tribute and recalled his contributions to the nation and the House.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: Reddy authored a book, "Without Fear or Favour: Reminiscences and Reflections of a President", published in 1989.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: Sanjiva Reddy's birth centenary was celebrated in 2013 by the Government of Andhra Pradesh with the concluding ceremony in Anantapur being addressed by President Pranab Mukherjee and with the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in attendance. The Postal Department of India released a commemorative stamp and special cover in honour of Reddy on the occasion of his birth centenary. In Hyderabad, there is the Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy College of Education. As part of the centenary celebrations of his birth, the Government of Andhra Pradesh has announced that it will rename the Andhra Pradesh State Revenue Academy, Reddy's alma mater the Government Arts College and the Government Medical College, Anantapur after the former president. In the 1960s, when he was Union Minister for Mines, a statue of him had been unveiled at Vijayawada by K. Kamaraj, the then president of the Congress Party, prompting Reddy to ask for its removal as he deemed the practice of erecting statues of people holding public office undesirable. A statue of Sanjiva Reddy, unveiled in 2005, stands at the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat (now Telangana Secretariat) in Hyderabad.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: "Neelam Sanjiva Reddy – President of India" is a 1982 short documentary film directed by Prem Vaidya & C. L. Kaul and produced by the Films Division of India, covering his term of presidency.


title: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

text: The character Mahendranath, Chief Minister of the fictional state of Afrozabad in former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao's novel, "The Insider", is based on Reddy, portraying his career in Andhra Pradesh and his political rivalry with Kasu Brahmananda Reddy.


title: Girl with Balloon

text: Girl with Balloon (also, Balloon Girl or Girl and Balloon) is a 2002-started London series of stencil murals by the graffiti artist Banksy, depicting a young girl with her hand extended toward a red heart-shaped balloon carried away by the wind. The locations for this work include street murals in Shoreditch and the South bank in London on the Waterloo Bridge and other murals were around London, though none remain there.


title: Girl with Balloon

text: Banksy has several times used variants of this design to support social campaigns: in 2005 about the West Bank barrier, in 2014 about the Syrian refugee crisis, and also about the 2017 UK election. A 2017 Samsung poll ranked "Girl with Balloon" as the United Kingdom's number one favourite artwork.


title: Girl with Balloon

text: In 2018, a framed copy of the work spontaneously shredded during an auction, by way of a mechanical device Banksy had hidden in the frame. Banksy confirmed that he was responsible for the shredding and gave the altered piece a new name, "Love is in the Bin". Sotheby's said it was "the first work in history ever created during a live auction."


title: Girl with Balloon

text: The locations for this work include Waterloo Bridge as well as other sites around London, though none still remain. A 2004 version of the mural was at an east London shop in Shoreditch, sold in 2007 for £37,200 at Sotheby's, and was removed by the Sincura Group in 2014 and sold for £500,000 in September 19, 2015.


title: Girl with Balloon

text: Several sets of limited edition prints of the work were produced, which became valuable over time. An initial set of 25 signed prints was produced in 2003, while a set of 150 signed prints and a set of 600 unsigned prints were produced in 2004/2005. In November 2015, one of the signed set of 150 was auctioned for £56,250, more than twice its estimated value.


title: Girl with Balloon

text: In August 2005, Banksy included it as part of a series of murals on the West Bank barrier, a variation called "Balloon Debate" of the girl floating above the wall while holding onto a bunch of balloons.


title: Girl with Balloon

text: In March 2014, the third anniversary of the Syria conflict, Banksy reworked the painting to depict a Syrian refugee and added the hashtag #WithSyria. On 13 March, the image was projected on the Eiffel Tower and Nelson's Column. An animated video was released, featuring animation based on Banksy's work, narration by Idris Elba, and music by Elbow. In the following weeks, the singer Justin Bieber got a tattoo based on the original art and posted a picture of it on Instagram before deleting it. Banksy posted this picture on his Facebook page with the comment "Controversial".


title: Girl with Balloon

text: In July 2017, a Samsung poll of 2,000 people from the United Kingdom asked participants to rank twenty pieces of British art. The poll's results listed "Balloon Girl" as the people's number one favourite artwork.


title: Girl with Balloon

text: A print of "Balloon Girl – Colour AP (Purple)" was sold in an auction in September 2020 for £791,250, making it the highest bidding price for a Banksy print and the most expensive print sold in an online auction.


title: Girl with Balloon

text: In early June 2017 before the United Kingdom general election, Banksy introduced a variant of "Girl with Balloon" with the balloon coloured with the Union Jack design. Banksy initially offered to send a free print of his art to registered voters in certain constituencies who could offer photographic proof they had voted against the Tories. The offer included a disclaimer: "This print is a souvenir piece of campaign material, it is in no way meant to influence the choices of the electorate." Banksy cancelled this offer on 6 June 2017 after the Electoral Commission warned him it could violate election bribery laws and invalidate the election's results in those constituencies.


title: Girl with Balloon

text: On October 5, 2018, a 2006 framed copy of the artwork was auctioned at Sotheby's selling for £1,042,000 – a record high for the artist. Moments after the closing bid, the artwork began to self-destruct by means of a hidden mechanical paper shredder that Banksy had built into the frame bottom. Only the lower half shredded. Banksy released an image of the shredding on Instagram with the words "Going, going gone..". Sotheby's said "We have not experienced this situation in the past where a painting spontaneously shredded", leading some market watchers to speculate the remains of the painting will be worth even more. Banksy released a video of the shredding and how the shredder was installed into the frame in case the picture ever went up for auction.


title: Girl with Balloon

text: The woman who won the bidding at the auction decided to go through with the purchase. The partially shredded work has been given a new title, "Love Is in the Bin", and was authenticated by Banksy's authentication body Pest Control. Sotheby's released a statement that called it "the first artwork in history to have been created live during an auction." "Love is in the Bin" was itself sold at Sotheby's for £16 million in October 2021.


title: Angelica Hale

text: Angelica Hale is an American singer. She competed in the 12th season of "America's Got Talent", and became the runner-up to winner Darci Lynne.


title: Angelica Hale

text: Angelica Hale was born in Atlanta, Georgia on July 31, 2007, to American father James Hale, and Filipina mother Eva Bolando.


title: Angelica Hale

text: At the age of four, Hale contracted a severe bacterial pneumonia, causing septic shock and multiple organ failure, including her kidneys, and suffered permanent scarring on her right lung. She was placed in a medically-induced coma, transferred from Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Scottish Rite to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Egleston, and placed on ECMO life-support. After spending 12 days on ECMO and 80 days in the hospital recovering, she was released to go home on April 24, 2012. On September 13, 2013 after spending a year and a half on dialysis, Hale received a life-saving kidney transplant from her mother.


title: Angelica Hale

text: Soon afterwards, Hale began taking singing lessons with vocal coach Tara Simon in Alpharetta, Georgia. She then won a singing competition for five- to nine-year-olds, and has performed for many charitable functions, such as Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.


title: Angelica Hale

text: In 2017, Hale competed on season 12 of "America's Got Talent", where she made it past the auditions round with her rendition of "Rise Up" by Andra Day. In the Judge Cuts round, Hale was given a golden buzzer by guest judge Chris Hardwick, after covering Alicia Keys' "Girl on Fire", and advanced immediately. During the live shows, she sang "Clarity" by Zedd and Foxes at the Quarterfinals and "Without You" by David Guetta for her Semifinals performance. Hale advanced to the Top 10 finals where she performed "Symphony" by Clean Bandit and Zara Larsson. For the finale in episode 22, she performed "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" by Kelly Clarkson with Clarkson and fellow contestant Kechi Okwuchi. Hale finished the competition in second place behind Darci Lynne, becoming the youngest runner-up in the show's history.


title: Angelica Hale

text: Hale was a finalist on "", having received a golden buzzer advancement from judge Howie Mandel immediately after her performance of "Fight Song" by Rachel Platten. She placed in the bottom 7 of the top 12.


title: Angelica Hale

text: Shortly after "America's Got Talent", Hale performed in Tuckahoe, New York, for a crowd of 7,000 people. She became the first child ambassador of the National Kidney Foundation. She performed at the AGT live shows from November 2–5 at Las Vegas with Darci Lynne, Light Balance, and Preacher Lawson. In addition, Hale performed at the 2017 NFL game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Dallas Cowboys in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. She performed the national anthem on December 11, 2017 at Heinz Field for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. Hale performed “Girl on Fire” at the 2017 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. In March 2018, she performed at Celebrity Fight Night with David Foster and on Little Big Shots. On March 29, 2018, the National Hockey League's Ottawa Senators invited her to perform both the Star-Spangled Banner and O Canada at the beginning of a game against the Florida Panthers. Hale sang the National Anthem on October 8, 2018 in Atlanta for the Atlanta Braves vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Game 4 of the National League Division Series. Hale performed "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" from her Christmas album "Christmas Wonder" in the halftime show for the NFL Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 16, 2018. , Hale was training with renowned vocal coach Tara Simon.


title: Angelica Hale

text: Hale released her debut single "Feel the Magic", a pop song written by the eleven year-old singer-songwriter herself. The song's music video premiered in May 2019 on YouTube and Facebook. As a recording artist, Hale loves to express herself through music and sing about her life experiences. It was her personal journey that inspired her to write her debut single.


title: Angelica Hale

text: Hale filmed her first film, "American Reject", over the summer of 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The anticipated release date was in 2019.


title: Angelica Hale

text: She also voiced the titular character in the animated series "Maya Unstoppable", which premiered in 2019.


title: Angelica Hale

text: In the spring of 2018, Hale was named as the national spokesperson for Sepsis Alliance's "It's About TIME" campaign, which raises awareness for sepsis as a medical emergency.


title: Angelica Hale

text: Hale has a younger sister, Abigail, who was born in Santa Monica in 2017 while she was competing on "AGT."


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert campaign of the Second World War, fought in Egypt between Axis forces (Germany and Italy) of the Panzer Army Africa () (which included the under Field Marshal () Erwin Rommel) and Allied (British Imperial and Commonwealth) forces (United Kingdom, British India, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand) of the Eighth Army (under General Claude Auchinleck).


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: The British prevented a second advance by the Axis forces into Egypt. Axis positions near El Alamein, only from Alexandria, were dangerously close to the ports and cities of Egypt, the base facilities of the Commonwealth forces and the Suez Canal. However, the Axis forces were too far from their base at Tripoli in Libya to remain at El Alamein indefinitely, which led both sides to accumulate supplies for more offensives, against the constraints of time and distance.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: The battle and the Second Battle of El Alamein three months later remain important to some of the countries that took part. In New Zealand, this is due to the country's significant contribution to the defence of El Alamein, especially the heavy role the Māori Battalion played. Members of this battalion have been labelled war heroes since, such as commander Frederick Baker, James Henare and Eruera Te Whiti o Rongomai Love, the last of whom was killed in action.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: After their defeat at the Battle of Gazala in Eastern Libya in June 1942, the British Eighth Army, commanded by Lieutenant-General Neil Ritchie, had retreated east from the Gazala line into north-western Egypt as far as Mersa Matruh, roughly 160 km (100 mi) inside the border. Ritchie had decided not to hold the defences on the Egyptian border, because the defensive plan there was for infantry to hold defended localities and a strong armoured force behind them to meet any attempts to penetrate or outflank the fixed defences. Since General Ritchie had virtually no armoured units left fit to fight, the infantry positions would be defeated in detail. The Mersa defence plan also included an armoured reserve but in its absence Ritchie believed he could organise his infantry to cover the minefields between the defended localities to prevent Axis engineers from having undisturbed access.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: To defend the Matruh line, Ritchie placed 10th Indian Infantry Division (in Matruh itself) and 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division (some 24 km (16 mi) down the coast at Gerawla) under X Corps HQ, newly arrived from Syria. Inland from X Corps would be XIII Corps with 5th Indian Infantry Division (with only one infantry brigade, 29th Indian, and two artillery regiments) around Sidi Hamza about 32 km (20 mi) inland, and the newly arrived 2nd New Zealand Division (short one brigade, the 6th, which had been left out of combat in case the division was captured and it would be needed to serve as the nucleus of a new division) at Minqar Qaim (on the escarpment 48 km (30 mi) inland) and 1st Armoured Division in the open desert to the south. The 1st Armoured Division had taken over 4th and 22nd Armoured Brigades from 7th Armoured Division which by this time had only three tank regiments (battalions) between them.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: On 25 June, General Claude Auchinleck—Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) Middle East Command—relieved Ritchie and assumed direct command of the Eighth Army himself. He decided not to seek a decisive confrontation at the Mersa Matruh position. He concluded that his inferiority in armour after the Gazala defeat, meant he would be unable to prevent Rommel either breaking through his centre or enveloping his open left flank to the south in the same way he had at Gazala. He decided instead to employ delaying tactics while withdrawing a further 160 km (100 mi) or more east to a more defensible position near El Alamein on the Mediterranean coast. Only 64 km (40 mi) to the south of El Alamein, the steep slopes of the Qattara Depression ruled out the possibility of Axis armour moving around the southern flank of his defences and limited the width of the front he had to defend.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: While preparing the Alamein positions, Auchinleck fought strong delaying actions, first at Mersa Matruh on 26–27 June and then Fuka on 28 June. The late change of orders resulted in some confusion in the forward formations (X Corps and XIII Corps) between the desire to inflict damage on the enemy and the intention not to get trapped in the Matruh position but retreat in good order. The result was poor co-ordination between the two forward Corps and units within them. Late on 26 June, the German 90th Light and 21st "Panzer" Divisions managed to find their way through the minefields in the centre of the front. Early on 27 June, resuming its advance, the 90th Light was checked by British 50th Division's artillery. Meanwhile, the 15th and 21st "Panzer" Divisions advanced east above and below the escarpment. The 15th "Panzer" were blocked by 4th Armoured and 7th Motor Brigades, but the 21st "Panzer" were ordered on to attack Minqar Qaim. Rommel ordered 90th Light to resume its advance, requiring it to cut the coast road behind 50th Division by the evening. As the 21st "Panzer" moved on Minqar Qaim, the 2nd New Zealand Division found itself surrounded but broke out on the night of 27/28 June without serious losses and withdrew east.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: Auchinleck had planned a second delaying position at Fuka, some east of Matruh, and at 21:20 he issued the orders for a withdrawal to Fuka. Confusion in communication led the division withdrawing immediately to the El Alamein position. X Corps, having made an unsuccessful attempt to secure a position on the escarpment, were out of touch with Eighth Army from 19:30 until 04:30 the next morning. Only then did they discover that the withdrawal order had been given. The withdrawal of XIII Corps had left the southern flank of X Corps on the coast at Matruh exposed and their line of retreat compromised by the cutting of the coastal road east of Matruh. They were ordered to break out southwards into the desert and then make their way east. Auchinleck ordered XIII Corps to provide support but they were in no position to do so. At 21:00 on 28 June, X Corps—organised into brigade groups—headed south. In the darkness, there was considerable confusion as they came across enemy units laagered for the night. In the process, 5th Indian Division in particular sustained heavy casualties, including the destruction of the 29th Indian Infantry Brigade at Fuka. Axis forces captured more than 6,000 prisoners, in addition to 40 tanks and an enormous quantity of supplies.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: Alamein itself was an inconsequential railway station on the coast. Some to the south lay the Ruweisat Ridge, a low stony prominence that gave excellent observation for many miles over the surrounding desert; to the south was the Qattara Depression. The line the British chose to defend stretched between the sea and the Depression, which meant that Rommel could outflank it only by taking a significant detour to the south and crossing the Sahara Desert. The British Army in Egypt recognised this before the war and had the Eighth Army begin construction of several "boxes" (localities with dug-outs and surrounded by minefields and barbed wire) the most developed being around the railway station at Alamein. Most of the "line" was open, empty desert. Lieutenant-General William Norrie (General officer commanding [GOC] XXX Corps) organised the position and started to construct three defended "boxes". The first and strongest, at El Alamein on the coast, had been partly wired and mined by 1st South African Division. The Bab el Qattara box—some from the coast and south-west of the Ruweisat Ridge—had been dug but had not been wired or mined, while at the Naq Abu Dweis box (on the edge of the Qattara Depression), from the coast, very little work had been done.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: The British position in Egypt was desperate, the rout from Mersa Matruh had created a panic in the British headquarters at Cairo, something later called "the Flap". On what came to be referred to as "Ash Wednesday", at British headquarters, rear echelon units and the British Embassy, papers were hurriedly burned in anticipation of the fall of the city. Auchinleck—although believing he could stop Rommel at Alamein—felt he could not ignore the possibility that he might once more be outmanoeuvred or outfought. To maintain his army, plans must be made for the possibility of a further retreat whilst maintaining morale and retaining the support and co-operation of the Egyptians. Defensive positions were constructed west of Alexandria and on the approaches to Cairo while considerable areas in the Nile delta were flooded. The Axis, too, believed that the capture of Egypt was imminent; Italian leader Benito Mussolini—sensing a historic moment—flew to Libya to prepare for his triumphal entry into Cairo.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: The scattering of X Corps at Mersa Matruh disrupted Auchinleck's plan for occupying the Alamein defences. On 29 June, he ordered XXX Corps—the 1st South African, 5th and 10th Indian divisions—to take the coastal sector on the right of the front and XIII Corps—the 2nd New Zealand Division and 4th Indian divisions—to be on the left. The remains of the 1st Armoured Division and the 7th Armoured Division were to be held as a mobile army reserve. His intention was for the fixed defensive positions to channel and disorganise the enemy's advance while mobile units would attack their flanks and rear.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: On 30 June, Rommel's "Panzerarmee Afrika" approached the Alamein position. The Axis forces were exhausted and understrength. Rommel had driven them forward ruthlessly, being confident that, provided he struck quickly before Eighth Army had time to settle, his momentum would take him through the Alamein position and he could then advance to the Nile with little further opposition. Supplies remained a problem because the Axis staff had originally expected a pause of six weeks after the capture of Tobruk. German air units were also exhausted and providing little help against the RAF's all-out attack on the Axis supply lines which, with the arrival of United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) heavy bombers, could reach as far as Benghazi. Although captured supplies proved useful, water and ammunition were constantly in short supply, while a shortage of transport impeded the distribution of the supplies that the Axis forces did have.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: Rommel's plan was for the 90th Light Division and the 15th and 21st "Panzer" divisions of the "Afrika Korps" to penetrate the Eighth Army lines between the Alamein box and Deir el Abyad (which he believed was defended). The 90th Light Division was then to veer north to cut the coastal road and trap the defenders of the Alamein box (which Rommel thought was occupied by the remains of the 50th Infantry Division) and the "Afrika Korps" would veer right to attack the rear of XIII Corps.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: An Italian division was to attack the Alamein box from the west and another was to follow the 90th Light Division. The Italian XX Corps was to follow the "Afrika Korps" and deal with the Qattara box while the 133rd Armoured Division "Littorio" and German reconnaissance units would protect the right flank. Rommel had planned to attack on 30 June but supply and transport difficulties had resulted in a day's delay, vital to the defending forces reorganising on the Alamein line. On 30 June, the 90th Light Division was still short of its start line, 21st "Panzer" Division was immobilised through lack of fuel and the promised air support had yet to move into its advanced airfields.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: At 03:00 on 1 July, 90th Light Infantry Division advanced east but strayed too far north and ran into the 1st South African Division's defences and became pinned down. The 15th and 21st "Panzer" Divisions of the "Afrika Korps" were delayed by a sandstorm and then a heavy air attack. It was broad daylight by the time they circled round the back of Deir el Abyad where they found the feature to the east of it occupied by 18th Indian Infantry Brigade which, after a hasty journey from Iraq, had occupied the exposed position just west of Ruweisat Ridge and east of Deir el Abyad at Deir el Shein late on 28 June to create one of Norrie's additional defensive boxes.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: At about 10:00 on 1 July, 21st "Panzer" Division attacked Deir el Shein. 18th Indian Infantry Brigade—supported by 23 25-pounder gun-howitzers, 16 of the new 6-pounder anti-tank guns and nine Matilda tanks—held out the whole day in desperate fighting but by evening the Germans succeeded in over-running them. The time they bought allowed Auchinleck to organise the defence of the western end of Ruweisat Ridge. The 1st Armoured Division had been sent to intervene at Deir el Shein. They ran into 15th "Panzer" Division just south of Deir el Shein and drove it west. By the end of the day's fighting, the "Afrika Korps" had 37 tanks left out of its initial complement of 55.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: During the early afternoon, 90th Light had extricated itself from the El Alamein box defences and resumed its move eastward. It came under artillery fire from the three South African brigade groups and was forced to dig in.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: On 2 July, Rommel ordered the resumption of the offensive. Once again, 90th Light failed to make progress so Rommel called the "Afrika Korps" to abandon its planned sweep southward and instead join the effort to break through to the coast road by attacking east toward Ruweisat Ridge. The British defence of Ruweisat Ridge relied on an improvised formation called "Robcol", comprising a regiment each of field artillery and light anti-aircraft artillery and a company of infantry. Robcol—in line with normal British Army practice for "ad hoc" formations—was named after its commander, Brigadier Robert Waller, the Commander Royal Artillery of the 10th Indian Infantry Division. Robcol was able to buy time, and by late afternoon the two British armoured brigades joined the battle with 4th Armoured Brigade engaging 15th "Panzer" and 22nd Armoured Brigade 21st "Panzer" respectively. They drove back repeated attacks by the Axis armour, who then withdrew before dusk. The British reinforced Ruweisat on the night of 2 July. The now enlarged Robcol became "Walgroup". Meanwhile, the Royal Air Force (RAF) made heavy air attacks on the Axis units.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: The next day, 3 July, Rommel ordered the "Afrika Korps" to resume its attack on the Ruweisat ridge with the Italian XX Motorised Corps on its southern flank. Italian X Corps, meanwhile were to hold El Mreir. By this stage the "Afrika Korps" had only 26 operational tanks. There was a sharp armoured exchange south of Ruweisat ridge during the morning and the main Axis advance was held. On 3 July, the RAF flew 780 sorties.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: To relieve the pressure on the right and centre of the Eighth Army line, XIII Corps on the left advanced from the Qattara box (known to the New Zealanders as the Kaponga box). The plan was that the New Zealand 2nd Division—with the remains of Indian 5th Division and 7th Motor Brigade under its command—would swing north to threaten the Axis flank and rear. This force encountered the 132nd Armoured Division "Ariete"'s artillery, which was driving on the southern flank of the division as it attacked Ruweisat. The Italian commander ordered his battalions to fight their way out independently but the "Ariete" lost 531 men (about 350 were prisoners), 36 pieces of artillery, six (or eight?) tanks, and 55 trucks. By the end of the day, the "Ariete" Division had only five tanks. The day ended once again with the "Afrika Korps" and "Ariete" coming off second best to the superior numbers of the British 22nd Armoured and 4th Armoured Brigades, frustrating Rommel's attempts to resume his advance. The RAF once again played its part, flying 900 sorties during the day.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: To the south, on 5 July the New Zealand group resumed its advance northwards towards El Mreir intending to cut the rear of the "Ariete" Division. Heavy fire from the Italian 27th Infantry Division "Brescia" at El Mreir, however, north of the Qattara box, checked their progress and led XIII Corps to call off its attack.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: At this point, Rommel decided his exhausted forces could make no further headway without resting and regrouping. He reported to the German High Command that his three German divisions numbered just 1,200–1,500 men each and resupply was proving highly problematic because of enemy interference from the air. He expected to have to remain on the defensive for at least two weeks.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: Rommel was by this time suffering from the extended length of his supply lines. The Allied Desert Air Force (DAF) was concentrating fiercely on his fragile and elongated supply routes while British mobile columns moving west and striking from the south were causing havoc in the Axis rear echelons. Rommel could afford these losses even less since shipments from Italy had been substantially reduced (in June, he received of supplies compared with in May and 400 vehicles (compared with 2,000 in May). Meanwhile, the Eighth Army was reorganising and rebuilding, benefiting from its short lines of communication. By 4 July, the Australian 9th Division had entered the line in the north, and on 9 July the Indian 5th Infantry Brigade also returned, taking over the Ruweisat position. At the same time, the fresh Indian 161st Infantry Brigade reinforced the depleted Indian 5th Infantry Division.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: On 8 July, Auchinleck ordered the new XXX Corps commander—Lieutenant-General William Ramsden—to capture the low ridges at Tel el Eisa and Tel el Makh Khad and then to push mobile battle groups south toward Deir el Shein and raiding parties west toward the airfields at El Daba. Meanwhile, XIII Corps would prevent the Axis from moving troops north to reinforce the coastal sector. Ramsden tasked the Australian 9th Division with 44th Royal Tank Regiment under command with the Tel el Eisa objective and the South African 1st Division with eight supporting tanks, Tel el Makh Khad. The raiding parties were to be provided by 1st Armoured Division.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: Following a bombardment which started at 03:30 on 10 July, the Australian 26th Brigade launched an attack against the ridge north of Tel el Eisa station along the coast (Trig 33). The bombardment was the heaviest barrage yet experienced in North Africa, which created panic in the inexperienced soldiers of the Italian 60th Infantry Division "Sabratha" who had only just occupied sketchy defences in the sector. The Australian attack took more than 1,500 prisoners, routed an Italian Division and overran the German Signals Intercept Company 621. Meanwhile, the South Africans had by late morning taken Tel el Makh Khad and were in covering positions.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: Elements of the German 164th Light Division and Italian 101st Motorised Division "Trieste" arrived to plug the gap torn in the Axis defences. That afternoon and evening, tanks from the German 15th "Panzer" and Italian "Trieste" Divisions launched counter-attacks against the Australian positions, the counter-attacks failing in the face of overwhelming Allied artillery and the Australian anti-tank guns.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: At first light on 11 July, the Australian 2/24th Battalion supported by tanks from 44th Royal Tank Regiment attacked the western end of Tel el Eisa hill (Point 24). By early afternoon, the feature was captured and was then held against a series of Axis counter-attacks throughout the day. A small column of armour, motorised infantry, and guns then set off to raid Deir el Abyad and caused a battalion of Italian infantry to surrender. Its progress was checked at the Miteirya ridge and it was forced to withdraw that evening to the El Alamein box. During the day, more than 1,000 Italian prisoners were taken.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: On 12 July, the 21st "Panzer" Division launched a counter-attack against Trig 33 and Point 24, which was beaten off after a 2½-hour fight, with more than 600 German dead and wounded left strewn in front of the Australian positions. The next day, 21. "Panzerdivision" launched an attack against Point 33 and South African positions in the El Alamein box. In the El Alamein Box, the Royal Durban Light Infantry (RDLI) faced the full force of the German attacks. The RDLI did not have adequate anti-tank guns and the German artillery cut the South African telephone cables, disrupting their field artillery support. The attack was halted by intense artillery fire from the defenders. Although the South Africans repulsed the German attack, by 16:10, German tanks and dive bombers advanced up to 300 metres from the South African positions. The 9th Australian field artillery, 7th British Medium Regiment had to assist in repulsing the German attack. At last light, the 79th British Anti-Tank Regiment was deployed to assist the South African forces but the German attack was petering out. The South African losses on 13 July totalled nine dead and 42 wounded. Although the South African casualties were relatively light, their skill in withstanding the German attacks negated their casualties. Had the El Alamein Box been captured by Rommel's forces, the consequences for the Eighth Army would have been devastating; the El Alamein line would have been ruptured, Australian forces would have been cut off from the Eighth Army and forced a general retreat to the Nile Delta. Rommel was still determined to drive the British forces from the northern salient. Although the Australian defenders had been forced back from Point 24, heavy casualties had been inflicted on 21st "Panzer" Division. Another attack was mounted on 15 July but made no ground against tenacious resistance. On 16 July, the Australians—supported by British tanks—launched an attack to try to take Point 24 but were forced back by German counter-attacks, suffering nearly fifty per cent casualties.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: After seven days of fierce fighting, the battle in the north for Tel el Eisa salient petered out. Australian 9th Division estimated at least 2,000 Axis troops had been killed and more than 3,700 prisoners of war taken in the battle. Possibly the most important feature of the battle, however, was that the Australians had captured Signals Intercept Company 621, which had provided Rommel with priceless intelligence from British radio communications.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: As the Axis forces dug in, Auchinleck—having drawn a number of German units to the coastal sector during the Tel el Eisa fighting—developed a plan—codenamed Operation Bacon—to attack the Italian "17th Infantry Division "Pavia"" and "Brescia" Divisions in the centre of the front at the Ruweisat ridge. Signals intelligence was giving Auchinleck clear details of the Axis order of battle and force dispositions. His policy was to "...hit the Italians wherever possible in view of their low morale and because the Germans cannot hold extended fronts without them."


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: The intention was for the 4th New Zealand Brigade and 5th New Zealand Brigade (on 4th Brigade's right) to attack north-west to seize the western part of the ridge and on their right the Indian 5th Infantry Brigade to capture the eastern part of the ridge in a night attack. Then 2nd Armoured Brigade would pass through the centre of the infantry objectives to exploit toward Deir el Shein and the Miteirya Ridge. On the left, the 22nd Armoured Brigade would be ready to move forward to protect the infantry as they consolidated on the ridge.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: The attack commenced at 23:00 on 14 July. The two New Zealand brigades shortly before dawn on 15 July took their objectives, but minefields and pockets of resistance left behind the forward troops' advance created disarray among the attackers, impeding the move forward of reserves, artillery, and support arms. As a result, the New Zealand brigades occupied exposed positions on the ridge without support weapons except for a few anti-tank guns. More significantly, the two British armoured brigades failed to move forwards to protect the infantry. At first light, a detachment from 15th "Panzer" division's 8th "Panzer" Regiment launched a counter-attack against New Zealand 4th Brigade's 22nd Battalion. A sharp exchange knocked out their anti-tank guns and the infantry found themselves exposed in the open with no alternative but to surrender. About 350 New Zealanders were taken prisoner, including double-VC winner Charles Upham.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: While the 2nd New Zealand Division attacked the western slopes of Ruweisat Ridge, the Indian 5th Brigade made small gains on Ruweisat ridge to the east. By 07:00, word was finally got to 2nd Armoured Brigade which started to move north west. Two regiments became embroiled in a minefield but the third was able to join Indian 5th Infantry 5th Brigade as it renewed its attack. With the help of the armour and artillery, the Indians were able to take their objectives by early afternoon. Meanwhile, the 22nd Armoured Brigade had been engaged at Alam Nayil by 90th Light Division and the "Ariete" Armoured Division, advancing from the south. While—with help from mobile infantry and artillery columns from 7th Armoured Division—they pushed back the Axis probe with ease, they were prevented from advancing north to protect the New Zealand flank.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: Seeing the "Brescia" and "Pavia" under pressure, Rommel rushed German troops to Ruweisat. By 15:00, the 3rd Reconnaissance Regiment and part of 21st "Panzer" Division from the north and 33rd Reconnaissance Regiment and the Baade Group comprising elements from 15th "Panzer" Division from the south were in place under Lieutenant-General ("General der Panzertruppe") Walther Nehring. At 17:00, Nehring launched his counter-attack. 4th New Zealand Brigade were still short of support weapons and also, by this time, ammunition. Once again, the anti-tank defences were overwhelmed and about 380 New Zealanders were taken prisoner including Captain Charles Upham who gained a second Victoria Cross for his actions including destroying a German tank and several guns and vehicles with grenades despite being shot through the elbow by a machine gun bullet. At about 18:00, the brigade HQ was overrun. At about 18:15, 2nd Armoured Brigade engaged the German armour and halted the Axis eastward advance. At dusk, Nehring broke off the action.Early on 16 July, Nehring renewed his attack. The 5th Indian Infantry Brigade pushed them back but it was clear from intercepted radio traffic that a further attempt would be made. Strenuous preparations to dig in anti-tank guns were made, artillery fire plans organised and a regiment from the 22nd Armoured Brigade was sent to reinforce the 2nd Armoured Brigade. When the attack resumed late in the afternoon, it was repulsed. After the battle, the Indians counted 24 knocked out tanks, as well as armoured cars and numerous anti-tank guns left on the battlefield.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: In three days' fighting, the Allies took more than 2,000 Axis prisoners, mostly from the Italian "Brescia" and "Pavia" Divisions; the New Zealand division suffered 1,405 casualties. The fighting at Tel el Eisa and Ruweisat had caused the destruction of three Italian divisions, forced Rommel to redeploy his armour from the south, made it necessary to lay minefields in front of the remaining Italian divisions and stiffen them with detachments of German troops.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: To relieve pressure on Ruweisat ridge, Auchinleck ordered the Australian 9th Division to make another attack from the north. In the early hours of 17 July, the Australian 24th Brigade—supported by 44th Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) and strong fighter cover from the air—assaulted Miteirya ridge (known as "Ruin ridge" to the Australians). The initial night attack went well, with 736 prisoners taken, mostly from the Italian "Trento" and "Trieste" motorised divisions. Once again, however, a critical situation for the Axis forces was retrieved by vigorous counter-attacks from hastily assembled German and Italian forces, which forced the Australians to withdraw back to their start line with 300 casualties. Although the Australian Official History of the 24th Brigade's 2/32nd Battalion describes the counter-attack force as "German", the Australian historian Mark Johnston reports that German records indicate that it was the "Trento" Division that overran the Australian battalion.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: The Eighth Army now enjoyed a massive superiority in material over the Axis forces: 1st Armoured Division had 173 tanks and more in reserve or in transit, including 61 Grants while Rommel possessed only 38 German tanks and 51 Italian tanks although his armoured units had some 100 tanks awaiting repair.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: Auchinleck's plan was for Indian Infantry 161st Brigade to attack along Ruweisat ridge to take Deir el Shein, while the New Zealand 6th Brigade attacked from south of the ridge to the El Mreir depression. At daylight, two British armoured brigades—2nd Armoured Brigade and the fresh 23rd Armoured Brigade—would sweep through the gap created by the infantry. The plan was complicated and ambitious.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: The infantry night attack began at 16:30 on 21 July. The New Zealand attack took their objectives in the El Mreir depression but, once again, many vehicles failed to arrive and they were short of support arms in an exposed position. At daybreak on 22 July, the British armoured brigades again failed to advance. At daybreak on 22 July, Nehring's 5th and 8th "Panzer" Regiments responded with a rapid counter-attack which quickly overran the New Zealand infantry in the open, inflicting more than 900 casualties on the New Zealanders. 2nd Armoured Brigade sent forward two regiments to help but they were halted by mines and anti-tank fire.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: The attack by Indian 161st Brigade had mixed fortunes. On the left, the initial attempt to clear the western end of Ruweisat failed but at 08:00 a renewed attack by the reserve battalion succeeded. On the right, the attacking battalion broke into the Deir el Shein position but was driven back in hand-to-hand fighting.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: Compounding the disaster at El Mreir, at 08:00 the commander of 23rd Armoured Brigade ordered his brigade forward, intent on following his orders to the letter. Major-General Gatehouse—commanding 1st Armoured Division—had been unconvinced that a path had been adequately cleared in the minefields and had suggested the advance be cancelled. However, XIII Corps commander—Lieutenant-General William Gott—rejected this and ordered the attack but on a centre line south of the original plan which he incorrectly believed was mine-free. These orders failed to get through and the attack went ahead as originally planned. The brigade found itself mired in mine fields and under heavy fire. They were then counter-attacked by 21st Panzer at 11:00 and forced to withdraw. The 23rd Armoured Brigade was destroyed, with the loss of 40 tanks destroyed and 47 badly damaged.


title: First Battle of El Alamein

text: At 17:00, Gott ordered 5th Indian Infantry Division to execute a night attack to capture the western half of Ruweisat ridge and Deir el Shein. 3/14th Punjab Regiment from 9th Indian Infantry Brigade attacked at 02:00 on 23 July but failed as they lost their direction. A further attempt in daylight succeeded in breaking into the position but intense fire from three sides resulted in control being lost as the commanding officer was killed, and four of his senior officers were wounded or went missing.