title: Tiki culture

text: During America's honeymoon with the romanticized version of its newly incorporated state came the 1959 Warner Bros. Television series "Hawaiian Eye" and the 1961 musical smash-hit "Blue Hawaii", featuring pop crooner Elvis Presley playing an Army veteran returning to Hawaii to surf, sing, and marry his girlfriend. It contained many plot elements similar to 1937's "Waikiki Wedding", and helped to bring a "Polynesian pop" aspect of tiki to a new generation. This addition came as tiki culture music had begun to split into separate subgenres with the additions of lounge and exotica in the 1950s, which at that point had amended the typical Bing Crosby style of American-Hawaiian music. The popularity of Elvis nevertheless helped to keep broad tiki culture alive, even as adults began to take it into new directions and their children began to meld it into evolving subcultures such as surf.


title: Tiki culture

text: The impact of tiki culture on music (and vice versa) had beginnings in the creation of "hapa-haole" music, with "haole" meaning "foreigner" in the context, derived from America's expectation of native Hawaiian (and other Oceanic regions) folk music. As is the case with much of tiki culture, its genres can fall into varying themes. Hapa-Haole was more prominent in Beach's and Bergeron's early days during the 1930s and 1940s, and was more traditional and "poppish". Later genres, such as exotica and lounge are more associated with mood music meant to play-off the "mysteriousness" and faux-danger of tiki. It could include high energy drumming or slower and enchanting melodic rhythms. It was frequently instrumental, serving as the "soundtrack" for tropical excursions. Exotica and lounge were more prominent in the 1950s and later, although new variations of hapa-haole would also continue.


title: Tiki culture

text: Traditional Hawaiian melodies, sometimes called "Hula Music" at the time by mainstream Americans, initially became prominent in piano sheet music and also created a dancing fad and obsession with Hula girls swaying to the music of strummed ukuleles.


title: Tiki culture

text: "Hapa-haole" is the more proper name for what most 20th century Americans would think of as sung Hawaiian music, where the tune, styling, and subject matter have very distinct Hawaiian elements, but the lyrics are mostly in English. It became sung by both Hawaiians and contemporary performers, such as the Bing Crosby vehicles "Sweet Leilani" and "Blue Hawaii" in 1937. Alfred Apaka was arguably the foremost interpreter of hapa haole music, melding Hawaiian music with traditional American pop arrangements and English lyrics. Apaka began touring in the late 1930s, and settled more into routine shows at performance rooms created just for him in Hawaii in the 1950s. He would also sing at large luaus being put on by Donn Beach.


title: Tiki culture

text: Other important singers include Hal Aloma, who had changed his name in response to the 1926 film "Aloma of the South Seas", and the legendary Don Ho would follow in the 1960s and 1970s. Music changed with the times with easy listening light instrumentation, with Ho releasing his famous song "Tiny Bubbles", which charted on both the pop (#57 Billboard) and easy listening charts in 1967. Ho also helped bring attention to Marlene Sai, who has been described as a living legend of Hawaiian music.


title: Tiki culture

text: Yma Sumac first appeared on radio in 1942. Born in Peru, she was not Polynesian but she quickly became famous because of her diverse vocal range and in 1946 her home government formally supported her claim to be a descendant of Atahualpa, the last Incan emperor. With enough "exotic" credibility to be packaged as part of tiki culture, especially after Heyerdahl linked tiki to the Andes in 1947, she released albums with names such as "Voice of the Xtabay" and "Legend of the Sun Virgin". These featured tiki-like South American stone carvings and exploding volcanoes on their covers. She also went on to play in minor film roles, such as "Secret of the Incas". "Voice of the Xtabay" was produced and composed by Les Baxter, who had started to experiment with theremin mood music on "Music Out of the Moon" a few years earlier.


title: Tiki culture

text: Baxter began to "tikify" this type of mood music. Most lounge and exotica was chiefly instrumental, and largely the integration of exotic escapism into American Jazz. Other early pioneers included Arthur Lyman and Martin Denny, who played live at Don the Beachcomber and other venues. The new theme was blended through jazz stylings augmented with Polynesian, Southeast Asian, and Latin instruments. The music also incorporated elements of Afro-Cuban rhythms, unusual instrumentations, environmental sounds, and the lush romantic themes of Hollywood.


title: Tiki culture

text: Sandra Warner was showcased on the album cover for "Exotica", helping it to reach no.1 on the Billboard charts and eventually giving the entire genre its name. She appeared on the first 12 Martin Denny album covers, 16 overall, and became a lasting iconic association with both the genre and tiki culture. Other important albums in the genre included "Jewels of the Sea", "Ritual of the Savage", and "Forbidden Island", matched with similarly evocative covers.


title: Tiki culture

text: There are two primary strains of this kind of exotica: "jungle exotica" and "tiki exotica". Jungle exotica was a Hollywood creation, with its roots in Tarzan movies (and further back to William Henry Hudson's novel "Green Mansions"). Les Baxter was the king of jungle exotica. Tiki exotica on the other hand was introduced in Martin Denny's Waikiki nightclub jungle noises arrangement in Baxter's song "Quiet Village".


title: Tiki culture

text: Robert Drasnin and Korla Pandit were other important artists in the genre. Just as Bergeron and others in tiki culture had done before him, Pandit invented a new persona (he was born John Roland Redd) by claiming to be a French-Indian musician from New Delhi when he was in fact born in the United States and would be considered by some to be African-American.


title: Tiki culture

text: The TV detective show "Hawaiian Eye" (1959–1963) prominently featured a tiki during its credits, and although shot mostly in California it helped to promote the island while spinning off tiki motific comic books and games. Harry Yee is generally attributed with inventing a Hawaiian Eye cocktail named after the show. A "Hawaiian Eye" tiki mug was made as well.


title: Tiki culture

text: Hawaiian politician turned actor Tiki Santos (born Abraham De Los Santos) was a recurring minor role character on "Hawaiian Eye" and went on to make appearances in other shows such as the sitcom "McHale's Navy" (1962–1966). He played the role of Chief Watara in episodes such as "The Dart Gun Wedding", sitting in a large wicker "throne" behind a large tiki mask.


title: Tiki culture

text: As the first tiki wave started to crest towards the end of the 1960s, the original air of mystery and exoticism associated with the tiki motif by Americans began to be replaced by more humorous "curse of the tiki" plot devices as sitcoms gained prominence on television. The visual iconography of TV series "Gilligan's Island" (1964–1967) borrowed significantly from an assumed tiki culture with huts and furniture resembling a fantasy-Polynesian castaway village. An episode had the cast disturbing the resting place of a vengeful tiki god, and attempting to break the curse by invoking "The Great Watubi". A well-known 1972 episode of "The Brady Bunch" entitled "The Tiki Caves" involves a magical, taboo idol which the characters believe to be cursed.


title: Tiki culture

text: Shows like "I Dream of Jeannie", "Green Acres", "Sanford and Son", and "The Jeffersons" often featured special Hawaiian episodes. Tiki carvings sometimes appeared on the shows, including on "Fantasy Island" but in increasingly less prominent ways.


title: Tiki culture

text: The long running "Hawaii Five-O" series hailed back to "Hawaiian Eye", and was one of a few exception to the sitcoms during this time. The crashing of its iconic wave during opening credits ended with its cancellation in 1980, coinciding with the general end of tiki culture's first wave as well.


title: Tiki culture

text: The "Spongebob Squarepants" franchise, created in 1999 by marine biologist Stephen Hillenburg, heavily relies on Tiki art, patterns, and music. Tiki-themed elements of the show include intertitle paintings; retro Hawaiian and hula production music from APM; borrowing patterns from aloha prints and Polynesian patterns for backgrounds and skies; and character and background designs which reflect Māori religious influences, such as Squidward's dwelling which resembles a religious Tiki head. Showrunner Stephen Hillenburg referred to Squidward's house as an "Easter Island head" despite the design differences.


title: Tiki culture

text: Towards the latter part of the 1970s, "tiki restaurants" were well past the apex of their popularity and many started to close. This was true for both many independent tiki bars as well as what had grown into the major chains associated with hotels such as Vic's Outrigger and the Sheraton's Kon-Tiki. The majority of independent tiki bars like the Pago Pago Lounge were demolished or shuttered, with only a few such as the Tonga Room, Tiki Ti, and Mai Kai managing to stay afloat. Trader Vic's was the only of the former major chains that was still in large scale operation.


title: Tiki culture

text: By 1980, most of the tiki aesthetic in architecture and elsewhere had been completely wiped away in the name of progress. Some examples of homes, apartments and restaurant buildings remained, almost exclusively on the west coast. Of those, only a small handful still featured carved tikis.


title: Tiki culture

text: The allure of escapism and tropical drinks for the average American still remained, but was eclipsed by Jimmy Buffett and Parrotheads seeking the closer to home "Margaritaville" instead of tikis further away Bali-Hai islands as their preferred Shangri-La for relaxing and drinking.


title: Tiki culture

text: Tiki restaurants and bars had been vital through much of the 1930s into the 1970s, what Jeff Berry called an unprecedented lifespan for a [themed] drink fad. The Chin Tiki, which had been permanently closed in 1980 and falling into disrepair, was finally torn down in Detroit near the turn of the century, just as tiki was beginning to stir once again on America's west coast.


title: Tiki culture

text: The later 1990s saw the start of a renewed larger scale interest in tiki from a variety of sources, the main being simply based on the curiosity of a new generation whose Woodstock parents had rejected tiki as old and "square", but for their children was something new to be appropriated and repurposed. This began with people like Bosko Hrnjak, who had been raised in California's San Gabriel valley among its tiki inspired architecture and who in the mid-1990s began to carve large palm logs into tikis for his home bar. He became an influential artist known for his burnt wood carving style and making of homemade tiki mugs, an early catalyst for getting tiki's revival off the ground. Another early artist of the revival period was Tiki King from the Santa Cruz mountains. He was inspired by his artistic parents and a large tiki given to his family by his surfer uncle. He became known for carving tiki necklaces and starting a mail order tiki business in the early 1990s.


title: Tiki culture

text: Also towards the end of the century saw a renewed interest in trying to "authentically" recreate older drinks. Jeff "Beachbum" Berry released several drink books starting in 1998 (the "Grog Log", "Intoxica", and others) that contained researched recipes for many of the signature drinks from the sometimes shuttered bars of previous decades. This was also the beginnings of the "urban archeology" aspects of 21st century tiki culture, based on historical interest and fueled by the "puzzle solving" of trying to discover secrets from the past from a cultural theme that was based in part on the "exploration" of tropical regions. Berry's work is considered to be one of the most important contributions to tiki's renaissance.


title: Tiki culture

text: Soon after also came the influential "The Book of Tiki" by Sven Kirsten in 2000. Before that, Otto Von Stroheim had been self publishing a 'zine called "Tiki News" that helped provide critical mass for books like Kirsten's to be made. Berry created two cocktails named after both Kirsten and Stroheim for their early contributions to tiki's resurgence in his historical drink guides.


title: Tiki culture

text: In 1995 tiki websites began to grow on the internet; in 1995 Exoticon, a convention of tiki art and exotic music, drew over 1500 people in Los Angeles including local celebrities such as Mark Mothersbaugh and Matt Groening.


title: Tiki culture

text: Many new tiki bars and retro-Polynesian themed restaurants began to open their doors after the turn of the century.


title: Tiki culture

text: Forbidden Island opened in California in 2006, emphasizing large scale décor and a return to live act musical shows as was common in tiki's early years. San Francisco's Smuggler's Cove tiki bar opened in 2009 and features over 80 exotic and traditional recipes. Three Dots and a Dash is a modern tiki bar in Chicago, as is the Hale Pele in Portland and Undertow in Phoenix. Other non-themed bars started placing tiki drinks on their menus, signaling a broader acceptance of the genre while also engendering discussion over what qualified to be called an "authentic" tiki bar.


title: Tiki culture

text: Interest in tiki had also proliferated overseas, with "The Book of Tiki's" Sven Kirsten hailing from Germany where a tiki subculture is strong. In 2017 noted tiki historians Sven Kirsten, Jeff Berry, Martin Cate, Brian Miller, and Chris Osburn listed their top 15 operating tiki bars in the world, which included four from London, one from Munich, one from Tokyo, and one from Barcelona. Other notable tiki bars outside of the United States can be found in Paris, Hong Kong, and Berlin.


title: Tiki culture

text: The Tiki Kat in Kansas City was voted as one of the world's top tiki bars by "Critiki", an online guide to modern tiki bars. Jeff "Beachbum" Berry also opened Latitude 29 in New Orleans, bringing things full circle in a restaurant that pays homage to the New Orlean's native and creator of tiki culture, Donn Beach. Home tiki bars have also seen a resurgence as part of the tiki revival.


title: Tiki culture

text: In California and elsewhere, the re-exploration of rat rod and Hot rod culture melded with tiki, tattoo history, and rockabilly music to create new cultural hybrids such as "lowbrow" that manifested itself in music, art, and a new breed of tiki bars. Rockabilly artist Brian Setzer released his album "The Dirty Boogie" in 1998, featuring retro tiki bar images on its cover. "Taboo: The Art of Tiki" was released in 1999, with artists such as Mark Ryden and Shag also employing tiki imagery in retro eclectic paintings.


title: Tiki culture

text: WFMU's on-line channel "Sheena's Jungle Room" plays exotica music as part of its mix of "all things Lowbrow".


title: Tiki culture

text: Psycho Suzi's Motor Lounge opened featuring motifs of tattooed hula girls sporting suicide rolls and a parking lot accommodated for motorcycles. It describes itself by saying: "We take lovingly-remembered tiki bar history, a healthy helping of tattoo culture, several measures of kitsch, a dash of voodoo and a passion for good times, stick them all in a blender and hit Liquify". The bar had originally opened in 2003 at a shuttered A&W Drive-In.


title: Tiki culture

text: The popularity of modern Western tattooing already had its roots in the South Pacific, but a resurgence in tattooing saw popularity with tiki-related tattoos. Sailor Jerry Rum, named after legendary tattoo artist Norman Collins, was introduced and marketed in part to be used in tiki drinks.


title: Tiki culture

text: "Tiki Art Now!: A Volcanic Eruption of Art" was published in 2004 with an introduction by Otto Von Stroheim. Art galleries held Tiki Art shows, highlighting the works of artists such as Sunny Buick, Heather Watts, Derek Yaniger, Flounder, and Tiki Tony.


title: Tiki culture

text: Lowbrow also spawned "Tiki Noir", a literary subgenre of hard-boiled crime fiction in a tiki setting, in which the main character is often a world-weary and deeply flawed detective. "Ritual of the Savage" by Jay Strongman and the comic "Hawaiian Dick" are two examples.


title: Tiki culture

text: The rise in popularity for traditional tiki drinks also took hold in the craft cocktail movement, as well as within certain "retro culture" circles that were associated with it such as with Hipsters. Switching tiki drinks back to their original fresh juice origins, which had turned towards more artificial syrups during tiki's decline, helped to give the drinks a new reputation. The craft cocktail movement also saw drink experimentation that moved beyond rum and gin, highlighting tiki cocktails that were made with American whiskey and other different base liquor ingredients.


title: Tiki culture

text: Duke Carter's catalogue of historical tiki mugs, "Tiki Quest", was published in 2003. Goodwill stores and thrift shops saw dusty tiki mugs suddenly whisked off their shelves, becoming stock for new home tiki bars and period-authentic sets for "Blast from the Past" and "Mad Men". These bars range from the simple to full-builds which rival their commercial forebears. Modern tiki mug manufacturing in the 21st century also became common and they are frequently purchased on the internet from companies such as Tiki Farm and Muntiki, among others.


title: Tiki culture

text: The pioneering video podcast "Tiki Bar TV" started in 2005, highlighting drink recipes such as the Suffering Bastard and the Boomerang while filling tongue in cheek "prescriptions" for modern day maladies with tiki cocktails. It garnered attention from the Apple Corporation.


title: Tiki culture

text: "Tiki Magazine" was launched, and large tiki-themed conventions began being held. Annual events include Tiki Oasis in San Diego started in 2001 by Otto and Baby Doe von Stroheim; the Hukilau occurs in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and was started in 2002 by Tim "Swanky" Glazner and Christie White in association with the Mai-Kai restaurant. In 2005, Robert Drasnin was invited to perform at The Hukilau, his show consisting of selections from his 1959 album "Voodoo", as well as new material that would form the basis for the release of "Voodoo II" almost a half century later in 2007.; Tiki-Kon started as the NW Tiki Crawl in 2003, and takes place in Portland, Oregon. "Tiki Caliente" in Palm Springs. The Ohana: Luau at the Lake takes place in Lake George, NY at the Tiki Resort hotel. It is put on in conjunction with The Fraternal Order of Moai, a tiki-themed social club formed in Ohio in 2005. Inhuele is hosted in Atlanta, GA every January. The same organizers also produce an Atlanta tiki home-bar crawl.


title: Tiki culture

text: A remake of Thor Heyerdahl's 1950 documentary was filmed using two languages and turned into a major motion picture in 2012 with the release of "Kon-Tiki". The documentary "Bosko and the Rebirth of Tiki" was released in 2018.


title: Tiki culture

text: With the 21st century revival has come criticism. Some criticize tiki bars as a seductive form of cultural appropriation which can obscure and subsume native traditions and divert attention from the history of violent colonialism in the region. In 2016, National Public Radio posed the question: "Let's talk tiki bars, harmless fun or exploitation?"


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: The (model code X204) is a Compact luxury crossover SUV produced from 2008 to 2015, debuting at the 2008 Beijing Auto Show. The name GLK is an acronym for Geländewagen Luxus Kompaktklasse, taking its name from larger Mercedes-Benz GL-Class, which in turn was named after the G-Wagen or Geländewagen. Thus, the GL is the luxury-oriented version of the G, and GLK is the compact version of the GL.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: In 2015, the GLK-Class was replaced by the GLC as per the revised nomenclature adopted by the brand. Under this scheme, SUVs use the base name "GL", followed by the model's placement in Mercedes-Benz hierarchy. The "G" is for Geländewagen (German for off-road vehicle) and alludes the long-running G-Wagen. This is followed by the letter "L" that acts as a linkage with the letter "C"—the GLC being the SUV equivalent to the C-Class.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: Two concept vehicles appeared in 2008: The Vision GLK Freeside and the Vision GLK Townside. The former was designed to handle light off-road duty, while the latter was intended for exclusively on-road driving.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: The Freeside incorporated design aspects of the original Mercedes-Benz G-Class with typical design features from the contemporary Mercedes-Benz passenger car range. The concept included a 2.2-litre BlueTec four-cylinder Diesel engine rated at , 7G-Tronic seven-speed automatic transmission, 4Matic all-wheel drive, anticipatory Pre-Safe safety concept and the Intelligent Light System (ILS), Command APS infotainment centre, a rear-seat entertainment system with two screens and Thermotronic 3-zone automatic climate control, Agility Control suspension. The vehicle was unveiled in 2008 Detroit Auto Show.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: The GLK-Class shares the C-Class W204 platform, and production plans continued after the demise of the similar Smart Formore. The vehicle was unveiled in Auto China 2008.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: European models went on sale on June 30, 2008, with deliveries beginning in the autumn the same year. Early German models included GLK 220 CDI 4Matic BlueEfficiency, GLK 320 CDI 4Matic, GLK 280 4Matic, GLK 350 4Matic. GLK Edition 1 models are based on V6 engine models, but include exterior sports package, 20-inch wheels, Easy-Pack tailgate and specially coloured privacy glass in the rear compartment, interior sports package, black/white nappa leather seats from the designo range, AMG multifunction leather steering wheel, a black roof lining, exclusive aluminium trim elements and the Command APS system, calcite white body colour.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: GLK 220 CDI BlueEfficiency, GLK 220 CDI 4Matic BlueEfficiency, GLK 300 4Matic, GLK 250 CDI 4Matic BlueEfficiency were introduced in 2009.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: At launch in Germany and North America, the car was offered in all-wheel drive only, though a rear-wheel drive only version was added to the range.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: The GLK-Class is not sold in RHD markets, such as the United Kingdom and Australia, due to a driveshaft used to operate the front wheels on 4WD versions of the GLK. It is positioned such that it occupies the same space as the steering column for RHD models, and as such the two configurations are not compatible with each other.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: A concept vehicle demonstrating a Bluetec engine with hybrid module was developed. It includes a 4-cylinder Bluetec Diesel engine, maximum electric motor, alubeam blue body colour, 20-inch light-alloy wheels, black leather upper dashboard upholstery, Command APS central display, Agility Control suspension.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: Mercedes-Benz USA partnered with four tuners to develop custom designs based on the upcoming 2010 GLK-Class vehicles, as part of the US launch of GLK-Class SUV in 2009.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: The Urban Whip is a white roadster built by Boulevard Customs, NBS Performance. Based on the GLK 350 4Matic, it included custom-made wide-body kit developed with RoBrady Design, body lowered by 64mm with custom lowering springs, 26-inch Asanti AF 150 chrome wheels with custom black accents and 295/25 ZR26 Pirelli Scorpion tires, front and rear Brembo performance brake kit with 381mm 2-piece floating rotors and 8-pot front callipers and 344mm 2-piece floating rotors with 4-piston rear callipers, 5.7 kW custom stereo system with eight HD amps and six new JL Audio 13TW5 flat subwoofers.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: Brabus Widestar included a 320 Bluetec engine from other models available in the United States, Widestar bodyshell, customised front and rear bumpers, LED daytime running lights, side skirts, a roof spoiler with LED lights (position lights) and all-new LED lighting units above the front windshield, 21-inch wheels with 295/30 ZR 21 tires, lower ride height by 30 mm via Brabus chassis kit, high-performance brake system, enhanced engine power to and via ECOPowerXtra tuning kit, semi-aniline leather upholstery, diagonal stitching on the seating, door panels and the entire vehicle floor in cognac colour; black leather on upper surfaces of dashboard and door panels; black with piano black wood trim at roof lining Alcantara upholstery, sports steering wheel and aluminium sports pedals, multimedia system mounted in the front seat backs with a DVD player and 7-inch monitors.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: RennTech Rally Racer is a hybrid vehicle based on GLK 350 4Matic, built by Renntech, inspired by the winged, unlimited-class rally cars of Pikes Peak Hill Climb. The engine power was increased to via special intake manifold, cams and cylinder heads, long-tube headers, composite air intake, Renntech ECU software. It also included hybrid system with 72 volt electric motor, 12 volt plug-in batteries. Other features include custom coil-over suspension from KW, Renntech brake combo with 412mm 2-piece rotors with 8-piston front callipers at the front and 356mm discs with 4-pot rear callipers, 20 inch 3-piece, 5-spoke Renntech Sniper Gray wheels with NT05 275/40 20 Nitto front and NT05 315/35 20 rear tires, aerodynamically-tuned body kit.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: The Four Corners Rock Crawler is based on GLK 350 4Matic, built by Legendary Motorcar Company. The design was inspired by the idea of turning the GLK into an interactive snowboarding car. It included a gasoline-powered tow winch, stainless steel bar roof with swing-out side-mounted grinding rails, Perspex panel fitted to the roof, increased ride height by 38mm via custom-made spacers on the lower control arm at the rear and billet aluminium spacers at the front, 18-inch Jesse James Black-Widow rims with Toyo Open Country AT mudder tires, stock interior. The vehicles were unveiled in the 2008 SEMA Show, followed by 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: The ECO PowerXtra engine tuning kit found in Brabus Widestar concept also appeared in its GLK 320 CDI 4Matic upgrade kit. Brabus Widestar was later sold as conversion kit for X204 GLK built before June 2012. The construction of Rock Crawler concept was featured in season 9 of Dream Car Garage.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: The GLK has a comprehensive restraint system which consists of seatbelt tensioners and nine airbags, which are deployed selectively depending on the type of collision and its severity to reduce the forces exerted on the occupants.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: In 2009, the GLK 280 4Matic and GLK 320 CDI 4Matic were replaced by the GLK 300 4Matic and GLK 350 CDI 4Matic respectively.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: In December 2011, the first locally produced Mercedes-Benz GLK was made in the Beijing production plant of Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd. (BBAC).


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: At the end of July 2008, Mercedes-Benz had received a total of 10,000 orders for a GLK-Class vehicle, with 1000 orders for the Edition 1 vehicles.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: As of Nov 03, 2008, 25,000 orders have been placed for the GLK-Class in Western Europe, with delivery beginning in 2008-10-18.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: As part of the GLK product launch prior to the 2008 Detroit Auto Show debut, a prototype GLK appeared in the Sex and the City movie.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: As part of the GLK product launch, the www.mercedes-glk.com web site was unveiled, which features an interactive music video that users can help to design, as well as a “GLK Backstage” section for discussions with the engineers who created the new model.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: As part of US product launch with the SEMA concepts, visitors could cast vote for the favourite customized GLK vehicles, with winner of the “Tuner Challenge” announced on 2 December.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: Early models include the GLK 200 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY, GLK 220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY, GLK 220 CDI 4MATIC BlueEFFICIENCY, GLK 220 BlueTEC 4MATIC, GLK 250 BlueTEC 4MATIC, GLK 350 CDI 4MATIC BlueEFFICIENCY and the GLK 350 4MATIC BlueEFFICIENCY.


title: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class

text: Early US models include the GLK 350 and GLK 350 4MATIC BlueEFFICIENCY as a 2013 year model with sales beginning in summer 2012, followed by the GLK 250 BlueTEC 4MATIC in early 2013.


title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport

text: Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) is an international airport in Kota Kinabalu, the state capital of Sabah, Malaysia. It is located approximately southwest of the city centre. In 2017, 8 million passengers passed through the airport, making it the second busiest airport in Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur International Airport and the busiest airport in Borneo island. A medium-sized airport with good connections to most major aviation hubs across the Asia-Pacific region, the airport serves the city of Kota Kinabalu as well as the entire west coast of Sabah.


title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport

text: The airport began as a military airfield built by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. It was then known as Jesselton Airfield (Kota Kinabalu was known as Jesselton at the time). Towards the end of the war, it suffered severe bombings by Allied Forces. After the war, the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) of North Borneo (now Sabah) took over the operation and maintenance of the airport.


title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport

text: Regular passenger service commenced in May 1949, with a weekly Malayan Airways flight from Singapore, via Kuching and Labuan; the route was extended to Sandakan in September 1949. By 1950, the airport served as a stopover for a biweekly flights between Hong Kong and Labuan, via Manila and Sandakan operated by Cathay Pacific. The domestic air service was further developed by Sabah Airways Limited (later known as Borneo Airways) in 1953, connecting the town to Sandakan, Kudat, Ranau, Keningau and Tawau.


title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport

text: By 1957, the original grass strip runway was resurfaced with bitumen material and a new terminal was built. In 1959, the runway had been extended to 1,593 metres to enable the operation of Malayan Airways' turboprop Viscount aircraft.


title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport

text: By 1963, the runway was further reinforced and lengthened to 1,921 meters to cater for Malaysian Airways Comet 4 jet operations. Commercial flights and passenger arrivals gradually increased and a larger terminal building was needed. By 1967, Cathay Pacific Airways operated a twice-weekly Convair 880 jet service between the airport and Hong Kong with an intermediate stop in Manila.


title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport

text: In 1969, a British consultancy firm was appointed to formulate a Master Plan for a phased and organised development of KKIA over the next few decades. The master plan was submitted to the government with recommendations to:


title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport

text: In the 1970s and 1980s, a new terminal building was built on the other side of the runway from the original terminal. Almost all commercial flights were shifted to this newer and larger terminal. Subsequently, the original terminal became known as the "Airport Lama" ("Old Airport"). In 1992, the DCA of Sabah was corporatised and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad took over the management and operations of the airport. A further expansion project for both terminals began in 2006, and in January 2007 the original terminal was rebranded Terminal 2 whilst the newer terminal became known as Terminal 1.


title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport

text: As a major economic and leisure hub in Malaysian Borneo, past operators at the airport include Air Macau, Airphil Express, Asiana Airlines, Australian Airlines, Cathay Dragon, Cathay Pacific, China Northern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Dragonair, Far Eastern Air Transport, Fly Asian Xpress, HK Express, Indonesia AirAsia, Korean Air, Lucky Air, Mandarin Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Jetstar Asia Airways, Shanghai Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, SilkAir, Singapore Airlines, South East Asian Airlines, South Phoenix Airways, Thai AirAsia, Thai Airways International, Thai Smile, Tiger Airways, TransAsia Airways, Uni Air, Vladivostok Air, Wings Air and Xiamen Airlines.


title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport

text: Terminal 2 was closed on 1 December 2015 and all airlines shifted their operations to Terminal 1. There are plans to use Terminal 2 for cargo operations and general aviation.


title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport

text: In mid-2005, the Malaysian federal government approved major renovation and refurbishment works to the main terminal (Terminal 1) as well as a runway expansion project worth RM1.4 billion. The project saw the runway extended from to and the size of the main terminal increased from to . Terminal 1 can accommodate four Boeing 747s, one Airbus A330, seven Boeing 737s, three Fokker 50s and three Dorniers at any given time. It has 12 jetways for passenger use. The air traffic control tower, which had hitherto been attached to Terminal 1, was demolished and replaced by a stand-alone tower. Due to delays in upgrade works and disputes between the Department of Civil Aviation of Malaysia and the contractor responsible for the project, the runway extension and upgrading of the ILS (Instrument Landing System) was delayed to Q1 2014.


title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport

text: As a result of this expansion, the airport is now able to accommodate the world's largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380. It has also become the second largest airport in Malaysia, with an annual capacity of 12 million passengers – 9 million for Terminal 1 and 3 million for Terminal 2.


title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport

text: Generally, flights operating into and out of KKIA are serviced by narrow-body aircraft. However, during school holiday seasons, airlines such as Malaysia Airlines may upgrade their flights to wide-body aircraft, particularly the Airbus A330-300. Additionally, KKIA was the first airport in Malaysia to welcome the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, operated by Royal Brunei during several product introductory flights in November 2013. As to date, the largest aircraft to have utilize the airport are the Boeing 747-8, B777-300ER and Airbus A350 XWB.


title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport

text: Terminal 1 is the newer and the main terminal of KKIA. It can be accessed via Jalan Kepayan, Jalan Lintas and Jalan Putatan located in the suburb or township of Kepayan. The terminal is capable of handling 9 million passengers per annum and is equipped with the following facilities:


title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport

text: The Departure Hall column head design is inspired by the 'Wakid' basket design. A 'Wakid' is, in Sabahan tradition, a symbol of preparing for a meaningful journey. Some ethnic patterns of the Rungus and Bajau ethnic groups are also incorporated into the design of the floor tiles.


title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport

text: The first flight to depart at the new wing was MH2637 to Kuala Lumpur at 06:50 while the last flight at the old wing was at 00:25. Malaysia Airlines is the main operating airline in this terminal.


title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport

text: Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, KKIA experienced issues during peak periods where aircraft parking is limited. A temporary workaround by Malaysian Airports was the introduction of a few new aircraft remote bays situated beside the MASkargo hangar. The remote bay allows either 3 additional narrowbody aircraft or 1 widebody and 1 narrowbody aircraft at any given time. Also introduced was the revision on current turboprop aircraft to narrowbody jet parking to allow more B737/A320 aircraft. The remote bay construction has been completed and in use by August 2022.


title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport

text: Terminal 2 was the original terminal building of the airport when it was first built. It is accessed via Jalan Mat Salleh in Tanjung Aru and is located on the other side of the runway from Terminal 1. Terminal 2 served charter and low-cost carriers, the main airline utilizing the terminal being AirAsia.


title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport

text: In 2006, Terminal 2 underwent a major renovation and extension to accommodate low-cost carriers, reopening on 1 January 2007 in conjunction with "Visit Malaysia Year 2007". The works were completed 27 months ahead of schedule. It had 26 check-in counters for domestic and international flights and 9 parking bays capable for narrow-body aircraft as well as 7 luggage x-ray machines, a VIP room and 13 immigration counters. The terminal had the capacity to handle 3 million passengers annually.


title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport

text: However, with limited expansion space and the congestion at Terminal 2, as well as to consolidate all airlines operations in one terminal, airlines at Terminal 2 was ordered to move to Terminal 1. The decision was opposed by AirAsia, and the airline refused to move despite a government directive to do so, missing the deadline five times as of 1 August 2015. The issue was resolved when AirAsia agreed to move to Terminal 1 on 1 December 2015, and Terminal 2 was closed at midnight that day. The terminal will be converted for cargo, charter, VIP flights and general aviation use.


title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport

text: The Terminal currently serves for cargo operators such as Raya Airways and several General Aviation companies such as Weststar and Layang-Layang. Recently, during a state event with many VIP's in attendance, private jets on charter were moved to Terminal 2 to avoid congestion aircraft parking bays on Terminal 1. This includes a Boeing BBJ2 and B747-8i.


title: Nüwa

text: Nüwa, also read Nügua, is the mother goddess of Chinese mythology. She is credited with creating humanity and repairing the Pillar of Heaven.


title: Nüwa

text: In the Huainanzi, there is described a great battle between deities that broke the pillars supporting Heaven and caused great devastation. There was great flooding, and Heaven had collapsed. Nüwa was the one who patched the holes in Heaven with five colored stones, and she used the legs of a tortoise to mend the pillars.


title: Nüwa

text: There are many instances of her in literature across China which detail her in creation stories, and today remains a figure important to Chinese culture.


title: Nüwa

text: The character "nü" () is a common prefix on the names of goddesses. The proper name is "wa", also read as "gua" (). The Chinese character is unique to this name. Birrell translates it as 'lovely', but notes that it "could be construed as 'frog', which is consistent with her aquatic myth. In Chinese, the word for 'whirlpool' is "wo" (), which shares the same pronunciation with the word for 'snail' (). These characters all have their right side constructed by the word "wa" (), which can be translated as 'spiral' or 'helix' as noun, and as 'spin' or 'rotate' when as verb, to describe the 'helical movement'. This mythical meaning has also been symbolically pictured as compasses in the hand which can be found on many paintings and portraits associated with her.


title: Nüwa

text: The catastrophes were supposedly caused by the battle between the deities Gonggong and Zhuanxu (an event that was mentioned earlier in the "Huainanzi"), the five-colored stones symbolize the five Chinese elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water), the black dragon was the essence of water and thus cause of the floods, Ji Province serves metonymically for the central regions (the Sinitic world). Following this, the "Huainanzi" tells about how the sage-rulers Nüwa and Fuxi set order over the realm by following the Way () and its potency ().


title: Nüwa

text: The "Classic of Mountains and Seas", dated between the Warring States period and the Han Dynasty, describes Nüwa's intestines as being scattered into ten spirits.


title: Nüwa

text: In "Liezi" (c. 475 – 221 BC), Chapter 5 "Questions of Tang" (), author Lie Yukou describes Nüwa repairing the original imperfect heaven using five-colored stones, and cutting the legs off a tortoise to use as struts to hold up the sky.


title: Nüwa

text: In "Songs of Chu" (c. 340 – 278 BC), Chapter 3 "Asking Heaven" (), author Qu Yuan writes that Nüwa molded figures from the yellow earth, giving them life and the ability to bear children. After demons fought and broke the pillars of the heavens, Nüwa worked unceasingly to repair the damage, melting down the five-coloured stones to mend the heavens.


title: Nüwa

text: In "Shuowen Jiezi" (c. 58 – 147 AD), China's earliest dictionary, under the entry for Nüwa author Xu Shen describes her as being both the sister and the wife of Fuxi. Nüwa and Fuxi were pictured as having snake-like tails interlocked in an Eastern Han Dynasty mural in the Wuliang Temple in Jiaxiang county, Shandong province.


title: Nüwa

text: In "Yuchuan Ziji" ( c. 618 – 907 AD), Chapter 3 (), author Lu Tong describes Nüwa as the wife of Fuxi.


title: Nüwa

text: In "Siku Quanshu", Sima Zhen (679–732) provides commentary on the prologue chapter to Sima Qian's "Shiji", "Supplemental to the Historic Record: History of the Three August Ones", wherein it is found that the Three August Ones are Nüwa, Fuxi, and Shennong; Fuxi and Nüwa have the same last name, Feng (; Hmong: Faj).


title: Nüwa

text: In the collection "Four Great Books of Song" (c. 960 – 1279 AD), compiled by Li Fang and others, Volume 78 of the book "Imperial Readings of the Taiping Era" contains a chapter "Customs by Yingshao of the Han Dynasty" in which it is stated that there were no men when the sky and the earth were separated. Thus Nüwa used yellow clay to make people. But the clay was not strong enough so she put ropes into the clay to make the bodies erect. It is also said that she prayed to gods to let her be the goddess of marital affairs. Variations of this story exist.


title: Nüwa

text: The iconography of Fuxi and Nüwa vary in physical appearance depending on the time period and also shows regional differences. In Chinese tomb murals and iconography, Fuxi and Nüwa generally have snake-like bodies and human face or head.


title: Nüwa

text: Fuxi and Nüwa can be depicted as individual figures arranged as a symmetrical pair or they can be depicted in double figures with intertwined snake-like bodies. Their snake-like tails can also be depicted stretching out towards each other. Fuxi and Nüwa can also appear individually on separate tomb bricks. They generally hold or embrace the sun or moon discs containing the images of a bird (or a three-legged crow) or a toad (sometimes a hare) which are the sun and moon symbolism respectively, and/or each holding a try square or a pair of compasses, or holding a longevity mushroom () plant. Fuxi and Nüwa holding the sun and the moon appears as early as the late Western Han dynasty. Other physical appearance variation, such as lower snake-like body shape (e.g. thick vs thin tails), depictions of legs (i.e. legs found along the snake-like body) and wings (e.g. wings with feathers which protrude from their backs as found in late Western Han Xinan (新安) Tomb or smaller quills found on their shoulders), and in hats and hairstyles, also exist.


title: Nüwa

text: In the Luoyang regions murals dating to the late Western Han dynasty, Fuxi and Nüwa are generally depicted as individual figures, each one found at each side of the central ridge of tomb chambers as found in the Bu Qianqiu Tomb. They can also be found without intertwining tails from the stone murals of the same period. Since the middle of the Eastern Han dynasty, their tails started to intertwine.


title: Nüwa

text: In the Gansu murals dating to the Wei and Western Jin period, one of the most typical features of Fuxi is the "mountain-hat" () which looks like a three-peaked cap while Nüwa is depicted wearing various hairstyles characteristic of Han women. Both deities dressed in wide-sleeved clothing, which reflects typical Han clothing style also commonly depicted in Han dynasty art.


title: Nüwa

text: Nüwa is featured within the famed Ming dynasty novel "Fengshen Bang". As featured within this novel, Nüwa is very highly respected since the time of the Xia Dynasty for being the daughter of the Jade Emperor; Nüwa is also regularly called the "Snake Goddess". After the Shang Dynasty had been created, Nüwa created the five-colored stones to protect the dynasty with occasional seasonal rains and other enhancing qualities. Thus in time, Shang Rong asked King Zhou of Shang to pay her a visit as a sign of deep respect. After Zhou was completely overcome with lust at the very sight of the beautiful ancient goddess Nüwa (who had been sitting behind a light curtain), he wrote an erotic poem on a neighboring wall and took his leave. When Nüwa later returned to her temple after visiting the Yellow Emperor, she saw the foulness of Zhou's words. In her anger, she swore the Shang Dynasty would end in payment for his offense. In her rage, Nüwa personally ascended to the palace in an attempt to kill the king, but was suddenly struck back by two large beams of red light.


title: Nüwa

text: After Nüwa realized that King Zhou was already destined to rule the kingdom for twenty-six more years, Nüwa summoned her three subordinates—the Thousand-Year Vixen (later becoming Daji), the Jade Pipa, and the Nine-Headed Pheasant. With these words, Nüwa brought destined chaos to the Shang Dynasty, "The luck Cheng Tang won six hundred years ago is dimming. I speak to you of a new mandate of heaven which sets the destiny for all. You three are to enter King Zhou's palace, where you are to bewitch him. Whatever you do, do not harm anyone else. If you do my bidding, and do it well, you will be permitted to reincarnate as human beings." With these words, Nüwa was never heard of again, but was still a major indirect factor towards the Shang Dynasty's fall.


title: Nüwa

text: Pangu was said to be the creation god in Chinese mythology. He was a giant sleeping within an egg of chaos. As he awoke, he stood up and divided the sky and the earth. Pangu then died after standing up, and his body turned into rivers, mountains, plants, animals, and everything else in the world, among which is a powerful being known as Huaxu (華胥). Huaxu gave birth to a twin brother and sister, Fuxi and Nüwa. Fuxi and Nüwa are said to be creatures that have faces of human and bodies of snakes.


title: Nüwa

text: Nüwa created humanity due to her loneliness, which grew more intense over time. She molded yellow earth or, in other versions, yellow clay into the shape of people. These individuals later became the wealthy nobles of society, because they had been created by Nüwa's own hands. However, the majority of humanity was created when Nüwa dragged string across mud to mass-produce them, which she did because creating every person by hand was too time- and energy-consuming. This creation story gives an aetiological explanation for the social hierarchy in ancient China. The nobility believed that they were more important than the mass-produced majority of humanity, because Nüwa took time to create them, and they had been directly touched by her hand. In another version of the creation of humanity, Nüwa and Fuxi were survivors of a great flood. By the command of the God of the heaven, they were married and Nüwa had a child which was a ball of meat. This ball of meat was cut into small pieces, and the pieces were scattered across the world, which then became humans.


title: Nüwa

text: Nüwa was born three months after her brother, Fuxi, whom she later took as her husband; this marriage is the reason why Nüwa is credited with inventing the idea of marriage.


title: Nüwa

text: Before the two of them got married, they lived on mount K'un-lun. A prayer was made after the two became guilty of falling for each other. The prayer is as follows,


title: Nüwa

text: "Oh Heaven, if Thou wouldst send us forth as man and wife, then make all the misty vapor gather. If not, then make all the misty vapor disperse."


title: Nüwa

text: Misty vapor then gathered after the prayer signifying the two could marry. When intimate, the two made a fan out of grass to screen their faces which is why during modern day marriages, the couple hold a fan together. By connecting, the two were representative of Yin and Yang; Fuxi being connected to Yang and masculinity along Nüwa being connected to Yin and femininity. This is further defined with Fuxi receiving a carpenter's square which symbolizes his identification with the physical world because a carpenter's square is associated with straight lines and squares leading to a more straightforward mindset. Meanwhile, Nüwa was given a compass to symbolize her identification with the heavens because a compass is associated with curves and circles leading to a more abstract mindset. With the two being married, it symbolized the union between heaven and Earth. Other versions have Nüwa invent the compass rather than receive it as a gift. In addition, the system of male and female sex, the yang-yin philosophy, is expressed here in a complex way: first as Fuxi and Nüwa, then as a compass (masculine) and a square (feminine), and thirdly, as Nüwa (woman) with a compass (man) and Fuxi (man) with a square (woman).


title: Nüwa

text: Nüwa Mends the Heavens () is a well-known theme in Chinese culture. The courage and wisdom of Nüwa inspired the ancient Chinese to control nature's elements and has become a favorite subject of Chinese poets, painters, and sculptors, along with so many poetry and arts like novels, films, paintings, and sculptures; e.g. the sculptures that decorate Nanshan and Ya'an.


title: Nüwa

text: The Huainanzi tells an ancient story about how the four pillars that support the sky crumbled inexplicably. Other sources have tried to explain the cause, i.e. the battle between Gong Gong and Zhuanxu or Zhurong. Unable to accept his defeat, Gong Gong deliberately banged his head onto Mount Buzhou (不周山) which was one of the four pillars. Half of the sky fell which created a gaping hole and the earth itself was cracked; the earth's axis mundi was tilted into the southeast while the sky rose into the northwest. This is said to be the reason why the western region of China is higher than the eastern and that most of its rivers flow towards the southeast. This same explanation is applied to the sun, moon, and stars which moved into the northwest. A wildfire burnt the forests and led the wild animals to run amok and attack the innocent peoples, while the water which was coming out from the earth's crack didn't seem to be slowing down.


title: Nüwa

text: Nüwa pitied the humans she had made and attempted to repair the sky. She gathered five colored-stones (red, yellow, blue, black, and white) from the riverbed, melted them and used them to patch up the sky: since then the sky (clouds) have been colorful. She then killed a giant turtle (or tortoise), some version named the tortoise as Ao, cut off the four legs of the creature to use as new pillars to support the sky. But Nüwa didn't do it perfectly because the unequal length of the legs made the sky tilt. After the job was done, Nüwa drove away the wild animals, extinguished the fire, and controlled the flood with a huge amount of ashes from the burning reeds and the world became as peaceful as it was before.


title: Nüwa

text: Many Chinese know well their Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, i.e. the early leaders of humanity as well as culture heroes according to the Northern Chinese belief. But the lists vary and depend on the sources used. One version includes Nüwa as one of the Three Sovereigns, who reigned after Fuxi and before Shennong.


title: Nüwa

text: The myth of the Three Sovereigns sees the three as demigod figures, and the myth is used to stress the importance of an imperial reign. The variation between sources stems from China being generally divided before the Qin and Han dynasties, and the version with Fuxi, Shennong, and Nüwa was used to emphasize rule and structure.


title: Nüwa

text: In her matriarchal reign, she battled against a neighboring tribal chief, defeated him, and took him to the peak of a mountain. Defeated by a woman, the chief felt ashamed to be alive and banged his head on the heavenly bamboo to kill himself and for revenge. His act tore a hole in the sky and made a flood hit the whole world. The flood killed all people except Nüwa and her army which was protected by her divinity. After that, Nüwa patched the sky with five colored-stones until the flood receded.


title: Dainik Bhaskar

text: Dainik Bhaskar is India's largest Hindi-language daily newspaper owned by the Dainik Bhaskar Group. According to Audit Bureau of Circulations, it is ranked 3rd in the world by circulation and is the largest newspaper in India by circulation. Started in Bhopal in 1958, it expanded in 1983 with the launch of "Dainik Bhaskar"'s Indore edition. "Dainik Bhaskar Group" is present in 12 states with 65 editions in Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati.


title: Dainik Bhaskar

text: "Subah Savere" was launched in 1948 to fulfill the need for a Hindi-language daily newspaper. It launched under the name "Subah Savere" in Bhopal and "Good Morning India" in Gwalior. In 1957, the newspaper was renamed "Bhaskar Samachar".


title: Dainik Bhaskar

text: In 1958, the newspaper was renamed "Dainik Bhaskar". The word "Bhaskar" means "the Rising Sun" in English. Along with its rising sun graphic, was meant to represent a bright future.


title: Dainik Bhaskar

text: By 1995, "Dainik Bhaskar" had emerged as the number 1 newspaper in Madhya Pradesh (MP) and was declared the fastest-growing daily in India by a readership survey. The newspaper decided to expand outside MP and identified Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan, as the market with the highest potential.


title: Dainik Bhaskar

text: In 1996, "Dainik Bhaskar"'s goal was to enter Jaipur as the No. 2 newspaper (in terms of circulation) on its first day, with 50,000 copies. To achieve this target, an in-house team of 700 surveyors surveyed 200,000 potential newspaper households in Jaipur. Based on survey feedback, they went back to each of the households surveyed to show them a prototype of the newspaper and gave them the option of an advance subscription. The customers were offered a subscription price of ₹1.50 (a discount compared to the newsstand price of ₹2), and a refund in case of dissatisfaction. When "Dainik Bhaskar" launched in Jaipur on 19 December 1996, it was the No. 1 newspaper by selling 172,347 copies. "Amar Ujala", is a Hindi-dialect day by day daily paper distributed in India. It has 19 versions in seven states and one union domain covering 167 regions. It has a course of around two million copies. "Rajasthan Patrika", the former leader had a circulation of around 100,000 copies at that time. "Dainik Bhaskar" successfully adopted a similar model in other cities of Rajasthan, including Jodhpur, Bikaner, Kota, Udaipur, and Ajmer Sikar, becoming the No.1 urban newspaper of the entire state by 1999.


title: Dainik Bhaskar

text: The next target was Chandigarh. It launched a customer survey in January 2000, covering 220,000 households. At that time, the English language newspapers in Chandigarh outsold the Hindi newspapers sixfold, with The Tribune as the leader with a circulation of approximately 50,000 copies. "Dainik Bhaskar"'s survey suggested that residents of Chandigarh preferred English newspapers due to quality perceptions. As a result, the newspaper incorporated the local Chandigarh dialect in the design, mixing Hindi and English. "Dainik Bhaskar" launched in Chandigarh in May 2000 with 69,000 copies sold making it No.1 in the city.


title: Dainik Bhaskar

text: In 2006, "Dainik Bhaskar" launched in Punjab with the Amritsar and Jalandhar editions and became the No.1 newspaper on the first day, displacing established legacy players. Later, it increased its presence in Punjab in Ludhiana and Bhatinda.


title: Dainik Bhaskar

text: In 2010, "Dainik Bhaskar" entered the Jharkhand market with the launch of a Ranchi edition, followed by Jamshedpur and Dhanbad editions.


title: Dainik Bhaskar

text: In January 2014, "Dainik Bhaskar" entered Bihar with a successful launch in Patna It followed with launch of Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur and Gaya editions in 2015.


title: Dainik Bhaskar

text: In June 2017, "Dainik Bhaskar" launched its Hindi News on three different platforms i.e. Android, iOS and Windows.


title: Dainik Bhaskar

text: On 22 July 2021, Income Tax Department conducted tax raids at 30 locations of Dainik Bhaskar Group in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra under charges of alleged tax evasion The homes of a few of the employees were also raided. In a statement released by Dainik Bhaskar, they claimed that the raids have been done after they exposed mismanagement of COVID by the government and published true COVID-19 death statistics. They also alleged that mobile phones of the employees were seized and employees were barred from leaving.


title: Dainik Bhaskar

text: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the media house is “paying the price” for its coverage during the pandemic. "Through its reporting Dainik Bhaskar has exposed the Modi regime’s monumental mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now paying the price. An Undeclared Emergency as Arun Shourie has said — this is a Modified Emergency," he tweeted. Several other leaders including Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee also condemned the incident and expressed the common viewpoint of the raids being a "mode of intimidation". The Editors Guild of India also expressed concern about the income tax raids on Dainik Bhaskar. Union Minister and BJP MP Anurag Thakur has denied any government interference and claimed agencies are doing their job. At last, it was claimed that tax evasion of 7,000,000,000 INR has taken place over the period of six years.


title: Dainik Bhaskar

text: "Dainik Bhaskar" has five editions in Madhya Pradesh, one edition in Uttar Pradesh, four editions in Chhattisgarh, 12 editions in Rajasthan, three editions in Haryana, four editions in Punjab, four editions in Bihar, three editions Jharkhand and one edition each in Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir.


title: Kollur Mine

text: Kollur Mine was a series of gravel-clay pits on the south bank of the Krishna River in the Golconda Sultanate of India. It currently falls within the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is thought to have produced many large diamonds, known as Golconda diamonds, several of which are or have been a part of crown jewels.


title: Kollur Mine

text: Kollur Mine operated between the 16th and mid-19th centuries, and was one of the largest and most productive diamond mines on the Indian subcontinent. At the height of production, around 30,000 – 60,000 people worked there, including men, women, and children of all ages. Kollur itself had a population of around 100,000.


title: Kollur Mine

text: Golconda mines were owned by the king, but operation was leased to diamond merchants, either foreigners or Indians of the goldsmith caste. As well as rent, the king also received 2% from sales and he was entitled to keep all diamonds weighing over 10 carats.


title: Kollur Mine

text: Mining at Kollur was crude, labour-intensive, and dangerous. Miners wore loincloths, slept in huts covered with straw, and were often given food instead of money. The pit walls had no timber supports and caved in after heavy rains, killing dozens of men at a time (women and children worked above ground).


title: Kollur Mine

text: The area was evacuated in the 2000s to make way for the Pulichinthala irrigation project and is submerged by of water for most of the year.


title: Kollur Mine

text: The gravel-clay pits were a maximum depth of due to the high water table. The diamond-bearing seam was approximately thick. Alluvial workings covered an area long and between and wide. It was bounded to the east by an outcrop of the Nallamala Hills and to the north and west by a meander of the River Krishna. Most of the pits have since been filled up with scree, boulders, and eluvium from neighbouring hillsides.


title: Kollur Mine

text: The Tavernier Blue diamond was purchased by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier from the Kollur Mine in the mid-17th century. King Louis XIV of France bought the diamond from Tavernier, but it was stolen during the French Revolution; it reappeared and has been re-cut as the Hope Diamond. Other diamonds thought to have originated at Kollur include the Koh-i-Noor, the Great Mogul, the Wittelsbach-Graff, the Regent, the Daria-i-Noor, the Orlov, the Nizam, the Dresden Green, the Nassak.


title: Kollur Mine

text: Kollur Mine's location on the south bank of Krishna River is indicated at latitude 16° 42' 30" N and longitude 80° 5' E on several maps created in the 17th and 18th centuries.


title: Kollur Mine

text: All memory of its position was lost, until it was rediscovered in the 1880s by Valentine Ball, a geologist who helped to create this map of Golconda mines. In his annotated English edition of gem merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier's book "Travels in India" (1676), Ball notes that ruins of houses and mine workings could still be found at Kollur.


title: Kollur Mine

text: In the 1960s, Kollur Mine was pinpointed more accurately as being due north-east of Kollur village on the south bank of River Krishna at latitude 16° 43' N and longitude 80° 02' E, and extending for all the way up to Pulichinthala village.


title: CoronaVac

text: CoronaVac, also known as the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, is a whole inactivated virus COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Chinese company Sinovac Biotech. It was Phase III clinical trialled in Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Turkey and relies on traditional technology similar to other inactivated-virus COVID-19 vaccines, such as the Sinopharm BIBP vaccine, another Chinese vaccine, and Covaxin, an Indian vaccine. CoronaVac does not need to be frozen, and both the final product and the raw material for formulating CoronaVac can be transported refrigerated at 2–8 °C (36–46 °F), temperatures at which flu vaccines are kept.


title: CoronaVac

text: A real-world study of tens of millions of Chileans who received CoronaVac found it 66% effective against symptomatic COVID-19, 88% effective against hospitalization, 90% effective against ICU admissions, and 86% effective against deaths. In Brazil, after 75% of the population in Serrana, São Paulo, received CoronaVac, preliminary results show deaths fell by 95%, hospitalizations by 86%, and symptomatic cases by 80%. In Indonesia, real world data from 128,290 healthcare workers showed 94% protection against symptomatic infection by the vaccine, beating results in clinical trials.


title: CoronaVac

text: Phase III results from Turkey, published in "The Lancet", showed an efficacy of 84% based on 10,218 participants in the trials. Phase III results from Brazil previously showed 50.7% efficacy at preventing symptomatic infections and 83.7% effectiveness in preventing mild cases needing treatment. Efficacy against symptomatic infections increased to 62.3% with an interval of at least 21 days between the doses.


title: CoronaVac

text: CoronaVac is being used in vaccination campaigns in various countries in Asia, South America, Central America, and Eastern Europe. By April 2021, Sinovac had a production capacity of 2 billion doses per year. It is currently being manufactured at several facilities in China, with overseas manufacture planned for Brazil in September 2021 and eventually Egypt and Hungary.


title: CoronaVac

text: On June 1, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) validated the vaccine for emergency use. Sinovac has signed purchase agreements for 380 million doses from COVAX. As of July 2021, CoronaVac was the most widely used COVID-19 vaccine in the world, with 943 million doses delivered.


title: CoronaVac

text: As of October 14, 2021, CoronaVac is the COVID-19 vaccine with the most doses administered worldwide.


title: CoronaVac

text: A recent study jointly conducted by the LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), and the Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CU Medicine), showed that a third dose of the Comirnaty vaccine given to those who received two doses of either Comirnaty or CoronaVac provides protective levels of measured antibodies against the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. Three doses of CoronaVac, however, did not provide adequate levels of protective antibodies by the same measure, in direct contradiction to claims made by the vaccine manufacturer.


title: CoronaVac

text: The vaccine is given by intramuscular injection into the deltoid muscle. The initial course consists of two doses. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends an interval of 4 weeks between doses, with data from Chile suggesting that a longer interval provides more robust immunity.


title: CoronaVac

text: Early evidence suggests that immunity wanes rapidly, so a booster dose after the initial course might be needed.


title: CoronaVac

text: In Brazil, a study was conducted in Serrana, population 45,000, where authorities attempted to vaccinate the entire adult population with CoronaVac. After 75% of the adult population received the vaccine, preliminary results show deaths fell by 95%, hospitalizations by 86% and symptomatic cases by 80%. According to Ricardo Palacios, a director at São Paulo's Instituto Butantan, “The most important result was understanding that we can control the pandemic even without vaccinating the entire population.”


title: CoronaVac

text: In July 2021, researchers from the Chilean Ministry of Health published a paper containing real-world data for their vaccination campaign. The study was conducted between 2 February and 1 May 2021, consisting of 10.2 million people. The effectiveness of CoronaVac vaccine after the second dose was in preventing symptomatic disease, for hospitalization, for ICU admission, and in preventing COVID-19 related deaths. The effectiveness after the first dose was against symptomatic disease, against hospitalization, against ICU admission, and against deaths. The study concluded that the vaccine was effective in preventing COVID-19.


title: CoronaVac

text: In May 2021, real-world data from Indonesia showed the vaccine was highly effective, with 94% of inoculated health care workers protected against symptomatic infection by the vaccine, besting results of clinical trials. In this study of 128,290 health workers in Jakarta, less than 1% of the vaccinated healthcare workers contracted symptomatic COVID-19, compared to more than 8% among the unvaccinated healthcare workers. The vaccine reduced the risk of hospitalization and death of the inoculated medical workers by 96% and 98% respectively.


title: CoronaVac

text: Uruguay released real-world data based on 795,684 people who have received both doses of CoronaVac for more than 14 days as of 1 June 2021. In this group, 8,298 tested positive, 45 were admitted to the ICU, and 35 died of COVID-19. This indicated 64.52% and 61.47% effectiveness in reducing COVID-19 cases for people aged 18–49 and 50 and older respectively. The vaccine was 94.95% and 92.18% effective in reducing ICU admissions, and 95.35% and 95.2% effective to prevent deaths. Among fully-vaccinated healthcare professionals, the vaccine was 66% effective in preventing cases, and 100% effective in preventing ICU admissions and deaths.


title: CoronaVac

text: Preliminary results from a test-negative case-control study from 19 January to 13 April 2021 in Manaus suggest that, after just one dose, the vaccine is effective against asymptomatic infections and against symptomatic disease. The one-dose group consisted of 53,176 healthcare professionals. During the study, 66% of the samples were of the Gamma variant. The same study found paradoxically reduced effectiveness against symptomatic disease in another group that received two doses, an effect attributed by the authors to unmeasured confounding leading to downward bias in the efficacy estimate.


title: CoronaVac

text: In Chile, the effectiveness against symptomatic disease dropped from 67% between February–April 2021 to 58.5% in early July. Because of this, on 11 August, Chile began giving an additional dose of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine to people over 55 who were fully vaccinated with CoronaVac before 31 March.


title: CoronaVac

text: In October 2021, a large scale study in Chile with 2,017,878 participants reported that, with a CoronaVac booster, effectiveness against hospitalization increased from 84% to 88% and effectiveness against symptomatic disease increased from 56% to 80%. The greatest increases were seen with a heterologous Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine booster, resulting in 96% effectiveness against hospitalization and 93% against symptomatic disease.


title: CoronaVac

text: A study by the University of Hong Kong in December 2021 found that a third dose of CoronaVac does not provide sufficient protection against the Omicron variant, directly contradicting the vaccine manufacturer's claim and a study by the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile that it does.


title: CoronaVac

text: In April 2022, a Singapore study by infectious diseases experts from the National Centre for Infectious Diseases and the Ministry of Health found that CoronaVac recipients were 4.59 times more likely to have severe COVID-19 as well as 2.37 times more likely to be infected, compared to those who took the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.


title: CoronaVac

text: In the following tables, a vaccine is generally considered effective if the estimate is ≥50% with a >30% lower limit of the 95% confidence interval. Effectiveness is generally expected to slowly decrease over time.


title: CoronaVac

text: A test-negative case-control study from 17 January to 29 April 2021 in the state of São Paulo, during which 86% of the collected genotype isolates were of the Gamma variant, with 43,774 participants aged 70 years or older, found an effectiveness after two doses of against symptomatic disease, against hospitalization and against death. After a single dose, the effectiveness was only against symptomatic disease, against hospitalization and against death, highlighting the importance of receiving the second dose. The study also found that effectiveness against symptomatic disease decreased with increasing age:


title: CoronaVac

text: Preliminary data from a large effectiveness study in Brazil with 61 million individuals from 18 January to 30 June 2021, when the Gamma variant was dominant in the country, indicate that effectiveness is markedly reduced in those aged 90 or older, attributable to immunosenescence:


title: CoronaVac

text: On 21 October 2021, the WHO recommended a third dose as part of the initial course for older adults 3–6 months after the second dose and for immunocompromised individuals 1–3 months after the second dose because these groups mount a weaker immune response compared to healthy adults. Where supplies are limited, the third dose for seniors should be given after achieving high coverage with two doses.


title: CoronaVac

text: As an inactivated vaccine like the Sinopharm BIBP vaccine and Covaxin, CoronaVac uses a more traditional technology that is similar to the inactivated polio vaccine. Initially, a sample of SARS-CoV-2 from China was used to grow large quantities of the virus using vero cells. From then on, the viruses are soaked in beta-propiolactone, which deactivates them by binding to their genes, while leaving other viral particles intact. The resulting inactivated viruses are then mixed with the adjuvant aluminium hydroxide.


title: CoronaVac

text: CoronaVac does not need to be frozen, and both the vaccine and raw material for formulating the new doses could be transported and refrigerated at , temperatures at which flu vaccines are kept. CoronaVac could remain stable for up to three years in storage, which might offer some advantage in vaccine distribution to regions where cold chains are not developed.


title: CoronaVac

text: In November 2020, Brazil's Instituto Butantan began building a facility to manufacture 100 million doses of CoronaVac a year, with a target completion date in September 2021. On 10 December, São Paulo Governor João Doria said that in the interim, prior to the local manufacture of CoronaVac, Instituto Butantan aimed to fill and finish 1 million doses of the vaccine per day.


title: CoronaVac

text: In April 2021, Sinovac said its third manufacturing plant for Coronavac was ready and had started manufacturing bulk vaccine ingredients, doubling its annual capacity to 2 billion doses.


title: CoronaVac

text: In April 2021, Bio Farma of Indonesia had filled and finished 35 million doses of CoronaVac, but was facing some production delays because of diminished supply of bulk delivered CoronaVac from China.


title: CoronaVac

text: In May 2021, Malaysian company Pharmaniaga obtained local approval for its fill and finish CoronaVac.


title: CoronaVac

text: In May 2021, Hungary announced an agreement to fill and finish CoronaVac, with the goal to eventually manufacture it locally in a new plant in Debrecen.


title: CoronaVac

text: In June 2021, Egypt announced that it will produce about 40 million doses by the end of the year. Distribution of the locally produced vaccine will begin by August and it will be used locally and sent to other African nations.


title: CoronaVac

text: In April 2020, CoronaVac began Phase I–II trials in China with 744 participants on adults over the age 18-59, and In May, CoronaVac began Phase I–II trials in China with 422 participants on elderly adults over the age 60 and above. Preliminary results indicate that neutralizing antibodies fell below the seropositive threshold 6 to 8 months after the first two doses, and that a third dose given 6 or more months after the second dose raised neutralizing antibody levels beyond that of an initial course consisting of 3 doses.


title: CoronaVac

text: In the Phase II trial completed in July 2020 published in "The Lancet", CoronaVac showed seroconversion of neutralising antibodies for 109 (92%) of 118 participants in the 3 μg group, 117 (98%) of 119 in the 6 μg group, after the days 0 and 14 schedule; whereas at day 28 after the days 0 and 28 schedule, seroconversion was seen in 114 (97%) of 117 in the 3 μg group, 118 (100%) of 118 in the 6 μg group. Phase II results for older adults published in "The Lancet" showed CoronaVac was safe and well tolerated in older adults, with neutralising antibody induced by a 3 μg dose similar to those of a 6 μg dose.


title: CoronaVac

text: In July 2020, Sinovac began Phase III trials to evaluate efficacy and safety on 9,000 volunteer healthcare professionals in Brazil, collaborating with Butantan Institute. On 19 October, São Paulo Governor João Doria said the first results of the clinical study conducted in Brazil proved that among the vaccines being tested in the country, CoronaVac is the safest, the one with the best and most promising immunization rates. On 23 October, São Paulo increased the number of volunteers in the trial to 13,000.


title: CoronaVac

text: Brazil briefly paused the trials on 10 November after the suicide of a volunteer before resuming them the next day. The suicide was unrelated to the vaccine trial.


title: CoronaVac

text: In August, a trial was started in Chile run by Pontifical Catholic University of Chile which was expected to include 3,000 volunteers between the ages of 18 and 65.


title: CoronaVac

text: In September, Turkey began trials with 13,000 volunteers on a two-dose 14-day interval. The monitoring process took place at 25 centers in 12 cities across the country.


title: CoronaVac

text: In April 2021, Sinovac began Phase II/III trials for the elderly aged 60–80 in the Philippines involving 352 volunteers.


title: CoronaVac

text: In September 2020, Sinovac began Phase I–II trials in China on children and adolescents ages 3–17. In May 2021, Sinovac began Phase IIb trials in China with 500 participants for children and adolescents 3–17 years old. In June 2021, it was announced that the vaccine was safe and immunogenic in this age group.


title: CoronaVac

text: In July, Sinovac began Phase III trials in Chile with 14,000 participants for children and adolescents and expand from 6 months to 17 years old.


title: CoronaVac

text: Peer-reviewed Phase III results from Turkey showed an efficacy of . The final efficacy rate was based on 41 infections, 32 of which had received a placebo. The vaccine prevented hospitalization and severe illness in 100% of cases, with all six people who were hospitalized in the placebo group. The final results were based on 10,218 participants in the trials.


title: CoronaVac

text: Phase III results from Brazil submitted to Lancet showed 50.7% efficacy at preventing symptomatic infections, 83.7% effective in preventing mild cases needing treatment. Efficacy against symptomatic infections increased to 62.3% with an interval of 21 days or more between the doses. A total of 12,396 volunteers participated in the study between 21 July and 16 December 2020. All participants received at least one dose of the vaccine or placebo. Of this total, 9,823 participants received both doses. Further detail published by Sinovac showed an efficacy against all symptomatic cases, against cases that require medical treatment, and against severe, hospitalized and fatal cases. In the placebo group (N=4870), there were 168 COVID cases, 30 cases requiring medical attention, and 10 severe cases including one death. In the vaccine group (N=4953), there were 85 COVID cases, 5 cases requiring medical attention, and no severe cases or deaths.


title: CoronaVac

text: On 1 April 2021, a preliminary report from a phase III clinical trial in Chile revealed that CoronaVac is safe and induces humoral and cell-mediated immunity in adults (18–59 years old) and the elderly (60 years or older) similar to previous phase II trials conducted in China with the same age groups and immunization schedule consisting of two doses with a 14-day interval. The side effects were mild and local, mainly limited to pain at the injection site, which was more common in adults. Seroconversion rates for adults 14–28 days after the second dose were 95.6% for the IgG specific against the S1-RBD (receptor binding domain of the S1 subunit of the spike protein) and 96% for neutralizing anti-S1-RBD IgG. For the elderly, seroconversion rates were 100% 14 days and 87.5% 28 days after the second dose for the S1-RBD specific IgG, 90% 14 days, and 100% 28 days after the second dose for neutralizing anti-S1-RBD IgG. As found in studies in animals, seroconversion rates for IgG specific against the N (nucleocapsid) protein were weak for both groups, although CoronaVac contains significant amounts of the N protein. A robust increase of T helper cells (CD4) secreting interferon gamma was detected 14 days after both doses in response to stimulation with peptides of the S protein and of other viral particles, but the response to S protein peptides was reduced in the elderly due to a natural reduction of activated CD4 T cells in this age group, as found in studies of other vaccines. The immune response of cytotoxic T cell (CD8) was not as robust. The observed CD4 T cell response is considered a balanced immune response capable of viral clearance and is similar to that observed in other COVID-19 vaccines, such as BNT162b1 and Convidecia.


title: CoronaVac

text: In early January 2021, Brazilian health officials announced that the vaccine had an efficacy of 78%. One week later, they revised this figure to 50.4%, stating that the revised figure now included "very mild" cases of COVID-19 among trial participants which were omitted in the earlier analysis. Ricardo Palácios, Medical Director of Brazil's Instituto Butantan, said Sinovac's relatively low efficacy rate of 50% was due to more rigorous standards for what counted as an infection among trial participants. The Institute split cases in six categories: asymptomatic, very mild, mild, two levels of moderate, and severe; the first two didn't require medical assistance. Possible explanations for lower efficacy rate included: trial was largely made up of frontline health care workers who were more exposed to the virus; two vaccine doses were given at shorter intervals (2 weeks); counting very mild cases; and the Gamma variant (lineage P.1), more transmissible and perhaps evaded immunity better, was circulating.


title: CoronaVac

text: According to Instituto Butantan director Dimas Covas, the Brazilian group was considered more vulnerable to infection and exposure to higher viral loads. In Turkish and Indonesian Phase III trials, the composition of volunteers was similar to that of the general population.


title: CoronaVac

text: On 10 March, Instituto Butantan Director Dimas Covas said CoronaVac was efficacious against three variants of COVID-19 in the country; Alpha (lineage B.1.1.7), Beta (lineage B.1.351), and lineage B.1.1.28 (identified in Brazil), from which Gamma and Zeta (lineages P.1 and P.2) descend.


title: CoronaVac

text: Preliminary results from a large study of health care workers suggest one dose of CoronaVac is still about 50% effective against symptomatic COVID-19 in Manaus. In April 2021, it was reported that over 75% of new cases were being caused by the highly transmissible Gamma variant.


title: CoronaVac

text: In June, Thailand's Public Health Ministry stated the vaccine had 71%-91% efficacy against infection by the Alpha strain.


title: CoronaVac

text: In June 2021, Reuters reported that more than 350 Indonesian doctors and medical workers out of 5,000 in Kudus contracted the Delta strain despite being vaccinated with the CoronaVac, an infection rate of 7%. In response, Griffith University epidemiologist Dicky Budiman questioned the efficacy of CoronaVac against the variant but overall still recommended that people take the vaccine, expressing "confidence that to a certain degree Sinovac has effectiveness against the new variant". He stated that the situation was due to various factors, including a "lack of proper protective gear and the overall situation in Indonesia". The vast majority of those infected were protected from severe symptoms and recovered without hospitalization.


title: CoronaVac

text: The World Health Organization (WHO) validated the Sinovac-CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use on 1 June 2021. The recommendation was given with limited evidence at the time of approval for groups other than healthy adults. The WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts expressed high level of confidence in the efficacy of the vaccine for adults, moderate confidence in the efficacy for older adults and individuals with comorbidities, moderate confidence in its safety for adults and low confidence in its safety for the elderly and individuals with comorbidities.


title: CoronaVac

text: In late August 2020, China approved CoronaVac for emergency use to vaccinate high-risk groups such as medical staff. In early February, China approved CoronaVac for general use. On 5 June 2021, China approved CoronaVac for emergency use with children and adolescents for 3–17 years old.


title: CoronaVac

text: As of 7 July 2021, CoronaVac is the most widely used COVID-19 vaccine in the world, with 943 million doses delivered globally. In July, Sinovac signed advanced purchase agreements with GAVI to supply COVAX with 50 million doses in the third quarter of 2021 and up to a total of 380 million doses by the first half of 2022.


title: CoronaVac

text: In January, Azerbaijan launched its vaccination campaign with CoronaVac. It purchased 4 million doses from Turkey and 5 million doses from China.


title: CoronaVac

text: In February, Cambodia approved Coronavac for emergency use and started vaccinations in March. By July, the country had received 10.5 million doses.


title: CoronaVac

text: In October, Saudi Arabia signed an agreement to distribute CoronaVac to 7,000 healthcare workers, after conducting Phase III trials with the Saudi Arabian National Guard.


title: CoronaVac

text: In November, Turkey signed a contract to buy 50 million doses of CoronaVac. Turkey approved emergency use on 13 January and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received his first dose at Ankara City Hospital. In February, Turkey signed a deal for another 50 million doses for a total of 100 million doses. By March 10.7 million doses had been administered, and 852 of the 1.3 million people who had received both doses were later diagnosed with the disease. 53 were hospitalized, but none of those hospitalized were intubated or died.


title: CoronaVac

text: In December, Hong Kong ordered 7.5 million doses of CoronaVac. The vaccination campaign with CoronaVac began on 26 February.


title: CoronaVac

text: By December 2020, Indonesia had signed agreements for 140 million doses of CoronaVac. Indonesia approved emergency use authorization on 11 January and President Joko Widodo received the first shot of the vaccine. By June, Indonesia had received 118.7 million bulk doses.


title: CoronaVac

text: In January, Malaysia ordered 12 million doses which was approved for emergency use in March. Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin received the first dose as part of the vaccination campaign.


title: CoronaVac

text: In March, Kazakhstan ordered 3 million doses, of which 500,000 doses arrived in June and has been approved for use by the Ministry of Health.


title: CoronaVac

text: In April, Pakistan granted emergency use authorization for CoronaVac and received 14.5 million doses by July.


title: CoronaVac

text: In January, the Philippines announced the country had secured 25 million doses. The vaccine was approved on 22 February but not for all health workers as it had lower efficacy when used with health workers compared to healthy individuals aged 18–59. The first 600,000 doses of CoronaVac arrived on 28 February, and the country had received 7.5 million doses by June.


title: CoronaVac

text: Singapore signed advance purchase agreements for CoronaVac. In February, the first doses arrived and in June it was approved for use under the Special Access Route.


title: CoronaVac

text: In February, Thailand approved emergency use and started its vaccination program on 27 February. As of June, Thailand had received 10.5 million doses.


title: CoronaVac

text: In May 2021, Georgia began vaccinations with CoronaVac, for which it received 1 million doses by July.


title: CoronaVac

text: In October 2021, Singapore included CoronaVac in its National Vaccination Programme for people aged 18 and over who are ineligible for mRNA vaccines due to allergies or serious adverse reactions after the first dose.


title: CoronaVac

text: In March, Benin received 203,000 doses of CoronaVac and started vaccinations on 29 March prioritizing healthcare workers, people over 60, and those with co-morbidities.


title: CoronaVac

text: In April, Botswana received 200,000 doses of CoronaVac as a donation and purchased an additional 200,000 doses to be used in the vaccination program.


title: CoronaVac

text: In July, South Africa approved CoronaVac for emergency use, and was expected to receive 2.5 million doses shortly.


title: CoronaVac

text: In March, Tunisia's Ministry of Health approved marketing authorization for CoronaVac and the first 200,000 doses arrived on 25 March.


title: CoronaVac

text: In March, Albania launched its vaccination campaign using mainly CoronaVac, a week after securing 1 million doses from Turkey.


title: CoronaVac

text: In June, North Macedonia received 30,000 doses donated by Turkey and another 500,000 doses it purchased.


title: CoronaVac

text: In March, Ukraine granted approval for use of CoronaVac. Ukrainian Pharmaceutical Company Lekhim has an agreement to deliver 5 million doses. 1.7 million doses had been delivered by June.


title: CoronaVac

text: In Brazil, São Paulo governor João Doria signed a $90 million contract with Sinovac in September to receive the initial 46 million doses of CoronaVac. The price for CoronaVac was announced to be US$10.3 (about R$59). In January, Brazil announced it would obtain 100 million total doses. On 17 January, Brazil's health regulatory agency Anvisa approved emergency use of CoronaVac. In early February, Brazil said it intends to buy an additional 30 million doses on top of existing 100 million doses. A total of 39.7 million doses had been delivered by early April.


title: CoronaVac

text: In October, Chile signed an agreement to purchase 20 million doses of CoronaVac which was approved for emergency use on 20 January. By early March, the country had received 10 million doses of CoronaVac and had vaccinated 4.1 million people.


title: CoronaVac

text: In February, Colombia had purchased 5 million doses and was in talks for an additional 5 million doses, which had been approved for emergency use on 5 February.


title: CoronaVac

text: In February, Ecuador signed a deal for 2 million doses which was approved for emergency use, with the first 1 million doses arrived in early April.


title: CoronaVac

text: In March, Paraguay received a donation of 20,000 doses from Chile. Paraguay began vaccinations with CoronaVac on 10 March.


title: CoronaVac

text: In January, Uruguay purchased 1.75 million doses, of which the first 192,000 doses arrived on 25 February and vaccinations started on 1 March.


title: CoronaVac

text: In March 2021, El Salvador received 1 million doses of a total 2 million dose order for CoronaVac. The immunization campaign was initially focused on teachers, health professionals, firefighters, police, and military personnel. The first doses were provided to public school teachers beginning on March 30, with rollout expanding to private school teachers shortly after. Vaccination of the general public was planned for April 15, after the vaccination of the priority groups.


title: CoronaVac

text: In February 2021, Mexico approved emergency use of CoronaVac. The country had ordered 20 million doses by March 2021, of which 7 million had been received by May.


title: CoronaVac

text: In January 2021, as part of a misinformation campaign, multiple Chinese state and CCP-affiliated media outlets, including CGTN and the "Global Times," have touted CoronaVac and Chinese vaccines as "relatively safer due to their mature technology". Pushing back against concerns of CoronaVac efficacy over the lack of transparency over releasing test results, China state media have raised doubts about the efficacy of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine, calling for an investigation into the deaths of elderly people in Norway and Germany after receiving the vaccine. According to Reuters, the reports made allegations of "deliberately downplaying the deaths” and “using propaganda power to promote the Pfizer vaccine and smearing Chinese vaccines".


title: CoronaVac

text: According to a "Ming Pao" report published on 21 March 2022, of the 1,486 who died of COVID-19 after receiving at least one dose, 1,292 of them or 87%—had gotten the Sinovac vaccine. The Centre for Health Protection’s Chuang Shuk-kwan said that the "Ming Pao" report was inaccurate and has defended CorovaVac, saying “The issue is not about which jab offers more protection. The most important thing is whether you get vaccinated.” Earlier in February 2022, health authorities refused to disclose data on which Covid-19 vaccine had been taken by Omicron patients, claiming the information “was not readily available.” Hong Kong government data showed CoronaVac to be the preferred vaccine among those aged 70 and over, in part because some elderly care homes only offer this vaccine. However, CoronaVac's limited effectiveness compared to the BioNTech vaccine, along with the zero-COVID strategy, have been regarded as factors behind Hong Kong's spiking cases as of March 2022.


title: CoronaVac

text: CoronaVac has been championed by the governor of São Paulo, João Doria. A political showdown began in October 2020, when Bolsonaro vetoed a deal between the Brazilian health ministry and the São Paulo government for the purchase of 46 million doses of the vaccine. After Instituto Butantan announced CoronaVac's efficacy rate, Bolsonaro mocked the vaccine's effectiveness against COVID-19.


title: CoronaVac

text: In March 2021, the Paraná Pesquisas opinion polling institute found that the vaccines preferred by Brazilians are CoronaVac and the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine, chosen by 23.6% and 21.2% of Brazilians interviewed, respectively, against 11.3% of those who would prefer the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine. During the pandemic parliamentary inquiry in Brazil, senators have expressed that anti-China rhetoric has contributed to delaying access to vaccines in Brazil.


title: CoronaVac

text: On 23 December 2020, researchers in Brazil said the vaccine was more than 50% effective, but withheld full results at Sinovac's request, raising questions about transparency as it was the third delay in releasing results from the trials. Scientists said the lack of transparency risked damaging CoronaVac's credibility.


title: Max Steel (film)

text: Max Steel is a 2016 superhero film based on the eponymous action-figure line by Mattel, which was co-produced by its "Playground Productions" division with Dolphin Films and Ingenious Media. Open Road Films released the film theatrically on October 14, 2016 in the United States whiles IM Global handles its European and Asian distribution.


title: Max Steel (film)

text: Directed by Stewart Hendler and written by Christopher Yost, the film stars Ben Winchell, Josh Brener, Ana Villafañe, Andy García, Maria Bello, and Billy Slaughter. The film chronicles the adventures of teenaged Max McGrath (Winchell) and alien companion Steel (Brener), who combine their powers to form the superhero Max Steel.


title: Max Steel (film)

text: Filming began on April 29, 2014, in Wilmington, North Carolina and concluded in late May 2014. It was released to critical and box office failure, grossing $6.3 million globally and overall against a budget of $5 million to $10 million.


title: Max Steel (film)

text: Teenager Max McGrath moves with his mother Molly to the town of Copper Canyon, where he was born and where his father Jim McGrath died in a supposed storm. In his first few days at school, he realizes that almost everyone in town knows more about Jim than he does because his mother refuses to talk about Jim's past or death. During dinner with Jim's friend Miles Edwards, Max learns that his father worked for N-TEK, an advanced research company now run by Miles. Concurrently after arriving, Max discovers he emits a unique form of tachyonic energy called TURBO which is powerful enough to overload any electrical item, but he has no control over when he emits it. After sensing an oncoming overload during a date with classmate Sofia, Max encounters an amnesiac alien creature named Steel, who symbiotically bonds with Max to absorb the energy.


title: Max Steel (film)

text: Finding themselves chased by mysterious men, Max takes Steel to his high school to hide and finds himself opening up emotionally for the first time in his life. Max learns to control and harness his powers, including linking with Steel to form a suit of armor. While linked, Max starts to see his father's life through flashbacks shared with Steel and learns that an alien race called the Ultralinks with the power to manipulate the elements launched an attack on N-TEK. In search of answers, Max goes there to visit Miles, who explains that Jim was working on creating a generator capable of creating an unlimited source of power, and suggests that Jim died in an accident caused by not following safety procedures. Feeling another energy spike, Max finds solace but is soon caught in a powerful storm, which he realizes is an Ultralink. Working together, Max and Steel defeat the Ultralink and, to their shock, find it looks identical to Steel. Another flashback hints that Steel was responsible for Jim's death, causing Max to lash out at Steel and walk away.


title: Max Steel (film)

text: Max discovers Molly is missing, borrows Sofia's car, and calls Miles, who reveals he is aware of the Ultralinks and that Molly was kidnapped as a trap for Max at the old N-TEK Facility where Jim died. Max goes to the facility and finds Steel captured, where he has a flashback that shows the truth: Jim McGrath was an alien who naturally generated TURBO, Steel was his partner, and the power generator was a machine designed to harness and focus his natural energy; however, Miles became addicted to infusing the TURBO for the power it gave him, and allied with the Ultralinks to absorb Jim's energy for himself. Jim overloaded the core to stop Miles and, with his final words, told Steel to find and protect Max at all costs.


title: Max Steel (film)

text: Miles entraps Max, having created a suit of armor that drains TURBO, seeking to harvest the energy for himself. Learning to use his armored form as Max Steel, Max fights Miles aided by the mysterious men, revealed to be an N-TEK Special Forces Squad who were working for Miles to find Steel, but are now working for Molly (as majority shareholder of the company). Working together, Max and Steel generate so much energy that Miles is unable to absorb it, overloading him in a massive explosion. Molly reveals that after Jim's death, she feared the Ultralinks would come after Max, so she constantly moved until Miles suggested they move back to Copper Canyon in case Max started to emit TURBO. Max apologizes to Sofia for his behavior and makes a date for that night, then goes for a flight in the armor with Steel's assistance.