title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: On 17 February, about 2,000 Serbs protested at the United States Embassy in Belgrade, with some throwing stones and firecrackers at the building before being driven back by riot police. Protestors also broke windows of the embassy of Slovenia, the state that controlled the EU presidency. In Belgrade and Novi Sad, McDonald's restaurants were damaged by protestors. The Serbian division of U.S. Steel, based in Smederevo, had a false bomb threat called in.


title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: The Crown Council of House of Karadjordjevic, a former royal family of Serbia and Yugoslavia, rejected Kosovo's declaration of independence, saying that: "Europe had diminished its own morale, embarrassed its own history and shown that it carries within its organism the virus of its own downfall", and that "it is a defeat of the idea of democracy... a defeat of the universally accepted rules of international law", and that a "part of the project of Mussolini and Hitler has finally been accomplished, in the territory of Serbia".


title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: On 21 February, there were large demonstrations by Serbs in Belgrade. There were more than 500,000 protesters. Most protesters were non-violent, but small groups attacked the United States and Croatian embassies. A group broke into The United States embassy, set it on fire, and attempted to throw furniture through the windows. The embassy was empty, except for security personnel. No embassy staff were injured, but a corpse was found; embassy spokeswoman Rian Harris stated that the embassy believes it to be an attacker.<ref name="yahoo 2/21"></ref> Police took 45 minutes to arrive at the scene, and the fire was only then put out. US ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad was "outraged", and requested the UN Security Council immediately issue a statement "expressing the council's outrage, condemning the attack, and also reminding the Serb government of its responsibility to protect diplomatic facilities." The damage to the Croatian embassy was less serious.


title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: The Turkish and British embassies were also attacked, but police were able to prevent damage. The interior of a McDonald's was damaged. A local clinic admitted 30 injured, half of whom were police; most wounds were minor.


title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: The Security Council responded to these incidents by issuing a unanimous statement that, "The members of the Security Council condemn in the strongest terms the mob attacks against embassies in Belgrade, which have resulted in damage to embassy premises and have endangered diplomatic personnel," noting that the 1961 Vienna Convention requires host states to protect embassies.


title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: On 22 February, the United States embassy in Serbia ordered the temporary evacuation of all non-essential personnel, after the protests and attacks on the embassy. Rian Harris, a U.S. embassy spokeswoman, explained the evacuation to AFP saying that "Dependents are being temporarily ordered to depart Belgrade. We do not have confidence that Serbian authorities can provide security for our staff members."


title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: On 23 February, 44 protesters were arrested after burning the Serbian flag, in the main square of Zagreb (Croatia), following Serb protesters attacking the Croatian embassy in Belgrade, Serbia.


title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: Hundreds of Bosnian Serb demonstrators broke away from a peaceful rally in Banja Luka on 26 February 2008 and headed for the United States Embassy's office there, clashing with police along the way.


title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: In Montenegro, protests were held in Podgorica on 19 February. Protesters waved flags of the Serb People's Party and the Serbian Radical Party. Serb parties led by the Serb List are calling for a protest on 22 February to protest the independence bid.


title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: Unlike the 1990 Kosovo declaration of independence, which only Albania recognised, Kosovo's second declaration of independence has received 111 diplomatic recognitions, of which 15 have been withdrawn. As of 4 September 2020, 97 out of () United Nations (UN) member states have recognised Kosovo. However, many states have also showed their opposition to Kosovo's declaration of independence, most notably India, China and Russia. Serbia announced before the declaration that it would withdraw its ambassador from any state which recognised independent Kosovo. Serbia, however, maintains embassies in many countries which recognise Kosovo, including Albania, Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Turkey, the UAE, the UK, and the US.


title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: On 18 February 2008 the EU presidency announced after a day of intense talks between foreign ministers that member countries were free to decide individually whether to recognise Kosovo's independence. The majority of EU member states have recognised Kosovo, but Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain have not. Some Spanish people (scholars or from the Spanish Government or opposition parties) challenged the comparison made by the Basque Government that way of Kosovo's independence could be a path for the independence of the Basque Country and Catalonia.


title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: Shortly before Kosovo's declaration of independence, the European Union approved deployment of a non-military 2,000-member Rule of Law mission, "EULEX", to develop further Kosovo's police and justice sector. All twenty-seven members of the EU approved the EULEX mandate, including the minority of EU countries that have still not recognised Kosovo's independence. Serbia has claimed that this is an occupation and that the EU's move is illegal.


title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: United States president George W. Bush welcomed the declaration of independence as well as its proclamation of friendship with Serbia, stating: "We have strongly supported the Ahtisaari plan [implying Kosovo's independence …]. We are heartened by the fact that the Kosovo government has clearly proclaimed its willingness and its desire to support Serbian rights in Kosovo. We also believe it's in Serbia's interests to be aligned with Europe and the Serbian people can know that they have a friend in America."


title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: Russia reacted with condemnation, stating they "expect the UN mission and NATO-led forces in Kosovo to take immediate action to carry out their mandate [...] including the annulling of the decisions of Pristina's self-governing organs and the taking of tough administrative measures against them."


title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: In Tirana, the capital of Albania, 'Kosovo Day' was held as a celebration, and a square in central Tirana was named for this occasion.


title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan phoned Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, commenting on the declaration of independence, and that it "will bring to Balkans peace and stability".


title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: The Republic of China's (commonly known as Taiwan; non-UN member) Foreign Ministry stated "We congratulate the Kosovo people on their winning independence and hope they enjoy the fruits of democracy and freedom. [...] Democracy and self-determination are the rights endorsed by the United Nations. The Republic of China always supports sovereign countries' seeking democracy, sovereignty and independence through peaceful means." Taiwan's political rival, the People's Republic of China, responded quickly, saying that "Taiwan, as a part of China, has no right and qualification at all to make the so-called recognition".


title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: Amongst Southeast Asian countries where Muslim separatist movements were active in at least three states, Indonesia, with the world's largest Muslim population, deferred recognition of an independent Kosovo, while the Philippines declared it will not oppose, nor support Kosovo's independence. Both countries face pressures from Muslim separatist movements within their territories, notably Aceh and southern Mindanao respectively. Vietnam expressed opposition, while Singapore reported that it was still studying the situation. Malaysia, which headed the Organisation of the Islamic Conference at the time, formally recognized Kosovo's sovereignty three days after its independence.


title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd backed Kosovan independence on the morning of 18 February, saying "This would appear to be the right course of action. That's why, diplomatically, we would extend recognition at the earliest opportunity." New Zealand's Former Prime Minister Helen Clark said that New Zealand would neither recognise nor not recognise an independent Kosovo. Pro-Independence rallies were held by ethnic Albanians in Canada in the days leading up to the declaration.


title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: The President of Northern Cyprus (a state not recognised by the UN), Mehmet Ali Talat, saluted the independence of Kosovo and hopes that the state is respected and assisted, in staunch opposition to the position of the Republic of Cyprus.


title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: Following a request from Russia, the United Nations Security Council held an emergency session in the afternoon of 17 February 2008. The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, issued a statement that avoided taking sides and urged all parties "to refrain from any actions of statements that could endanger peace, incite violence or jeopardize security in Kosovo or the region." Speaking on behalf of six countries—Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy and the United States—the Belgian ambassador expressed regret "that the Security Council cannot agree on the way forward, but this impasse has been clear for many months. Today's events... represent the conclusion of a status process that has exhausted all avenues in pursuit of a negotiated outcome."


title: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

text: On 22 July 2010 the International Court of Justice ruled that the declaration did not violate international law, holding that the authors were acting in their capacity as representatives of the people of Kosovo outside the framework of the interim administration (the Assembly of Kosovo and the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government), and were therefore not bound by the Constitutional Framework (promulgated by UNMIK) or by UNSCR1244 that is addressed only to United Nations Member States and organs of the United Nations. Prior to the announcement Hashim Thaçi said there would be no "winners or losers" and that "I expect this to be a correct decision, according to the will of Kosovo's citizens. Kosovo will respect the advisory opinion." For his part, Boris Tadić, the Serbian president, warned that "If the International Court of Justice sets a new principle, it would trigger a process that would create several new countries and destabilise numerous regions in the world."


title: Guilty (2020 film)

text: Guilty is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language thriller drama film directed by Ruchi Narain and written by Ruchi Narain, Kanika Dhillon and Atika Chohan. Starring Kiara Advani and several others, the film follows the story of a songwriter whose boyfriend is accused of rape during the era of #MeToo. The film is the first production venture of Dharmatic, the digital arm of Karan Johar's Dharma Productions. It was released on 6 March 2020 on Netflix.


title: Guilty (2020 film)

text: Nanki Duttaa a badass , songwriter having a group of friends finds herself in a dilemma when Tanu Kumar, a new student in her university who has a crush on VJ , joins in the "#MeToo" movement accusing Vijay "VJ" Pratap Singh, Nanki's boyfriend and son of a politician, of having raped her on the night of Valentine's 2018 on Twitter . Nanki attempts to help Vijay by consulting Danish Ali Baig, the lawyer investigating VJ's side of the story. Throughout the movie, we experience Nanki's frequent panic attacks and hallucinations based on the recent incident. Later on in the movie, Danish wins the case and Vijay is released much to Tanu's dismay. VJ tells nanki that he has Cheated on her by sleeping with tanu , but not raped her . However, Nanki remains suspicious due to inconsistencies with the case. During a festival held at the campus, Tanu explains every detail of what happened during the fateful night while exposing her true intentions and feeling towards Vijay. Nanki deduces Tanu's #MeToo tweet and ties every loose end cited throughout the film and comes to the realization that Tanu told the truth all along that Vijay is actually a demon and raped tanu brutally when his ego gets hurt . A betrayed Vijay is arrested by local authorities. Soon after, Nanki gains the courage to share her own experience with sexual abuse/ rape, when she was 13 years old and encouraged by a relieved Tanu.


title: Guilty (2020 film)

text: In June 2019, a report from "Filmfare" stated Kiara Advani signing a new project for Dharmatic Entertainment, the digital arm of Karan Johar's Dharma Productions, titled "Guilty" which was helmed by Ruchi Narain. The principal photography of the film began in Delhi in June 2019 and completed within 33 days.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: The fifth and final season of the television series "The Wire" commenced airing in the United States on January 6, 2008, and concluded on March 9, 2008; it was the show's shortest season with 10 episodes. The series introduced a fictionalized version of the "Baltimore Sun" newsroom, while continuing to follow the Baltimore police department and city hall, and the Stanfield crime syndicate.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: The fifth season aired on Sundays at 9:00 pm ET in the United States. The season was released on DVD as a four disc boxed set under the title of "The Wire: The Complete Fifth Season" on August 12, 2008 by HBO Video.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: HBO announced on September 12, 2006, that a fifth and final season consisting of 13 episodesbut later reduced to tenhad been commissioned. Production for Season 5 officially began on April 30, 2007. Filming wrapped early in the morning of September 1, 2007 and the first episode aired on January 6, 2008.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: In an interview with "Slate" on December 1, 2006, David Simon said that Season 5 would be about the media and media consumption. A major focus would be journalism, which would be dramatized through a newspaper modeled after "The Baltimore Sun". The theme, according to Simon, would deal with "what stories get told and what don't and why it is that things stay the same."


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: Issues such as the quest for profit, the decrease in the number of reporters, and the end of aspiration for news quality would all be addressed, alongside the theme of homelessness. In the same interview, Simon indicated that no other theme seemed substantial enough to warrant a sixth season, except possibly the large influx of Latinos into Baltimore. He noted, however, that since no writer on the show spoke Spanish or had any intimate knowledge of the city's Latino population, the field work would be too cumbersome.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: At the "Night at the Wire" event on June 9, 2007, Simon stated that Detective Sydnor is the only character who remains morally clean by the end of the show, but not perfectly since "after all, this is "The Wire"." He also hinted that Mayor Carcetti might make a run for governor.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: The series continued the show's examination of the devaluing of human life and institutional dysfunction. The increased scope of the season to include the media allowed this theme to be explored through an examination of "the people who are supposed to be monitoring all this and sounding the alarm — the journalists." In particular Simon has spoken about the devaluing of the reporter in terms of downsizing a newspaper staff and the management expecting to do "more with less" when he asserts that in reality, you can only do "less with less."


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: The series realism has been reported as being maintained particularly through the accurate dialogue and use of contemporary slang. Series creator David Simon further expanded on the thematic content of season five in an interview with Fancast/Inside TV. Critic David Zurawik saw the unifying theme of the season as "public and private lies," particularly those perpetuated by the media and told by Jimmy McNulty in protest against cutbacks in the police department. TV Guide writer Matt Roush also saw the central theme as lies and characterized it as "deeply and darkly ironic."


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: A preview for Season 5 of "The Wire" aired on HBO on October 28, 2007 and was later made available on YouTube. HBO sent critics the first seven episodes on DVD in December 2007.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: HBO's On Demand and multiplatform marketing division approached creator David Simon about producing exclusive on-demand content and three short prequel clips were produced that take place prior to the linear storyline of the show. The clips were made available via Amazon.com from December 5 and through HBO's on-demand service from December 15.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: The first video takes place in 1962 and focuses on the school days of drug kingpin Proposition Joe; the second is set in 1985 and focuses on Omar Little making an early robbery; the third video is set in 2000 and shows the first meeting of Jimmy McNulty (played by Dominic West) and Bunk Moreland (Wendell Pierce). The clips aired after Season 5 episodes as they premiered starting January 6, 2008.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: At that "Night at the Wire" event, fans were allowed to tour the "Baltimore Sun" newsroom constructed for the show. The real newspaper allowed the show to use their name but stipulated that no current employees could appear in the series. The newsroom was an entirely built set constructed at the show's out-of-town soundstage.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: The actual "Washington Post" newsroom was also featured, as one reporter visits for an interview. "The Wire" is the first production to be allowed to film at the location; even the film "All the President's Men" about the paper's role in breaking the Watergate scandal had to build a set to represent the paper.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: It was rumored in August 2007 that "" stars Richard Belzer and Clark Johnson would guest star in the fifth season. Johnson was later confirmed as joining the starring cast to play Gus Haynes, "a city editor who tries to hold the line against dwindling coverage, buyouts, and pseudo-news.""The New Yorker" described an early scene from the season where Haynes rants about a reporter inserting a charred doll into scenes of fires to eke more sympathy from his readers. Johnson also directed the final episode of the show. In the episode "Took," Belzer made a cameo appearance as John Munch, the police detective he has portrayed since 1993 on "Homicide" (1993–1999) and "" (1999–2013).


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: The majority of the starring cast from the fourth season returned. On the police front, Dominic West returned as Jimmy McNulty with a larger storyline than the fourth season; John Doman as Deputy Commissioner William Rawls; Seth Gilliam as Western district Sergeant Ellis Carver; Corey Parker Robinson as Major Case Unit detective Leander Sydnor; Deirdre Lovejoy as prosecutor Rhonda Pearlman; Clarke Peters as veteran Detective Lester Freamon; Wendell Pierce as veteran homicide Detective Bunk Moreland; Lance Reddick as Colonel Cedric Daniels; and Sonja Sohn as Detective Kima Greggs.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: In the political storyline, Aidan Gillen returned as ambitious Mayor Tommy Carcetti; as well as Reg E. Cathey as political aide Norman Wilson; and Domenick Lombardozzi as troubled defense investigator Thomas "Herc" Hauk.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: In the street, Jamie Hector returned as West-side drug kingpin Marlo Stanfield. Also returning for the street storyline were Andre Royo as heroin addict Bubbles; and Michael K. Williams as underworld legend Omar Little.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: Former recurring characters who joined the main cast were Tristan Wilds as Michael Lee, Gbenga Akinnagbe as Chris Partlow, Jermaine Crawford as Duquan "Dukie" Weems, Isiah Whitlock, Jr. as corrupt State Senator Clay Davis, Michael Kostroff as defense attorney Maurice Levy, and Neal Huff as Mayoral chief of staff Michael Steintorf.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: In addition to Johnson, joining the main cast in the journalism story line were Tom McCarthy as morally challenged reporter Scott Templeton and Michelle Paress as reporter Alma Gutierrez.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: Season 4 main cast members Frankie Faison, Jim True-Frost, Robert Wisdom, and Chad L. Coleman, who played Ervin Burrell, Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski, Howard "Bunny" Colvin and Dennis "Cutty" Wise, respectively, had recurring but not starring roles in the season.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: Other returning guest stars included Steve Earle as drug counsellor Walon; Anwan Glover as Slim Charles; Robert F. Chew as drug kingpin Proposition Joe; Method Man as drug lieutenant Melvin "Cheese" Wagstaff; Felicia Pearson as the eponymous criminal enforcer Felicia "Snoop" Pearson; Chris Ashworth as former enforcer for the Greeks Sergei "Serge" Malatov; Wood Harris as fallen kingpin Avon Barksdale; Marlyne Afflack as city council president Nerese Campbell; and Amy Ryan as McNulty's domestic partner Beadie Russell. The return of guest stars from past seasons was described in reviews as a reward to loyal viewers.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: New recurring guest stars included David Costabile, Sam Freed, Bruce Kirkpatrick, Todd Scofield, Kara Quick, and Donald Neal.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: Continuing the show's trend of using non-professional actors and real-life Baltimore figures, several ex-"Baltimore Sun" reporters appeared in recurring roles. The editor character Rebecca Corbett, played by actress Kara Quick, was named after and based on Simon's former editor at the "Baltimore Sun" who now works at "The New York Times"; the real Rebecca Corbett has a cameo near the end of the series. Writer and former political reporter William F. Zorzi gained further screen time after his season 1 cameo.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: Steve Luxenberg, the editor responsible for hiring Simon at "The Sun", also had a role. Simon's wife Laura Lippman also appeared as a reporter in an early scene alongside Michael Olesker, another former Sun reporter. Baltimore attorney Billy Murphy appeared as a lawyer for corrupt Senator Clay Davis, and former senator and current radio host Larry Young conducted a fictional interview with the character. Former police commissioner Ed Norris returned in his recurring role as a homicide detective with the same name.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: Creator David Simon continued to act as the show's executive producer and show runner. Nina Kostroff Noble once again served as the show's other executive producer. Joe Chappelle reprised his co-executive producer role and continued to direct episodes. Ed Burns once again served as a writer and joined Chappelle as a co-executive producer. Karen L. Thorson returned as a producer. George Pelecanos produced the sixth episode of the series only - his first production work since the third season.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: Political journalist William F. Zorzi continued to write for the show and guide the political storylines. Acclaimed crime fiction novelist Pelecanos returned as a writer and contributed his seventh episode to the series. Pelecanos's fellow crime novelists Richard Price and Dennis Lehane also returned as writers. Chris Collins returned as a staff writer and contributed his first script. David Mills contributed an episode, completing the writing team.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: New star Clark Johnson also helmed the final episode after previously directing the pilot. Other returning directors for the fifth season included Ernest Dickerson, Anthony Hemingway, Agnieszka Holland, Dan Attias, and Seith Mann. Series star Dominic West made his directorial debut. Husband and wife directing team Scott and Joy Kecken were also first time directors on the fifth season.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: The fifth season received widespread acclaim from critics, scoring 89 out of 100 based on 24 reviews on Metacritic. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 93% with an average score of 9.8 out of 10 based on 44 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, ""The Wire" goes out with a suitably resonant bang in its final season, craftily maneuvering venturesome motifs and a colorful cast of characters to skillfully understated conclusion."


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: Matt Roush of "TV Guide" favorably reviewed the series calling it "brilliantly bleak" and a "landmark series." Brian Lowry of "Variety" characterised the series' look at the media as the most realistic portrayal of a newsroom in film and television history.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: However, Leigh Claire La Berge found that "in the popular press [...] the level of critical anticipation that greeted that season was matched only by the immediate disappointment that followed it", noting that the season is "The Wire"'s most explicitly didactic, the one that most obviously comments on the series's own fictionality, and the one with the least realistic plot. Thus in reviewing the first seven episodes of the fifth season David Zurawik of the "Baltimore Sun" said that while "there is greatness in the seven episodes," the major newspaper storyline "contain[s] nothing that matches the emotional power and sociological insight of the show at its best." La Berge argued that it is precisely the fifth season's capacity to explore the social construction of realism itself that is the season's most important characteristic.


title: The Wire (season 5)

text: All episodes except "-30-" were made available by HBO six days earlier than their broadcast date, via On Demand.


title: Aaron Kwok

text: Aaron Kwok Fu-shing (born 26 October 1965) is a Hong Kong singer, dancer and actor. Active since the 1980s, Kwok is known as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Hong Kong pop music. Dubbed the "God of Dance", Kwok's onstage dancing is influenced by the late American performer Michael Jackson. He has released over 30 studio albums in Cantonese and Mandarin, mostly in the dance-pop genre, with elements of rock, R&B, soul, electronica and traditional Chinese music.


title: Aaron Kwok

text: Concurrently with his music career, Kwok started as an actor with a role in the TVB television drama "Genghis Khan" (1987), followed by "Twilight of a Nation" (1988), "Man from Guangdong" (1991), "Heartstrings" (1994), and "Wars of Bribery" (1996). He gained widespread recognition in the movie "Saviour of the Soul" (1991), for which he was nominated for a Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actor, before starring in a string of box-office hits, including "Future Cops" (1993), "China Strike Force" (2000), "Divergence" (2005), "After This Our Exile" (2006), "Port of Call" (2015), and "Project Gutenberg" (2018).


title: Aaron Kwok

text: Kwok graduated from St John's Co-education College in Hong Kong. After graduating from secondary school, Kwok worked as a junior staff in King Fook Gold & Jewellery Co. Ltd. His father, who owns a small gold retail store, desired that he gain experience in the business with the view of eventually handing the family business over to him. If not for one of Kwok's brothers taking over the gold business, his father would not have allowed him to join the entertainment industry. In 1984, he was fired for prolonged absenteeism (sick leave) caused by a foot muscle injury from trying the splits at a party.


title: Aaron Kwok

text: In 1991, Kwok's older brother, Kwok Fu-kun, was shot dead outside the Sunbeam Theatre in North Point while chasing armed robbers who had raided his Marble Street jewelry store.


title: Aaron Kwok

text: After being fired from a jewellery company in 1984 at the age of 19, Kwok only had a high school education and had never studied dancing in university before. Kwok subsequently joined a dancer training course at TVB, where his talent for dancing was immediately recognized. Kwok then performed in music videos and variety shows for other singers. In 1987, he was transferred to the acting department of the talent training course and became a TV actor, where he played minor parts in TVB dramas. In 1990, he did a TV commercial in Taiwan for the Honda motorcycle DJ-1RR. The commercial gained him instant popularity with Taiwanese girls, and he immediately burst onto the music scene.


title: Aaron Kwok

text: Kwok then began his music career with three mandopop albums including the famous song "Loving You Forever" (對你愛不完) to accompany his dance moves. After his success in Taiwan, he returned to Hong Kong in 1991 to do Cantopop. The next few years saw his popularity reach fever-pitch, and he was soon ranked as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings". Kwok became one of Hong Kong and Asia's most prominent pop stars. He won his first major awards with the 1991 Jade Solid Gold Top 10 Awards and 1991 RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards.


title: Aaron Kwok

text: Janet Jackson collaborated with Aaron Kwok and Ricky Martin for international versions of "Ask for More", a promotional single and commercial released as part of an advertising campaign for Pepsi. A full-length music video of the version with Kwok was also released in Asian markets.


title: Aaron Kwok

text: As soon as Kwok entered the music industry in 1991, he started a fast-dancing trend (勁歌熱舞). Kwok's onstage dancing and displays has been known to be influenced by Michael Jackson. Later in his career, he is known to have won a prestigious top ten Hong Kong dance award (十大舞蹈家年獎). Of all the performing arts at which Kwok excels, stage appearances remain his perennial favourite. His dance accomplishments are also matched with stage displays. On 16 November 2007, he held an "Aaron Kwok De Show Reel Live" concert at Hong Kong Coliseum with the largest revolving stage. On 17 February 2008, he held an "Aaron Kwok De Show Reel Extension Live" concert at the Hong Kong AsiaWorld Arena with the largest revolving stage measured at 10m x 9.44m and created a new entry for the Guinness Book of World Records.


title: Aaron Kwok

text: Over the years, Kwok has also been active in other media such as TV commercials and acting. He began his acting career with the TVB series "Rise of Genghis Khan", and the 1988 series "Twilight of a Nation" about the Taiping Rebellion. One of his more noticeable role was for the 1996 TVB drama series "Wars of Bribery" where he plays an ICAC special-agent with Athena Chu.


title: Aaron Kwok

text: He also starred in various movies. At the Taiwan's 42nd Golden Horse Awards ceremony on 13 November 2005, Kwok was the surprise winner of Best Leading Actor award for his role in the film "Divergence". It was Kwok's first Golden Horse nomination and beat veteran Hong Kong star Tony Leung Ka-fai to win the honour. He won the Best Actor Award again at the 43rd Golden Horse Awards on 24 November 2006 for his role in the film "After This Our Exile". He became only the second actor in the history of the Golden Horse Awards to win the Best Actor Award consecutively. Jackie Chan first accomplished this back in the 1992-3.


title: Aaron Kwok

text: Along with Zhang Ziyi, Kwok stars in an AIDS-themed film "Love for Life", which premiered on 10 May 2010.


title: Aaron Kwok

text: In 2016, Kwok won his first Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor for his role in the crime thriller film, "Port of Call", at the 35th Hong Kong Film Awards.


title: Aaron Kwok

text: Kwok married Shanghai-based Chinese model Moka Fang (方媛）and they both are parents to daughters Chantelle Kwok. and Charlotte Kwok .


title: Aaron Kwok

text: Kwok is a collector of sports cars as well as a fan of motor racing. He is known as a car fanatic and has a large collection of notable cars. Some of his collection include the Audi R8 GT Spyder, Ferrari F50, F512M, F355 GTS, F360 Modena, Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, Ferrari California, Ferrari F430 Spider, Lamborghini Diablo SE30, Mercedes-Benz SL600, Mercedes CLK DTM AMG, Porsche 911 Turbo, Porsche 911 GT3 RS mk2. Other cars include the Enzo Ferrari, a Carbon version Pagani Zonda F, Lamborghini Murciélago, Gallardo, Lamborghini Aventador 50th Anniversario Roadster, Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, Porsche 996 GT3, Nissan GT-R.


title: Aaron Kwok

text: In 2011, Kwok became a race-horse owner at the Hong Kong Jockey Club. He originally owned two horses: N288 CALLING WITH LOVE and another named P288 MY FAVORITE. In 2018, he purchased a new horse named C180 DANCING FIGHTER.


title: Aaron Kwok

text: He was famous for popularising a new type of "center-split hair style" that was widely imitated during the 1990s. As a fashion icon amongst the show biz industry, throughout his career he changed his hair style numerous times, including styles such as the five-five split and the four-six split. In 2020, he became the brand ambassador of HSBC Jade in Hong Kong with advertisements that shared his own beneficial experience of using its banking services.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: Religion in Sweden has, over the years, become increasingly diverse. Christianity was the religion of virtually all of the Swedish population from the 12th to the early 20th century, but it has rapidly declined throughout the late 20th and early 21st century.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: Christianity came to Sweden as early as the 9th century mainly as a result of an expansion in trade. The ancient Nordic religions were slowly replaced. Several centuries later all monarchs were Christian and Christianity became the established official religion. The church belonged to the Catholic Church until 1527 when the Swedish state church was established as a Protestant church based on Lutheran principles, following the Protestant Reformation enacted by Martin Luther which converted most of Germanic Europe. The Lutheran Church of Sweden was formed and remained the official religion of the Christian state until the turn of the 21st century.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: In recent years, the Swedish religious landscape has become increasingly diverse, with Christians comprising in 2020 some 61.3% (of which 55.2% belonging to the Church of Sweden) of the total population and rising numbers of people of other religions and people who don't belong to any church (34.8%). The Lutheran Church of Sweden — which was the state religion until 2000 — is by far the largest Christian denomination but is facing a continuous decline in registered membership down to 53,9 % of the total population in 2021 Other minor Christian denominations include Free churches, the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Churches, while members of other religions are mostly Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Jews.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: Before the 11th century, Swedes practised Norse religion, worshipping a variety of Germanic deities. An important religious centre was the Temple at Uppsala. The shape and location of this temple is sparsely documented, but it is referenced in the Norse sagas and Saxo Grammaticus' "Gesta Danorum", and is also described by Adam of Bremen. It was probably destroyed by King Ingold I in 1087 during the last known battle between the pagans and the Christians.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: While Norse religion was officially abandoned with the Christianization of Scandinavia, belief in many spirits of Norse mythology such as tomtar, trolls, elves and dwarves lived on for a long time in Scandinavian folklore.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: The oldest evidence of Christian burial sites in Sweden are dated to the 6th century, but they are very few in number. The earliest documented campaign to Christianise the Swedes was made by the monk Ansgar (801–865). Making his first visit to Birka in 828–829, he was granted permission to build a church. In 831, he returned home and became Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen, with responsibility for Christianity in the north. Around 850, he came back to Birka, where the original congregation had been shattered. Ansgar tried to reestablish it, but it only lasted a few years.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: Christianity first gained a hold in Västergötland, probably due to mercantile ties to the Christian Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England. Remnants of a 9th-century church building has recently been excavated in Varnhem. The diocese of Skara, which is the oldest diocese in Sweden, emerged under the Archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen, in the late 10th century. According to Adam of Bremen, the Christian king Olof Skötkonung, who ruled from c. 995 to c. 1022 was forced to limit Christian activities to the western province. When King Stenkil ascended to the throne in 1060 Christianity was firmly established throughout most of Sweden, although the people of Uppland, and probably Sodermanland, resisted the new religion.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: The last king adhering to the old religion was Blot-Sweyn, who reigned 1084–1087. A handful of local saints (canonized on diocesan level before the centralized process became normative in 1170–1200), folk saints and clerics were allegedly martyred as late as the 1120s, most of them in Sodermanland and Uppland. Under the reign of Eric the Saint (1150–1160) Christianity became an ideological factor of the state, and the First Swedish Crusade took place; it was a military expedition aimed at converting the Finns to Christianity and conquering Finland as Swedish territory. (However, no archeological data or written sources seem to support the legend. The diocese and bishop of Finland are not listed among their Swedish counterparts before the 1250s). A national church of Sweden was not organized until 1164, when the first archbishop of Uppsala received his pallium from the archbishop of Lund.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: Pre-Reformation Swedish Catholic religious leaders — including Bridget of Sweden, founder of the continuously functioning Catholic Vadstena Abbey — continue to be held in high regard by the population as a whole. Her nunnery at Vadstena is one of Sweden's pre-eminent tourist attractions.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: Shortly after Gustav Vasa was elected king in 1523, he asked the Pope to confirm Johannes Magnus as Archbishop of Sweden, replacing Gustav Trolle, who had supported the Danish king Christian II and was convicted for treason. When the Pope refused, Gustav Vasa — he himself a proponent of a "Renaissance Biblical Humanism" — started to promote the Swedish Lutheran reformers Olaus, Laurentius Petri, and Laurentius Andreae. Gustav Trolle was eventually forced into exile, and soon all ecclesiastical property was transferred to the Crown. In 1531, Laurentius Petri was appointed by the Crown to become the first Lutheran primate of Sweden, and was ordained by five Catholic bishops without papal assent. The ties with Rome were irreversibly cut in 1536, when Canon Law was abolished.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: Originally, no changes were made to official church doctrine, and the episcopal organization was retained. Gradually, in spite of popular protests against the introduction of "Luthery", teachings were aligned with continental Lutheranism. Calvinism was, otherwise, refuted as heresy at the synod of Stockholm in 1565. In order to appease the Holy See, king John III of Sweden, one of Gustav Vasa's sons, took measures to bring the Church of Sweden to a theological position influenced by George Cassander, but, in the heat of controversy, such a compromise position did not achieve its intent of reunion. However, after his death, his brother, Duke Charles, summoned the Uppsala Synod in 1593, which declared the Holy Scriptures the sole guideline for faith, with four documents accepted as faithful and authoritative explanations of it: the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and the unaltered Augsburg Confession of 1530. The Uppsala Synod also reinstated The Swedish Church Ordinance of 1572, which remained in use until 1686.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: The move put Charles at odds with the heir to the throne, his nephew Sigismund, who was raised in the Catholic faith. Although Sigismund promised to uphold Lutheranism, Duke Charles's aspirations to power led to the War against Sigismund, a power struggle that was effectively decided at the Battle of Stångebro in 1598, in favour of Charles and Protestantism.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: During the era following the Protestant Reformation, usually known as the period of Lutheran Orthodoxy, small groups of non-Lutherans, especially Calvinist Dutchmen, the Moravian Church and Walloon immigrants from the Southern Netherlands, played a significant role in trade and industry, and were quietly tolerated as long as they kept a low profile.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: The Sami, who originally had their own shamanistic religion, were converted to Lutheranism by Swedish missionaries in the 17th and 18th centuries. Citizens of foreign nations, mainly Russians, were granted freedom to practice Eastern Orthodox Christianity since the Treaty of Stolbovo in 1617. Anglican and Calvinist foreigners were granted freedom to practice their religions in Stockholm (1741) and Gothenburg (1747). Similar liberties were granted Catholics in 1781, and an apostolic vicar was sent to Sweden in 1783.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: In order to curb Pietism, several royal decrees and parliament acts were issued in the 18th century; they forbade Swedish citizens to engage in practices other than mandatory Lutheran Sunday Mass and daily family devotions. Without the presence of a Lutheran clergyman, public religious gatherings were forbidden. It remained illegal until 1860 for Lutheran Swedes to convert to another confession or religion.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: In 1860 it became legal to leave the Church of Sweden for the purpose of becoming a member of another officially recognised religious denomination. From 1951, it became legal to leave the church, without providing any reason. From 1951 to 1977 all religious institutions could only be established with the permission of the Crown.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: The constitution of Sweden provides for freedom of religion, and the government generally respects this right in practice. The government at all levels seeks to protect this right in full and does not tolerate its abuse, either by governmental or private actors. The rights and freedoms enumerated in the constitution include the rights to practice one's religion and protection of religious freedom. The laws concerning religious freedoms are generally observed and enforced at all government levels and by the courts in a non-discriminatory fashion. Legal protections cover discrimination or persecution by private actors.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: In the early 2000s about 80% of Swedes belonged to the Church of Sweden. By the end of 2020, this figure had fallen to 55.2%. Other religious organizations keep count of their registered membership, and as reported in the table, as of 2020 the largest religious denominations after the Church of Sweden (55.2%) were the officially registered Muslims (2.3%), members of the Orthodox Church (1.4%), Catholics (1.2%) and members of the Swedish Pentecostal Movement (1.1%).


title: Religion in Sweden

text: Eight recognized religious denominations, in addition to the Church of Sweden, raise revenues through member-contributions made through the national tax system. All recognized denominations are entitled to direct government financial support, contributions made through the national tax system, or a mix of both. Certain Christian holidays are national holidays. School students from minority religious backgrounds are entitled to take relevant religious holidays. No recognition or registration is required to carry out religious activity. Religious groups that want to receive government aid may apply for it.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: Education about all major world religions is compulsory in public schools. Parents may send their children to religious charter schools, all of which receive school vouchers, provided they adhere to government guidelines on core academic curriculum. The Office of the Ombudsman against Ethnic Discrimination investigates claims of discrimination "due to race, skin color, national or ethnic origin, or religion". Discrimination on religious grounds is illegal, including discrimination in the work place and in the provision of public and private services.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: In 2017, the Pew Research Center found in their "Global Attitutes Survey" that 59.9% of the Swedes regarded themselves as Christians, with 48.7% belonging to the Church of Sweden, 9.5% were Unaffiliated Christians, 0.7% were Pentecostal Protestants, 0.4% were Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox and the Congregationalist were the 0.3% each. Unaffiliated people were the 35.0% divided in 18.8% Atheists, 11.9% nothing in particular and 4.3% Agnostics. Muslims were the 2.2% and members of other religions were the 2.5%.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: In 2016 the International Social Survey Programme found that 70.2% of the Swedish population declared to belong to a Christian denomination, with the Church of Sweden being the largest Church accounting for the 65.8% of the respondents; the Free Church was the second-largest Church accounting for the 2.8%, the Roman Catholics were the 0.7% and the Eastern Orthodox were the 0.5%; members of other Christian denominations comprised the 0.4% of the total population. A further 28.5% declared to have no religion, 1.1% to be Muslim and 0.3% declared to belong to other religions.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: In 2015 the Eurobarometer found that Christianity was the religion for 47.6% of the respondents, with Protestantism being the main denomination with 36.5%, followed by other Christians with 8.6%, Catholics with 1.6% and Eastern Orthodox with 0.8%. 31.0% of the sample declared to be Agnostic and 19.0% declared to be atheist.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: In 2020 there were 6,364,093 formal affiliated Christians in Sweden, comprising 61.3% of the total population.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: A survey by the Pew Research Center found in Spring 2016 that 66.7% out of a sample of 1,000 Swedes claimed to be Christians.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: As of 2016, 6,484,203 people, or 64.9% of the total population, were registered members of the various Protestant denominations in Sweden.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: Representing about half of the population, the Church of Sweden () is the largest Christian church in Sweden, and also the largest religious body. The church professes the Lutheran faith and is a member of the Porvoo Communion. As of 2021 it had 5,633,867 members, 53,9 % of the Swedish population, although surveys show different figures, ranging from 24% to 52.1%. to 67.3%. Until 2000 it held the position of state religion, and most Swedes were baptised at birth, until 1996 all newborns with at least one parent being a member of the Church of Sweden were also registered as members of the church. Yet the membership is declining rapidly, about 1% each year, for the most recent years even 2%, falling from 95% in 1972 and 82% in 2000. The number of both new baptisms and members has declined since. Indeed, according to official statistics, as of 2021:


title: Religion in Sweden

text: The 19th century saw the arrival of various evangelical free churches, and, towards the end of the century secularism, leading many to distance themselves from church rituals. Leaving the Church of Sweden became legal with the so-called Dissenter Law of 1860, but only under the provision of entering another denomination. The right to stand outside any religious denomination was established in the law on freedom of religion in 1951.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: Today, the Swedish Free Church Council () organizes free churches in Sweden, belonging to various Protestant denominations: Calvinist, Pentecostal, and others. In total the member churches have around 250,000 members. Baptists, Methodists and the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden merged in 2011 into a new denomination: the Uniting Church in Sweden. It is the largest member church in the Swedish Free Church Council, with approximately 65,000 members. One of the Baptist denominations, the Evangelical Free Church in Sweden, has remained an independent denomination outside this merger.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: Most Catholics in Sweden are of Slavic (especially Poles and Croats), South American or Middle Eastern (especially Assyrian) origin.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: As of 2020, legally registered Catholics in Sweden were 125,287, comprising 1.2% of the total population, the same percentage was found in a Spring 2016 survey in Sweden.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: Multiple Orthodox jurisdictions exist in Sweden, including but not limited to the Greek and Serbian Orthodox Churches. There is also a substantial presence of Assyrians, Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. The Serbian Orthodox Church has several parishes in Sweden, under jurisdiction of Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Britain and Scandinavia. The Church of the Goths has a presence in Gotland though it is not currently recognized by any other Orthodox jurisdictions. As of 2020, legally registered Eastern Orthodox Christians were 149,364 and they were the second-largest Christian denomination in Sweden, comprising the 1.4% of the total population.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: According to the "2015 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses", there are 22,730 active members in Sweden, and 36,270 people attended their annual memorial of Christ's death. This number includes active members and guests.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints claims 9,528 members in 40 congregations in Sweden as of 2022.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: The Bahá'ís claim about 1,000 Bahá'ís and 25 local assemblies in Sweden from Umeå in the north to Malmö in the south. In November 2009 the Swedish paper Västerbottens-Kuriren reported that 25 local non-profit Bahá'í organization had changed their organizational form to religious communions. The central Bahá'í secretariat in Stockholm stated at the time that the Baha'i Faith in Sweden had 1003 members. The Association of Religion Data Archives (relying on World Christian Encyclopedia) estimated some 6,200 Bahá'ís in 2005.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: Islam entered Sweden primarily through immigration from countries with large Muslim populations (such as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, Iraq, Morocco, Iran, Kosovo and Somalia ) in the late 20th century. The Baltic Tatars were the first Muslim group in modern Sweden.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: In 2009, the U.S. Department of State estimated that there were 450,000 to 500,000 Muslims in Sweden, around 5% of the total population. Sweden's official statistics counted 241,933 formally affiliated Muslims in 2020. The US Department of State's "Sweden 2014 International Religious Freedom Report" set the 2014 figure at around 6% (almost 600,000) of the total Swedish population.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: The Official Council of Swedish Jewish Communities estimates about 20,000 ethnic Jews in Sweden by halakhic criteria. Of them, about 8,148 were members of a Jewish religious congregation in 2020.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: Stockholm has the largest community and boasts a primary school, a kindergarten, a library, a bi-monthly publication ("Judisk Krönika") and a weekly Jewish radio program. Other cities like Malmö, Gothenburg, Borås, Helsingborg, Lund, and Uppsala have Jewish communities as well. Synagogues can be found in Stockholm (which has two Orthodox and one Conservative synagogue), Göteborg (one Orthodox and one Conservative synagogue), Malmö (one Orthodox synagogue), and in Norrköping (although the Norrköping community is too small to perform regular services).


title: Religion in Sweden

text: In 2020, there were 12,328 formal affiliated Buddhists in Sweden, comprising 0.1% of the total population.


title: Religion in Sweden

text: Germanic Heathenry, the contemporary continuation of ancient Germanic religion, is represented by various organizations, including the Nordic Asa-Community ("Nordiska Asa-samfundet"), the Swedish Forn Sed Assembly ("Samfundet Forn Sed Sverige") and the Community for Nordic Faith ("Samfälligheten för Nordisk Sed"). The Nordic Asa-Community, despite being the most recently founded amongst the three (it was founded in 2014), has quickly grown to become the largest Heathen organization in Sweden.


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, known in Japan as , is a Japanese anime series based on Nintendo's "Kirby" franchise. Produced by Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting, Dentsu, A-UN Entertainment and Studio Sign, it was directed by Sōji Yoshikawa and Mitsuo Kusakabe, with Yoshikawa handling series composition, Miyuki Shimabukuro designing the characters, Kazuo Iimura serving as chief animation director, and Akira Miyagawa composing the music. The series ran for one hundred episodes on CBC and TBS, from October 2001 to September 2003 in Japan. In the United States, the show aired on Fox Box, beginning in September 2002. Episodes have also been released on the Kirby TV Channel for the Wii game console (only in Europe), and on the game compilation "Kirby's Dream Collection" (also for the Wii).


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: The anime follows Kirby, a pink, spherical, childlike creature who does not speak coherent words but possesses the ability to take on new magical powers temporarily by sucking up their owners. Kirby crash-lands on a planet called Popstar and quickly befriends two yellow-skinned siblings named Tiff and Tuff. Over the course of the series, Kirby and his friends fight to bring down evil emperor Nightmare, all the while evading King Dedede and his assistant Escargoon, who try to get rid of Kirby using numerous monsters provided by NightMare Enterprises.


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: Tens of thousands of years ago, an evil emperor of darkness known as Nightmare created a biological weapon in the form of armies of monsters, and sent it all over the universe to conquer it. However, as he kept creating them, some of them began to rebel against Nightmare. Then, Sir Meta Knight and other freedom- and peace-loving, righteous Star Warriors formed the Galaxy Soldier Army in order to bring down Nightmare and stood to combat his evil. However, the soldier army caves in under the inexhaustible supply of the monsters. While the few surviving Star Warriors were relegated to the fringes of the universe, they were looking for new ways to defeat Nightmare. Meanwhile, Nightmare established a corporate empire, NightMare Enterprises, which systematically and efficiently created monsters and expanded its own power by selling them to large and small villains and money-hungry rich people throughout the universe.


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: Eventually, somewhere in the galaxy, the next generation of Star Warriors, Kirby, is born. Kirby was to gain strength against Nightmare as he slept in a spaceship he had acquired from parts unknown. However, the Star Warrior's spacecraft has the ability to automatically go to the planet where the monsters are located, and when the spacecraft catches the presence of Planet Popstar's monsters, it wakes Kirby up two hundred years ahead of schedule, and the inexperienced, clueless and baby-like Kirby, is unable to control the spacecraft as it crash-lands in Pupu Village (Cappy Town in the English dub). After crash-landing, Kirby makes friends with siblings Tiff and Tuff in the English dub and others in Cappy Town, and with their help, he was assigned to fight the monsters to overthrow Nightmare.


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: The ruler of Dream Land, King Dedede, is jealous and suspicious of Kirby from the start. He and his right-hand man Escargoon constantly try to get rid of Kirby with monsters provided by the company for a high fee, and ultimately, their plans always backfire when Kirby interferes. Just as in the games, Kirby can inhale enemies and temporarily gain their powers, transforming into forms such as Fire Kirby with the ability to spit flames, or Sword Kirby to literally slice foes into pieces.


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: Kirby grows and becomes stronger before his final battle with Nightmare. In the end when Kirby and Tiff face Nightmare, which is in a dream, Tiff throws the Warp Star at Kirby, who swallows it and becomes Star Rod Kirby. Star Rod Kirby has the Star Rod which is Nightmare's sole weakness, allowing Kirby to defeat him.


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: The original creator of the franchise Masahiro Sakurai was in charge of supervising the series, and the planning and production of the project began around 2000, coinciding with the development of "Super Smash Bros. Melee". In an interview with "Famitsu", Sakurai said, "I've had a lot of involvement in the production of the animation. We aim to create an anime that both parents and children can enjoy just as much as the games. In the beginning, "Kirby" started out as a game that even beginners could enjoy. I think that spirit has been carried over to the anime as well." He became friends with the cast and staff, and they held a birthday party for him when the day of voice recording for the final episodes happened to coincide with it.


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: Director Sōji Yoshikawa spoke at length about the challenges faced by the creators of the show. He expressed concern as most video game to anime adaptations do not go well, but as time went on, he says he began to see a character with strength, and felt it could be successful. He adds how difficult it was to have a main character who does not speak, as well as coming up with entirely unique settings and characters. Kirby is unusual in that it has no humans in the cast, and he likens it to the Finnish series "Moomins", which was quite popular in Japan.


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: In the beginning, the background music was all original anime music composed by Akira Miyagawa, but from episode 34 onwards, BGM from previous games was also used. The songs that appeared most often came mainly from "Kirby's Dream Land" and "Kirby Super Star", arranged to fit the anime's style. Furthermore, around the time of the release of "Kirby Air Ride", the background music for it was heavily used as well. In "Air Ride", the original anime version of the BGM was reimported and later used in "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" (with Miyagawa credited). Some of the arranged songs are included in the "Kirby & the Amazing Mirror Sound+" music CD. After the anime ended, some of its character and copy ability-related traits were later used in the games.


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: The series occasionally makes use of 3DCG rendering for characters such as Kirby, King Dedede and Escargoon. Those segments were created in Softimage 3D and handled by A-UN Entertainment, with employees from Overlord Inc. also moving to A-UN to help with production. By applying the advanced synthesis technology that Nintendo and HAL Laboratory have created in the development of video game software to the production of the anime, they were able to eliminate the uncanny valley effect caused by combining hand-drawn and 3DCG animation. For some of the episodes that Studio Comet participated in the production of as animation production support, the Studio Comet CG department produced some of the 3DCG segments on its own. While many anime works use digital technology primarily to save money and shorten production time, this series makes the most of the new methods of expression afforded by digital tools. In the ending credits of the final episode, the names of most of the people involved in A-UN's 3DCG production up to that point appeared in the 3DCG-related staff section.


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: Before the main series aired on TV, a single short episode was produced as a pilot, and a DVD including it was distributed as a supplement in the game magazine "Famitsu Cube+Advance" (a now defunct sister magazine to "Famitsu") to celebrate the release of "Kirby Air Ride" in Japan. It was made entirely in 3DCG, except for the backgrounds and some effects. Compared to the main series, the content of the pilot was much more closely aligned with the original action games, with boss characters from the games that did not appear in the main anime, and Meta Knight being an enemy. In addition, Kirby's design is from the "Kirby's Adventure" era, and the world itself has a different look as well. The pilot has no dialogue.


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: The world of the anime is very different from that of the games. In the games, the story takes place on the faraway planet Popstar (especially the entirety of the country of Dream Land/Pupupu Land, which is a part of Popstar) and its surrounding planets, while the anime takes place mainly in a village called "Pupu Village" (anime original) further inside Dream Land, which is somewhat limited. While the everyday scenes in Pupu Village are portrayed in a heartwarming and calm light, the story about the Star Warriors (Galaxy Soldier Army) is more serious. Due to the policy of not having humans (earthlings) in the show, most of the characters have comical one to three heads tall figures, with all but the main characters resembling the haniwa figures. The characters (mainly the monsters) from the games come from the original "Kirby's Dream Land", "Kirby's Adventure" (and the port "Nightmare in Dream Land"), "Kirby's Dream Land 2", "Kirby's Dream Land 3", and "Kirby Super Star", but none of the characters from "" make an appearance. Due to differences in style and worldbuilding, many of the characters that were introduced from the original games had their personalities drastically changed. This is especially true of Kirby and King Dedede, who appear most often.


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: The first few episodes are mostly about battles with monsters and the secrets of the Star Warriors, but from episode 4 onwards, as Kirby spends his daily life in Pupu Village and grows in strength as a Star Warrior, we begin to see more and more stories that are essentially the aforementioned social satire and parodies that are not directly related to the show's main plot of confronting Nightmare. The anime's Dream Land has convenience stores, cars, and TV sets, which bring it closer to the real world. Also, depending on the episode, various problems, such as famine, global warming, ozone depletion, environmental issues, illegal dumping, education concerns, falsified information on TV shows, lack of tourist morale, abandoned pets going feral, restructuring, government focusing on the construction of public buildings and the Japanese Paleolithic hoax, are set up in Dream Land to capitalize on the social satire elements.


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: The anime features parodies and homages that cover a wide range of genres, including such famous films as "Psycho," "Roman Holiday," "Modern Times," "Ikiru," "Jurassic Park," "Gone with the Wind," "Mothra," and "King Kong," as well as literary works such as "Don Quixote," "Nineteen Eighty-Four," and "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone".


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: Furthermore, in addition with the social satire, the series is also characterized by a great deal of metafictional elements. Episode 49 deals with the harshness of the anime production scene and the degradation of the drawings' quality, while episode 89 satirizes the decline of cel animation due to the development of 3DCG technology and the moe anime and otaku, which were not well known to the public at the time.


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: The anime was licensed by 4Kids Productions and dubbed into English for North America under the title "Kirby: Right Back at Ya!". On the official English website, there was also a manga based on the actual anime, reminiscent of American comics at the time. In the adaptation process, the show was heavily edited: content that was deemed inappropriate for American and Canadian audiences, such as the scenes in episode 2 where King Dedede fires the cannon on an armored vehicle and Kirby works in the village pub and prison, ended up cut out completely. There are also several other deleted or shortened scenes, such as the scene where Tuff and his friends throw fireworks at Escargoon's parade in episode 13, the scene where the facility catches fire in episode 29 and 46, the scene where King Dedede burns a book in episode 38, the scene where Kirby and King Dedede are squeezed in episode 61, and the scene where Customer Service screams in the final episode. The Galaxy Soldier Army subplot was removed entirely, and all soldiers are referred to as Star Warriors. The final episodes (episodes 96 to 100 in Japan) were not aired on TV, but were released on DVD only in the form of "Kirby: Fright to the Finish!!".


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: Some of the signs and writings, even those originally in English, were removed. The design of the armored car that King Dedede rode in episodes 1 to 34 had a military camouflage color scheme in Japan, but the American version has an orange and yellow color scheme. Art works resembling Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo etc. in episode 77 have been changed so that it is difficult to associate them with them. A lot of dialogue has been changed, for example in episode 29, Monsieur Goan now speaks normally, and the equivalents of intense spiciness have been changed to "volcano," "pepperoni," "Mexico," etc. The sounds of non-verbal animals, such as the sheep on the village mayor's ranch, as in "Pokémon", have also been dubbed. The sheep in the Japanese version make a "meh" sound, while in the American version they make a "baa" sound. Makiko Ohmoto's performance of Kirby is the only voice that was preserved in almost the entirety of the English dub, much like Ikue Ōtani's voicework as Pikachu.


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: The Japanese score was completely replaced by music produced locally and independently at 4Kids. In some cases, some songs from the shows that have previously aired on 4Kids TV, were reused in this show. Some of the sound effects have been replaced as well, for example in episode 60, the sound of Sirica's weapons (machine guns, bazookas, etc.) firing has been changed, and conversely, during the Sirica vs. Meta Knight one-on-one fight scene, there is an additional metallic sound when their swords clash with each other.


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: Some episodes were aired out of their original order, sometimes to put a holiday-themed episode closer to that holiday or to coincide with an event that was happening at the time. For example, "A Novel Approach", which parodied the "Harry Potter" books, was moved to air in conjunction with one of the real books' release. Sometimes episodes were aired earlier to advertise new Kirby games, one example took episodes 96 and 97, "Crisis of the Warp Star" from the finale of the series and aired them near the middle as the television special "Air Ride in Style" to advertise the "Kirby Air Ride" game for the Nintendo GameCube. Because these episodes were at a major climax in the show, certain scenes from the special were edited to make it look like Tiff and Kirby were having a "prophetic dream" rather than the events actually happening. The episodes were placed in the original order and sans these edits for the "Kirby: Fright to the Finish!!" DVD of the final episodes.


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: Michael Haigney originally stated in an interview that the Fox Network would not let it air the episode "A Dental Dilemma" because it shows dentists in a bad light and could scare children (although it was meant to encourage children to brush their teeth and go to a dentist if they thought they had a cavity). This applied to all other countries that used the 4Kids dub as well. The episode did eventually get dubbed, but it was aired under a third season, along with some other episodes in the line-up.


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: The series ran for one hundred episodes on CBC and TBS from October 6, 2001, to September 27, 2003. After a preview on September 1, 2002, 4Kids aired the series on 4Kids TV (formerly known as FoxBox) from September 14, 2002, to late 2006. The North American version of the anime was dubbed by 4Kids Entertainment, and distributed by 20th Television (U.S.) and Nelvana Limited (international).


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: The series began rebroadcasting in Japan on June 28, 2007, on the Tokyo MX station, then on June 21, 2008, in the US, Saturday mornings at 11am EST on 4Kids TV, and ended along with all other 4Kids TV shows on December 27, 2008. On June 6, 2009, Kirby, along with "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fast Forward", rebroadcast in the US again, and aired at 7:30am EST on The CW4Kids. The series used to be seen on 4Kids's video on demand service and on www.4Kids.tv. However, the show was removed from the 4Kids TV website in October 2009 as 4Kids Entertainment only held the rights to the show till September 2009. A moderator on the 4Kids forums stated in November 2009 that 4Kids no longer holds the license. Since May 21, 2009, the Tokyo MX website has stated that the show has been removed from the air.


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: Since 2009, the series was available for streaming via the Wii no Ma channel for the Wii in Japan only, with each episode worth 100 Wii Points, but on April 30, 2012, Nintendo terminated broadcast of the Wii no Ma channel. On June 23, 2011, the show has made a comeback to Europe and Australian audiences on the Wii, for the first time as the Kirby TV Channel, which expired on December 15, 2011. This service also returns in April 2012, however, the same episodes will be available, rather than the other half. A special CG animated episode, titled was released for the Wii no Ma service in Japan on August 9, 2009. A stereoscopic 3D version of the episode was dubbed by Nelvana and streamed internationally in two parts on the Nintendo 3DS' Nintendo Video service in January 2012, under the title "Kirby 3D". With the release of "Kirby's Dream Collection" for Kirby's 20th anniversary, three complete episodes are available to watch on the Wii via that disc.


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: The series was released on DVD and VHS in the United States by 4Kids Home Video and distributed by Funimation.


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: Three episodes from the series were included in the 2012 video game compilation "Kirby's Dream Collection".


title: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

text: David Sanchez from GameZone found the show "awesome" and specifically praised Escargoon, whom he called "one of the best contributions to the Kirby franchise thanks to his dimwitted attitude and obvious stupidity" and suggested should be in the fourth "Super Smash Bros." game. However, Common Sense Media described the English dub as "a stab at educational value, but really all about fighting monsters", Christina Carpenter from THEM Anime described the show as "more pandering kiddy fluff from the Fox Box". Bamboo Dong of Anime News Network cited "Kirby: Right Back at Ya!" as one of several examples of anime series that "exist only to be made fun of" and stated that "the series really isn't that good at all" and would only be enjoyed by loyal "Kirby" fans.


title: It's a Long Way to Tipperary

text: "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" (or "It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary") is an Irish music hall song first performed in 1912 by Jack Judge, and written by Judge and Harry Williams, though authorship of the song has long been disputed.


title: It's a Long Way to Tipperary

text: It was recorded in 1914 by Irish tenor John McCormack. It became popular as a marching song among soldiers in the First World War and is remembered as a song of that war. Welcoming signs, in the referenced county of Tipperary, Ireland, humorously declare, "You've come a long way" in reference to the song.


title: It's a Long Way to Tipperary

text: Jack Judge's parents were Irish, and his grandparents came from Tipperary. Judge met Harry Williams (Henry James Williams, 23 September 1873 – 21 February 1924) in Oldbury, Worcestershire at the Malt Shovel public house, where Williams's brother Ben was the licensee. Williams was severely disabled, having fallen down cellar steps as a child and badly broken both legs. He had developed a talent for writing verse and songs, and played the piano and mandolin, often in public. Judge and Williams began a long-term writing partnership that resulted in 32 music hall songs published by Bert Feldman. Many of the songs were composed by Williams and Judge at Williams's home, The Plough Inn (later renamed The Tipperary Inn), in Balsall Common. Because Judge could not read or write music, Williams taught them to Judge by ear.


title: It's a Long Way to Tipperary

text: Judge was a popular semi-professional performer in music halls. In January 1912, he was performing at the Grand Theatre in Stalybridge, and accepted a 5-shilling bet that he could compose and sing a new song by the next night. The following evening, 31 January, Judge performed "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" for the first time, and it immediately became a great success. The song was originally written and performed as a sentimental ballad, to be enjoyed by Irish expatriates living in London. Judge sold the rights to the song to Bert Feldman in London, who agreed to publish it and other songs written by Judge with Williams. Feldman published the song as "It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary" in October 1912, and promoted it as a march.


title: It's a Long Way to Tipperary

text: Feldman paid royalties to both Judge and Williams, but after Williams' death in 1924, Judge claimed sole credit for writing the song, saying that he had agreed to Williams being co-credited as recompense for a debt that Judge owed. However, Williams' family showed that the tune and most of the lyrics to the song already existed in the form of a manuscript, "It's A Long Way to Connemara", co-written by Williams and Judge back in 1909, and Judge had used this, just changing some words, including changing "Connemara" to "Tipperary".


title: It's a Long Way to Tipperary

text: Judge said: "I was the sole composer of 'Tipperary', and all other songs published in our names jointly. They were all 95% my work, as Mr Williams made only slight alterations to the work he wrote down from my singing the compositions. He would write it down on music-lined paper and play it back, then I'd work on the music a little more ... I have sworn affidavits in my possession by Bert Feldman, the late Harry Williams and myself confirming that I am the composer ...". In a 1933 interview, he added: "The words and music of the song were written in the Newmarket Tavern, Corporation Street, Stalybridge on 31st January 1912, during my engagement at the Grand Theatre after a bet had been made that a song could not be written and sung the next evening ... Harry was very good to me and used to assist me financially, and I made a promise to him that if I ever wrote a song and published it, I would put his name on the copies and share the proceeds with him. Not only did I generously fulfil that promise, but I placed his name with mine on many more of my own published contributions. During Mr Williams' lifetime (as far as I know) he never claimed to be the writer of the song ...".


title: It's a Long Way to Tipperary

text: Williams's family campaigned in 2012 to have Harry Williams officially re-credited with the song, and shared their archives with the Imperial War Museums. The family estate still receives royalties from the song.


title: It's a Long Way to Tipperary

text: In 1917, Alice Smyth Burton Jay sued song publishers Chappell & Co. for $100,000, alleging she wrote the tune in 1908 for a song played at the Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition promoting the Washington apple industry. The chorus began "I'm on my way to Yakima". The court appointed Victor Herbert to act as expert advisor and dismissed the suit in 1920, since the authors of "Tipperary" had never been to Seattle and Victor Herbert testified the two songs were not similar enough to suggest plagiarism.


title: It's a Long Way to Tipperary

text: The song was originally written as a lament from an Irish worker in London, missing his homeland, before it became a popular soldiers' marching song. One of the most popular hits of the time, the song is atypical in that it is not a warlike song that incites the soldiers to glorious deeds. Popular songs in previous wars (such as the Boer Wars) frequently did this. In the First World War, however, the most popular songs, like this one and "Keep the Home Fires Burning", concentrated on the longing for home.


title: It's a Long Way to Tipperary

text: Feldman persuaded Florrie Forde to perform the song in 1913, but she disliked it and dropped it from her act. However, it became widely known. During the First World War, "Daily Mail" correspondent George Curnock saw the Irish regiment the Connaught Rangers singing this song as they marched through Boulogne on 13 August 1914, and reported it on 18 August 1914. The song was quickly picked up by other units of the British Army. In November 1914, it was recorded by Irish tenor John McCormack, which helped its worldwide popularity. Popular versions in the United States in 1915 were performed by the American Quartet, Prince's Orchestra, and Albert Farrington.


title: It's a Long Way to Tipperary

text: The popularity of the song among soldiers, despite (or because of) its irreverent and non-military theme, was noted at the time, and was contrasted with the military and patriotic songs favoured by enemy troops. Commentators considered that the song's appeal revealed characteristically British qualities of being cheerful in the face of hardship. "The Times" suggested that "'Tipperary' may be less dignified, but it, and whatever else our soldiers may choose to sing will be dignified by their bravery, their gay patience, and their long suffering kindness... We would rather have their deeds than all the German songs in the world."


title: It's a Long Way to Tipperary

text: Early recording star Billy Murray, with the American Quartet, sang "It's A Long Way To Tipperary" as a straightforward march, complete with brass, drums and cymbals, with a quick bar of "Rule, Britannia!" thrown into the instrumental interlude between the first and second verse-chorus combination.


title: It's a Long Way to Tipperary

text: The song was featured as one of the songs in the 1951 film "On Moonlight Bay", the 1960s stage musical and film "Oh! What a Lovely War", and the 1970 musical "Darling Lili", sung by Julie Andrews. It was also sung by the prisoners of war in Jean Renoir's film "La Grande Illusion" (1937) and as background music in "The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming" (1966). It is also the second part (the other two being "Hanging on the Old Barbed Wire" and "Mademoiselle from Armentières") of the regimental march of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. "Mystery Science Theater 3000" used it twice, sung by Crow T. Robot in "" (1996), then sung again for the final television episode. It is also sung by British soldiers in the film "The Travelling Players" (1975) directed by Theo Angelopoulos, and by Czechoslovak soldiers in the movie "Černí baroni" (1992).


title: It's a Long Way to Tipperary

text: It is also featured in "For Me and My Gal" (1942) starring Judy Garland and Gene Kelly and "Gallipoli" (1981) starring Mel Gibson. It was sung by the crew of in Wolfgang Petersen's 1981 film "Das Boot" (the arrangement was performed by the Red Army Choir). Morale is boosted in the submarine when the German crew sings the song as they begin patrolling in the North Atlantic Ocean. The crew sings it a second time as they cruise toward home port after near-disaster.


title: It's a Long Way to Tipperary

text: The cast of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" march off screen singing the song at the conclusion of the series' final episode, after news anchor Ted Baxter (played by Ted Knight) inexplicably recited some of the lyrics on that evening's news broadcast.


title: It's a Long Way to Tipperary

text: The song is often cited when documentary footage of the First World War is presented. One example of its use is in the annual television special "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" (1966). Snoopy—who fancies himself a First World War flying ace—dances to a medley of First World War-era songs played by Schroeder. The song is included, and at that point Snoopy falls into a left-right-left marching pace. Schroeder also plays the song in "Snoopy, Come Home" (1972) at Snoopy's send-off party. Also, Snoopy is seen singing the song out loud in a series of strips about his going to the 1968 Winter Olympics. In another strip, Snoopy is walking such a long distance to reach Tipperary that he lies down exhausted and notes, "They're right, it is a long way to Tipperary." On a different occasion, Snoopy walks along and begins to sing the song, only to meet a sign that reads, "Tipperary: One Block." In a Sunday strip wherein Snoopy, in his World War I fantasy state, walks into Marcie's home, thinking it a French café, and falls asleep after drinking all her root beer, she rousts him awake by loudly singing the song.


title: It's a Long Way to Tipperary

text: In 1916, survivors of the sinking of in the Battle of Jutland were identified by their rescuers on because they were singing "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" in their lifeboat.


title: It's a Long Way to Tipperary

text: In 1942, as the Japanese hell ship "Lisbon Maru" was sinking, Royal Artillery POWs trapped in the vessel are reported to have sung the song.


title: Visaranai

text: Visaranai () is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language crime drama film written and directed by Vetrimaaran. It is based on the novel "Lock Up" by M. Chandrakumar. The film stars Dinesh, Anandhi, Samuthirakani, Aadukalam Murugadoss, Kishore, Pradheesh Raj, and Silambarasan Rathnasamy. The film deals with lives of two men before and after thrown into a kafkaesque scenario in which they get tortured for confession.


title: Visaranai

text: The film premiered in the Orrizonti (Horizons) section of the 72nd Venice Film Festival, where it won the Amnesty International Italia Award. The film was released in India on 5 February 2016 and received highly positive reviews from both critics and audience alike. Many issues arose regarding the film in Tamil Nadu among the police force. At the 63rd National Film Awards, the film won three honours: Best Feature Film in Tamil, Best Supporting Actor for Samuthirakani and Best Editing for Kishore Te. It was selected as India's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards but it was not nominated. At the 64th Filmfare Awards South, the film was nominated for the Best Film, Best Director for Vetrimaaran and won the award for the Best Supporting Actor for Samuthirakani.


title: Visaranai

text: Pandi, Murugan, Afzal, and Kumar are Tamil labourers who are working in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh and living in a nearby park and working to make ends meet. A Tamil man named Muthuvel is shown to be undertaking some operation in Andhra Pradesh along with a group of men. The lives of the four labourers take a turn for worse when they are caught, beaten and tortured brutally in police lock-up for a theft that they did not commit, due to police's need to close a high-profile robbery case. The four resist the torture and refuse to confess but are forced to relent due to the police brutality. However, when produced in court, they speak out the true set of events to the judge. Muthuvel, who is shown to be a police inspector, helps them go free by translating for them in court and vouching for them. Before the men can leave, Muthuvel enlists their help to kidnap a high-profile auditor named K.K who has surrendered in the same court. It is shown that Muthuvel's police team had come there unofficially to nab KK before he surrendered. Since Muthuvel's team are closely watched by KK's lawyers inside the court, Muthuvel gives the 4 boys a task to bring KK out of the court. Muthuvel's seniors use their influence to make the court police aid them and KK is kidnapped by the 4 boys. The men are brought back to Tamil Nadu, and Kumar is dropped on the way to Chennai. The remaining three men are asked by Muthuvel to clean the police station before leaving. The nature of Muthuvel's case is then revealed.


title: Visaranai

text: The kidnapping was masterminded by the Deputy Commissioner (DCP), under directions from the top brass of the ruling political party of the state, to use K.K in court and take down the President of the opposition party, since general elections are merely 5 months away. Meanwhile, the Assistant Commissioner (ACP), who is on the payroll of the opposition party, convinces the DCP to play a double game and get three crores (30 million) rupees from the opposition for dropping the case. However, buying the DCP's bluff, the opposition party fears that K.K has given up their secrets and orders the ACP to interrogate him, during which he dies from the injuries sustained. Since the death happened in Muthuvel's station when Muthuvel was on charge, he and his men take KK's body to KK's beach house and set up his death as suicide by hanging. Later, A discussion ensues to figure out a way to get the bribe and to cover up the death as a suicide.


title: Visaranai

text: After the meeting, the DCP sees Pandi and Afzal cleaning in an adjoining bathroom and suspects that they might have overheard the plan. To cover up, they decide to frame Pandi and his friends as convicts in a pending ATM robbery case, and eliminate them under the cover of an encounter. Muthuvel, who feels responsible for the three men, is fed up with the corruption and immorality of the events that have transpired and initially refuses to cooperate, but he is coerced because of his deep involvement. During the staged encounter, Afzal is killed, causing Pandi and Murugan to run away. In the ensuing pursuit, Murugan is shot and killed. Muthuvel chases Pandi and negotiates with him, assuring no harm and promising a spot in front of the media to expose the corruption. Meanwhile, orders arrive from the DCP to tie up loose ends and eliminate Muthuvel as well. As the film cuts to black, gunshots are heard, followed by a conversation that reveals the deaths of both Muthuvel and Pandi. A plan is made for the press coverage of Muthuvel's death 'in the line of duty', alongside photographs of his family to hold the attention and sympathy of the public.


title: Visaranai

text: In the eiplogue it is shown that this film is based on the novel written by real-life Kumar, who has been felicitated by multiple human rights organisations.


title: Visaranai

text: The film was adapted from the novel titled "Lock up", written by M. Chandrakumar, an auto rickshaw driver in Coimbatore. Vetrimaaran chose to begin the film before the schedule for his other venture "Vada Chennai" (2018) and signed up actors Attakathi Dinesh and Aadukalam Murugadoss to play convicts in the film. The film earlier had the working titles of "Kutravaali" and "Lock-Up", during the first schedule in Guindy. The first half of the film was finished completely in September 2014 in locations across Hyderabad. The director later announced that the film would be an experimental film lasting only 60 minutes. Anandhi joined the cast as heroine in October 2014, being selected after Vetrimaran was impressed with her performance in his production venture, "Poriyaalan" (2014) and Prabhu Solomon's "Kayal" (2014). Telugu film actor Ajay Ghosh stated that he played the role of an inspector in the film and would appear throughout the first half.


title: Visaranai

text: The satellite rights of the film were sold to STAR Vijay. The film is also available as VOD on Netflix.


title: Visaranai

text: This film received the best movie award from Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan in Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards 2016. IndiaGlitz.com had rated the film 4.5 out of 5 and said, "Visaranai is by no means only an art or docu film, but fits into the commercial arena as well as it has thrills, especially a nail biting climax, humour, action, a little painful love story in the background and above all filled with real life incidents which one can easily relate to". Twitch Film viewed Visarnai as a top class film about reality comparable to 2012 Cannes favourite "Gangs of Wasseypur". "The Hindu" wrote "Visaranai is beautifully filmed, though there isn't much room for beauty. The frames appear to have been snatched from the back alleys of life. The verité illusion is aided by the utterly lifelike performances—even if the word "performance" seems wrong.". "Rediff" wrote "Director Vetrimaaran deserves credit for having extracted the best from all his actors. They are so remarkable you sense their terror as they stutter and stumble with their broken and bruised bodies. The hard-hitting screenplay is relentless, making no effort to shield you from the harsh realities of the ruthless world we live in today." "Behindwoods" wrote "Some may call Visaranai to be a violent film, while most of the others may say it is a brilliant piece of art that is so real and suspenseful. But if you’re a fan of crime thriller or film that depicts pain, do not miss it!"


title: Visaranai

text: Overseas, Hollywood Reporter wrote "Vetri Maaran’s tense socio-political thriller lands a well-aimed punch at rampant police brutality and corruption, to which the only response from the viewer is towering indignation. It may not break new ground in its subject or style of narration, but it covers the old ground extremely well, and its premise is so convincing and realistic that it seems like non-fiction. The first part, at least, is non-fiction, while the film’s second half turns into a fast-paced thriller...Maaran and Kumar extend the horror to include the upper echelons in the police and government, who also need scapegoats to cover their crimes. This mirror plot becomes an ever more threatening nocturnal thriller, and takes the film much wider in terms of potential audience."


title: Usman Khawaja

text: Usman Tariq Khawaja (; born 18 December 1986) is an Australian cricketer who represents Australia and Queensland. Khawaja made his first-class cricket debut for New South Wales in 2008 and played his first international match for Australia in January 2011. Khawaja was born in Pakistan and emigrated to Australia with his family at the age of five. He has played county cricket in the United Kingdom and briefly played in both the Indian Premier League and Pakistan Super League.


title: Usman Khawaja

text: Khawaja was born in Islamabad, Pakistan. His family emigrated to New South Wales when he was five. He became the first Australian of Pakistani origin to represent Australia in cricket when he made his debut in the 2010–11 Ashes series. He is a qualified commercial and instrument-rated pilot, completing a bachelor's degree in aviation from the University of New South Wales before he made his Test debut. He attained his basic pilot licence before his driving licence. He was educated at Westfields Sports High School. Usman Khawaja announced his engagement on 14 December 2016 on his Facebook page. and subsequently married his wife Rachel on 6 April 2018. Rachel Khawaja (née McLellan) converted to Islam prior to their wedding.


title: Usman Khawaja

text: A left-handed top order batsman, Khawaja was awarded Player of the Australian Under-19 Championship in 2005 and also played for Australia in the 2006 U-19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka as an opening batsman.


title: Usman Khawaja

text: He made his first-class debut for the New South Wales Blues in 2008. In the same year, he hit consecutive double centuries for the NSW Second XI—a feat never before achieved by a NSW player. On 22 June 2010 it was announced by Cricket Australia that Usman Khawaja would be a part of the Australian touring squad to play Pakistan in a two Test series in England.


title: Usman Khawaja

text: Since 2011 up until February 2022, Khawaja has played for the Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League. In BBL05, he was the second highest run scorer (345 runs), with an average of 172.50.


title: Usman Khawaja

text: Khawaja signed a contract to play for county side Derbyshire in the 2011 English domestic season. He played in four County Championship matches, averaging 39.87 with the bat and scoring a century (135) against Kent. After his county stint, he made five further Test appearances in 2011, scoring one half-century (65) against South Africa. He was dropped from Australia's Test team after the home series against New Zealand, making way for Shaun Marsh upon Marsh's return from injury.


title: Usman Khawaja

text: Lancashire signed Khawaja as an overseas player for the 2014 county season for all formats. Khawaja scored 86 runs on his debut against Durham but in vain as Lancashire lost by 27 runs.


title: Usman Khawaja

text: In August 2015, Khawaja was appointed as captain of the Queensland cricket team, replacing previous captain James Hopes.


title: Usman Khawaja

text: In April 2018, he was signed by Glamorgan County Cricket Club to play in the 2018 Vitality Blast tournament in England. In April 2021, he was signed by Islamabad United to play in the rescheduled matches in the 2021 Pakistan Super League.


title: Usman Khawaja

text: In February 2022, Khawaja opted out of his contract with the Sydney Thunder, citing "family reasons".


title: Usman Khawaja

text: Khawaja was selected as part of the 17-man Australian squad for the 2010–11 Ashes series. During the third Test, Ricky Ponting fractured his finger and Khawaja was named as a stand-by if Ponting could not recover in time. He was subsequently selected in the Australian cricket team to play in the fifth Test against England in Sydney on 3 January 2011. On 3 January 2011, Khawaja became the 419th Australian to be presented with an Australian Cricket Test baggy green cap. Khawaja became the first Muslim and first Pakistani-born Australian player to play Test cricket for Australia, and only the seventh foreign-born cricketer to do so in the last 80 years.


title: Usman Khawaja

text: Before the third Test against India in March 2013, Australia suspended Khawaja, along with James Pattinson, Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson following a breach of discipline. Michael Clarke, the captain, revealed that the step had been taken as a result of repeated infractions which led to Watson flying back home and contemplating Test retirement. Some former players reacted with astonishment at the decision taken by the team management. Khawaja made his Test return in the second Test of the 2013 Ashes series, replacing Ed Cowan.


title: Usman Khawaja

text: In his first Test in more than two years, he scored his maiden Test century, in the first Test against New Zealand on 5 November 2015, in which he scored 174 with 16 fours and 2 sixes. He made this return in his tenth Test in the coveted number 3 position, helping Australia to an emphatic victory.


title: Usman Khawaja

text: During the 2015–16 season, Khawaja was in spectacular form for Australia and his domestic T20 franchise the Sydney Thunder, with many pundits hailing his renaissance as a batsman since being dropped from the Australian team in 2013 and recovering from an injury in 2015. He also switched to using Kookaburra equipment.


title: Usman Khawaja

text: Additionally, Khawaja set a record for becoming the first ever batsman to score a Test century in an innings of a Day-Night Test match on home soil and still has the record for the second highest individual score in a Day-Night Test innings.


title: Usman Khawaja

text: Khawaja played his first Test match against the country of his birth, Pakistan, on 15 December 2016 at the Gabba. When asked about the significance of the match, he described a moment of confusion outside the change rooms:


title: Usman Khawaja

text: ""Funnily enough I was waiting downstairs and I needed the change room locker to be opened for us and I was just waiting and the Queensland Cricket lady came down. She was like 'Oh, you need the locker rooms open?' I went 'yes please' and she started walking to the Pakistani change room. I was like, 'No, I'm that way, thank you'."


title: Usman Khawaja

text: In January 2017, Khawaja dabbed in celebration of his half-century scored in a Test match against Pakistan in Sydney. His move received mixed reactions, with some praising it, while others accused him of disrespecting his opponents.


title: Usman Khawaja

text: In April 2018, he was awarded a national contract by Cricket Australia for the 2018–19 season. He played a match saving innings against Pakistan in the first Test in 2018 at Dubai.


title: Usman Khawaja

text: In April 2019, he was named in Australia's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. In Australia's final group-stage match, against South Africa, Khawaja picked up a hamstring injury, ruling him out of the rest of the tournament. Matthew Wade was named as cover for him.


title: Usman Khawaja

text: In July 2019, he was named in Australia's squad for the 2019 Ashes series in England. In the series, he returned the scores of 13, 40, 36, 2, 8 and 23, failing to convince. Therefore, for the fourth Ashes Test, Steve Smith replaced Khawaja after returning from concussion, while Marnus Labuschagne retained his place in the side.


title: Usman Khawaja

text: On 16 July 2020, Khawaja was named in a 26-man preliminary squad of players to begin training ahead of a possible tour to England following the COVID-19 pandemic. He was not included in the final squad for the tour.